Volume One: The Soul-Drawn Gourd, The Spirit-igniting Lantern Chapter 110: Heart of the Desert

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Rumble—
The entire mountain trembled, followed by a deafening roar that relentlessly battered the eardrums of the few present...
Large chunks of rock and sand began to fall from above.
At the critical moment, Xiao Yulou suddenly flicked his Daoist robe’s sleeve, forming a hand seal, and shouted fiercely,
“Three Purities Dao Technique, Mysterious Armor of the World!”
In an instant, a dazzling golden light coalesced into a tortoise shell shield, firmly enveloping the four of them.
At the same time, the quick-eyed Li Hetang protected the just-awakened Gu Mo in his arms.
Thud, thud, thud—
Massive stones rained down like a heavy shower, striking heavily against the golden tortoise shell shield. The terrifying noise continued to assault them.
Dust and smoke filled the dark cave, making it impossible to see even a hand’s length ahead.
The terrifying atmosphere suddenly intensified!
The sudden change outside the cave felt baffling and caught everyone off guard...
After a long while, Gu Mo, still confused, opened his eyes and immediately smelled a strong scent of earth and blood. Looking up, he saw the golden tortoise shell shield being buried under a mass of sand and stones.
Still groggy from just waking, Gu Mo was utterly bewildered, even suspecting it was all a dream!
As the dust settled and the scene gradually came into focus, Gu Mo looked blankly at the three people before him.
Li Hetang, still shaken, furrowed his brows deeply, scanning the surroundings, completely forgetting that Gu Mo was still in his arms.
“What the hell just happened!”
Gu Mo blurted out awkwardly, looking at Li Hetang.
“Hey, can you let me go first?”
Li Hetang said nothing more and released him instantly.
Gu Mo sat up, patting his forehead a few times, then looked at the three companions beside him in confusion.
Among them, Li Hetang and Min Wenhua both wore sullen expressions. Only the sleazy Xiao Yulou remained seated cross-legged, lost in his own daydreams.
Gu Mo stared at the tortoise shell shield overhead, now completely buried under huge rocks, feeling utterly incredulous.
“What happened? Wasn’t I just on the shore of the scorching rainforest? How did I suddenly end up back inside the cave?”
He frowned deeply and asked, “Also, why did this cave suddenly collapse out of nowhere?”
Li Hetang sighed helplessly and explained the earlier events.
Upon hearing this, Gu Mo’s mind seemed to short-circuit, staring at Li Hetang in surprise, “What? There’s a woman inside the cave?”
(Gu Mo’s thought process was truly unique. The fact of the cave’s collapse was completely skipped over in his mind.)
Hearing this, Li Hetang, Xiao Yulou, and Min Wenhua all stared at Gu Mo in even greater astonishment, as if he had just awakened from another world.
Ahem!
Xiao Yulou cleared his throat disdainfully and said,
“Brother Gu, what have you been doing these past few days? How could you not know there was a traitor inside the cave?”
At these words, Gu Mo’s expression darkened, and he looked at Xiao Yulou with deep contempt.
“Damn it! Didn’t you tell me to dig a pit and cultivate ghost qi? How could I have time to watch everyone closely?”
Hearing this, the three squatting beside Gu Mo finally relaxed.
Min Wenhua, feeling frustrated, looked up and asked everyone,
“Everyone, what do we do now?”
Xiao Yulou stroked his chin thoughtfully, then fixed his gaze firmly on the surrounding rubble.
“Infinite Heavenly Venerable!”
This trademark phrase immediately earned him three glaring eyes.
Afterward, Xiao Yulou awkwardly smiled and softly said,
“From my humble perspective, Hua Qianyu couldn’t have caused such a commotion on her own... Regardless, we can only go out and take a look.”

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With that, Xiao Yulou suddenly widened his eyes, condensing his internal Dao energy.
With a loud boom, the golden tortoise shell shield suddenly vibrated outward.
In less than a millisecond, the boulders outside the shield were all repelled by Xiao Yulou.
Witnessing this scene, Gu Mo and the others were all ashamed.
Afterward, the four gathered their belongings and strode out of the cave.
Once outside, they silently climbed to the mountaintop above the cave.
No matter what, having a clear view was crucial. Without understanding the surroundings, what’s the point?
...
Night fell softly, and a gentle breeze blew.
Looking around, there was no sign of any abnormality on the mountain. Without external interference, how could the cave have collapsed so suddenly?
It was utterly bizarre!
But the plume of thick smoke and firelight in the distance immediately filled them with suspicion.
Min Wenhua frowned deeply, pointing toward the fire and saying,
“Something’s wrong in the heart of the desert!”
Hearing this, Gu Mo and the others found it odd.
“Cat Brother, isn’t the desert’s interior just a few scrapped warships and submarines? How could there be an explosion?”
Min Wenhua shook his head confusedly. Faced with these two choices, he felt completely lost.
“Everyone, any suggestions? Should we investigate the desert or search for the abducted children?”
At that moment, Gu Mo came to his senses and looked to Xiao Yulou, “Brother Xiao, aren’t you skilled in divination?”
Upon hearing this, Li Hetang and Min Wenhua eagerly looked at Xiao Yulou.
Faced with their expectant gazes, Xiao Yulou curled his lips into a sly smile. (Such a shameless guy loved these moments of inflated ego!)
Suddenly, Xiao Yulou flicked his robe sleeves, forming seals with his left hand while counting with his right.
But the next moment, his expression turned grave.
It seemed this sly Daoist had glimpsed an indescribable vision…
Seeing this, Gu Mo broke out in a cold sweat.
“Brother Xiao… what did you see?”
Xiao Yulou, with a pale face, stammered,
“B-bad news!”
The three present all gasped sharply, their minds racing through all kinds of terrifying scenarios.
Worried, Li Hetang frowned and asked,
“Brother Xiao, what’s wrong? Is Code Name O in danger?”
Seeing their panic, the ethereal Xiao Yulou replied solemnly,
“My finger cramped!”
At this, the three were momentarily stunned, then all cracked their knuckles fiercely, seemingly ready to rough Xiao Yulou up.
Startled, Xiao Yulou quickly raised his hand and said in fluent Cantonese,
“Ah~ I was just trying to lighten the mood!”
Then he lightly coughed, placing his fist near his mouth, and said,
“The children were taken back to the lab by Hua Qianyu and are currently safe!”
Hearing this, Min Wenhua’s anxious heart finally settled for a moment.
Just after saying this, Xiao Yulou looked at Li Hetang and said,
“Don’t worry, Brother Hetang, your beloved Code Name O is safe too. But she’s currently behind enemy lines.”
Suddenly, Li Hetang excitedly grabbed Xiao Yulou’s arms, anxiously repeating,
“What… Code Name O is okay? Then why is she in enemy territory?”

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The ethereal Xiao Yulou winced in pain from Li Hetang’s grip.
“Brother Hetang, you’re hurting me!”
Embarrassed, Li Hetang quickly loosened his grip and whispered an apology.
Since Code Name O was safe for now, the next rescue had a direction.
But... which side should they go to first?
Choosing was truly a headache...
At that moment, Gu Mo furrowed his brows and asked,
“Brother Xiao, who exactly are those people in the desert?”
Xiao Yulou sighed heavily before answering,
“They’re a mix of the White Lotus Sect and ninjas!”
The three’s curiosity was instantly piqued again.
“What... how did so many suddenly appear?”
The ethereal Xiao Yulou flicked his robe sleeves and strode forward, leaving behind a mysterious and unreadable silhouette.
“That large group is after a special artifact!”
With that, the three, utterly clueless, had no idea what Xiao Yulou was really up to.
And without Xiao Yulou speaking, no one could pry the truth from him.
At this point, the confused trio could only quicken their pace to follow him.
...
After a long while, the four finally stood at the edge of the desert’s heartland, their hearts heavy.
Cold wind howled, and dust swirled.
The pitch-black, vast desert seemed shrouded in a veil of mystery.
Beneath this mysterious veil, the biting wind was eerie and extreme. Not to mention the distant firelight and thick black smoke!
It’s important to note that the desert’s temperature swings wildly day and night. Getting lost here without sufficient water could completely shatter one’s mind!
A strong scent of burning mingled with the wild wind.
Once they took in their surroundings, the ethereal Xiao Yulou pulled out cigarettes and bottled water from his robe, distributing them to the others.
Click.
The lighter flickered, casting a warm amber glow.
The four lit their cigarettes and squatted together, exhaling smoke.
Then, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, Xiao Yulou looked sharply at Gu Mo and said,
“Brother Gu, we likely won’t need to intervene much.”
Gu Mo blinked, puzzled. “Xiao, what are you up to? What’s the point of us coming all this way, then?”
Li Hetang flicked ash from his cigarette and rolled his eyes at Xiao Yulou, agreeing,
“Exactly! We’d be better off rescuing the kids at the lab!”
Min Wenhua was heavy-hearted but remained silent.
At that moment, Xiao Yulou sighed and revealed the reason,
“Brother Gu, those ninjas infiltrated the Well of Gods and Demons to seize the next Underworld artifact.”
Hearing this, the three tensed up sharply, dumbfounded and unwilling to believe what they had just heard.
“W-what? The next Underworld artifact? How could ninjas, long overseas, know about this?”
The atmosphere suddenly grew extremely grave.
Unbeknownst to them, just tens of kilometers away, the desert’s heartland had already turned into a sea of corpses and blood...