The Dark Plane no longer held its former shimmering interplay of light and shadow. A grotesque rift had appeared in the space, and obscure, indescribable Strange Energy began pouring in layer upon layer, overwhelming the mist that had originally filled this place. The energy quickly saturated the entire Dark Plane, absorbing all light and plunging it into darkness.
No, it could not be called complete darkness. At the very least, the spiraling mass of data from the Tiangong Cloud Group was still struggling to hold on. Its dim golden light was like a candle flame in a cold wind, as though it could be snuffed out at any moment.
Hua Zhen stood directly before it, both hands constantly tapping at the control screens manifested around him, moving so fast they nearly became afterimages.
Under his control, the Cloud Group spiraled and extended, forming layer after layer of defense programs in an attempt to repair the rift and guide away the Strange Energy.
Fine, this was not Strange Energy at all. It was a mass of mixed data code that Heavenly Punishment Judgment had injected into Hua Zhen's Gene Engine.
As though sentient, it had gathered its forces and launched a storm-like assault against the Tiangong Cloud Group. Worse still, the rift in the Dark Plane continued widening under its rampage. Though the Cloud Group was repairing it, the rate of destruction was clearly faster.
Gradually, Hua Zhen stopped this futile struggle. As if giving up, he shut down the control screens around him and instead lifted his cold gaze toward the breach.
Even more of the strange "energy" poured in. Vast sections of the Dark Plane began collapsing, spatial storms erupted, and hollow, unknown regions emerged. Without experiencing it firsthand, one could never grasp the visual impact of such a