They walked uphill to Helan Mountain. It was better to walk from the west as it was a level road. The mountains were barren, so plants could not grow. There were only rocks on the ground. At night, the wind blew the sand around the place.
The road in the east was steep. Mu Bai, who had been here before, suggested going from the west, so they did not have to climb over the mountains and would not lose their way in the deep valleys.
They walked along the mountain and occasionally saw some herdsmen who raised a group of red deer. Each red deer was as big as a stallion and had large and exaggerated antlers, which made them look very mighty.
These herdsmen were not ordinary. Most of them were Mages, and many of them cultivated the Psychic Element.
Psychic Element Mages could tame beasts, and many of them worked in the military. The most famous beastmaster came from the family of Duke Ayleen of the United Kingdom. All the family members were masters in taming dragons.
Red deer ran far better than war horses, and their antlers were natural weapons. In the past, there had been a group of Mages called Brave Red Deer Riders. They rode strong red deer to fight against the wild beasts in Northern Xinjiang and the Elemental Soldiers that only existed there.
“Hey there, are you guys going to the mountain to see the scenery? What’re you guys thinking going to the mountain in the middle of the night?” A man with thick eyebrows and a beard approached them riding a red deer.
The antlers of the red deer were copper-colored. They looked more like smelted copperware. The body of the red deer glowed, making it look like an ancient copper statue that had just been unearthed but was still majestic.
“We came from the Ancient Capital to investigate the archaeological site,” said Mo Fan.
“Investigate? Are you here to steal the…?”
“Of course not. We’re looking for a group of people who migrated here during the Qin and Han Dynasties. They once built some holy altars and springs near Helan Mountain, and we want to find these,” Mo Fan said straightforwardly.
“It’s impossible to find a stream here for a fresh source of water as it rarely rains. Even if there was one, it would have dried up long ago. You need to be careful if you want to go into the mountains. The Elemental Soldiers are looking for something. We had to give up the land for them,” the man warned them.
“Don’t worry, Sir. We’re quite strong, so we can handle the Elemental Soldiers,” Mo Fan said sincerely.
The man gave Mo Fan a thumbs up. “It’s been a long time since I last saw a young man like you who is so natural and unpretentious at boasting. Good luck!”
…
Song Feiyao’s attire fully covered her body and was suitable for this kind of place where sandstorms were frequent. Mo Fan faced the sandstorm with his rough skin, while Mu Bai wore his soft armor. Mu Bai protected his body very well. He was well-experienced.
“I didn’t walk too far after I went up the mountain. The Elemental Soldiers that the man mentioned earlier fought with the wild beasts from the north, and there were corpses everywhere,” Mu Bai said.
Song Feiyao also took out a sketch drawn by the Eldest Granny. “This sketch is only an outline, after all, it has been a long time. It is not easy to find the location of the Underground Holy Spring with accuracy.”
“That’s not necessarily true. Follow me.” Mo Fan smiled.
Mu Bai felt that Mo Fan was being overconfident when they didn’t actually know where they all were headed.
Song Feiyao had inherited some information about the Underground Holy Spring. The Underground Holy Spring they guarded was more orthodox and bigger than the Underground Holy Spring in Bo City. People in Bo City did not remember where the Underground Holy Spring came from, but people from Licheng Afterglow Island knew everything about its source.
Mu Bai had come here before to search for some clues about the Ancient Capital and Weiju Clan. He was unable to search further at that time due to the war.
No matter how one looked at it, Mo Fan was the one with the least knowledge and experience about this, so why was he taking the lead?
Mo Fan did not reveal anything. It was not convenient for him to tell them how he knew about the spring without disclosing the secret of Little Loach Pendant. He would then have to explain the rate at which Little Loach had improved so drastically. When he was near the Underground Holy Spring, Little Loach guided him automatically.
If the Little Loach was not a pendant, it might have gone to the Underground Holy Spring of Helan Mountain by itself. Little Loach would not be wrong about the location so Mo Fan trusted its direction.
Despite feeling a little skeptical, Mu Bai and Song Feiyao still followed Mo Fan as he led the way. Soon, they came upon a high-altitude area of the mountain.
The height of the mountains was not much different, but those to the west were much steeper, as if the mountains were split into halves. Under these mountains, there were many sand and rocky valleys. If an ordinary person were to fall, they would die on the spot.
Even if they were lucky enough to survive, they could not find their way back up as it was easy to get lost in those sand ditches.
“We need to get down.” Mo Fanpointed at the steep slope of the mountain that faced the west.
“Are you sure you don’t want to search up there first?” Song Feiyao asked.
“Let’s get down. It must be down there. It shouldn’t be too far from us,” said Mo Fan.
“Because of the war at the time, the guardian clan of the Underground Holy Spring either integrated into that era by hiding their names and hiding from the world. To prevent other people from stealing the Underground Holy Spring, they might have hidden it in the sand ditch under the intricate Helan Mountain,” said Mu Bai.
“There is a sandstorm below, so the Green East Sea God can’t see the deeper area clearly,” said Song Feiyao.
“Let the Green East Sea God hunt for food nearby, and we’ll go down by ourselves.” Mo Fan looked at the sky and found that the sandstorm had covered the whole sky. The vast brownish-yellow color made them feel very small and insignificant.
“Let’s not rush. The topography below is complicated, and it’s inconvenient to walk and climb. Wait for me here. I’ll rent a few Blue Sheep and red deer from the herders. These animals know the place and have excellent endurance. They can also help us enter some places we can’t access,” said Mu Bai.
They were not afraid of demons since they were strong enough to wander in Helan Mountain. The problem was that the terrain was dangerous because the ground was full of rocks and sand.
