Chen Tian and Sen Sha headed towards the oasis, which was now a real oasis. Chen Tian and Sen Sha ran at full speed, needing to reach the oasis as quickly as possible. As expected, something unexpected happened. On their way to the oasis, Chen Tian and Sen Sha encountered a sandstorm that blocked their path. Sen Sha asked urgently, "Chen Tian, can we just charge through it?"
"No, this sandstorm is real, not a mirage. We can't force our way through."
"But it's blocking our path, and taking a detour will cost us more time."
Chen Tian fell into thought. Sen Sha was right. It would be better to push through than waste time. After all, a straight line was the shortest distance. Chen Tian looked at the sandstorm before him. It wasn't an illusory mirage but a genuine sandstorm. Chen Tian couldn't understand. Mirages were inherently illusory; how could a real sandstorm exist? Even if it were a sandstorm, it should be a projection from afar. Why would something real appear?
Chen Tian didn't dwell on it. It wasn't the time to think about such things. Chen Tian's legs were engulfed by the wind. The wind howled. Chen Tian kicked out with his legs, his left spin constantly gathering wind power. Chen Tian's left-spinning vortex formed a green tornado. Chen Tian wanted to counter the tornado with his own tornado. The left and right spins would cancel each other out, thus resolving the sandstorm. Chen Tian had already wasted a lot of time here and hoped to pass quickly, as faster completion meant better rewards.
The thought of rewards made Chen Tian impatient. He was more anxious than anyone else. His legs condensed into a tornado, the wind roaring. The tornado spun, directly stirring up the sand below. Chen Tian saw this and looked suspicious. Something was very wrong, truly wrong. But he didn't think too much about it. The tornado, accompanied by Chen Tian's legs, stopped spinning and moved towards the sandstorm, colliding head-on. The left and right spins canceled each other out, and both tornadoes slowly dissipated.
Chen Tian and Sen Sha moved forward. Sen Sha was somewhat bewildered by Chen Tian's actions. Did Chen Tian master three elements? Wasn't Chen Tian's class a human class? Humans who could master two elements were already considered rare players. Human players had never mastered three elements; it had never been heard of. Chen Tian truly lived up to being a genius gamer. He probably wouldn't even bother with cheats.
If Chen Tian knew what Sen Sha was thinking, he would definitely say, "Thanks. I'm already at cheat-level, why would I need to cheat?"
Chen Tian possessed the ability to control energy, an ability that was considered cheating in the game. Not to mention Chen Tian's other abilities. Chen Tian was currently only using in-game abilities and skills. He would have to wait for the system to fully recover before using other things. Chen Tian also didn't want the system to cause any more trouble.
The main issue was that this system was unreliable. It was absent at critical moments and only popped up with a few words when it shouldn't.
"Host, don't think I don't know you're talking about me. This system was working for your own good when it was busy. Moreover, fundamentally speaking, the host's strength is too weak. This system can't even use 0.1% of its power."
"You're quick to respond now. Your ears must be sharp."
Chen Tian sarcastically mocked. The system was speaking the truth, and Chen Tian felt a little hit. He was now much stronger than before, even stronger than in his previous lives. His current strength was like child's play compared to his previous seven lives, yet in the system's eyes, he was still weak, and the system couldn't even unleash its power. He couldn't imagine how Chen Tian had created this system back then.
After a long time, Chen Tian and Sen Sha finally arrived in front of the oasis. The oasis was surrounded by trees, and the pool was incredibly clear. Chen Tian sensed that his perception was not limited within the oasis. It seemed the mirage was indeed the reason. Chen Tian perceived several points of light blooming, likely mechanisms. Chen Tian headed towards the light spots, with Sen Sha following closely. Chen Tian reached the four corners of the oasis, where four stone tablets stood. The tablets were inscribed with special symbols and appeared dull. Chen Tian was certain that the key to solving this stage lay with these stone tablets.
Chen Tian observed them carefully, rapidly calculating in his mind. As Chen Tian was intently playing the game, Sen Sha didn't want to disturb him and could only stand by. He also looked at one of the stone tablets, trying to figure out how to pass. Unfortunately, with his intelligence, he couldn't decipher it. Sen Sha gave up first. How was this stone tablet supposed to be activated? Sen Sha had already used his strength and skills to try and make it glow. He couldn't possibly be expected to find the symbols on the stone tablets, could he?
The vast desert and oasis. Where would one even begin to look? This was clearly a trap.
Chen Tian stopped thinking. In Chen Tian's calculations, there were only two possibilities. The first was that the stone tablet needed a special method to activate, and the symbols on it might contain information, or the stone tablet might be purely decorative.
The second possibility was to find the symbols inscribed on the stone tablet and place them within it, which might activate the tablet.
These were the only two possibilities. Other ideas, like attacking or destroying the stone tablet, were all calculated to fail in Chen Tian's mind and were impossible to succeed.
Chen Tian walked up to Sen Sha and said, "Sen Sha, go and look around for any information or peculiar symbols and imprints."
"I'll go over there and look. These stone tablets are not simple. This stage will be difficult."
Chen Tian's expression was solemn. He looked meaningfully towards the pool. The water was incredibly clear. Chen Tian withdrew his gaze. If Chen Tian's calculations were correct, this stage might take a very long time.
"Okay, Chen Tian, be careful."
Sen Sha chose to believe Chen Tian's words and did not question them. As long as they could pass, it was fine. If it weren't for Chen Tian, he wouldn't have reached this point. Sen Sha left Chen Tian. Chen Tian went to the side of the pool. The entire pool looked normal, but precisely because it was too normal, it seemed incorrect.
Nothing in the world is perfect, including the environment. Even a desert filled with sand still has water sources and vegetation. Yet, on the surface of this entire pool, there were no plants. If this oasis had existed for a long time, Chen Tian didn't believe there wouldn't be any aquatic plants like lotus flowers.
Moreover, "Space-Time Era" was designed based on the most realistic conditions. Therefore, the bottom of this pool was definitely not normal.
*Splash!*
Chen Tian leaped into the pool. Chen Tian hadn't told Sen Sha because Sen Sha was too weak. Even if they encountered danger together at the bottom of the pool, he wouldn't be able to help. It would be better to help himself find clues. At least when Chen Tian found nothing at the bottom of the pool, Sen Sha might find something.
This was Chen Tian's thinking: acting separately would be much faster than acting together to find something.
Sen Sha ran wildly around the oasis, looking everywhere. When searching for something, one must look carefully and not miss any spot. That's how one finds things.
Below the pool, Chen Tian dived into the water and swam freely. Chen Tian had completed the Water God's trial before, so the pressure at the bottom would not harm him. Chen Tian sensed that if Sen Sha were to come down, he would likely be instantly crushed to death. The pressure at the bottom of this pool was too strange.
Normally, only the deep sea would have such immense pressure, but this small pool had pressure comparable to the bottom of the sea several thousand meters down, and even stronger.