Unwilling to give up, Zhao Manting flew into the air from where he was standing. He was trying to find the exit of the maze using the principle that the higher he stood, the further he could go. He was hoping to see the golden sand.
However, all he could see was red. No matter how far he looked, he could only see the red sand. Even when Zhao Manting was falling from the sky, his landing spot was significantly different from before. If it weren't for Jiang Shaoxu's signal, Zhao Manting might have lost his way too.
"Damn it, even the sky is a maze. I was flying straight up, but I ended up falling more than three hundred meters off course!" cursed Zhao Manting furiously.
"Why don't you try flying a little higher?" suggested Jiang Yu.
"I don't think we should do that. It's the same in the air. If Zhao Manting flew high enough, he might still lose his way. If flying in the air was possible, many Super Mages wouldn't have come here and never come out," Jiang Shaoxu said. "I don't think it's possible.
The higher Zhao Manting flew, the greater the distance between him and his destination. If Zhao Manting was able to see the entire desert within a few dozen kilometers, it would mean he was no longer at the same spot when he landed.
"Let's set up a tent and wait for backup," Mo Fan said straightforwardly.
"Mm, we shouldn't be too far away from the exit. If they use the same method we used before, they will find us in no time," Jiang Shaoxu said.
"Speaking of which, can't we use the same method to explore the surroundings? Let's use Zhao Manting's position as the center and form a line of five people. If we're not far away from the exit, we should be able to find it," Jiang Yu suggested.
"Let's give it a try, we can set up a tent first …" said Mo Fan.
Following Jiang Yu's suggestion, the team arranged themselves into a smaller formation.
Unfortunately, as they had expected, they still could not find the exit of the desert maze. Mo Fan even found the green flag that he had set up in the sandstorm, but he still could not find the exit leading to Nanyu and the desert maze. In other words, once someone was trapped in the desert maze, they would not be able to find their way out unless someone marked the exit.
"This desert maze is most likely related to the Chaos Element. Give me some time, I'll see if I can find a way out," said Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu's primary Element was the Summoning Element, and his secondary Element was the Chaos Element. It was not a common Element, just like the Space Element. Only Advanced Mages had a chance of Awakening it. Mo Fan had only reached the Advanced Level recently, so he had yet to witness the power of the Chaos Element.
The terrifying desert maze was most likely related to the Chaos Element. Otherwise, they would have been able to find the exit by using the opposite method.
…
After setting up the tents, the group stayed put after learning how terrifying the desert maze was. Even when they were exploring the surroundings, they had to stick to the same method.
The desert turned extremely cold at night, making it difficult to leave the place. Everyone was worried about Nanyu, who had gone missing all of a sudden. They had no idea if she was safe or not.
The wind at night grew stronger, sweeping the sand into the air. The small tents could no longer withstand the impact of the strong sand. Zhao Manting had no choice but to set up a Water Curtain to protect the tents.
The night was bright. They could still see the beautiful outlines of the desert. They could even see a few Sand Foxes moving around, but they would disappear in the blink of an eye.
The five of them took turns to keep watch at night. Mo Fan meditated outside the tent. There were so many Stars. If he did not focus on controlling them, he would not be able to cast different Elements skillfully. Mo Fan was quite diligent when it came to his cultivation.
Mo Fan was practicing the Nyx Regime. The Shadow Element had brought him a lot of benefits recently, so Mo Fan was quite fond of the Shadow Element lately …
Rumble ~
As Mo Fan was getting into the zone, he suddenly heard a loud rumble. It sounded like a convoy of trucks was approaching from the distance.
Mo Fan opened his eyes and looked through the clear night sky. He was surprised to see a huge cloud of dust at the border between the sky and the sand.
The dust rolled and spread across the horizon. It felt like an army of thousands of soldiers were marching forward, and the noise grew louder.
"A sandstorm?"
"Such a huge sandstorm!"
Mo Fan was shocked. He did not think much of it at first, but the dust had already reached the sky. It looked like a tsunami that was strong enough to devour an entire city was moving in their direction.
"Are you serious? Is there a sandstorm here every day?" cursed Mo Fan.
The sandstorm was incredibly destructive, too. Mo Fan quickly woke everyone up.
"I remember the team that we were supposed to help encountered a sandstorm, and were forced to enter the desert maze. What should we do now? Should we find a place to hide?" asked Jiang Yu.
"Hang in there, we have to stay here. If we try to hide because of the sandstorm, we will end up like them!" said Jiang Shaoxu.
They could not leave. The desert maze was extremely terrifying. The only safe way was to stay at the marked spot and not move. The more they moved, the more lost they would be, and the more difficult it would be for them to rescue them!
Nanyu was outside the maze. She might be forced to leave because she was caught in a tricky situation, but there was no way she would abandon the others. As long as Nanyu returned to the spot and gave the others a signal, they would be able to leave the place safely.
Therefore, they could not leave no matter what. No matter how strong the sandstorm was, they had to hold their ground!
"I, Zhao Manting, can handle a sandstorm of this level!" Zhao Manting patted his chest confidently.
"That's good. Either way, we can't move. Otherwise, something bad will happen!" Mo Fan nodded.
…
The sandstorm was getting closer. As a matter of fact, the sand that was blowing at them was still manageable, but the sand that was being swept into the air was the most terrifying.
A sandstorm was usually accompanied by a strong wind. The wind would sweep piles of sand into the air, and when the sand lost the ability to float in the air, it would fall to the ground. The force of the sandstorm was a lot scarier than a huge waterfall!
The water was soft and light, but the sand was a few times heavier than water. If the sand were to pour down like a waterfall, they would either be smashed to death, or turned into dust! They would be buried alive with broken bones!
"My Ice Magic isn't very effective here." Mu Ningxue initially wanted to help with the defense, but the desert was dry and scorching. Her Ice Magic and Water Magic were greatly affected.
"I should be fine on my own!" Zhao Manting said.
Zhao Manting's Water Magic was not very useful, but he still had the sturdy Light and Earth Elements, both of which were known for their defensive abilities!
"A sandstorm is coming from our nine o 'clock. We have to take it out as soon as possible!" Jiang Shaoxu said.
Mo Fan looked in the direction of his nine o 'clock and saw a yellow Ascending Earth Dragon moving toward them from a huge sandstorm. Its power was comparable to an Advanced Spell!
"I'll do it!" Mu Ningxue said.
The sandstorm was mainly affected by the wind. Mu Ningxue unleashed her will to control the Wind Magic in the surroundings.
Soon, a strong gust of wind appeared in front of Mu Ningxue and slammed into the Sand Tortoise coming at her.
The hurricanes collided with each other, and the swirling winds immediately turned into chaotic air currents that scattered aimlessly.
"Sandstorm! Sandstorm! "
It was unknown who shouted in the midst of the yellow haze.
Zhao Manting lifted his gaze and was shocked to see piles of sand pouring down on them like a huge waterfall.
They might be able to dodge the sandstorm if they could move, but they would lose their way if they moved. Zhao Manting clenched his teeth and constructed a wall to protect the group.
The ceiling was not as sturdy as they had imagined. It was soon broken by the terrifying sandstorm. Zhao Manting quickly formed a huge barrier with the Plummeting Rays to protect the five of them.
"Da da da da da!"
The sand slammed heavily against the golden arc boundary, making an ear-piercing sound.
The impact of the sandstorm was incredibly strong. Even though they were hiding inside the barrier, they could feel the whole group sinking.
At first, the sand was scattered around the arc-shaped boundary, but it didn't take long for the sand to pile up. It began to pile up the entire arc of light boundary.
Mo Fan lifted his gaze and watched the sand surrounding the group. It was so thick that he could not even see the outside …
"Isn't this no different from burying us alive?" Jiang Yu blurted out in fear.
"When this light barrier can't hold on any longer, we'll be buried alive. The Sahara Desert is indeed the most dangerous place. Ordinary people won't be able to survive the harsh environment here, let alone the demon creatures! "Zhao Manting said.
"What about now?" Jiang Shaoxu asked.
"I think we're trapped."
"It's fine as long as we're not moving."
They didn't know how long the sandstorm would last. The only fortunate thing was that the thick sand was wrapped around the Light Barrier. It could be considered as a defense, protecting the group of people in the sand cave.
Listening to the rumbling outside, he knew that it would not stop for a while. In such a narrow space, it made him feel a little uneasy.
"Jiang Yu, go to the bottom compartment of my bag," Mo Fan said when everyone was feeling anxious and at a loss of what to do.
"Oh, oh, sure!" Jiang Yu found Mo Fan's bag and took out a small box wrapped in a piece of paper from the bottom.
He handed the box to Mo Fan. Mu Ningxue, Jiang Shaoxu, and Jiang Yu looked at the calm Mo Fan in confusion. They were eager to know what he was up to.
Mo Fan tore off the outer layer of the paper, revealing a very common pattern.
