Tomb Robber: I, Chen Yulou, am dedicated to cultivating immortality!

Hear that cry.

Una came to her senses and immediately put the magic mirror back into the box.

It can be seen that this wooden box was specially prepared for it. A long groove was carefully carved on the bottom of the box, just enough to embed the bronze mirror into it.

only……

With the box on her back, Una just turned around and saw a slender figure standing on the edge of the sand dune in the distance, looking at her with a smile on his face.

Seeing this, Una felt inexplicably nervous.

Even though he never looked at the wooden box once from beginning to end.

But Una subconsciously increased the strength of her hands holding the rope.

After a few days of getting along.

She already knew the name of the man in front of her.

Chen Yulou.

Just like his name.

Pure gold and unpolished jade, and beautiful buildings and jade palaces.

Even the most handsome young man in the city is not as good as him.

Especially his temperament, which is completely different from the roughness of the Turks. He is gentle and polite. He speaks slowly to everyone and never gets angry easily.

This can be seen even more clearly from the attitude of other Han people towards him.

He controls the team.

But for some reason, Una always felt that this man was not as simple as he seemed.

Especially those eyes as clear as water, as if they can see through people's hearts.

"Miss Una, it's time to set off."

Chen Yulou acted as if he didn't see it and just pointed to the team behind him that was already prepared.

"Oh, here we come."

Una then secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She walked quickly around the stone fortress and came to the front of the team. The camel, which was very human-like, had already half-knelt in the sand, allowing her to sit on its back by stepping on the camel's saddle.

I had a brief exchange with the leading guys.

Soon, the team started their journey, moving forward along the ancient river channel of the Peacock River.

Not far behind her, Chen Yulou, who was hunching over, had a look of realization on his calm face.

"Ghost Cave Relic."

Una thought he didn't see it.

In fact, with his current level, he can only see through this strange desert.

Every move in the team could not escape his observation.

A bronze mirror hidden in a wooden box.

Although the style is different from that of the Legalist ancient mirror, it is equally ancient.

You can tell a little from the copper rust.

As for the pattern on the back of the mirror, he had never seen exactly the same one before.

It is very different from the Shang, Zhou and Warring States periods.

It has a strong Western style.

There have been too many ancient countries in this sea of ​​sand. Along the Peacock River alone, there were thirty-six countries, including Huhu, Loulan, Milan, Niya, Luntai, Gumo, Xiye, and countless scattered counties and city-states.

Just like fireworks, after a brief bloom, they disappear without a trace, buried deep in the yellow sand with no one knowing.

But the reason why he was so sure that 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 maybe it is the Samsara Sect.

After all, from ancient times to the present, they are the only ones who regard the Eye of the Snake God as a totem.

"The Demonic Kingdom should be able to be temporarily denied."

Chen Yulou held the reins with one hand, his body rising and falling slightly with the camel.

This is the biggest difference between camels and horses.

If it were a horse, even his dragon colt, which was very intelligent, would find it difficult to maintain such a steady speed in this flowing sea of ​​sand.

The Demon Kingdom is too ancient.

Appeared in ancient times.

When the Demon Kingdom's capital, Elohai City, was swept away and destroyed by King Gesar and the Snowland Kingdoms, the Central Plains entered the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.

If it were that era, the Demonic Kingdom would be able to create such exquisite bronze ware.

I'm afraid it won't be the turn of those subsequent small countries to exist.

Judging from the mottled rust marks, the bronze mirror is probably between 1,500 and 3,000 years old.

If you think about it.

The most likely possibility is that it came from the ancient kingdom of Jingjue or the Samsara Sect.

"Oh right, Shenmu."

While thinking, Chen Yulou suddenly remembered something.

Before in the village, the tribe leader Wutuo had mentioned several times that Azhiya had gone deep into the black desert. It was said that every generation of wizards had to look for the sacred tree to make a magic drum for themselves.

So, is there any connection between the sacred tree and the Kunlun sacred tree?

Or.

It was in the vast desert that Turkic shamans of all generations found the ruins of an ancient city of Jingjue.

The sacred tree used to make the Dharma drum and the bronze mirror were both taken out from it?

Once this thought came to my mind, I couldn't stop myself.

The more Chen Yulou thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

Subconsciously, he looked up at the figure at the front of the team.

Una once followed Azhiya to the Black Desert.

As long as this journey passes through the place of that year.

There will definitely be some performance.

And he can make judgments accordingly.

"Shopkeeper, is there really an ancient city in this sand?"

He let out a long breath and came back to his senses. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Hua Maguai riding a camel slowly approaching him. He was looking at the endless sea of ​​sand outside with a face full of suspicion.

This kid is still thinking about digging an ancient city in the black desert.

But I took this journey.

There's nothing but yellow sand.

Occasionally, I would be excited for a long time when I saw a dead ancient poplar tree.

This place is like a lifeless land.

There was absolutely no sign of life.

"Why, you don't have confidence in your shopkeeper?"

Chen Yulou smiled faintly.

"That's not the case. The main point is that in such a large desert, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack to find the ruins of an ancient city, right?"

Hua Maguai scratched his head.

He had also tried to use a compass to locate himself along the way.

But this damn place is extremely strange.

As soon as I took it out, the pointer started spinning wildly. Not only could I not determine the route, I couldn't even determine the most basic north and south directions.

Under such circumstances, he really had no confidence.

"Don't worry."

"We'll see each other 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 Xiya is a small country and is not prominent among the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions, it is famous for its abundant jade.

I really want to find the ruins of the ancient city.

As the capital of Zihe, there must be a lot of beautiful jade hidden underneath.

"Really?"

Hua Maguai frowned, hesitating.

He always felt that the shopkeeper was just comforting himself.

"fake."

"what?"

"Ah, you have time to think about it, why not go check out the route?"

Seeing his confused look, Chen Yulou couldn't help but laugh and scold.

Next three days.

As the team continues to go deeper into the Black Desert.

The invisible power of heaven and earth became increasingly stronger. The howling wind blew up countless yellow sands and rushed straight into the sky. From a distance, it looked like an earth dragon lying across the air.

The most difficult time is at night.

As night falls, the temperature drops sharply, sometimes even to dozens of degrees below zero.

The cold wind penetrates every corner.

Even wrapped in the thickest blanket, I would still shiver from the cold.

Fortunately, most of the people who came with us were young and energetic. Young people have strong tempers and can resist the cold a little.

In addition, after walking for so long, they also learned some tricks from the locals.

For example, take a sip of strong liquor before going to bed.

It is best to be slightly tipsy, but not to the point of passing out.

After all, although the Black Desert is known as a lifeless land, there are actually still wild animals living there, and not just a few of them. Packs of sand wolves are extremely ferocious and start looking for food at night.

He really was about to break into the camp.

It is common for people to be eaten unconscious and turned into a pile of bones.

In addition, the simplest way to keep warm is not to dig a fire pit and make a fire, but to wrap your body with fine sand and use the desert itself to keep warm to prevent hypothermia.

But even so.

Every time they woke up, they usually emerged from under the yellow sand in a very miserable state.

During the worst incident, the entire camp was covered in sand and dust.

Fortunately, it was discovered in time and no one was injured. Otherwise, as time went on, the air would have been exhausted and the people buried under the sand and dust would have been trapped to death.

In a blink of an eye.

On the fourth day.

The sky was still covered with leaden clouds, and yellow sand was flying between heaven and earth.

Even Chen Yulou and Queqiao Shao.

The sixteen characters I learned.

It seems to have lost its effect in this damn place.

Day and night are reversed, and it is dark.

The only astronomical phenomenon that had any effect was that the stars could not be seen for several days.

On the contrary, Una could identify the approximate location just by looking at the direction of the wind and sand and the poplar trees buried deep in the desert.

This made everyone who had originally been a little skeptical of her.

The doubts have been completely dispelled.

It has to be said that the Turks had their own ways to survive in this desert for thousands of years.

"and many more……"

In the afternoon.

The camel caravan took a short rest and replenished their energy in a valley formed by quicksand, avoiding the strong wind.

Una, carrying a box on her back and a cane made of poplar branches in her hand, strode to the top of the sand dune, saying that she wanted to go to a high place to observe the downwind direction so as to determine the route of her trip.

But it had only been a moment since I climbed up.

Suddenly, I heard her scream.

"what happened?"

Chen Yulou raised his eyebrows.

After spending a few days together, I found that although Una was a woman, she showed great experience.

This is the first time I've seen her like this.

They looked at each other, and saw a trace of solemnity on each of their faces.

"Let's go up and have a look."

Worried that something had happened, Chen Yulou did not dare to delay. He called a few people and quickly followed.

The quicksand could not stop the few people at all.

From afar, several people jumped up the cliff which was almost 60 or 70 degrees, and appeared beside Una in the blink of an eye.

"Look... there's someone!"

"Is there someone!?"

Una didn't have time to marvel at the skills of the men.

He just raised his hand and pointed into the distance and spoke quickly.

These two words seemed to have some kind of magic, which made the people who had just landed dare not even breathe, and they looked in the direction of her finger.

All I saw were endless undulating sand dunes, connected together into one, with large pieces of snow mixed with yellow sand falling.

It is definitely a rare view.

However, they have been almost sick of seeing all this these days, and no one cares about it.

All eyes fell on one of the sand dunes.

From afar, six or seven figures were seen passing through the sea of ​​sand.

No, to be precise, I ran.

Although they couldn't see their faces clearly, the anxiety and fear they showed in their actions could not be hidden from their eyes.

The key is.

In such a hellhole, without camels or horses, relying solely on foot would basically mean death.

"Strange, what danger is there in this sea of ​​sand..."

The old foreigner held up a longbow and said thoughtfully.

At least along the way, apart from the snowstorm and sandstorm, they did not encounter much danger. There was only deathly silence, and a boring and tedious journey.

It’s far from what it was like in the village.

It was as horrible as the clan leader Wutuo, the wizard Azhiya and others said.

"Just look at it and you'll find out."

Chen Yulou frowned slightly and suddenly said.

Although they were far away, he could still vaguely see something with his eyesight.

Moreover, these were the first group of people they met after entering the Black Desert.

At least let's figure out the situation first.

"Shopkeeper Chen, I'll go."

When the old foreigner heard this, he could no longer hold back and immediately volunteered, holding the Jiaoshe bow tightly, his eyes bright.

"I'll go as well."

Yang Fang was unwilling to fall behind.

"Okay, no need to argue, let's go together."

Chen Yulou waved his hand.

As he spoke, he took a step forward and rushed there without hesitation.

The remaining few people followed quickly.

"Hey, are you crazy? Those people are most likely sand bandits. They are dangerous."

Seeing several people rush out like this.

Una was stunned for a moment, her expression full of disbelief.

"Miss Una, don't worry, we'll go take a look."

Chen Yulou's calm voice came from afar.

Seeing this, there was no way Una could stay any longer. Before coming, the chief had made it clear to her.

The convoy crossed the Black Desert safely.

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 caught up with the men, climbing over several sand dunes with one step deep and one step shallow, she had no time to get excited because a strong smell of blood hit her in the face.

Look at the people around you.

There was a solemn look on everyone's face.

Una's heart sank, she took a deep breath, and looked down the mountain through a Haloxylon ammodendron tree in front of her.

Only seen in the sand valley.

There were more than a dozen bodies lying in a mess.

In addition to people, there are also camels and dogs.

They didn't die from internal fighting, but from countless ants.

The ant is fiery red all over and is as big as a fist.

At this moment, they were devouring the corpses frantically. Wherever the ants passed, in the blink of an eye, not to mention humans, even a camel weighing thousands of pounds was reduced to nothing but bones.

"It's the ghost ant!"

Una's eyes widened and she couldn't help but utter a low sound.

She finally understood why Chen Yulou and the others looked so unhappy.

According to the shaman's rumors, ghost ants are the incarnation of black desert demons. They feed on blood, are brutal by nature, and are highly poisonous. They can easily kill prey that are dozens of times larger than themselves.

Even if there is only one, it will be extremely troublesome.

What's more, there are tens of thousands of them in the sand valley right now.

At first glance, as the ants crawled past, it looked like a river of molten magma was flowing through the sand and dust, making people feel numb and cold all over.

As for the few people I saw from afar before.

It just happened in the blink of an eye.

There are only two left.

They looked different from the people of the Western Regions, with white skin, yellow hair, and green eyes. They were running for their lives, while cursing loudly in incomprehensible words.

"Foreigners."

"Discovery team."

Hearing the familiar farcical sound, Chen Yulou couldn't help but sneer.

Before coming here, he had wondered whether he would encounter foreigners who came here to steal tombs, but he didn't expect it to come true.

"Do you want……"

Seeing that the two men were about to fall into despair and be overtaken by the ant tide and eaten into two skeletons, the old foreigner slightly exerted force with his hand holding the bow and could not help but look around.

But he trailed off.

Both Shopkeeper Chen and the eldest senior brother kept their eyes fixed from beginning to end.

Seeing this, he immediately understood.

In such a situation, if you rashly save people out of kindness, you will only drag them to their death.

"what……"

Followed by two screams.

In the end, the two were quickly overwhelmed by the tide of ants.

A gust of cold wind blew, and the smell of blood in the valley became stronger again.

"Which expedition team is Brother Chen talking about?"

"Thieves who are after the treasures of the ancient city under the sea of ​​sand!"