Chapter 75
Chapter 75
Fine White Jade was scattered across the red sandstone ground.
Han Lie and Aman advanced toward the Divine Shrine.
“Aman, have you noticed that we haven’t seen any more Fei Yi eggs since we crossed this line?”
Han Lie crouched down before the extremely abrupt white Sandstone Lines.
Aman was a man of knowledge and learning. Knowing that Han Lie and the others were somewhat wary of him, he had been a bit more silent than before.
Hearing Han Lie call out, he took a careful look.
However, upon looking, he was stunned for a moment.
The white sandstone on the ground formed a line that appeared quite suddenly, as if someone had intentionally drawn a circle around the Divine Shrine.
Aman stood on his tiptoes to look into the distance, trying to find the end of these Sandstone Lines.
But he didn’t need to exert himself. Outside the box, Qin Ying had already taken advantage of her bird’s-eye view to see the entire terrain clearly.
Qin Ying’s brow furrowed as she whispered, “This Red Sandstone forms a pattern.”
The shape was abstract and incomplete, but Qin Ying was certain the pattern looked somewhat like a person with a beak-like mouth!
Because the lines were too abstract, Qin Ying could only make out a rough outline; other details remained unclear.
She picked up the small notebook beside her, which was filled with dense notes, flipped to a new page, and sketched the pattern.
At the same time, she relayed what she saw to Han Lie.
Han Lie remained crouched before the Red Sandstone. He used the corner of his clothes to scoop up some white sand and stones to study them closely.
Listening to Qin Ying’s words, he pondered for a long time but failed to find any clues.
He and Aman continued forward.
The closer they got to the Divine Shrine, the white jade discs on the ground grew ever finer in quality.
With any random step, one could step on one or two pieces of flawless jade that could be exchanged for a manor in Luoyang.
Clearly, the Sand People rarely crossed the line to gather the jade discs.
After walking a bit further, Aman suddenly looked up at the sky. “Squad Leader Han, have you noticed it seems to be getting hot again?”
A drop of sweat slid down from Han Lie’s temple.
Once again, they felt that temperature from the desert-the kind that could practically roast a human body dry.
This was by no means a good omen; it was highly likely that the Hanba had already recovered from its injuries.
Han Lie and Aman exchanged a look. Their hearts sank simultaneously as they quickened their pace.
After another stretch, the ground was entirely covered in White Jade with no sandstone in sight.
They had also reached the front of the massive Divine Shrine.
Approaching this legendary place, Aman didn’t even dare to breathe loudly.
Han Lie was doing better; after all, he had even eaten grains of rice as tall as a person and had seen the world.
The Divine Shrine had no doors, employing a very ancient columnar architectural style.
There were no stone steps leading up to it; only a path paved with white jade discs.
Aman felt a pang of guilt just by stepping on these jades.
The two moved forward with cautious vigilance as the massive pillars of the Divine Shrine came into view.
“Squad Leader Han.”
Aman’s mouth was dry. He wanted to ask Han Lie if he had noticed anything.
Just then, a sudden movement came from the white stones to his right.
With a beast-like roar, a fiery red shadow lunged out from underground.
As someone who had dared to poison the Thunderbird and survived its extreme wrath, Aman did not lack courage or skill.
Seeing a massive, salivating maw snapping toward his throat, he didn’t dodge. Instead, he drew his blade to meet the attack.
The scimitar in his hand jammed precariously into the sharp fangs.
A blast of heat hit his face, yet Aman did not smell the stench typical of a wild beast.
Looking closer, he discovered a dog with fur as red as flame, its mouth currently clamped shut by his scimitar.
Aman cursed angrily, “What a Fierce Hound!”
He was about to exert force to push the Red-furred Dog away, but Han Lie reached out and grabbed his belt.
Aman felt an immense force strike him as Han Lie yanked him back several steps.
Before he could ask why, Han Lie lashed out with a kick.
His foot slammed squarely into the Red-furred Dog’s abdomen.
With a sharp whimper, the Red-furred Dog was sent flying backward.
It crashed into the shards of jade on the ground, its paws flailing for a moment before it failed to scramble back up.
It cast a resentful glance at the two men, then retreated into the distance with its tail between its legs.
Confused, Aman asked, “Squad Leader Han, why would a Red-furred Dog…”
It wasn’t as if he couldn’t handle the beast himself.
Han Lie watched the direction the Red-furred Dog had fled, slowly shaking his head. “It’s not a dog.”
He gestured for Aman to look at the scimitar in his hand. “It’s a Hou.”
Aman looked down, his pupils shrinking instantly.
On his polished, razor-sharp scimitar, a jade-like tooth mark had appeared.
The shape matched the beast’s mouth perfectly.
*Hou…* Aman repeated the name in his mind. Then he heard Han Lie continue: “The Hou feeds on fire and excretes jade.”
“Its saliva can turn objects into jade.”
Aman’s scimitar had turned into White Jade exactly where it had been touched by the Hou’s saliva.
If Han Lie hadn’t pulled Aman away just now, the scimitar would have snapped entirely. Moreover, if Aman had been bitten, the wound would have petrified into jade as well.
Han Lie’s expression was grim. After offering those few words of explanation, he prepared to pull Aman away and retreat.
The Hou lived on fire; it swallowed flames but excreted jade.
Because of this unique trait, the Hou had long ago been hunted to the brink of extinction. Records stated that this Monstrous Beast had been extinct for at least five or six hundred years.
But given the sheer amount of White Jade here, there was likely a significant population of Hou still alive.
As the realization set in, Aman’s face turned even paler than Han Lie’s.
So… their Tribe’s Holy Land was covered in… excrement?
His lips trembled, the situation feeling utterly absurd.
For thousands of years, they had been collecting Hou droppings to sell?
The thing they had been offering sacrifices to all this time was…
Aman felt as if his world was collapsing.
Outside the box, Qin Ying’s mouth twitched for a moment. She felt an odd wave of pity for them.
“Stop running,” she warned. “Stay where you are.”
The Hou that fled had gone to fetch reinforcements.
From Qin Ying’s perspective, the field of White Jade looked like a pot of boiling porridge. From every jade bubble, a Hou with fire-colored fur emerged.
They were forming a perimeter, closing in on Han Lie and Aman.
Han Lie was exceptionally obedient. When Qin Ying told him to stop, he planted his feet and stood his ground.
This left Aman in a state of extreme anxiety. He shoved at Han Lie, shouting, “Squad Leader Han, what’s wrong with you?”
Han Lie didn’t answer. He simply looked up at the sky.
Sure enough, in the next instant, the clouds above churned.
A silver, shimmering object descended from the heavens.
Like an inverted Cup, it clamped down over their heads.
Aman stood frozen in shock, his mouth hanging open.
In the distance, Wu Er and the others stood up.
They couldn’t see the crisis Han Lie was facing, but they knew that if the Supreme Deity had intervened, something must have gone wrong.
Wu Er’s expression darkened as he stood and commanded, “On alert! If there is any movement, prepare to evacuate immediately!”
Wang Chang dropped his usual unreliable demeanor. With a solemn face, he responded, “Understood.”
…
Aman felt the world go dark. It was as if they had been trapped under a Cup belonging to a god.
The air around them was filled with a distinct metallic scent.
Thick walls muffled the panicked cries of the Hou outside.
Aman’s entire body shook. “What happened? Where are we?”