Being one of the five regions, Western Desert was enormous, encompassing many different deserts, sand rivers and oases.
Bao Zhi knew all of the main deserts and a lot of little known ones as well.
But now his brows were knotted as his gaze extended to the horizon, surveying the landscape around.
Under the vast blackness of the night sky, the desert dunes stretched out in rolling waves, bathed in the pale blue light of the stars.
There was mist clinging to the dunes like a shroud, giving the landscape a cold beauty.
Each dune seemed to rise and fall like the swell of an ocean frozen in time, their curves softened by the veil of mist that flowed and drifted in the cool night breeze.
"We should be far from Mistveil Sand Desert."
Desert areas changed constantly, moving bit by bit every year as the winds swept the dunes. Bao Zhi was clear about this.
But Mistveil Sand Desert was located at the far edge of Western Desert, close to Northern Plains.
For that desert to end up her, a million years would not be enough!
"It couldn't have moved this far. So why is there mist here?"
As the gu house neared the misty landscape, Bao Zhi felt an eerie but familiar aura emanating from this strange mist.
"What mist is this?"
The gu house gained elevation preemptively, rising above the fog below.
Bao Zhi has only once felt such an aura. But that one occasion was vividly etched into his memory. How could he forget it?
The rest of them didn't notice the strange mist outside, other than Jue Shi. His expression was one of concealed surprise and excitement.
They Wondrous Inspiration Pagoda darted forward under the night sky.
As the first light of dawn began to creep over the horizon, the endless desert dunes below were still cloaked in the ghostly veil of fog.
They had been flying for long hours. The gu house's dark silhouette against the stars, soared above the undulating sands.
Slowly, the eastern horizon began to blush with the faintest hues of red and gold. The sun, still hidden beyond the tallest heaps of sands, sent out fingers of light that pierced through the mist, casting long shadows over the dunes.
The mist, which had glowed faintly under the starlit sky, now caught the morning light, transforming into a radiant sea of gold and silver.
"Wow! What a view! I bet this would get top page if I posted it." Qinyang thought in awe as she took in the picturesque view.
By the time of early midday, Bao Zhi spotted a dark patch in the distance, a sign of life amidst the endless expanse of this seemingly empty an inhospitable land.
After all, the people in Western Desert could only live in limited locations, only where survival was possible.
One such place was the oasis that appeared on the horizon after a day of travel.
Bao Zhi slowed down to carefully observe.
The scene that met their eyes was a stark contrast to the vibrant memory Bao Zhi held of this place. Where there had once been lush palm trees, vibrant greenery, and crystal-clear water, now stood a withered, desolate husk of an oasis.
The air, once filled with the songs of birds and the buzzing of insects, was now heavy with an unnatural silence.
The remnants of what was once a small settlement lay scattered around the oasis, many buildings reduced to ruins.
Once a place of refuge, a thriving hub for travelers, traders, and local gu masters looked now nothing more than a graveyard of memories.
Bao Zhi's main objective in coming here was to trade. However now this proposition seemed but an unlikely notion, never coming to fruition.
Nonetheless, his second objective was to gather intelligence. There were still some people around for this purpose.
But there was some commotion in the city built around the oasis.
A group of gu masters were sweeping through the streets with big gourds under their arms. They seemed to be collecting the dense mist.
The leader of the group stood by, watching the events calmly.
"I found another!" One of the men with the gourd shouted and broke open a dilapidated house.
The group surrounded the house immediately and activated their gourd shaped gu.
From inside the house, anguished and tragic screams mixed together.
A man desperately charged out and attacked one of the gourd-man.
However, it was all in vain. The gu masters killed him on the spot and continued to suck with their gourds.
Shortly after the screams abated, they continued their patrol of the streets.
"Demonic gu masters?" Bao Zhi narrowed his eyes.
Such events in broad daylight were unthinkable in his memories. How could the presiding clan of the oasis tolerate such actions?
"It seems this oasis was abandoned. Without a force behind, only those who have nowhere else to go would stay here."
Bao Zhi sighed.
"The demonic path is rampant when the righteous path is absent."
Through the gu house's investigative methods piercing through mist and walls, the people in the gu house could clearly see the events in excruciating detail.
A family of four was inside that ruin of a house. Their shriveled and lifeless bodies crumbled into a pile, embracing each other in their last moments.
Other than them, another hundred or so houses were hiding people throughout the city.
Bao Zhi activated the immortal gu house's methods.
The observing man on the sidelines suddenly vanished and appeared inside.
Shock and confusion was plastered on the man's face as he looked around the intricately detailed and grandiose interior of the Wondrous Inspiration Pagoda.
He tried to activate his gu worms, but the might of the rank seven gu house thoroughly suppressed him, leaving no way out.
Realizing his situation, he spoke with hardly concealed fear in his voice.
"I greet the seniors. How can my lowly self be of use?"
Bao Zhi started to interrogate him.
It turned out this person wasn't the leader of the gang with the gourds.
He was the city lord of this oasis! Albeit only in name now.
The city lord cast his gaze down, not daring to look Bao Zhi in the eyes.
"What happened to that family of four a moment ago?" Bao Zhi pointed at the projection of the scene.
"Senior, you know the answer yourself, why do you want me to say it?" He gulped.
"What if I don't know it?"
The city lord shifted in his place, getting visibly uncomfortable.
"This... Who can say no to the spirit caravan? I am just a small figure, banished by the clan to oversee this remote oasis, please understand my situation."
...
"So it is all because the Great Soul Pit opened up! Spreading spirit mist everywhere, becoming one of the main routes of the spirit caravan."
Bao Zhi continued to question him. He wanted to understand Western Desert's current state.
"Who are those people with the gourds, are they from the spirit caravan?"
"You clearly have troops hidden beneath the city. Why are guards of the oasis not stepping up?"
"What is the spirit caravan and why are they collecting this 'spirit mist'?"
"Were you taking bribes or were you intimidated?"
Bao Zhi questioned him about the events, piecing together a rough history of this place.
The city lord was sweating profusely by this point. He could hardly endure the mental pressure. He couldn't answer many of Bao Zhi's questions, naturally not knowing about immortal level events.
But a general picture of the region's past decades became clear.
The oasis' current state could be traced back to the spirit mist spreading out from the Great Soul Pit. Initially this was a great boon as it brought in a branch of the spirit caravan to this region. Business was initially good, the small oasis experienced a good flow of goods. Many people could make their living collecting the soul mist and selling it to the spirit caravan.
But the good times lasted no more than a few decades before it was clear the spirit mist would become denser, causing problems.
A unique weather phenomena has developed in this region, replacing the typical desert sandstorms, for which the place was well prepared for, with never seen before spirit mist storms.
Without clear solutions to this yearly calamity tormenting the population, the surviving people started abandoning the nearby oases in droves.
But the spirit caravan's route stayed. Unwilling to give up on the profits of the spirit mist, they brought in their own manpower to harvest it.
This meant, the spirit caravan effectively took over these uninhabitable oases, making them just some outposts.
Nobody lived here officially. And those who still did end up here, seeking refuge from the certain death of the desert's wilderness or just stayed behind, could only grit their teeth and endure now.
With the clans turning their backs on these places, it quickly became a practice among the spirit caravan's hired men to also harvest the souls of the general population along with the spirit mist.
This was obviously a demonic act. It was an open secret what the spirit caravan was dealing with. But why would the clans care about a remote location, if the profits kept flowing?
...
Qinyang also joined in the interrogation. She had some pressing questions of her own as well. But she didn't care about the local trivia, because her sights were set on the big picture.
"This is a good opportunity. I need to figure out the overall situation, like what part of the Gu World have I transmigrated into." She thought to herself.
"Tell me, where is this place?"
"This is the Lower Ashen Plains."
"And where is that?"
"The Ashen Plains is part of the Southern Shifting Desert region."
"Southern Shifting Desert region? Is this not the same Gu World then?" A moment of doubt emerged in Qinyang's mind.
"Huh? So again, where is this place?" She asked again impatiently.
"Uhh..." The city lord tilted his head in confusion, sweat running down his neck. "Western Desert? We are in Western Desert."
Qinyang nodded. Finally an answer she could place. "Good. So it IS the gu world." She mentally confirmed.
"Good, I see you are a sensible person. Next question. Which era are we in?"
The city lord's eyes opened wide, unsure what to say to such an absurd question like this.
"I don't understand. This is the current era."
Qinyang facepalmed mentally.
"Right... Even if I'm in the olden antiquity era or the medieval antiquity era, living in it, they would just call it the current era. Makes sense." She realized her error.
"I'll have to ask another way. I need information about the era to know which one it is. For example, if there are variant human forces fighting humans then we are most likely in the second historical era, the remote antiquity era."
Immemorial Antiquity Era, Remote Antiquity Era, Olden Antiquity Era, Medieval Antiquity Era and Late Antiquity Era. These were the first five historical eras in the gu world.
"Or if Fate gu is not damaged, then we are before the medieval antiquity era. Ah, but he's just a mortal gu master, would he even know such things regarding Fate gu?" She pondered before turning back to questioning.
"Good! I was just testing if you were still paying attention. Is there anything special about this era?"
"Of course, we are living in the great era!"
Qinyang's body stiffened up at hearing this news.
"The great era? What the fuck!"
"If the great era has started already. That means Heavenly Court already lost the Fate War, Fate gu is destroyed and the venerables are soon going to revive? Oh boy!"
"Being so far ahead means most of my knowledge is already useless because most of the plot has happened already."
Qinyang silently combed through the events in her memory, but the more she recalled the less hope she saw.
"This is bad! The world is about to be turned upside down with rank nine gu immortals fighting and I'm powerless to do anything! I should have just stayed in that damn grotto heaven."
"Which great era?" Bao Zhi's question broke the silence, cutting straight to the chase.
Hearing Bao Zhi's question, Qinyang breathed a sigh of relief, realization dawning on her.
"Right! I totally forgot there are multiple great eras and not just 'the great era' that came after the 'current era' where the five regions merged. Each venerable's era was also called a great era. Huh, so I was getting worked up over nothing. If it isn't 'the' great era then I'm good. I still have time to become an immortal and establish myself properly before the world ends."
The city lord's eyes darted left and right between them. "Who on earth would not know about the venerables? Were these people living under a rock? Are the heavens underfoot and the earth atop?"
"This is the era of Spectral Soul Demon Venerable."
"!!!"
Qinyang's knees buckled, and she swayed, clutching at anything to keep from collapsing as shock and dread washed over her.
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