"This is..."
"The legendary, Dune Ancient City?"
"Yes, it's the Dune Ancient City. Legend has it that it hides the ultimate profound mystery!"
"My heavens, our luck is too good!"
"Quick, let's go, no time to waste!"
These cultivators, except for Dugu Jian, were mostly ancient beings who had lived for hundreds of years and had heard many legends.
Among them was the Dune Ancient City.
According to legend.
The Dune Ancient City was a city from ancient times, inhabited by a powerful Dune Emperor and his subjects, over ten thousand people, whom he had abducted from various places.
Besides that.
The Dune Emperor also had a very famous pet, the Dune Dragon!
However, one day, a child whose parents had been abducted by the Dune Emperor grew up and eventually ambushed and killed the Dune Emperor.
Without the augmentation of the Dune Emperor's might, the Dune Ancient City eventually disappeared somewhere in the desert.
And within the Dune Ancient City...
Lay the Dune Emperor's lifelong secrets, as well as heavenly treasures and earthly materials plundered from all corners.
Therefore.
Countless cultivators had thrown themselves into the quest to find the whereabouts of the Dune Ancient City and obtain its treasures, but all returned empty-handed.
Until today, when it reappeared in the world.
A group of people immediately swarmed into the Dune Ancient City.
Bai Zihe was also slightly surprised.
In fact.
He had also heard of the legend of the Dune Ancient City, as recorded in the Oddities and Records of Longevity Sect given to him by his seventh senior sister.
However.
The Dune Dragon was not that rare, so he hadn't considered the Dune Dragon as a marker for the Dune Ancient City.
"Whoosh..."
Seeing many people rushing into the ancient city, Bai Zihe naturally wouldn't fall behind and quickly followed them in.
Upon entering, they saw a grand hall.
The hall was extremely spacious, with a statue of the Dune Emperor at the top.
However.
After countless years, the statue of the Dune Emperor was already unrecognizable, severely corroded, and its original meticulous craftsmanship was lost.
And those cultivators...
Were scrambling to snatch the treasures placed in the hall.
There were accessories hanging on the walls.
There were peculiar-looking weapons on the weapon racks, emitting powerful auras that made one's eyes water.
There were golden chests filled with elixirs, refined iron, rare treasures, and more.
"Hmm?"
Bai Zihe was about to join the scramble.
However, before he could step forward, he noticed something unusual.
These treasures...
Were all covered with a thin layer of yellow sand.
In the Dune Ancient City, this would have seemed ordinary at first glance.
Yet, Bai Zihe keenly sensed that this yellow sand was not simple, carrying a dangerous aura that made him uneasy.
This was a unique feeling Bai Zihe possessed after comprehending the Five Elements profound mystery.
"Ahhh..."
At that moment, a piercing scream erupted from nearby.
Bai Zihe immediately turned to look.
Good heavens.
He saw a cultivator holding a spear-like treasure, but the spear was gradually disintegrating, disappearing like sand.
The cultivator's hand gripping the spear shaft was also slowly turning into sand, falling off piece by piece.
The cultivator's soul was terrified.
He frantically tried to throw away the spear, but it clung to him like a leech, impossible to shake off.
"Ahhh..."
The cultivator, shocked and enraged, finally gritted his teeth and severed his own arm with his other hand.
"Clang..."
The spear and the arm fell to the ground together, then, together, turned into sand.
As a gust of wind blew, everything vanished, leaving not a trace of blood or any other mark.
Everyone was stunned by this scene.
"Whoosh..."
"Swish..."
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."
The next moment, many cultivators threw the treasures they held to the ground.
Their hearts were filled with trepidation, clearly frightened.
There were also some who were unwilling to give up so easily, resorting to trickery by using their true essence to form phantom arms to envelop the treasures.
"Heh."
"Fortune favors the bold!"
"What are you afraid of? If this little trick scares you, what kind of cultivators are you!"
"Exactly, a bunch of fools!"
"Hahaha..."
Seeing that there was no immediate danger, those cultivators became smug.
And.
They continued to move towards other treasures, wanting to possess everything and absorb these riches.
However...
Soon, the smiles on the cultivators' faces froze.
Because, in an instant, a soul-crushing pressure rendered them immobile, and then, their entire bodies turned into sand.
Finally, they all became a pile of yellow sand, dissipating into the heavens and earth.
"Hiss..."
"This is too terrifying!"
"What on earth is going on? Why are there treasures but we're not allowed to have them? Isn't this tormenting us?"
"There must be some mechanism here!"
"We all know there's a mechanism, but where is it?"
The remaining cultivators, each wary, scanned their surroundings, pondering and analyzing, seeking an answer.
Bai Zihe's gaze fell upon the statue of the Dune Emperor at the far end of the hall.
This thing gave him a very strange feeling.
"Whoosh..."
Without hesitation, Bai Zihe unleashed a sword qi.
From dozens of feet away, it reached its target in the blink of an eye.
The cultivators didn't know what Bai Zihe intended, but they all turned their attention, curious to see what would happen after this sword strike.
"Whoosh..."
Just as the sword qi was about to strike the statue, a mysterious force suddenly appeared, disintegrating Bai Zihe's sword qi.
Then...
The statue returned to its original state, as if nothing had happened.
"Hmm?"
"It is indeed peculiar!"
"This statue actually possesses power!"
"No wonder these things happened. There are likely many unknown matters in this hall."
"The stranger it is, the more it indicates that the secret of the Dune Ancient City is extraordinary. This trip was worth it!"
The cultivators showed understanding or anticipation.
One by one, they quickly began to look around, searching for potential mechanisms.
And Bai Zihe...
Walked directly towards the statue of the Dune Emperor.
Because, as his sword qi was broken, he sensed a faint aura emanating from the statue of the Dune Emperor.
Within ten feet.
Bai Zihe carefully scrutinized the Dune Emperor statue.
This statue...
Unlike other objects in the hall, it was lifelike, showing little wear and tear from the passage of time.
"This is..."
As Bai Zihe circled the Dune Emperor statue, examining it, he suddenly noticed a detail he had long overlooked.
That was a cushion, three feet outside the Dune Emperor statue.
Yes, a cushion.
This thing...
Was just as lifelike as the statue, and it lay there, unnoticed by the cultivators, and even Bai Zihe would have missed it if he hadn't seen it now.
Perhaps...
This was the key to breaking through the statue's defenses.
Bai Zihe's lips curled into a smile as he mused to himself.