No matter the day, the desert seemed to stretch to the ends of the world. The sun hung high above, its terrifying burning heat splashing down unto the coverless world below. The only sight one saw was endless yellow sand without any other color in view, nor was there any life. Howling winds rose and howling winds fell, the sand sweeping into the air to block out the skies, forming towering yellow mountains of sand, one after another. These sand mountains were scattered all over the depths of the desert. No matter how strong the winds blew, from the day they were formed, they never collapsed afterwards. They didn’t even move a single inch, as if some invisible strength was holding them all in place.

Until one day, a star fell down from the skies, smashing a horrifying crater deep in the desert. A sand furnace appeared in the world and was broken apart by the meteor to reveal a sand-yellow palm-sized bead. It seemed like jade but wasn’t, and it shined with an extraordinary luster. As the round bead was born, all over the desert for thousands of miles around, the giant mountains of sand collapsed as if they couldn’t bear their own heavy weight…

Qin Yu opened his eyes, digesting the memories contained in the soul. An earth-attribute bead floated silently within his dantian. The willow branch...