After soaking in the hot spring, the Blind Elder Captain set out once again, heading straight for the target.
Jack Young held three volumes of The Lianhua Compendium, each with its own map. But every map marked a different location. Including the versions circulating among adventurers, there were now four completely different spots. The terrain near the South Wasteland's Sacred Mountain was mysterious, and there was no ready-made map to compare. But when Jack pieced the four maps together, he noticed something: "They're all centered around the same place—probably different entrances to the same treasure."
"Why would a temple set up different entrances?"
"There must be a reason for this," Jack mused. "Each jade artifact corresponds to a map, and every map is different. Jade sword, divine staff—they all have special features. Maybe the entry points on these treasure maps match up with specific jade artifacts. You probably need the right jade to enter each spot."
Fiona Fang suddenly understood, "So each fancy jade gives a different treasure map location? No wonder—my mom's notes hinted at something like this. I didn't get it back then, but now it makes sense!"
"It's just a guess for now, but I think it's likely. We'll see when the time comes," Jack said, glancing at the Blind Elder. "How much farther?"
"We didn't set out early, but with me leading, we can cut through the Dead Desert and take a shortcut. No way we'll get left behind—trust me!" The lure of ancient treasure had the Blind Elder fired up.
The legend of the Sacred Mountain had always been passed around in the South Wasteland. The Southern Wasteland Ancient Empire fell more than a hundred years ago. A century isn't short, but it's not long either—memories get fuzzy but still circulate by word of mouth. It's said the Sacred Mountain was the core of the ancient empire, serving as both a religious holy site and the seat of power. The empire was sorta like ancient India: kings, emperors, but the emperor was also the religious leader.
The Sacred Mountain sits deep in the South Wasteland desert—a seriously dangerous place. Rumor has it the weather around the mountain is bizarre: blazing heat one day, heavy snow the next. No ordinary person could survive there, so it's never been fully explored. All people know is that there's a ring of ancient cities around the mountain that's still kinda safe. Beyond that, it's too mysterious—nobody knows for sure.
As they ventured deeper into the South Wasteland, the vast scenery kept unfolding before Jack Young and his crew. Thanks to Jack and Princess Flower Shifter's protection, the group started exploring places so dangerous that hardly anyone ever went there. These wild spots still had traces of ancient times—collapsed buildings, shattered statues, all half-buried in the endless sea of sand, stirring up nostalgic thoughts.
On the fifth day, the sand-skiff sailed into a strange new region.
"This here is the Ten Thousand Buddha Mound, one of the most notorious danger zones in these parts. Normally, I wouldn't dare come here, but today, I finally get a good look!"
With the Blind Elder Captain narrating, the sand-skiff entered a spectacular scene. In the endless sea of sand, countless gigantic Buddha statues rose up. Each one was thirty or forty meters tall—like a ten-story building. Some sat, some stood, each with a different pose. Half-buried in sand, they still towered above everything. If we could see them all at once, it’d be truly awe-inspiring.
This vast stretch had a statue every ten meters or so. The sand-skiff wound through them, as if entering a land of giants. The setting sun bathed the Buddhas in golden light but also cast huge shadows. Moving between light and darkness, everyone felt the ancient, solemn mood.
"Word is, the South Wasteland once had a faith called 'Buddhism'—the Land of Ten Thousand Buddhas. Oh, and the Linglong Temple in Eight Directions City is a Buddhist building. But this religion never really took off in the Central Lands. After the ancient dynasty fell, the faith vanished too. Now, these Buddha statues seem buried in the past, like the corpses of a fallen kingdom—that’s why this place is called the Ten Thousand Buddha Mound." Fiona Fang explained, "People say the grudges of the ancient folk still swirl here, making it creepier than most death deserts. It’s fine now, but you should never come here after dark!"
If Fiona hadn’t brought it up, it wouldn’t be so bad. But now, looking at those giant Buddha statues, you really did get the creeps. Weathered by a hundred years, their faces were all distorted. Even the ones still intact wore these weird half-smiling, half-frowning expressions, staring down at the passing crowd. Jack Young and Rachel Luo knew that many Buddha statues on Earth had that same look. But in this setting, at this size, you couldn’t tell if they were laughing or crying, watching over you kindly or cursing you with malice.
"Oh, and up ahead is the most famous spot—the Reclining Buddha!" Suddenly, Fiona Fang got nervous. "Master, can I stick close to you? I’ve heard way too many ghost stories about this place since I was a kid—kinda freaked out!"
Soon enough, Jack Young saw what Fiona was talking about—the Reclining Buddha. At the heart of the Ten Thousand Buddha Mound was a massive rock formation, over fifty meters high and nearly two hundred meters long. Not huge by mountain standards, but it had been carved entirely into a statue—a Buddha lying on its side. Its sheer size was mind-blowing.
To put it in perspective: the Statue of Liberty (minus the base) is less than fifty meters tall, but the Reclining Buddha's width is taller than Lady Liberty’s torch. If you prefer a Chinese example, the Leshan Giant Buddha is famous for being gigantic, but even its sitting height is just over seventy meters.
This Reclining Buddha is nearly two hundred meters long—almost as long as an aircraft carrier. Jack Young had seen reclining Buddhas on Earth, but never one this big. It showed just how glorious and advanced the ancient South Wasteland kingdom must have been. Of course, it made sense—this was a martial arts world. With people like Ou Yezi and Qin Han around, South Wastelanders were strong and sturdy, able to do things ancient Earthlings couldn’t.
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The ancient Egyptians sweated for years building a pyramid, worked to death who knows how many slaves just to finish one. But in the South Wasteland, if everyone had—even just Dragon Elephant Level Two—building a pyramid would be a piece of cake.
But the most shocking thing about this Reclining Buddha isn’t its size—it’s how weird it is. Normally, Buddha statues stand for peace and serenity, a kind of sacred untouchability. On Earth, reclining Buddha sculptures are usually surrounded by lots of little Buddhas and Arhats, symbolizing all Buddhas coming together in reverence.
This one had small statues too, but not Buddhas—fierce demons with blue faces and fangs! Maybe it was always like that, maybe it’s just weathered weirdly, but to everyone here, this wasn’t a symbol of peace at all—it looked like a crime scene. It was as if the giant Buddha had fallen unwillingly, surrounded by evil spirits ready to feast.
The Buddha’s eyes, wide open in death, stared right at the sand-skiff. Each eye was bigger than Godzilla’s, and the closer you got, the more you felt this crushing sense of despair—enough to make your hair stand on end, almost like a psychic attack. Fiona Fang squeezed her eyes shut and hid behind Jack Young, Rachel Luo held her breath and looked away, but finally forced herself to look back.
"Whoever carved this Buddha wasn’t ordinary," Princess Flower Shifter said solemnly. "Even after a century, it’s still so intimidating. Only a master above the Sacred Origin Realm could pull this off."
"A Sacred Origin master can do that?" Jack Young was surprised.
"Yep. Sacred Origin and Heavenly King are worlds apart—the difference is, Sacred Origin masters have such strong mental power, they’ve got all kinds of mysterious abilities. If they want, every move they make has a kind of aura. Like how ancient sages left behind calligraphy and paintings that still inspire people—it’s because their spirit was on a whole other level. Legend says, the secret manuals left by Limit Masters can bring people into indescribable spiritual realms—that’s a height we can only dream of reaching."
Princess Flower Shifter’s explanation really resonated with Jack Young. He knew better than anyone that people with strong spiritual power could influence others. Even The Lianhua Compendium had the aura left by Wang Lianhua. Without that, how could things like Skyward Fairy or Snow-Blowing Sword be passed down on paper, when you can’t even describe those moves in words?
"Reclining Buddha?" Jack Young stared at the statue, feeling like it represented something. If this giant Buddha symbolized the old Land of Ten Thousand Buddhas, then this sculpture was a living monument of blood and tears. The more he thought about it, the more it felt like facing history head-on. Maybe that’s why the Reclining Buddha stayed here—so anyone with a weak will wouldn’t dare come near.
Before sunset, the sand-skiff left the Ten Thousand Buddha Mound. As the last ray of sunlight faded, Jack Young suddenly felt something and turned to look back. Across the distance, he thought he saw someone standing atop the Reclining Buddha, watching them. But when he looked again, there was nothing.
"Was it just my imagination?" Jack Young didn’t say a word and kept the thought to himself.
Behind the Reclining Buddha, a figure in a sand-colored cloak let out a quiet breath. Then, carefully, they slipped among the shadows of the statues, following from afar.
The journey continued, growing ever deeper, wilder, and more dangerous. Along the way, they crossed several death deserts, each one high-risk—like the Twenty-Nine Death Desert and Thirty-Nine Death Desert. The deeper they went, the more frequent the disasters: Heavenly Dragon Descends and Earth Dragon Soars. The former had some warning, ending suddenly, so you could sometimes prepare. But Earth Dragon Soars almost never gave a sign—even Jack Young’s sharp hearing could only catch the faint crackling below ten seconds before the ground exploded.
Every one of these disasters was a major test—who knew how many people could actually make it through?
Five days later, they arrived at an ancient city.
"Huh? These old buildings look weird," Jack Young said, standing on a high spot and looking out as the city stretched to the horizon. "Is this place... circular?"
"Sharp eyes!" The Blind Elder Captain gave a thumbs-up. "This place is called 'Dai City'—the last supply stop before the Sacred Mountain. And Dai City wraps all the way around the Sacred Mountain—a real architectural miracle!"
The Blind Elder called it a miracle, and Jack Young nodded—because it really was spectacular. According to the Blind Elder, nobody had ever been to the Sacred Mountain, or at least, nobody had come back alive. But everyone knew where it was, thanks to Dai City. If you think of the Sacred Mountain as the center point, then Dai City is a giant ring around it, about a hundred meters wide.
Back in ancient times, people waiting to visit the Sacred Mountain would gather here—hence the name 'Dai City.' Folks here don’t really have a concept of diameter or circumference, but Jack Young did the math by looking at the arc: it’s a super-sized circle over a hundred kilometers wide. To compare, it’s like someone built a structure that completely encircles a piece of land two or three times the size of Beijing!
Sure, the Great Wall is longer, but building a nearly perfect circle on this scale? That takes skill—South Wasteland folks are hardcore! If they’d ever gone to war with the Central Lands, Jack Young would’ve been sweating for the home team.
"So, that means the Sacred Mountain is just a hundred li ahead?"
"Exactly! The Sacred Mountain’s right up ahead—look over there, that’s it!" The Blind Elder Captain pointed, and sure enough, everyone saw something. Deep in the swirling sand, a towering mountain appeared, half-hidden.
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"What are we waiting for? Let’s go!"
"No way, we have to wait!" The Blind Elder pointed at the desert ahead. "It looks calm now, but we just got lucky—most of the time, it’s not like this. Hey, Little Witch, do you know how many Sixty-Nine Death Deserts and Ninety-Nine Death Deserts there are in the South Wasteland?"
"I’m not sure, never really heard much about it—there can’t be that many, right?"
"Just a handful. But—" The Blind Elder gave a sly laugh. "Right now, we’re staring at one of them."
No sooner had the Blind Elder finished than Jack Young heard a faint rumble and felt a slight tremor. Dust trickled off the ancient buildings, and a sense of impending disaster hung in the air.
Then, everyone witnessed a bizarre spectacle—
"Holy—crap—!" Jack Young and Princess Flower Shifter both gaped. Jack couldn’t help but crack a joke: "Feels like I’m not looking at the earth, but at a couple with anger issues fighting during their seven-year itch—smashing stuff everywhere!"
Right in front of them, four or five Earth Dragon Soars erupted at once. Huge pillars of dust shot into the sky, and the roaring wind rattled their clothes even from a distance. But that wasn’t all—soon after, wave after wave of Heavenly Dragon Descends hit. The ground swelled and shrank, puffed and sucked, like some giant beast breathing underground. And just like the rumors said, sometimes the wind was scorching hot, sometimes icy cold—hot enough to burn, cold enough to freeze water solid!
Every blast and breath came with no pattern, and it just kept going. The group stared in shock for ages, until Jack Young turned to the Blind Elder, making a weird face: "How do you figure ‘Ninety-Nine Deaths’ anyway? I swear, if a hundred thousand people came, they’d all die! Shouldn’t it be called Nine Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine Death Desert instead?"
It was like being hit by endless super-hurricanes—this extreme weather would shred even dinosaurs! Anyone below Dragon Elephant Level Five or not born with innate talent shouldn’t even try; you go in, you die.
"Nope, this isn’t the Ninety-Nine Death Desert—just the Sixty-Nine Death Desert. The real Ninety-Nine Death Desert is behind those mountains, and that’s the real hell on earth! Only after you cross that can you reach the Sacred Mountain. Now you see why, after more than a hundred years, no one’s ever taken the Sacred Mountain’s treasure?"
"So what do we do now? The treasure map says the spot’s up ahead, at least at the foot of those mountains. But looking at this mess, I’m pretty sure only me and Princess Flower Shifter have a shot at getting through."
"No need to worry! Sure, the Sixty-Nine Death Desert is dangerous, but it’s not hopeless. Dai City isn’t called ‘Dai City’ for nothing—just wait it out, and things will turn around!"
At that moment, Jack Young felt incredibly lucky to have the Blind Elder along.
—————————————————— Blind Elder’s Divider Line ——————————————————
Let’s switch to God’s-eye view: from above, the Sacred Mountain looks like a ring within a ring.