Before him lay a wide river, yet Dundun had no intention of entering the water. Standing on the bank, he could already see giant black shadows swimming beneath the surface, and he knew that if he went in, he would be delivering himself as a meal.
However, it was fine. At this moment, breaking through the Heavenly Gate to enter the Heavenly Palace, the Zhan family elders' only worry was Zhan Dundun. Although he had received the灌顶 and gained magical power, he was still young and lacked experience. Therefore, they had given him many treasures for self-defense.
But due to the depletion of spiritual energy, many magical artifacts had lost their spiritual power and become useless. Thus, the usable artifacts were extremely precious, which was why Dundun had been reluctant to use them before.
At this moment, he took out a bag from his embrace. The bag was black and white, and he didn't know which ancestor's skin it was made from. He reached inside and pulled out a perpetually growing green bamboo.
The green bamboo had three sections, with joints and leaves, emitting a faint green glow, truly extraordinary.
Dundun threw the bamboo sections into the river. Upon contact with water, the sections immediately grew larger and thicker, transforming into a simple bamboo raft in the blink of an eye. The raft had a flag, a pole, a chair, a table, and tea...
Dundun leaped up and landed lightly on the bamboo raft.
At this moment, seeing someone fall into the water, the creatures in the water immediately leaped out, opening their mouths wide, and lunged to devour Dundun.
The bamboo raft immediately emanated a hazy green light, like strands of sword energy. The creatures in the water were pierced into sieves, their lives extinguished, and they fell back into the water.
Dundun, meanwhile, sat leisurely on his chair, casting his fishing rod, drifting down the river at an incredibly fast speed. The aquatic monsters that occasionally leaped up to attack him had no effect on him whatsoever.
Dundun also had more energy to pay attention to both banks.
The boundless mountain mist, tall trees, strange-looking ferocious beasts, and vast swathes of destroyed forests and peaks all told him that a world-ending great battle had occurred here in the past, casting a shadow over Dundun's heart.
At this moment, Liu Nanfeng also arrived before an ancient city.
This ancient city was not the same one from the mirage before, but it appeared even more magnificent. However, more than half of it was buried by yellow sand. Even so, the exposed ruins and broken walls still evoked immense awe.
Towering buildings, massive walls, upturned eaves, and intricately carved beams and painted buildings were exquisitely crafted. However, judging by the style, the lines were bold and the painting style simple. While it lacked delicate beauty, it possessed a majestic grandeur.
"What a pity," Yang Ruoyun said with great regret.
At this moment, Liu Nanfeng was standing before a broken wall, examining it closely.
This broken wall was several meters high, and this was only the part exposed above the yellow sand. The broken wall was adorned with countless exquisite patterns, depicting flying birds, running beasts, flowers, birds, fish, and insects. It was unclear what material was used, as despite the erosion of wind and sand over so many years, there was not the slightest sign of fading.
"What are you looking at?" Seeing that Liu Nanfeng did not answer, Yang Ruoyun leaned closer and asked curiously.
Then she also noticed the exquisite painted walls.
"Wow, it's indeed beautiful," Yang Ruoyun exclaimed.
"I'm not talking about that. Look here..."
Liu Nanfeng pointed to the small holes on the wall. These holes were about as thick as a finger and looked like bullet holes.
"Are these bullet holes?" Yang Ruoyun reached out to touch them, her face filled with surprise.
Yang Ruoyun had also lived through times of war and was no stranger to guns and ammunition.
"No, look, these holes are extremely regular, identical in size, and there are no bullet heads inside," Liu Nanfeng said, poking a hole with his hand.
"Then what caused this?" Yang Ruoyun asked with some surprise.
"Do you remember the monsters we encountered earlier?"
How could Yang Ruoyun forget? That monster had constantly set off her danger alarms. If Liu Nanfeng hadn't pulled her away quickly, she might have become its prey.
Yang Ruoyun suddenly realized, "You mean these holes are the footprints left by that monster?"
The monster encountered earlier was incredibly huge, shaped like a centipede with countless small tendrils, which allowed it to move swiftly through the desert without sinking into the sand.
Liu Nanfeng nodded, about to say more, when a sense of alarm suddenly arose in his heart, and he looked up at the sky.
Yang Ruoyun followed his gaze and was also startled.
"It can fly?"
It turned out that the centipede monster that had been chasing them was now soaring in the sky, obscuring the sun and the sky, like a vast dark cloud.
"Let's go..." Yang Ruoyun grabbed Liu Nanfeng in panic and wanted to run.
"What's the point of running? Running all the time isn't a solution."
Liu Nanfeng broke free from her hand, waved his hand in the air, and countless rays of light flashed, with circles spreading outwards from beneath his feet.
The surrounding sand, walls, and buildings were covered, dyed golden, like a giant formation.
Yang Ruoyun looked at the ground in amazement.
"What is this?"
Liu Nanfeng did not answer the question. Instead, he pressed down in the air with his hand, and countless spikes instantly rose from the sandy ground, then became crystal clear, flashing with blinding cold light, like ten thousand flying blades.
Countless spikes ascended and pierced the dark cloud in the sky.
"Wooo..."
The centipede monster in the sky did not expect Liu Nanfeng to suddenly launch this attack. Its abdomen was pierced by countless spikes, and it let out a pained cry. A strong wind raged, and the entire desert seemed to churn up a sandstorm, obscuring the sun and the sky.
Liu Nanfeng quickly waved his hand, unfolding his mirrored space, isolating everything from the outside. After the sand city exploded, yellow sand once again submerged the ancient city.
However, Liu Nanfeng's actions did not stop. As he tapped his fingers in the air, the spikes that had originally pierced the centipede monster's abdomen transformed back into sand particles, and as if imbued with life, they burrowed into its body.
Perhaps a few grains of sand might not affect the centipede monster, but such a vast amount of sand instantly caused the centipede monster to fall from the sky. It rolled on the ground in pain, and countless insects and ants scurried out from under the sand, fleeing in all directions.
A yellow mist spread outwards. Wherever it passed, the sand melted into liquid, emitting wisps of smoke. Other insects, ants, or monsters that could not escape were directly dissolved, becoming a pool of liquid emitting an unpleasant odor.
And at this moment, the centipede monster's entire body ignited, turning into a burning behemoth. Its countless tendrils stirred the sand and crashed into the ancient city. The ground shook violently, and countless sand dunes around it began to collapse. Many ruins in the ancient city started to crumble again, exuding an aura of world-ending destruction.
But this was merely the centipede monster's death throes.
The yellow mist, mixed with the sand and dust, not only obscured vision but also covered spiritual sense and even corroded it.
Startled, Liu Nanfeng quickly switched to his sandman form. In this form, he could observe his surroundings relying on the ubiquitous sand.
Simultaneously, more sand was brought under Liu Nanfeng's control and burrowed into the centipede monster's wounds again. They seemed to be imbued with life, drilling everywhere and constantly damaging the centipede monster's body. Even with its remaining strength and large amounts of corrosive liquid, it could not withstand the inexhaustible sand, and finally lost all vitality.
Liu Nanfeng and Yang Ruoyun then emerged from the mirrored space.
The massive corpse spanned almost half the ancient city. Even as a corpse, it was still incredibly awe-inspiring.
At this moment, a rustling sound mixed with buzzing reached their ears.
This sound sent a chill down their spines and made their hair stand on end.
Liu Nanfeng quickly opened his mirrored space and hid inside with Yang Ruoyun again.