Chapter 62 Entering the Desolate City: Monsters and Strange Events
"Have you encountered them before?" Zhu Shibai asked, assuming Ji Mingran was referring to the encounter on the way to find them, and exclaimed in admiration, "Grandma is quite skilled to be able to handle it all by herself."
While the three chatted, Shen Qingluo had already swiftly dealt with the two monsters.
Once she knew the fatal weakness, her solution was simple and easy: she threw her twin swords, pinning one sword to a monster's head, then cast a fire spell and precisely threw it into the monster's mouth.
This time, the raging fire started from within and finally burned the monster to ashes.
Guan Wangzhen's eyes were full of expectation. He looked around for a while, but seeing that nothing happened, he muttered in disappointment, "This is not the key to the illusion! I think it is troublesome enough."
Of all the illusions he'd experienced, this was the one that injured him, and he was injured not long after it began.
Shaking his arms, he said to Ji Mingran, "Grandma, we're almost fully recovered. Let's dismantle the formation and not waste our spiritual energy. The four of us still need to continue our breakthrough."
Zhu Shibai agreed: "We two are fine, but there are probably many more monsters like the ones we just encountered in this area. We must conserve our spiritual power to protect ourselves."
"Alright." Ji Mingran stopped the Spirit Healing Array. "Then let's set off."
"Where do we go?" Guan Wangzhen asked.
Ji Mingran was direct, pointing to the silhouette of the city on the skyline: "Over there."
"Are you sure? It feels too obvious." Guan Wangzhen hesitated.
The city's silhouette was vast and silent; any cultivator in the desert could spot this striking sight at a glance.
It was like a highly conspicuous signpost, constantly releasing hints to attract cultivators.
Because it is so obvious, one cannot help but suspect that there may be a scam involved.
“There’s nothing in the desert,” Ji Mingran said confidently. “Let’s go to the city.”
Zhu Shibai pondered for a moment, considering all possibilities, and then said, "Since we don't know which way to go, we might as well go and explore. However, we don't know how many monsters are hiding in the desert, so everyone must be careful."
Speaking of monsters, Guan Wangzhen muttered, "Which cultivator had this nightmare? Why does he keep dreaming about monsters instead of demons and evil spirits? And the monsters look all messed up."
Ji Mingran: "It wasn't a nightmare."
Hearing the three discussing from afar, Shen Qingluo sheathed her sword, walked back, and joined in, saying, "The monster's appearance is so detailed and realistic; it might be a secret realm we've encountered before."
A gray-blue donkey followed closely behind her. When Shen Qinglu stopped, the donkey obediently stopped as well.
Shen Qingluo reached out and stroked the donkey's head, gesturing to Ji Mingran: "Let's go, get on the horse."
Guan Wangzhen was taken aback and pointed at the donkey, saying, "What do you think this is?"
Shen Qinglu helped Ji Mingran climb onto the donkey, and sat behind her as they swayed and set off: "It's my little horse."
Ji Mingran turned to look at Guan Wangzhen, very proud: "I gave it to him."
"Huh?" Guan Wangzhen looked at the two in shock, quickly following the donkey: "Did I hear that right? You call it a horse?"
He looked at Zhu Shibai, who was following on the other side of the donkey, and laughed loudly: "Hey, Shibai, did you hear that? They said it's a horse! This is clearly a donkey!"
Ji Mingran exclaimed in surprise: "Isn't this Xiao Ma?"
Shen Qingluo said with a serious expression, "It is indeed a pony, its name is Pony."
Guan Wangzhen found it hard to accept: "No way, this is allowed? Shi Bai, say something! They're clearly calling a donkey a horse."
Zhu Shibai readily agreed: "Although it is a donkey, since it is named a horse, it is not wrong to call it a horse."
Ji Mingran belatedly realized and casually grabbed the donkey's long ears: "Ah, so you're a donkey."
......
The observers on the observation platform hesitated to speak.
Who wants to watch them discuss donkeys and horses the whole time?
The other participating disciples encountered varying numbers of monsters every mile they traveled, and they were all fighting desperately against them.
Why are they strolling around so leisurely?
That's incredibly lucky.
"We're a bit lucky." Guan Wangzhen looked at the towering, dark iron wall and couldn't help but sigh. The four of them moved very fast and heard the sounds of battle coming from near and far. They could guess that other participating disciples were engaged in fierce battles with monsters, but they didn't encounter a single monster.
The journey was smooth.
“That’s only natural,” Ji Mingran said, tugging at the donkey’s ear. “If I’m leading the way, of course we won’t run into each other.”
Many factors can attract the attention of mutants, such as heat, sound, movement, and human scent...
However, as long as you know its habits, you can avoid it.
She had long ago figured out a way to walk in the desert without being detected by the mutants.
Guan Wangzhen glanced at Ji Mingran, who had been holding onto the donkey's ears the whole time, and said unconvinced, "Why didn't you pull the poor donkey's ears off? It can't even sit still, let alone lead the way. If you ask me, it's Brother Donkey who led the way better. It must have relied on its keen animal instincts to lead us away from the monster."
"Hey!" Just then, Ji Mingran indeed slumped to the side, and Guan Wangzhen quickly pushed her back onto the donkey's back. "Hold on tight, hold on tight!"
“It’s me, not it, isn’t that obvious? Guan Wangzhen, you’re such a fool.” Ji Mingran tugged at the donkey’s ear again. “You be my witness.”
"I helped you up, and you call me stupid." Guan Wangzhen was furious and wanted to argue with Ji Mingran, "You ingrate."
"Stop fooling around, you two." Shen Qingluo, who was quietly observing the towering city wall in front of her, suddenly spoke up: "We can't let our guard down now. There are just as many monsters inside the city as outside."
Ji Mingran said seriously, "More, more than outside."
"You talk as if you've been here before," Guan Wangzhen habitually retorted. "The other participating disciples haven't arrived yet, which means they're held up by monsters and won't be here for a while. What does that mean? It means the monsters are all in the desert."
Zhu Shibai analyzed, "We've only seen monsters along the way, not a single human. This high wall is meant to defend against monsters. If it's meant to defend against monsters, there should be guards at the city gates, but there are none at the moment."
He pondered for a moment and said, "The city has already fallen; there are no survivors."
The city's fall indicates that it has become a monster's domain.
"Nobody here?" Guan Wangzhen thought of something else and said smugly, "It seems we are definitely the first sect to arrive here."
As soon as he finished speaking, countless sword shadows appeared in the sky above the city. Ten thousand swords, carrying the power of thunder, crashed down. The iron wall was hit by the air currents within the city and immediately emitted a muffled boom.
"What?" Guan Wangzhen craned his neck to look.
"Father! Where did you go? I can't find you!" Ji Xingyang cried as he ran. He ran wildly, and the other disciples of the Nameless Sect beside him couldn't keep up with his speed and were dragged around by him.
Ji Xingyang ran ahead and saw the four people standing in front of the city gate in the distance. His eyes lit up, especially when he saw Ji Mingran sitting on a donkey: "Mother! Mother! There are so many monsters!"
Ji Mingran slowly released his grip on the donkey's ears, paying no attention to Ji Xingyang's wailing and screaming. His eyes were fixed on the thick smoke behind him, his gaze cold and stern: "Insect swarm."
The other three were taken aback when they heard this. They carefully examined the thick smoke and, upon seeing what was inside, their expressions gradually turned grim.
The smoke wasn't made of sand and gravel, but of countless black and gray cockroaches and moths, swarming everywhere and buzzing.
The monster in the air was an insect with a human-like head. On its fist-sized head, tiny black bean-like eyes stared intently at the Nameless Sect members running ahead.
"H-They've stirred up a hornet's nest!" Guan Wangzhen felt a chill run down his spine and stared blankly.
Ji Xingyang and the others ran very fast, arriving in front of the Dingsheng Sect members in the blink of an eye. The roaring and flying monsters followed in an instant.
Zhu Shibai made a decisive decision: "Enter the city." A flash of light followed him as he rushed into the dark iron city, deflecting the sword shadows falling from the sky and clearing a path for those behind him.
"Let's go!" Shen Qingluo hugged Ji Mingran tightly, pulled on the reins, and rode the donkey.
Guan Wangzhen swiftly made a hand seal, and countless yellow sands rose from the ground in front of the towering city wall, gradually descending like a yellow veil, obscuring the backs of the people entering the city.
"Wait for me!" Ji Xingyang moved with lightning speed, grabbing the other disciples and rushing straight towards Guan Wangzhen, who was standing in front of the city gate, before the gauze curtain could take shape.
The closer Ji Xingyang got, the clearer the grotesque faces crammed together behind him became. Guan Wangzhen's temples throbbed, he suppressed his nausea, clenched his fists, stood motionless, his face ashen, and squeezed out only one word: "Quick!"
Just seconds before the gauze curtain fell, Ji Xingyang grabbed the disciples of the Nameless Sect with both hands, gritted his teeth, and with a ferocious expression, jumped forward with all his might. At the same time, Guan Wangzhen suddenly jumped backward to make way.
Thump! Ji Xingyang collapsed at the city gate, his shadow swallowed by the projection of the gauze curtain behind him. The giant yellow gauze curtain completely covered the city gate opening, sealing it shut.
The yellow sand fell with a tremor, but did not disperse.
Without turning his head, Guan Wangzhen said to the three people running forward, "Hurry up! We can't hold out much longer."
Countless flying monsters thrashed against the yellow sand curtain, trying to find a way in. Once they broke through, the astonishing number of flying monsters would only make their situation more difficult.
Ji Xingyang jumped up from the ground, grabbed the few people from the Nameless Sect, and surrounded Guan Wangzhen. He shouted at Ji Mingran's back, "I'll help guard the door. Mother, go find Father!"
However, his loud shouts were instantly drowned out by the flashing swords and shadows within the city. Ji Mingran could only hear the sound of countless swords whistling past.
She was held firmly in Shen Qingluo's arms, riding a donkey and following behind Zhu Shibai who was clearing the way, and in an instant they rushed into the center of the city.
The closer one gets to the center, the more astonishing the pressure emanating from the overwhelming sword intent becomes. Zhu Shibai alone cannot completely withstand it, so Shen Qingluo can only release Ji Mingran, ride the donkey with one hand, and wield a knife in the other, slashing at the sword shadows flying everywhere.
"The Ten Thousand Swords Formation," Shen Qingluo said. "The entire Hongqi Sect has arrived."
The three of them looked in unison at the most eye-catching black tower in the center. The tower soared into the clouds, with a diameter of a kilometer. Its walls reflected the clouds on the horizon and the desolate ruins on the ground, standing silently like a giant pillar in the center of the city.
A hundred-meter-tall, skeletal, black ape-like beast with a human head nimbly climbed to the top of the tower, its body surrounded by five figures flying on swords. Thousands of sword shadows followed the movements of the five figures, flying and attacking the beast.
All the sword shadows fell on the black gorilla, but the black gorilla was unharmed. It stretched out a hand and scratched at the small figure that had launched the attack in annoyance.
However, the chimpanzee suddenly let out a deafening roar, and all the black hairs on its body suddenly stretched out like tentacles, twisting and reaching out to grab the figure in the air.
The five members of Hongqi Sect were clearly caught off guard. The five sword shadows instantly dispersed, rapidly darting and dodging among countless hairy tentacles. The sword formation collapsed instantly, and the sword shadows vanished.
"Bang!" One person was unable to dodge in time and was struck head-on by the hairy tentacles. The tentacles pierced through the cultivator's chest on the sword and crashed to the ground with a loud bang.
One disciple of the Hongqi Sect was eliminated.
The Hongqi Sect's sword formation could not be re-deployed.
With the sword shadows gone, Zhu Shibai and Shen Qingluo no longer needed to constantly guard against the indiscriminate, all-encompassing sword shadows. However, the two stopped at the same time, frowning as they looked at the buildings ahead.
The road ahead had been wide and flat, but just as they were looking at the downed Hongqi Sect disciple and turning back, this building appeared silently, blocking their way.
The building has a large square window, and the almost transparent panes in the window reflect the faces of the three people and the donkey.
And the countless faces pressing against the window.
A face devoid of any facial features.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
