Chapter 511: Three Days to Level Heaven, the Desert's Silent Veins

As Longling and the others entered the first level of the ancient pagoda's Blood Sea Crocodile Mouth, they found themselves in an endless desert.

The desert was cold and desolate, heavy with deathly qi, barren and eerie, utterly unlike the Blood Sea they had previously been in.

The sky was gray and hazy, as if covered by a layer of dust that never cleared; sunlight could not penetrate, and only occasional weak rays seeping through gaps in the clouds gave the desert a faint, gloomy light.

On the desert floor, white bones lay piled high like mountains, as if they were the final resting place of countless beings.

Weathered, these bones had become fragile and brittle; each step upon them emitted a chilling, brittle crack.

Longling and the others moved cautiously through the bone piles, for unknown dangers might lurk beneath, so they dared not touch them recklessly.

"Demon Master, quick look, what a huge tree!" At that moment Heifeng pointed into the distance, shouting loudly, his face full of disbelief.

In the desert's center stood a colossal Divine Tree, shooting straight up to the horizon.

This tree differed from any plant they had ever seen; its trunk was black as ink, its surface covered in ferocious patterns, like the skin of some ancient creature.

Its branches twisted outward in all directions, resembling a pair of withered arms trying to grasp something in the sky.

Its leaves had long withered, leaving only bare branches that emitted a mournful whistle in the wind.

Most unsettling was that the Divine Tree's roots resembled human veins—thick and twisted—extending from the trunk and sinking deep into the desert soil.

These roots spread like a spiderweb across the endless desert, forming a vast root network.

"Be careful, the desert is full of strangeness everywhere; never fall into its taboos."

Longling sensed that these roots seemed to have formed a complex labyrinth underground, wandering in search of new nutrients, which was especially eerie.

When they stepped into this desert, a mysterious power seemed to have been awakened.

The Divine Tree's base began to tremble, and one after another, shapes like newly formed tree nodules emerged from the roots.

These nodules shimmered with an eerie fluctuation, as if alive; their color was darker than the surrounding roots, presenting an ominous dark red.

There were twelve nodules in total, evenly distributed around the Divine Tree; each bore a mysterious symbol that emitted a faint glow, like an ancient incantation.

"Demon Master, these mysterious symbols seem to be related to some secret."

Huang Daxian immediately realized that these nodules and symbols might be connected to the ancient pagoda's seal, and he said beside Longling.

They cautiously approached one of the nodules, hoping to study the symbols on it.

Longling reached out and lightly touched a nodule; instantly a cold force traveled from his fingertips through his whole body, making him shudder involuntarily.

He quickly withdrew his hand, warily observing the changes around him.

Heifeng meanwhile patrolled around the nodules, the Ghost Dance secret technique allowing him to sense the fluctuations of this power.

He discovered that whenever a wind blew across the desert, the symbols on the nodules would flash brighter, as if responding to some summons.

"Demon Master, as Huang Daxian said, these symbols may be a mysterious seal underground; we must act with caution."

Heifeng whispered to Longling, his eyes full of caution.

Fengyu and Yunying then joined forces to cast spells, granting the team protective and beneficial enchantments; in this eerie subterranean world, any oversight could lead to disastrous consequences.

Their spells formed an invisible shield around the team, isolating external evil forces.

Tie Ya and Tie Shan gripped their weapons, ready to face any enemies that might appear, while also scouting the desert for possible cover and escape routes, so that should battle break out, the team could retreat swiftly.

Longling drew a deep breath, his brows furrowed tightly; the environment they now faced was more dangerous than ever before.

"We must find the true purpose of these nodules and symbols; that may be the key to unlocking the desert's secret."

"But we must also be careful, for the power here is too strange; any rash action could lead to unforeseeable consequences." He reminded everyone in a low voice.

Everyone nodded, their eyes flashing with apprehension.

"Whooo..."

A chilling wind swept across the desert, sand rolling wildly, blotting out sky and sun, making one feel as if their eyes bore a terrible pressure, stinging and tearing from the irritation.

Under Longling's lead, the group began to cautiously explore the desert, carefully avoiding the nodules lest they trigger possible traps.

They searched the desert for clues, trying to find the entrance to the next level, yet this subterranean world brimmed with strangeness and mystery, each step potentially a life-or-death trial.

As they went deeper, the desert's eerie phenomena increased; they heard a low, distant roar, as if some huge creature roamed the subterranean world.

"Boom—"

They saw a huge fissure suddenly appear on the ground, emitting scorching red light from within, like a gateway to hell, and even sensed an electric current in the air, as if a storm were brewing.

Yet Longling and the others were not frightened by these terrifying phenomena; only by staying calm and brave could they survive in this strange world.

What must be done now is to not lose oneself amidst fear.

During the exploration, they also discovered some ancient ruins, which seemed to have been built by the same mysterious power.

In the ruins they found some broken stone tablets, engraved with symbols similar to those on the nodules.

These findings made them even more certain that the symbols were the key to unlocking the desert's secret.

These nodules were actually the ancient pagoda's energy core, transmitting power through the underground root network to all parts of the pagoda.

Those symbols, meanwhile, were an ancient language recording the secrets of the pagoda's history.

Only under specific times and conditions does the Divine Tree's root reveal a mysterious rotating light gate; the golden light of the gate falling on the stone tablet causes the blank, smooth tablet to surface strings of messages, which is quite extraordinary.

"Boom—"

However, just as Longling and the others were carefully focusing their energy on studying the mysterious symbols on the nodules, a bizarre aura above the sky began to churn violently.

The originally grayish sky seemed to be torn apart by some force, revealing three blood-red suns.

These suns differed from any celestial body they knew, emitting a blood-colored glow that dyed the entire desert an eerie red.

Everyone's faces showed surprise, their eyes involuntarily drawn to the three red suns.

Each red sun seemed to contain endless power; its light pierced the clouds and shot straight toward the nodules in the desert.

The nodules seemed to have a special sensitivity to this light; they began greedily absorbing the blood-colored glow, each nodule appearing to come alive, its surface light growing brighter, and the sound of a heartbeat becoming clearer.

"Hum—"

Above the sky, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled; bolts of lightning like madly dancing silver snakes sliced the horizon.

The thunder rolled on, like the roar of a heavenly deity, shaking the entire desert.

Longling and the others felt a fear unlike anything before; this was definitely not a natural phenomenon, but a sign that some terrifying existence was about to emerge.

Longling nervously directed everyone to prepare defenses, everyone gripped their weapons tightly, staring intently at the changes in the tree burls.

The desert's cruelty far exceeded their imagination; its seal was powerful and merciless, and many cultivators encountered misfortune in the process of exploration.

Longling gradually discovered some horrifying sights.

In some corners of the desert, stone statues were seen; these statues varied in form, some retaining a walking pose, some displaying a fighting stance, and even some statues' expressions were frozen in the final moment of fear and despair.

The material of these statues differed sharply from the surrounding sand and stone, appearing unusually hard, with a strange sheen on the surface.

Longling quickly realized that these statues were not naturally formed, but were the tragic fate of unfortunate cultivators who had been devoured by the desert's seal.

The seal's power instantly took their lives and turned their bodies into eternal statues, forever left in this merciless desert.

This discovery caused Longling and the others to feel a surge of intense panic and fear.

These statues were once living cultivators, who perhaps, like Longling, hoped to find their own opportunity on this mysterious land.

However, they ultimately became bleak scenery in the desert.

The cultivators of the various major powers who had entered this place beforehand suffered heavy losses, and many disciples' lives came to an abrupt end in this desert.

The fellow sect members and friends of these cultivators watched as their former comrades-in-arms turned into lifeless statues, their grief and fear impossible to express.

Panic spread among the major powers that had entered all the deserts.

Some cultivators began to retreat, afraid to go deeper into the desert, lest they become the next victim devoured by the seal.

Their eyes were filled with uncertainty about the future and a deep fear of death.

Longling looked at these statues, his heart also filled with shock and sympathy; the cultivators' ordeal was a warning to everyone, and they must be more careful to avoid the same fate.

"The seal in the desert is far more dangerous than we imagined; we must unite and face the challenge together to leave this place safely."

Longling said to his companions, his voice revealing firmness and decisiveness.

"The power of these seals is extremely strong, seemingly fused with the desert environment, almost imperceptible; any carelessness could lead to disastrous consequences."

Heifeng's face grew solemn; the Ghost Dance Secret Art gave him a deeper perception of the desert's seal.

Feng Yu and Yun Ying then began to cast their spells more carefully, attempting to form a protective barrier around the team to resist possible seal attacks.

"Our two powers may not be enough to counter all the desert's seals, but at least they can provide us some protection."

"We must always be ready for battle; once the seal activates, we must immediately respond to protect ourselves and our companions."

Tie Ya and Tie Shan, upon hearing this, became even more vigilant in observing their surroundings, for the desert's seal could activate at any moment.

Longling nodded, carefully exploring the desert in order to avoid being devoured by the seal.

"We cannot let these cultivators' sacrifices be in vain; we must learn from their ordeal and proceed more carefully. Only then can we uncover this place's secrets and find the way home."

Under Longling's leadership, everyone began to explore the desert more cautiously.

As they went deeper, the desert's seal became increasingly frequent and also stronger.

They had to stop frequently to study and unravel the mysteries of the seal.

Each time they successfully avoided or broke the seal, they felt a slight relief, but at the same time they became more clearly aware that they were fighting a powerful and merciless enemy.

In this process, Longling and the others also witnessed cultivators from the various major powers struggling in fear and despair.

They saw some cultivators instantly petrified by the seal's attack, and also saw some cultivators choosing to give up in despair.

These scenes filled their hearts with sympathy and sorrow, but they also understood that they must not be swayed by these emotions; they had to remain calm and resolute to continue forward.

"Boom—"

However, at that tense moment, the tree burl suddenly exploded, and mysterious vortices appeared one after another at the site of the tree burl.

These vortices were deep and dark, seeming like gateways to another world; from the vortices, strange palaces gradually emerged.

The style of these palaces differed from any architecture they knew; they emitted a strange glow, as if built from some unknown material.

On the palace nearest to Longling and the others, a pattern resembling a pig appeared, emitting a strange glow, as if it were alive and moving across the palace.

Before Longling and the others could react, their figures vanished directly into the air; the scene before them shifted, and they arrived at a mysterious place.

This place was completely different from the desert they had been in; it was a vast space, surrounded by mist, with only a huge altar at its center.

The altar was carved with various strange patterns, among which was the pig-shaped pattern they had seen outside.

At the center of the altar lay a massive sarcophagus, its surface likewise carved with various patterns, the most striking of which were three blood-red red suns.

Longling and the others warily surveyed their surroundings; this place was absolutely not a simple one.

They could feel that this place was filled with powerful energy, which made their hearts pound.

They cautiously approached the altar, attempting to decipher the patterns upon it.

Longling discovered that these patterns seemed to be an ancient script, recording the history and secrets of the ancient pagoda.

He carefully studied these characters, trying to find clues; the text mentioned an ancient ritual related to those three red suns, seemingly used to awaken some powerful entity.

As they were examining the patterns, the sarcophagus on the altar suddenly stirred.

Longling and the others immediately stepped back, nervously staring at the sarcophagus, their weapons ready to attack at any moment.

The sarcophagus lid slowly shifted, finally falling to the ground with a boom. From within the sarcophagus, a huge figure slowly sat up.

This figure was tall and imposing, its face ancient and mysterious, wearing a blood-red robe embroidered with the pattern of those three red suns.

Its eyes were tightly closed, but Longling and the others could sense the powerful aura emanating from its body.