When Song Xia woke up again, she looked around in a panic, then breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Shuangzhi and Liuchuan lying next to her.

Where is this?

“It should be an ancient site. After the sandstorm stopped that day, it swept us to this area. I was afraid that there would be more danger, so I dragged you into this place.”

Song Xia's eyes were full of curiosity: "I never expected there to be a place like this in the middle of the desert."

Shi Shuangzhi also exclaimed in admiration: "Just by looking at this building, one can tell how glorious it was back then. But now, it has become a forbidden area for cultivators. I wonder if it's because the cultivation level of cultivators is too low now, or if the environment was better back then, or perhaps both."

Song Xia nodded in agreement: "Have you investigated the area?"

Shi Shuangzhi shook her head: "No, I'm afraid something might happen to me, and then you and your brother will have no one to take care of you."

"Well done." Song Xia patted her head with pity. "Your cultivation level is too low right now, so it's not advisable for you to take risks. We'll explore together once your brother wakes up."

"Um."

Shi Liuchuan seemed to be afraid as well, his eyes filled with fear when he was sober. He only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Song Xia and Shi Shuangzhi were safe and sound.

"Let's eat something first, then look around." Having survived such a close call, Song Xia had prepared a lot of delicious food. Now that her Frost Branch Soul Body had become much more solid, she could eat most things.

But as they ate, the three of them sensed that something was wrong.

"Come out!" Song Xia called out softly, and then saw a snow-white little beast staring at them with its big, watery eyes, looking completely innocent.

Shi Shuangzhi took a liking to it at first sight: "What an adorable little beast! But how did it manage to survive in a place like this?"

"Mother, do you know what kind of breed it is?" Shi Liuchuan really couldn't tell.

However, after examining it carefully, Song Xia was also unsure: "I don't recognize it."

She held up a roasted chicken leg and tempted him, saying, "Come here."

The little beast was very wary, even taking two steps back as it looked at her, but it seemed reluctant to part with the delicious food in front of it, its nose twitching and its eyes struggling.

"Eat up, it's not poisonous. My mother's cooking is the best." Shi Shuangzhi smiled at it, not expecting that the little beast was not afraid of her at all and jumped directly onto her lap.

Song Xia was surprised that she would be disliked one day; it seemed this was her daughter's destiny.

"What do you want to eat?" Shi Shuangzhi asked, pointing to the feast in front of them. The little beast, meanwhile, was drooling over the chicken leg in Song Xia's hand.

Song Xia almost laughed out of anger, but she couldn't really argue with a small animal, so she handed it to her daughter.

"You!" Shuangzhi took it, then tapped the little beast's nose, and fed it little by little.

The little beast seemed to have not eaten anything so delicious in a long time. After tasting it, it began to wolf it down. One chicken leg wasn't even enough to fill its teeth, so Frost Branch simply gave it the whole thing, but soon only a skeleton remained.

Shuangzhi looked at its still flat belly and wondered where the whole chicken it had just eaten had gone.

It stared longingly at the grilled fish in Song Xia's hand, but Song Xia didn't give it to it this time: "I'll give it to you, but you have to lead the way for us to find the thing you're supposed to protect."

After hearing this, the little beast stopped looking at her, only occasionally stealing glances with its eyes, and then sobbed in a childish voice towards Shi Shuangzhi.

Hearing this voice softened Shi Shuangzhi's heart, but in the end she still shook her head hard: "No, everything was made by Mother, only Mother can make the decision."

Shi Liuchuan asked curiously, "Mother, how did you know it was a guardian beast?"

"In this vast desert, where you can't even see snakes, insects, or rodents, its existence speaks volumes. Moreover, its fur is so glossy and smooth; it must have some treasure sustaining its survival." As Song Xia spoke, he took out the insects he had stockpiled on the outskirts of the desert and began to roast them. The tantalizing aroma filled the entire space.

"Really not going to eat? The person who left you here was making you wait for your destined one, right? Don't you want to confirm whether we are the destined one you're waiting for? Little one, the world has changed. After we leave, you may never see anyone else for the rest of your life."

Upon hearing this, the little beast looked blankly at the sky, then at them, its bright eyes suddenly filling with mist.

Shi Shuangzhi looked at him with heartache: "What's wrong? Don't cry! If you want to eat, you can have it. It's okay if you don't lead the way."

Song Xia did not stop her daughter's actions. She knew why her daughter was soft-hearted. It was because the little beast had been guarding this deserted place for who knows how long. If they hadn't been brought here by the sandstorm, the little beast's final fate might have been to disappear along with this world. It was truly pitiful.

With food at its fingertips, the little beast quickly forgot its sadness, and in the end, most of what Song Xia had prepared ended up in its belly.

After resting, the three decided to explore the area. The little beast stayed and was carried by Shi Shuangzhi, who was the weakest and walked in the middle. Shi Liuchuan insisted on going first, so Song Xia brought up the rear.

The place they had just been in seemed to be a large hall. Apart from the entrance that Shi Shuangzhi had led them in, there was only another door leading inside, and the little beast had also come out from there.

The passage was long and dark. Shi Liuchuan touched the walls, and there were carved murals on both sides. When he shone a torch on them, he saw that the carvings depicted flowers, birds, fish and insects, but their appearances were very peculiar and quite different from the spirit beasts and herbs of today.

"These should all be crops from ancient times, but I don't know what the owner of this place was back then."

"It must be extraordinary that it has been preserved to this day. I wonder if we can find anything useful in it."

The three continued walking forward and came to another large hall. This hall was much better preserved, with exquisite carvings and sculptures everywhere. There was a large altar in the middle, which looked like a place where some kind of ceremony was held. However, there were still no signs of life here, which meant that the little beast did not usually stay here. There should be other passages, but they could not see any trace of passages.

The three then split up to search for the mechanism, eventually focusing their attention on the central altar.

"Could it be that you need some kind of offering?"

Upon hearing this, the little beast howled and rolled over, seemingly quite disdainful of the guess.

Song Xia glanced at it: "Why don't we just smash it?"

The little beast immediately became anxious again, but Song Xia ignored it: "Anyway, we can't find it no matter how hard we look. I guess no one will be able to come to this place in the future. Rather than burying it under this yellow sand, we might as well try our luck."

"Squeak..." The little beast jumped onto the altar, very angry at her statement.

Song Xia raised an eyebrow: "What, trying to stop me? Can you beat me?"

The little beast bared its teeth at her, and then, under Shi Shuangzhi's reassurance, resignedly channeled its spiritual power into the altar. The altar then began to sink, and Song Xia and the others, unprepared, fell down as well.