A great adventure in the world of immortal cultivation

Joan of Arc: How does he still recognize me? ...Fuck, that's not right!

Xiao Huohuo: My little sister's reaction speed is getting faster and faster. (laughing)

Wei Beike: Haha, there’s no need to think too much, Joan of Arc. Your amazing performance at the sword-forging competition really left a deep impression on me!

Han Buli: Now I have to believe it.

Joan of Arc: (half annoyed) Then let me ask Wei Beike, I heard that you had investigated this ruins during the previous sword-forging competition. You came back after such a long time, could it be that you have made some new discoveries?

KP: After hearing your question, Wei Beike sighed with some emotion.

Wei Beike: Oh, it would be nice if there was one. Actually, apart from the accidental discovery at the beginning, there has been no progress in the past two months.

Xiao Huohuo: An unexpected discovery?

Wei Beike: Well, it just so happens that you, Joan of Arc, are also an expert in weapon refining, so why not let me show you one?

KP: After saying that, Wei Beike took something out of his Qiankun bag and handed it to Jeanne. You raised your hand to take it and found that it was a rusty broken sword tip.

KP: Joan of Arc passed the appraisal.

Joan of Arc: Appraisal, 19/60, success.

KP: So, looking at the broken sword handed over by Wei Beike, Joan of Arc quickly determined with her basic forging skills that this was not an ordinary iron sword, but a fragment of a magic sword.

Wei Beike: That's right, it's a broken piece of a magical sword. Isn't it strange? In this land teeming with immortality, there's a city ruin with absolutely no trace of immortality, and yet within it, there's this broken half of a magical sword. It's as if the city was deliberately hiding something, only to accidentally let it slip through. It's incredibly concerning!

Xiao Huohuo: ...I have a bad feeling. (Pinching nose)

Han Buli: +1.

KP: Hey, don’t worry, it’s not dead.

Wei Beike: By the way, my friend Jeanne, you guys came here to explore the ruins, right?

Joan of Arc: Yes, we accepted the mission from the sect.

Wei Beike: I see... Well, I will stay in these ruins for a few more days. Although the chances are slim, if you make any discoveries related to refining during your exploration, please be sure to let me know. I will certainly not let you go in vain.

Xiao Huohuo: Okay, okay, it’s the limited-time NPC for exchanging rewards at the entrance of the dungeon, right? Now I can make a lot of money.

KP: Okay, you can enter the ruins.

……

KP: Entering the ruins from a fissure at the canyon's bottom, after descending nearly a hundred meters, an incredible expanse unfolds before you—countless dilapidated houses crushed by the falling rock above. Broken stone pillars tilt like building blocks painstakingly constructed and carelessly toppled by ignorant children. Most of the once interconnected roads have been swallowed by centuries of weathering and crumbling rock and soil, leaving only a few crooked corridors. Illuminating talismans, left behind by previous explorers, are posted on the rock walls, like a solitary lamp in the dead of night, guiding you as you slowly descend into the depths. You hear no sound, only the repetitive, interlocking thud of your footsteps.

Xiao Huohuo: Scared.

Joan of Arc: Afraid.

Han Buli: ...KP, I need to pass the danger perception test.

Han Buli: Danger perception, 34/50, success.

KP: Hold your breath and observe your surroundings carefully. Han Buli, you feel that although the surrounding environment is so quiet that it makes people feel a little uneasy, there is no breath of other cultivators or creatures. The messy footprints on the ground also tell you that someone else has passed by here before, and there should be no mechanisms or traps.

Han Buli: (pinching his nose) Then I will go into stealth again. If I really encounter a situation, I can also launch a sneak attack first.

KP: Okay, you go ahead.

Han Buli: Stealth, 71/80, success.

KP: So, Han Buli, you have successfully blended into the darkness, and even the other three people cannot detect your presence.

Jeanne: You've sneaked into another dimension, haven't you? (Half annoyed)

Han Buli: Shh, don’t talk, don’t expose yourself to me.

Xiao Huohuo: (pinching nose) Are you a coward or are you a coward? To be honest, KP gives the dice so casually, it seems that there is really no danger here.

KP: Indeed. Anyway, after a brief exploration of the ruins, you discovered that the passages all ended in dead ends. Perhaps you missed some hidden side roads, or perhaps the original path was blocked by the collapsed rock and soil above. In any case, you found nothing.

Xiao Huohuo: Doesn’t Lao Luo have the flying rock technique? Can he move these rocks and soil blocking the road?

KP: Yes, Romeo can do a difficult and successful Rockfly.

Romeo: Rockfly, 12/46, difficult success!

KP: So, even though he wasn't proficient in Rockfly, with the European blood running through his veins, Romeo easily moved the rocks and soil blocking the road, opening a path leading deeper into the ruins.

Xiao Huohuo: OHHHH——!

Han Buli: Romeo is capable. (Appreciation)

Romeo: Hehe, when it comes to poaching, I’m a professional.

Xiao Huohuo: ...

Joan of Arc: The shrimp heads are hanging on the eaves.

KP: Okay, everyone, have a good time.

Xiao Huohuo: Inspiration, 76/30, failure.

Han Buli: Inspiration, 87/30, failure.

Romeo: Inspiration, 2/20, great success.

Joan of Arc: Inspiration, 18/60, success.

Xiao Huohuo:Ah?

Han Buli: Lao Luo, did you give it to the dice girl?

Romeo: That's right.

Jeanne: Isn't it normal for inspiration to succeed? Some people's minds are filled with nothing but the excitement of fighting and Sima Ge, and they can't come up with any inspiration at all, right? (Pointing and arguing)

Xiao Huohuo: (half annoyed)

Han Buli: (half annoyed)

KP: So, after walking along the newly opened road for a while, Romeo and Joan of Arc suddenly hear a vague singing voice. Especially Romeo, you can hear that it seems to be the singing of a young girl. The graceful tone is full of mystery, ambiguity and sadness, which is fascinating.

Xiao Huohuo: Siren?

Han Buli: I have danger sense!

KP: It's not what you heard, how can you sense danger?

Han Buli: Damn, Lao Luo, use your danger sensing teeth!

Romeo: I didn't order it.

Joan of Arc: I didn't order anything either. (Pinching nose)

Han Buli: Damn!

KP: The singing in my ears is becoming more and more vague, as if it is moving away in a certain direction. Romeo and Joan of Arc, do you want to follow it?

Joan of Arc: No!

Romeo: Yes! As a gentleman, how can I ignore a girl when she cries?

Xiao Huohuo: It's over, this time we're going to attack Lao Luo. (Pinching nose)

Han Buli: Then I will follow Lao Luo stealthily and use the danger sense again.

Han Buli: Danger perception, 97/50, almost a major failure.

Han Buli: Woc!

Xiao Huohuo: So there is a Siren in front of KP?

KP: Do you think I'd use the Siren if I really wanted to deal with you, the troublemakers? Come on, get over here!

Xiao Huohuo: Okay, okay.

KP: So, following an unknown song, Romeo led the three of you wandering blindly through a maze-like ruin, eventually arriving at a vaulted space. Xiao Huohuo activated his spiritual flame to illuminate the surroundings, revealing what appeared to be the interior of a temple-like building. The walls were covered in neat, unfamiliar characters and symbols. In the center of the room, a square stone platform, about the height of a person, rested on a simple hourglass. Fine sand from the upper layer continuously fell into the lower layer, but the sand in the lower layer never increased, and the sand in the upper layer never decreased.

Xiao Huohuo: Magical weapon?

Joan of Arc: Pull it over!

Han Buli: Wait a minute, KP, is there anything else in this room?

KP: Yes. Besides the stone platform and hourglass, by the dim light of the fire, you also noticed four life-size bronze figures embedded in the walls of the room. Although their features have been blurred by the erosion of time, you can still make out that they are three men and one woman. One of the men is exceptionally large, while the other is unusually small.

Xiao Huohuo:???

Han Buli:???

Romeo:???

Joan of Arc: ???

KP: You guys should observe again. Just one of them will be fine.

Xiao Huohuo: Observation, 18/40, success.

KP: So, just when you were all attracted by the four strange bronze statues, Xiao Huohuo suddenly noticed that the speed of the falling sand in the hourglass above the stone platform was slowing down at a rate visible to the naked eye, and finally stopped in the air strangely.

Xiao Huohuo: Bu Hao!

KP: Immediately, the next second.

"The falling sand has started the countercurrent."

Chapter 154: Underground City (Sands of Time Part 2)

KP: The fine sand in the funnel suddenly flows upstream. As you stare in disbelief, the scene inside the house begins to transform—the thick dust on the ground recedes like a tide, revealing the dark blue bricks beneath. The crumbling walls rise against gravity, returning to their original positions along with the tilted roof. Then, the pace of change accelerates, ever faster! Outside, flickering lights begin to appear, like a bizarre kaleidoscope. Countless images blur into a single, swirling screen. The world spins, leaving you dizzy and almost unable to stand.

KP: I don't know how long it took, but the dizzy feeling of being thrown into a high-speed washing machine finally disappeared. When you came to your senses, you found that the dark and dilapidated temple had disappeared, replaced by an empty room. The surrounding walls were not covered with characters, and there were no strange bronze statues beside the walls. The stone table and hourglass that were originally in the center of the room also disappeared. Only the cold moonlight poured in from the window on the wall. It seemed to be a quiet and beautiful night outside the door.

KP: You are free to move.

Xiao Huohuo: So...we have traveled through time?

Han Buli: I feel like it should be, after all, the name of the dungeon is Sands of Time.

Romeo: Where is the dog KP coming from? This is still the Xianyuan Continent!

KP: (Pinching nose) If you want the information, go out and look for yourself.

Xiao Huohuo: Emmm... then Old Han, you go out and take a look first.

Han Buli: Wait, I need to pass the danger perception first.

Han Buli: Danger perception, 45/50, success.

KP: (pinching nose) There's no danger, everything looks normal.

Han Buli: I will continue to sneak!

Han Buli: Stealth, 86/80, failed.

KP: So, Han Buli wants to go into stealth mode, but he is unfamiliar with the place. Without a full understanding of the terrain, he cannot ensure that he will not be discovered when he goes out.

Han Buli: Forget it, I won’t go out.

KP: (half annoyed) Byd, you are making fun of me!

Joan of Arc: (rolling eyes) What a bunch of cowards! I'll just grab the Red Sun Sword and go out to take a look!

KP: So, Joan of Arc opened the door and stepped outside, finding herself in an alley lined with neatly arranged stone houses, suggesting a residential area. At the end of the alleyway led to a large square. From a distance, I could see figures moving about, and I could faintly hear the cries of vendors.

Jeanne: Didn't you say it was at night? Why are there so many people outside?

Xiao Huohuo: Maybe he came out for a midnight snack.

Romeo: Maybe he's out for jail.

Xiao Huohuo:?

Han Buli: Stop talking nonsense, this is not Chengtian Sect.

KP: Joan of Arc, please observe.

Joan of Arc: Observation, 15/30, success.

Joan of Arc: Good!

KP: Despite the apparent darkness of night, the square in the distance seemed as bustling as a morning market. Confused, Joan looked up at the night sky and was astonished to discover no sky at all. Instead, there was a vast, arched bedrock, like a giant bowl, enveloping the entire city. Countless luminescent minerals clung to the bedrock, emitting tiny glints like stars—this was an underground city!

Xiao Huohuo: Damn, what is the Eternal City of Nokron?