The two parallel suns in the sky were dazzling. The yellow sand was endless, and the sand dunes were endless.
A strange brown lizard more than six meters long was crawling on the sand dunes slowly and aimlessly. Behind the lizard sat a man in a short-sleeved undershirt, carrying a parasol. The parasol swayed along with the lizard's crawl. It looked like he was cultivating, but also like he was napping. The dharma between his eyebrows was a red lizard.
However, there were strange changes in the surrounding sand. Some of the sand grains piled up into a line and continued to climb, while others gathered and turned into flowers and trees. In short, after the lizard crawled over the sand, the spectacle of the sand grains collapsed and returned to normal.
Under the scorching sun in the sky, a figure flashed past. A general in red armor descended from the sky and stood on the sand dune in front of him. He shouted, "Long Xin!"
The big lizard slowly climbed up the sand dune and stopped.
The parasol slowly lifted, and the man in the short-sleeved shirt called Long Xin glanced at the other party. He stood up from the lizard and walked down. The parasol in his hand tilted and collapsed, turning into sand that fell to the ground. At the same time, the lizard also collapsed into sand. It turned out that the parasol and the lizard were both formed from sand.
Long Xin slowly walked toward the red-armored general. The surface of the sand dune churned, and a brown sprout drilled out. It grew rapidly, and soon, it became a large tree with a large canopy that could shade the sun. It was obvious that there was still moisture on it, as if it was sand that had surged out from the depths of the earth. In this scorching region, it brought a different kind of coolness.
Under the shade of the tree, a table and two stools were flipped up. Long Xin sat down and placed two wine cups on the table. He picked up a wine pot and poured wine.
The general in red armor looked at the lifelike tree, then at the table and stools. He clicked his tongue and said, "Brother Long, you seem to have some skill in playing with sand!"
Long Xin, who had poured wine, extended his hand and invited the general to sit. He grabbed a cup and said calmly, "To tell you the truth, I haven't wasted these tens of thousands of years. I've created a skill myself. It's quite interesting."
"Oh!" The general in red armor sat down and didn't seem to think much of it. He chuckled and said, "It seems that Brother Long is a genius. You can actually create your own cultivation skill."
"Chi!" Long Xin said self-deprecatingly, "After playing with sand for thirty thousand years, as long as you don't turn yourself into a fool, anyone can play with some skill."
The red-armored general shook his head and sighed. "Other people get higher and higher in their official ranks. You, on the other hand, are getting lower and lower."
Long Xin snorted, "Zhou Zhao wants to mess with me, what can I do?"
The red-armored general said, "Zhou Zhao is no longer the Star Lord of the past. He is now a marshal. Is it so hard for you to lower your head and admit your mistake? She was just a concubine, not the main wife. Why did she have to make herself like this? If you had endured it back then and pretended that nothing had happened, given your qualifications, you might even have become a Star Venerate by now. Did you really have to force him to kill you? "
Long Xin said coldly, "The woman I love the most died for no reason. Someone saw with his own eyes that it was his son who took her away. Is it wrong for me to ask his son for an explanation? Kill me? Did he dare? Back then, I followed him and made great contributions. If I died without knowing why, what would the others think? Do I not know him? He left me alive and didn't kill me. On the surface, it looked like he was giving me a chance, but in reality, it was for the people below to see. It proved that he wasn't wrong, that he is a person who remembers old friendships, that he always gave me a chance. But in reality? It's nothing more than for me to personally say that I misunderstood, that I was wrong, to give the people below an explanation. Do you think that the knot in my heart between him and me can be easily resolved? If I don't lower my head and admit my mistake, I can keep my life. Once I admit my mistake, he will have an explanation for the people above him. I'm afraid I will die sooner or later! "
The red-armored general said, "But it's not realistic for you to run to Niu Youde. What is Niu Youde? It's just a Ghost City's headquarters. So what if he can become a Netherworld commander? What cultivation base do you have? A first stage Vision Domain cultivator, someone who was once a Marquis in the court. Now you're running to run to a Ghost City's headquarters, isn't this nonsense? Can you afford to lose that person? "
"Lose?" Long Xin waved his hand in all directions. "Am I good right now? Don't you think it's shameful to guard this desert? "
The red-armored general said, "It's already been so long, everyone has already forgotten about you. Who still doesn't care that you're the land here? If you don't come out, who will think of you? If you jump out, you'll attract everyone's attention. That's truly shameful. "
Long Xin indifferently said, "What does it matter if it's shameful or not? My most beloved woman died in an unclear manner and my trusted subordinates from back then have been cleanly wiped out. There are so many people who have died waiting for me to give them an explanation. Why would I endure humiliation here? It's because I've been waiting for a chance, a chance to make a comeback!"
The red-armored general said, "Do you think that Niu Youde will give you this chance? Are you naive, or am I naive? The position of a commander is at the top of the Netherworld, it's impossible to expand the territory. The four armies can't cede territory and it's impossible for the people of the Netherworld to expand. The Xiahou family will be the first to disagree. So what if you sit in the position of a Netherworld commander, there are no more than a hundred thousand soldiers under you. It's fine for Niu Youde to sit in that position because his strength is limited, but if you sit in that position, you'll become a target for everyone! Someone will feel like they're sitting on pins and needles and will do anything to get rid of you! Perhaps once you walk out of here, you'll immediately become a thorn in someone's side! With all due respect, even if you're looking for an opportunity, this isn't it! Also, have you thought about whether Niu Youde will dare to accept you? If he does, it'll very likely bring him trouble. "
As Long Xin poured wine, he smiled faintly and said, "You and I have different standpoints and the way we look at things are also different. There's no point in continuing to argue. In any case, I have high hopes for Niu Youde and see him as an opportunity. You don't have to persuade me anymore. Has the matter of the monument recruitment been confirmed? "
"You …" The red-armored general didn't know what to say to Miao Yi. In the end, he helplessly threw a jade archive on the table and said, "Not a single word of the recruitment monument has been left out. I've verified it and it's true. There's no mistake. However, I still advise you to think thrice before you act. There's no need to run over and humiliate yourself. Once he refuses to accept you and the news of you wanting to join another spreads, I'm afraid that person will find it difficult to tolerate you. One careless move and you'll bring about your own destruction! "
Long Xin first finished reading the copied inscription on the jade archive. He closed his eyes and pondered for a moment. Then, he suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the other person. He slowly said, "I bet that he'll definitely accept me!" Saying so, he raised his cup with both hands in thanks, raised his head and drained it. His figure suddenly disappeared from where he stood, leaving only a wine cup spinning on the table.
The red-armored general raised his head and saw a figure disappearing into the blue dome of heaven in the blink of an eye. He couldn't help but sigh and shake his head.
Who would've thought that at this moment, the large tree that was shading the sun would suddenly collapse with a loud rumble. The phantom of a Qi aura burst forth from the red-armored general's body. The large amount of sand that was buried under the tree exploded and swirled in the air. The silhouette broke through the sand and disappeared into the horizon. The swirling sand rained down with a crash, along with the wine pot and wine cup.
On the underground lake of the Ghost City, a magnificent boat was leisurely drifting. Inside the cabin, Cao Man sat behind a window covered by a bead curtain, watching the situation on the riverbank.
The entire Ghost City was unprecedentedly lively. It could be said that there was a surging tide of people of all shapes and sizes. It was unknown where they came from, but looking at the overall situation, there were still people continuing to squeeze into the Ghost City. Since the establishment of the Ghost City, this was the first time he had seen such a large flow of people. Cao Man's dignified expression carried a slightly thoughtful expression.
In the Ghost City's main government office, Dongfang Lie stood in front of a window on the upper floor. He looked at the long queue outside, not to mention the dense crowd behind it. Among the crowd, only those who had received a number plate were qualified to enter the queue. This was also to maintain order. Naturally, the people who maintained order were the Guards, and the people who issued the number plates were also the Guards.
Dongfang Lie stood at the window and watched for a long time. He didn't see a single familiar face, and he also couldn't see them. Each and every one of the people who came here had concealed their true faces. Obviously, they were all prepared to not be recruited.
"How many number plates have been issued?" Dongfang Lie tilted his head and asked.
"In the remaining months, more than three hundred thousand number plates have been issued. On average, there are nearly ten thousand people passing through the hall every day." The attendant beside him replied.
Looking at the crowd outside the window that showed no signs of decreasing, Dongfang Lie slightly narrowed his eyes. He didn't expect so many people to seek shelter in the Ghost City's main government office. He wondered what was wrong with the world? Why were people like this? Didn't the Four Heavenly Kings have a firm control over the Four Armies?
"Do you know how many people have been recruited?" Dongfang Lie asked again.
The attendant beside him replied, "I can't tell. According to reports, none of the people who passed through the hall stayed. It seems that no one has been recruited yet. But I'm sure that it shouldn't be a problem to recruit one hundred thousand people within a year. The bet should be in favor of Niu Youde's side."
Outside the main gate of the manor, the people with the number tags entered one after another. As they entered, someone handed each of them a specially made jade archive with a serial number on it. The jade archive matched the number of the number tag in their hands. Upon entering, the people would see a conspicuous notice informing them that they should write their name, origin, official position, grade, and the reason why they had been serving as the Mountain God or the Earth God for so long.
There was still a queue after entering the main government office. Those who entered later had enough time to write down these things.
The six squads of Imperial Guards in the courtyard split the crowd into six different directions, each heading to a temporary underground passageway. The passageway was soundproof and secure. The entrance to the passageway was guarded by people from the original Tempest Tavern. Every time the bell at the entrance rang, the guard would summon someone over, take the number plate, and compare it with the number of the jade archive in the other party's hand. Only after confirming that there was no mistake would the person be allowed to enter.
After the person entered the underground passageway, there was a small room. Inside the small room, a person sat behind a long table. Beside the table was a conspicuous notice telling the person to remove his or her disguise and reveal his or her true appearance. Then, he or she had to imprint their transcendence seal on the jade archive they had just written down and hand it over to the person behind the table.
After the person did as he or she was told, the person behind the table took the jade archive and compared it with the person's appearance. At the same time, he or she quickly invoked his or her arts to sketch out the person's image on the jade archive. If the person had a unique appearance, he or she would be accompanied by a description. The person who came in for the interview was unaware of this.
After verifying that there were no issues, the person behind the table quickly stuffed the jade archive into a small pipe behind him, then slid the jade archive to some unknown place. At the same time, the person pointed to a small door behind him, indicating that they should proceed to the next stage.
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