After two years, Qin Ming unexpectedly ran into the long-armed man in this place, and was greatly astonished. His heart was filled with too many questions. He wanted to understand the events from back then.
Cui Hong merely glanced at him before diving back into the fierce battle, wary of revealing any abnormality to the old elephant, fearing that disaster might strike.
This group of mysterious and fierce creatures had already inexplicably taken away one Cui Chongyi. If they were to seize Cui Chong as well, he would truly go mad.
In that brief moment, there was a series of emotions flashing across his face—surprise, joy, guilt—each flickering briefly.
Why did he have such expressions? Doubt surged in Qin Ming's heart.
At the last critical moment, the long-armed man wore an incredibly complex expression, as if he was struggling within himself, which was not how one should look upon a reunion.
Qin Ming observed him closely, his heart, which had been hot and excited from seeing his savior, gradually cooled down.
The path ahead was blocked, and the caravan was unable to proceed. People were somewhat anxious, for such a level of combat was indeed terrifying.
When the old elephant let out a roar, it felt as if the mountains themselves shook in response. The trumpeting was immensely loud, causing everyone to experience a ringing in their ears, clutching their heads in pain.
On the right side of the rugged path was an endless expanse of desert, dark as the abyss, while to the left stood a steep and treacherous mountain range, ever uninterrupted.
The old elephant was pure white, shining with heavenly light. Whether it was the bladed light from its trunk or the tusks wielded in attack, they possessed an astonishing destructive power, causing massive rocks to crash down whenever they struck the left mountain wall.
People suspected that the towering mountain would be cleaved through by its attacks.
Cui Hong practiced the famed Heavenly Skill. His arms seemed to contain a power of ten thousand pounds, bursting with heavenly light, as if he intended to tear apart the night. He boldly clashed against the old elephant and did not fall behind.
The human warriors were fighting fiercely against the high-level alien beasts, the heavenly light swirling, and thousands of pounds of stone kept rolling down from the mountain, burying the path ahead.
The wandering merchant, Xu Cheng, sighed at his misfortune. Why did he have to encounter such a situation? As he led his people backward, he feared being caught in the conflict of the powerful, leading to the destruction of the entire caravan.
“It's terrifying!” someone whispered in astonishment, while many others were filled with dread.
Two great experts clashed, causing a cliff to collapse, and amidst the rumbling sounds, an immense quantity of stones cascaded down like a flood, kicking up clouds of dust, which was truly alarming.
Everyone watched with hearts racing, their faces ashen.
Xu Cheng felt a headache coming on. Why hadn’t those two strong fighters left yet? At this moment, they had advanced to the latter part of the rugged path; they should have escaped from this edge of the desert before night fell. But now the way forward was blocked, and if they delayed any further, it might be too late.
If they turned back along the original path, time would evidently not suffice.
People were shocked to discover that the heavenly light emitted by the two powerful figures could clearly illuminate the steep mountain wall, yet the desert on the right remained deeply dark. Even as the heavenly light shone, it stirred no ripples here.
“Old elephant, I won’t pursue matters with you any longer. How about we just stop here?” Cui Hong spoke calmly.
“Fine, then you may leave,” the old elephant nodded. Despite its massive size, it moved lightly, as if gliding, and in an instant, leapt up to a mountain peak, ready to depart.
Cui Hong maintained a serious expression. “Since we’re stopping, can you let the people go?”
“They are not yet fully accounted for,” the old elephant replied.
Cui Hong's voice deepened. “You should know where we come from.”
“Indeed, Cui, your thousand-year family is quite remarkable, shaking countless beings and gaining fame across the vast lands beneath the night. But we are not lacking either, residing on a famed mountain, barely holding our own, referred by you all as one of the blessed grounds,” the old elephant replied with unwavering composure.
Cui Hong’s expression turned gravely serious. “We need to talk; there must be a misunderstanding in this matter. We just arrived and could not have offended your kind.”
Fearing for Cui Chongyi’s safety, he wished to clarify matters swiftly while also attempting to lure the old elephant away from this place. Afterward, he would quietly return to check on Cui Chong.
…
Seeing that the two powerful figures had finally vanished from the cliff, Xu Cheng immediately shouted, “Let’s go, no, run forward with me!”
Time was of the essence, and he led the others in a rush. They had yet to escape from the desert’s edge before night fully set in.
Fortunately, everyone in the group was a novice, or else it would have taken ordinary people a great long time to climb past the fallen cliff ahead.
They ran desperately, panting from exhaustion.
Suddenly, heavy fog arose ahead, and even the rugged mountain path beneath their feet seemed to vanish.
Moments later, even Xu Cheng had to stop. The thick fog made him hesitant to move quickly. If they strayed from the path and entered the desert, the consequences would surely be dire.
“Xu Ge, what should we do?” someone asked anxiously.
Xu Cheng spoke firmly. “Don’t be afraid. Throughout this journey, we have respected the desert. We’ve been very cautious in our mentions of it. Now, do not panic; those behind must hold tightly to the clothes of those in front. Never let go, even in death! I will lead the way!”
Many wanted to grab onto his clothing, feeling safer closer to him, but he scolded, “Don’t crowd! If anyone gets lost in the desert, I won’t come looking for you.”
In truth, Xu Cheng felt uncertain himself. The old merchant had told him that without experiencing life-and-death paths multiple times, one was not considered to have set out. Could it be that they were about to experience such a trial now?
Qin Ming remained silent, gripping Xu Cheng’s clothes tightly. He had reacted quickly just moments ago, being the first to rush forward.
In such a moment, it felt safest to stick by the experienced merchant.
He feared that if those in the middle faltered at a critical moment and failed to grab hold of the person in front, they would be entirely lost from the leader.
Xu Cheng took out a torch, preparing to light it to illuminate their way. However, after trying several times, he failed.
Half of the group brought their own light sources and attempted to ignite them, but soon someone spoke with an unnatural tremor in their voice: “Xu Ge, it seems… there’s something blowing cold air that keeps extinguishing my fire.”
“Stop talking!” Xu Cheng interrupted, for he himself felt a chill blowing against his neck, raising the hairs on his skin.
The fog was denser than normal; they could see neither the left mountain nor the path beneath their feet, only the endless darkness, rendering their eyes nearly useless.
Qin Ming stayed silent. The atmosphere felt too heavy and strange. The sudden fog was suffocating; they could see nothing, and their senses stretched out without results.
“Xu Ge, no need to light the torch. There’s a team ahead, their lights are already lit. Although it's a bit far and hazy, if we follow them, we should be able to find our way out,” someone exclaimed in surprise.
“Hey, there really is a team deep in the fog! Shadows moving about, and the lead person is holding a torch, illuminating the path ahead.”
Others also realized it and revealed expressions of joy.
Qin Ming distinctly felt that Xu Cheng’s body stiffened, then completely tensed up, as if goosebumps broke out all over him.
“Do not look at that torch; do not stare at that team!” Xu Cheng’s voice turned low, quickly warning and reminding everyone, “Before approaching the desert, at that supply town, I specially inquired, and today, apart from us, there has been no other team traveling.”
“Hiss!”
“My heavens!”
Everyone gasped in shock, dumbfounded by the nature of the team ahead.
“My goodness, don’t crowd me suddenly! You almost squeezed the soul out of my body!”
Qin Ming’s gaze was deep as he looked into the fog’s depth at that heavily shadowed team, realizing there were indeed many people, and those dimly lit torches seemed aimed to guide them in a certain direction.
But it was eerily quiet; not a single sound could be heard.
Including Qin Ming, everyone stole a few glances before hastily averting their eyes, obeying Xu Cheng’s advice.
“What on earth… is that?” In such circumstances, some grew increasingly anxious and could not help but speak out.
“According to the old merchant’s words, forget it, don’t speak, it might frighten you to death.” Xu Cheng half-spoke, only to swallow the rest of his words.
If it weren't for the wrong timing and place, some of the more powerful newcomers in the group would have wanted to pound him. Because it would have been better if Xu Cheng had said nothing, such half-finished talk was even more frightening!
“Xu brother, just tell us what it is. You mentioned it but stopped abruptly, making us all the more anxious!”
“The kind of explanation from the old merchant, saying it out loud could truly frighten some of the more timid among you. Let’s use the secret sect’s interpretation instead; it should be a certain kind of ritual related to the gods in progress right now. We must not get involved. Because you and I have no right to approach it, if we gaze upon that torch for too long or join that team, we will surely become a dish on others' table, gruesomely devoured.”
Everyone fell silent.
Qin Ming remained quiet, realizing how dangerous it was for ordinary novices to venture out under the cover of night. It was truly a hardship.
He hadn’t even fully left this remote area before encountering such an incident. What else might he face while venturing deep into the vast lands?
“Are there any other… interpretations?” Some, gripped by fear, sought to dig deeper, driven by both dread and curiosity to know the truth.
Xu Cheng replied, “There’s also an ancient explanation, that some unfathomable existence in the desert has been offended, and the heavy fog is its fury, while the torch represents its burning anger. Do you want to fly into the flames like a moth?”
Suddenly, he came to a complete stop, no longer daring to take even a cautious step forward, realizing he might lose his way. Apart from looking up at the torch, he could no longer distinguish between the desert’s edge and the massive mountain's body.
Qin Ming also sensed something amiss because the left should be the mountains, and the right the desert, yet his left foot was planted in the sandy ground.
Xu Cheng had halted as well due to encountering this issue. He slowly pulled his left foot up from the sand, not wanting to move further.
“Don’t crowd!” Some behind could barely stop themselves.
“Don’t bump into me—oh, turns out it's a girl! It’s tough to be out here; it’s fine, you don’t need to panic.”
Though everyone was on edge in the darkness, they secretly scorned the man.
“I say, miss, no need to be afraid. Why are you still hanging onto me? Fine then, I’ll carry you; just hold onto my neck.”
However, the man’s voice soon quivered, “Miss, why are your nails so long? They’re freezing cold. Don’t scratch my neck too much, please… could you not?”
Those who had previously looked down on this man now felt their hairs stand on end as they listened to his words.
“Miss, say something! Don't claw at my neck; it feels like… it’s bleeding a bit, and it hurts,” his voice became hoarse.
A pale-faced youth spoke up, “Big brother, don’t… don’t talk anymore, I…”
The man trembled as he asked, “Little brother, are you… grabbing onto the girl’s clothes? Can you help me a bit and pull her off me?”
“I feel… like I’m holding onto some long hair…” the young man’s voice shook wildly.
The man sounded weaker as he said, “Is anyone coming to help me? It’s… hard to breathe. There’s blood on my neck, it’s a bit painful. I can’t pry the girl’s hand away; her nails are too long.”
Everyone fell silent, gripping their weapons tightly.