"Dad, Great-Grandpa..."
"Liu Nanfeng... Willow branch... Damn."
Zhan Dundun scanned his surroundings, calling out a few times, but received no response. He finally cursed under his breath.
He was currently in a forest. Towering trees blocked out the sky, and the surrounding grass was taller than him. His spiritual sense told him that countless eyes were watching him, making the hairs on his body stand on end. This was also why he dared not speak loudly.
He glanced up at the sky. He could no longer distinguish east from west, as he was no longer on Earth and couldn't use Earth's knowledge to orient himself.
However, he sniffed the air. Through his keen spiritual sense, he could feel the ebb and flow of spiritual energy in the air, like ripples on water, emanating from a central point outwards. He turned and walked towards the center.
As he walked, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine because the surroundings were too quiet, devoid of any sound.
Just then, without a second thought, Dundun leaped forward. He then saw a giant claw descend from the sky, landing precisely where he had been standing. It created a massive pit, uprooting the surrounding grass and trees.
Dundun didn't stop, nor did he look back. He leaped forward like a projectile, each jump covering thousands of meters. His body was like a streak of light, but Dundun dared not slacken his pace, for he could hear the buzzing wingbeats behind him growing closer.
Dundun knew that running wouldn't be a solution, so he abruptly turned and punched backward with both fists, his entire body enveloped in golden light for protection.
With a thunderous roar, a pair of giant claws collided with his fists, unleashing dazzling light. Both sides were repelled by a small distance.
Dundun finally got a clear view of the monster that had been chasing him. It resembled a celestial crane but had a mouth like a giant mosquito and wings like cicada wings. A slight flap of its wings allowed its massive body to hover in the air.
Dundun's punch ignited the crane-like monster's ferocity, and it flapped its wings again, lunging at Dundun.
Dundun didn't hold back either. He leaped into the air, twisting his body nimbly to evade the monster's claws. His right hand formed a claw and reached for its abdomen.
The crane-like monster split open and extended its sharp beak, stabbing at Dundun with lightning speed. However, Dundun was prepared. After slightly adjusting his body in mid-air, he grabbed the monster's sharp beak with his left hand.
As the monster tried to retract it, Dundun instantly appeared at its abdomen. Then, without any hesitation, his right hand plunged directly into its belly, his entire body crashing through. The massive crane-like monster was impaled, and blood splattered all around.
Dundun stabilized himself and, with a seemingly slight shake of his body, the blood splattered on him was shaken off into mist and scattered into the air. He, who was previously covered in blood, became clean and refreshed once more.
"Seriously, I thought it would be more formidable."
Dundun muttered, feeling rather smug about instantly killing the monster with one move.
Just then, Dundun's ears twitched. He heard rustling sounds in the distance. The scent of blood had attracted other monsters.
Dundun didn't dare to delay and turned to leave. He suddenly noticed that the crane-like monster's mouth was incredibly sharp, like a gleaming sword. He casually pulled it off and then leaped away at high speed.
Along the way, he encountered several more monsters. To his surprise, the beak in his hand proved repeatedly effective.
This beak was not only incredibly sharp but also contained a peculiar ability. As soon as it pricked something, the blood would instantly coagulate. Zhan Dundun inwardly rejoiced that he hadn't engaged it head-on before, and at the same time, he became even more cautious of the monsters in the jungle.
He didn't know how long he had traveled until he encountered an incredibly wide river blocking his path.
"Dad, Great-Grandpa..."
"Liu Nanfeng... Willow branch... Damn."
Zhan Dundun scanned his surroundings, calling out a few times, but received no response. He finally cursed under his breath.
He was currently in a forest. Towering trees blocked out the sky, and the surrounding grass was taller than him. His spiritual sense told him that countless eyes were watching him, making the hairs on his body stand on end. This was also why he dared not speak loudly.
He glanced up at the sky. He could no longer distinguish east from west, as he was no longer on Earth and couldn't use Earth's knowledge to orient himself.
However, he sniffed the air. Through his keen spiritual sense, he could feel the ebb and flow of spiritual energy in the air, like ripples on water, emanating from a central point outwards. He turned and walked towards the center.
As he walked, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine because the surroundings were too quiet, devoid of any sound.
Just then, without a second thought, Dundun leaped forward. He then saw a giant claw descend from the sky, landing precisely where he had been standing. It created a massive pit, uprooting the surrounding grass and trees.
Dundun didn't stop, nor did he look back. He leaped forward like a projectile, each jump covering thousands of meters. His body was like a streak of light, but Dundun dared not slacken his pace, for he could hear the buzzing wingbeats behind him growing closer.
Dundun knew that running wouldn't be a solution, so he abruptly turned and punched backward with both fists, his entire body enveloped in golden light for protection.
With a thunderous roar, a pair of giant claws collided with his fists, unleashing dazzling light. Both sides were repelled by a small distance.
Dundun finally got a clear view of the monster that had been chasing him. It resembled a celestial crane but had a mouth like a giant mosquito and wings like cicada wings. A slight flap of its wings allowed its massive body to hover in the air.
Dundun's punch ignited the crane-like monster's ferocity, and it flapped its wings again, lunging at Dundun.
Dundun didn't hold back either. He leaped into the air, twisting his body nimbly to evade the monster's claws. His right hand formed a claw and reached for its abdomen.
The crane-like monster split open and extended its sharp beak, stabbing at Dundun with lightning speed. However, Dundun was prepared. After slightly adjusting his body in mid-air, he grabbed the monster's sharp beak with his left hand.
As the monster tried to retract it, Dundun instantly appeared at its abdomen. Then, without any hesitation, his right hand plunged directly into its belly, his entire body crashing through. The massive crane-like monster was impaled, and blood splattered all around.
Dundun stabilized himself and, with a seemingly slight shake of his body, the blood splattered on him was shaken off into mist and scattered into the air. He, who was previously covered in blood, became clean and refreshed once more.
"Seriously, I thought it would be more formidable."
Dundun muttered, feeling rather smug about instantly killing the monster with one move.
Just then, Dundun's ears twitched. He heard rustling sounds in the distance. The scent of blood had attracted other monsters.
Dundun didn't dare to delay and turned to leave. He suddenly noticed that the crane-like monster's mouth was incredibly sharp, like a gleaming sword. He casually pulled it off and then leaped away at high speed.
Along the way, he encountered several more monsters. To his surprise, the beak in his hand proved repeatedly effective.
This beak was not only incredibly sharp but also contained a peculiar ability. As soon as it pricked something, the blood would instantly coagulate. Zhan Dundun inwardly rejoiced that he hadn't engaged it head-on before, and at the same time, he became even more cautious of the monsters in the jungle.
He didn't know how long he had traveled until he encountered an incredibly wide river blocking his path.
Seeing the little ones who had slid down the hill, Liu Nanfeng extended a long arm and scooped them up, sand and all. In an instant, he returned the little ones to the top of the sand dune. This repeated, and the laughter of children echoed through the silent desert.
Yang Ruoyun, at the foot of the dune, moved with light steps. With a few leaps, she arrived beside Liu Nanfeng, leaving no footprints on the sand behind her.
"What's wrong? Do you want to play too?" Liu Nanfeng asked with a smile.
Yang Ruoyun rolled her eyes and said, "This is the Heavenly Palace. You're so leisurely and carefree playing with the children? You're just too... too..."
"Otherwise? Hurry forward? And what good would that do if we got there?" Liu Nanfeng asked with a smile.
Then he looked into the distance, and a ruined ancient city appeared in the sky.
Yang Ruoyun followed his gaze, seeing a city in ruins.
"Is it a mirage? And what place is that?"
Liu Nanfeng shook his head, indicating he didn't know either. Then he reached out and drew a circle in the air, and a golden shining round door appeared before him, but on the other side was still rolling yellow sand.
Liu Nanfeng looked puzzled. He drew several more circles, but they were all the same, and he felt a bit strange.
The way he opened his Any Door was either to places he had been to or places he had seen.
And the mirage in the sky, though illusory, should exist in reality and be projected into the sky.
Therefore, his Any Door should be able to directly lead to where the mirage was. However, repeated failures made him suspicious.
Perhaps this wasn't a mirage at all, but merely a fantasy.
Liu Nanfeng was about to activate the divine light in his eyes to observe the information in the sky when the mirage suddenly disappeared.
"Nanfeng, we can't stay here forever, can we? When do we leave?" Su Jinxiu asked as she walked over.
Liu Nanfeng looked up at the sky. The sun was still high, as if it had never moved. However, the light it emitted seemed to have little warmth. Even though they were in the desert, they didn't feel very hot. Instead, the spiritual energy in the air seemed exceptionally wild and scorching.
"Then I'll go forward a bit further. You take the children back," Liu Nanfeng said, getting up.
The sand on his body rustled and fell, quickly forming a new sand dune.
"I'm not going back. I'll go forward with you," Yang Ruoyun said immediately upon hearing this.
"Alright, but there are many dangers in this desert. You must be careful."
"You don't need to worry about me. I'll be careful."
Zhu Yin'e wanted to say that she didn't want to go back either, but seeing Su Jinxiu, she hesitated slightly and ultimately didn't say it.
Then Liu Nanfeng sent the group back to the world of Guan Shan Hai. Although Little Carp and Gu Gu were somewhat reluctant, they wanted to play a little longer.
After they left, the entire world seemed to fall silent.
"Let's go." Liu Nanfeng drew a circle in the air and stepped into it. Yang Ruoyun quickly followed.
Although it was still an endless desert, they had actually traversed tens of thousands of miles in the blink of an eye.
As they appeared, it seemed to have disturbed the master of this place. The winding hills before them suddenly moved. Sand rubbed against each other, making a loud rustling sound. Then a giant head rose from the ground, and a pair of golden eyes looked at the two of them.
Yang Ruoyun, like a startled cat, arched her back in fear and became alert.