Chapter 110 Wuwang Wind Cloud City

The desert seemed boundless. After walking for four hours, they finally arrived at a desolate former forest. Many rotten and withered trees were buried in the sands. Xiao Chen lifted his head and stared up at the crimson clouds. Dusk was about to arrive. They could not walk out of the desert today, it seemed.

Hu Han gave orders behind him. "Brothers, we will camp here tonight and leave the next morning." The more than two dozen men behind did not voice any dissent. Instead, they began to work.

They had relied on these men during the journey. Xiao Chen did not want to sit and do nothing. He let Luo Shangyan sit below a withered tree and went alone to haul some dried wood and stone slabs. Hu Han saw that he looked well mannered and cultivated, yet had such enormous strength. He smiled. "Brother Xiao, you must be a martial artist too, aren't you?"

Xiao Chen put down a large stone slab and smiled lightly. "I have trained with my father as a boy."

The company made the place comfortable. The sky had completely darkened. The sky was clear in a desert and the stars and the moon looked exceptionally bright in the night. Seven or eight were left to build a fire. The rest went around to sprinkle herbal powders to repel night attacks from poisonous insects from the desert.

"Brother Hu, this death desert has only formed quite recently, hasn't it?" Xiao Chen asked, examining the broken tiles in his hand.

"Yes. I heard the old people say that it only formed 100 years ago. In the past, this used to be a lovely, scenic spot."

Xiao Chen nodded. Along the journey, he had discovered building ruins in many places. Although the place might not have been prosperous, it could not have been so lifeless. How did it lose its vitality 100 years ago...?

"But the Wuwang Wind Cloud City is a true miracle. It was built in the desert, yet it's a lively place, with nearly 200,000 inhabitants. It seemed that their City Master has some great magical powers. He can ensure the survival of all living things within a 5-kilometer radius. The city residents all worship him."

Xiao Chen's spirits revived. "Oh? Is there such a divine person?" He remembered that Leng Ningfeng seemed to care for the Zhou State's Spiritual Meridian. Had their City Master appropriated a Spiritual Meridian nearby with his magic powers?

Why was this man converging the power of the Spiritual Meridians, without concern for the lives of the living? What was his plot?

As night fell, it became more silent. Save for crackling noises from the pile of firewood and the snores of some men, there were no other sounds. It was deathly still.

Once someone reached Xiao Chen's realm, he could go a night or two without sleep. But Luo Shangyan was a little tired. She gradually fell asleep on his shoulder. Suddenly, the noise of rustling resounded. The noise approached from afar, becoming more and more distinct.

Xiao Chen suddenly opened his eyes. He swept his Divine Sense forward. Many unknown creatures were scuttling here on the ground. He was about to sound a warning when Hu Han got up vigorously and pulled out his saber on his belt. He yelled. "Guys! Wake up! The sandworms are here!"

Everyone heard his voice and awoke with a start. They pulled their sabers out on their belts and converged in the center. Hu Han saw that Xiao Chen and his wife were still outside. He shouted loudly, "Brother Xiao! There's danger! Come here, quick!"

Luo Shangyan had also awakened. Xiao Chen pulled her to the center of the circle. Under the moonlight, the level desert started to undulate. Countless creatures seemed to rush in, making their hairs stand on ends. Astonished cries kept ringing out. "What happened? Why are there so many sandworms?"

They knew that the death desert could spawn many sandworms, some as long as an arm, but not so many as to attack a caravan. Besides, they had sprinkled a lot of herbal powder on the nearby sands.

Suddenly not far away, gravels began to overturn. A large creature gushed out from underground. It was a ringed worm nearly 10 meters long, as thick as a bucket, dull red in color. It had no eyes or head, only a disc-like projection full of cold, white fangs at the top.

Xiao Chen was stunned. What kind of a monster was this? The others all blanched with horror. "How can a sandworm be this big?"

Their voices had not faded away when 20 to 30 large sandworms streamed in from all around them. The company's hairs stood on ends. They had never seen such gigantic sandworms before. These could even engulf a human. Luo Shangyan was so shocked that she went terribly pale. These creatures were so disgusting. Red juice dripped out from their huge, disc-like mouths.

Saber in hand, Hu Han said calmly, "Don't panic! Keep together!"

Before he could finish his words, a sandworm had attacked swiftly. Those farthest out in the circle hacked at the worm, but their sharp blades could not sever its body. Instead, they rebounded off its soft body. The company was shocked. They could easily sever an ordinary sandworm, but these mutants seemed impenetrable.

Hu Han exclaimed in shock. "Be careful!" It was too late. The sandworm had swallowed a man whole. The man could not dodge in time and had been engulfed. Suddenly, a silver sword radiance flashed. Blood splattered everywhere after a whoosh. The sandworm had been severed into half. One half fell to the ground, the lower half quickly scurried into the sands.

The company was still in shock when dozens of sandworms attacked together. Xiao Chen focused his attention and chanted incantations. The Unsullied Sword turned into thousands of long brilliant radiances, making whizzing noises. Blood seemed to rain. These mutant worms had been completely destroyed by the sword radiances.

The newly emerging sandworms no longer dared to come forward. They slinked back like the tide, just the same way as they had arrived.

Only now did the company realize that these peerless Sword Qi were from Xiao Chen. Hu Han was the first to react. He bent his knees and bowed down to Xiao Chen. "Sigh! I have wandered in the martial arts world for over 20 years. Yet I cannot tell that you are from an Immortals' sect!"

Xiao Chen quickly helped him up. "Brother Hu, let's first put this aside. Let's see if the brother over there is all right."

More than two dozen people immediately went searching for that half worm. They cut it open. Luckily, the man had not yet been digested, He only suffered a great shock. His body was curled up like a ball, shivering incessantly.

After this incident, they could no longer stay. The company stayed at another place. Hu Han and the others became even more respectful of Xiao Chen. They had always regarded Cultivators' sect members as deities. They could seize items from a distance, fly on a sword, decapitate someone thousands of kilometers away with a sword, summon the wind and the rain... they could do almost anything.

"I wonder if Brother Xiao is from the Jade Qing Sect, or Skygale Sect?"

Xiao Chen smiled gently and shook his head. Neither. He was from the Mystic Cyan Sect. Had it been several millennia ago, if an ordinary person had asked him about his sect, he would declare proudly, "I am from the Mystic Cyan Sect, hailing from Yaoguang Temple."

Then those people would say with great awe, "So you're the disciple of Immortal Miaoyin from the Mystic Cyan Sect. No wonder your cultivation is so great at such a young age."

He could only reflect on this downcast now. He turned around and saw that Luo Shangyan's face was still ghastly white. He asked, "Senior Sister Luo, are you still scared?"

The company had first heard him say that she was his wife. Now, they heard him address her as Senior Sister. They thought to themselves: perhaps there was a ruling in their sect prohibiting fellow disciples from falling in love. So they had to elope.

Seeing the gazes around her, Luo Shangyan's pretty face blushed. She said softly, "No... no."

The night was over. Thanks to this incident, no one had much rest. But they had to move on immediately, or they could not reach Wuwang Wind Cloud City on time, by dusk.

All along the journey, Hu Han became even more devoted and polite to Xiao Chen. He made the latter feel somewhat uncomfortable. At dusk, they finally saw an ancient fortress soaring into the clouds in the distance. There was a small city below the fortress. Outside, green hills and emerald water skirted, very different from the lifeless atmosphere of the death desert. This must be Wuwang Wind Cloud City.

As they neared the moat, Xiao Chen immediately sensed the rich Spiritual Qi here, but also felt a vague feeling of discomfort. It was difficult to describe. There seemed to be a gigantic formation binding all the nearby Spiritual Qi.

Once they reached the city, they saw teeming crowds and a bustling, lively scene. Other than its inhabitants, the others were cultivators from everywhere. Some were sect members, but more were independent cultivators without a sect. They must have all come for the ruin.

The most conspicuous building in the city was the ancient fortress, on a high mountain in the west. Clouds and fog shrouded the ancient fortress, giving one a feeling of profound mystery. Hu Han smiled. "This is the City Master Fortress."

Xiao Chen nodded. For some reason, he felt that this place give him an unspeakably peculiar feeling. He said, "Brother Hu, you may not like what I say, but I hope that all of you can steer clear of the Ancient Immortal Clan ruin. I sense something odd going on there."

He knew that most of them who were visiting the ruin would be cultivators. A man in the early stages of the Core Forming Realm strode past him. Xiao Chen did not want these twenty-odd men to die for nothing.

Hu Han smiled. "Of course. We will only be around the ruin, not inside." Xiao Chen nodded gently. "Then, my Senior Sister and I will take our leave here." He cupped his fists at the company.

The others also cupped their fists. "May we meet again?"

After saying goodbye to Hu Han and his company, it was already late. Xiao Chen found an inn to lodge in. Thanks to its geographical position, traders often stopped by the city for a rest. As a result, there was an abundance of inns here. Still, Xiao Chen had to search a long time before he found an inn with a few rooms left.

After their meal, he went into their room. Xiao Chen opened the window in the west and gazed out at the partly hidden, partly visible ancient fortress. He was wondering about the person who resided there...

Luo Shangyan walked to his side and said quietly, "This fortress is very strange." Xiao Chen turned around. "You can see that too?"

Luo Shangyan nodded. "The Spiritual Qi there is most abundant, yet it seemed bound by something."

This was exactly Xiao Chen's thought. The City Master in the fortress had bound an Earth Spiritual Meridian with his mystic art. He shook his head. "Senior Sister Luo, after visiting the Ancient Immortal Clan ruin tomorrow, we will leave this place."

He did not want to have anything to do with the City Master. He could sense vaguely that the man was very powerful. He could bind an Earth Spiritual Meridian with his powers alone.

Everyone has their own matters to see to. Just like why he had to know the reason behind the Immortals and the Devils' demise, millennia ago. Xiao Chen also wanted to know the reason why he was resurrected, and to locate his Master. He did not wish to interfere with anyone--so long as the person did not affect him.