Ying Zheng's guess was indeed correct. What was wrapped in that strange stone was really another black iron snail!
However, although the one in front of me is separated from those rocks, its surface is still rusty and rough.
Ying Zheng took it in his hand and twisted it hard.
Not moving at all.
"It seems that it is rusty and can no longer be used." Ying Zheng placed the rusty black iron snail on the table, and then took out his own black iron snail from the compass.
When these two black iron snails are placed together, the rusted one in the background is even more dilapidated, and its ancient atmosphere is a bit stronger.
"This is undoubtedly a black iron snail." Wu Chan said, "But why does it appear in Jingjue?"
Ying Zheng breathed a sigh of relief and said, "This is also a problem I haven't figured out. I remember that the Khotanese who sold this black iron snail said that his grandfather picked it up on the edge of the sand millstone, and When I picked it up, it was already in its original shape.”
"This means that this ancient black iron snail is even older in its era?" Wu Chan murmured.
"Well, not bad." Ying Zheng deliberately put on a mysterious expression and said, "This old black iron snail is either from more than 800 years ago, or a year ago, or perhaps, it is even older. "
The one more than 800 years ago was used by Ji Fa, and the one more than a year ago was used by Jiang Ziya, that is, Yin Tang. As for the older one, it does not necessarily belong to which Tianheir.
But there is no doubt that this must be a legacy of a certain Tianhe.
"Why?" Wu Chan certainly didn't understand why Ying Zheng made this inference.
"This...I'm sorry I can't tell you yet." Ying Zheng is not trying to hide his feelings, but he really can't tell you.
"Hmph!" Wu Chan curled his lips and said, "Forget it if you don't tell me."
"However, no matter how old it is, the important thing is why it appears here." Ying Zheng said.
"Isn't this easy to understand?" Wu Zen said, "The owner of it has been here before, just like you now, and came to ask Jingjue for help, but for some unknown reason, he left it behind the sand millstone. edge."
It seems that this can only be the reason.
"Then why did the owner of the Old Black Iron Snail go to the Sand Mill?" This is the question that Ying Zheng has been thinking about.
It is not surprising that the previous Heavenly Bearer came to Jingjue, but why he went to the Sand Mill is a question, and losing the very important Black Iron Snail is not a trivial matter. Is it possible that What danger did the ancestors encounter there?
"Do you know about the Sand Mill?" Wu Chan suddenly asked.
Ying Zheng shook his head and said, "I have never heard of it before. I only heard it mentioned by King Xiqiang when I got here. However, after all, he is not from the Western Regions, and he doesn't know much."
"Then let me tell you." Wu Chan said.
"Okay." Ying Zheng smiled at Wu Chan.
"Why don't you give me some tea?" Queen Wuchan was full of style.
"Haha, wait a minute." Ying Zheng turned around and took some tea leaves, poured some hot water, made a pot of tea and placed it in front of Wu Chan.
"Hmm, not bad." Wu Chan took a sip of tea with pleasure.
"If you like drinking tea, you will have enough control from now on." Ying Zheng said with a smile on his face.
"That's pretty much it." Wu Chan took another sip and then said, "Seeing that you are somewhat sincere, I will tell you."
"Go on, I'm all ears." Ying Zheng poured Wu Chan another cup of tea.
Wu Chan stopped drinking tea, cleared his throat, and began to tell: "It is said that this sand millstone has existed in a long time ago. The ancestors of Jingjue heard about it before they came to the Western Regions. This desert legend just moved here."
Ying Zheng's brows moved.
The ancestor Jingjue actually stayed here because of the millstone of sand.
inner!
"According to legend, the sand millstone also has eyes of fire under it, and there is more than one. First of all,
The ancestors chose to stay here, probably because of those flaming eyes. "
"However, it is said that the millstone was very terrifying. The ancestors were active there for a while, and finally came to this place now, built a city and settled down."
"But every few years, Jingjue will send out some ghost hands to explore the movement of the sand millstone. The uncle Thumb you met yesterday has penetrated deep into the sand millstone."
Ying Zheng was a little surprised and said: "Oh? He has also gone deep there? It seems that the legend is not true. It is also said that no one who enters the millstone of sand can come out alive."
"No, you misunderstood." Wu Chan said solemnly, "What the world calls going deep into the millstone of the sand is to travel from the ground to the center of the desert."
"Don't talk about this strange spinning desert. Even if it is an ordinary desert, if an ordinary person goes in, if they lose their way, they will have a narrow escape."
"But Ghost Hands are different. They take underground routes, so they won't lose their way and are not afraid of sandstorms."
"It's just that during the excavation process, we often dig into the desert, which is very dangerous. We usually block the sand entrance and re-select the road."
"However, after several generations of hard work, the ancestors finally found a fire eye under the millstone, but the fire eye was extremely violent and active, so the ancestors blocked it and never came close."
"So, because we were worried about the disaster caused by the eruption of the Fire Eye, our ancestors left their ancestral instructions and asked Jingjue to go and investigate every few years."
At this point, Wu Chan seemed to be thirsty. He took a sip of tea and looked at Ying Zheng, as if giving Ying Zheng time to think.
"Are you saying that the eye of fire is very active and may erupt at any time?" Ying Zheng asked.
"Yes." Wu Chan nodded firmly.
"Since it is located very deep underground, even if it erupts, it will be covered by the desert and will not have any impact on the outside, right?" Ying Zheng said.
"That's not necessarily the case." Wu Chan slowed down and said, "The underground fire eye is different from the volcano crater. Below it is a very vast ocean of magma, and since there is more than one fire eye under the Sand Mill , then presumably these fire eyes are all connected underneath, and if one of them erupts, the others will also erupt."
"What's more, once the Fire Eye erupts, it's not just as simple as lava pouring out of the Fire Eye. The surrounding earth must be shaking, and even landslides and ground cracks, and houses toppling. Even if they are not invaded by magma, they will suffer a lot of disaster. .”
"That's true," Ying Zheng said with a sigh, "But once the disaster really comes, what can we do to stop it? There seems to be nothing to do except escape."
"Yes." Wu Chan also sighed, "Jingjue may have a certain amount of predictability than other races, but that's all. If a disaster really comes, they can only notify nearby ethnic groups in advance and flee collectively. Already."
Ying Zheng looked at Wu Chan, his eyes a little trembling: "If such a day comes, Great Qin will welcome you at any time."
"Uh, haha, thank you, Brother Ying." A wry smile appeared at the corner of Wu Chan's mouth, "But it's best that this kind of thing doesn't happen."
"I hope so." Ying Zheng sighed meaningfully.
The future of Jingjue, and even the Western Region, seems unpredictable, but it is almost certain. What Yingzheng has to do is to make Jingjue obey his arrangements bit by bit.
"By the way, how is the millstone formed and why does it rotate on its own?" Ying Zheng asked the most puzzling question in his mind.
Wu Chan thought for a while and then said: "It is said that it is because the fire eyes down there are extremely active, and the temperature rises and falls, burning the soil and rocks into sand."
"As for why it is rotating slowly, our ancestors also explored
reasons, but no specific conclusions were drawn. The only guess is that the magma under the fire eye is flowing regularly, and coupled with the flow of the surrounding underground river, it naturally drives the rotation of the sand millstone. "
This kind of conjecture comes to
It has some basis, and is somewhat close to what Ying Zheng learned.
"Then if people or animals walked into the depths of the millstone, would they really be torn into pieces like beans being ground by the millstone, or would they fall in?" Ying Zheng asked.
"It won't tear you apart, but it's very easy to encounter quicksand." Wu Chan said, "The so-called quicksand is the flowing sand below. It is their flow that causes the rotation of the entire millstone. And if If you fall into the quicksand, unless there is a big bird in the sky that pulls the person directly into the air, it will be difficult to survive."
"What a pity. Where can I find such a big bird?" Ying Zheng said, while the Luan bird he saw in Jiuyou appeared in his mind.
"That's why it is said that no one who walks into the depths of the millstone survives, because basically all of them encounter quicksand." Wu Chan sighed.
"It is indeed a pity." Ying Zheng's tone also contained a feeling of regret, "However, if you don't take the initiative to walk into the depths of the millstone, there should be no danger."
Wu Chan said with a stern expression: "This may not happen."
"Oh?" Ying Zheng frowned, "How do you say that?"
"According to the records left by the ancestors of past generations, the sand millstone is expanding in scope every year. Although the speed is sometimes fast and sometimes slow, it never stops." Wu Chan said worriedly.
"Seriously?" Ying Zheng's face darkened and he became worried.
"Of course it's true." Wu Chan said, "You have to know that every time the ghost hands go there, they will make a lot of marks, and every time they go, they will find that the marks closest to the millstone are more or less covered. , it can be seen that the millstone of sand must be gradually spreading outward."
"Then how much bigger is it now compared to when this phenomenon was first discovered?" Ying Zheng asked.
"The ghost hands have never been to its central location," Wu Chan said. "But based on the caves dug underground, it is estimated that it expands outward by about ten miles every hundred years."
"Huh? So fast?" Ying Zheng was really surprised.
"Yes." Wu Chan said with a frown, "This is also what worries the people of the Western Regions the most, but Jingjue dare not reveal this secret to the world."
"Indeed." Ying Zheng said, "People who believe it will cause panic, but people who don't believe it will think you are alarmist and demagogue."
"So, Jingjue people have always been in trouble." Wu Chan sighed sadly and said, "Sometimes I just think that it would be better not to know about these things."
"Then have you thought of any way to stop its spread?" Ying Zheng asked with concern.
"It's not that I haven't thought of this method, but it doesn't work. After all, Jingjue is only located in the north against the millstone, and there are too many countries surrounding it." Wu Chan said.
Ying Zheng seemed to have suddenly thought of something, and said eagerly: "Since you can make dense stones, why not build a wall on the edge to prevent it from spreading to Jingjue."
"It's not that I haven't thought of this method, but it can only relieve the problem for a while. As time goes by, the sand will spread from the borders of other countries." Wu Chan said.
"Let me think about it." Ying Zheng sighed and said nothing, lowered his head and thought for a while.
Wu Chan also fell silent in a depressed mood.
"Take me there to have a look." After a moment, Ying Zheng raised his head and said.
"Do you really dare to go?" Wu Chan's tone was a little suspicious.
"You dare to go to the ghost cave, but there is nothing on the edge of the desert that you dare not go to." Ying Zheng said.
"Okay, but let's ask Uncle Thumb to take us there." Wu Chan said.
"Let's go then."
The two decided to go to the Sand Mill, so they walked out of Jingjue Palace together and went to the Ghost Cave to meet Thumb.
