"Is it really this thing?"
Feng Yuan looked at Xiao Ji with some surprise, and after borrowing power from Xiao Ji, he conjured a weapon, which ended up being a shield that could split into nine pieces. Each small piece of the shield had a rune on it and was burning with a pale blue flame.
Xiao Ji looked at the shield in Feng Yuan’s hand, slightly puzzled. It felt as if that strength was its own. Shaking its head in confusion, Xiao Ji spoke up, and Agunas, looking at the weapon in Feng Yuan’s hand, said,
"This weapon... It’s really unique."
"It’s a magic weapon, isn’t it?"
Feng Yuan manipulated the shield, splitting it into nine pieces that revolved around himself. He chuckled as he understood how to use it, and, as he patted Xiao Ji on the head, he said with amusement,
"Didn’t expect your weapon to be as unique as you are~"
Xiao Ji looked at Feng Yuan with some puzzlement but still enjoyed his caress.
"Using a shield? That doesn’t seem very practical for combat, does it?"
Lanadi frowned with curiosity as she watched the small pieces revolve around Feng Yuan. Despite their ability to revolve, the shield wasn’t very big, and now, split into nine pieces, it was pitifully small, hardly enough to defend against her whip.
"Why not try it out and see?"
"Should we eat something first?"
Just then, Yu Xian’er came in with food, and upon seeing the food, which was nothing like modern cuisine, Feng Yuan immediately praised her cooking without a second thought.
Watching everyone happily eating, Yu Xian’er showed a satisfied smile on her face, especially when she saw Feng Yuan sneakily reaching for Qi Chen’s food and Qi Chen pushing his plate towards Feng Yuan after catching him. All of this reminded her of something.
Lanadi, noticing the commotion on Feng Yuan’s side, smiled and pushed her plate of similar food towards him. Feng Yuan, feeling embarrassed, kept pushing the plate back, insisting with repeated thanks.
Agunas, flicking his tail, watched Feng Yuan create a scene with some speechlessness. When he saw Xiao Ji wanting to join in, Agunas quickly reminded him. Whether or not Feng Yuan would accept, human tastes were different from those of spirit beasts, and surely the latter wouldn’t be able to stomach Xiao Ji’s food.
"Huff, huff~ Full now, time to get some exercise~"
Having finished eating, Feng Yuan stood up, looked at Lanadi, and nodding his head, he asked,
"Are you sure you’re okay? Don’t you want to switch weapons?"
Observing the nine small shields rotating around Feng Yuan, Lanadi still had her doubts. At best, those shields could be used for defense, but a prolonged defense would surely fail. She didn’t believe Feng Yuan didn’t understand that.
"No problem~ You might be in for a surprise~"
Feng Yuan said proudly. Yu Xian’er jumped off her seat and suggested,
"We have a specialized combat field where you can duel."
"A specialized combat field? Isn’t that unnecessary? Can’t Agunas just put up a spatial barrier?"
Feng Yuan scratched his head as he looked at Agunas. After all, he was only planning to test his weapon against Lanadi, not exchange spirit beast ultimate skills that would cause significant environmental damage. Yu Xian’er shook her head and said with a smile,
"That was used back in the day for weapon training. It should be just right for you."
"Weapons? That’s true, the Dynasty Era had far more hand-to-hand combat than today."
Feng Yuan paused for a moment before it clicked. Nowadays, beastmasters typically let their spirit beasts fight at the forefront while staying behind themselves, unlike during the Dynasty Era where they would charge into battle alongside their beasts.
"Can that really handle a whip? Don’t be careless, getting hit by her whip must hurt a lot."
Qi Chen said with some concern, looking at the nine small shields circling Feng Yuan. Lanadi’s whip was barbed, and getting hit was no trivial matter.
"Don’t worry~ It’s all good, this is going to be fun~"
Feng Yuan spoke confidently.
"Are you sure you don’t want to switch weapons?"
Lanadi looked at the nine shields rotating around Feng Yuan with skepticism and asked again, to which Feng Yuan just smiled and said,
"No need, let’s start."
"Alright, be careful though!"
Seeing Feng Yuan was insistent, Lanadi didn’t say much more. She took out her whip and lashed out at Feng Yuan, who, with a slight smile, reached out with his right hand to grab one of the small shields and blocked it with a forward thrust.
A metallic clanging sound rang out, and everyone looked in surprise at the black staff in Feng Yuan’s hands; the small shield had actually transformed in his grasp.
"Shape-shifting weapons? I see."
Agunas mused thoughtfully, while Lanadi looked at the staff reverting back to a shield, rotating around Feng Yuan, and spoke with some astonishment,
"Interesting, is this... some special kind of rune weapon?"
"Something like that."
Feng Yuan didn’t elaborate and just smiled, grabbing another shield and squeezing it tightly. A pitch-black longbow wreathed in pale blue flames unfolded in his hands. Upon seeing this, Gladys exclaimed with surprise,
"Isn’t that weapon a bit overpowered?"
"It all depends on the user. If you’re not skilled with multiple weapons, it’s no different from trash."
Upon hearing Gladys’ astonishment, Lanadi flicked her whip, forming a circular spatial barrier in front of her. Feng Yuan released his right hand from the bow, and an arrow ablaze with pale blue flames shot straight for the center of Lanadi’s barrier.
Xiao Ji was somewhat excited beside them; it naturally sensed that this was its own power at play, and fighting side by side with Feng Yuan had always been its desire, which now seemed to be coming true.
"Going easy on me? Are you looking down on me?"
Lanadi said with a smile as she swung her whip towards Feng Yuan. He chuckled, switched another shield, and a pitch-black long halberd appeared in his hands, stirring forcefully, it curled Lanadi’s whip into its grasp.
Watching her whip get tangled by the halberd, Lanadi spoke in a low voice,
"Not bad at all. Looks like I need to get serious."
With a sudden charge, Lanadi stepped directly onto the halberd with her whip, running across it like an agile wildcat, lunging towards Feng Yuan. Gladys said in surprise,
"Is she actually getting serious?"
"Tch! A sneak attack, huh?"
A massive axe appeared in Feng Yuan’s left hand. Seeing the blade rushing towards her, Lanadi could only retreat in frustration, reeling in her whip that had broken free. She looked at Feng Yuan interestedly and said,
"It seems you’re proficient with all sorts of weapons, huh?"
"Proficient enough, but not an expert," Feng Yuan said with a shake of his head, seemingly a bit helpless.
"What are you all really doing hiding out here?"
Old Wei, with a cold expression, looked at Meng Binglan and her companions. Had they not been dressed as researchers, he would have treated them as enemies right away. Giving Old Wei a glance, Meng Binglan patted her clothes and said,
"Thank you for your help. Without you, we might have been in danger today."
"Did you come to Xuanlian Ancient City for the Ring of the Yellow Sand?"
Old Wei squinted at Meng Binglan, recalling something. Facing the pale man before her, Meng Binglan inexplicably felt a chill and hesitated before saying calmly,
"Yes, if we have the Ring of the Yellow Sand and can unravel its mysteries, perhaps we can..."
"You need not explain to me."
Old Wei turned away and spoke indifferently,
"I have no interest in your goals. If you’re not hunters, your lives mean nothing to me."
Seeing Old Wei walking away so directly left Meng Binglan a bit perplexed. Shouldn’t most people be desperately trying to stop them at this point? Just then, Old Wei suddenly paused and said,
"The Ring of the Yellow Sand does not discriminate between friend and foe, think carefully before you act."
After speaking, Old Wei didn’t look back at Meng Binglan and her group, heading straight for a distant tower. A gust of wind stirred up the sand that filled the sky, and the surroundings were littered with bizarre armors pierced by dark spikes. In the dim sunlight, those armors reflected an eerie light, casting the ancient city in an especially sinister glow.
"What should we do? Should we notify the others?"
Seeing Old Wei depart, someone inquired of Meng Binglan. After all, she was in charge here. She glanced behind at the researchers and said with some helplessness,
"What else can we do but notify the others? The hunters are causing trouble here, and besides... is the Ring of the Yellow Sand really dangerous?"
Even though they were prepared, the power of that artifact was not small by any means. Despite the current location being a desert, this desert was situated on a plain in the Southern Region of Great Xia – this sand desert could be said to have been entirely wrought by the Ring of the Yellow Sand.