Hear that cry.
When Oona came back to her senses, she immediately put the mirror back into the box.
It can be seen that this wooden box was specially prepared for it. A long slot was carefully carved on the bottom of the box, which could just fit the bronze mirror into it.
It’s just...
Putting the box on her back, Oona turned around and saw a slender figure standing on the edge of the sand dune, looking at her with a bit of a smile on her face. meaning.
Seeing this, Oona felt inexplicably nervous.
Even his eyes never looked at the wooden box once from beginning to end.
But Oona still subconsciously tightened her grip on the rope.
We got along for a few days.
She already knew the name of the man in front of her.
Chen Yulou.
Just like his name.
Hundred gold and jade, beautiful buildings and jade.
Even the most outstanding-looking young man in the walled city is not as good as him.
Especially his temperament, which is completely different from the roughness of the Turks. He is gentle and elegant. He talks slowly to everyone and never gets angry easily.
It can be seen even more from the attitude of other Han people towards him.
He controls the entire team.
But for some reason, Oona always felt that this man was not as simple as he seemed.
Especially those eyes as clear as water, which seem to be able to see through people's hearts.
“Miss Oona, we’re leaving.”
Chen Yulou seemed to have not seen him, and just pointed at the prepared team behind him.
“Oh, here it comes.”
Oona was secretly relieved.
Quickly walked around the stone castle and walked to the front of the team. The camel, who was well versed in human nature, had already half-knelt in the sand, letting her sit on the camel's saddle on its back.
Have a brief chat with the leading guys.
Soon, the team started to set off, moving forward along the ancient channel of Kongque River.
Not far behind her, Chen Yulou, who was sitting on a hunchback, had a look of surprise on his calm face at this moment.
"Ghost Cave Relics."
Oona thought he didn't see it.
In fact, with his current state, he cannot see through this strange desert.
Every move in the team cannot escape his observation.
Bronze mirror hidden in wooden box.
Although the style is different from that ancient Legalist mirror, it is equally ancient.
Some of it can be seen from the patina.
As for the patterns on the back of the mirror, he had never seen anything exactly the same before.
It is very different from the Shang, Zhou and Warring States periods.
It has a strong Western style.
In this sea of sand, there have been too many ancient countries. Just along the Kongque River, there have been thirty-six countries, Huhu, Loulan, Milan, Niya, Luntai, Gumo, Xi At night, there are countless sporadic counties and city-states.
Just like fireworks, they bloom for a short time and then disappear without a trace, buried deep in the yellow sand and no one knows.
But the reason why he was sure it was a relic of the Guidong tribe.
It is deduced from that eyeball.
The only problem now is that we can’t figure out whether it comes from the Demon Kingdom or Jingjue.
Or it may be the Reincarnation Sect.
After all, from ancient times to the present, they are the only ones who regard the eyes of the snake god as a totem.
“The Demon Kingdom should be able to deny it temporarily.”
Chen Yulou held the reins with one hand, and his body rose and fell slightly with the camel.
The biggest difference between camels and horses is here.
As for horses, even his dragon pony, which is very spiritual, would have difficulty maintaining such a stable speed in such a flowing sea of sand.
The Demon Kingdom is too ancient.
Appeared in ancient times.
The Central Plains entered the era of the Three Sovereigns and the Five Emperors when the Demon Kingdom's capital city, Evil Luohai City, was swept and destroyed by King Gesar and all the snowy kingdoms.
In that era, the Demon Kingdom would have been able to create such exquisite bronze vessels.
I’m afraid it won’t be the turn of those small countries to exist in the future.
Judging from the mottled rust, the bronze mirror is probably between 1,500 and 3,000 years old.
If you think about it this way.
It is most likely to come from the ancient Jingjue Kingdom or the Samsara Sect.
“By the way, the sacred tree.”
While thinking, Chen Yulou suddenly remembered something.
Before in the village, the patriarch Wutuo mentioned several times that Azhiya had gone deep into the black desert. It is said that every generation of wizards must look for sacred trees and build Dharma drums for themselves.
So, is there any connection between the sacred tree and the Kunlun sacred tree?
Or rather.
Turkic shamans of all ages found the ruins of an exquisite ancient city in the vast desert.
The sacred wood used to make the Dharma drum and the bronze mirror were all taken from it?
With these thoughts, I suddenly couldn’t stop myself.
The more Chen Yulou thought about it, the more it seemed possible.
Subconsciously, he looked up at the back figure at the front of the team.
Oona once followed Azhiya to the Black Desert.
As long as this trip passes through the place of the past.
It will definitely show something.
And he was able to make a judgment based on the situation.
"Shopkeeper, is there really an ancient city in the sand?"
I took a long breath and came back from my thoughts. As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw Huamaguai riding a camel approaching slowly. , looking at the endless sea of sand outside, a face full of doubts.
This kid is still thinking about digging an ancient city in the black desert.
But went this way.
Besides yellow sand, it is still yellow sand.
Occasionally seeing a dead ancient Populus euphratica tree can make me excited for a long time.
This place is like a lifeless place.
There is no trace of life at all.
“Why, you don’t have confidence in your shopkeeper?”
Chen Yulou smiled faintly.
"That's not true. In such a large desert, isn't it like looking for a needle in a haystack to find the ruins of an ancient city?"
Hua Ma scratched his head.
He also tried using a compass to locate the place along the way.
But this ghost place is extremely strange.
As soon as I took it out, the pointer began to spin wildly. Not to mention the route, even the most basic north and south directions could not be determined.
Under this situation, he really had no confidence in his heart.
"Don't worry."
"We will meet soon."
Chen Yulou shook his head.
According to the current itinerary, it will take at most three to five days to reach the ancient country of Xiye.
Although Xiye is a small country and is not conspicuous among the thirty-six countries in the Western Region, it is rich in jade, so it is famous all over the world.
We really found the ruins of the ancient city.
As a royal city of Zihe, there must be a lot of beautiful jade hidden underneath.
“Really?”
Huamaguai frowned, hesitating.
He always felt that the shopkeeper was just comforting him.
“False.”
“Huh?”
“Ah, you are so big. If you have this time to think about it, you might as well check out the route.”
Seeing his confused look, Chen Yulou couldn't help laughing and scolding.
Next three days.
As the team continues to penetrate deeper into the Black Desert.
The invisible power of heaven and earth has become stronger and stronger. The howling wind has rolled up countless yellow sands straight into the sky. From a distance, it looks like an earth dragon lying in mid-air.
The most difficult part is at night.
As soon as night falls, the temperature drops sharply, sometimes even to dozens of degrees below zero.
The cold wind penetrates everywhere.
Even if you are wrapped in the thickest quilt, you will shiver from the cold.
Fortunately, most of the people who followed me on this trip were young and energetic guys. Young people are very angry and can resist the cold a little.
In addition, after walking for so long, they also learned some local skills.
For example, before going to bed, take a sip of strong wine.
It is best to be slightly tipsy so as not to become unconscious.
After all, although the Black Desert is known as a lifeless land, there are actually still wild animals surviving, and there are not a few of them. Groups of sand wolves are extremely ferocious and start looking for food at night.
I really broke into the camp. It is common for people to be chewed into a pile of bones while unconscious.
In addition, the simplest way to keep warm is not to dig out a fire pit and light a fire, but to wrap yourself in fine sand and rely on the desert itself to stay warm and prevent hypothermia.
But even so.
Every time they wake up, most of them emerge from under the yellow sand in a very embarrassed state.
The most serious one was when the entire camp was covered with sand and dust.
Fortunately, no one was injured when it was discovered in time. Otherwise, over time, the air would be exhausted and the people buried under the sand and dust would have to be trapped alive.
In a blink of an eye.
On the fourth day.
The sky is still covered with lead clouds, and yellow sand is flying between the sky and the earth.
Even Chen Yulou and Partridge Shao.
Sixteen words learned.
It seems to have lost its effect in this kind of ghost place.
Day and night are reversed, and there is no light.
The only celestial phenomenon that has any effect is not being able to see the stars for several days.
On the contrary, Oona could identify the general direction just from the direction of the wind and the poplar trees buried deep in the desert.
This made everyone who was still slightly suspicious of her.
My doubts have been completely dispelled.
It has to be said that the Turks were able to survive in this desert for thousands of years and they did have their own methods.
"Wait a minute..."
It's early afternoon.
The camel team was in a valley formed by quicksand, sheltered from the strong wind, and rested briefly to replenish their energy.
Oona carried the box on her back and a cane made of poplar branches in her hand, and strode to the top of the sand dune. She said she wanted to go to a high place to observe the downwind direction so as to determine the route.
But it hasn’t been a while since I climbed up.
Suddenly I heard an exclamation from her.
“What’s going on?”
Chen Yulou raised his eyebrows.
After getting along with her for a few days, she realized that although Oona is a woman, she shows great sophistication.
This was the first time I saw her like this.
The people looked at each other, and they all saw a trace of solemnity on their faces.
“Let’s go up and have a look.”
Worried that something had happened, Chen Yulou did not dare to delay, so he greeted a few people and quickly followed.
The quicksand cannot stop the footsteps of a few people at all.
Looking from a distance, several people jumped up on the cliff that was almost 60 to 70 degrees, and appeared beside Oona in the blink of an eye.
"Look...there is someone!"
"There is someone!?"
Oona had no time to marvel at the skills of these people.
Just raised his hand and pointed in the distance and said quickly.
These two words seemed to have some kind of magic power, which made the few people who had just taken their seats not even dare to breathe, but looked in the direction of her finger.
I saw rolling sand dunes, connected together, and large snowflakes mixed with yellow sand falling.
Absolutely a rare sight.
But these, they almost vomited these days, no one cared about this.
All eyes fell on one of the sand dunes.
Looking from a distance, six or seven figures were passing through the sea of sand.
No, to be precise, I ran past.
Although they could not see their faces clearly, the anxiety and fear shown in their actions could not be hidden from the eyes of a few people.
The most important thing is.
In this hellish place, there are no camels or horses, so relying on your feet alone is basically a dead end.
"Strange, what danger is there in this sea of sand..."
The old foreigner said thoughtfully, holding a long bow.
At least they didn't see many dangers along the way, except for snowstorms and sandstorms. They only had a deathly silence and a boring and boring journey.
It is far different from the time in the village.
It is as terrifying as what the patriarch Wutuo, the wizard Azhiya and others said.
"You'll know just by looking at it."
Chen Yulou frowned slightly and said suddenly.
Although they were far apart, he could still vaguely see something with his eyesight.
Moreover, this was the first group of people they encountered after entering the Black Desert.
Let’s figure out the situation first.
"Shopkeeper Chen, I'll go."
When the old foreigner heard this, he couldn't bear it anymore. He immediately took the initiative to ask for help, holding the Jiao Shooting Bow tightly, with a pair of piercing eyes.
“I’ll go too.”
Yang Fang is not to be outdone.
“Okay, no need to fight, let’s go together.”
Chen Yulou waved his hand.
As he spoke, he took one step forward and rushed there without hesitation.
The remaining people followed quickly.
"Hey, you are crazy. Those people are most likely sand bandits and are dangerous."
I saw a few people and rushed out like this.
Oona was stunned for a moment, her expression full of disbelief.
"Miss Oona, don't worry, let's just take a look."
Chen Yulou's calm voice came from afar.
Seeing this, how could Oona stay? Before coming, the clan leader had made it very clear to her.
Escort the team safely across the Black Desert.
How could she just watch them take risks now?
He gritted his teeth, threw away the wooden stick in his hand, and quickly chased after him.
A moment later.
When she finally climbed over several sand dunes and finally caught up with a few people, a strong smell of blood hit her face before she could get excited.
Look at the people beside you.
There was solemnity on all faces.
Oona's heart sank, she took a deep breath and looked down the mountain through a Haloxylon ammodendron tree in front of her.
I saw only the sandy valley.
There were more than ten corpses lying everywhere.
In addition to people, there are camels and dogs.
They died not from internal fighting, but from countless ants.
An ant with a fiery red body and the size of a fist.
At this moment, they are devouring the corpses crazily. Wherever the ants pass, in the blink of an eye, the camels weighing more than a thousand kilograms will be left with only bones.
“It’s a ghost ant!”
Oona’s eyes widened and she couldn’t help but whisper.
She finally understood why Chen Yulou and others looked so ugly.
In the shaman's rumors, ghost ants are transformed from black desert devils. They feed on blood, are cruel in nature, and are highly poisonous. They can easily kill prey dozens of times larger than themselves.
Even if it is just one head, it will be extremely troublesome.
What's more, there are tens of thousands of them in the sand valley right now.
At a glance, as the ants crawled over, the sand and dust seemed to be flowing through a river of molten magma, which made people feel numb and cold all over.
As for the few people I saw from a distance before.
Such a blink of an eye.
There are only two left.
They looked different from the people from the Western Regions, with white skin, yellow hair, and green eyes. While running away desperately, they kept cursing loudly in unintelligible words.
“Foreigners.”
"Expedition team."
Listening to the familiar Fake voice, Chen Yulou couldn't help but sneer at the corner of his mouth.
Before coming here, he also speculated whether he would encounter foreigners who came here to rob the land. Unexpectedly, it came true.
"How about..."
Seeing that the two people were about to fall into a desperate situation, they would soon be overtaken by the ant tide and cannibalized into two white bones. The old foreigner's hand holding the bow slightly He exerted his strength and couldn't help but look around.
But his words trailed off.
No matter shopkeeper Chen or senior brother, their eyes did not move once from beginning to end.
Seeing this, he immediately understood.
In such a situation, rushing to save people with great kindness will only drag them into death.
“Ah...”
Following two screams.
The last two people were quickly overwhelmed by the ant tide.
A cold wind blew, and the smell of blood in the valley became stronger again.
"Who is the expedition team that Brother Chen is talking about?"
"Thieves who came for the treasures of the ancient city under the sand sea!" (End of this chapter)