After a period of flight, the air suddenly became a bit hot and dry.
Pushing open the window of the private room, Nie Yuan let the strong wind hit his face.
The white clouds swept rapidly backward, leaving the land below a monotonous expanse of golden yellow—a vast desert composed of countless grains of sand.
In the distance, on a vast expanse of golden land, a city stands tall.
"We're almost there..."
Nie Yuan stretches his body.
...
"Please take your time, guest."
Amidst respectful greetings, Nie Yuan followed the flow of people and landed on the ground atop the flying magical beast.
The ground was covered with a layer of gravel, and stepping on it immediately created a hole.
Nie Yuan took a deep breath, the scorching air filling his lungs, the heat spreading throughout his body.
"With such abundant fire-attribute energy, it's no wonder that few people would have thought that the Ice Emperor would be hiding here."
With a sigh, Nie Yuan went to the street and asked around.
"The best shop selling maps in Mocheng is called Gutu. Go this way, turn left after three intersections and you'll see it. Don't blame me for not warning you, the shop owner, Master Bing, is a very strange person, so be careful."
Driven by the gold coins, he quickly obtained the location of the shop with the best map drawing skills in Mo City.
The temperature in Mocheng is much higher than in the capital.
The people coming and going on the street, most of the men were only wearing shorts, and the women were also dressed very lightly.
Their exposed skin was a dark brown color.
...
On a street corner, there is a shop with a very simple exterior, right next to the street.
Unlike other shops, it doesn't have all sorts of fancy signs.
The signboard above the shop's door frame contains only two simple characters.
Ancient map.
As soon as he got close, Nie Yuan could clearly feel that the air here was cooler than in other places.
He stood on the street, looked up into the shop, and saw a woman in a red dress and several burly men walking out.
The woman in the red dress met Nie Yuan's gaze and paused slightly in surprise.
What a handsome man! When did such a handsome person appear in Mocheng?
Coming to her senses, the woman in the red dress subconsciously asked, "Are you here to buy a map from Master Bing?"
Nie Yuan nodded.
The woman in the red dress glanced into the room first, then lowered her voice and said, "Master Bing is in a bad mood today. You'd better come another day."
Behind the woman in the red dress, several burly men carried two figures encased in ice out of the shop.
"Thank you for reminding me."
Nie Yuan smiled slightly, but still strode resolutely into the store.
"Miss..."
The burly men carrying the ice figure looked at the woman in the red dress.
The woman in the red dress waved her hand, "You all go ahead, I'll stay here and keep an eye on things."
After saying that, she ignored the others.
The temperature inside the shop was a few degrees lower than outside, and some frost could be faintly seen melting on the ground.
Moonstones are inlaid on the walls on both sides, casting a soft glow on the shelves.
Deep inside the shop, there was a counter where an elderly man with a full head of white hair sat.
Nie Yuan walked in, but the other person seemed oblivious, not even raising their head.
Seeing this, Nie Yuan didn't rush forward, but instead casually flipped through the maps on the shelf.
Hai Bodong is a shrewd old man.
After obtaining the fragment of the Pure Lotus Demon Flame map, he deliberately cut it in half and placed one of the pieces on the shelf to fish for more information.
Since he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Nie Yuan couldn't tell which one was the fragment of the Pure Lotus Demon Flame Diagram.
Outside the shop, the woman in the red dress stared wide-eyed when she saw Nie Yuan casually flipping through maps and even throwing some directly on the ground.
"What is he doing? Master Ice hates it when people touch his things; it could kill someone!"
The woman in the red dress gasped inwardly.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, the old man behind the counter seemed to have finished his work and slowly raised his head.
On his wrinkled, aged face, a hideous scar ran from his left cheek to the corner of his eye. The old man's eyes were peaceful, but the scar added an air of fierceness to his appearance.
He watched Nie Yuan's actions, a strange look flashing in his eyes, and said in an old voice, "Just say what kind of map you want to buy. If you don't want to buy it, don't touch it."
Nie Yuan seemed not to hear, continuing his actions.
Inside the shop, the temperature suddenly dropped, and a chill crept in.
Large patches of frost quietly appeared and quickly spread towards Nie Yuan's feet.
"Found it! It must be it!"
Just then, Nie Yuan grabbed a very tattered map from a stack of maps.
This map is different from other old maps not only in its appearance.
Furthermore, there are obvious cutting marks on it.
It seems the person cutting it wasn't skilled enough, or perhaps the map texture was too good.
The segmentation marks appear somewhat rough.
The frost on the ground, which was about to touch Nie Yuan's feet, suddenly stopped and quickly receded.
The old man stood up from behind the counter. "Young man, do you recognize this map?"
"I don't know him."
Nie Yuan said without changing his expression.
The old man paused, a look of bewilderment flashing across his face.
Why are you yelling if you don't even know me?!
A flash of anger crossed his eyes. "Put it down. That map is not for sale."
"Huh, what a coincidence?"
Nie Yuan's words startled the old man.
He asked in bewilderment, "What's such a coincidence?"
"You said you wouldn't sell this map, and I wasn't actually planning to pay for it. It's just a coincidence."
Nie Yuan pinched the tattered map and shook it at the old man whose face was gradually darkening. "Boss, you should still have half of it, right?"
"Who are you?!"
The old man pressed his palm down on a spot on the table, and a loud bang echoed through the shop.
The shop doors slammed shut.
"Oh no, Master Bing even closed the door. That guy is probably in grave danger."
The woman in the red dress was wearing clothes that were flapping loudly in the wind, and dust filled the air, forcing her to squint.
Looking at the tightly closed shop door, she stomped her foot.
...
at the same time.
A black figure swiftly swept across the golden desert surface.
Its outstretched wings resemble those of a roc spreading its wings.
The dark figure drew closer and closer to the ground. Just before it was about to land, its purplish-brown wings snapped shut, and it landed steadily on the ground.
"Mocheng..."
He murmured as he gazed at the words on the city wall.
The figure was a young man dressed in an alchemist's robe, with a strange weapon on his back that was as tall as a person and looked like a ruler.
"This is your last training ground. Let's go into the city first, resupply, buy a map, and then we'll head into the desert."
Hearing his teacher's voice echo in his mind, Xiao Yan lifted the Xuan Heavy Ruler and walked towards the city gate.
Thanks to his identity as an alchemist, Xiao Yan had no obstacles along the way.
After entering the city.
Xiao Yan grabbed a passerby at random and asked them a question.
Upon seeing the alchemist's mark on his body, the other party dared not be negligent and answered his questions very cooperatively.
"Teacher, I asked several people, and they all said that the best shop for making maps is called GuTu."
Xiao Yan thought to himself.
"Then let's go to the shop that calls Gutu. The Tagor Desert is very large, and a detailed map can save us a lot of trouble."
Yao Chen replied.