Time flowed like sand through fingers, and half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Zhang Tie traveled through this vast, unfamiliar land, spreading out his divine sense, yet he never found another trace of opportunity. Just as he was considering whether to change direction, his gaze suddenly sharpened. Amid the wild grass ahead, a rather broad official road appeared!
The road was paved with bluestone. Every hundred zhang or so along its sides stood a ruined stone beast, strange in appearance—neither lion nor crocodile. Wind and rain had carved the marks of time across their bodies.
"Where there is an official road, there must be people. Where there are people, there must be cities." Zhang Tie's spirits lifted, and the gloom of the past several days was swept away. His figure flickered, and he had already drifted above the road like a wisp of smoke, riding the wind swiftly along its path.
Yet what he saw along the way cast a shadow of doubt over his renewed excitement.
The official road was completely empty. There were no travelers or carriages, not even the trace of a bird or beast. The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet. Only the wind wailed as it swept up the yellowed grass leaves on the ground, sending them spiraling into the distance. Such deathly silence was wholly out of place on this exquisitely constructed road.
Just as the doubts in his heart deepened, an intense fluctuation of spiritual power suddenly came from the edge of his divine sense.
Zhang Tie's eyes narrowed, and his speed abruptly increased. He turned into a faint streak of light and silently slipped toward the source of the disturbance. Dozens of li passed in an instant.
Hidden within the clouds, he looked down and saw a strange siege unfolding