The Blood-colored Wolf Smoke Pillar surged hundreds of meters into the sky. An intense, invisible pressure radiated from it for more than a kilometer, like the force a higher life-form exerted on weaker beings.
It affected more than the people within that range. The birds and beasts on the mountain were sensitive enough to feel it too. As though facing their natural predator, they trembled and crouched where they stood, too frightened to move.
The road at the foot of the mountain was a major route into and out of Jiangnan, and plenty of vehicles were passing through. The people inside spotted the strange Blood-colored Wolf Smoke Pillar rising from the mountain. They quickly pulled out their phones, filmed it, and posted the footage online.
Some of the bolder onlookers changed course at once. Their navigation systems showed a place called Da She Village nearby, with a road leading up to it. Before long, they were driving straight toward the Blood-colored Wolf Smoke Pillar.
With so many witnesses and so many videos circulating, the sight soon spread across the internet and drew crowds of curious viewers.
The phenomenon was only around eighty to a hundred kilometers from Jiangnan's urban center. It also drew people nearby who wanted to see it for themselves.
At that moment, Second Master Sun was in a villa in Jiangnan when he happened across a report on his phone.
—A Blood-colored Wolf Smoke Pillar hundreds of meters tall has appeared in the mountains near Da She Village! Abnormal ground tremors have also been reported!
The words "Da She Village" and "Blood-colored Wolf Smoke Pillar" brought back what had happened a month earlier.
Three tomb raiders who regularly supplied him had brought in the Fragmented Ancient Scroll. It mentioned the Wu Ming Ruins and held clues to the Human Immortal Martial Dao. A Martial Dao Human Immortal could live for three hundred years, possess blood and qi as mighty as a dragon, and shatter a mountain with one punch. This touched on the secrets of the supernatural.
Then there was the recent craze for National Martial Arts. Videos showed a Pillaring Grandmaster running across water and smashing walls, steel bars, and iron plates with one punch, like a superhuman. If someone that incredible existed, what if the supernatural Martial Dao Human Immortal was real too? The thought was almost impossible to believe.
But Second Master Sun remembered the three black-clad intruders. They had silently taken down every guard at the auction house, along with his four bodyguards. Even guns had been useless against them. Their target had been the Fragmented Ancient Scroll, which contained clues to the Wu Ming Ruins and the Human Immortal Martial Dao, so they had merely knocked everyone unconscious. If they had meant to kill, he would never have known what hit him.
At the thought, resentment rose in Second Master Sun's chest. The item he had bought for a million had been stolen, and he had been knocked flat. How could he not be furious?
Watching the roiling Blood-colored Wolf Smoke Pillar in the online footage, Second Master Sun sneered. He would strike back from behind the scenes by spreading word of the Wu Ming Ruins and the Human Immortal Martial Dao. That would draw the authorities' attention. His attackers could forget about keeping the secret to themselves.
Determined to get even, Second Master Sun hired an online media operator to spread the information and ruin their plans.
Soon, videos and posts claiming to reveal the truth behind the Blood-colored Wolf Smoke Pillar near Da She Village flooded the internet. Major online influencers were quick to join in.
—Shocking! Top-secret inside information obtained! The mysterious phenomenon near Da She Village is linked to the hidden Wu Ming Ruins!!
—Exclusive classified intelligence! The hundreds-meter-tall Blood-colored Wolf Smoke Pillar at Da She Village conceals clues to the ancient Human Immortal Martial Dao!!
—Anyone in Jiangnan, get there now! Mysterious ancient ruins have appeared near Da She Village, hiding an earth-shattering secret!!
—...
The posts spread at breakneck speed. In the past, few would have believed them. But videos of the Pillaring Grandmaster and the Transforming Strength Great Boxer had shown the power of National Martial Arts. Over the past month, more people had also achieved Manifesting Strength. Rumors of the Human Immortal Martial Dao were enough to set their hearts racing.
By cultivating the Human Immortal Martial Dao and becoming a Martial Dao Human Immortal, one could live for three hundred years, wield blood and qi as mighty as a dragon, and shatter a mountain with one punch. Such power touched on the secrets of the supernatural.
If it was real and they obtained the method of cultivating the Human Immortal Martial Dao, could they not gain the same three-hundred-year lifespan and terrifying strength? With a world so vast, where could they not go?!
Before long, plenty of nearby internet users rushed toward the village, hoping to seize the opportunity.
The Jiangnan authorities had also received reports from their observers. After hearing about the strange changes surrounding the roiling Blood-colored Wolf Smoke Pillar and seeing the information suddenly spreading online, the officials in charge wasted no time. They ordered Jiangnan's well-equipped Special Operations Team to mobilize immediately.
Word of the Wu Ming Ruins, which had yet to appear, and the Human Immortal Martial Dao had set every side in motion and stirred countless ambitions.