Starting as a Grandmaster, all of my cultivation techniques are at max level.

Fortunately, apart from the strange old man's skin she had just encountered by chance, Xia Jin did not encounter anything else strange along the way.

That chilling aura seemed to be an isolated presence within this mountain range.

After traversing the mountain range that stretched for hundreds of miles, Xia Jin finally arrived at the location recorded on the crystal.

However, the sight before him made him frown.

This place is like a completely different world from the lush green mountains we just left.

As far as the eye could see, there was only barren yellow sand and Gobi desert, devoid of any vegetation or life.

"What are those three looking for in this godforsaken place?!" Xia Jin frowned. Although he had experienced a resonance with the Eastern Emperor Bell in his mind while browsing those images, he still didn't know the specifics.

He crouched down and carefully examined the yellow sand beneath his feet.

"Huh, what's mixed in with this sand?"

Scattered among these yellow sands are many tiny black particles, mixed in with the gravel, almost imperceptible unless you look closely.

Xia Jin grabbed a handful of yellow sand with a puzzled look and then blew on it gently.

In his palm, only a few dozen black objects the size of rice grains remained.

"This thing...could it be something left behind after those shadowy figures were killed?"

Xia Jin thoughtfully examined the black particles in her palm, becoming increasingly certain of her guess.

However, while he was still pondering,

The black particles suddenly began to pulsate in his palm, and in the next moment, they all transformed into wisps of dense black energy, frantically drilling towards Xia Jin's body!

"You son of a bitch! You dare to scheme against me!!"

Xia Jin's expression changed, and in a flash, the transparent flame generated by cultivating the Great Sun Burning Heaven Technique rose directly from his body.

When those wisps of black energy encountered the transparent flames on Xia Jin's body, they were instantly incinerated as if they had encountered a natural enemy.

A glint flashed in Xia Jin's eyes. He had just been grasping at straws in his desperation, but he hadn't expected that the flame he had cultivated, which was specifically designed to target the soul, could actually suppress these strange things.

"It seems that this Great Sun Burning Heaven Technique is truly remarkable." Xia Jin waved his hand, and the transparent flames on his body were instantly withdrawn into his body. At the same time, a smile appeared on his face.

"But this place is so big, how are we going to find them!?"

Xia Jin stood up, glanced around, and couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

His divine sense kept probing outwards.

Unfortunately, even though he has now reached the third level of the Immortal Ascension Realm, the suppressive power of the rules of this Mirage Realm is simply too strong. Here, he can only explore a radius of about one mile around.

"One mile is better than nothing."

Xia Jin sighed helplessly as she walked forward, searching the desert land inch by inch.

One time, it was not found.

Twice, still no results found.

Just as a sense of unease began to rise in his heart, he conducted his third investigation.

Got it!

Xia Jin suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze fixed on a patch of ground dozens of feet away.

Beneath that stretch of yellow sand, he clearly sensed a faint fluctuation.

"I don't know if it's your good luck or mine."

Xia Jin stood up, strode to that spot, took a deep breath, and waved her palms continuously towards her feet.

A series of sharp palm strikes slammed into the yellow sand, scattering sand and gravel everywhere, and the ground quickly caved in.

A few breaths later, a huge stone slab appeared in front of him.

The surface of the stone slab was covered with dense cracks, as if it had withstood a huge impact, and some black marks remained at the edges.

Xia Jin frowned, squatted down, hugged the stone slab, and with a sudden burst of strength, threw it away.

A small hole appeared before his eyes.

"It seems they must be hiding here!" Xia Jin probed into the cave with her divine sense and sensed three faint auras inside.

still alive.

He breathed a sigh of relief, and a fireball immediately appeared in his palm, instantly illuminating the surrounding darkness.

Without thinking twice, Xia Jin went downstairs.

"The person inside, are they still alive?"

His voice echoed through the empty cavern.

There was silence for a moment.

A violent coughing sound came from deep within the cave, followed by a hoarse, somewhat wary voice.

"Who?!"

Xia Jin frowned and looked ahead.

Three somewhat disheveled figures were sitting against the rock wall, their eyes fixed on him warily.

All three were wounded, their armor tattered and stained with blood.

The burly man had a bandage wrapped around his left arm, which was soaked with blood; the thin swordsman was kneeling on the ground, his hands still tightly gripping his two long swords; and the woman was leaning against the rock wall, her face as pale as paper.

But their eyes were all fixed on Xia Jin, this unfamiliar visitor.

Xia Jin smiled at them, because he had already seen the Silver Sand Army insignia clearly printed on the tattered armor on the chests of the three men.

"Don't be nervous, I'm not here to cause you any trouble." Xia Jin waved her hand. "Senior Brother Qisong sent me to find you."

The three people were visibly taken aback upon hearing this.

The burly man was the first to react, looking Xia Jin up and down before asking suspiciously, "You're also... a member of the Silver Sand Army? We've never seen you before?"

Although the burly man had a rugged appearance, his eyes were extremely sharp, and his gaze kept scanning Xia Jin as he spoke.

He has a habit of remembering everyone he meets.

He was absolutely certain that he had never seen this young face in Silver Sand City before.

Even though he had seen that Xia Jin also had the Silver Sand Army's mark on her chest, his doubts had not dissipated in the slightest.

Having spent so many years in this Mirage Realm, he knew all too well that sometimes, a suit of armor or a mark couldn't explain anything at all.

The gaunt swordsman subtly raised the two nicked longswords in his hands, their tips faintly pointing in Xia Jin's direction. Meanwhile, the woman leaning against the rock wall, though her face was ashen, had already quietly reached for the short sword at her waist.

Xia Jin observed the reactions of the three people.

Instead of being angry, he smiled slightly, a hint of approval in his eyes.

"Wait, I know you won't believe me so easily, but I have something that I believe you will after you see it."

Xia Jin took out a jade pendant from her bosom and tossed it gently towards the burly man.

After the burly man caught the jade pendant, he looked down and his expression changed instantly.

"This is... Commander Qisong's personal jade pendant?!" The gaunt swordsman also came over, and the moment he saw the jade pendant, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Xia Jin smiled as she looked at the three people's expressions and explained, "Before I left Silver Sand City, Senior Brother Qisong specifically instructed me. He said that the three of you have been around for so many years and are extremely vigilant, and you would never easily trust a stranger."

"So, Senior Brother Qisong said that once you see this thing, you will naturally believe what I said."

The burly man held the jade pendant, examining it several times to confirm that there were no signs of forgery. Only then did he nod apologetically to Xia Jin.

"Brother, I'm sorry."