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

Xia Jin took the jade pendant, looked at the other person and smiled faintly, "It's alright. If it were me, I wouldn't easily trust a stranger who suddenly appears in front of me."

The gaunt swordsman sheathed his two longswords, stood up, and nodded to Xia Jin: "Huo Qing, the second captain of the Silver Sand Army."

As he spoke, he pointed to the burly man in front of him and said, "This is Xiong Kui, also the first battalion commander of our Silver Sand Army."

After he introduced Xiong Kui, the only woman present slowly raised her head to look at Xia Jin, a smile on her face, and said, "I am Liu Xu, the Third Battalion Commander."

"I have long admired your names! I am Xia Jin, the captain of the first squad of the Silver Sand Army."

Xia Jin's words immediately silenced the three people opposite her.

Huo Qing's brows furrowed sharply, Xiong Kui's rugged face showed obvious astonishment, and even Liu Xu, whose face had been pale, suddenly opened her eyes wide and stared straight at Xia Jin.

"You're the current captain of the First Squad?" Xiong Kui asked Huo Qing beside him with some suspicion. "I remember before we left Silver Sand City, the captain of the First Squad was Brother Lü Yang, right? It's only been a few days, how come..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning couldn't be clearer.

Although Huo Qing did not speak, his narrow eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was thinking about something.

Only Liu Xu wore a thoughtful expression.

However, Xiong Kui and Huo Qing quickly exchanged a glance and seemed to have come to a conclusion.

Although Lü Yang was quite strong, frankly, they didn't believe that he could cross this mountain range stretching for hundreds of miles alone and arrive at this godforsaken place.

After all, even the three of them working together almost perished here.

If Lü Yang had come alone, the outcome would probably have been even worse than theirs.

Seeing that the doubt in the three people's eyes had disappeared, Xia Jin stopped being polite and cut straight to the point: "By the way, before we came here, Commander Qisong specifically asked me to find out why the three of you came here? And why you almost lost your lives here."

Huo Qing, Xiong Kui, and Liu Xu exchanged a glance, and their expressions all darkened.

After a moment of silence, Huo Qing finally spoke.

"Brother Xia, to be honest, the three of us never even considered coming here!"

Upon hearing this, Xia Jin immediately frowned.

Seeing this, Huo Qing explained helplessly, "That day, the three of us just wanted to practice our skills and stretch our muscles outside the city, but we ended up running into the people from Tianbao City."

"Tianbao City!?" A hint of doubt flashed in Xia Jin's eyes. He had heard of the name before, but he was not familiar with it.

A cold glint flashed in Liu Xu's eyes as she gritted her teeth and said, "You've probably only been in Silver Sand City for a short time and aren't very clear about the grudges between us and Heavenly Treasure City. But you only need to know one thing: in the end, only one of Silver Sand City and Heavenly Treasure City will survive."

Xia Jin nodded, and the location of Tianbao City immediately came to mind.

Speaking of which, the city closest to Silver Sand City is Tianbao City. The two cities often clash over resources, and their conflicts, both overt and covert, have never ceased.

Is this the reason for the enmity?

Huo Qing seemed to sense his confusion and continued, "Do you know who the people from Tianbao City we met that day were?"

Xia Jin shook her head.

"The young city lord of Tianbao City! And he's all alone. Given his status and position, it's impossible for him to leave Tianbao City alone. There must be something fishy going on." As he spoke, a glint flashed in Huo Qing's eyes.

"So the three of us secretly followed him. Our original intention was to see what that guy was up to when he sneaked out. If he found some treasure, we would find an opportunity to take it away together; if he didn't find any treasure, we would find an opportunity to kill him, which would be a good way to disgust Tianbao City."

"I just didn't expect that the young city lord of Bao City would be so cunning that day. He led us on a long, winding road, and we ended up in this godforsaken place. After we followed him into an underground palace, we completely lost track of him."

Huo Qing looked at Xia Jin, a hint of lingering fear flashing in his eyes for the first time: "That day, night fell quickly. A large number of monsters emerged from the underground palace in the darkness, covering the sky and densely packed... The three of us fought with all our might and almost died that night. Fortunately, we were lucky enough to find this place to hide and that's how we survived."

"I was planning to return to Silver Sand City after my injuries had healed a bit, but I didn't expect you to arrive first." Liu Xu said, then coughed lightly twice.

"Bang!"

Xiong Kui slammed his fist into the ground, cursing through gritted teeth, "That kid tricked me this time! If I ever get the chance to see him again, I'll crush him into a meat pie!"

As Xia Jin listened to the three people's descriptions, she began to secretly make plans in her mind.

It seems that some kind of treasure truly existed within the scenes I witnessed on that crystal. It was precisely because of that treasure that the incomplete Eastern Emperor Bell within my sea of ​​consciousness stirred.

Xia Jin raised her head, looking at the three of them with eager eyes, and asked, "Where exactly is that underground palace located?"

"Hmm?" Huo Qing seemed to have thought of something, and frowned as he looked at Xia Jin: "Brother Xia, you don't mean to go alone, do you?"

Xia Jin's lips curled slightly, a faint, cold smile appearing on her face: "Of course!! Now that we're here, are we just going to ignore this treasure?"

"Wait, Brother Xia!" Xiong Kui exclaimed anxiously, his face filled with apprehension. "It's getting dark. Even if you're incredibly strong, if you encounter those monsters in the night, forget about finding treasure in the underground palace; you might not even survive!"

"In my opinion, it would be safest to go back and report to the city lord first, and have him come here in person."

"Xiong Kui is right. The three of us almost died there together. It's too risky for you to go alone." Liu Xu nodded and rarely offered advice.

"If what you say is true, by the time the city lord receives the news and arrives here, it will be too late!"

Xia Jin looked at the three of them, her eyes filled with confidence: "Don't worry, I have a way. You just need to tell me where that place is."

this......

There was silence for a moment.

Huo Qing stepped forward again: "Alright! I'll tell you the location, but be careful."

After saying that, he raised his hand, and a clear wave flew out from his fingertips and entered Xia Jin's sea of ​​consciousness.

"The entrance to that underground palace is beneath that withered tree fifty miles away. You should be able to see it easily once you get there!"

"Okay." Xia Jin nodded to Huo Qing. "Wait for me here, I'll be back soon."

After saying that, he turned around and walked towards the cave entrance without any hesitation.

A few steps later, his figure disappeared into the dimly lit passage.

A moment later, a muffled sound came from outside the cave entrance. Xia Jin put the huge stone slab back over the cave entrance and restored the surrounding sand to its original state before speeding off toward the withered tree fifty miles away.

Silence returned to the cave.

After a long silence, Xiong Kui finally couldn't help but ask, "Do you think... this Brother Xia can succeed?"

Huo Qing shook his head, let out a long sigh, and said with a hint of helplessness, "The nights in the Mirage Realm are not easy to travel. Putting aside whether he can succeed, I just hope... he can come back alive."

Liu Xu remained silent.

She leaned against the rock wall, her pale face expressionless, but her gaze remained fixed on the stone slab that had been replaced.

For some reason, she had a premonition.

The man who suddenly appeared just now might actually have a sliver of a chance.