Looking down from above, Sandstorm City was a bit big, but with the speed of Nascent Soul cultivators, even if they flew slowly, one hour was enough for them to circle around the city.
However, they couldn't just fly in the sky if they wanted to find the hidden secrets of Sandstorm City. They had to come down and search slowly.
Not only were there many sand buildings and mounds in Sandstorm City, but they also formed a formation. If they searched like this, it wouldn't be a matter of a few hours.
The four of them entered the city. After walking for a while, Huo Ziqi's Red-Eyed Monkey still hadn't come back, and the four of them got lost.
Now, the four of them realized they still underestimated Sandstorm City. Such an exquisite formation that didn't need spiritual aura to trap four Nascent Soul cultivators was simply unheard of!
After confirming this, the four of them discussed for a while and decided to draw a map of Sandstorm City first.
For cultivators who could fly, drawing a map was also simple. They just needed to fly in the air and draw it.
But after doing so, the four of them were shocked again.
This great formation not only interfered with divine senses, but also affected their eyesight. They could see clearly, but when they tried to remember it, they couldn't remember what it looked like.
Now, the four of them realized Sandstorm City wasn't an ordinary Distant Past era relic. If this place was really a treasure trove of a great ancient sect, that sect must be very powerful.
Huo and Zong were very excited to come to this conclusion.
Their cultivation levels were very ordinary. It had been hundreds of years since they advanced to the Nascent Soul realm, but they hadn't been able to advance further. If they could find some treasures here, it would be a great fated chance for them.
Mo Tiange and Qin Xi, on the other hand, were worried. After what happened in the Sea of Returning Ruins, they felt that Distant Past relics weren't something to be trifled with.
Not to mention the danger in the Vermilion Bird Sacrificial Temple, the Deification refined corpse they accidentally released would've killed them on the spot if they were one step slower.
However, they also understood that opportunities and dangers coexisted. If they didn't dare to take risks, they would miss their fated chance.
Besides, they were here to find Xiao Zilan's remains. As a Nascent Soul cultivator, the place where Xiao Zilan died must be a dangerous place, so they were mentally prepared.
"If we can't draw a map, what should we do?" Huo Ziqi asked after calming down from his excitement.
Qin Xi pondered for a while and said, "Then we'll take our time.
Fellow Daoists, are you in a hurry? "
Huo Ziqi shook his head. "When we handed in the task, we didn't specify a return date.
However, Celestial Alliance is facing a huge battle and it isn't good for them to not return. "
"Then does Fellow Huo have any other methods?"
"…" Huo Ziqi and Zong Si looked at each other and finally nodded. "Then we'll do as Fellow Daoist Shoujing says."
Although the current situation was tense, to be frank, even if the Immortal Alliance collapsed, as Nascent Soul cultivators, where couldn't they go?
It was good that the Celestial Alliance was there and they had many low-grade cultivators to serve them. However, in front of a huge opportunity to advance, it was insignificant.
After a short pause, Huo Ziqi continued, "Fellow Daoists, this Sandstorm City is so big that it would take too long to search step by step."
Qin Xi remained calm and asked, "Then what does Fellow Daoist Huo think?"
"In my opinion, why don't we split up and look for him? If we find him, we'll inform him."
Qin Xi glanced at Mo Tiange then nodded. "Alright."
Huo Ziqi smiled. "Brother Zong and I will go south, and you two will go north. What do you think?"
"No problem."
The four of them exchanged Sound-Transmitting Jade Talismans and split up to search.
When Huo Ziqi and Zong Si were far away, Mo Tiange asked, "Senior Martial Brother, they did it on purpose, right?"
Qin Xi smiled. "Why do you think so?"
Mo Tiange said, "They have the map of the storehouse in their hands, and they might've found specific information about the treasures, but we don't have anything. Since there's no danger here, why would they drag us along?"
"En." Qin Xi nodded. "What you said makes sense."
Mo Tiange continued, "Besides, Senior Martial Brother, you're in the middle stage, so it's not a problem for you to deal with a few early stage cultivators. You're far stronger than them, so if you find the treasures, you should at least divide them equally, right?
This might not be fair to them. "
"Right." Qin Xi nodded again.
He and Huo Ziqi only knew each other, but they weren't friends. They had all the information about the storehouse, so how could he be willing to share the treasures with them?
He pulled them along because they came at the right time, and he wasn't sure if there was any danger, so he might as well bring them along to increase their strength.
If there was really no danger, he didn't need to inform them. If their strength exceeded theirs, it wouldn't be too late to ask for their help.
Huo Ziqi's plan was very good, and the two of them had nothing to be angry about. They came here for Xiao Zilan's matter, so it was just a coincidence that they ran into them.
"Then, Senior Martial Brother, are you willing?
Once they realized there was no danger, they left us behind. "
Qin Xi chuckled and looked at her. "You're the one who's not willing, right?"
"Of course."
Mo Tiange said without hesitation, "It's fine if they don't know. They pulled us into their group, but now they don't want us to get involved. How could they let us off so easily?"
"Of course not." Qin Xi smiled. "How could there be no danger here? When the time comes, they'll have to call us obediently."
"Right." Mo Tiange also smiled. "That Senior Xiao was a member of Xuanji School. She was proficient in formations, but she also died here, so this place is definitely not simple."
"So, let them be." Qin Xi's smile was a bit cold as he stared at the place where Huo Ziqi and Zong Tiange disappeared. "When they hit a wall, they'll naturally inform us.
Even if they don't have time to inform us, no matter how big this Sandstorm City is, we'll be able to find the place of the accident as long as we spend some time. "
The so-called accident referred to the death of Huo Ziqi and Zong Tiange.
It would've been fine if they hadn't told them before, but they wanted to pull them into their group. Now that they saw there was no danger here, they wanted to get rid of them, which was a bit unkind.
That being the case, why should they worry about their lives?
"Let's go. Let's take advantage of this time to walk around and see what's going on in Sandstorm City."
He believed that Mo Tiange's attainments in formations weren't inferior to Zong Si's.
She had learned a lot since she was a child. She also obtained Xuanji School of Formations, Mo Yaoqing's notes, and Fu Yaozi's guidance. When it came to formations, there weren't many people in the Celestial Pole who were better than her.
Whether it was finding Xiao Zilan's traces or cracking the secret storehouse, it would be much easier to figure out this great formation first.
* * *
A few days passed quickly. Huo Ziqi and Zong Si stood under a mound, seemingly looking for something.
Next to the mound was a sand pit.
"Brother Zong, are you sure this is the entrance to the storehouse?"
Zong Si held a sheepskin scroll in his hand and compared it with the map. "It should be."
He pointed at the mounds around them. "The Sandstorm Formation itself is a big formation, but the dozen or so mounds around it form a small formation. If the map we got is correct, the entrance to the storehouse is at the eye of this small formation, which is this spot."
If Mo Tiange and Qin Xi were here, they would find that the sheepskin scroll in Zong Si's hand wasn't the map they took from the beast cultivators.
Their previous guess was correct. Huo Ziqi and Zong Si did obtain accurate information about this storehouse from somewhere else, so they planned to fish for some benefits from it.
"But there doesn't seem to be anything unusual here." Huo Ziqi frowned and looked at the sand pit in front of him.
He only knew a little about formations. He couldn't see through the formation Zong Si said was here, and he had no idea where the eye of the formation was.
Zong Si looked pensive and sighed. "I can only be sure that the eye of the formation is here, and the entrance should also be here. But I can't see how to enter it for the time being."
Then he turned to Huo Ziqi. "Brother Huo, this Sandstorm City isn't big. If we delay any longer, Qin Shoujing and the others will come looking for us. What should we do?"
"So, it'll take a long time to solve this formation?" Huo Ziqi understood the meaning behind his words.
Zong Si frowned deeply. "I don't know whether we can solve it or not."
"Is that so …" Huo Ziqi thought for a moment and said, "You said Mo Qingwei's attainments in formations are good. If we can't solve it, we can only call them over."
"If that's the case, won't we have to give up the leadership?"
Zong Si was worried. "Qin Shoujing is in the middle stage of the Nascent Soul realm. I heard he's very powerful. The two of us together might not be his match. At that time, won't they get all the good things?
What if they're cruel and merciless and kill us for the treasures? What should we do? "
"There's nothing we can do," Huo Ziqi said. "I know a little about Qin Shoujing's character.
It's said that he wholeheartedly seeks the Great Dao and isn't a bloodthirsty person. He's completely different from Qin Jinghe. If not, I wouldn't have invited them to go with us.
If it really comes to that, we can let them choose the treasures first. Who told us to be weaker? "
"… Alright!" Zong Si shook his head, lowered his head, and continued to study the entrance.
At that moment, Huo Ziqi suddenly felt a chill on his back. Without thinking, he pulled the spiritual beast bag and a golden-winged roc flew out.
"Who?!"
"Hmph!" A cold snort responded to him. Then, a mass of black fog appeared out of thin air.
The black fog dispersed, and a man and a woman appeared in front of them. The tall, blue-skinned man stared coldly at the two of them and raised his right hand.
This hand didn't look like a human's hand at all. It was silvery white and flashed a cold light. It was actually a fake hand made of metal.
At this moment, a dead butterfly lay in the palm of this fake hand.
"You —" Huo Ziqi was furious. Just now, his Spirit-Seeking Butterfly sensed spiritual aura fluctuations, then it lost track of them. It was actually killed by this man!
He was a disciple of the Spiritual Beast Sect, and his spiritual beasts were his companions. Seeing his spiritual beasts killed, he was instantly furious.
A long black whip appeared in Huo Ziqi's hand. The golden-winged roc let out a cry and stared fiercely at the two devil cultivators in front of it.
Zong Si also put away the sheepskin scroll. With a wave of her hand, five small flags with red, yellow, blue, green, and gold colors appeared in front of her.
"Who are you?!" Huo Ziqi asked angrily, "Why did you kill my spiritual beasts?"
The man glanced at them and revealed a mocking smile in his eyes. He said, "Hong Xiao."
The woman next to him answered, "Yes, Young Master."
* * *
Mo Tiange, who was calculating formations, suddenly raised her head and looked in a certain direction. "Senior Martial Brother …"
To the south of Fengsha City, spiritual aura surged and intertwined. It seemed something had happened.