Pestle and Mortar Station

Realm Restart?

Yellow Wind Little Sage could not help but freeze, his mind full of question marks.

After cramming for the past two months, he had gained a rough understanding of Mythic Walkers and the Celestial Circuit Realm, but he had never heard of any Realm Restart.

Yet, faced with the immense commotion outside and the streams of light dancing across the sky, Yellow Wind Little Sage instinctively felt a thread of unease.

"That voice was able to spread throughout the Yin Mountain Realm, most likely with the aid of some Mythic Material.

Even so, the speaker had to be at least a Scavenger Fifth Rank Mythic Walker, or perhaps even higher, and was very likely from the Mythic Investigation Bureau branch in Yin Mountain City.

Only the Mythology Investigation Bureau stationed in a city, responsible for guarding the Celestial Circuit Realm, possessed such authority."

Ever since he had crossed over, Zhou Yao had been doing everything he could to avoid contact with the Mythology Investigation Bureau, that colossal entity representing the Federation's official power.

The gap between himself and the authorities was simply too vast. One careless misstep could leave him crushed to dust and bones.

Now that they had issued an order to the entire Yin Mountain Realm, even though Yellow Wind Little Sage did not belong to the official ranks, he had to carefully consider what it meant.

"Forget it. Today's gains are already substantial enough.

If I refine the Soul Shards, then deal with and sell the two Rune Cores, I may even be able to accumulate 200 Mythic Factors, accommodate a second Mythic Trait, and step into Scavenger Second Rank."

"As for exploring the Yin Mountain Realm, I'll make plans after this so-called Realm Restart is over."

Yellow Wind Little Sage swept his gaze across the cave littered with junk. The scattered fragments and the traces left behind from the ritual refinement were still clearly visible.

Without the slightest hesitation, sand and wind mixed with Baleful Chill instantly condensed into invisible blades, shredding the rubbish across the ground and sweeping through every corner of the cave.

Amid the swirling dust, every trace left behind was thoroughly erased.

After finishing all this, Yellow Wind Little Sage rode the wind and sand toward the Yin Mountain Metro node.

Carried by the breeze, his body became a golden streak of light that skimmed over the rugged ground. Along the way, Yellow Wind Little Sage observed his surroundings, and what he saw filled him with surprise.

It had been understandable that he had not encountered ghost soldiers or Yin Ghosts when he first entered the Yin Mountain Realm. After all, the Yaksha Demon had gathered the nearby Yin Ghosts and Mythic Walkers for a confrontation.

But on his return journey this time, the confrontation had clearly ended. By all rights, those ghosts should have long since dispersed, yet neither the Yaksha Demon nor the Yin Ghosts had appeared. It was as though they had vanished into thin air, and Blackstone Mountain seemed to have sunk into an eerie silence.

The Yin energy that had constantly erupted from the cracked earth had stopped.

The fissures in the ground were slowly closing, but the process looked extremely unnatural, as if the land itself were forcibly suppressing something.

A crimson sun had risen in the sky, yet the earth below was steeped in deathly stillness without the slightest hint of life. The contrast only deepened Yellow Wind Little Sage's unease.

He immediately sped toward the entrance. A journey of several dozen kilometers was no more than an ordinary stroll to Yellow Wind Little Sage, and he soon arrived at the enormous ground fissure.

He expertly entered the fissure that sunlight could not reach. The dim realm that had still been visible gradually vanished behind him, replaced by absolute darkness.

Yellow Wind Little Sage was just about to cross the Mythic Invasion Node and return to that familiar subway platform.

But in the very next second, everything changed.

An incomparably heavy pressure suddenly erupted from the pitch-black space. It came abruptly and violently, like an invisible giant hand reaching from the void and pressing down viciously upon Yellow Wind Little Sage.

Boundless darkness enveloped Yellow Wind Little Sage's heart, and that pressure was enough to make any living thing feel despair.

Above that pitch-black space, it was as though a massive hammer were about to fall. A dull ringing echoed through the void. If that hammer truly descended, it would utterly grind Yellow Wind Little Sage's flesh and soul to pieces.

Far away at home, Zhou Yao instinctively clutched his chest. His consciousness was connected to Yellow Wind Little Sage, and even across an entire realm, that crushing pressure could still be transmitted to him.

He opened his mouth and tried to gulp down air, only to find that he could barely breathe anything in. The suffocating sensation turned from virtual into real, and cold sweat instantly beaded across Zhou Yao's forehead.

Yet deep within that boundless darkness, a glimmer of light slowly emerged.

That faint light was like a lamp lit in an abyss of despair. It shone from the far side of the darkness, gradually expanding.

As though he had seized a lifeline, Yellow Wind Little Sage instantly locked his gaze on that glimmer. His body began adjusting its direction, every muscle preparing for escape.

But the sight that followed left Yellow Wind Little Sage utterly shaken. Accompanying that growing light was a subway tunnel that Zhou Yao knew all too well!

Familiar walls, familiar lighting, familiar spatial structure—everything pointed to the same unbelievable fact.

"This is..." Zhou Yao was struck as if by lightning, abruptly rising from the sofa.

"The Yin Mountain Metro has opened a new platform?"

"How is that possible? It has only been two days since Stonepress Station opened!"

Over the past two months, the Mythic Invasion Yin Mountain Metro had expanded its platforms several times, following certain faintly discernible patterns.

Zhou Yao had calculated it long ago. The next platform expansion should have been around three or four days later.

But the situation before him shattered Zhou Yao's understanding.

However, there was no time for Zhou Yao to ponder the reason. Reason overpowered curiosity, and he hurriedly directed Yellow Wind Little Sage to make a seemingly insane decision.

Flee in the direction he had come from!

Zhou Yao did not choose to flee head-on toward the seemingly safer subway tunnel, because he knew exactly what was happening.

The Yin Mountain Metro connected the Yin Mountain Realm and the mortal world. It was a passage between two worlds, and the seemingly safe subway tunnel was currently undergoing continuous spatial distortion and reconstruction.

The expansion of the Mythic Invasion Node would bring a series of spatial collapses and reconstructions. It was a death trap even deadlier than facing that pressure directly.

Once caught in it, Yellow Wind Little Sage, with cultivation only newly entering the Scavenger rank, would surely die without even a burial place.

If he ran back the way he had come and could reenter the Yin Mountain Realm, there might instead be a sliver of life.

Yellow Wind Little Sage pushed the Flying Sand and Rolling Stones Spell to its limit. His body became a streak of light, leaving a golden trail through the darkness as wind and sand swirled and roared around him.

Yellow Wind Little Sage began running desperately toward the exit. Behind him, the subway tunnel continuously solidified, like an ever-lengthening greedy snake trying to swallow the fleeing little mouse whole.

The spaces that should have been void began condensing into real matter. The tunnel walls, floor, and ceiling rapidly extended, steadily devouring Yellow Wind Little Sage's room to flee.

Within this dark region, there was no measure of distance, no point of reference.

Yellow Wind Little Sage did not know how long he had run. Time itself seemed distorted, every second incomparably long.

He had originally only taken a single step in from the exit, yet it now seemed as distant as a whole realm. No matter what he did, he could not return to the exit.

Yellow Wind Little Sage's magic power was being depleted, his speed was falling, and stifled, chaotic thoughts began to spread.

This escape continued until the subway tunnel's growth slowed, revealing the shape of a subway platform. Only then did Yellow Wind Little Sage let out a breath of relief, though he did not stop running.

The appearance of the subway platform meant that this expansion of the Yin Mountain Metro was nearing its end. The spatial reconstruction was about to stop, and this avatar had ultimately survived.

In the next moment, three dim gray characters slowly appeared above the subway platform, as though condensing from the void into reality.

"Pestle and Mortar Station!"