The dark red, mushroom-shaped stone forest looked strange and rugged against the shimmering, multicolored sands of the Firefly Sand Sea. Deep within it stood a wall built from enormous rocks, roughly a hundred feet high, its surface covered in the marks of windblown sand and old scars left by blades, axes, and spells. Simple lookout towers rose above the wall, with figures faintly visible moving inside. A gate wide enough for only a few people abreast stood open, and cultivators occasionally passed through on streaks of light or flying artifacts.
"We're here, Fellow Daoist Han. This is Sandrock Fort, the temporary outpost our human race established in the Firefly Sand Sea." Stone Yaksha pointed at the wall ahead and spoke in his rough voice, a barely perceptible sense of belonging in his tone. "It may be crude, but at least it gives us somewhere to settle, exchange news and supplies, and guard against the dangers of the sand sea and certain ill-intentioned foreign races."
Han Li nodded and followed Stone Yaksha, descending from his streak of light and walking to the gate. Two human cultivators in crude leather armor stood guard, both at the core formation stage. They clearly recognized Stone Yaksha and nodded in greeting. But when their gazes swept over Han Li and then Li Yan and the others, who emerged from the Void-Breaking Shuttle in ragged clothes and with low cultivation, their faces showed unmistakable wariness and scrutiny.
"Boss Shi, who are these people...?" one guard asked.
"This is Fellow Daoist Han Li. Just now in the sand sea, he drove off those birdmen from the Azure Wing Tribe and saved my life. These are his companions," Stone Yaksha introduced them, then turned to Han Li. "Please don't take offense, Fellow Daoist Han. Sandrock Fort doesn't bar