With Ye Tiancheng's help, the胖子 quickly gathered all the diamonds. For him, finding such a treasure was a sign of heaven's favor, and he intended to accept this gift gratefully.
The two of them finally dug out all the diamonds, filling a large bag. If these diamonds were legitimate, it was clear that Ye Tiancheng had struck it rich.
"Brother Ye, let's keep moving. Even if we've made a fortune, don't forget that we still need to find Miss Xue'er. Don't forget the real purpose of our journey."
In fact, there was no need for the 胖子 to remind him. He was overthinking it. How could Ye Tiancheng forget his purpose for a mere trifle? That would be unreasonable.
"I know. We'll tidy up a bit and then set off immediately."
Before leaving, Ye Tiancheng used the person-finding artifact again to search for Lin Xue. To his surprise, Lin Xue's trace had changed significantly, even going in a completely different direction.
Ye Tiancheng was very confused and felt a bit overwhelmed. Everything had been going smoothly, and now it had turned into this. It felt as though all his previous efforts were in vain. That was the most terrifying part: all the effort he had put in had ultimately amounted to nothing. The feeling of futility was quite unpleasant.
"胖子, there's no point in continuing. Everything has reached a stalemate. I'm not even sure what's going on with Lin Xue, why she suddenly disappeared. I need time to investigate."
Efforts made without direction were ultimately wasted. Before everything was settled, a new direction was necessary.
"Alright, I'll wait for you, Brother Ye. We can stay put for now. We can leave after we find a clear direction."
The 胖子 was not in a hurry. Ye Tiancheng was the brain of the entire team. Without Ye Tiancheng's permission, the 胖子 would not make any decisions on his own. This was an unchangeable fact and the consistent rule of their small team.
They waited for about half a day. Around noon, Ye Tiancheng still couldn't make a decision.
"Brother Ye, this desert is always full of hidden dangers. Even if we try to find a way, it's best to leave here first. Otherwise, it's too dangerous. I feel I can't cope, and staying here will affect my judgment."
"Alright. After lunch, we'll leave this desert. We'll retrace our steps. There's no point in going further, as Lin Xue is no longer in that direction."
The person-finding artifact had never encountered such a situation before. Suddenly losing their direction made Ye Tiancheng panic. He suspected that the person might be dead or that a major accident had occurred. Otherwise, why would it be so terrifying that even a divine artifact couldn't find her? Another possibility was that she had been shielded by a powerful force.
The more Ye Tiancheng thought about it, the more confused he became. He decided it was best not to dwell on it and to leave the desert first. Otherwise, they might lose everything and even get themselves into trouble.
With the decision made, the 胖子 took charge of driving, and Ye Tiancheng directed the way. The two quickly exited the desert.
For them, the dangers hidden here were too numerous. Their journey back was much smoother. It was mainly because they had traveled this path before, so they didn't get lost as easily as before, wandering around confusedly and taking many wrong turns. Looking back now, they realized they had taken many detours; they could have gone directly.
This journey was much faster. By evening, they were almost out of the desert. Seeing the end of their journey, both Ye Tiancheng and the 胖子 felt a sense of excitement.
"Brother Ye, that direction has been glowing. I think as long as we reach the source of the light, we can get out of this desert. Our hard days are about to end."
Although they had lacked water throughout the journey, the wind and sand in this desert weather were too strong. Their lips were always dry and cracked, and the sand often blew into their eyes, making it impossible to open them. It was quite painful.
Being able to leave this place was a fervent hope for both of them.
"Let's set up camp here and sleep for another night. If we travel in the dark, we won't be able to see the road clearly, and I'm afraid we might puncture the tires again, which would only create more problems."
Ye Tiancheng was not in a hurry. After all, the way out was right in front of them, and they would eventually get out. Traveling in the dark at night made him feel insecure.
"Okay, let's set up camp here. It's already half dark, and we should rest."
The 胖子 quickly and efficiently took out the tattered tent. Although it had been burned by fire, leaving small holes, it was still usable after some mending. It wasn't so damaged that it couldn't be used, which would have been truly terrible.
"Alright, let's do that. I'll cook dinner tonight. We'll just boil some noodles. Once we're out of this desert, we can eat whatever we want."
Ye Tiancheng's thoughts were pleasant, but he didn't know if they would encounter any setbacks tonight.
The 胖子 also ate a simple bowl of noodles, and then he and Ye Tiancheng rested. After sleeping for a few hours, as dawn was breaking, Ye Tiancheng heard a rooster crowing.
He naturally woke up, but then he felt something was wrong. This place was remote and uninhabited; there were no living creatures. How could there be a rooster crowing?
However, Ye Tiancheng then thought that he must be too tired and had slept haphazardly, which was why he had such a strange dream. It couldn't be real. The rooster's crow was probably just his hallucination.
But just as Ye Tiancheng was certain it was a hallucination, he heard another rooster crow. This time, it was very clear, and he could tell that the crowing was very strange, definitely not normal. There must be something wrong, otherwise, the sound wouldn't be so eerie.
"胖子, did you hear that strange rooster crow? Let's go out and take a look together."
Ye Tiancheng called out several times before the 胖子 finally woke up. He had been too groggy from sleep to talk much with Ye Tiancheng.
"What rooster crow?"
"Well, I heard it before I woke up, and now that I'm awake, I can hear that terrible sound even more clearly. It sounds like a rooster crow, but it's definitely much more powerful than anything from a cellar. I don't think it's that simple; something must have happened."
"Then let's go out quickly and see. I should have kept watch last night, but I was too tired and couldn't help but fall asleep. Now that I think about it, my thinking was too naive. I thought that once we were out of the desert, there would be no more danger. I underestimated the situation."
Now was not the time to discuss who was negligent. At this point, should they still differentiate who should do what? These things were mutual; if they could do it, they would, and if they couldn't, there was nothing they could do.
"Let's go quickly and see. We can discuss other things later; there's no rush."
Ye Tiancheng found the rooster crowing very strange. He couldn't think about anything else now. The most important thing was to see what danger awaited them outside.
As soon as the two of them stepped out of the tent, they felt a huge tremor. The tremor was so intense that it was hard to stand. It felt as though everything could collapse at any moment. Ye Tiancheng was very anxious and didn't know what to do.
"This isn't an earthquake. I listened closely. It sounds like a giant monster making a strange noise with a similar frequency as it walks."
Ye Tiancheng had some experience. Listening to the frequency of the tremor, it was somewhat similar to the giant bear monster they had encountered before. That monster was terrifying; with one swipe of its paw, it could knock down a thick tree or even uproot a large rockery.
"Brother Ye, your judgment is correct. I've already seen it. It's over there, and that terrifying thing is approaching."
The 胖子 had already seen the monster, which was far beyond his comprehension. He pointed it out to Ye Tiancheng. Following the direction the 胖子 pointed, Ye Tiancheng saw a cloud of dust in the distance, and behind it was a super giant rooster.
After all, Ye Tiancheng had not seen a rooster since leaving his village life. His contact with roosters was usually limited to seeing them at the market when buying groceries, where they were plucked and processed. He would never see a live rooster like this. Furthermore, the sheer size of this rooster was beyond human imagination. No one could believe that there existed a rooster as tall as a tree in this world, yet with all the external characteristics of a normal rooster. Unlike the other monsters they had encountered before, which only vaguely resembled their counterparts, this one was different. For example, it had more eyeballs, or its features were strangely distorted.
"Brother Ye, I'm questioning my sanity. Are you sure we weren't shrunk by some drug? How can this chicken be so huge? I can even see the downy feathers on its giant claws. This is completely illogical!"
The 胖子 couldn't believe what he was seeing. Everything before him was relentlessly destroying his worldview, making the 胖子 wonder if he had gone mad to see such a bizarre sight.
"It should be no. This is a monster conjured by Ouyang Xuxu's dark energy. We just need to disperse it!"
Ye Tiancheng's gaze was firm. He then unleashed a surge of true energy. Previously, when Ye Tiancheng used true energy to attack these monsters, they would at least react, for example, the feathers of the giant rooster would be blown away. But this time, it was completely different. The giant rooster perfectly absorbed the true energy, showing no reaction at all, appearing so natural.
"Brother Ye, are you sure this rooster has true energy? I feel like this rooster is very difficult to deal with. We should be more careful. I feel something is very strange, but I can't quite pinpoint what it is."
"Alright, don't overthink it. Try hitting it with the shovel. Perhaps my attack isn't effective, but physical attacks, whether from humans or demons, should surely be unbearable."
The 胖子 nodded and then rushed forward with the shovel. Due to the significant height difference, he could only swing the shovel and hit the giant rooster's foot.
The giant rooster merely took half a step back and let out a cry that sounded like pain. However, the impact was not as significant as expected. It seemed to disdain such minor attacks that caused no real harm.
"Brother Ye, this is difficult. Even the shovel can't move it. We're in trouble!"