Looking at Roni's pitiful state, Mo Chuan suddenly felt like a heartless scumbag.
"No... don't be like this first..." Mo Chuan's head began to ache. After all, he'd rather kill beasts in the sand sea than coax girls.
"Then... then why did you pretend not to know me..." Roni mumbled, pouting. "I already listened to you... and have been waiting for you to come back for me..."
"..." Mo Chuan fell silent upon hearing this. Although he didn't know what had happened in the thousands of years that passed, he was sure that this Roni in front of him was no longer a normal human. Her limbs showed clear avian features (feathers, slender claws, and backward-bending feet). It was estimated that after surviving, she found a way to remain in a deep slumber until her husband came to find her...
Wait a minute? That meant he was indeed her husband?
Just as Mo Chuan's mind was filled with dark thoughts, Roni followed his gaze to her hands and feet. Then, as if understanding something, she anxiously floated in front of Mo Chuan and said, "My lord, are you afraid of how I look now? I... I am not a beast... I just learned from my mentor how to survive until now, waiting for you..."
Seeing Roni about to cry again, Mo Chuan could only suppress his doubts. After all, months of living together and sharing blood had made him deeply familiar with the girl before him. She was pure, a little naive, a bit simple, sometimes willful, but very gentle and considerate of Mo Chuan.
In fact, looking closely, her figure had barely changed. Even her chest... cough, cough, those who know, know. She still looked like a budding maiden in her teens.
"Forget it, I'll coax her first... after all, women get very angry..."
Mo Chuan helplessly removed the Dragon Venerable's iron mask, revealing his face. Then, he gently stroked Roni's face with his gauntleted hand and said, "No... it's just... you've changed so much... I didn't recognize you at first..."
"I knew it!" Roni suddenly hugged Mo Chuan tightly, pressing her face hard against his. Her voice trembled as she said, "I knew you wouldn't forget me! I waited for you so obediently! I knew you wouldn't break your promise... Ohhh..."
As Roni spoke, the grievances and loneliness of thousands of years poured out. Her warm tears slowly soaked the cold armor.
"Cry... it's okay to cry..." Mo Chuan gently patted Roni's back, helping her calm down as she started to hiccup from crying.
However, speaking of which... didn't he and Roni have offspring? Never mind, he'd ask when the time was right...
...
Lou Lan Palace, Eighth Floor.
Cao Bei Jie and Zhang Han Shan were teleported here. After a long search, they received two pieces of good news and one piece of bad news.
The good news was that they found a way to the first floor and the activation valve for the teleportation array to leave. According to Cao Bei Jie's judgment, the teleportation array connected to that valve was definitely functional.
The bad news was that the valve was guarded by a large number of sand soldiers.
Although the sand soldiers' spears couldn't penetrate Zhang Han Shan's defense, the sand soldiers would immediately respawn behind the formation after being defeated. This prevented Zhang Han Shan from advancing even a single meter after entering the formation.
Shortly after, three teachers led by Devenson, along with three students and a guide, arrived on the eighth floor and found Cao Bei Jie and Zhang Han Shan deep in thought.
It turned out that after each floor's depicted puzzle was solved, an additional door would appear directly leading to the eighth floor. (For example, the puzzle on the first floor was "Possessed by Evil Spirits").
After hearing the situation from Cao Bei Jie and Zhang Han Shan, Devenson directly took out his axe and said, "Simple, all of us here can definitely break through this soldier formation."
Just as Devenson was assigning combat roles and everyone was preparing to enter the formation and wreak havoc, the entire Lou Lan Palace suddenly began to shake violently. The soldiers, who were standing at attention, seemed to have encountered something, and they all knelt down, paying homage to the sky above them.
"What is this..." Everyone was stunned, not understanding what these sand soldiers were up to.
"Don't worry about it! This is the Royal Salute of ancient Lou Lan. It's likely the owner of Lou Lan Palace has awakened. Hurry and activate the mechanism to leave here!" The guide immediately understood and grabbed Devenson.
The group rushed to the valve's location and activated the mechanism. As expected, the sand soldiers no longer blocked them.
However, after activating the mechanism, the expected teleportation platform did not appear, and Lou Lan Palace began to shake violently again.
"This is bad! This place is going to collapse! Let's go!" Qing Lian Zi saw the cracks on the load-bearing pillars and immediately activated the Lotus Teleportation Array, using the transport vehicle outside as an anchor to teleport everyone away.
BOOM—
The few people witnessed the collapse of Lou Lan Palace firsthand on the sand.
"That was close..." Qian Xiao wiped sweat from his brow and said, "Let's go quickly..."
"Wait a moment!" Zhang Han Shan frowned. "Where's Mo Chuan?! Isn't he with you?! Could he still be inside?!"
"No..." Devenson's forehead broke out in a cold sweat. He had been too eager to escape and had forgotten to count the personnel after they gathered...
The joy of escaping immediately vanished. Zhang Han Shan, refusing to believe it, activated [Immovable Body], [Myōō Rage], and [Vajra Protection], intending to rush into the ruins to find Mo Chuan.
"What are you doing?!" Qian Xiao, seeing Zhang Han Shan like this, guessed his intentions and grabbed his arm, shouting, "Do you want to dig out those sand soldiers and get us all killed?!"
"Let go," Zhang Han Shan's voice was ice-cold.
"I absolutely will not allow you to gamble with my life!" Qian Xiao said angrily. "If you dig out those soldiers, a large part of our hope to get out will be gone. Are you trying to trade that unlucky fellow's life for all of ours?!"
BANG!
Zhang Han Shan's fist, the size of a human head, landed on a sand dune next to Qian Xiao, kicking up a large amount of sand.
Qian Xiao looked at the fiery giant fist next to him with a sweaty face and couldn't help but swallow.
"With the words you just spoke, abandoning your comrades, you are not worthy to fight alongside us anymore."
Qian Xiao dared not meet Zhang Han Shan's burning gaze, so he turned to look at the others. He saw He Lan Xin and Qing Lian Zi had summoned their Overlord Halberd and Ghost Attendant, preparing to search for Mo Chuan with Zhang Han Shan. The guide elder looked indifferent, clearly not seeing such a situation for the first time. The remaining teachers and students looked at Qian Xiao with either disappointment or indignation.
Seeing that the clown no longer spoke, Zhang Han Shan immediately turned and rushed towards the ruins to find Mo Chuan, as time was of the essence.
Qian Xiao sat down on the sand dune, breathing heavily. Qing Lian Zi and He Lan Xin, as they passed, didn't even glance at him.