Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Underground Palace
After Lu Sangjiu’s group entered the Lost Desert, they came to truly experience how formidable this place was.
All they could see was yellow sand, and walking was much more strenuous than usual.
The sun was scorching. Although they all had Cold Ice Crystal Stones to cool them down, there was no escaping its searing heat. It felt like their skin was about to peel off.
Even when they rested, they couldn’t find a single shady spot. It was sheer torture.
They didn’t encounter anyone else along the way, but venomous insects were common, forcing them to remain on high alert for sudden attacks.
This kind of life was so dull and tedious that it was hard to suppress their growing irritation.
The only fortunate thing was that Chi Yan’s direction-finding Magic Treasure hadn’t failed, so they still had a clear path forward.
They traveled like this for three days. On the fourth day, while the group was resting and meditating, they were suddenly hit by a massive sandstorm!
Seeing a sky-blotting tornado of wind and sand approaching in the distance, Feng Lin quickly took out her enormous Golden Bell and covered the group with it.
She had barely completed the action when they heard the chaotic PATTER of countless sand grains striking the Golden Bell, the vibrations making their hearts leap into their throats.
They thought they would be fine if they just held on, but after only a moment, they felt the sand beneath their feet begin to collapse!
The quicksand, like a man-eating beast, instantly began dragging them all in different directions!
"This is bad! Everyone, hold on tight!"
If they were separated by the sand, finding each other again in this vast, sandy sea would be incredibly difficult.
Chi Yan might be alright, but the others, having lost their way, would likely be trapped in the desert with no escape.
The four of them gripped each other’s hands tightly, struggling as the quicksand tossed them about.
The collapsing sand soon overturned Feng Lin’s Golden Bell. A storm of wind and sand immediately engulfed them, making it difficult to even open their eyes.
Soon, Lu Sangjiu felt her grip on the hands to her left and right slip away... ’Damn, we’re completely separated now!’
As the world spun around her, Lu Sangjiu was tossed about so violently that she passed out.
’Hiss... It hurts so much.’
When she regained consciousness, Lu Sangjiu felt like her body had been torn apart.
But thinking back on what just happened, Lu Sangjiu still considered herself quite lucky. ’At least I woke up.’
’I just don’t know if we were incredibly unlucky, or if this desert is just naturally this dangerous.’
’I have no proof, but I strongly suspect that damn Heavenly Dao is screwing with me again.’
As her mind raced, Lu Sangjiu finally managed to struggle her eyes open... and then she froze.
Because as far as she could see, there was nothing but darkness.
’Doesn’t the desert lack a nighttime? Could this be a blessing in disguise? Did I actually make it out of the desert?’
But as she spread her Divine Sense, she realized she was overthinking things. She was underground.
The strange thing was that in a Secret Realm that had existed for who-knows-how-many-years, there was actually an underground palace...
Lu Sangjiu’s Divine Sense couldn’t extend very far at the moment, so she was unable to perceive the full layout of the underground palace.
She could only tell that she was in a long corridor, one so long that her senses couldn’t even reach its end.
The only saving grace was that there were no other living creatures around, so she should be safe for the time being.
But that also meant the others weren’t nearby.
Communication talismans were forbidden inside the Secret Realm, so Lu Sangjiu had no way to contact the others.
After confirming her immediate safety, she quickly took a few healing Elixir Pills and sat down to meditate and circulate her energy.
After a long while, the pain in her body finally subsided, and with most of her Spiritual Power recovered, she opened her eyes again.
"Whew... No one has come looking for me after all this time. Looks like I’m on my own."
’Even though I’ve lost my bearings and wandering randomly might just take me further away, I don’t have time to just sit here and wait. I have to at least try.’
She glanced toward both ends of the corridor, then released Duoduo. "They say you Spirit Beasts have keen senses. Help me figure out which way to go."
Duoduo: "..."
’Why does she always make me do these things where I’ll get blamed the second she lets me out?’
It was very reluctant, but didn’t dare to resist. It could only close its eyes unwillingly and try its best to sense its surroundings.
A moment later, Lu Sangjiu received its feedback.
"This way, huh?"
Lu Sangjiu gazed at the pitch-black corridor ahead, stroking her chin. "But... just because I don’t sense any danger this way doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right path."
’Danger always comes with opportunity. If the path is truly smooth, I might just end up walking straight back to the Qishan Plain.’
’Besides, I’ve got a nagging feeling this is that damn Heavenly Dao trying to screw me over to protect Ye Zhiyao. It’s not about to lay out a smooth path for me, is it?’
At this thought, Lu Sangjiu decisively turned and headed in the opposite direction.
Duoduo immediately began to chirp anxiously, "CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP," only to get a slap on the head from her. "You can’t be this timid if you’re going to be my Spirit Beast. Keep chirping and I’ll confiscate your Cold Ice Crystal Stone!"
Duoduo: "..."
It instantly fell quiet as a mouse, nestling obediently in Lu Sangjiu’s arms without moving.
’Actually, I’d really like to go back into the Spirit Beast Bag,’ it thought. ’But if Lu Sangjiu dies, no one will be able to open it, and I’ll be trapped inside forever.’
’So... even though it’s a little dangerous out here, it’s safer to stay outside!’
Lu Sangjiu walked straight ahead for some time, until Duoduo suddenly let out a chirp, alerting her that something was up ahead.
She stopped in her tracks, performed a Concealing Breath spell, and then continued forward with caution.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before she heard voices ahead. A faint, flickering firelight also became visible in the once pitch-black corridor.
Fearing Duoduo might make a noise, Lu Sangjiu decisively put it away. She then crept forward a little more until she could finally make out their conversation.
From the sound of their voices, it was two men. They were just making small talk at first, but after waiting patiently for a moment, Lu Sangjiu finally heard something interesting.
"By the way, why didn’t we just kill that man and woman we captured? They’re pretty strong; keeping them alive is just asking for trouble."
"The elder said we lost more people than expected. Too few have made it here safely."
"But we need blood to open the altar later. We can’t afford to use too much of our own, so we need to capture other Cultivators to make up the difference."
"Those two are definitely strong, though. I heard they killed several of our guys."
"Our people were tailing them for a while but didn’t dare to make a move. Thanks to the sandstorm, we got lucky and nabbed them."
"It’s just a shame two of them slipped through the net. Who knows where the sand swept them off to. If we could just catch them, draining all four of them of their blood should be about enough."
The two men chuckled and joked for a few more moments, then one of them suddenly said, "Wait... I think I heard something over there. I’m going to check it out. You stay here and guard!"
