The starry sky seemed to shatter, and many distorted reflections could be seen.
There was no sun or moon, only a sparkling radiance emitted from the plane itself.
Layers of greyish-white bones were scattered on the ground, and no one knew how thick they were. A few white flowers climbed out of the empty eye sockets of the skulls, blossoming into beautiful flower buds.
Many plant roots climbed on the bones, as if absorbing the nutrients from the corpses to survive.
A gust of wind blew past, and many white petals rippled, as if it was raining flowers. The layers of plants parted, revealing the piles of bones on the ground. This entire plane was actually made up of all kinds of bones.
Some of these bones were the size of a normal human, while others were abnormally short. The bones were thick, and seemed to belong to halflings and dwarves. There were even bones of other wild beasts, and they were incomparably huge, forming small mountains.
This was the Skeletal Plane, a small half-plane that was on the verge of shattering. It was hidden in the cracks of countless dimensions, and seemed to have not been visited for a long time.
* Ka-cha!
Ka-cha! *
At this moment, a light cracking sound came from the ground, followed by a tremor.
* Rumble!
Rumble! *
A small mountain of bones collapsed, and a large amount of dust flew up. At the same time, a round and bulging head rolled out from the crack.
This was a sparkling and translucent human skull, and there were two balls of deathly flames flickering in its eye sockets. A layer of black deathly aura lingered around it, emitting powerful undulations.
"Ga La!
Ga La! "
The skull seemed to be a little blurred, and its teeth gnawed together, producing the sound of bones cracking.
"It has been asleep for more than a thousand years …"
The skull let out a desolate tone, with a strong ancient accent. Those who did not specialize in history would basically be confused by it.
"Creak!
Creak! "The skull gnawed, and seemed to spit out something like a piece of parchment.
A layer of fluorescent light flickered, and a large number of words and images were projected in mid-air.
"The Year of the Elemental Tide Whistling Past.
The Month of the Dark Crow's Cry, the Time of the Blood Moon!
Western Desert's Frostfall Canyon … North Cross Star's East Oblique Corner! "
The ghostly fire in the skull's eyes burned even brighter. It suddenly found a few bones that were as clear as crystal and slowly built its body.
"Floating City!
The pinnacle of the Netheril Arcana Era!
A dimensional fortress that can rival gods … "
The skull said in a chanting tone.
A large amount of black Despair Spirit Qi surrounded it, forming a black cloak.
"That floating city must belong to me!!!
Skeleton Lich Ilyo?
It's Pagslu's!!! "
A staff made of many skeletons automatically appeared in the Lich's hand, the blood-red spherical gem at the top emitting a bloody light.
"Roar …"
The Lich hit the ground with his staff, and layers of the ground cracked.
The head of a gigantic creature was revealed.
Its body was tens of meters long, with huge bone wings and two deformed and malevolent heads. Dazzling spiritual waves circulated in its skull — It was obvious that this was the favorite pet of all Necromancers — a double-headed bone dragon!
"Hehe … Let's go!
Baby … "
Gales howled as the double-headed bone dragon flapped its wings, carrying the Lich on its back into the terrifying elemental storm.
The violent elemental storm seemed to have calmed down under its might, opening up a pitch-black passageway.
The bone dragon roared and disappeared into the end of the plane...
In a few other places.
There were people who received the news.
"Abnormalities in the Kingdom of Bones?
Looks like that Lich has awakened … "
"That fellow Ilyo … It's been a long time since I've seen him. It's time to settle the score with him …"
"The emissary of death, the Lich of Bones?
Interesting … "
Numerous hidden divine wills flickered all over the world, and they all turned their gazes towards the Kingdom of Bones at the same time.
A few of them seemed to have a target in mind, and headed straight for the western desert.
… …
The scorching sun shone down on the sand dunes, causing waves of distorted air to rise.
The water seemed to have evaporated completely, and every breath was like breathing in a ball of fire.
The temperature on the surface of the desert was already close to its limit, and could even roast a person to death!
As far as the eye could see, the entire golden desert was a forbidden zone for life.
Even the scattered cacti on the outskirts had completely disappeared, and there was no longer a trace of green.
"We're already deep into the desert, and we have to conserve our strength. We also have to plan our resources and water carefully … What's wrong?
Allerie.
Are you still thinking about the dream that night? "
The leader of the swordsmen looked at the map in his hands, his fingers constantly tracing the distance.
When he raised his head, he found the female wizard in the group in a trance. He could not help but ask, a trace of anger in his voice.
"No!
It's already much better … It's just that this weather is really … "
Allerie tucked her hair behind her ear, feeling the dryness of her skin.
She sighed inwardly.
Ever since that dream, it had never bothered her again. However, the harsh environment in the desert had taught her a very vivid lesson. Even with the protection of spells, the female Magus felt that it was hard to bear.
Seeing this, the swordsmen could only curse inwardly that wizards were useless in terms of physical strength. There was no better way. He could only say encouragingly, "Hold on for a while longer, and we'll reach the Dream Oasis. We can have a good rest there …"
At the mention of the oasis, it wasn't just the female wizard, even the other members of the group had a look of hope on their faces.
They were now in the depths of the western desert, and it was extremely dangerous. A terrifying black sandstorm could strike at any time.
Even though they were a team of high-ranked adventurers who were close to becoming legendary, they did not have a good idea when faced with the power of nature.
The Dream Oasis was the only source of water in the depths of the western desert. It was said that it was a crescent lake and shrubs that moved. It was the only hope for those who had lost their way.
"According to the latest information and the map, the Dream Oasis is right in front of us!"
The swordsmen loudly encouraged their morale.
Hearing that there was hope, the group advanced a little faster.
However, this group of people didn't realize that someone behind them was watching their every move.
"The Dream Oasis … Once we reach there, we'll be very close to the Frostfall Gorge … If not for this group of guides, I don't know how long it would take me to find it …"
Leylin sat on a large sand scorpion, a winged eyeball flapping in front of him as it sent back the images of those people.
With the group of adventurers leading the way, Leylin's journey had very few twists and turns. He basically only needed to follow the safe route that the other party had already explored.
In addition, ordinary probing spells could not detect Leylin's existence due to the limitations of distance and other issues.
"After arriving here … How do I put it … It seems like they're becoming less and less useful …" Leylin stroked his chin.
Leylin stroked his chin. From what he could see, this group of adventurers was probably the weakest among those who were eyeing the floating city.
"However, they seem to have a leader. I'll leave them in front and see what I can attract …" Leylin patted the scorpion he was sitting on.
Leylin patted the scorpion he was sitting on, and the enormous Desert Scorpion immediately squeaked. Its eight legs moved at lightning speed, advancing quickly in the desert.
Apart from the yellow sand, there was nothing else to look at.
No, apart from the occasional corpses of ascetics that had fallen to the ground, Leylin had seen one before.
Leylin had once seen a withered corpse that had lost all the moisture in its body, looking like a mummy.
Cultivating as an ascetic was really playing with one's life!
If one did not bring enough water in the desert, they would only end up dying by the side of the road. Those that could be rescued by kind-hearted merchants were always few and far between.
"But … It feels like this journey is a little too peaceful …"
Ignoring the corpses that had already been mostly buried by the yellow sand, Leylin urged the desert scorpion to advance.
Of course, there were many dangers in the Western Desert. However, the adventurer team in front of them was made up of elite high-grade professionals. Apart from natural disasters like the Black Sandstorm, they could basically deal with everything. Even until now, there had not been any casualties.
Although it seemed normal, Leylin felt that something was wrong.
After all, searching for the route to the floating city should not be so peaceful.
Only now did Leylin reveal a smile of understanding, 'They've appeared … I never thought that there would be natives in the depths of the western desert. Could they be survivors of the Netheril arcanists?'
At this thought, he gave up on his mount and activated his flight spell, flapping his wings and soaring into the sky.
After passing countless sand dunes, a deep green suddenly appeared before Leylin's eyes.
In the middle of the yellow desert that stretched as far as the eye could see, a sparkling crescent-shaped lake suddenly appeared, and there was a large oasis around it.
For such a scene to appear in a place where life was forbidden, it had the power to move one's heart.
However, at this moment, there were some inharmonious scenes.
For example, an intense battle had already begun near the oasis.
'No wonder I felt that something was wrong. So it's here!' A look of understanding appeared on Leylin's face.
(To be continued.)