The group headed towards the central area where the pollution was most concentrated. After walking for about two days, Lu Ning saw another area with intense mental pollution.

At the same time, Anlan also detected that area.

Located to their left.

They immediately changed direction and headed towards the newly contaminated area.

The Bone Sand Desert is swept by surging storms, with sandstorms raging and temperatures fluctuating between hot and cold.

The group trudged along, one step at a time, towards their destination.

They would occasionally encounter groups of corpses and zombies, and sometimes they would also run into lurking bone scorpions and carrion-winged vultures hunting for food.

Even during rest periods, the group needed to remain vigilant.

Besides the hardship, they also encountered two more soul crystal veins along the way.

Although these two soul crystal mines are not as large as the previous one, they are still quite good, and together they should be worth around ten million soul crystals.

These are all their gains.

After a three-day journey, they arrived at the source of the mental pollution.

It was a high mountain standing in the desert.

The mountains are bare and yellow all over, and the rocks have been severely eroded by the sandstorms.

Even so, the mountain is still hundreds of meters high.

The source of that spiritual pollution is located at the top of the mountain.

The mountain covers an area of ​​several square kilometers.

To prevent the members of the Extinction Brigade from escaping, Lu Ning led Steve, Yann led An Lan and Su Qi, Osiris led Ling Chuan and Jerry, and Aishalin led Ella to surround the mountain from four directions.

From the foot of the mountain to the summit, Lu Ning and Steve encountered some desert monsters, such as giant wolves with bone spurs on their backs and giant spiders covered in bone armor.

These monsters aren't particularly strong; the highest level they reach is only eighth rank.

With such strength, they naturally couldn't stop the exploration team.

Everyone kept in sync and rushed to the top of the mountain at the same time.

At the summit of the mountain is a platform about a hundred meters in diameter, with an altar similar to the one in the previous oasis, surrounded by death runes.

Before the funeral directors of the Returned Dead could even put up a fight, they were all knocked unconscious by Yann.

Afterwards, Lu Ning selected several funeral directors to interrogate them using his corrupted abilities.

The final result was consistent with what was achieved in the oasis.

This means that the information they received should be correct.

As before, Aishalin froze all the funeral directors into ice blocks, intending to take them back after the central ceremony was completed.

Lu Ning then looked at the top of the altar again.

Like the previous Oasis Altar, the top also features crystals that emit a dim yellow light.

Lu Ning walked up to the altar and touched the crystal again.

As before, a death force containing divine power rushed into Lu Ning's body.

Lu Ning's vision blurred for a moment again, and he saw the phantom of the past.

It was an endless desert.

Sandstorms raged.

A group of more than ten people are walking through the sandstorm.

They wore yellow cloaks, which were already showing signs of wear and tear in the sandstorm.

Every few steps they took, they would prostrate themselves in the wind and sand, bowing their heads towards the front.

Lu Ning saw the same face beneath the yellow robe as he had seen in the oasis city.

Their yellow, vertical eyes held piety and faith; though somewhat disheveled by the wind and sand, their expressions remained resolute.

The man in the yellow robe, in particular, had three gold lines on his forehead and two gold lines on the sides of his cheeks, making him look quite noble.

The phantom rippled a few times before dissipating like a bubble.

Lu Ning snapped out of his daze and looked down at the ground.

The crystal shattered again and fell to the ground.

Lu Ning picked up the crystal and stepped down from the altar.

An Lan and the others were all looking at Lu Ning at this moment.

An Lan asked, "You're seeing the same old scenes again?"

Lu Ning nodded and recounted what he had seen earlier.

Yaen pondered, "I wonder if this was before or after their capital fell?"

An Lan shook her head: "There is too little information. If it was before the fall, then they might have had religious beliefs. If it was after the fall, then it might be related to the evil god of the Yellow Springs Hand."

Because they have too little information, they are unable to make accurate judgments.

In the end, they stopped thinking about it and continued walking towards the central contaminated area.

As they approached the contaminated area, they found a third source of mental pollution.

The group headed back towards the area of ​​pollution.

However, when they arrived at the area where the pollution occurred, they found a desolate desert with nothing around them.

Everyone was taken aback. Osiris asked, somewhat confused, "An Lan, Lu Ning, are you sure we're here?"

An Lan nodded, then looked thoughtfully at the ground.

"It might be underground."

Everyone was startled and looked down at the ground.

Then Yann frowned and said, "Won't digging like this make too much noise? Won't it alert the enemy?"

An Lan glanced at Ya En speechlessly and said, "Let's look for an entrance nearby. Logically speaking, unless one of them is an Awakened One who controls the soil, it's simply unrealistic to sneak underground silently."

Yann was a little embarrassed to be seen.

He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of such a simple principle.

He coughed lightly and said, "Then let's look for it."

The group split up and began searching for any cave entrances or similar places nearby.

Soon, Steve's voice came through: "This looks like it!"

The group immediately ran towards the direction from which Steve's voice came.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!