The whimpering winds sounded like the cries of a newborn. They were mournful.
Hearing them made one’s hair stand on end.
Jiang Yunkai suddenly snorted and said, “Isn’t it just a little dark? Coward!”
After saying that, he waved his sleeve and left the group. He walked into the night alone.
Jiang Yingrong’s expression changed slightly. She wanted to call out to him but in the end, she sighed and let him go.
After a while, the 3 of them randomly found a cave and lit up some firewood.
Ou Yangming was calm. Advanced Spiritualists were nothing to him as he could easily kill them.
The dim fire was reflected on their faces. Jiang Yingrong asked in a low voice, “Brother Yu, where did you get this flying carpet from?” He Jian’s eyes were also burning as he stared at Ou Yangming. To them, this flying carpet was too strange and fast, so it was truly a must-have item for traveling!
Ou Yangming did not hide anything and answered softly, “I refined it myself.”
Right after that, the cave fell silent.
After 3 to 4 breaths, He Jian asked probingly, “Brother Yu, you… You’re also a blacksmith?” Jiang Yingrong’s beautiful eyes looked around, and there was a faint smile on her face as she looked at Ou Yangming.
“Yes!” Ou Yangming nodded with a confident look in his eyes. After all, smithing was his specialty.
He Jian and JIang Yingrong—especially the former—gasped at the same time. The last time he explored Mount Return Sword, he had seen too many of Ou Yangming’s tricks.
Who knew, the young fellow turned out to be a blacksmith too.
For some reason, He Jian could not help but think of Master Duan. ‘They’re both blacksmiths, but why is there such a big difference? He could smith a divine item but look at what you’re smithing, Master Duan?’
He Jian had to admit that he disdained Master Duan at this moment. Especially when he thought about how the master said at the dinner table that he would teach Lil’ Man how to smith weapons. He felt that it was too funny. Was it not the same as being a snob in front of a true expert?
“What’s the price of this item then?” Jiang Yingrong’s eyes shone brightly.
Ou Yangming’s eyes revealed a strange expression. “Even in the outside world, flying carpets are incredibly valuable.”
Hearing this, the fiery glow in Jiang Yingrong’s eyes dissipated. She felt regretful. She really liked the flying carpet too much, especially since it was silver. It was luxurious but not lacking in elegance, and it matched her temperament very well.
The burning firewood and the dim yellow light reflected their figures on the stone wall.
At night, countless vines scuttled out in all directions. Purple flowers bloomed on them. They looked enchanting and mysterious. Within them, there were many poisonous insects that looked ferocious.
If Ou Yangming and He Jian saw this, they would be able to recognize that this was the foreign race that stirred up the black fog at the Black Fog Mountain.
“Buzz, buzz…” A poisonous insect flapped its wings and actually slowly merged into the stone wall, quietly poking its head out.
The moment it saw Ou Yangming, its eyes revealed an intense hatred.
It could sense the smell of its companion’s blood on this person’s body. The smell was so strong that it had condensed into substance and reached a shocking level. ‘Just how many of us did he need to kill to be able to do this? He deserves to die!’
Nonetheless, the poisonous insect did not attack rashly. After looking around, it fused into the stone wall and exited the cave. It entered the body of a foreign race that was neither human nor beast. The foreign race’s upper body was in the shape of a human, but his legs were like upright snakes. There were 2 antennae on his head just like those on the head of a bee. He looked disgusting.
His green eyes were emitting a green light. From his sleeve, one could see that his arms were made of poisonous insects. His tail was like a vine that was rooted in the ground. Many purple flowers blossomed and spread in all directions.
After the poisonous insect merged with his body, the scene in the cave appeared in his mind.
He pondered for a moment and said softly, “You’ve killed so many of my kind. I must take revenge.”
Just as he was about to summon his companions, a green light flashed in his eyes. He uttered hoarsely, “This aura… The Blood Horned Dragon Clan? Hmph, then I’ll borrow their strength to fight. Hahaha…” His laughter was unpleasant to listen to as it sounded like 2 pieces of rusty copper skin rubbing against each other.
As soon as his voice was gone, he went into the dark. He wanted to spread this news to the Blood Horned Dragon Clan and use their strength to kill this fellow and avenge his kind.
The night passed quietly.
Early in the morning, Ou Yangming and his companions sat on the flying carpet and turned into a silver stream of light that disappeared into the distance.
After a few days, the temperature in the air was getting higher, and the air seemed to be distorted. Everywhere visible was filled with fine yellow sand.
Ou Yangming was multitasking. As he controlled the flying carpet to fly forward, he discussed with He Jian what he had learned in life.
He Jian said, “In this life, we must first have great ambitions. Only when we have a goal in mind can we go against the heavens. We must also learn to adapt to situations and not complain about the adversity and disadvantage we’re in. We mustn’t make friends indiscriminately, and we must be kind to others. We must listen more, see more, and speak less. Only then can we not be placed under a dangerous wall. This is the way of life.”
Ou Yangming seemed to be deep in thought and said seriously, “Old He, what you’re said is that cultivation is to seize the good fortune of Heaven and Earth. We must first set our ambitions before we dare to climb up. Not putting up a dangerous wall is the foundation of a gentleman.”
Jiang Yingrong’s eyes lit up, and she nodded slightly.
He Jian looked travel-worn. His wrinkled fingers gently stroked his beard as he responded softly, “My starting point in this life was too low, and I’ve seen too little. Even if I have aspirations, how high can I go? It’s really a pity but when it comes to meeting people, I’m still doing well.” After saying that, he looked meaningfully at Ou Yangming.
Ou Yangming touched the tip of his nose and said with a bitter smile, “Elder He, that’s too much.”
As soon as he said that, Jiang Yingrong covered her mouth and laughed, “Brother Yu, you’re indeed a blessed person.”
After saying that, she looked at He Jian and smiled.
To He Jian, Ou Yangming was indeed a great nobleman. The young fellow had helped him to replenish his foundation and improve it to the next level, giving him the qualifications to break through to become a Venerable One. If the young fellow was not considered a nobleman, then who was?
The 3 of them laughed and did not feel lonely along the way.
After half a day, a red sun hung high in the sky. It was like a huge round plate that was tremendously hot.
A searing wave of air rippled out. Just this wave of air alone was enough to kill even an Intermediate Spiritualist.
The hot air started from the desert and gushed into the sky one circle after another.
Everyone felt as if they had been thrown into a huge steamer, and their bodies were constantly drenched in sweat.
In the sky, Ou Yangming sat cross-legged on the flying carpet and looked into the distance. The ground was red and yellow, and there was no end to it. A light screen was placed in the middle of the desert and in the depths of the desert, even the sand was burning with black flames.
A look of interest appeared on his face, and he thought to himself, ‘This is really odd. The sand is actually burning?’
Jiang Yingrong also looked into the depths of the desert. When she retracted her gaze, she happened to notice the look on Ou Yangming’s face. She was a person who understood everything, so she immediately explained, “That place is the interior of the desert. According to legend, the sand at the core is stained with a hint of phoenix blood, so it burns fiercely and won’t be extinguished for 10,000 years. Given that kind of flame, even a top-grade Spiritualist would have to be careful. Otherwise, even one’s soul would be burned clean.” When she said the last sentence, her eyes were also filled with fear.
When Ou Yangming heard this, he looked to Jiang Yingrong and replied to her softly, “Thank you for telling me, Elder Sister Jiang.”
Jiang Yingrong’s charming eyes appeared to be flirtatious. She said softly, “This isn’t a secret to begin with. If you were to ask around, you would’ve gotten the same answer. That said, you’re making us sound so distant. After all, we’ve formed an alliance.”
When He Jian heard her, his expression did not change at all. Clearly, he already knew.
Ou Yangming chuckled and did not reply.
After about 15 minutes, a huge light screen appeared in front of them. Outside the screen, many people were wandering about.
When the flying carpet approached and the 3 figures leaped down, they instantly became the center of attention.
Gasps were heard, and everyone’s eyes were filled with shock.
They did not know what the thing was but given that it could carry people and fly in the air, even an idiot knew it was priceless.
Having said that, after sensing the smooth Qi momentum of Ou Yangming and his companions, the people here forcefully suppressed the greed in their hearts.
Ou Yangming flipped his wrist and put away the flying carpet. He looked at the light screen 33 meters away. Inside the light screen, the yellow sand seemed to be burnt.
Jiang Yingrong said softly, “This light screen opens once every 3 months. There’s still half a day before it opens so let’s take a break first. After all, the environment inside is really too harsh.”
Ou Yangming nodded and looked around.
After looking around, he had a gist of the situation here. Among the people who came to the Barren Desert, the ones with the lowest cultivation base were Advanced Spiritualists. There were also top-grade Spiritualists, but they were only a minority.
It was rare to find a group like theirs, where 2 of them were top-grade Spiritualists.
Ou Yangming lowered his center of gravity and half-squatted. His right hand picked up a grain of sand from the ground and crushed it.
The sand instantly turned into powder. He felt it in his mind for a moment and thought to himself, ‘It’s indeed stained with a hint of the Phoenixes’ power. It’s very faint, but it can’t be wrong.’ However, he did not know what was hidden in the depths of the desert. How strong could the Phoenixes’ power in the sand be?
He slowly stood up and looked at the depths of the Barren Desert. He wondered, ‘Even a Venerable One with an Atavistic Bloodline can’t step into the core of the Barren Desert? I’d like to try and see if I can do it!’
As this thought echoed in his mind, a surging aura spread out from his body and swept in all directions. The confidence in his eyes seemed to be able to burn the sky.
At this moment, Jiang Yingrong had another misconception. She felt like she was looking at the arrogant and overbearing Ou Yangming on the Governor Residence’s training field. It made her feel dazzled.
She thought to herself, ‘What exactly are you thinking about?’ Her eyes were filled with curiosity.
He Jian’s feeling was more intuitive. He shouted internally, “This time, Brother Yu’s might do something amazing.”. His heart was filled with anticipation. Every time, Ou Yangming could break his understanding. What about this time? What would happen?
Everyone looked at Ou Yangming. At this moment, he was like a blazing sun that could break through the sky.
That being said, Ou Yangming withdrew his aura and became ordinary again in an instant.
Due to the burst of his aura, even the other top-grade Spiritualists looked at Ou Yangming with fear in their eyes. Even they felt a sense of danger from the aura that swept out earlier.
