Chapter 165: Déjà Vu

"Fortunately, Senior Liu discovered it early; if we had been one step later, it would have been dangerous." The man surnamed Kou said with some relief, standing beside Han Li.

"Fellow Daoist Kou, could you tell me what exactly this 'gale disaster' you mentioned is?" Han Li raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Fellow Daoist Liu may not know, but this gale disaster is a peculiar phenomenon unique to this desert. It is not common, but once the wind rises, in an instant, gales ravage hundreds of thousands of miles of desert. One must go deep underground and wait until it passes before traveling." The man surnamed Kou said, his eyes showing considerable wariness of this strange wind disaster.

"Yes, I have crossed this desert no fewer than a hundred times, and this is only the second time I've encountered it. Back then, I watched helplessly as a flying boat failed to dive underground in time and instantly shattered into pieces, turning into powder." The retainer surnamed Qi said with lingering fear.

"It is said that this desert was originally a city. No one knows how, but one day a gale suddenly swept through, and the entire city vanished in an instant, leaving behind this desert." The retainer surnamed Liu added, as if recalling something.

"I see." Han Li nodded slowly upon hearing this.

"Alas, this journey has been truly unlucky. We were about to reach our destination, yet we encountered this gale disaster. It seems we will have to wait here for a few days." The man surnamed Kou shook his head and sighed.

After speaking, he did not linger there but got up to check the cargo on the flying boat for any damage.

Han Li sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.

At that moment, while the wind disaster raged where Han Li and the others were, hundreds of thousands of miles away from the Boundless Sand Sea, it was calm.

On a stretch of rolling hills spanning millions of miles, lush forests were scattered here and there, interspersed with villages and towns.

In the middle of the hilly region stood a vast green city, its walls over a hundred zhang high. Above the city gate were engraved three golden characters: "Mingqiu City."

This city was enormous, seemingly not much smaller than Black Wind City.

Tall buildings stretched continuously within, their architectural style quite different from Black Wind City's, with a rougher touch but appearing more grand and imposing.

Bustling streets stretched one after another, extending to the horizon.

At the center of Mingqiu City stood a white giant tower, which, even compared to the surrounding tall buildings, stood out like a crane among chickens.

This was the location of Mingqiu City's teleportation array. The entrance to the tower was bustling with people, extremely lively.

Just then, two figures walked out of the white giant tower's gate, side by side.

One of them was nearly seventy, with a restrained gaze, white hair and beard, wearing a colorful brocade robe. He appeared vigorous and had an ethereal temperament.

Beside him was a handsome young man in black attire, his eyes full of sharpness.

"Brother Fang, if I remember correctly, there are no more teleportation arrays for the next leg of the journey. Moreover, the Black Wind Sea is in the far west of the continent, and it is said that entering it is no easy task." The brocade-robed elder spoke.

"It has been so long; whether that person is still in the Black Wind Sea is uncertain. To be safe, please trouble Brother Feng to cast a spell to confirm again." Fang Pan looked up at the sky and said.

"Very well."

The brocade-robed elder nodded, flipped his hand, and a compass-like magic tool appeared in his palm. He brought two fingers together, pointed at the center of the compass, and began to chant silently.

As the dense incantations sounded, the compass shone with golden light.

At a position very close to the center of the compass, a faint red light spot appeared, flickering continuously.

"Eh!" The brocade-robed elder let out a soft exclamation.

"Has that person already left the Black Wind Sea?" Fang Pan's face showed not much surprise.

"Brother Fang is right. Moreover, he is now not far from this Mingqiu City..." The brocade-robed elder looked incredulous.

"Oh, is it to the west?" Fang Pan was startled, his pupils contracting.

"Correct. However, for some reason, this person seems to have stopped." The brocade-robed elder closed his eyes to sense, then said with some confusion.

"Follow me." Fang Pan said, and with a flash of light, he flew out of the city.

The brocade-robed elder quickly followed.

Before long, the two appeared on a thousand-zhang-tall peak hundreds of miles outside the city, gazing westward where the sky and earth met, a gray expanse connecting heaven and earth, slowly swirling.

"It seems this person has encountered some natural disaster and is hiding. No more waiting; let's go directly." Fang Pan muttered to himself.

"Brother Fang, we have been tracking for so long; why rush now? Judging by his direction, his next stop must be Mingqiu City. Wouldn't it be safer to set up a good ambush here and wait at ease?" The brocade-robed elder frowned and said.

"Brother Feng can wait here, but I cannot wait any longer!" Fang Pan left these words, leaped from the peak, turned into a blur in midair, and vanished instantly.

The brocade-robed elder shook his head speechlessly, his body glowing with colorful light, and he too disappeared from the spot.

...

Meanwhile.

In the underground cave, the howling wind could still be heard from above. Everyone sat cross-legged with eyes closed, quietly regulating their breathing. Han Li was no exception.

Suddenly, his brows furrowed tightly, and his eyes snapped open.

Just now, he suddenly found that his own vital blood had become restless, surging wildly through his veins, making him feel somewhat hot.

Could it be that something was approaching?

A strong sense of unease surged into his heart.

After a moment's thought, he immediately stood up from the ground, his aura suddenly tense, startling the few people around him. They opened their eyes and looked at him warily.

Ignoring their reactions, a flash of green light suddenly appeared on his body, and his figure instantly vanished from the spot.

The man surnamed Kou and the others traveling with him didn't even have time to call out to stop him, only exchanging bewildered glances.

After flying out of the underground cave, the violent gale immediately swept in from all directions like thousands of blades.

Though Han Li was enveloped in green light, he still couldn't stop the coarse sand and wind from lashing his face.

He squinted, chose a direction, and with a sudden bright glow, flew forward against the gale.

In the vast storm, visibility was poor. Han Li's figure kept weaving through the sand and wind. Though not extremely difficult, his speed was greatly limited, and after half an hour, he hadn't traveled far.

Just as he was fully urging his immortal power to burst out of the gale disaster area, he suddenly noticed two powerful auras abruptly appearing within a few hundred zhang of him.

He halted abruptly, scanning the surroundings, and saw two blurry black figures hovering in the heavy sandstorm to his right front.

The two figures darted forward a few dozen zhang before their forms gradually became clear. They turned out to be a stern-faced young man in black and a nearly seventy-year-old brocade-robed elder.

Both were covered in a light shield, on which the raging gale left only faint white marks.

"Why are you two fellow Daoists blocking my path?"

Han Li said slowly, quickly sizing them up, his heart sinking.

Both were True Immortal mid-stage cultivators, clearly hostile!

Moreover, for some reason, these two gave him a vague sense of déjà vu, yet he couldn't recall where he had seen them.

The brocade-robed elder was visibly startled, looking at the young man in black with some confusion.

The latter, however, stared fixedly at Han Li, snorted coldly, and rebuked:

"Han Li, Fellow Daoist Han, what? Do you think some petty disguise tricks can fool us?"

"Who exactly are you?" Hearing his name called, Han Li was shocked, his expression turning grim as he asked.

"Brother Fang, judging by his appearance, he doesn't seem to be faking it. He really doesn't seem to recognize us. Could it be... amnesia?" The brocade-robed elder frowned and said.

"Whether it's fake or not, kill him first, then search his soul, and everything will be clear." Fang Pan said coldly.

With that, black light flashed on his body, and his figure suddenly blurred, disappearing from the spot.

Han Li felt a blur before his eyes, and the young man in black was already in front of him, a black long blade appearing in his hand, slashing down at his head without a word.

Han Li inwardly exclaimed, "So fast!" but his fist was already raised, punching toward the blade.

With a "swish," Fang Pan's figure vanished again.

Han Li's punch hit empty air, causing a void tremor, and his body involuntarily lurched forward.

But then, with a flicker of his gaze, he saw a black light flash from below, the black long blade's runes flickering, slanting upward at an extremely tricky angle.

He couldn't block in time, so he could only let his body glow brightly, the True Extreme Membrane and golden scales appearing simultaneously on his skin.

A sharp "clang" rang out.

Han Li's figure shot back hundreds of zhang, trailing a string of bright blood in the wind and sand.

After steadying himself, his face turned extremely grim. That seemingly ordinary slash from the young man in black had actually broken through both his True Extreme Membrane and golden scales.

Though the blade had been spent after breaking through and hadn't caused serious damage, it was enough to shock him.

The young man in black, however, seemed somewhat dissatisfied, frowning slightly.

The brocade-robed elder on the other side did not join the fight but held a round formation plate in one hand while pointing and gesturing in the void with the other, as if drawing something.

From his sleeve, yellow triangular flags flew out continuously, disappearing into the void.

Han Li's gaze swept back and forth between the two, and with a flash of white light in his hand, he grasped a white long sword.

The young man in black flickered, stepped forward, leaving a series of intermittent afterimages in midair, and suddenly closed in by a hundred zhang, slashing at him again.

Han Li raised his wrist, sweeping upward, and with a "clang," blocked the black long blade.

But before he could make another move, an incredible scene appeared before his eyes.

From Fang Pan's lingering afterimages in midair, black light suddenly flashed, and a figure emerged sideways, holding an identical black long blade, sweeping toward his abdomen.

These two were identical in appearance, both exuding the aura of a True Immortal mid-stage cultivator!