The transition from the cool thin air of the Tethered Peaks to the western lowlands was not a gradual shift; it was a physical assault. The jagged mountains ended abruptly, giving way to a vast, shimmering expanse known as the Silt-Sea.

  It wasn't a desert of soft romantic dunes. It was a wasteland of hard-packed earth, salt flats and jagged formations of obsidian glass that jutted out of the ground like black knives. The wind here didn't sing; it hissed, carrying a fine grit that scoured everything it touched.

  "So," Li Yu thought while adjusting his clothes to make sure sand didn’t get in. "From the freezer directly into the oven."

  ‘You call this heat? This is a lovely day.' Tekton. 'However, sand is coarse, rough,and irritating. It gets everywhere. Especially in my joints when I am large and massive. When I am this small though, it can’t get anywhere at all. A lesson well learned.'

  'Don't be dramatic,' Li Yu replied. 'Think of it as exfoliation. Besides, look at the colors. The way the heat haze distorts the horizon... it’s painterly. You wouldn’t get to enjoy this kind of view anywhere else.'

  'It is visually distorted due to thermal radiation,' Tekton corrected dryly. 'It is dangerous for most mortals. You mistaken beauty for danger.'

  Li Yu ignored him and stepped fully onto the salt flats. Instantly, the heat blasted him. It was a dry heat that sucked the moisture right out of the lungs. You could literally feel the transition from one area onto the next.

  In the past, Li Yu would have automatically circulated his Qi to create a cooling layer over his skin. He waited this time, intentionally suppressing his active cultivation and suppressing his body as far as he could to see what his new body would do.

  For the first 5 minutes he sweated like any human would. It was uncomfortable and miserable. His robes stuck to his back.

  Then, a subtle shift occurred.

  He didn't will it or control it in any way. He didn't use a technique. His Myriad Leviathan Body simply recognized the environmental stressor, extreme heat/dehydration and reacted.

  His pores tightened. His skin took on a slightly duller, matte texture, similar to the hide of a desert reptile and was minimizing moisture loss. It wasn’t visible to the nake eye but was happening at a microscopic level. His internal body temperature regulation shifted, slowing his heart rate to conserve energy and was somehow cooling his blood before it reached the surface.

  The heat was still there but it no longer felt aggressive. It just... was.

  'Fascinating,' Li Yu thought while looking at his arm. 'It is passive. It just happens. I don't even have to think about it. I wonder if this adaptation stays with me or will it change and evolve again later on and I lose this…'

  'You stopped sweating,' Tekton noted. 'Are you suffering from heat stroke? Should I drag your unconscious body to shade? I saw a large rock three miles back.'

  'No, I am adapting,' Li Yu smiled as he tapped on Tekton for making fun of him. He adjusted his large straw hat to keep the sun out of his eyes. 'Let's keep moving. I see something glittering on the horizon.'

  They walked for three hours. The object on the horizon grew larger, revealing itself to be a town built directly into the side of a massive and hollowed-out geode.

  This was Glint-Edge, a settlement famous for its glassblowers and silica miners. The buildings were strange, bulbous structures made of fused sand and colored glass. They were glowing with refracted sunlight. It looked like a city made of candy and jewels.

  As Li Yu approached the main gate, a majestic archway of spiraling green glass, he was stopped by a guard. The man was encased in armor made of treated leather and ceramic plates, holding a spear tipped with what looked like obsidian.

  "Halt, traveler," the guard said. He looked more exhausted than threatening. He eyed Li Yu’s bamboo staff and the strange metal bracelet. "Welcome to Glint-Edge. Keep your weapons sheathed, pay your taxes on trade and for the love of the ancestors, tie your belongings down or keep them safe anyway possible."

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  Li Yu blinked at the man’s strange words. "Tie them down? Is the wind that strong here?"

  "The wind is fine," the guard sighed while leaning on his spear. "It’s the... well, things go missing recently. A lot. Just watch your pouch. And your boots. And your hat. Probably your underwear as well."

  "Why is such a thing happening here. Thieves?" Li Yu asked.

  "If they are, they’re the best I’ve ever seen," the guard grunted. "My deputy lost his spear yesterday. While he was holding it. One second it was there, the next—poof. Just air."

  Li Yu raised an eyebrow. "That sounds... inconvenient. To get robbed blind while holding the object?"

  "It’s maddening," the guard corrected. "Just watch your stuff. Entry is two coppers."

  Li Yu paid the small fee and entered the town. Glint-Edge was dazzling. Sunlight filtered through the semi-translucent walls of the buildings and were casting rainbows across the streets. The people here wore heavy layered robes to protect against the sun. They were often adorned with glass beads that clinked as they walked.

  But despite the beauty, the atmosphere was tense. Everyone walked with a hand clutched tightly over their bags. Merchants had their wares chained to their tables. Then the tables were chained to the wagons. Then the wagons were chained to guards. It was insane just to look at.

  Li Yu found an open-air eatery called The Refracted Spoon. He sat down at a table made of polished sandstone.

  "What can I get you?" a waitress asked. She looked harried and was constantly patting her apron pocket as if checking for something.

  "I’ll have some local specialties," Li Yu smiled. "And some water."

  "Cactus-Steak and Sand-Tea it is," she said. "Cash up front. I lost a whole table’s payment an hour ago. I turned around to get change, turned back and the coins were gone."

  "Rough day," Li Yu sympathized while handing her a silver coin. "Keep the change. Maybe invest in a zipper or something else entirely."

  "Honey, I sewed my pockets shut and things still vanish," she muttered while walking away. She was too mentally drained to even say thank you to him.

  The Cactus-Steak turned out to be a slab of grilled cactus paddle. It was de-spined and seasoned with a spicy red dust. It was juicy, tart and surprisingly meaty. It tasted as though it came from an animal but it was a plant. An amazing piece of culinary wonder.

  'This is wonderful,' Li Yu thought while slicing another piece. 'A bit slimy is the only negative but the spice cuts through it. Tekton?'

  'Pass,' Tekton replied. 'I do not eat plants. Also, I am currently monitoring around us so nothing we have is stolen. Nothing is getting in or out.'

  As Li Yu ate, he watched the street. The amount of paranoia that everyone had was absurd but there must have been a reason for it. The thieves must have been really amazing that it put these people on edge to this level.

  ‘The interesting thing is that these thieves are not injuring anyone. They are taking belongings but not hurting anyone. It is as though they are doing it for fun… Just what is going on here.’ Li Yu thought to himself as he watched.

  A blacksmith across the road was shouting at his apprentice. "Where are the tongs? The big iron ones! They weigh fifty pounds!"

  "I put them on the anvil, Master!" the apprentice wailed.

  "Well, they didn't walk away!"

  Li Yu chewed thoughtfully. Heavy iron tongs. Coins. Spears. It seemed random. There didn’t seem like there was any connection at all.

  Suddenly, a commotion erupted near the town well. A young girl was crying loudly. She was sitting in the dust beside a massive, lizard-like creature. The beast—a Dune-Strider—was lying on its side and was groaning. It looks like it had just fallen over.

  "He won't get up!" the girl sobbed to the gathering crowd. "We have to deliver the water to the glassworks but he won't move!"

  "Probably ate a rock," a bystander muttered. "These stupid beasts are always doing things like that."

  Li Yu wiped his mouth. The "Quiet Physician" had a patient. He had developed an even greater love for helping random strangers and their beasts during his travels. He now jumped at the opportunity to help in these kinds of situations.

  He walked over while tapping his staff gently on the ground to announce his presence. "Excuse me. I know a thing or two about beasts. May I?"

  The girl looked up and her eyes were red. "Can you really help him? Are you a doctor for beasts?"

  "Something like that," Li Yu smiled.

  He knelt beside the Dune-Strider. It was a sturdy creature, built and bred for hauling heavy loads. It had thick callous-like scales and strong muscles. Li Yu placed his hand on its flank.

  The problem was physical and obvious to his experienced eyes. The beast’s muscles were locked in a spasm along its spine. He sent his spiritual sense into the beast to confirm his observation and it was indeed the issue.