A hoarse, parched thought, laden with endless obsession, exploded in Zhou Xuan's Sea of Consciousness.
Above the Heavenly Abyss, fierce winds howled.
Zhou Xuan withdrew his gaze and raised his right arm. The power of nothingness expanded outward, enclosing Ji Chen and A Gu. Without another word, he stepped forward and took them both into the Heavenly Abyss.
They fell fast.
The shriek of wind filled their ears. These winds were Gang Qi squeezed out by chaotic laws colliding with one another. They struck the barrier of nothingness with a grating screech that set their teeth on edge, sending sparks flying constantly across its surface. Without Zhou Xuan's protection, an ordinary cultivator would have been shredded to dust long ago.
Ji Chen stood beside Zhou Xuan, looking down at the Heavenly Strategy Compass on his wrist.
The Compass was covered in cracks, its needle spinning so fast it threatened to fly loose. The surrounding information from the laws was too chaotic, too violent. The Compass could not process it.
Crack.
The crystal stone at its center shattered, and the needle snapped in two and fell to the ground.
"Master." Ji Chen looked up, his voice grave. "The divination has failed. The laws here are not merely incomplete. They were utterly destroyed and then reassembled. The danger far exceeds our estimates."
Zhou Xuan did not turn around, his eyes fixed on the darkness below. "Whatever laws they are, if they get in the way, I'll devour them."
Behind them, something was badly wrong with A Gu.
Ever since they jumped, A Gu had been trembling. He clutched his shoulders with both hands, his face drained of blood, his teeth chattering.
It was not fear.
Something deep in his bones had awakened. A muffled hum rose from his marrow, resonating with a