Chapter 52: A World Without People

There was nothing in the water but bubbles.There were no impurities, no sand, and no water plants.

Interestingly, he could breathe freely, as if in his element, feeling no discomfort or suffocation at all.

But he was furious. He would never normally undertake such a dangerous pathfinding task for others. He had only been propelled into this place after being directly swept away by the residual force of the Great Wind Army's commander.

To put it simply, his cultivation level was low.

He hadn't felt it when he was lording over Blackwater City, but later, after encountering Nian Songyu and State Preceptor Sun, and then adventuring in Dragon City, he saw the crisis approaching step by step, and this level of cultivation felt increasingly powerless.

If only he were a bit stronger.

His body sank rapidly. Directly below, it was pitch black, like a bottomless pit.

Just before he plunged into the boundless darkness, He Lingchuan seemed to glimpse a dark red figure.

That thing seemed incredibly large, appearing and disappearing around him. The part of its body that was visible appeared to be cylindrical.

Hmm, it was shaped like a water bucket, but magnified countless times.

Most importantly, this thing was moving!

Unfortunately, He Lingchuan didn't have time to examine it closely before everything went black.

When he opened his eyes again, the scene had changed.

He was standing by a small stream. The water, which barely covered his instep, was very clear, and the sand and pebbles were clean. A small river shrimp was actually attacking his boot.

The water spinach and wild radishes by the stream were a vibrant, pleasing green. Not far away, a few farmhouses sent wisps of smoke curling into the sky.

He Lingchuan touched his clothes and found them dry; they hadn't been dampened by the bloody water in the pool. It seemed that it had merely been a passage.

He climbed from the stream valley up a small slope, and as soon as he looked up, he froze.

Before him lay a vibrant plain. Large wheat fields were greening, and while the green trees along the fields were somewhat sparse, the tallest ones reached three to five zhang.

Small field huts were scattered sparsely. He Lingchuan also saw a waterskin hanging from a nearby tree branch.

In the distance, a large river flowed majestically, dividing two plains.

On the other side of the river, the land was much higher than here, looking like a giant crocodile lying by the river from afar.

Most importantly, the shape of the plain's edge was unique and very familiar.

Could that be... Chipa Plateau?

He Lingchuan leaped down the slope and walked towards Chipa Plateau.

The sky was blue, the clouds white, and the air carried the damp scent of soil and green grass. Walking through this idyllic pastoral scene, he felt completely refreshed.

Especially for someone who had just come from a desolate desert city.

However, the more serene it was, the more unsettling it became.

He Lingchuan walked straight for several hundred zhang, passing through a village of a hundred households along the way, but he didn't encounter a single person.

This village was truly not small in size.

The fields, farmhouses, and dwellings were all eerily quiet. He had specifically checked house by house and found them empty. Yet, in one kitchen, coarse flour steamed buns had just finished steaming, still giving off heat.

He dared not eat, but he picked up a bun and squeezed it; it was soft and hot to the touch.

Where were the people? Where had they all gone?

Passing through another wheat field, a pink butterfly happened to fly towards him.

He Lingchuan reached out and poked it, but his fingertip passed right through the butterfly.

There was nothing there.

Fake?

He then found a green grasshopper in the wheat field, poked it with his finger, and again, it was just air.

All these living creatures were illusions.

But the wheat sprouts felt very real. He snapped off a bit of a sprout, chewed it, and found it slightly astringent and bitter—exactly how young grass shoots should taste.

Just then, there was a rustling sound in the wheat field, and a living creature scurried out.

He Lingchuan was startled, half-drawing his knife, only to realize the newcomer was a bandit.

This man was the second cousin of Situ Han's younger brother-in-law, nicknamed 'Fuzzy Peach' because he was thin, small, and had a full beard.

He was also stunned to see He Lingchuan, then overjoyed: "Young Master, you're unharmed!"

"Where are the others?" He Lingchuan looked around, realizing only this one teammate had arrived. "Also, why are you missing a life flame on your shoulder?"

"The State Preceptor took it and put it on a candle," Fuzzy Peach replied with a bitter expression. "Then he pushed me down. Where is this place? Dragon... Wasteland?"

Anyone with eyes could see how strange this place was. "This isn't real, is it? An illusion?"

"Yes," He Lingchuan instantly guessed State Preceptor Sun's intention. "They used you to scout ahead, so they'll be down soon too."

The two walked forward together. He Lingchuan asked him, "When you passed through the scene... no, after you fell into the pool, did you see anything?"

"Just light red blood, and it didn't choke me. Then, in the blink of an eye, I was here."

"Nothing else?"

Fuzzy Peach thought carefully: "No. What did you see?"

He Lingchuan shook his head.

Had he been mistaken, seeing that huge unknown object in the light red pool water?

After walking for another good half an hour, the two finally approached Chipa Plateau.

The river before them was calm, about three zhang wide, and its current was neither swift nor slow. He Lingchuan knew this should be Dragon City's moat, but it was nowhere near as deep or wide as he had seen before.

Continuing west along the riverbank for another two quarters of an hour, Dragon City finally appeared in their sight.

"There, there!" Fuzzy Peach exhaled. "Is that Dragon City?"

Dragon City was still in the exact same location, at the lower pass of Chipa Plateau. But it certainly didn't look as magnificent as it had in the desert.

The city walls weren't as tall or thick, and the battlements didn't even have crocodile tooth spikes.

As they approached the natural bridge, they found its surface paved with bluestone, many pieces of which were already cracked, with moss and grime filling the gaps.

After crossing the bridge, the city gate was still there, but the gate panels were not ironwood; instead, they were ordinary thick wooden doors reinforced with iron.

The defensive strength of this city pass was not much different from that of Blackwater City.

However, two people were standing under the city gate, waving at them.

Nian Songyu and Sun Fuping.

He Lingchuan frowned inwardly when he saw them, but walked forward with a surprised expression: "Why just the two of you? Where are the others?"

"The Great Wind Army Spirit has found reinforcements," Sun Fuping said. "Prefect He is staying behind with his people to keep the enemy out of the well. This is Great Wind Army territory; we can't engage them here."

Otherwise, it would be a dead end.

What he said sounded reasonable, but He Lingchuan's heart sank, knowing he had to be extra careful. Yet, his face showed displeasure: "My father is truly unkind, leaving me here by myself."

Sun Fuping didn't bother to respond, merely asking, "By the way, how long have you been down here?"

"Roughly... two hours?" He Lingchuan turned and pointed. "I landed in that village over there and climbed out of the river."

Sun Fuping's expression subtly changed. Nian Songyu pointed at Fuzzy Peach and said, "How can that be? I followed this fellow right down. He was only a few dozen breaths behind you."

The State Preceptor mused, "The four of us came down one after another, but we appeared here at different times. That suggests a flow rate issue. This place is indeed more than just an illusion."

Indeed, anyone who came down would first define this place as an illusion.