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Chapter 45: Sand storm
After returning to Taiyi Sect and realizing that he was being monitored outside, he didn't rush to go out. First, he refined the Fire Seal he had purchased in Singing Sand City, and then he patiently waited for the right opportunity within the sect. After more than half a month, Meng Zhang's awaited chance finally arrived.
Starting from the previous night, a fierce wind and a vast sandstorm swept through the area surrounding Taiyi Sect, covering hundreds of miles in all directions. Endless Sea of Sand, especially the region where Taiyi Sect was situated, was considered remote even within the vast desert plains. The surroundings were an endless expanse of desert, without even slightly elevated mountains, only sand dunes, let alone any forests or vegetation. Whenever strong winds blew, it stirred up the sand into a whirlwind, causing visibility to drop to zero, and the world seemed filled with sand. Such sandstorms occurred occasionally throughout the year and had become a prominent characteristic of Endless Sea of Sand.
Meng Zhang stood on a small square in front of the sect's main hall, gazing at the bleak scene outside. The entire sky was dark, filled with boundless yellow sand, with no gaps in sight. The roaring winds were chilling, and the sandstorm churned like turbulent waves in the sky. At this moment, Tian Zhen also arrived by Meng Zhang's side.
"Is the protection formation around Sweetwater Oasis okay?" "The spiritual energy stored in the formation's nodes is abundant, and we have enough spirit stones to maintain its operation," Tian Zhen replied.
Although Sweetwater Oasis didn't have a complete spirit vein, it had several spiritual energy nodes. By relying on these nodes, they established a protective formation called the Endless Sea of Sand's First Order Wind-Breaking Formation. The formation's defensive power was not strong, and its function was primarily to defend against sandstorms. During normal times, to save spiritual energy, the formation would remain closed, and the spiritual energy within the nodes would be carefully stored. Even the Taiyi Sect disciples in Sweetwater Oasis wouldn't actively absorb the spiritual energy from the nodes, at most taking in some of the scant spiritual energy diffused within the oasis. However, when sandstorm weather occurred, someone would activate the formation to defend against the sandstorm's attack. If the supply of spiritual energy from the nodes was insufficient, Sweetwater Oasis also stored some spirit stones that could be used to power the formation during critical moments.
In fact, in any oasis formed within Endless Sea of Sand, there were generally spiritual energy nodes at the very least. In some larger oases, there might even be complete spirit veins inside. Meng Zhang was confident in Tian Zhen's ability to handle things, so he returned to his quiet room. After the sandstorm persisted for half a day, Meng Zhang secretly left Taiyi Sect without notifying anyone. As a precaution, he used an Earth Escape talisman at the sect's entrance to leave underground. The distance he could travel underground with the Earth Escape talisman was generally not more than ten miles. However, because the ground around him was all soft, loose sand, lacking compacted soil and rocks, this time Meng Zhang traveled a much farther distance underground than usual. In sandstorm weather, the fierce winds made it difficult to stand and could even blow people away. The sand-filled air made it difficult to see one's own fingers. In such weather, not only ordinary people but even ordinary Refining Qi stage cultivators would be cautious and would rarely venture outside. Meng Zhang didn't believe that Zhao Family's Scarlet Feathered Falcon could monitor the area around Taiyi Sect in such weather. Even if it were still there, its vision wouldn't be able to penetrate the sandstorm. While taking advantage of the cover provided by the sandstorm, Meng Zhang approached the abandoned white hidden earth mine.
With the help of the Deception Breaking Eye, Meng Zhang wasn't worried about getting lost in the sandstorm. With the talismans, his speed was significantly faster. He was very familiar with the terrain around Taiyi Sect's periphery. The sandstorm covered an extremely large area, and within a radius of hundreds of miles, the sandstorm's influence was immense. According to Meng Zhang's past experience, such sandstorms could last for several days, or even up to ten days. However, Meng Zhang still tried his best to expedite and explore the abandoned mine before the sandstorm ended. As he distanced himself from Taiyi Sect's area, the sandstorm showed no signs of abating, but the terrain on the ground began to change gradually. The ground started to become more solid, and some barren lands appeared, along with occasional wind-weathered small hills. Soon, Meng Zhang saw traces of green on the ground, and he would occasionally come across low shrubs and cacti-like plants.
Taking advantage of the sandstorm's cover, Meng Zhang was already very close to the abandoned mine. The mine was backed by a hill hundreds of meters high, and its entrance went deep underground. The mine was said to have been dug very deep. The mine's exit was surrounded by several hills, concealing the entrance. Instead of directly entering through the mine's exit, Meng Zhang circled around and approached the abandoned mine from behind. Throughout this process, Meng Zhang occasionally used the Deception Breaking Eye to observe his surroundings, ensuring that nobody had discovered him. In such sandstorm weather, the observers were unlikely to persist, and even if they did, their vision wouldn't penetrate the sandstorm.
The sandstorm, although a disastrous weather phenomenon in Endless Sea of Sand, had become Meng Zhang's best cover. He reached the backside of the hill where the mine's entrance was located. After one last observation with the Deception Breaking Eye, Meng Zhang used the Earth Escape Spell talisman. His body disappeared into the ground, and he began traveling underground. Since the ground was entirely made up of tightly compacted rocks, the distance he could travel underground with the Earth Escape talisman was far from ten miles, and his speed was quite slow. Finally, Meng Zhang passed through the hill underground and entered the mine.
When the Earth Escape Spell ended, Meng Zhang's body reappeared on the surface. As soon as he exposed himself, he sensed a familiar aura he hadn't felt in a long time.
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