A patch of red cloud in the sky rapidly approached, revealing itself to be thousands of thumb-sized insects as it drew nearer.
They resembled neither scorpions nor ants, but rather something akin to a longhorn beetle, possessing a pair of sharp mandibles and sharp claws. However, their entire bodies were fiery red, like burning flames, and they swarmed in countless numbers.
They were likely drawn by the corpse of the centipede monster. Wherever they passed, the enormous carcass vanished at a visible rate, leaving only the yellow sand from its insides scattered on the ground.
"Heehee~"
Just then, a child's laughter suddenly echoed through the desolate ancient city.
The fiery insects, as if greatly startled, scattered in all directions, losing their formation and descending into utter chaos.
More exaggeratedly, some insects froze in place, scared to death. This astonished Liu Nanfeng. Could this sound possess such power?
It was indeed peculiar; in this abandoned ancient city, where could a child's laughter originate?
"Liu Nanfeng, did you hear that?"
Yang Ruoyun, tightly clutching Liu Nanfeng's arm, looked around with a face full of fear.
"You're scared? If you're scared, you can go back first," Liu Nanfeng said.
"Who... who's scared? I'm not afraid."
Yang Ruoyun retorted stubbornly, yet her hand remained firmly clasped around Liu Nanfeng's arm.
"Shall we go take a look?" Liu Nanfeng suggested.
"It's too strange, we should be careful," Yang Ruoyun said with a hint of fear.
Yet, she didn't back down in her words.
"Don't worry."
As Liu Nanfeng spoke, he dispelled the mirror image space. By then, only half of the centipede monster's corpse remained on the ground.
Liu Nanfeng reached down and pressed lightly, causing the surrounding sand to churn before finally burying the carcass completely.
"Let's go."
Only then did Liu Nanfeng stride forward.
Yang Ruoyun quickly followed, of course, still clutching Liu Nanfeng's arm tightly and looking around curiously.
They say cats are curious; he never believed it before, but now he was a complete convert.
The two of them followed the broken walls, seeing the giant stone statues, houses, and pavilions buried by sand, and couldn't help but show a trace of regret.
"Why didn't you use that move again?" Yang Ruoyun gestured to the way Liu Nanfeng had cleared the sand earlier.
Liu Nanfeng ignored her, his gaze fixed on what lay ahead.
"Heehee~"
Just then, another burst of laughter rang out.
Liu Nanfeng remembered the first time he heard the laughter, it seemed to be coming from directly in front of them. However, this time, the laughter originated from their right.
"Can you tell where the laughter is coming from?" Liu Nanfeng asked Yang Ruoyun.
Upon hearing this, Yang Ruoyun pointed in a direction that greatly surprised Liu Nanfeng.
She pointed to their left.
"And the first time, could you tell where it came from?" Liu Nanfeng asked again.
This time, Yang Ruoyun pointed forward, but the direction was skewed towards the right.
This meant that they were hearing the laughter from different directions.
How magical could this be?
Liu Nanfeng did not wish to waste time on such superstitious matters, so he activated the analytical ability of his eyes.
Yang Ruoyun watched this scene with curiosity, even sneakily touching the concentric circles floating in the air with her finger, but she couldn't touch them at all.
At this moment, information about the ancient city was fully displayed in Liu Nanfeng's eyes.
What followed greatly astonished him, for the information of the ancient city was incredibly complex. Even after removing a large amount of redundant sand information, the contents of this ancient city were still awe-inspiring; it was a complete civilization.
Writing, art, technology, religion, and more, these things, though seemingly intangible, were omnipresent within this ancient city.
"Heehee~"
Just then, another burst of laughter was heard, this time from a different direction.
However, this also caused a set of information to appear in the air, allowing Liu Nanfeng to instantly know the direction and stride towards it.
This direction was completely different from where his ears perceived the sound to be.
"Huh? This direction doesn't seem right?" Yang Ruoyun whispered.
"Be quiet, just follow me."
Upon hearing this, Yang Ruoyun pouted but said no more.
After the two of them climbed over several sand dunes, Yang Ruoyun finally couldn't help but ask, "Are we always going upwards?"
Liu Nanfeng nodded. "Yes, because this ancient city is actually built on a mountainside, and we are now climbing upwards."
"A mountain?" Yang Ruoyun turned her head back in surprise.
Such a vast city built on a mountainside implied that the mountain was enormous, yet it was completely buried by yellow sand. This was simply...
She couldn't find words to describe it.
And where did all this yellow sand come from?
"Continue forward," Liu Nanfeng said, and Yang Ruoyun quickly followed.
If this ancient city was built on a slope and they were moving upwards, then more and more buildings should emerge from the sand. However, this was not the case; it was the opposite, with fewer and fewer structures visible. After walking for thousands of meters, they saw no broken walls.
"Have we left the ancient city?" Yang Ruoyun whispered.
The two of them were moving at an extremely fast pace. Although it had only been ten-odd minutes, they had likely covered dozens of kilometers.
"No, but we're getting close."
Liu Nanfeng looked down at the ground, reached out, and pressed lightly. The yellow sand parted like flowing water, revealing buried structures.
"Are we about to leave the city? Are you sure you haven't got the direction wrong?"
"No, look?"
Liu Nanfeng pointed to a wide road revealed by the parting yellow sand. This road was entirely paved with bluestone, but it was covered in the marks of time, with countless wagon ruts.
"This road should lead directly upwards," Liu Nanfeng said, pointing forward.
"Then let's hurry," Yang Ruoyun said, becoming a little impatient.
After another ten-odd minutes of walking, many giant stones suddenly emerged from the yellow sand on both sides, arranged in regular rows.
Liu Nanfeng reached out and cleared the sand around a giant stone, revealing its original appearance.
The stone was over ten meters tall, and it had not been carved, retaining its natural form.
However, it appeared to have been split in two. One side was as smooth as a mirror, covered with inscriptions and a sun-like pattern.
"What does it say here?" Yang Ruoyun asked curiously.
"How should I know?"
The writing on the giant stone was unlike any script Liu Nanfeng had ever seen. It resembled Taoist incantations, but was shorter and more structured, with sharp strokes and corners that were perfectly square. From a distance, it looked like a sculpted work of art, possessing a kind of geometric beauty.
"I thought you knew everything," Yang Ruoyun muttered softly.
"Let's go on," Liu Nanfeng said, walking forward again.
While his analytical ability was powerful, for things he had never encountered, he couldn't understand the meaning of the text through information alone.
Along the way, they encountered eighteen such giant stones, eventually arriving before a temple buried in yellow sand.