Chapter 387: Returning to Loulan, the Underground Entrance Disappears!
In the desolate desert, only two figures moved swiftly together.
After just half a day’s journey, as the blazing sun tilted toward the west, a hazy outline appeared in the distance before the two men.
Li Mo and Wei Zhuang stood atop a tall sand dune, their eyes fixed on the silhouette of a city ahead.
Faintly, they could see people bustling within the city’s walls.
And Li Mo was all too familiar with this city.
It was none other than Loulan, where he had lived for over a month!
The soldiers at the city gate wore black armor and wielded long spears.
These were the soldiers he had brought from the Qin State to maintain order in Loulan.
Looking at the laborers busily working atop the city walls, all signs pointed to the fact that this very city was their destination: Loulan!
“Did we arrive so soon?”
Wei Zhuang squinted as he looked at the city, a hint of surprise in his tone.
He seemed taken aback that they had reached Loulan so quickly.
“It is indeed a bit fast; I thought we would need to travel for a few more days to get here.”
Li Mo furrowed his brow slightly, his words tinged with surprise as well.
The teleportation portal not only brought them back but also deposited them alarmingly close to Loulan.
As the saying goes, ‘there’s something fishy when things happen too conveniently.’
How could the Chiyou Demon Spirit be so kind as to send them back like this, right to their doorstep?
“Let’s go take a look; stay cautious.”
After some deliberation, Li Mo took the lead down the sand dune.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off, something was subtly wrong.
But right now, the priority was to re-enter that space and reunite with Fei Yan and others.
He previously refused to leave Wei Zhuang behind to enter an unknown territory alone.
There was no way he would abandon Fei Yan and the Moon Goddess in such a perilous place.
The two moved quickly, and in just a quarter of an hour, they were standing at the foot of Loulan.
The gate soldiers spotted them from a distance and, after a brief moment of confusion, hurried to salute Li Mo before he could approach.
“Greetings, National Advisor!”
The soldiers were puzzled.
How had Li Mo, who was clearly in the city, suddenly reappeared from the outside?
But there was no mistaking the image of their National Advisor, forever etched in their minds, nor the cold, unfeeling gaze of the swordsman beside him.
“Has anything changed in the city?”
Li Mo nodded slightly, scanning the soldiers’ armor and weapons without a hint of distress.
There were no signs of damage or blood, clearly indicating that no battles had taken place during their absence.
“Reporting to the National Advisor, all is calm in the city.”
With the soldiers’ affirming response, Li Mo and Wei Zhuang did not linger at the gate but swiftly made their way to the temple in the center of Loulan.
Upon arriving at the temple, they discovered a stark difference from the atmosphere at the city gate.
Here, the mood was far more serious.
The soldiers guarding the temple were in battle readiness, weapons drawn—this was the command he had given before descending underground.
It was to prevent Donghuang Taiyi and the Chiyou Demon Spirit from escaping.
As they stepped inside the temple, they saw the soldiers encircling the pit looked just as they had before he left.
In the distance, they spotted a white tent set up nearby.
Sitting within was none other than the Loulan Grand Priestess!
Before Li Mo could reach the tent, the Grand Priestess had already learned of his return from the soldiers’ report.
She hurried over, her skirt trailing behind her.
“Lord of the Divine, you’re back?”
Upon first seeing Li Mo, the Grand Priestess could hardly hide her joy.
She quickly followed up with, “Have you defeated the Chiyou Demon Spirit and Donghuang Taiyi?”
For the Grand Priestess, this period of Li Mo’s absence had been the hardest.
Although she was firmly convinced of the prophecy left by the Lady of the Nine Heavens, insisting that Li Mo was the divine being foretold in the murals who would be able to vanquish the Chiyou Demon Spirit and bring stability to Loulan, she couldn’t help but worry when he hadn’t returned for so long.
Now seeing him safe and sound, her heart felt as if a massive stone had been lifted.
Li Mo shook his head, “Donghuang Taiyi is dead, but the Chiyou Demon Spirit still exists.”
The Grand Priestess paused in astonishment, a glimmer of surprise flashing in her eyes.
But the expression was fleeting as she quickly said, “The Chiyou Demon Spirit has existed for thousands of years; it’s not so easily eliminated.
If this time didn’t work, we can discuss it further.”
She saw the solemn look on Li Mo’s face and assumed he had fallen into some disadvantage during his encounter with the Chiyou Demon Spirit.
Surviving an experience with such a powerful existence was already a remarkable feat.
Actually eliminating it? That was a whole different story.
What she didn’t realize was that Li Mo hadn’t even faced the Chiyou Demon Spirit during his lengthy stay inside.
Li Mo sensed the reassurance in the Grand Priestess’s words and explained, “That’s a long story. There haven’t been any disturbances here while I was gone, right?”
The Grand Priestess, being in charge of the military guarding this area, would have been the first to know of any changes below.
“No disturbances have occurred.”
Just then, Da Siming suddenly interjected, “National Advisor, where are Lady Dongjun and the Moon Goddess?”
Hearing this, the Grand Priestess finally noticed something was amiss: “Right! How is it just the two of you? Where are the ladies?”
Since Li Mo’s arrival, the Grand Priestess’s attention had solely been on him—only now did she realize that he and Wei Zhuang were the only ones who had emerged.
And the three ladies who were always at his side, even sharing sleeping quarters, were nowhere in sight.
Li Mo furrowed his brows tightly, “That’s the problem. Wei Zhuang and I were teleported out of the array, but the three of them are still inside.
You stay here and continue to guard; we need to go back down and check. We’ll clarify the situation when we return.”
The Chiyou Demon Spirit was not only powerful but also crafty.
The longer Fei Yan, the Moon Goddess, and Li Wu stayed inside, the greater the danger they faced.
At this moment, Li Mo’s heart was racing; he couldn’t afford to elaborate to the Grand Priestess about everything they had encountered inside.
Having been in a high position for so long, the Grand Priestess was sensible and adept at assessing priorities.
Naturally, she could distinguish between urgency and importance.
Li Mo and Wei Zhuang swiftly made their way back to the cave through the entrance they had previously left behind.
Upon reaching the underground entrance, their expressions changed dramatically!
The enormous bronze door that had previously been blasted open by powerful explosives had inexplicably returned to its original state!
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