Ten days passed in this manner. Across the vast, barren desert expanse, Ji Changkong traveled with his eyes closed. Lost in a daze, he moved forward at a relentless pace, indifferent to whether it was day or night.

Li Hentian and Tuoba Lie followed closely, anxious that some unforeseen event might befall him mid-journey. Yi Jia and Yi Rou, the two young girls, naturally trailed close behind. Throughout the journey, the pair were breathless, their bodies slick with sweat, yet they dared not utter a single complaint.

Eventually, Yi Jia and Yi Rou simply could not keep up with Ji Changkong’s speed. If Tuoba Lie hadn't been supporting them, the two girls would surely have collapsed from exhaustion.

Even Li Hentian couldn't fathom what had taken hold of Ji Changkong. At first, his body radiated oppressive killing intent, but later, that murderous aura vanished entirely, leaving him like a walking corpse, meandering aimlessly across the sands.

Along the way, they encountered some Western Region inhabitants and various desert brigands intent on plunder. At these times, Li Hentian didn't even need to act; Tuoba Lie swept aside every obstruction to ensure nothing hindered Ji Changkong’s passage.

For nine days, Ji Changkong remained in a daze, his eyes perpetually shut. Li Hentian dared not disturb him, nor permit anyone else to, content only to follow and silently manage all necessary affairs for him.

On the tenth day, his expression remained vacant. He changed direction several times before plunging, late at night, into a bizarre region choked with swirling sandstorms that blotted out the sky and obscured all sightlines.

He plunged headlong into the tempestuous anomaly, his speed inexplicably increasing. Li Hentian, fearing for his safety, hastened to follow.

It was a strangely peculiar place where an incessant gale howled. In the dead stillness of the night, the sound of the fierce winds whipping the sand was like the cry of specters, chilling the bone.

After reaching this location, his pace quickened further. He traveled for nearly two hours, and just as the sky began to lighten, a magnificent, strange spectacle unfolded ahead in the churning sands.

Blocks of grayish-yellow colossal stones were stacked into oddly shaped temples. These structures were vast and towering, capped with square summits, appearing overwhelmingly majestic beneath the swirling yellow sky, truly breathtaking.

It felt like entering another world. The temples bore the mark of great age; weathered by ceaseless wind and sand, they were somewhat ruined. Ji Changkong wandered through these ruins in his stupor. Upon arrival here, he seemed to gain purpose, instinctively maneuvering around the boulders that blocked his path, delving deeper step by measured step.

Li Hentian’s expression abruptly grew grave. He suddenly realized that Ji Changkong’s strange state was far from random.

Across the endless desert, he had steered them directly to this miraculous place, as if he knew its location intrinsically. Once inside, his speed slowed slightly, but his expression remained blank as he proceeded further inward.

Tuoba Lie gathered Yi Jia and Yi Rou, quietly arriving at Li Hentian's side. The two young girls gasped in wonder, gazing in awe at the bizarrely shaped yet intensely imposing temples surrounding them.

Yi Jia and Yi Rou kept glancing between the nearby temples and the distant, wandering figure of Ji Changkong. They whispered amongst themselves, and in their eyes, Ji Changkong had suddenly become an enigmatic figure.

“Old Li, how in the world did Changkong find this place?” Tuoba Lie leaned toward Li Hentian, his face etched with confusion.

Li Hentian frowned, not looking at Tuoba Lie, and murmured, “Little Lie, is something amiss?”

“I once read a volume detailing the various Heavenly Sages’ sects in the Western Regions. It described temples with these exact strange forms… ‘These are the exclusive shrines of the Ouro Divine Sect!’” Tuoba Lie exclaimed in astonishment. “How could Changkong possibly know this place? In the Western Regions, every Ouro Divine Sect temple was supposedly destroyed by the Mani Faith. Why—why are there so many ancient Ouro temples here? Could this be the legendary lost sanctuary of the Ouro Divine Sect?”

“The lost sanctuary?” Li Hentian frowned, asking for clarification. “Explain.”

“After the soul of the previous Ouro Divine Sect Leader failed to return, the sect was left headless. This vacuum allowed the Mani Faith to rise and gradually supplant the Ouro Sect’s dominance in the West. Rumor has it that after the Leader vanished, the Ouro Grand Temple disappeared into the boundless desert. Only the sect's most core adherents know the location of this Grand Temple.”

“For years, the Mani Faith has searched everywhere for this sanctuary, hoping to utterly annihilate the Ouro foundation. Yet, despite all their efforts, they could never find the key. The Ouro Sect continues to operate in the shadows, maintaining considerable influence among the Western Region peoples. The reason the Ouro Sect has endured, they say, is precisely because the Grand Temple still exists.”

Walking within this very Grand Temple, Tuoba Lie felt an inexplicable pressure. His normally booming voice was lowered to a near-whisper.

As Tuoba Lie spoke, Yi Jia and Yi Rou listened intently. When he finished, Yi Rou’s eyes widened, and she asked softly, “He… how does he recognize this place?”

“How should I know?” Tuoba Lie managed a bitter smile.

BOOM!

At that moment, an enormous slab of rock detached from the apex of an ancient temple and hurtled directly toward the group.

As the first stone flew, stones from the roofs of surrounding temples broke loose in succession, all plummeting toward Li Hentian, Tuoba Lie, and the others.

Li Hentian’s expression remained unmoved, as if expecting such an assault. The Wheel of the Blazing Sun instantly materialized and spun above their heads.

Under the might of the Solar Wheel, the colossal stones shattered into fragments, scattering everywhere. Not a single rock managed to strike Ji Changkong, who continued his forward march.

A blinding flash of light erupted from Li Hentian’s hand! After the radiance subsided, a clear path lay ahead.

An ancient temple, the size of a small mountain, loomed directly in front of them. This structure was exceptional, ten times taller than the surrounding ruins. Its stone doors were arrayed across its facade. From these doors emerged emaciated old men of the Western Region, resembling desiccated corpses from the desert, their bodies seemingly drained of all moisture, like sun-cured trees.

Dozens of these elders shared this appearance, their eyes cold and haunted by the zealous madness unique to religious fanatics. The weakest among them possessed cultivation at the Five Elements Heaven realm; there were many masters of the Six Harmonies Heaven and Seven Stars Heaven realms. Seated behind the uppermost stone door were two elders most resembling dried husks—both at the Eight Trigrams Heaven realm!

These two skeletal figures focused their spiritual gaze upon Li Hentian. One suddenly rose, pointing a finger at him and questioning in halting Middle Kingdom dialect, “You—who are you? How do you know the Grand Temple of our Ouro Divine Sect?”

Li Hentian’s brow was deeply furrowed. He glanced at Ji Changkong, who kept walking forward, clearly hesitant about the situation.

Two masters of the Eight Trigrams Heaven realm, supported by dozens of experts from the Five Elements, Six Harmonies, and Seven Stars Heaven realms, glared at them threateningly. Even Li Hentian perceived the grave danger.

At this moment, Ji Changkong remained blissfully unaware of the peril they faced, continuing his step-by-step approach toward the largest temple. This placed Li Hentian in a difficult position.

Just as Li Hentian wavered, a towering aura of malevolence suddenly erupted from Ji Changkong’s body. A bizarre, blood-red light began to leak from his lower abdomen. In this cold, malevolent sanctum, Ji Changkong—blank-faced yet radiating immense killing intent, a crimson glow pulsing from his core—looked utterly alien.

The two Eight Trigrams Heaven realm cultivators, who had been poised to strike Li Hentian’s party, suddenly froze. Their faces shifted to expressions of utter horror as they simultaneously stared, in disbelief, at Ji Changkong. They remained stunned for several seconds before conversing in guttural Western Region dialect, their voices trembling.

After a short exchange, one of the desiccated Westerners suddenly began pointing at Ji Changkong, jumping and exclaiming wildly in the Western Region language, issuing commands to the gathered cultivators beneath the temple gates.

Instantly, the eyes of every cultivator in that temple blazed with fanatical fervor. Many leaped down from the structure, prostrating themselves fully on the sand and stones, murmuring sounds toward Ji Changkong.

Li Hentian and Tuoba Lie watched, utterly bewildered, as Ji Changkong continued walking forward. Yi Jia and Yi Rou stared, slack-jawed, regarding him as if he were a strange monster.

“Old Li, it seems we won’t need to track down the Mani Faith. I suspect these Ouro adherents will provide the answers we seek,” Tuoba Lie remarked after a moment, a wry smile playing on his lips.

Li Hentian nodded slowly, his gaze locked onto Ji Changkong without a flicker of distraction.

Ji Changkong passed by the rows of prostrate Ouro disciples and walked directly toward the ancient temple entrance. Seeing him about to enter, Li Hentian quickly followed.

The two ancient elders at the top of the temple glared at Li Hentian. The one who spoke the Middle Kingdom dialect boomed, “Only he may enter! You are forbidden!”

Li Hentian looked up at the elder, his tone cool. “I must watch him!” With that, he took another step, staying close behind Ji Changkong.

The two ancient elders became agitated, conversing rapidly in the guttural Western Region dialect, seemingly in heated debate.

After a brief moment, the elder who spoke the Middle Kingdom dialect stepped forward hastily to explain:

“This ancient temple is our sacred ground. Outsiders are absolutely not permitted inside. Though you are powerful, if you truly insist on entering, we will oppose you at any cost!” He paused, as if realizing something, then pointed urgently at Ji Changkong. “We—we will not harm him. He is the hope of our Ouro Divine Sect; we would never harm him!” The other elder on the upper level nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Li Hentian observed the two figures above, then glanced at Ji Changkong. After a moment of deep consideration, he gave a soft nod and turned back to stand beside Tuoba Lie.

At that precise instant, Ji Changkong had already disappeared inside the ancient Ouro Divine Sect temple.