"Huh?"
Ning Beichen scanned the desert, discovering a massive palace beneath it. It was likely the Sand Demon's palace, and it contained many treasures.
"Leader, there's nothing else," reported Yang Qianrou as she approached Ning Beichen.
"I know. But I've made a discovery. Everyone, follow me."
With that, Ning Beichen led Yang Qianrou and the others back into the desert.
After returning to the desert, Ning Beichen moved swiftly. About an hour later, he stopped, leaving Yang Qianrou and the rest bewildered, unsure of his intentions or why they had returned to the desert.
Ning Beichen instructed everyone to spread out. Then, he suddenly punched the ground.
With a thunderous roar, the desert, resembling dunes, was torn open by Ning Beichen's punch, creating a large hole.
Ning Beichen didn't stop. He continued to punch the large hole repeatedly, each blow causing immense tremors. After striking more than ten times, he finally ceased.
At this point, Yang Qianrou and the others stared at Ning Beichen in stunned silence. They had no idea what he was doing or why he was punching a hole in the desert.
"Below is the Sand Demon's palace. There's no danger. Who will go down and lead the way?" Ning Beichen explained after he stopped.
"What? The Sand Demon's palace is below!"
"Leader is too amazing, he even knows about the Sand Demon's palace."
"Leader, I'll go, I'll go."
"Leader, let me go."
"Leader, let me go instead, I'm stronger."
As everyone vied to go, Yang Qianrou quickly stepped forward.
"Alright, you can go down," Ning Beichen said to Yang Qianrou.
In truth, it didn't matter who went down, as there was no danger below.
Yang Qianrou nodded to Ning Beichen and then walked to the edge of the hole. Without hesitation, she leaped straight down.
The whistling wind roared past her ears, accompanied by the sound of sliding sand. However, this did not affect Yang Qianrou.
After a few minutes, Yang Qianrou's feet touched the ground. She found that the surface she was standing on was much harder than the surrounding sand.
Yang Qianrou recalled Ning Beichen's words about the Sand Demon's palace below. She slapped the ground with her palm, sending sand flying. Nearby, a cave entrance was revealed.
Yang Qianrou walked over, crawled into the entrance, and lit a torch. She saw a long staircase stretching before her.
A look of joy appeared on Yang Qianrou's face. She transmitted her discovery to those above.
Those at the cave entrance heard Yang Qianrou announce the discovery of a staircase below and became immediately excited. With Ning Beichen's permission, they too jumped down.
"Leader, we've found the entrance to the palace below," someone exclaimed excitedly to Ning Beichen shortly after.
"Let's go, we'll go down and see too."
Ning Beichen led the rest of the group down the large hole and followed the staircase to the palace entrance.
However, the palace was sealed. Before Ning Beichen arrived, Yang Qianrou and the others had tried numerous methods to open it without success.
"Let me see."
Ning Beichen walked over to examine it.
Initially, he appeared indifferent. But as he gazed at the two massive bronze ancient doors of the palace, covered with intricate line diagrams resembling a starry sky, his expression shifted to one of disbelief.
"This isn't the formation of the blessed lands from his world? Why is it appearing in this world!"
The more Ning Beichen looked, the more excited he became. His excitement wasn't just from discovering a formation akin to those in blessed lands, but rather from the sensation that this formation connected this world to his original one.
"Perhaps this place has some connection to the blessed lands in my own world."
"Leader, this door is very strange. No matter how much force we use, we can't open it," Yang Qianrou said softly from the side.
"This is a formation. It needs to be deciphered to be opened," Ning Beichen told her.
"A formation? What is a formation?" Yang Qianrou asked, confused.
"You don't know about formations?" This time, it was Ning Beichen's turn to be surprised.
Yang Qianrou shook her head. It seemed she knew nothing about formations, and she wasn't the only one. Everyone present, except for Ning Beichen, had never heard of formations.
"Does this world not have formations?" Ning Beichen was shocked.
"No, we've never heard of formations, nor do we know what they are," Yang Qianrou and the others replied.
"Does the Central Continent have formations then?" Ning Beichen asked them, greatly astonished.
"Leader, we've never been to the Central Continent, so we don't know if it has formations. But it should, right? Otherwise, how would Leader know about formations?" Yang Qianrou and the others answered, looking at Ning Beichen with admiration.
"Alright, we'll find out when we go to the Central Continent later. This ancient bronze door has been sealed with a formation, and brute force alone cannot open it..."
Ning Beichen briefly explained the existence of formations to them, but only in passing, without going into detail.
"Then how can it be opened?" Yang Qianrou and the others asked curiously.
"Deciphering a formation is a very difficult task. It requires systematic study. I'll try to see if I can decipher it."
Ning Beichen used his special eye ability to observe. Immediately, the formation on the bronze ancient door became clearly visible to him.
What followed was a game of puzzles that required absolute patience.
Ning Beichen told everyone to be quiet and not to disturb him, then he began to patiently decipher it.
However, to Yang Qianrou and the others, it appeared as if Ning Beichen's hands were sifting through the air, and they could see nothing. This greatly disappointed those who had hoped to learn more about formations.
Yet, they were filled with awe for Ning Beichen, who could decipher formations. Even their gazes were filled with fervent admiration.
"Do you think Leader came from the Central Continent? Otherwise, how could he know so much and be so powerful?" some people whispered to each other, not daring to speak aloud to disturb Ning Beichen. However, their curiosity was irrepressible, and they began to discuss amongst themselves via telepathic communication, including Yang Qianrou and Cao Shuo.
"Yang Qianrou, you followed Leader the earliest. Do you know where Leader came from?" Cao Shuo telepathically asked Yang Qianrou.
"I don't know. Leader found us himself..." Yang Qianrou recounted how Ning Beichen had joined their Furious Hunting Party.
Little did Yang Qianrou expect that this man, whom they had once considered a dwarf, was such a formidable figure.
Now, they certainly no longer viewed Ning Beichen as a dwarf. As long as you are powerful enough, you are a giant in the eyes of others, and they must look up to you.