Optical illusions—in this type of geographical environment, it wasn’t impossible.

“We’ve walked for so long without seeing half a human shadow, and we haven’t seen any camels or anything like that. How could there suddenly be a city?” Zanxing looked at him. “It’s a bit strange.”

Tian Fangfang gripped the Qianyang Axe at his waist tightly. “It’s not a Mo Sha lair, is it?”

“I’ve never heard of Mo Sha lairs being in deserts,” Mendong said, puzzledly. “This is too remote.”

Meng Ying looked toward the distant, vague city and said calmly, “Whether it’s a Mo Sha lair or a mirage, we can’t keep staying in the same place. Why don’t we continue forward? If it’s a mirage, we’ll pass through it and keep walking. If it’s a Mo Sha lair, we’ll act according to circumstances. It’s better than wandering around here aimlessly.”

“Exactly.” Mu Cengxiao immediately agreed. “Even if it is a Mo Sha lair, there’s nothing to fear. How could Taiyan Sect disciples be cowards who fear death? This is perfect—I can use those Mo Sha’s blood to consecrate my Mieshen Saber.” He spoke with confidence, quite displaying the bearing of a protagonist. Zanxing was just about to mentally applaud him when Mu Cengxiao looked toward her again. “Moreover, Junior Sister now has Qinghua Xianzi’s inheritance. Those Mo Sha are no match for her either. Perhaps we can find the person behind Silver Mirror and destroy the evil Xiaoyuan Pearl.”

Zanxing: “…You think too highly of me.”

“Junior Sister, don’t belittle yourself.” Meng Ying also chimed in. “You are the ‘destined person’ that Xianzi divined back then, destined to save the lives of all people under heaven. Those Mo Sha must fear you the most—this is ordained by fate.”

Zanxing sighed deeply in her heart. Fate had ordained that she would die within less than two thousand words of her appearance. What she was doing now was defying fate and changing destiny. Fate wasn’t that friendly to her, but she couldn’t say this to others.

Gu Baiying frowned. “Are you done talking? If you’re done, let’s hurry up and go. Even if it’s a mirage, if you keep talking, the scene will dissipate.”

“Master Uncle, should we continue forward?” Tian Fangfang asked.

Gu Baiying stared at the distant city and snorted. “Of course. The stranger it is, the more we need to investigate. Besides,” he glanced at Tian Fangfang, “do you see any other way out right now?”

Indeed, there wasn’t. The Yuanli in their bodies was depleting more and more. If this continued, they would become exactly like ordinary people. In that case, they would feel hunger, fatigue, and thirst. Before they could even walk out of this desert, they would die of dehydration first.

For dignified cultivators, including the pride of heaven from their sects, to die trapped in the desert because they got lost—that would be truly disgraceful if word got out.

Everyone readily agreed and decided to head toward the city.

The place looked not far away, just a few li distant, but it took them another hour or so to walk there. Along the way, it remained devoid of human habitation. The golden sand beneath their feet was soft and dry, different from the clean, moist sand and gravel by the western sea of Li’er Kingdom. It was like a golden, boundless swamp that might at any moment drag people down into bottomless depths.

They drew closer and closer to the city.

The moving human figures became clearer and clearer. They could even see spacious, bustling streets and cattle and sheep being led by herders. Noisy sounds came from the distance, as lively as a marketplace.

Would a mirage have sounds? Zanxing couldn’t remember. But Mendong had already become excited.

“It’s not a mirage, it’s real!” The child jumped three feet high, his pink hair ribbons looking more spirited than before. “I see people! This is a city!”

“Maybe it’s a Mo Sha lair,” Zanxing dampened his enthusiasm. “Be careful, they don’t capture you.”

“If they’re going to capture anyone, they’d capture you first.” Mendong puffed out his cheeks and glared at her indignantly. “To catch the bandits, first catch the leader. You’re the one with the inheritance, so of course they’d capture you, this fat sheep, first.”

Zanxing: “…”

Meng Ying said, “We’ve arrived.”

Zanxing looked up at what lay before them.

This was an ancient city.

It was called ancient because the bricks on the city walls were already quite mottled. Some had grown thick moss, others had been eroded by wind and rain until they were incomplete, as if they had existed for thousands of years.

The city gate was made of gray stone, heavy and wide. Carved on the gate was a painting of a woman in a golden-woven long gauze dress, her jade feet bare. Her soft, long hair was abundant like ocean waves, casually draped over her shoulders. Her makeup was rich, her beautiful eyes sparkling. In her left hand, she held a blue snake; in her right hand, a red snake. Though the snakes were cold and sinister, the beauty was passionate and glamorous. As they intertwined, there was a natural romantic charm that made viewers’ hearts flutter.

“Beautiful,” Tian Fangfang praised sincerely.

Zanxing asked back, “Is it?” It reminded her of childhood performances like “Beauty and the Snake” from traveling troupes.

“I think it’s beautiful too.” Mendong pouted. “You’re just jealous because she’s pretty.”

Zanxing: “…” Men’s thoughts were always somewhat unfathomable.

“Look at the writing on this city gate.” Fortunately, there was still one man unmoved by beauty—Mu Cengxiao pointed ahead. “It’s different from the usual.”

Above the stone city gate, various types of snakes were also carved. The black characters carved in the very center seemed to float in the air, prominently displayed. The character forms were also different from usual—both flat and long, and with their deep black color, they appeared even more mysterious and sinister.

“Wufan…” Meng Ying read the characters above in a low voice. “Wufan City.”

“Wufan City?” Zanxing was startled.

“You know of Wufan City?” Mu Cengxiao looked at her.

“I saw it mentioned before in a book called ‘Shocking! One Hundred Fantasy Stories of the Cultivation World You Don’t Know’ in the library.” Zanxing said, “The guardians of this city… are the Serpent Witch Clan.”

“Serpent Witches?” Tian Fangfang was shocked. “Isn’t that just like Silver Chestnut…”

“That’s right. The ones who made deals with Silver Chestnut were the Serpent Witch Clan. Legend says that members of the Serpent Witch Clan can communicate between the heavenly realm and the human realm—they’re a group that exists outside the three realms. Legend says the city they guard is called Wufan City, but no one has ever seen what Wufan City looks like, and it’s never been recorded on Duzhou’s maps.” Zanxing looked toward the city gate. “So this is Wufan City.”

“Master Uncle,” Meng Ying looked at the silent Gu Baiying. “Should we go in?”

Gu Baiying gripped his silver spear tightly. “Of course, we should go in.” He then reminded them, “Follow behind me and don’t let your guard down.”

For such a legendary city to suddenly appear in the barren desert, they needed to be extra careful. After all, that fantasy story book hadn’t specifically mentioned what the temperament of Wufan City’s residents was like, what rules and taboos they had. If they accidentally angered them and caused an incident, that would be troublesome.

When they got closer, Zanxing discovered that this legendary city wasn’t much different from ordinary towns. Looking from the city gate inward, there was a long road with various inns and merchants on both sides. At first glance, it wasn’t much different from Pingyang Town. The only difference was probably due to the strong sandstorms—people here all wore long black robes. The black robes were embroidered with complex, bright patterns, they wore colorful cloth turbans on their heads, and hung colorful bead strings on their chests, giving them a kind of simple, romantic appearance.

Two sword-bearing guards stood at the city gate, also wearing black robes and colorful cloth turbans, with somewhat dark skin. Seeing Zanxing’s group approach, they immediately drew their swords to block them, shouting, “Who are you? How dare you trespass into Wufan City!”

Gu Baiying raised his eyebrows. “Travelers.”

His answer showed no consideration and was almost like a provocation. Mu Cengxiao stepped forward and said, “We are disciples of Taiyan Sect from Duzhou. Due to an error in the teleportation array, we accidentally ended up here. Please let us pass and allow us to rest in the city for one night. We’ll leave tomorrow.”

His attitude was much better than Gu Baiying’s just now, but upon hearing this, the two guards’ expressions didn’t soften. Instead, they exchanged glances, their tone still harsh and wary: “What Taiyan Sect of Duzhou? Never heard of it! Wufan City doesn’t shelter outsiders. You’d better leave quickly.”

“How is it possible you haven’t heard of it?” Mendong became anxious. “Taiyan Sect—Yushan Shengren, the only person in Duzhou to achieve ascension, is our founding sect leader. Surely you’ve heard of Yushan Shengren?”

“Never heard of that name,” the other guard said coldly. “Stop making trouble and leave this place immediately, or don’t blame us for being impolite.”

“Oh?” Gu Baiying planted his Embroidered Bone Spear on the ground and looked at the two provocatively. “How exactly do you plan to be impolite?”

The atmosphere immediately became tense.

Tian Fangfang moved closer to Gu Baiying and whispered, “Master Uncle, those who understand the times are heroes. Right now, our Yuanli has all been depleted considerably, and there is some kind of serpent demon clan here. We shouldn’t clash with them head-on.”

“…It’s the Serpent Witch Clan,” Zanxing corrected him.

“Whether it’s serpent demons or female demons, the situation has changed anyway. We can’t be as confrontational as before.”

While they were pulling and tugging, they suddenly heard a human voice behind them, with some hesitation: “…Big Brother Tian?”

The group turned around to see a little girl carrying a basket standing not far from the city gate. This little girl was probably thirteen or fourteen years old, wearing a black shirt and a floral tube skirt embroidered with peach-pink flowers, with a silver collar around her neck. Being young, she didn’t wear a head wrap like the adults, but had a shiny black braid hanging down her chest. Though her skin was somewhat dark, she had almond eyes and a refined nose, pretty and cute, with two shallow dimples on her cheeks—truly a beauty in the making.

Tian Fangfang was stunned for a while before tentatively asking, “…Little Bean?”

The little girl called “Little Bean” immediately curved her eyes upon hearing this. She ran toward them, running to Tian Fangfang with her face full of surprised joy: “Big Brother Tian, it is you!”

“Junior Brother,” Meng Ying frowned, “this is…”

Tian Fangfang smiled. “This is my fellow villager. She used to often bring me steamed buns. Her name is Dou Niang. But,” he looked at the little girl with some confusion, “Little Bean, how are you here?”

“I live in this city now.” Dou Niang smiled. “Senior Brother Tian, are you trying to enter the city?”

“I…”

“Yes.” Before Tian Fangfang could finish, Gu Baiying interrupted him. He bent down to stare at the little girl, the corner of his mouth curving up. “Unfortunately, the guards won’t let us in. What should we do?”