Although this journey had yielded a bountiful harvest, more and more people were entering the Ancient Arid Realm.
Yet Zhang Qingyuan's heart had not settled because of it.
Instead, he grew even more worried.
That feeling
was as though some danger was gathering nearby, steadily intensifying!
The exit of the Space Channel before them slowly revolved, as though some terrifying threat lurked within, making Zhang Qingyuan knit his brows tightly.
"Hm?"
All of a sudden, Zhang Qingyuan's expression shifted.
In the void not far away,
a figure with a chaotic aura seemed to be rapidly darting through the void, hurrying in this direction.
"Could that be daoist friend One Page Scholar? Uh, what happened to you?"
As the figure crossed the void and drew close, Zhang Qingyuan recognized the newcomer, and surprise appeared on his face.
If he had not mistaken him,
this was One Page Scholar of Haoran Academy, whom Murong Yue had introduced to him before they entered the Ancient Arid Realm!
But One Page Scholar's condition did not seem very good at the moment.
The former image of a handsome, refined scholar with a feather fan and silk headscarf had long since disappeared.
The square Confucian cap atop his head had been tossed into some unknown corner. His hair was a tangled mess, his clothes were ragged like a beggar's, and he had even lost one of his shoes, leaving one foot bare!
Anyone unaware of the situation might have thought he was some glutton who had snuck into another man's orchard to steal fruit, only to be chased ten miles by the owner's wolfhound—a shabby, impoverished scholar.
"Who?!"
The moment he heard Zhang Qingyuan's voice transmission, his entire body jolted. His footsteps abruptly halted as he froze in midair, like a bird startled by the mere