Day of the Demonic Calamity

Several hundred years ago, an unparalleled demon devoured the sun, moon, and heavens, plunging the entire Mortal Realm into darkness as heaven and earth wept... Afterward, countless burning meteors descended from the sky, falling across the four continents and causing innumerable casualties. This came to be known as the Day of the Demonic Calamity." Yu Yan sighed as he began recounting the past.

"The Day of the Demonic Calamity?" Shen Luo's gaze sharpened.

"After the Day of the Demonic Calamity, the entire Mortal Realm changed drastically. Countless demons, monsters, and ghosts ran rampant, wantonly slaughtering living beings, while immortals and Buddhas no longer appeared in the world. At first, the imperial court could still resist the assaults of demonic creatures in various regions, but the rampaging demons and ghosts grew stronger with every passing year. Gradually, the court became powerless. Now, several hundred years have passed, and the court has long remained in name only. Everywhere in Great Tang, even throughout all of Southern Jambudvipa, people have fallen into a state where forces of all sizes band together for self-protection," Yu Yan continued.

After hearing this, Shen Luo's eyes widened. It took him quite some time to digest Yu Yan's words.

"Actually, I've heard my father speak of these matters since I was young, but I've never seen them with my own eyes. They truly are rather unbelievable," Yu Meng said, stroking his chin.

"You little brat, if you saw it with your own eyes, would you still be alive?" Yu Yan raised his hand to slap Yu Meng on the head, roaring in anger.

Yu Meng ducked his head and nimbly avoided his father's palm. He gave a few awkward laughs and did not dare speak again.

"Uncle Yu, you said the Day of the Demonic Calamity happened several hundred years ago. Exactly when was it?" Shen Luo asked again.

"For some reason, none of the major records clearly documented the exact time of the Day of the Demonic Calamity. The official histories are the same," Yu Yan said, shaking his head.

"After all these years, is there really no way to eliminate those demons?" Shen Luo could not help asking again.

"We mortals are powerless. Perhaps the vanished immortals and Buddhas could do it. All living beings have endured this Demonic Calamity day after day. Who knows whether they will ever live to see the immortals and Buddhas descend into the world once more?" Yu Yan said with a sigh.

Yu Meng's face was solemn as well.

Seeing this, Shen Luo fell silent.

It was the middle of the night, and all was quiet.

Moonlight streamed through the window into a side room of the Yu Residence.

Inside, Shen Luo lay on the bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Yu Meng's thunderous snores drifted faintly from a nearby room. He was clearly sleeping soundly.

Shen Luo could not sleep, but it was not because of Yu Meng's snoring. It was because of what Yu Yan had said earlier.

He still could not determine whether the world in his dreams truly lay a thousand years in the future. Foreseeing the future was already miraculous enough; actually arriving in a future world was even more so.

If it was true, then this future world was clearly filled with all kinds of suffering. For ordinary families, even getting a stable meal was a luxury, while immortal masters with magical power like Yu Yan appeared so powerless before it all.

The only thing that gave Shen Luo a little comfort was that the Demonic Calamity still seemed to be some time away from his own era. Perhaps he would not even live to see that day...

All kinds of chaotic thoughts churned through Shen Luo's mind. After lying there a while longer, he truly could not sleep, so he sat up and put on his clothes.

After sitting quietly in the darkness for a moment, he got up, pushed open the door, and stepped outside.

A bright moon hung in the sky, but a thin layer of black mist drifted through the air, shrouding the earth like the Demonic Calamity itself, everywhere and nowhere.

Shen Luo stared at the black mist for a while, then withdrew his gaze and walked outward. Shortly afterward, he arrived beside a small pond. Quite a few large white stones had been piled around it, reflecting a faint glow beneath the moonlight.

The cool night wind blew against his face, carrying damp vapor from the water and refreshing his spirits.

Yet the anxiety in Shen Luo's heart did not lessen because of it.

The matter of the Demonic Calamity weighed on his heart like a heavy boulder, making him feel as though he could barely breathe. He had to find something to do to ease it.

Shen Luo slowly regulated his breathing, closing his eyes and focusing his mind.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, his thoughts restored to calm.

He took out a brush he had brought from the desk in his room, dipped it into the pond water beside him, and began drawing a Minor Thunder Talisman upon a flat stone.

His inability to successfully create this talisman had always troubled him.

He was already quite familiar with the runes of the Minor Thunder Talisman. From the first stroke to the last, he completed it in one smooth flow.

Shen Luo looked at the intricate rune on the stone, beginning with the ancient-form character for "thunder." His face showed neither joy nor sorrow. After a moment of silence, he dipped the brush in water again and began drawing on another large stone.

For the time that followed, Shen Luo kept his head down as he drew around the small pond. The brush in his hand moved faster and faster, like a dragon soaring and a phoenix dancing.

In the time it took for a stick of incense to burn, he had drawn a dozen or so Minor Thunder Talisman runes of varying sizes across the large stones by the pond. Every one of them looked nearly identical, each completed in a single stroke.

Shen Luo raised a hand to wipe away the sweat running down his forehead and let out a long breath. He did not continue.

Even drawing Minor Thunder Talismans on stone placed no small burden on his body. Just now, he had merely wanted to vent the pent-up frustration in his heart.

He vaguely felt that he was only one step away from truly mastering the Minor Thunder Talisman.

But he still had no idea how to take that step.

He shook his head, no longer dwelling on it. After putting away the brush, he followed a small path forward.

"Hmm?"

Shen Luo suddenly raised his head and looked in a direction ahead. He could faintly sense an inexplicable disturbance in the air coming from there.

It felt as though a stone had been thrown into still water, sending ripples spreading outward.

Curious, Shen Luo lightened his footsteps and moved toward the source of the disturbance.