That aura moved too fast.
So fast that the instant Old Ancestor Cangwu sensed the law storm in the stone chamber abruptly stop, a terrifying pressure unlike anything he had ever experienced pierced the stone gate, the Rock Strata, and the hundreds of feet of earth above the Immortal-Burying Abyss, slamming straight into the Supreme Mountain Protection Array that Emperor Jiang Wu had activated with all his strength.
The array held for half a breath.
Its formation patterns flashed once, then shattered outward, ring by ring, starting from the central node, like a spiderweb struck by boiling water.
A Light Pillar shot into the sky.
Dark-gold, crimson, and emerald green light tangled together, twisting into a pillar dozens of feet across. It burst up from the bottom of the Immortal-Burying Abyss, tore through the clouds overhead, and thrust straight into the firmament.
All of Central Province saw it.
Whether they were wandering cultivators scavenging scrap in forbidden zones or old ancestors holed up in their sects tallying contribution points, everyone stopped what they were doing at the same moment and looked Southwest toward the Light Pillar piercing the horizon.
At the outskirts of the Immortal-Burying Abyss, in the White Jade Plaza.
The shock wave stirred up by the Light Pillar swept a whole swath of patrolling Origin Return Alliance Cultivators off their feet.
Emperor Jiang Wu was hurled away from the Mountain Protection Array's control console. He spat a mouthful of blood onto his sleeve and only stopped when he slammed into a stone wall.
Without bothering to wipe away the blood, he whipped his head around and stared toward the abyss.
The plaza rang with howls and wails. Thousands of Cultivators lay on the ground clutching their heads, and some of the more timid ones had already started fleeing.