After three days and two nights of nonstop loading, everything from the island Celestial Mechanism Institute had been moved onto the sea vessels. Aside from some Creators left behind with Master Craftsman Han to guard the place, everyone else was preparing to evacuate together with the Artifact Institute Wu.
Before Artifact Institute Wu boarded the sea vessel, a bolt of lightning happened to split the sky. The surroundings flashed for an instant, and through the glass dome above, he seemed to glimpse something. He could not help stopping in his tracks.
But once the lightning passed, the outside swiftly returned to a stretch of dark, heavy sky, with only a roll of muffled thunder sounding by his ears.
"Artifact Institute? Is there a problem?"
Seeing the unusual look on his face, the guard beside him could not help asking.
Artifact Institute Wu thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Nothing. Perhaps my eyes were playing tricks on me. Let's go." Supporting himself with his cane, he walked along the iridescent boarding passage beneath his feet and headed up into the sea vessel.
Before long, nearly six thousand people from the Celestial Mechanism Institute entered fifteen sea vessels one after another. Once the cabin doors closed, cutting off everyone's view, spiritual light flickered across the vessels, and they sailed toward the deep sea.
At the same time, another bolt of lightning flashed between sea and sky, revealing the figures of Cao Fangding and Shi Yue in midair.
Lightning continued to flicker above their heads, but even when it struck them, it was blocked by the Heartlight Seal and could not harm them in the slightest.
Amid the faint lightning, still more cultivators could be seen standing nearby.
After receiving Zhang Yu's orders, the two had hastened out to sea and