Holy Ruins

A solitary smoke plume rises straight into the sky over the vast desert; the sun sinks round beyond the long river. The endless desert was empty and lofty, magnificent and vigorous. As the red sun dipped west, the horizon was stained deep crimson, a scene of majestic grandeur tinged with a sense of desolation. The beacon fires of antiquity had long since faded into the passage of time. Although the ancient course of the Yellow River had shifted many times, it still remained. Chu Feng was traveling alone, weary. Lying on the yellow sand, he watched the blood-red setting sun, wondering how much longer it would take to leave this great desert. He had graduated a few days ago and simultaneously said goodbye to the campus goddess. Perhaps they would never meet again. After all, he had been tactfully informed that from now on, they would be worlds apart, and it was time to break up. After leaving the academy, he had set out on this journey. The setting sun was intensely red, hanging at the edge of the vast desert, possessing a tranquil beauty amidst the emptiness. Chu Feng sat up, drank some water, and felt his energy returning considerably. His body was of the tall, strong, and lean type, with excellent physical fitness; his fatigue gradually faded. Standing up to gaze into the distance, he felt he was nearing the edge of the desert. Perhaps after walking a bit further, he would see the tents of nomadic herders. He decided to press on. Heading west, he left a long, distant trail of footprints in the great desert. Silently, without warning, a fog rose—a very rare occurrence in the desert. Chu Feng was surprised, and this fog was actually blue, giving off a chill in this late autumn season. Unconsciously, the mist grew heavier, the blue haze swirling, hazy and hazy, enveloping this stretch of desert. At the desert's edge, even the setting sun seemed somewhat eerie, gradually transforming into a blue disc, possessing a demonic beauty. The fiery clouds were also stained blue. Chu Feng frowned. Although he knew desert weather was highly changeable, this was truly abnormal. Everything was silent. He stopped. Before entering the desert, he had heard from an old local herder that sometimes, when walking alone in the desert, one might hear strange sounds or see peculiar things, and must be exceptionally cautious. He hadn't paid it much mind at the time. It remained quiet. Eexcept for the added layer of hazy blue mist, no other changes occurred in the desert. Chu Feng quickened his pace, wanting to leave this place as soon as possible. At the desert's edge, the setting sun was an eerie blue, dyeing the western sky blue, but it was finally about to disappear below the horizon. Chu Feng moved faster and faster, breaking into a run. He didn't want to stay in this bizarre, uncertain place. In the desert, mirages often occurred under the scorching sun, which didn't match the current situation. This didn't seem like a mirage. Suddenly, faint sounds came from ahead, as if something was breaking through the sand. The sounds were dense, rising and falling one after another. Chu Feng stopped abruptly, staring at the desert ahead. The ground was dotted with points of blue light, like scattered blue diamonds, crystalline and translucent, glittering in the last rays of the setting sun. They were sprouts, each less than an inch tall, breaking through the desert soil, bearing a beautiful luster, translucent and eerie, covering the ground everywhere. After a brief pause, a rustling sound rose in waves, brilliant blue everywhere. All the sprouts rapidly grew taller, shooting up in an instant. At the horizon, the blue sun sank, about to disappear. Mist permeated the air, and the vast desert seemed draped in a layer of eerie blue gauze. *Pop!* A sound of blossoms opening echoed. The desert was awash with blue. At the very moment the setting sun was about to vanish, these plants began to bloom, producing vast stretches of flowers. A multitude of blue flowers, glimmering like crystalline dots, dreamlike and somewhat intoxicating, bloomed all over the desert—utterly unreal. These plants were over a foot tall, their entire bodies as translucent as blue coral. Their petals, strip-like, were enchanting and fascinating, as if blooming in another realm, carrying a demonic allure that captivated the mind. Chu Feng took a step back. However, the area behind him was also filled with these plants, flowing with blue light, stretching as far as the eye could see. He was astonished, looking carefully, trying hard to identify them. They looked remarkably like spider lilies, with their strip-like petals spreading out and curling backwards, extremely beautiful. However, spider lilies were vividly red, while these were blue. He had never heard of blue spider lilies. Spider lilies truly existed, carrying strong religious connotations, with many legends surrounding them. But Chu Feng didn't believe in those; he was merely shocked by the sight before him. The desert was dry, lacking water, with only extremely sparse drought-tolerant plants occasionally seen scattered here and there. Spider lilies preferred gloomy, damp environments and should not appear here at all, let alone so bewitchingly. They were everywhere, covering the ground endlessly. The vast desert, the thin mist dyeing the sunset blue, saturating the horizon, and the entire empty, boundless desert gave birth to blue spider lilies—indescribably strange and mysterious! A faint trace of fragrance wafted through the air, intoxicating and mesmerizing. Chu Feng shook his head vigorously and carefully stepped, avoiding these flowers. He discovered only one area lacked these plants—the ancient course of the Yellow River. Having changed course many times over the years, it traversed this desert, now nearly dried up. The blue spider lilies bloomed all along both banks, crowding against it. Flowers bloomed on both banks, seeing each other from afar. Finally, the sun sank completely. And precisely at this moment, these plants were in full bloom, reaching their peak, transforming into a blue ocean, shimmering with flowing light and color. Although dusk had fallen, the blue radiance lingered here, extremely dazzling, bizarrely gorgeous. Chu Feng stood on the ancient Yellow River course, his mind unable to find peace. But he didn't linger, quickly advancing along the riverbed. The sky darkened gradually; the last rays of the setting sun had also disappeared. The blue desert glittered with points of light, and then suddenly, with a soft *poof*, all the blue spider lilies, after their furious bloom, withered and fell simultaneously in an instant. The enchanting petals wilted, then the entire plants began to dry up. They lost their color, depleted their vitality, rapidly turned yellow, and then crumbled, as if losing decades in a single moment. *Poof!* In the final instant, the everywhere dried blue spider lilies broke inch by inch, turning into powder. This bizarre phenomenon was difficult to explain. They were like fireworks—briefly brilliant, beautiful to the extreme, then withering into ashes. The withered, yellow powder settled on the sand, hard to distinguish in the twilight. By now, the blue mist had long since vanished. The desert returned to its original state, as if nothing had ever happened, quiet once more. Chu Feng didn't pause, striding forward purposefully. In the twilight, he crossed many sand dunes and finally saw the shadow of mountains on the horizon. He was about to leave the desert. As the sky darkened completely, he finally made it out, clearly seeing the mountainous land, and faintly making out the tents of herders at the mountain's foot. Looking back, the vast desert behind him was silent, no different from usual. Ahead, in the mountainous area, lights flickered. Even from a distance from the mountain foot, he could hear some commotion. The place was unsettled, as if something was happening. Moreover, there were the panicked cries of cattle, sheep, and other livestock, along with the muffled growls of Tibetan Mastiffs. Was something unusual happening? Chu Feng quickened his pace, hurrying to the mountain foot, approaching the herders' settlement.