亚洲偷自区

(Southern Region- Xercopolis Empire)

(The Forbidden Desert)

"Sure... but first please tell me if you have heard or seen anything," Xu Lu responded calmly as she pretended not to notice the bloodlust in the desert woman\'s face.

"Of course... of course..." the beautiful woman smiled seductively as she spread her arms open towards the sky.

Xu Lu noticed heavy bands of solid gold on her limbs but despite their weight, the woman did not seem to be affected by them.

She moved with airy, light movements.

"A few weeks ago... our people encountered five cultivators... they were holding a mysterious golden plant and by the gods... it was mesmerizing," the woman softly whispered.

"The encounter was brief... they were hurrying back to the city I believe and did not want to interact or talk with us."

"Well... only a little bit..."

A small smile flashed across the woman\'s face and for a brief moment Xu Lu could swear that dark tattoos appeared on her brown flesh.

"Can you tell me where did you last see them?" Xu Lu asked while her hand drifted slowly towards her sword.

There was something not right about this situation.

An ordinary cultivator who noticed these signs would probably still ignore them because these tribespeople were mortals but...

Xu Lu always trusted her instincts.

And right now... her instincts were telling her to get the hell out of here.

"Yes of course o mighty cultivator," the woman slowly spoke.

"We saw them at the ruins of the Old Ones... an ancient temple built by a civilisation long buried in the sands of time."

"It is a magnificent site and is only a five-day journey in a northwestern direction."

"In fact, the ruins are where we are going as well... please... do you wish to join us?"

"No, I will have to decline," Xu Lu bowed her head and politely replied.

"I would not wish to see your people look uncomfortable."

She gestured with her hand towards the children who were looking at her with scared expressions on their faces.

The strange woman scowled but quickly fixed the emotions on her face. It was a small slip up, but it was enough for the saintess to catch it.

Xu Lu was wearing a mask and it was clear that this so- called \'Mehistan\' was wearing one as well.

"Then I hope that our paths will one day cross again," the strange woman stretched out her hand for Xu Lu to shake.

The saintess knew that it was impolite not to shake her hand and yet... every part of her body was telling her to move away.

She wasn\'t sure where the source of the danger was coming from but only knew that she needed to leave now.

Squeak! Squeak!

The furry white mouse in her pocket poked its head out and tugged on the corner of her robe.

Xu Lu looked down at the creature who bared its tiny sharp fangs at the hand that was stretched outwards.

"Thank you for your assistance," Xu Lu gently spoke and then turned around and walked away from the tribespeople.

The Mehistan\'s hand awkwardly hung in the air for a moment longer before the strange woman pulled it back with a disappointed expression on her face.

It didn\'t feel right to be rude to someone who had given her a lead on the location of the missing disciples but there were simply too many red flags.

"What do you think little guy?" Xu Lu asked softly as she got further away from the procession.

"Do you think that I made the right choice?"

Squeak! Squeak!

The mouse crossed its arms and squeaked in agreement. Xu Lu smiled softly and gave her pet a small treat.

She actually wasn\'t sure whether to trust the words of the strange woman but honestly it was the only lead that she got since leaving the oasis.

If she reached the ruins and something appeared to be off then she would leave immediately.

Xu Lu was not going to put her life in danger trying to rescue people that she did not know.

Especially considering that the missing disciples were murderous assholes who liked to torture and punish mortals.

This was a rescue attempt but Xu Lu did not plan to return them to their sect without a degree of punishment.

The saintess hummed softly as she continued to wander the desert under the intense heat of the sun.

.

.

.

.

(Four days later...)

Xu Lu crossed an enormous sand dune and took a small break to catch her breath.

She had been moving at a faster pace than before in order to reach the ruins before the desert tribespeople.

The saintess glanced at the scenery beyond the sand dune and could feel her jaw slowly drop to the ground.

Wow....

Large buildings composed entirely of stone and gravel had been built in a semi-circular formation around a statue.

Each building was identical.

They each possessed four walls, a slanted roof and a wide open hole in the middle that led to their interiors.

There were signs of the passage of time on each building.

Their walls were cracked, pieces of the roof had fallen off and sections of the houses were partially or completely destroyed.

And yet... they were still standing.

As for the statue... that was really what drew Xu Lu\'s attention. The statue had been carved out of pure black obsidian and shone with an eerie light.

The statue was in the shape of a man? No... was it a woman?

Xu Lu walked a bit closer to get a better look.

She may sound crazy, but she was pretty sure that the features and the body shape of the statue changed ever so slightly every time that she glanced at it.

No... maybe it was a trick of the light?

Regardless of the gender... the statue depicted a kneeling humanoid figure with their arms crossed together.

Xu Lu walked into the strange ruins and could feel how timeless this place was. Standing here provided a brief glimpse into the past.

She wasn\'t sure how the people of this long gone civilisation lived but judging from the state of the ruins, they must have cared deeply about their gods.

The saintess approached the statue and tried to make out more details about the carving.

Curiously enough there was no sign of damage or disrepair on the statue. It looked flawless as if it had only been carved yesterday.

How peculiar...

Xu Lu assumed that perhaps there was a desert tribe still living today that cared for the statue in order to prevent it from being affected by the passage of time.

Well... enough sightseeing for now.

Xu Lu turned away from the statue and began to look for any traces of the missing disciples.

With her back turned she did not realise that the eyes of the humanoid statue were following her every move.