CHAPTER 201: CHAPTER 70: SAND CITY

According to Si Lin’s estimation of the sand scorpions, their level should be around the fourth tier. Moreover, like them, the sand scorpions here have their spiritual power restricted, greatly reducing their strength, so it’s relatively easy for them to fight.

A quarter of an hour later, all the sand scorpions were killed. Gu Qingqing and the others panted heavily, retrieved their respective weapons, glanced at the bodies of the sand scorpions on the ground, and then walked to the edge of the pond. Fortunately, the water in the pond was very clear and looked quite clean. After drinking some, they immediately felt much better.

"This Qiankun Ring can’t be opened. We don’t even have a tool to hold water. This place is really a hassle!" Nan Hua looked at the pond in front of him, thinking about the water shortage they would face once they left, and grumbled discontentedly.

"Take it one step at a time. Let’s solve the food problem first. I found that without spiritual power, consumption is particularly high and we get hungry fast!" Gu Qingqing looked at the sand scorpion bodies not far away and licked her lips.

Fortunately, Gu Qingqing always carried the dagger Zhao Tonghai gave her and did not put it in the storage ring. Otherwise, they would have to use Si Lin’s Dragon Capturing Sword to cut open those sand scorpion bodies.

The dagger Zhao Tonghai gave her is an Immortal Artifact. If it were given to someone else, it would surely be cherished. But Gu Qingqing already has the Mixed Immortal Silk, and no one around her particularly needs this dagger, so she kept it. Now it’s quite handy to use it to open the sand scorpion bodies, and she wonders if Zhao Tonghai will regret giving this thing to her!

After processing the sand scorpion bodies, since they had no firewood or pots, they looked around and found a piece of stone slab, washed it clean, then heated it under the sun, and put the sand scorpion meat on top.

Sizzle!

The temperature on the slab was high, and the sand scorpion meat was very fatty, so immediately after putting it on, oil began to seep out. Adding spices would have made it tastier, but unfortunately, they had none, so they had to make do. At this moment, they couldn’t be picky.

The energy contained in the sand scorpion meat was substantial. After eating, everyone felt a lot better, and the physical strength they had expended before was replenished.

After thinking for a while, they found a few pieces of sand scorpion shell to hold water, then left Gu Qingqing by the pond while the others went to explore the surroundings separately, preparing for the next steps.

The desert wasn’t very safe, and it was easy to lose direction. They didn’t dare to go too far, so they could only search nearby, then return to regroup and report their findings.

"I found nothing over there, just desert, and more desert, but while I was there, I kept feeling like something was watching me. I looked around for a long time but didn’t find what it was!" Nan Hua was the first to report his findings.

"The situation on my side is similar to Nan Hua’s, just endless desert. I tried walking forward for a bit, but still saw nothing," Yue Zhao frowned as he reported his findings.

"Same here." Mu Chen followed up after Yue Zhao.

"Same." Jun Wu’s gaze fell on Gu Qingqing as he mentioned his exploration results.

"Same." Si Lin followed Jun Wu.

"It seems only I found something; I saw a Sand City." Rong Ye looked at the others and reported his findings.

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingqing and the others’ gazes focused on Rong Ye, looking a bit surprised.

"Brother Five, do you mean the Sand City you saw is a city built of sand?" Gu Qingqing curiously stared at Rong Ye and asked.

Sand Cities were also recorded in the books Gu Qingqing read. Some books described the desert cities as very mysterious. When Gu Qingqing read about them, she was very fascinated and curious. Now, hearing Rong Ye say there is actually a Sand City here, she was suddenly excited.

"Yes." Rong Ye nodded and described the Sand City he just saw to Gu Qingqing, "The city looks quite large. To establish a Sand City here, its owner must be very formidable. But there’s no doubt no one inside, because this is the Rong Family’s Trial Land, a place of nine deaths and one life, isolated from the outside. Moreover, only the Great Elder of the Elder Council has the key to open the Trial Land; it’s not open all the time."

Rong Ye did a lot of homework on the Trial Land and naturally knew its peculiarities. Without a key, no one can enter, so while it can have a Sand City, it would not have anyone besides them and Rong Yan’s group!

The others understood this reasoning too. Given their situation, having no people was better. The main concern was food and water!

"Then let’s go explore this Sand City to see if we can find anything useful," Si Lin thought for a moment and said to Gu Qingqing and the others.

Gu Qingqing and the others shared similar thoughts with Si Lin and naturally wouldn’t refuse, all nodding in agreement.

So, after resting, the seven of them left the pond together and headed toward the Sand City Rong Ye discovered.

Reaching the place Rong Ye had just scouted, they saw the Sand City not far away.

How to describe the feeling? It was somewhat overwhelming.

In the endless desert, a city suddenly appeared. Even if the city was not very large, it was enough to amaze anyone!

"Perhaps the Rong Family’s Trial Land was once a Secret Realm, but someone might have placed restrictions here, making it impossible to use spiritual power or storage space inside, and only specific Tokens allow entry. Before this, perhaps some humans lived here, but they all vanished for some reason, which is why there’s this Sand City," Yue Zhao speculated as they got closer to Sand City.

Gu Qingqing and the others found Yue Zhao’s guess very plausible and all nodded in agreement.

"When I read records of the Trial Land before, some predecessors also speculated that this place might have been part of some world, but for some reason, it was refined into a Secret Realm, and the people inside may have been driven out or all died," Rong Ye recalled some records he had read, indirectly confirming Yue Zhao’s conjecture.

Gu Qingqing and the others were quite shocked. Although they had entered Immortal Secret Realms before and witnessed the means of Red Flame Venerable Master, seeing this still left them in awe.

It’s hard to imagine how powerful the methods of immortals are to refine such a small world!

Although they had no spiritual power, their speed was still very fast. Soon they were in front of the Sand City, and the shock of experiencing it up close was no less than when they saw it from afar!

All its buildings were constructed with sand but appeared very sturdy. The overall architectural style was different from the main style of the Sub-immortal Realm, more resembling the architectural style of the Great Tang Dynasty when they were in the Xuantian Continent.

Passing through the three-meter-wide archway, entering the Sand City, they faced what appeared to be the main thoroughfare of the Sand City. The houses on both sides looked like shops, all with open doors, and in some places, things were even scattered on the ground, as if the people had left suddenly.

Seeing a water sack on the ground, Mu Chen, walking at the front, brightened up, approached to pick it up, only for the water sack to turn to dust the moment his hand touched it, leaving him dumbfounded.

"These things have been here for so many years, it makes sense they weathered away," Yue Zhao, standing behind Mu Chen, patted his shoulder in consolation.

Mu Chen shook his head, got up from the ground, and looked a bit disheartened, "I wanted to search here, hoping to find something useful. Now it seems like there’s little hope."

Hearing this, the others fell silent.

They were so excited earlier they forgot that these things might have been here for over thousands of years. Even if they were preserved, they might end up like the water sack, weathered and unusable!

Thus, during the rest of their exploration, everyone remained rather quiet.

Following the main road, they continuously walked towards the city center, and after they left, a mass of black appeared in the place they had just walked, pausing like tentacles where they had just stood, then pointed in the direction they left, disappearing as suddenly as it appeared.

The entire Sand City, though small, had everything it needed. They found some daily necessities, but as they expected, these things had all weathered away and crumbled at a touch.

In addition, there were some elixirs and weapons. The elixirs also scattered at a touch, while the weapons were a little better but still inoperable, leaving them very frustrated, with a heavy expression on each of their faces.

"We’ve searched for so long and haven’t found anything useful. This is such a scam," Rong Ye’s eyes scanned the surrounding items, searching for something usable and couldn’t help but complain.

"If it can be found so easily, how could it be called the Land of Death?" Yue Zhao remained very calm, giving him a sidelong glance and speaking lightly.

"This Sand City is so big; there must be something useful here. Brother Five, don’t lose hope, we can definitely find it!" Gu Qingqing saw Rong Ye starting to lose patience and quickly comforted him.

"Keep your cool, speak less," Si Lin, standing beside them, also added upon hearing this.

With both comfort and orders, Rong Ye pursed his lips, put away his frustrated expression, and revived his spirit to continue looking for usable items.

"Everyone, come over here and see what I found?"