At this moment, it was like the sky had cleared up after the rain in the Outer Realm Desert, and everything looked especially nice.
The sandstorm that was wreaking havoc here just now instantly disappeared without a trace. A large number of plants and the corpses of fiend beasts fell from the sky, emitting muffled bangs.
Sunlight shone down again, causing the surrounding temperature to rise.
Everyone was stunned on the spot, dumbfounded.
“What happened?”
“Did I see wrongly? Did the black vortex storm actually disappear?”
“What was with that spirit energy just now? Could there be an expert nearby?”
“…”
Everyone was silent for a moment before intense discussion erupted. Shock was written all over their faces, and they almost couldn’t believe their eyes.
That was the black vortex storm for crying out loud!
Even Supreme Stage experts would probably die if they were swept in. Was it really just forcefully scattered by spirit energy just like that?
Even a Legendary Stage expert couldn’t do something like that, right?
Could it be that… a Saint Stage expert passed by here just now?
Everyone looked at each other in shock.
Ning Kun was even more dumbfounded, shocked and speechless.
As the captain of the guards who was in charge of escorting goods in the Outer Realm Desert every year, no one present knew better than him how terrifying the black vortex storm was.
Because this was not the first time he had encountered something like this!
However, the last time Ning Kun encountered it, he was still a Heaven Stage cultivator. If it weren’t for the captain of the guards who decisively buried the air-transportation spirit artifact in the sand, he would have died long ago.
Even so, they still suffered heavy losses then. Among the dozens of people in the team, only five or six survived. The captain even lost an arm to protect them.
As for the black vortex storm just now, it was clearly several times more terrifying than the one Ning Kun had encountered previously. Otherwise, Ning Kun would not have planned to directly give up on the lives of other cultivators and decide on only ensuring Ning Jie’s safety.
“Uncle Kun, could it be that the expert who sealed the Sand Race has returned?”
Ning Jie whispered.
After a long while, Ning Kun finally reacted and smiled bitterly. “This… I’m not sure, but what I can be sure of is that… there was indeed a Saint Stage expert helping us secretly just now.”
In fact, besides Saint Stage experts, Ning Kun could not think of a second possibility.
After all, only a Saint Stage expert could so casually disperse a black vortex storm with spirit energy.
“No matter what, we managed to survive.”
Relieved, Ning Kun continued, “We are not far from Desolate City. We should transport the goods first.”
Fortunately, only the barrier was damaged and the air-transportation spirit artifact itself was left unaffected. Otherwise, they would have had to fly back to Desolate City themselves.
After giving out instructions, Ning Kun’s expression turned solemn. He walked to the front of the air-transportation spirit artifact and bowed with cupped fists. “Thank you for saving us, Senior. We are eternally grateful.”
Ning Kun said this with his spirit energy, and it spread out in a mighty and deafening manner.
“Thank you, Senior.”
Seeing this, the other cultivators also shouted with extremely respectful attitudes.
“You’re welcome.”
Qin Jue responded silently in his heart.
How could a Saint Stage expert coincidentally pass by at this time? Of course, it was Qin Jue who had taken action to resolve this crisis. However, since he did all that while standing still, no one knew he was the one responsible.
Perhaps it was because of the black vortex storm, everyone had now fallen silent, including the most enthusiastic Ning Jie.
Qin Jue was naturally happy to see this happen, as it saved him from some trouble.
It wasn’t long before the figure of a city appeared at the end of everyone’s field of vision. Even though it couldn’t compare to a colossal city like Heaven Ascension City, it was already an absolute “behemoth” in the Outer Realm Desert.
At least compared to the small town and village Qin Jue had encountered a few days ago, it was still a lot more prosperous.
“Finally, a city with humans.”
Su Yan couldn’t help but sigh.
“Mm? Didn’t you know?”
Ning Jie revealed a puzzled expression.
“What is it?”
Su Yan was stunned.
“Desolate City is the largest city in the Outer Realm Desert. There are countless experts in the city, and the City Lord is also a Legendary Stage expert. No matter how strong the Sand Race is, it’s impossible for them to devour a desert city in such a short period of time.”
Ning Jie frowned.
Logically speaking, if Qin Jue and Su Yan were headed Desolate City like they said they were, it would be impossible for them not to know this.
Su Yan was rather stunned when she heard this.
She did not expect that a mere desert city would actually have a Legendary Stage expert. Was this the difference between the Sacred Land of the Central Continent and the Southern Land?
Before coming to the Sacred Land of the Central Continent, Su Yan’s lifelong pursuit was to reach the Legendary Stage. Now, she understood that in such a place, the Legendary Stage was not worth mentioning.
“Hehe, it’s just that we haven’t seen anyone in the towns and villages we visited in the past few days. She was just feeling emotional.”
Qin Jue said indifferently, easily dispelling Ning Jie’s doubts.
“Uh… okay.”
Ning Jie thought for a moment and did not continue asking.
Qin Jue and Su Yan had just experienced life and death with them. Although they weren’t exactly best friends, they still had some amount of trust for each other.
At the same time, two cultivators in battle armor flew out of Desolate City and welcomed them.
“Are you from the Ning Clan?”
“That’s right.”
Ning Kun responded.
“Please come in. The City Lord has been waiting for a long time.”
A moment later, the air-transportation spirit artifact landed in the city, and the cultivators on board immediately began to move the goods down.
“Hahaha, Little Qing, long time no see.”
Accompanied by a hearty laugh, everyone saw a tall man walk over. He was filled with dignity and had an extraordinary bearing. Clearly, he was not an ordinary person.
“City Lord!”
The surrounding Desolate City cultivators hurriedly bowed.
“Yeah.”
The tall man waved his hand casually.
“Uncle Liu!”
Seeing the tall man, Ning Jie also revealed a look of joy.
“Eh, where’s Little Xin? Didn’t she follow you?”
“Hahaha, you brat. Is your mind only filled with thoughts about Little Xin? I, an old fellow, came to pick you up personally. Is that not good enough for you?”
The tall man smiled.
Ning Jie blushed and rubbed his hands awkwardly, not knowing how to answer.
“Don’t worry, Little Xin only went to hunt fiend beasts. She’ll be back soon.”
How could Liu Qingbai not know about what was going on between Ning Jie and his daughter? However, aside from Ning Jie’s poor cultivation talent, he was pretty good in all aspects, so Liu Qingbai did not stop them from seeing each other.
Moreover, Ning Jie was a direct descendant of the Ning Clan.
“City Lord Liu.”
At this moment, Ning Kun stepped forward and bowed.
“Tsk, Captain Ning, your strength has increased by a lot again. Looks like it won’t be long before you break through to the Supreme Stage and step into the Legendary Stage.”
Liu Qingbai sized up Ning Kun and said meaningfully.
“City Lord Liu, you must be joking. I still have a long way to go.”
Ning Kun was stunned. He did not expect Liu Qingbai to suddenly say this.
Although there was only a difference of one realm between the Supreme Stage and the Legendary Stage, it was still like the difference between heaven and earth. Many Supreme Stage cultivators would not be able to cross this barrier even after trying for their entire lives.
If Ning Kun could easily advance to the Legendary Stage, he wouldn’t have been stuck at the middle-phase of the Supreme Stage for more than twenty years.
“By the way, Uncle Liu, we have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
