Starting as a prodigy wanting milk? A world-destroying deception in the opposite direction.

Shen Zhen pondered for a moment, then glanced at everyone:

"We are already aware of the situation regarding Prefect Han and Military Governor Wei."

The disturbances in the Burial Sands are a matter of border security, and the mission, having arrived here, will not stand idly by.

However, the enemy is in the dark while we are in the light; it would be unwise to rashly advance a large army.

"What does Special Envoy Shen mean?" Han Zhong asked hurriedly.

"We'll split into two groups," Shen Zhen decided.

"The Ming team, led by Vice Envoy Su and Vice Envoy Gu, will join forces with government forces to openly investigate clues about the fugitives in the Qian Duoduo case, and make a big show of pursuing suspicious persons related to Zang Sha Hai, so as to attract the enemy's attention."

Su Mingyuan and Gu Chengye nodded in acceptance.

"The Dark Team," Shen Zhen continued.

"I will lead the people of my temple, under the guise of searching for the missing squad, to secretly infiltrate the Burial Sand Sea and find out the source of the anomaly."

Vice Envoy Ye is quick-witted, and Vice Envoy Qiu is observant; they accompanied me.

Ye Zhi Qiu closed his fan, a glint of excitement in his eyes:

"Exploring hidden places and seeking secrets is my forte," Qiu Zhengnan nodded solemnly.

Just then, the window of the quiet room made a very slight sound.

Everyone was taken aback, and Wei Qingxu subconsciously gripped the magical artifact in his sleeve.

Shen Zhen's gaze sharpened, and with a slight movement, he darted to the window like a ghost. He pushed the window open abruptly, only to find an empty night sky, with nothing unusual about it.

His brow relaxed slightly: "Perhaps it's the wind or a small animal."

Suddenly, he inadvertently glanced at the inside of the windowsill and saw a very simple arrow pointing east of the city, with a simple alley symbol next to the arrow.

The arrows he drew were in a unique way; did he secretly follow us?!

Shen Zhen silently erased the traces, closed the window, and turned around to say:

"There's no time to lose, let's split up and act tomorrow morning."

Prefect Han and Garrison Commander Wei, please prepare a detailed map of the burial site in the desert and the necessary supplies for us.

"Your humble servants will take care of it immediately!" Han Zhong and Wei Qingxu felt somewhat relieved to see the delegation acting so swiftly and quickly agreed.

Everyone left the quiet room and prepared for their own tasks.

Shen Zhen was left behind, her mind churning with thoughts.

Master had followed us all the way. Had he already noticed the heretics, or was he doing this specifically to warn me?

The mark left by the master seems to point clearly to the Burial Sand Sea in the west of the city. It seems that the strange activity there is indeed related to the lurking heretics.

Just as he walked toward his room, from the shadows of the corridor, the Third Prince Feng Yu's voice rang out softly:

"Special Envoy Shen"

Shen Zhen stopped:

"Hasn't His Highness already rested?"

His decision to divide his forces into two groups was not only to deal with the situation where the enemy was in the dark while he was in the light, but also because of an unspoken consideration.

The fact that the royal family sent the third prince, Feng Yu, to accompany them already made their intentions difficult to discern.

Feng Yu is Feng Xun's younger brother, and Feng Xun's death is closely related to his mother's death. He executed Jin Wanquan, the supervisor of the Divine Grace Treasury who was instructed by Feng Xun back then, and the rift between him and the royal family is now difficult to mend.

The Ming team's imposing presence makes it easier to stabilize the situation and attract attention.

The secret team's covert advance allows them to avoid unnecessary obstacles and secretly observe the royal family's movements.

It was unexpected that Feng Yu would take the initiative to come to him.

Feng Yu emerged from the shadows, his face no longer showing the weariness of the banquet, his gaze sharp:

"I understand the situation. The Burial Sand Sea is dangerous. I... I wish to accompany your secret team."

Shen Zhen was slightly taken aback.

Feng Yu, this prince who always carried a hint of frivolity, actually decided to follow his secret team deep into dangerous territory.

He almost instinctively became suspicious: was this person genuinely interested in taking the risk, or was he being monitored by the royal family?

After all, the matter of Feng Xun is not yet settled, and having him follow the Dark Team now is tantamount to planting a time bomb next to us.

"Your Highness is of noble birth, and the harsh environment of the desert may not be suitable. The Ming team also needs Your Highness to oversee things."

Shen Zhen's tone was calm, but it implied a refusal; he wanted to see Feng Yu's true reaction.

Feng Yu smiled, a smile carrying a depth that differed from his usual frivolous demeanor:

"Standing in charge? With Su Mingyuan and Gu Chengye here, that's enough."

Shen Zhen, I know you have extraordinary abilities that others cannot match.

In this western frontier, crisis is also opportunity. I do not wish to be merely a stable prince trapped in the royal cage.

Following you, I might see some different things.

For example, the embellished "truths," and... the past that some people don't want to be revealed. His words were meaningful.

Finally, Feng Yuyou added:

"If Envoy Shen needs anything, I am ready to lend a hand at any time. After all, some things only require punishing the ringleaders without involving others."

Shen Zhen's heart stirred; Feng Yu's words contained an unusual signal.

He was dissatisfied with the status quo and was becoming increasingly distant from a certain person.

Is Feng Yu implying that he and Feng Xun are not on the same side?

It even implies that, if needed, he might be a force that the royal family could rely on, including to help him complete his unfinished revenge.

Shen Zhen stared at him for a moment and realized that he was not acting on impulse, but had a plan.

Weighing the pros and cons in my mind:

Bringing this prince along would certainly be a burden, and one would have to be constantly on guard against him, but if one were to refuse outright, one would inevitably offend this ambitious prince completely.

Furthermore, keeping him under one's nose,

It's better than letting him stay in the Ming team and do dirty work in the shadows. It also gives us a chance to figure out his true intentions and see if his so-called "assistance" is real or fake.

As for the previous doubts, he never let them go.

He couldn't possibly believe Feng Yu's one-sided story. The so-called colleagues were just testing each other and taking what they needed.

"Since Your Highness insists, Shen Zhen dares not refuse."

But Your Highness must obey orders and prioritize safety above all else.

Shen Zhen slowly opened his mouth, agreeing to Feng Yu's request, but also setting rules, which were both a constraint and a test.

Feng Yu smirked: "Don't worry, I value my life very much."

That night, Shen Zhen quietly left the inn and, following the hidden marks left by Yi Tianxing, met his long-lost mentor in a secluded alley in the east of the city.

Yi Tianxing wore an inconspicuous black cloak, his eyes sharper than when he was in the capital, like a hawk eyeing its prey.

"Zhen'er, you've grown up."

He glanced at Shen Zhen a few times, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes, and then recounted to Shen Zhen what he had seen and heard in the heretical secret residence.

Shen Zhen felt a warmth in her heart; her master had been secretly following them all the way, but had not revealed himself.

Yi Tianxing added:

"To avoid alerting the enemy, I quietly retreated."

I also heard them mention the Burial Sand Sea, an abandoned earthen city near Black Wind Pass, which seemed to be a very important place.

"Master, your news is so timely!" Shen Zhen immediately asked.

"Whom do you suspect? A messenger of God? A guide? Or some other force?"

"I don't know yet," Yi Tianxing shook his head.

"But I heard them mention things like 'the wrath of the ancestral god will overwhelm this land' and 'sacrifice the city'."

Shen Zhen frowned and said:

"Master, I will split the team into two groups. The open team will conduct a large-scale search of that house to attract attention, while the covert team will advance on Black Wind Pass and Earth City."

"Alright, you will set off as planned tomorrow, and I will follow you in secret."

After Yi Tianxing finished speaking, his figure disappeared into the night like a ghost.

The next morning, the two groups parted ways in front of the post station.

The Ming team had a large roster, led by Su Mingyuan and Gu Chengye, with Han Zhong and Wei Qingxu personally seeing them off, making a grand entrance.

Shen Zhen had already informed Su Mingyuan and Gu Chengye of the address of the heretical residence that Yi Tianxing had told them.

His secret team, including Li Qingyan, Zhao Huaijin, and others, traveled light and with only a few temple guards, as well as Feng Yu and his personal bodyguard Yan Feng, who had volunteered to join, totaling no more than twenty people.

They emerged silently from the west gate and rode their horses toward the ochre-red desert known as the "Sea of ​​Death."

The scenery changed abruptly after leaving Dayue City, which was only about fifty miles away.

The lush oasis was left behind, and before us lay endless ochre-red sand dunes, layer upon layer, like frozen waves.

Heat waves rose from the sand, distorting the distant scenery.

The wind howled, whipping up fine sand that stung people's faces.

Guide Hu pointed to a particularly tall group of sand dunes ahead, arranged like animal teeth:

"Your Excellency, that is the outer marker of Black Wind Pass, Tooth Ridge."

Only after crossing those sand dunes do we truly enter the dangerous zone of the Burial Sands.

The sand was soft, and the team struggled to move forward under Hu Laoda's guidance.

Under the scorching sun, even with their mental powers protecting them, everyone felt parched and thirsty.

Ye Zhi Qiu fanned himself while wearing a bitter expression:

"This godforsaken place, you can't even see a scorpion, it's a complete wasteland."

He tried to use his mental power to perceive his surroundings, but found that the sea of ​​sand seemed to devour his mental power, greatly compressing his perception range, and the information he received was chaotic and filled with some kind of restless noise.

Zhao Huaijin, Li Qingyan, and Qiu Zhengnan stood guard on the flanks, their expressions vigilant.

Feng Yu sat on his horse, with Yan Feng guarding him closely. Chen Xi, Wu Xian, and the others were also on high alert.

Shen Zhen felt it most acutely.

He tried to manipulate spatial power and found that the spatial structure here was extremely unstable.

Especially as you get closer to Yaqiu Ridge, the unsettling noise becomes clearer, as if countless tiny voices are whispering beneath the sand.

"Be careful," Shen Zhen reminded everyone.

"There's something strange about this desert. Our mental perception is limited. Stay close to Brother Hu and don't get separated."

Boss Hu nodded solemnly:

"What the elders say is true. The Burial Sand Sea is very strange. The older generation all say that the sand here is alive."

Just as the group was about to enter Yaqiu Ridge, a sudden change occurred!