The next day, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao did not hurry on their way. Instead, they lay lazily on a rather flat stone, enjoying the gentle sunshine.
The two had gone through many experiences in the sand dunes. Due to the numerous enemies and the harsh environment, they hadn't had much proper rest.
During the celebratory feast days, they were basically in a state of wild play... Therefore, neither Ye Feng nor Xiao Xiao felt like moving much. They just lay on the stone, stretching languidly, resting comfortably...
After lying for a while, Ye Feng, feeling a bit bored, began to take stock of his gains from the sand dune journey.
First, in terms of strength, he had advanced from Black Iron Beginner to Black Iron Intermediate, and the progress bars for 'Strength' and 'Agility' had reached one-third of the way.
In terms of supplies, there were Arcane Origin Stones obtained from the Skeleton Auction, maps and information provided by Xue Yuli and members of Ocean Paradise, a jar of wine from the ancient battlefield temple, a mysterious stone, two Spirit-Collecting Rings, and the Primordial Stone given by Yue Feixue...
"Green silk is sharper than a new blade, and the best wine is surely from a maiden's hand!"
Ye Feng held the jar of wine taken from the temple and read aloud the two lines of text on its outer shell.
According to the analysis of Xue Yuli and Jiang Shishan at the time, this jar of wine was likely a gift from someone in the ancient battlefield to a woman fighting fiercely against monsters, but it was left behind...
Immediately after, Ye Feng took out a black stone. This stone was also discovered in the same temple in the ancient battlefield, not far from this jar of Nu Er Hong wine.
The reason Ye Feng took these two items back then was due to a strange system prompt. The system only indicated that it had detected something, but did not tell him what it was...
So he brought back both items that might have triggered the system's prompt!
After examining them carefully and finding nothing, and with no system prompt appearing, Ye Feng returned the two items to his spatial storage.
Afterward, Ye Feng took out the Primordial Stone given to him by Yue Feixue.
The Primordial Stone was entirely white, with a flowing halo on its surface, looking like a gemstone. Ye Feng observed it closely, tapping and probing, but found nothing...
"What a strange stone. It seems to contain some kind of energy... Never mind, I'll think about it later..."
Ye Feng muttered, returning the Primordial Stone to his spatial storage.
Then, a flash of light appeared on Ye Feng's hand, and the Spirit-Collecting Ring obtained from that fellow Mei You appeared in his hand. It contained quite a few items, and he decided to sort them out and categorize them...
...
On the other side,
In a forest within the sand dunes,
A middle-aged man carrying a kerosene lamp was hobbling forward. Beside him was a bruised and battered middle-aged man with a bulbous nose – it was Mei You and Bi Mao.
Their walking speed was not fast, in fact, it could be described as very slow. Even so, they were panting, as if walking was a great burden for them.
"Hey, I say, Mei You, why don't we go back?"
Suddenly, Bi Mao stopped and gently rubbed his large, bulbous nose as he spoke to Mei You.
"Go back? Go back where?"
Mei You also stopped walking and moved his slightly crooked mouth.
"Of course, back to... back to that place!"
When Bi Mao mentioned "that place," his expression was quite tense, looking very apprehensive.
"If you didn't capture the Ice Princess, do you think you can go back?"
Mei You swept a glance at Bi Mao.
"I..."
Hearing Mei You's words, Bi Mao seemed to recall something terrifying, a flicker of fear flashing in his eyes.
"Then what do you suggest we do... With our current state, let alone trying to capture the Ice Princess again, even surviving ourselves is becoming a problem!"
"Damn Ye Feng, I really underestimated that kid..."
"That kid has a shrewdness far beyond his youthful appearance, his mind is extremely meticulous. Under such chaotic conditions, he could still be so calm and collected, not only detecting us but also pretending to be exhausted and tricking us!"
"Although that kid didn't recognize the Spirit-Binding Rope, he guessed something and used it to help us, causing us to pay such a heavy price to escape..."
"If I don't dismember that kid a thousand times, my hatred will not be appeased!"
Bi Mao cursed in exasperation.
"Save your energy!"
Mei You's emotions were not greatly disturbed. "Because of the Spirit-Binding Rope, we won't be able to recover our vital energy for a while. However, that kid's life is probably over!"
"What do you mean?"
Bi Mao looked at Mei You, furrowing his only remaining eyebrow.
"Since that kid is involved with the Angel race and has an Angel Blade... why don't we leak this information to the Brad Base? Those old undead of the Blood Race will surely be interested!"
Mei You gently adjusted the wick of the kerosene lamp in his hand, making it burn brighter. Almost at the same time, the color in his face improved significantly.
...
On the other side,
Ye Feng, lying on the large stone, was fiddling with a rope carved with runes, the same one Mei You had intended to use to bind him earlier.
According to Bi Mao, this rune rope was called the Spirit-Binding Rope, and he had found it by chance... But Ye Feng didn't believe it at all.
This rope was rather peculiar. If he bound himself with it, he would find it almost impossible to mobilize the arcane energy within his body...
Earlier, Ye Feng had used this Spirit-Binding Rope to bind Mei You and Bi Mao, adding a common hemp rope. Yet, Mei You and Bi Mao had still escaped...
There were no significant signs of struggle at the scene. Neither the Spirit-Binding Rope nor the hemp rope had broken. They lay quietly on the ground, and the tight knot Ye Feng had tied did not loosen... Mei You and Bi Mao seemed to have vanished into thin air...
"So many unsolved mysteries!"
Ye Feng muttered, shaking his head and no longer dwelling on matters that gave him no clues.
Afterward, Ye Feng took out his bracelet, lightly swiped it, and a light screen appeared before his eyes. He then began to browse the Survivor Channel.
Speaking of which, he hadn't looked at the messages inside for a while. After all, Xue Yuli had been with them, and neither he nor Xiao Xiao had dared to take it out.
"Big brother, look over here! It seems to be talking about you!"
Before Ye Feng could examine them closely, Xiao Xiao, who had already started browsing the "news," came over and pointed to a spot on the light screen she held, showing it to Ye Feng.
"What?"
Ye Feng turned his head, looking with some curiosity. It was the [Regional Chat Channel].
Starry Blade Slash: "By the way, do any of you know a person named Ye Feng?"
Soon, a chat message caught Ye Feng's attention.
"Ye Feng? Who is that? Never heard of him!"
"Is he a famous explorer? I passed by a small town and saw the townsfolk making a statue, seemingly for someone named Ye Feng!"
Starry Blade Slash: "He is indeed a famous explorer. We heard quite a bit about him when our exploration team went to the Adventurer's Guild to pick up missions, but I don't know if it's the same person you're talking about!"
"I'm in a town called Maple Leaf Town. This place used to be called Green God Town or something. I heard it was renamed to commemorate someone named Ye Feng!"
"Holy cow, I've heard of a Ye Feng too. Rumor has it he single-handedly wiped out an entire goblin stronghold and killed the legendary Goblin Shaman. He's a ruthless individual!"
"Goblins? I haven't heard of an explorer named Ye Feng, but we also have a powerful exploration team here that specializes in exterminating powerful goblins..."
"Uh, I know someone named Ye Feng. He seems to be searching for some kind of Lantern of Creation..."
...
"My goodness..."
Seeing the conversation between these survivors, Ye Feng felt speechless. It seemed he had gained some fame unknowingly, but that was...
"By the way, big brother, do you have any Survival Coins? I want to use 5 of them!"
At this moment, Xiao Xiao spoke again.
"Oh, sure!"
Ye Feng didn't think much of it and handed Xiao Xiao a Survival Coin from the system.
After all, he still had over 300 Survival Coins left after buying supplies today. If he didn't use them before tomorrow, they would be wasted...
"Mmm hmm~ Ahh~ Oh~! Oh~"
"Crackle~ Papapa~"
...
As soon as Xiao Xiao took the Survival Coin from Ye Feng, it wasn't long before Ye Feng heard a sound from Xiao Xiao's direction that made his face flush red.