Chapter 275: The Exaggerated Flame Mountain
"Fei Li, you are Lin Fei Li! Do you still recognize me? I'm Tong Li, Qin Xiaoyu's older brother. Lin Fei Li, my sister and I completely lost contact. Can you remember which City my sister Qin Xiaoyu was evacuated to? Please tell me!" Tong Li burst into tears of excitement upon hearing his name. He grabbed Lin Fei Li's arm as if he had grasped his only hope in years!
It was clear this was a good actor.
But Mo Fan could actually tell that Tong Li's first reaction was perhaps to try and seize him, right?
He must have only changed his mind after confirming that Lin Fei Li had some memory loss.
Indeed, Mo Fan had been keeping a close eye on him the entire time. Clearly, his excited approach just now was not a friendly gesture.
At this moment, Lin Fei Li immediately broke free, a look of hostility on his face. Having resided there for too long, he seemed to have lost some human rationality, reacting with vigilance and hostility to almost any slight disturbance.
"Tong Li, don't provoke him yet. His mind is a bit abnormal. I can use Mind Element magic to help him recover, to restore his sanity and memories," Jiang Shaoxu said.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I was too excited. My sister's matter has been weighing on my heart for all these years, but I never dared to truly venture in here to search for her traces. Thanks to you all this time..." Tong Li quickly said upon seeing his state.
"So you're here to find someone. But it's been eleven years, that's a bit too much to ask," Zhang Xiao Hou said.
"Alas, in my third year of joining Wei Fang, my sister and another Guardian Mage team received a mission to patrol here. At that time, this Desert wasn't so dangerous; it was considered a safe zone. Si Ta Station and the fortress City also frequently had goods transported. But not long after, we heard news that this place was buried, and my sister completely disappeared..." Tong Li recounted.
Everyone listened to Tong Li narrate the past events.
It turned out this oasis station was originally called Si Ta Station. In its early years, its scale was comparable to a village. Not far away, black rocks baked by high temperatures contained Black Rock Cores, an important material needed by builders. Many Cities in the west used building stones from here. With Black Rock Cores, those magic builders could easily construct a tall building, as Black Rock Cores contained a vast amount of Earth Element energy.
Because of this special building core, Si Ta Station became very important. Wei Fang would also dispatch Desert border Guardian Mage teams to be stationed here, and hunters constantly traveled back and forth, using the station as a springboard to explore this mysterious and treasure-filled Desert.
But one day, the Taklamakan Desert underwent a massive sand movement. Large tracts of sand dunes moved towards this area under the influence of a huge magical wind. Overnight, this station oasis was swallowed. The originally peaceful small Desert area also transformed into a dangerous place over the years, becoming part of the Taklamakan Demon Land.
As for the Guardian Mages who were guarding Si Ta Station and the hunters who were about to travel, they basically disappeared without a trace. Tong Li's sister, Qin Xiaoyu, was one of them. For so many years, Tong Li still couldn't let go, and only dared to come in when Mo Fan and others were willing to enter and develop this area.
He knew finding someone was very slim, but coming here was just for peace of mind.
"I've restored some of his memories and soothed his emotions. He should recover soon," Jiang Shaoxu said.
"En, he should be very familiar with this area. Maybe he can lead us to that Flame Mountain Range," Zhang Xiao Hou said.
The Flame Mountain Range was definitely still a long distance from here. If they relied solely on temperature to judge, who knew when they would truly find that Flame Mountain Range? Every extra day spent in the Desert meant more danger.
"You... how did you get in?" After Jiang Shaoxu helped him with mental recovery, Lin Fei Li's speech became much more fluent.
"We fought our way through. It's hard to imagine that eleven years ago, this was still a safe area," Jiang Shaoxu said with some emotion.
Zhang Xiao Hou then asked, "Lin Fei Li, do you know where there's a volcano nearby?"
Lin Fei Li had lived here for eleven years, so he was clearly more knowledgeable than them.
"In that direction, it turns red every midnight," Lin Fei Li replied without much hesitation to Zhang Xiao Hou's question, pointing north.
"Can you take us there? I just scouted some of the terrain ahead, and it seems there's a maze-like area. It feels like even if we walk in one direction, we won't get through," Zhang Xiao Hou asked.
"Yes," Lin Fei Li nodded in agreement.
The group rested and recuperated, then set off towards the Flame Mountain Range.
This part of the journey was a mixture of black rocks and sand dunes. Along the way, even without any mining, they could still find some magical stones that could be sold for money.
It hadn't even been developed, yet treasures were everywhere. Although dangerous, it was undeniably an excellent place for treasure hunting!
Unconsciously, the temperature began to rise sharply. Everyone was sweating profusely, and even though it was already midnight, they still didn't feel a hint of coolness.
Mo Fan looked up and suddenly noticed a patch of darkness ahead—dark ground, dark sky, with not a single star in the sky.
When he looked closely, he realized that what was ahead was not the curtain of night at all, but a colossal mountain range that obscured the night sky, instantly bringing a terrifying and oppressive spiritual impact!
Not only Mo Fan noticed it, but the others naturally noticed this peak as well!
"What an exaggerated mountain!" Zhang Xiao Hou gasped.
"Strange, this mountain is so big. Logically, we should have been able to see it from Si Ta Station. Why can we only see its outline now that we've walked all the way here?"
"It should be because of the maze-like area here, which confuses everyone's vision."
Although the maze-like area here wasn't as exaggerated as the Sahara Desert, it could indeed obstruct one's vision.
Lin Fei Li looked up, his gaze fixed on the starry sky. After a while, he looked directly at the black mountain peak and said, "It's about to appear."
As everyone pondered, suddenly, a cluster of fire, so brilliant that it instantly overshadowed the stardust, lit up at the highest point of that colossal mountain. The expanding corona of fire then spread along the mountain's sharp contours, igniting within moments for dozens of kilometers, and outlining the entire silhouette of the mountain, which had merged into the night, with flames!
The flames ignited so suddenly that before everyone could react, a vast expanse of fire filled their eyes, stinging them even when they averted their gaze.
Before, it was too dark, and the mountain's size still gave a hazy feeling. But as the flames swiftly ignited and the firelight shone, the entire Desert Demon Mountain fully appeared. That overwhelming sensation, that immense size, that scorching heat, immediately left a profound shock in everyone's hearts!
"Buzz buzz buzz!!!"
"..."
The firelight illuminated the sky, but the sound of flapping wings, very noisy, reached everyone's ears.
"Look quickly, it's Dust Storm Demon Locust!" At this moment, Zhang Xiao Hou suddenly pointed to the other side of the sky and exclaimed.
Like a murky cloud, the Dust Storm Demon Locust appeared in the firelight. To everyone's horror, the Dust Storm Demon Locust were all flying towards the Flame Mountain Range!