400: Chapter 40 Desert of Withered Souls

In an instant!

Dongfang Li's gaze swept across, and both the Sand-Devouring Rat fleeing in panic and the Cultivator chasing relentlessly behind felt a chill in their hearts. They felt a bone-chilling cold press down out of thin air, freezing them instantly in place, not daring to make another move.

To move was to die.

Gu Yunshen took a step forward, his voice like clashing metal: "Who are you?"

"Replying to Senior!"

The Cultivator swallowed hard, suppressing the turbulent waves in his heart. He hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "Junior is just a Loose Cultivator from the Southern Province. I only heard that this beast had treasures hidden within its body, which is why I acted recklessly and unintentionally offended you Seniors."

"I beg you Lords to be magnanimous and forgive this lowly one this once!"

He spilled everything like beans from a bamboo tube before even being questioned; he was a clever man who knew how to adapt to the circumstances.

If one encountered a Cultivator with a much higher cultivation base outside and still tried to play clever or stall, they truly wouldn't know how they died when death arrived.

Chen Xuan and the others asked a few more questions. Learning that this person was just a Loose Cultivator wandering the desert with no useful clues, they waved him away.

In comparison, this Sand-Devouring Rat that could speak human tongue was clearly much more important.

Dongfang Li withdrew her pressure, her voice softening slightly: "You can understand human speech?"

The Sand-Devouring Rat rolled its beady black eyes, scanning the group. It could only sigh at its abysmal luck. When being hunted by that Cultivator earlier, it still had a forty percent chance of escaping, but now that it had run into this group...

What misery, what a fate!

"Are you... humans, or the Yao Race?" it asked hesitantly.

"Naturally, the Human Race."

Her eyes narrowed slightly, keenly catching the key point. She asked in return, "From your words, are there Yao Race present here?"

"Human Race... the Human Race has actually appeared."

"The Yao Race... exists?"

The Sand-Devouring Rat shook its head with a pained expression. The sight made everyone look at each other, none knowing what was wrong with this little rat.

"Revered Master, this..."

Seeing this, Yun Xuanxuan's brows furrowed slightly. A strong sense of déjà vu inexplicably rose in her heart, leaving her somewhat dazed.

A moment later!

The Sand-Devouring Rat seemed to have recovered its strength. It slowly stood up from the sandy ground and shook off the yellow sand covering it.

"What did you... just ask me?"

"What is this place? Does the Yao Race exist here?" Dongfang Li repeated patiently.

"This place is called the Withered Soul Desert. As for the Yao Race... I can't remember. We lost the fight, we lost the fight."

"It's because we lost the fight that things became like this."

Dongfang Li looked up and exchanged a glance with the others. Pavilion Master Shen understood and flicked his finger, sending a wisp of spiritual energy instantly into the Sand-Devouring Rat's brow. After a moment, he withdrew his finger, his expression becoming increasingly grave:

"It shouldn't be lying. This beast's Divine Soul is very strange; it's as if it has endured eons of weathering and is utterly broken."

Mu Wanqing sighed softly and said: "So, we won't be able to get any useful clues?"

"Clues?"

The Sand-Devouring Rat murmured, then suddenly raised its paw and pointed toward the front-left. "Over there, I escaped from over there. The clues for seeking the Dao you're looking for should be over there."

As soon as it finished speaking, it tilted its head with a look of confusion: "Wait, why did I escape?"

After some discussion, Chen Xuan and the others decided to follow this clue and head toward the front-left to investigate.

As for this rat whose mind wasn't quite right, they brought it along for the time being.

The good news was that they had met a Sand-Devouring Rat that could speak.

The bad news was that this rat seemed to have a broken brain.

Whoosh!

Three black shadows suddenly lunged out from the yellow sand toward the group. Xiao Lingxian was quick-witted and flicked her jade-like fingers, firing three sharp streaks of Sword Qi that instantly killed the three Sand-Devouring Rats. A translucent soul-fixing crystal floated out from the corpses and fell into her palm.

"Good! Well killed!"

"Little girl, you are truly impressive!"

The captive Sand-Devouring Rat actually raised a paw quite seriously and gave Xiao Lingxian a thumbs up.

Seeing it cheer for the death of its own kind, everyone felt an uncomfortable sense of absurdity and dissonance.

"Revered Master, what exactly is going on..."

Mu Wanqing leaned closer to Chen Xuan, her almond eyes no longer filled with the eagerness she had when first entering the Secret Realm, but only with deep suspicion.

Chen Xuan's gaze was calm as he said slowly: "Based on its reaction when the Yao Race was mentioned earlier, there must be Yao Race present within this Withered Soul Desert. And that phrase 'we lost the fight' likely hides a deeper story."

"Perhaps... this Secret Realm suffered a massive invasion by the Yao Race in ancient times, and the reason these Sand-Devouring Rats became like this is mostly related to that great war."

"Ah?"

Hearing this, Mu Wanqing's rounded face tilted up in astonishment. "Revered Master, if that's the case, aren't we... helping the Yao Race by killing these Sand-Devouring Rats?"

"We can't draw a conclusion yet." Chen Xuan shook his head. "Once we reach the front, there will naturally be an answer."

"The front?"

Mu Wanqing looked up as instructed. Her pupils suddenly constricted, and the shock on her face deepened.

In the distance, beneath the horizon of the boundless desert where there had been nothing, the outlines of a continuous complex of buildings faintly emerged.

Those dilapidated palaces and city walls were half-buried in the yellow sand, yet their Aura remained majestic.

And in the very center of this complex, a tower reaching the heavens stood tall. The surrounding palaces were arranged around it like stars around the moon, making the tower appear even more towering and grand.

They had finally found a clue!

"No... can't go back!"

"Run, run away quickly!"

Just as the group continued their journey, the Sand-Devouring Rat they brought along suddenly trembled and shrieked. Its beady eyes were filled with extreme terror, its fur stood on end, and ignoring everyone's attempts to stop it, it turned and ran frantically in the opposite direction of the buildings.

Gu Yunshen's expression tightened. With a slight movement of spiritual energy from his fingertips, a pale green light shield instantly expanded, steadily trapping the panicked Sand-Devouring Rat inside.

With a beckoning motion, the light shield brought the still-struggling rat back to the group.

They continued their journey with it in tow.

Dongfang Li's eyes narrowed, her tone certain: "Looking at its reaction, we are definitely heading in the right direction. I just wonder what kind of terrifying existence is hidden in that complex to make it this afraid."

Chen Xuan sensed the golden Token.

The direction it pointed to was precisely that high tower and the building complex.

Trapped by the light shield and with no way to escape, the Sand-Devouring Rat could only huddle inside, shivering and constantly muttering nonsense like "can't go back" and "will die."

The group wasted no more time and, escorting the resisting Sand-Devouring Rat, continued toward the buildings on the horizon.

About fifteen minutes passed. Just as everyone felt the road ahead was still vague, a weak but clear ripple of spiritual energy suddenly came from behind a sand dune to the front-left.

"There's movement!" Pavilion Master Shen spoke first. "Just behind the sand dune ahead."

Chen Xuan nodded and said deeply: "Let's go take a look."

The group quickened their pace, following the direction of the ripples around the dune. Upon crossing the last ridge of sand, the sight before them left everyone stunned—

Below the dune, a village hidden within the embrace of the yellow sands appeared in their field of vision.

The village wasn't very large. Dozens of low houses built from a mixture of withered wood and yellow sand were scattered about, their roofs covered with dried thatch.

There were no walls around the village; only a few withered Populus euphratica trees stood lonely and upright.