Finally, the sun set, and it was at this very moment that these plants bloomed in full, their flowers reaching their peak, transforming into a blue ocean, shimmering with radiant light.

　　Although dusk had fallen, the blue glow lingered here, dazzling to the extreme, astonishingly brilliant.

　　William Carter stood on the ancient Yellow River path, unable to calm his heart, yet he did not pause, moving quickly along the river.

　　The sky grew darker, and even the last rays of the setting sun disappeared.

　　The blue desert sparkled with scattered light, and then suddenly, with a bang, all the blue otherworldly flowers, after blooming in full, withered simultaneously in an instant.

　　The enchanting petals wilted, and then the entire plant began to dry up. They lost their color, exhausted their vitality, turned yellow rapidly, and then shattered, as if they had lost decades in a single moment.

　　"Bang!"

　　In the final instant, the withered blue otherworldly flowers across the ground broke inch by inch, turning into powder.

　　This bizarre scene was hard to explain.

　　They were like fireworks—briefly brilliant, beautiful to the extreme, and then withered, becoming ashes.

　　The withered yellow powder fell onto the sand, barely discernible in the twilight. By now, the blue mist had long since vanished, and the desert returned to its original state, as if nothing had ever happened, once again tranquil.

　　William Carter did not stop, striding forward. In the dusk, he crossed many sand dunes and finally saw the silhouette of mountains on the horizon—he was about to leave the desert.

　　As the sky darkened, he finally emerged, clearly seeing the mountains and faintly glimpsing the tents of herders at the foot of the hills.

　　Looking back, the vast desert behind him was silent, no different from usual.

　　Ahead, in the mountains, lights flickered. Even from a distance, he could hear some commotion at the foot of the hills; it was not peaceful there, as if something was happening.

　　In addition, there were the panicked cries of cattle and sheep, and the low, muffled growls of Tibetan mastiffs.

　　Was something unusual happening? William Carter quickened his pace, heading to the foot of the mountains, approaching the herders' settlement.

Chapter 0002 The Post-Civilization Era

　　The cattle and sheep seemed startled, nearly breaking through the fence. The herders tried to stop them, shouting loudly. The usually fierce Tibetan mastiffs were now crouched low to the ground, growling uneasily.

　　At the same time, children were crying, and women were comforting them.

　　A few elderly herders were praying devoutly, and finally even knelt down, kowtowing toward the distant towering mountains with great solemnity.

　　The herders were not surprised by William Carter's arrival, as outsiders often passed by and stayed in the herders' tents.

　　A long time later, the commotion at the foot of the mountains finally subsided.

　　William Carter washed himself with hot water and drank rich, fragrant butter tea. His fatigue faded considerably, and he gave all the candy he had to the children.

　　The children's cheeks were rosy from the plateau, and they smiled shyly, looking very simple and honest. After dividing the candy, they scattered with laughter, happy and content.

　　What exactly had happened in these mountains not long ago? This was the question in William Carter's heart. Could it be that the strange blue otherworldly flowers had also bloomed here?

　　The old herder in the tent had graying hair, deep wrinkles, and a look of obvious worry. He gazed outside the tent, staring at the distant mountains.

　　Soon, William Carter learned that blue mist had indeed appeared here as well, swirling in the mountains. Many livestock were frightened and became very agitated, trying to escape.

　　However, there were no strange blue otherworldly flowers, and the mist was very thin.

　　"Why did you kowtow toward the mountains?" William Carter asked.

　　"That is the direction of the sacred mountain," the old herder replied.

　　Kunlun, long known as the divine mountain and sacred mountain, is steeped in myth. From the Classic of Mountains and Seas to the Huainanzi, and even the Records of the Grand Historian, there are countless ancient records.

　　Earlier, there was only a thin layer of blue mist near these mountains, but some people saw that in the direction of the Kunlun Mountains, the blue was exceptionally dense.

　　There, thick mist surged, crystal clear and bright, swirling and boiling. Later, it was like beams of light, blue radiance pouring forth, blazing streaks, extremely intense.

　　It was as if a dazzling blue sun was wrapped in thick mist, rising and falling there. Although it was far away, beams of light would shoot out from time to time, like lightning.

　　From a distance, it looked incredibly mysterious, the blue light brilliant and constantly dancing, extremely dazzling.

　　So, some elderly herders kowtowed in that direction, praying devoutly.

　　Clearly, the strange phenomena there were astonishing, the blue mist so dense it could not be dispersed, carrying blazing radiance, even more intense than what William Carter had seen in the desert.

　　What was the cause of these miraculous sights? William Carter pondered.

　　He thought of one possibility—perhaps it was caused by an earthquake in the mountains.

　　In the past, there was a place where similar things had happened. In that valley, sudden thunder would often strike living creatures.

　　If a violent earthquake occurred in the mountains, it could cause extremely high magnetic anomalies. Under the effect of the electromagnetic field, the charges in the clouds and the magnetic field in the mountains would interact, leading to electrical discharges. Coupled with the aurora effect, this would create dazzling colors, making it a very special thunder zone, quite different from the ordinary.

　　William Carter was not superstitious and felt that most of what happened in the mountains was just a natural phenomenon.

　　However, no matter how he explained, the old herder refused to believe him and even glared at him angrily, thinking he had blasphemed the sacred mountain and almost drove him away.