Looking down from above, although Wind-Sand City was quite large, with the speed of a Nascent Soul cultivator, even flying slowly, half a shichen was enough to circle it once.
But since they were searching for the secrets hidden within Wind-Sand City, they couldn't just fly around in the sky; they had to descend and search slowly. The city was filled with numerous sand towers and earthen mounds, which also formed a formation. Searching like this would take more than just a few shichen.
The four entered the city. After walking for a while, Huo Ziqi's Red-Eyed Monkey still hadn't returned, and the four of them even got lost.
At this point, the four realized they had underestimated Wind-Sand City—such an exquisite formation, capable of trapping four Nascent Soul cultivators without requiring Spiritual Qi, was simply unheard of!
After confirming this, the four discussed and decided to first map out Wind-Sand City.
For cultivators who could fly, mapping was simple: fly to mid-air and sketch it down. But after doing so, the four were shocked once more. This grand formation not only interfered with divine sense but also affected eyesight. They could see everything clearly, but when trying to remember it, they couldn't recall what it looked like at all.
Only then did the four realize that Wind-Sand City was no ordinary Ancient Ruins. If this place truly was a treasure vault of some ancient great sect, then that ancient great sect must have possessed astonishing strength.
Reaching this conclusion, Huo Ziqi and Zong Si were thrilled. Their cultivation was quite ordinary; they had advanced to Nascent Soul hundreds of years ago but had been unable to progress further. If they could find some treasure here, it would be a great Opportunity for them.
Mo Tiange and Qin Xi, however, had hidden worries. After the events in the Guixu Sea, they felt that Ancient Ruins were not things to be trifled with. Not to mention the dangers within the Vermilion Bird Sacrificial Temple, just the Human Transformation stage refined corpse they unintentionally released—if they had been a step slower back then, they would have been instantly killed on the spot.
However, they also understood the principle that Opportunity and danger coexisted. If they didn't take risks, they would miss Opportunities.
Moreover, their purpose for coming here was to find Xiao Zilan's remains. As a Nascent Soul cultivator, the place where Xiao Zilan fell was bound to be dangerous; they were mentally prepared for that.
"If we can't map it, what should we do?" Huo Ziqi asked, calming down from his excitement.
After a moment of contemplation, Qin Xi said, "Then we'll search slowly. Fellow Daoists, are you pressed for time?"
Huo Ziqi shook his head. "When the task was assigned, no return deadline was set. However, with the Immortal Alliance now facing a great war, delaying our return for too long isn't good."
"Then does Fellow Daoist Huo have any other methods?"
"..." Huo Ziqi and Zong Si exchanged a glance and finally nodded. "Then let's follow Fellow Daoist Shoujing's suggestion."
Although the current situation was tense, to put it bluntly, even if the Immortal Alliance collapsed, as Nascent Soul cultivators, where couldn't they go? The Immortal Alliance was good, providing them with support from many low-level cultivators, but in the face of a great Opportunity related to advancing their cultivation, it became insignificant.
After a pause, Huo Ziqi added, "Fellow Daoists, Wind-Sand City is so vast. If we search step by step slowly, it would take too much time."
Qin Xi asked expressionlessly, "Then what does Fellow Daoist Huo suggest?"
"In my opinion, we should split up and search separately. If we find something, we'll notify each other."
Qin Xi glanced at Mo Tiange and nodded. "Very well."
Huo Ziqi smiled. "Zong Xiong and I will head south. You two head north. How about that?"
"No problem."
The four agreed, exchanged sound transmission jade talismans, and split up to search.
After Huo Ziqi and Zong Si had gone far, Mo Tiange asked, "Senior Brother, did they do that on purpose?"
Qin Xi smiled. "Why do you think so?"
Mo Tiange said, "They hold the warehouse map, and they might have previously found specific information about the treasure location, while we have nothing. Since there doesn't seem to be any danger here, why would they drag us along?"
"Hmm." Qin Xi nodded. "That makes sense."
Mo Tiange continued, "Moreover, Senior Brother, you are at the mid-stage. Dealing with a few early-stage cultivators is no trouble for you. Your strength far surpasses theirs. If we find treasures, at the very least, we'd have to split them equally, right? That might not be fair to them."
"Correct." Qin Xi continued nodding. He and Huo Ziqi were merely acquaintances, with no friendship. The two of them held all the information about the warehouse; how could they be willing to share the goods with them? Previously, they pulled them into the team because they arrived at just the right time, and they weren't sure if there were any dangers, so it was better to bring them along to increase their strength. Now, splitting up—if there really was no danger, they wouldn't need to notify them. If they encountered something beyond their strength, they could still rely on their power later.
Huo Ziqi's calculations were good, and the two of them weren't particularly angry. They came here for the matter regarding Xiao Zilan; running into them was just a coincidence.
"Then, Senior Brother, are you willing? They're ditching us now that they've found no danger."
Qin Xi chuckled softly, looking at her. "It's you who's unwilling, isn't it?"
"Of course." Mo Tiange said without hesitation. "If we didn't know, that would be one thing. But they pulled us in first, and now they don't want us involved. How can things be that cheap?"
"Of course not." Qin Xi smiled. "How could there be no danger here? They'll have to obediently call us back then."
"Right," Mo Tiange also smiled. "That Senior Xiao was from the Xuanji Sect, proficient in formation techniques, and yet she still fell. That shows this place is absolutely not simple."
"So, let them go," Qin Xi said, his smile turning somewhat cold as he looked in the direction where Huo Ziqi and Zong Si had disappeared. "When they hit a wall, they'll naturally notify us. Even if they don't have time to notify us, no matter how big Wind-Sand City is, if we spend more time, we can always find the place where something happens."
By "something happens," he meant Huo Ziqi and Zong Si perishing. If they hadn't told them earlier, that would be one thing. But they pulled them into the team first, and now, seeing no apparent danger here, they want to ditch them—that's somewhat ungracious. Since that's the case, why worry about their lives?
"Let's go. Let's take this time to first circle around and see what's really going on with Wind-Sand City."
He believed Mo Tiange's formation attainments were no worse than Zong Si's. She had family learning since childhood, successively obtained the Xuanji Formation techniques and Mo Yaoqing's notes, and had even received guidance from Fu Yaozi. In terms of formations, there weren't many in Tianji stronger than her. First, figuring out this grand formation would make it much easier, whether searching for traces of Xiao Zilan or cracking the secret warehouse.
Several days passed quickly. Huo Ziqi and Zong Si stood below an earthen mound, seemingly searching for something. Adjacent to the mound was a sand pit.
"Brother Zong, are you sure this is the warehouse entrance?"
Zong Si held a Sheepskin Scroll, comparing it once more. "It shouldn't be wrong." He pointed at the surrounding mounds. "The Wind-Sand Formation itself is a grand formation, but these dozen or so mounds around it form a smaller formation. If the map we obtained is correct, the warehouse entrance is at the Formation Eye of this smaller formation, which is this point."
If Mo Tiange and Qin Xi were here, they would discover that the Sheepskin Scroll in Zong Si's hand was not the map they said they seized from a demonic cultivator. Their earlier guess was correct; Huo Ziqi and Zong Si had indeed obtained precise information about this warehouse from elsewhere, which was why they had the idea to fish for some benefits from it.
"But there doesn't seem to be anything unusual here." Huo Ziqi frowned, looking at the sand pit before him. He only had a basic understanding of formations. Zong Si said there was a formation here, but he couldn't really see it, let alone know where the Formation Eye was.
Zong Si wore a thoughtful expression and also sighed. "I can only confirm that the Formation Eye is here, and the entrance should be here too. But exactly how to enter, I can't tell for now."
Then he turned to Huo Ziqi. "Brother Huo, Wind-Sand City isn't that big. If we delay further and Qin Shoujing and the others come looking, what then?"
"So, you mean it will take a long time to solve this formation?" Huo Ziqi understood the implication in his words.
Zong Si's brows were deeply furrowed. "I don't even know if it can be solved."
"Is that so..." Huo Ziqi thought for a moment and said, "You mentioned before that Mo Qingwei's formation attainments are quite good. If we can't do it, we'll have to call them over."
"In that case, wouldn't we be handing over the initiative?" Zong Si worried. "That Qin Shoujing is a Nascent Soul mid-stage cultivator, and I've heard his divine abilities are extraordinary. The two of us team up probably aren't his match. When the time comes, won't all the good things go to them? What if they are ruthless, greedy for treasures, and kill us?"
"That's just how it is." Huo Ziqi said. "I know a bit about Qin Shoujing's character. It's said he wholeheartedly seeks the Great Dao and isn't a bloodthirsty person, completely different from Qin Jinghe. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have invited them to join us earlier. If it really comes to that, we'll let them pick the treasures first. Who asked us to be weaker?"
"...Alright!" Zong Si shook his head and lowered his head to continue studying the entrance.
At that very moment, Huo Ziqi suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. Without thinking, he pulled on his spirit beast bag, and a Golden-Winged Great Peng flew out.
"Who's there?!"
"Hmph!" The response was a cold snort. Then, a mass of black mist appeared out of thin air. The black mist dispersed, revealing a man and a woman before them. The tall man with cyan-blue skin coldly stared at the two and raised his right hand. This hand was completely unlike a human hand; it was entirely silver-white, gleaming with a cold light—it was actually a metal prosthetic hand.
At this moment, lying in the palm of this prosthetic hand was a dead colorful butterfly.
"You—" Huo Ziqi was furious. Just now, his Spirit-Seeking Butterfly had detected Spiritual Qi fluctuations, then lost connection—it was actually killed by this man! He was a disciple of the Spirit Beast Sect; spirit beasts were their companions. Seeing his spirit beast killed, he was instantly enraged.
A pitch-black long whip appeared in Huo Ziqi's hand. The Golden-Winged Great Peng let out a cry, glaring fiercely at the two demonic cultivators before them.
Zong Si put away the Sheepskin Scroll and waved his hand, summoning five small flags—red, yellow, blue, green, and gold—before him.
"Who are you people?!" Huo Ziqi demanded angrily. "Why did you kill my spirit beast?"
The man glanced at them, a mocking smile appearing in his eyes, and spoke: "Hong Xiao."
The woman beside him responded: "Yes, Young Master."
Mo Tiange, who was calculating the formation, suddenly looked up, gazing in a certain direction. "Senior Brother..."
In the south of Wind-Sand City, Spiritual Qi surged violently, auras intertwined—it seemed something had happened.