Chapter 561: The Desert Trembled
Lan sat on the sand as he looked at the silent surroundings. He could feel the strange fluctuations of his emotions, but he was not close to losing sanity like Xue Wei and the ghosts they had encountered previously had done.
Was the ability to keep sane due to his strength, or were there some hidden causes behind the changes that had occurred within this area?
Xue Wei was not acting as the ghosts. He was not violent or eager to fight; however, he had been blinded by the temptations of something unknown, which made him lose all sanity.
Such manipulation of feelings made Lan uncomfortable, as even he was unable to counter them. There had been no fluctuations within the heaven or earth energy, nor had the soul energy been stirred, causing him to find no clue behind the strange phenomenon.
He was not even capable of bringing Xue Wei elsewhere, as he did not know where to go. He could only hope that the brief break would clear up the younger man"s thoughts.
There were no changes in the surroundings, no matter how much time pa.s.sed. Lan could do nothing but sit and observe the unconscious Xue Wei while waiting for him to slowly wake up.
Even before Xue Wei opened his eyes, he felt as if something was pulling him in a special direction. The urge to grow wings and fly there was impossible to ignore, but his mind was much clearer than before.
His eyes opened, and he noticed that Lan was seated by his side, slowly unraveling his seal. His hands dug into the sand as he tried to stand up again.
The sand slowly slipped through his fingers as he put his weight on his arms and slowly stood up. The strange feeling of urgency made his mind feel as if there was a buzzing fly constantly causing him to lose his focus.
Lan felt his movements right away, and noticed that his expression was ugly, but he was still sane. "How are you?"
Xue Wei considered the question seriously before he shook his head and said, "I feel pretty horrible. However, I can still withstand the strange manipulation. Let us make our way towards the source of this strange influence and see what might be the cause."
Lan nodded his head as he looked around. It did not matter much to him which way they went as everything seemed the same here, but he was still alert and kept an eye on Xue Wei"s expressions.
Every time he was about to lose his sanity, he would be knocked out, and by the time he woke up, his mind would have cleared, and they could continue.
Time went by, and the frequency of the times he needed to be beaten by Lan also became less and less, until they eventually reached an area where Xue Wei"s mind completely sobered up.
Even the strange feeling of urgency slowly calmed down as if he had reached his destination.
Lan noticed the sudden calm that surrounded his friend, and understood that this place held something special; however, when looking at his surroundings, black lines formed on his forehead.
How was this place any different? The dunes were very similar to those they had pa.s.sed on the way, even the sand had the same color.
Even Xue Wei felt somewhat perplexed. If not for the strange feelings that had dominated his mind all the way here, he would not have been so confident of his arrival.
With furrowed brows, he began to examine the place where they had arrived, but there was truly nothing special about it.
He moved a few steps forward, but the feeling did not return. Everything had calmed down, and it felt as if the emotions he had experienced prior to this were simply his imagination.
Feeling puzzled and starting to doubt himself, Xue Wei touched the sand beneath him to see if he could get any hints.
As his palm landed on the sand, a tremor ran through the whole area. The tremor was so strong that even the dunes shook and began to collapse.
The sudden reaction took both Xue Wei and Lan by surprise. They could not help but share a glance before they put their focus on the sand beneath their feet.
There was no fear in their eyes. Instead, interest was brewing within as they finally felt that they had taken a step forward toward solving the topic that had confused them.
Xue Wei withdrew his hand, but the shaking of the ground did not diminish. Instead, it grew stronger and stronger, to the point where it could no longer be considered a tremor but an earthquake.
The land beneath their feet suddenly cracked, and the sand fell into the abyss that had formed beneath their feet. Xue Wei and Lan both retreated rapidly to observe the changes in their surroundings, but there was only one crack on the ground; the one in front of them.
The crack continued to expand, but it did not grow much in length. Instead, it grew wider until it slowly became a hole that opened up to a whole new world beneath the desert.
There was a set of stairs visible in the sand, but the hole itself was as dark as the moonless midnight sky, and it was impossible to tell what was hiding within the darkness.
Xue Wei raised an eyebrow in surprise. He had expected many things, but he had not thought that there would be an entrance to something hidden beneath the sand.
It was a dangerous choice to enter, as the world below would clearly be hard to escape from, but he was not a person who would shy away from danger. With a smirk, and a glance towards Lan, Xue Wei unhesitatingly walked to the stairs and began his descent.