Su Nan's sudden appearance disrupted the previously clear-cut situation on the battlefield.
The elderly man reacted quickly and immediately sought help from Su Nan.
Even though they didn't know who Su Nan was or why he had appeared here, as long as he wasn't from the Ma family, it was good news for them.
Up ahead, the fleeing woman noticed the unusual situation behind her and couldn't help but stop in her tracks.
When she heard that Su Nan was a Spirit-level warrior, she was both shocked and delighted.
With a slight hesitation, she turned back.
Obviously, she intended to seek Su Nan's help.
In her view, with her own strength, she couldn't escape for long even if she continued to run. The Spirit-level powerhouse who had suddenly appeared was their only hope.
Seeing the woman return, Ma Qiang's expression darkened, and he couldn't help but furrow his brows. He could easily see the woman's intentions.
Ma Qiang looked at Su Nan and said, "Sir, there was a misunderstanding earlier. This is a matter between my Ma family and the Chen family. Since you are not from the Ma family, please leave."
Upon hearing this, the woman quickly said, "Sir, as long as you can kill them, I'm willing to give you the Ancient God's Key as a reward."
She bit her lip and took out the most valuable item on her person.
She hadn't handed over the Ancient God's Key earlier because she knew that even if Ma Qiang obtained it, he wouldn't spare them.
But now things were different.
She could tell that Su Nan was not the type of person who would do anything to achieve his goals. Otherwise, he would have already taken action earlier.
Upon hearing this, the elderly man's face changed slightly, and he quickly said, "Miss, you can't do that. The Ancient God's Key is the only clue our master left behind..."
Before the elderly man could finish speaking, the woman interrupted, "Uncle De, there's no need to say more. This thing is a never-ending source of trouble as long as it's in our hands."
Saying this, she respectfully handed the so-called Ancient God's Key to Su Nan.
Su Nan had been calmly observing both sides the whole time.
He didn't have any intention of helping the woman just because she was the victim.
However, since the other party had offered up the treasure voluntarily, he didn't see any harm in taking a look.
He was also curious about what the Ma family was so eager to obtain at the cost of annihilating the Chen family.
Seeing the Ancient God's Key, Ma Qiang's face darkened again. He wanted to snatch it, but when he caught sight of the two silent and lifeless bodies of his subordinates, he stopped in his tracks and said in a low voice, "This Ancient God's Key belongs to my Ma family. Sir, you must not make a mistake!"
Ma Qiang once again brought up the Ma family, hoping to intimidate Su Nan.
Su Nan, however, paid no attention to him and directly accepted the so-called Ancient God's Key from the woman's hand.
Seeing Su Nan take the key, the woman breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as Su Nan took the item, things would be much easier. She believed that the Ma family wouldn't let Su Nan off.
The Ancient God's Key was indeed a key, but its material was stone.
At first glance, it appeared to be an ordinary key carved from common blue stone.
Su Nan couldn't help but wonder if it would break into two pieces if it accidentally fell.
[Ancient God's Key: In ancient times, there was a god named Da Feng. After his death, his clan created a tomb mound for him, which contains everything left behind by the ancient god. There are nine keys to the Ancient God's Tomb, and all nine keys must be gathered to open the tomb. This is one of them.]
"Da Feng, the Ancient God?"
"Interesting!"
Su Nan's eyes lit up.
Although he didn't know what kind of existence this ancient god Da Feng was, he was sure that such an entity was extraordinary.
"It seems that only the Divine Clan can be associated with the word 'god.' Could it be that the Ancient God's Tomb contains the remains of a Divine Clan powerhouse?"
"Or is the ancient god a god-level powerhouse beyond the Saint level?"
The game provided very little information about Da Feng, so Su Nan could only guess about the identity and strength of this Da Feng based on the term "ancient god."
If it was the former, then there was nothing to be concerned about. He had already encountered members of the Heavenly Clan, so encountering a Divine Clan powerhouse's tomb wouldn't be a big deal.
However, if it was the latter, it would hold a different significance.
A god-level powerhouse in ancient times was undoubtedly incredibly powerful.
If the people of the Eastern Celestial Region learned that there was an inheritance left behind by a god-level powerhouse here, they would likely do everything they could to gain access.
But when he thought about the attitude of the human race in the Eastern Celestial Region towards this place, Su Nan felt that he was overthinking things.
"Perhaps this ancient god is neither from the Divine Clan nor a god-level powerhouse, but just a title," Su Nan muttered to himself, shaking his head.
He felt that he was being too sensitive.
Looking at the stone-carved key in his hand, he nodded and said, "This is indeed a good item. I'll take it."
To have someone willingly offer him an item that wasn't even considered a treasure as soon as he entered the Lost Land was incredibly lucky.
Upon hearing this
, the woman and the elderly man both breathed sighs of relief.
However, Ma Qiang's face instantly turned extremely gloomy. He stared at Su Nan and said, "Sir, you need to think carefully. Taking something from my Ma family means you're making an enemy of us!"
Ma Qiang wanted to say more to threaten Su Nan, but Su Nan couldn't be bothered with him.
"You're too noisy!"
Su Nan didn't even look at Ma Qiang. He waved his hand, and dozens of blue water arrows shot out.
Ma Qiang's face turned pale as he tried to dodge, but he found that he had no chance to evade.
In the next moment, everyone, including Ma Qiang, had their bodies pierced through by the water arrows.
"You..."
Ma Qiang's eyes widened, and he stared at Su Nan with disbelief. His throat moved, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he couldn't utter a word.
"This..."
Su Nan had killed Ma Qiang in an instant, and seeing this scene, the woman and the elderly man were both shocked.
Where did this powerful individual come from?
Ma Qiang was at least a Peak Mortal-level expert and a prominent figure within the Ma family.
But even such a figure had been killed as easily as crushing an ant.
Both of them were astonished and fearful as they looked at Su Nan.
Su Nan's strength exceeded their imagination. In the eyes of such a powerhouse, they might be as insignificant as Ma Qiang, who had just been killed.
Seeing the woman's concern, Su Nan said casually, "Don't worry, now that I have your item, I won't harm you."
Upon hearing this, the woman and the elderly man both breathed sighs of relief.
When they looked at Su Nan again, they couldn't help but wonder. In a world this vast, they had heard of many famous and powerful individuals, but it seemed that none of them were like Su Nan.
"What is this place?" Su Nan asked the same question again.
"You don't know, sir?" The woman was surprised and exchanged a glance with the elderly man, both of them looking puzzled.
"If I knew, why would I ask you?" Su Nan replied.
"Sir, this is Bai Ma County, and up ahead is the Death Desert," the woman quickly explained.
"The Death Desert?" Su Nan couldn't help but turn around and look at the desert he had just come from. "What's going on over there? Why is there a power that turns people into sand?"
Hearing this question, the woman and the elderly man were even more puzzled.
Su Nan's lack of knowledge about the Death Desert, yet knowing about its ability to turn people into sand, seemed contradictory.
Suddenly, the woman had a realization and exclaimed, "Sir, are you from the outside?"
By "outside," the woman was referring to the Eastern Celestial Region.
Su Nan didn't express surprise that his identity had been deduced. After all, the people in this world were all originally from the Eastern Celestial Region and were naturally aware of its existence.
Su Nan didn't directly confirm, but he spoke with a stern tone, saying, "Don't ask what you shouldn't."
The woman and the elderly man exchanged glances, both wearing expressions of doubt.
The woman quickly responded, "The Death Desert is one of the forbidden areas in this Lost Land. Legend has it that there is a formation under the desert that guards a secret about this world."
"Originally, it wasn't a deadly place, and the sandification phenomenon only occurred occasionally. Our ancestors who arrived in this world all descended into the desert, as it was the entrance from the outside."
"But ever since a powerful being descended to this world a hundred years ago, this individual did something in the desert, causing it to become a deadly place."
The woman didn't hide anything and revealed all that she knew.
"So, you mean that nobody has arrived here from the outside for over a hundred years?" Su Nan asked, finally understanding why he always ended up in the desert according to his premonitions.
At the same time, he grasped an important piece of information from the woman's words.
"Are you saying that for over a hundred years, anyone entering the Death Desert has basically been unable to leave alive? Unless they can manipulate the power of heaven and earth and fly through the air like a King-level expert. But even a King-level expert might not necessarily survive."
Without guidance, who could have expected that the desert could turn people into sand? By the time they realized the problem, it might already be too late.
The woman nodded and said, "Yes, it's true. We haven't had anyone from the outside arrive here for over a hundred years."
Saying this, the woman and the elderly man exchanged glances again, their gazes filled with astonishment.
A deadly desert where nobody had emerged alive for over a hundred years, and today, someone had managed to survive and make it out alive.
Was the person before them truly a Spirit-level expert? They had their doubts, especially when they looked at the numerous bodies on the ground.
"Zhou Lingyin mentioned that a hundred years ago, there was also a warrior who was tainted by demonic energy and entered this Lost Land to find a solution. In the end, that person not only solved the issue of demonic energy but also left this Lost Land."
"It seems that person was probably the one responsible for changing the Death Desert."
Su Nan instantly thought of a possibility. If that was the case, why did that person tamper with the Death Desert? Did they want to prevent others from entering the Lost Land? Or did they want to conceal something beneath the Death Desert?
Su Nan pondered silently.
The woman and the elderly man didn't dare to disturb him and watched Su Nan with slight movements of their eyes, contemplating something themselves.
After a while, Su Nan asked, "What was that person called back then? After arriving here, where did they go?"
Since that person was able to solve the problem of demonic energy, if Su Nan followed the same path, he might also find a solution.
The woman said, "That powerful being from back then was named Du Qiuyuan. But as for where they went after arriving here, I don't know."
She paused for a moment and added, "I heard that the person caused quite a stir here, and it seems they visited all the forbidden areas."
"All the forbidden areas?" Su Nan's heart sank. This undoubtedly increased the difficulty of finding him.
After pondering for a moment, he continued, "How many forces are there in this place?"
He wanted to find what he was looking for here, and it was inevitable that he would have to deal with these forces.
The woman replied, "The largest force here is the Da Xuan Nation, which rules over everything in this region. Below the Da Xuan Nation are the Five Great Clans, which were established by five Imperial-level peerless experts. Then there are the Ten Major Sects, said to be founded by people from ten major forces in the outside world."
"We, the Chen family, are one of the Thirty-Two Clans."
"Forty-eight forces? I didn't expect that in an area the size of a county, there would be so many forces!" Su Nan marveled.
However, when he thought of the Central Heaven County, he felt more at ease. If this place was as large as Central Heaven County and had so many forces, it wasn't surprising.
What surprised him, though, was the name of the ruling nation.
Da Xuan Nation!
When he came, he already knew that there was a nation in this Lost Land, but it didn't surprise him.
But the name of this nation made him instantly think of another once powerful force.
The Da Xuan Dynasty!
Su Nan immediately inquired, "What connection do these forces have with those in the outside world?"
The woman explained, "It is said that the Da Xuan Nation was established by a powerful force from the outside world called the Da Xuan Dynasty. The Five Great Clans were established by five Imperial-level peerless experts, and the Ten Major Sects were founded by people from ten major forces in the outside world."
In a place as large as Central Heaven County, there were many legends and rumors.
After listening, Su Nan was deeply shaken.
The Da Xuan Dynasty!
This Da Xuan Nation was indeed related to the Da Xuan Dynasty! Su Nan's eyes flashed with excitement.
If he had learned about the existence of the Da Xuan Dynasty's influence in this world before, he would have been surprised but not particularly concerned. However, now that he had cultivated the Incense Fire Divine Path and was more focused on the Da Xuan Dynasty, which had originally risen to power through this path, he paid even closer attention.
Based on the information he had received earlier, the Da Xuan Dynasty had collapsed on a large scale due to the drawbacks of the Incense Fire Divine Path. The demonic emperor had even taken action, erasing all records related to the Da Xuan Dynasty within the Eastern Celestial Region.
The fact that the Da Xuan Dynasty's influence still existed here was obviously related to the rule of entering but not leaving this place.
Su Nan immediately asked, "Did the Da Xuan Dynasty practice the Incense Fire Divine Path?"
"Incense Fire Divine Path?" The woman and the elderly man exchanged puzzled glances, clearly not knowing what the Incense Fire Divine Path was.
Seeing this, Su Nan already had an answer in mind.
He continued, "What is the current highest realm of strength in this place?"
This time, the woman didn't answer and instead looked to the elderly man. Matters related to the high-end of this world were better understood by the elderly man.
The elderly man didn't dare to delay and quickly replied, "As far as I know, the acknowledged strongest figure in our world is the Da Xuan King of the Da Xuan Dynasty, who has reached the pinnacle of the Profound-level."
As he spoke, the elderly man discreetly observed Su Nan's expression.
"Profundus-level later stage?" Su Nan nodded, maintaining a calm demeanor, but he felt relieved internally.
Without any experts, it meant that there was no one who could prevent him from doing whatever he wanted in this world.
However, at this moment, the elderly man seemed to remember something and hesitated slightly, saying, "This should only be the surface strength. There are rumors that among the Five Great Clans and Ten Major Sects, there may be ancient monstrous experts at the King-level. They were all beings who arrived from the outside world a hundred years ago, but the authenticity of this information cannot be verified."
"Beings who arrived a hundred years ago and are still alive today?" Su Nan was astonished.