# CHAPTER 13: PARCHED THROAT IN THE BONE WASTES > *"Thirst can only kill the weak. It forges the indomitable into cold steel in the midst of the earthly furnace."* --- ### I. THOUSAND-MILE CRUCIBLE & THE BLOOD SUN If The Putrid Fens is a damp grave full of maggots, then The Bone Wastes is a giant bottomless furnace. The sun in this desert area is red like a block of hot iron hanging in the cloudless sky. The scorching sunlight bounced straight down on the ground, turning the vast sea of ​​golden sand into a smoking pot of fire. The air was heated to the point of distortion and deformation, creating shimmering and rippling lake illusions on the far horizon - a desperate trap that had lured thousands of exhausted pedestrians into death. — *FENCE... FENCE... FENCE...* Each desert hurricane roared fiercely, carrying tens of thousands of sharp quartz sand grains that whipped at Chu Ye's body. Each grain of sand was like a needle cutting into the bare flesh of his arms and face, causing tiny drops of blood to leak out that were quickly dried by the hot wind into thin, dark red streaks. Fortunately, the **Bone Soldier Heartguard Cuirass** set of Ancient Corpse's ribs crisscrossed across his chest firmly shielded his chest and vital points from the erosion of the sandstorm. Chu Ye trudged step by step barefoot stepping on the scorching hot sand. The animal skin water bottle strapped to his waist had dried up half a day ago. Thirst began to come like a swarm of fire ants biting his throat. His throat was dry and hot, like burning embers inside, every breath he exhaled was burning. His tongue was dry, cracked, and stuck to the roof of his throat, making even swallowing saliva a sharp pain in his ears. His eyes sparkled, circles of purple halo swaying in front of him. Under the harsh sun of more than forty degrees, any normal person would collapse in just a few hours. Along the quicksand-covered trail, Chu Ye saw dozens of withered corpses of ill-fated exiles. Some people lay face down on the sand dunes, their hands still clawing in vain; Some people's skin has been stripped clean by sandstorms and vultures, leaving only white bones exposed to the sun. But Chu Ye didn't stop. His steps were still steady, rhythmically digging deep into the hot sand. The Blackbone Staff in his hand acted as a third leg, helping him steady his body from collapsing before the desert whirlwinds. — "I survived the gut-wrenching hunger of the rocky beach... I crawled through the miasma-filled swamp..." Chu Ye whispered in his mind, each line of thoughts like hammer blows hitting his cold steel will: — "This little bit of hot sand... how can I burn Chu Ye's life?!" --- ### II. SWALLOWING BLOOD TO SURVIVE & FERAL RESILIENCE By noon, the temperature in the desert reached its peak. Thirst has surpassed the human body's tolerance limit. Chu Ye's whole body trembled from dehydration, his lips were cracked and bleeding, his mind was spinning as if a bronze bell rang in his ears. He stopped walking under the thin shade of a sandstone slab eroded by the wind into the shape of a giant mushroom. Sitting with his back against the hot stone, Chu Ye reached up his chest. His fingers gently touched **half of the broken ceramic bowl**. The ceramic surface is cold even though it is surrounded by a sea of ​​desert fire, like a cold reminder of the humiliation and sentence of exile in the past. Chu Ye did not hesitate one bit. He brought the index finger of his left hand to his mouth and bit it hard! — *Whoosh!* Fresh dark red blood oozed from the fingertips. Chu Ye put his bloody finger into his mouth, swallowing mouthfuls of his own hot blood! The salty, fishy taste of blood flooded through the dry throat like a stream of nectar poured into a land of thousand-year drought! Even though it was his own blood, that wet taste immediately stimulated the salivary glands in his mouth to work again, dispelling the dizziness that was weighing heavily on his brain! That blood carried the heat of the Bloodstone pill implanted in the chest cavity, like a powerful stimulant exploding in the veins. His muscles tensed, his red eyes opened wide, his gaze sharp like a eagle stalking its prey! Those who refuse to surrender to fate... can even use their own blood as a weapon of survival! --- ### III. BONE DUNG BEETLES & A MEAL BENEATH SCORCHING SAND — *CRASH... CRASH... FLASH...* At that moment, the sand surface around the marble slab suddenly moved violently! Each quicksand vortex appeared, yellow sand dust rising up. From three meters deep in the hot sand, five or six black shadows as big as a washing basin suddenly shot up into the air! That's the **Grizzly Bone Bug** - a ferocious carnivorous insect that specializes in hunting in the desert. They have a thick, sandy-yellow chitin shell, two front claws as big as a pair of sharp rusty iron pliers, and a mouth full of serrated teeth filled with paralyzing poison. The smell of fresh blood from Chu Ye's fingers has awakened the hungry beasts under the sand! — *SCREAM T T!* One of the largest sand beetles in the herd rushed forward, its iron claws clamped straight onto Chu Ye's ankles! — "Just in time!" Chu Ye did not panic at all, on the contrary, the corner of his chapped lips suddenly revealed a fierce smile! He's thirsty! And in his eyes at this moment, these beetles were not scary monsters, but **a source of water and food** offered to his mouth! — *BOOM!* The Blackbone Staff in Chu Ye's right hand delivered a thunderous blow straight down on the scarab's back! The thirty-pound iron head of the staff smashed into pieces the monster's rock-hard shell, causing milky white liquid mixed with green blood to splash onto the sand! Before the scarab could even die, Chu Ye pulled out **Short Bone Cleaver** from his waist and slashed the heads of two other scarabs that were about to bite his shins! — *WASH! WOW!* The two scarab beetle heads flew away. Chu Ye squatted down and used the tip of the knife to pry off the soft cartilage under the belly of the largest scarab beetle. Inside the thick layer of apricot are patches of white flesh, succulent and filled with cool liquid mucus! He did not hesitate even for a moment. He grabbed the piece of scarab beetle meat that was still twitching, stuffed it all into his mouth and chewed greedily! The salty, sickly taste of scarab beetle fluid filled the mouth. It's not delicious, it even has a strong smell of mud and sand, but for someone dying of thirst in the desert like Chu Ye, it's a sweet drink more precious than wild honey! He gulped down the fluid from the three scarab beetle corpses, swallowing every fiber of nutritious white meat into his stomach. Thirst disappears completely! The abundant energy from the beast's meat immediately revived every cell in Chu Ye's body, causing his chapped skin to gradually close its mouth! --- ### IV. TRACKS OF THE DESERT COLOSSUS Having finished eating the savage insect feast, Chu Ye stood up and used hot sand to clean the blade and staff. He stepped out of the shadow of the sandstone slab and looked toward the southwest of the desert. There, on a long, winding strip of sand dunes, he suddenly saw a giant ditch more than two meters deep, as wide as a bullock cart, stretching toward the horizon. Along both sides of the groove are round holes as big as the mouth of a basket sunk deep into the sand - traces of sharp thorny legs! And not far away, on the sand surface were scattered pieces of shiny black armor shining with a poisonous purple color, along with the corpse of a desert antelope pierced by poisonous needles from the chest to the back, its internal organs sucked dry! Traces of **Giant Bone-Waste Scorpion**! The lord monster of The Bone Wastes — one with boulder claws and a poisonous needle tail that can pierce any iron shield! Its crawl was heading straight toward a rocky valley in the distance — where a strip of green date palm trees rose in the middle of a sea of ​​sand: **Bone Oasis**! That place not only has a thousand-year-old source of fresh water in the desert, but is also home to the largest bandit lair in the wilderness. Chu Ye clasped Blackbone Staff in his hand. He reached out to touch the bar Short Bone Cleaver on his waist, then touched the half-broken ceramic bowl on his chest. A bold plan suddenly flashed in his mind: He needed a pair of sharper Song Binh to replace this rudimentary short sword. And Giant Bone-Waste Scorpion's shiny black chitin shell, as hard as jet iron... is the most premium material that heaven and earth have given him! — "Giant scorpions? Violent bandits?" Chu Ye smirked coldly. He carried the staff on his shoulder, striding quickly on the hot sand, chasing the giant beast's tracks, rushing straight towards Bone Oasis!