Beyond the endless, shimmering sands, where weary footsteps had long endured the arduous trek, the journey’s end finally came into view.

Tian Chang’s gaze fell upon that verdant oasis. Lush, swaying green grasses encircled a pool of water, vast and still as a polished mirror. It stretched before them, rippling gently in the wind’s embrace. Though no trees graced the landscape within their sight, the grasses themselves rose to knee-height. The air was clear and bright, a stark contrast to the sand sea’s haze, more akin to a water town—were it not for the surrounding golden desolation.

The water pool, perfectly round, mirrored the azure heavens above. Around its circumference, the green grasses formed a complete circle, cradling the pool within. Beyond this verdant ring lay a circle of slow-moving quicksand, its treacherous currents circling the water pool in a continuous rotation. Outside this first ring of quicksand, another flowed in the opposite direction, also encompassing the central pool. This pattern of alternately rotating quicksand repeated, forming a total of nine distinct rings. Each ring of quicksand measured approximately three *zhang* in width. As the rings expanded outward from the water pool, the outermost circle of quicksand occupied an immense expanse.

The Tian family retinue halted at the edge of the outermost quicksand ring.

“We’ve all reached our positions, why aren’t we going in directly?” Tian Yong’s voice held a note of dissatisfaction, though he refrained from acting on his own impulse.

“A journey of a hundred *li*, the last ninety are the hardest,” Tian Chang remarked, his gaze fixed on the mirror-like pool. “These nine rotating quicksand rings appear to be no simple matter.”

“How do we cross? What dangers lie here?” Liu Si inquired. “What… did he say?”

“I know as much as you,” Tian Chang replied, shaking his head. “He didn’t tell me anything specific.”

Liu Si’s face was merely average, but her figure was remarkably well-formed. Tian Yong’s eyes habitually lingered on her. Hearing Tian Chang’s words, a flicker of anxiety crossed her features. “Then what are we to do?”

“Panic over what? He hasn’t even been to this place, how could he possibly know everything?” Tian Yong scoffed, unable to mask his disdain for those who, while fearing and disliking Tian Anping, relied on him for everything. “Without him, Tian Anping, would my Tian family still be the foremost noble family of Great Marsh?”

The Liu family was one of the Tian family’s vassal houses. Liu Si’s family had some marital ties with Tian Chang’s, making her his cousin. Tian Yong and Tian Chang, sharing a grandfather through cousinage, both belonged to branch lineages, and their rivalry was intense.

“He only calculated that we would encounter a sand sea environment here, and prepared the necessary means for us to cope with the possible dangers within the sand sea,” Tian Chang explained. Then, he added, “As for the dangers of this place, a quick probe will reveal them.”

He turned to Tian Yong. “A Yong, didn’t your grandfather just procure a twin-winged puppet for you? It would be perfect for scouting the way for us.”

“Why should my puppet be used for scouting?” Tian Yong’s dissatisfaction was unconcealed; he seized every opportunity to challenge Tian Chang’s authority.

“Would you rather we risk the lives of our clan members to scout the way?” Tian Chang’s tone was righteous and stern. “As the leader of this expedition, it is my duty to reasonably allocate the team’s resources. If you have any objections, you may report them to the elders upon our return.”

Tian Yong knew this was Tian Chang retaliating for his earlier displays of discontent. His twin-winged puppet had been purchased at a great cost by his grandfather – a life-saving treasure. If it were lost here, who would compensate him? Even if he reported it to the clan, Tian Chang would certainly not speak in his favor, and even if the clan were willing to provide compensation, it would take an age to materialize.

He seethed inwardly, but Tian Chang’s command was reasonable, and he could find no fault in it. Gritting his teeth, he retrieved the puppet’s seal from his storage box and tossed it casually. The seal, resembling a square black block, had been meticulously crafted by Mohist artisans to fit perfectly within a storage box grid.

In the air, the black square began to expand, first extending a pair of wings, then arms, followed by a head and feet. By the time its transformation was complete, it stood as tall as an ordinary person. Its outward appearance resembled a warrior adorned with a black helmet and black armor, twin wings sprouting from its back. Two glossy black crystals were embedded where the eyes would be.

This was the “Ink Warrior,” a general-purpose puppet recently introduced to the market by the Mohist school. It came in three grades: wingless, twin-winged, and four-winged. Its price remained steep, but its combat prowess was considerable, and its operation was convenient, making it highly popular.

“Proceed forward!”

At Tian Chang’s command, the Ink Warrior unfolded its twin wings and flew directly towards the oasis.

Their journey thus far had been uneventful. With the Tian family forging ahead, Jiang Wang’s progress was remarkably smooth. His only concern was whether he might be discovered by the Tian family contingent. When they halted, he too stopped at a distance. To avoid detection, he dug a sand pit and buried himself, using a vine snake to line the walls. He then withdrew into the Red Makeup Mirror, observing the scene through its reflected vision. On this expedition to the Seven Stars Building secret realm, he increasingly appreciated the usefulness of the Red Makeup Mirror. He resolved to find a way, in a safe environment, to expand its range of vision.

Through the Red Makeup Mirror, he watched the Tian family members deliberate for a moment before a twin-winged Ink Warrior ascended into the air. With a beat of its wings, it soared across the quicksand.

Then…

There was no “then.”

The twin-winged Ink Warrior vanished from the crowd’s sight. The nine rotating quicksand rings continued their ceaseless flow, while the high-priced Ink Warrior disappeared without a trace.

“Where is my twin-winged puppet?” Tian Yong’s eyes were bloodshot. The puppet’s formal name was “Ink Warrior,” but they typically referred to it as the twin-winged puppet. Tian Yong had assumed that with the Ink Warrior’s sturdiness and speed, it could retreat in time even if it encountered danger. At most, it would sustain some damage, requiring only a bit of money for repairs. He never imagined it would simply vanish. So many gleaming Dao Yuan stones, just gone.

“Can you still control it?” Tian Chang inquired calmly.

“Come back! Come back!” Tian Yong shouted several times towards the Nine Rotating Quicksand. His face was a mask of ugliness. “I still have a faint connection, but I can’t command it.”

“Having a connection indicates that the Ink Warrior hasn’t been attacked, or at least the attack wasn’t severe enough to destroy it,” Tian Chang analyzed. “It appears these Nine Rotating Quicksand rings form a natural maze array.”

“And this maze array doesn’t simply confuse direction, as the Ink Warrior lacks a sense of direction and will only proceed towards its set objective, unaffected by illusionary techniques.” His thoughts were clear and logical, and he quickly summarized: “It’s likely a spatial inversion or something similar.”

One had to admit that Tian Chang’s appointment as the leader of this group was well-deserved; he acted rationally and his thinking was sharp.

“Just tell me what to do!” Tian Yong, thinking of his expensive puppet, was growing impatient.

Tian Chang looked at him calmly, holding his gaze until Tian Yong unnaturally averted his eyes. Then, he said, “If you are very anxious, or if you have a better idea, you are free to go and find your puppet yourself. I won’t stop you.”

These words were utterly unreasonable. Hadn’t he ordered the twin-winged puppet to scout the way? Now that something had happened, he was expected to solve it himself? Tian Yong wanted to turn on him on the spot, to truly charge forward and see for himself, but he wasn’t that foolish. Getting angry was one thing, but charging in himself would be tantamount to scouting the way for Tian Chang again. And quarreling with others while putting himself at risk seemed foolish no matter how he looked at it.

His face was iron-blue, but he remained silent, a clear sign of his submission to Tian Chang. Tian Yong wasn’t from a vassal family; his standing within the Tian family was no less than Tian Chang’s.

Tian Chang offered a slight concession, recognizing that a gentle nudge was sufficient for now. He had planted the seed of influence; there would be opportunities later to slowly bring him under his control.

“Gong Yang Lu.” He turned and addressed the silent figure in a daoist robe who always remained in the background. “You specialize in arrays. Can you discern anything?”