Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!-Chapter 787 - 751: Journey Through the Desert (2)

"Since we are here, we might as well settle in. I once heard the Mist Cloud Hunter from Cloud City mention rumors about this place. If it’s true, we shouldn’t be trapped for too long."

Halting the suggestion of the little lark to explore, he looked at the system map for a long time, seeing nothing but endless yellow sand, and randomly chose a direction to set off.

Anyway, after being teleported here, there’s nothing but rolling yellow sand in every direction, no landmarks or reference points. We might as well take a stroll around; if the direction is wrong, at worst we just turn back.

"The sun in the sky isn’t actually the sun, but a Divine Artifact?" Yuan Man flew, using her hand as a shade to squint at the blinding "sun." Comparatively, Mr. Jiang seemed more like a senior in a High Realm with his calm demeanor.

She couldn’t figure out how he could instantly discern its authenticity and even know it was a Divine Artifact.

If he hadn’t pointed it out, she would’ve thought it was genuinely a blazing sun.

Soon, the false sun was confirmed—although it felt like a lot of time had passed, it remained motionless, hanging directly above.

Jiang Yuan checked the system time. It was already past midnight, so he stopped and began taking things out from his Storage Bag.

He first crafted wooden planks on the workbench to lay down a road. The planks, colored like raw wood, were laid out piece by piece on the relatively flat sand, solid and beautiful, and most importantly, convenient as landmarks.

After laying out a spacious six-by-six-meter square floor, he crafted a set of tables and chairs on the workbench and arranged them neatly;

then, from his stockpile, he took out a large tent, a necessary item for public orders. Jiang Yuan tried to keep the workshop running at all times, producing various items whenever there were materials, for emergencies.

He never thought it would come in handy now!

"Wow! Sir, you’re amazing!" The lark, seeing the large tent instantly set up on the wooden floor to block out the scorching sun, was so thrilled that its feathers slightly fluffed up. "It feels like we’re on an outing!"

Yuan Man was also dumbfounded, her gaze falling on his intricately designed Storage Bag at his waist, thinking Mr. Jiang was indeed an intriguing person to stuff so many daily necessities into a personal Storage Bag.

Usually, aren’t they filled with Spirit Stones, Elixirs, Weapons, and other urgently needed precious items for emergencies?

When she saw him pulling out steaming dishes and even pouring two cups of enticing Spirit Tea from his Storage Bag, she suddenly thought the little lark was spot on—it didn’t seem like they had suddenly fallen into a predicament, rather like they were out on an adventure!

"I heard that City Lord Yuan has long been Fasting, but in this eerie place, it really gets on your nerves. Sharing some food and drinking a couple of cups of Spirit Tea might also ease your mood," Jiang Yuan gestured for them to sit down.

He wasn’t hungry or tired; his red and blue bars were both full.

But precisely because, in the Wilderness World, after being "modified" by the system, as long as my Physical Strength Bar was full, he wouldn’t feel tired, needing no rest, running non-stop 24 hours a day. Jiang Yuan insisted on preserving the habit of three meals a day and occasionally having a midnight snack.

Even though he didn’t need sleep, he would find time to daze and not think about anything, allowing his brain to rest. Otherwise, going for too long without eating, drinking, or sleeping, it always felt like turning into a "machine," drifting away from being human.

It turned out that taking a break to enjoy food and a short daze did improve one’s mood.

They were like travelers in the desert, with sweet, cool water to drink when thirsty; when bored, they’d set up a tent to create a temporary rest area; the lark, not yet at Foundation Establishment, had limited energy and stamina, occasionally napping on his shoulder.

"The false sun stays put, I can’t feel the passage of time. Haven’t we been advancing for quite a while?" Yuan Man said, looking at the endless yellow sand, her brow furrowed.

Though her strength had substantially decreased, she was still a Cultivator at the Peak of Tribulation Crossing Realm, with undoubtedly fast flying speed;

Mr. Jiang was keeping pace the entire time, and sometimes even faster than herself. With such flying speed, we must have flown over ten thousand miles by now, yet there’s no end to the yellow sand. She felt a tinge of anxiety.

"Out there, the Wilderness has ascended." Jiang Yuan glanced at the time; it was already 6:15 in the morning. He took some Spirit Fruits from his Storage Bag, "City Lord Yuan, don’t rush. Have a couple of fruits."

Hearing this, Yuan Man suddenly realized that her emotions seemed easily out of control.

"Strange, is it because of the Energy here? I seem to..." Having been a battle-hardened veteran of nearly ten thousand years at the Tribulation Crossing Realm, one should be calm and composed. How could she be so restless?

Jiang Yuan nodded and said, "That’s right, whether it’s the yellow sand or the false sun in the sky, everything is filled with violent Fire Element Energy. Look at the lark, cultivating the Fire Element Technique, always feeling fatigued. I think it’s because the energy is overly abundant, affecting our mental state."

Of course, with a system, I’m definitely fine.

The Willpower painstakingly honed is now showing the steadiness beyond the level of great experts.

Yuan Man ate a couple of Spirit Fruits and drank some cool well water, slightly calming her agitated heart.

"Let’s keep going. This enclosed space must have an end. The planks laid as we pass are like marks; as long as we don’t retrace our steps, we should find clues."

Recollecting what Song Zhi mentioned about the Mist Cloud Hunter’s encounter, Jiang Yuan said, "Currently, all our teleportation methods are restricted, and the situation we’re facing matches the rumors precisely. I think maybe there’s really a Teleportation Array leading to the outside world.

If someone once encountered an elder here, that means there must be some landmarks or other things marking directions in the endless yellow sand, otherwise, once inside, you’ll lose your sense of direction."

As long as we find something akin to a landmark, with system analysis help, how can we be worried about not finding an exit?

"The elder mentioned there is a Fierce Beast sealed here?" Yuan Man, hearing the retelling of the rumor, was full of doubts, "How formidable must the Fierce Beast be to require such forceful suppression? Could it be close to the calibre of a Divine Beast?"

Crossing the Tribulation Realm and advancing further leads to Ascension into an Immortal. Using her own strength as a reference, Yuan Man believed even without being ambushed, advancing to the Peak of Tribulation Crossing Realm, she would definitely be able to withstand such terrible suppression.

In other words, the Fierce Beast is more powerful than a Tribulation Crossing Realm Cultivator. Even if it isn’t a Divine Beast, it is an incredibly powerful spirit of heaven and earth.

Could this scorching, bizarre desert be the handiwork of an Immortal?

A few hours later, Jiang Yuan found a suitable place to continue laying planks, setting up the tent, placing tables, chairs, and a sumptuous meal, beginning to relax and unwind.

"Sir! What is that over there?" The lark, full and well-rested, was about to set off again when it suddenly noticed the wind blowing over the distant dunes, revealing something.

[Ruined Desert Landmark: Xuanyuan Yangguang, thoughtful and meticulous, even after sealing this area, was worried that cultivators might inadvertently enter, so a directional landmark was established. By following the landmark, one could reach a sand castle opposite the Sealed Land, where a one-way Teleportation Array could be used to leave. Several hundred years ago, deliberately destroyed by Beast Tamer Chu Huai’an]

Jiang Yuan: ???

Why would Beast Tamer Chu Huai’an deliberately destroy the landmark?

He flew forward, looking at the half-buried stone landmark with a question mark, while Yuan Man waved her hand to brush away the yellow sand, revealing the remains of the landmark.

"...Ten miles away, there is an oasis with water... Can rest..." She studied it closely for a long time before barely distinguishing the broken inscriptions, her brows knitting deeper, "From what’s left of it, the original must have been large and noticeable. The direction arrow carved on it is snapped, the writing destroyed violently, sure it was done by someone!"

The more Yuan Man spoke, the angrier she got. Already wrought up by the environment, her irritation was instantly ignited, "Bastard! This is clearly a guiding landmark in the desert, yet someone has destroyed it wantonly, it’s essentially disregarding human life!"

"Indeed, with the guiding landmark destroyed, cultivators straying into the desert can’t find water sources and can only wait despairingly for death." Jiang Yuan stood up, checking the system map, hoping to find clues, "Unclear if this landmark was originally here or discarded here. If it stood here originally, then within ten miles there should be an oasis, but..."

Nothing appeared on the map. Carefully examining, Jiang Yuan discovered a large, relatively sunken terrain on the upper-left corner; could it be, already buried under the yellow sand, this place once was an oasis?