Southern Qi, the central Imperial Capital.
Several hundred miles away, thick vegetation covered an unnamed low mountain.
Small beasts could occasionally be seen darting past.
A Long-Haired Rabbit, shaggy all over and the size of a household dog, stopped amid the vegetation and rapidly chewed the fresh grass beside it, emerald-green juices spurting from its lips.
Suddenly, a fierce gust swept in. A slender, nimble figure shot toward it at incredible speed. Before the Long-Haired Rabbit could react, sharp teeth had clamped around its neck. Crimson blood seeped through its fur, and it soon stopped moving.
It was a Violet-Feathered Marten, a strange beast at the pseudo Spirit Beast level.
On this unnamed low mountain, it counted among the finest hunters.
Only after confirming that its prey had stopped responding did the Violet-Feathered Marten release its teeth, preparing to savor its meal.
Suddenly, its little ears twitched as though it had heard something. It turned warily and scanned its surroundings, soon locating the source in the undergrowth a short distance behind it.
It cautiously poked its head toward the grass, but terror quickly spread across its face. It spun around and dashed into the forest, abandoning even the prey already in its jaws.
After the Violet-Feathered Marten departed, faint sounds continued to rise from the vegetation. The grass swayed, then patch after patch vanished instantly, as though erased from thin air.
Black vortices the size of human heads opened above the ground. This was only the beginning. As more vortices appeared, they began merging until they were as large as millstones.
Then they vanished into the vegetation.
All that remained was a barren patch of earth utterly at odds with its surroundings, like a stretch of desert appearing within a lush primeval forest.
Whoosh...
An icy, sinister wind raged.