Atop the mountain, the wind chimes grew louder and louder. Their rhythmic melody seemed to resonate with the entire peak, putting the houses, soil, and everything else on the mountaintop into a strange state of vibration.
More and more black-robed figures stood in the clearing, from only a scattered few at first to gradually ten, twenty, thirty...
It was as if the louder and more synchronized the wind chimes became, the more black-robed figures could gather.
The black-robed figure standing at the front and center was the one who had been in the Gao Family Head's house from the beginning, the Gao Yuhan Gao Manqiu had mentioned.
Gao Yuhan stood apart before all the black-robed figures, displaying his extraordinary status. As the number of black-robed figures before him increased, his aura grew stronger as well. The wind accompanying the swaying chimes made his black robes flap loudly, occasionally lifting a large portion to reveal the empty darkness within.
No limbs, no skin—only darkness!
Yet only the black-robed figures were present to witness all this. Outsiders knew nothing!
As the wind chimes rang ever more intensely, the number of black-robed figures was about to reach its peak, and their auras were becoming increasingly unified and powerful.
Suddenly!
Crack!
A sound came from underground, spreading out from the center. Falling into the wind chimes' already established rhythm, it was like a pig squeal erupting in the middle of a symphony.
Whoosh!
The auras of the black-robed figures stalled, but they quickly recovered and continued building their energy.
One accidental sound would not affect much.
But before they could continue, a series of crack crack crack and boom boom boom sounds suddenly erupted from underground, growing louder and more rapid, deafeningly chaotic.
This was no longer merely disrupting the rhythm—it had directly drowned