If they wanted to go to Northern Xinjiang, they needed a guide.
Both Zhang Xiaohou and Mu Bai once set out from the Ancient Capital and walked all the way westward to reach the high-altitude Xinjiang. They also walked to the northwest and wandered for a long time near the border of Northern Xinjiang. Both had traveled to the northwest region of the Ancient Capital for a long time.
It just so happened that both were present this time around, too.
Mo Fan thought Mu Bai would stay in Fanxue Mountain. After all, Mu Bai had more responsibility after becoming famous in the battle in Fanxue Mountain. However, he still came from far away to the Ancient Capital to join Mo Fan and the others when he heard they were looking for the Sacred Totem Beast.
Zhang Xiaohou arrived the next day.
After Mo Fan reported his itinerary to Shao Zheng, he was happy to hear it and immediately talked to Commander Hua.
The Commander was also much happier knowing that Mo Fan had not stayed on the East Coastline. He deliberately transferred Zhang Xiaohou, who was guarding Dalian, to the Ancient Capital and let Zhang Xiaohou return to the Imperial Forbidden Army as the Chief Commander.
Shao Zheng and Commander Hua knew that if Mo Fan could find a surviving Sacred Totem Beast, it would change the situation on the East Coastline. It was significant to the whole country.
While waiting for Zhang Xiaohou’s arrival, Mo Fan asked Song Feiyao for information about the Underground Holy Spring.
Mu Bai was surprised when he heard that Licheng Afterglow Island was guarding the Underground Holy Spring.
“When I traveled to the northwest by myself, I also found some information about the Underground Holy Spring. However, I wasn’t strong enough, so there were some places I couldn’t go,” said Mu Bai.
“You went to find the Underground Holy Spring by yourself after the catastrophe of the Ancient Capital?” Mo Fan asked.
“Not really. I was confused back then, and I found out about a spring similar to the spring Bo City guarded through some information. I wasn’t sure if that was the Underground Holy Spring and didn’t know what purpose it served. I just chose to pursue it without a purpose. At that time, I walked to Helan Mountain…” Mu Bai recounted his experience.
“If it is Helan Mountain, the targets we are looking for should be the same,” Song Feiyao said.
It was in Helan Mountain!
Helan Mountain place was a high-altitude area, and it was far away from the Ancient Capital. Mu Bai had walked alone to Helan Mountain. He was a hardcore backpacker.
“The information I got is incomplete, so it might not be as accurate as what she says. I inquired about some things locally. Unfortunately, a wild beast disaster broke out in Helan Mountain at that time, which destroyed many clues,” Mu Bai recalled.
“Why didn’t you say that earlier? It is the Underground Holy Spring.” Mo Fan did not know whether to laugh or cry. It turned out that Mu Bai knew about the other Underground Holy Spring from a long time ago.
“I didn’t know it was the Underground Holy Spring at first. She didn’t mention Helan Mountain, and you guys didn’t mention the Underground Holy Spring. How could I link them together?” Mu Bai raised his eyebrows innocently.
“Let’s put the matter of the Underground Holy Spring aside for now. Didn’t you say you wanted to find the Sacred Totem Beast?” Jiang Shaoxu interrupted them.
Lingling sat on the stone bench. She wore a pleated school skirt. Her favorite small laptop was on her lap.
Her eyes did not look away from the screen. She said to Jiang Shaoxu, “It’s interesting. If we want to find the Sacred Totem Beast, we must go to Jiangnan. Some Ningxia hunters discovered an archaeological site of the ancient road at the Yellow River. If we want to find the Underground Holy Spring or the Sacred Totem Beast, we must go to Ningxia.”
Mo Fan moved to Lingling’s side and looked at her simplified map route. Helan Mountain and the archaeological site at the Yellow River were not too far away, so they could save a lot of time.
Mo Fan felt happy when he saw the simplified picture. He was lucky to have the help of others at such a critical time. He could save a lot of time and did not need to run around the world without direction.
“How about this? When we arrive in Ningxia, we can separate into two groups. Some of us will go to find the Underground Holy Spring, and the others will go to find the archaeological site with Totem,” Jiang Shaoxu suggested.
“Okay, that will be more efficient. We will set off as soon as Zhang Xiaohou arrives.”
…
Since they had a mythical beast like the Green East Sea God, the journey was very convenient. It could fly in the sky at a very high altitude, and it did not collide with the territory of those demons along the way.
Besides, even if there were some careless demon tribes, they dared not to fight with the Green East Sea God. Most demons did not dare get near it.
On the way to Ningxia, the scenery was mostly brown. The place was desolate, and the clouds were white. They saw huge ravines, long canyons, and pine forest mountains. It was quiet at night, but the sun was magnificent. In such a unique world, Mo Fan suddenly imagined how Mu Bai might have felt traveling alone in this land.
People would feel lost and intoxicated.
…
When they arrived in Yinchuan, the weather turned cold. It was just night, and the temperature dropped. The temperature difference between day and night was huge. It was the difference between winter and summer.
“The temperature here is always like this. It doesn’t seem to be greatly affected by the south cold wave,” Mu Bai said.
“Unfortunately, the rainwater and soil are not good. Otherwise, people could build a large base city here to accommodate enough migrants.” Zhang Xiaohou sighed.
The people in the eastern part were still stubbornly resisting because this place was rich in resources, abundant in water, and had a balanced climate. It was not that humans could not adapt to the weather of different regions, but that the Loess Plateau could not grow enough food, vegetables, and fruits due its large population.
The Yellow River had nurtured countless generations but could not support the sudden influx of ten million, let alone a hundred million people.
Besides, the whole migration journey was full of the threat of demons. Many hungry demons were expecting a large number of prey like humans to arrive. Compared with demons, humans were still too weak. Only the Mages among humans could face them.
Migrating from the east to the west had too many problems. Many people would rather fight to the end than move.
“Let’s start our journey. Moving at night won’t have much impact on us,” Mo Fan said to the crowd.
“Okay.” Zhang Xiaohou nodded.
Zhang Xiaohou and Zhao Manyan took Lingling and Jiang Shaoxu to the archaeological site at the Yellow River. Lingling and Jiang Shaoxu would have enough time to conduct an on-site investigation.
Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Song Feiyao went to find the Underground Holy Spring.
