Exploring Outside the Valley, Encountering Chaos Wind

The cold air from the ground was still rising.

I stared at the crack, the edges of the moss already split, revealing the gray-white stone patterns underneath. The spirit beast stood beside me, its horns pointed towards the pile of rubble, its ears twitching constantly. It didn't move forward, as if it knew that area was off-limits.

I stood up and brushed the damp soil off my Daoist Robe. I had just broken through to Qi Refining Level 8, and the spiritual power within me was much more stable than before, but I couldn't stay in this location any longer. Yin energy was seeping from the ground, not naturally formed, there were signs of human intervention. If I rashly entered now and triggered some formation or mechanism, the consequences would be unpredictable.

"Let's go out and take a look first," I said.

The spirit beast turned its head to look at me, but didn't move. I knew what it was worried about, but the situation in the valley had changed. The previously stable spiritual energy field had begun to fluctuate, and two of the Spirit Vein Nodes I could clearly sense last night were now experiencing a disruption this morning. Such a change wouldn't happen without reason.

I took out a mid-grade spirit crystal from my storage bag and placed it on the edge of the stone platform. As soon as the spirit crystal landed, a thin layer of mist appeared on its surface, which quickly dissipated. This was not a good omen.

"We might find clues outside," I reached out and stroked its back. "The wind direction, terrain, and spiritual energy flow can all tell us something."

It let out a low hum and finally stepped forward to follow me.

We walked back along the original path towards the valley entrance. As we passed through the vine-covered path, I could feel the air becoming a bit drier. The canopy overhead was sparser, allowing sunlight to filter through, casting a pale yellow light on the grass. Halfway there, the spirit beast suddenly stopped and sniffed the ground.

I squatted down to look as well. The soil was a bit dark and didn't feel as soft underfoot as usual. I dug out a bit with my finger and smelled it; there was a faint scent of burning.

"Something's wrong," I frowned.

Just as I was about to investigate further, the spirit beast suddenly looked up, its ears perked, its body tensed. It quickly retreated half a step behind me, its horns pointed forward.

I immediately stood up and circulated my spiritual power into my eyes. My vision suddenly became clear. In the distance, a gray-black mass of clouds appeared on the horizon, moving rapidly. The clouds didn't look like rain clouds; their shapes were distorted, as if torn apart by something. A low hum echoed in the air, and the ground beneath my feet vibrated slightly.

The grass began to flatten, not from the wind, but from the airflow pulling in the opposite direction.

"It's not a normal storm," I said in a low voice.

Before I finished speaking, the System's voice sounded in my sea of consciousness: "Detected high-energy Chaos Wind approaching, danger level: medium-high. Recommend returning the way you came or seeking shelter."

I glanced back at the path we came from. The valley entrance was still a hundred paces away, but the ground we had just walked on had already begun to float. Several fist-sized碎石 (rubble/fragments) hung in mid-air, slowly rotating. It was too late to go back.

"We can only go forward," I said.

Grabbing the spirit beast by the scruff of its neck, I quickened my pace towards the valley entrance. Its four hooves left the ground, but it didn't struggle. Instead, it tucked its body in, drawing closer to my chest. I could feel its heart beating rapidly.

Just as we rushed out of the valley entrance, the mountain wall behind us let out a muffled thud. Looking back, a crack split from the mountaintop straight down, sending rubble tumbling, instantly blocking the entrance. The wind speed suddenly surged. My ears were filled with a sharp whistling, like countless knives scraping bone.

I raised my hand and cast a defensive shield, but the spiritual power had just formed when it was torn apart. I tried twice without success.

"If this continues, we'll be swept away," I gritted my teeth.

The sky completely darkened. The gray-black cloud mass had pressed down overhead, and a vortex had appeared in the center, like a gaping maw. The wind began to swirl around a certain point, and the rubble and broken branches on the ground were all sucked upwards, forming rotating lines in the air.

My feet began to lift off the ground.

"No!" I knelt on one knee, my left hand gripping a protruding rock tightly, my right arm holding the spirit beast close. Its body was also trembling, but it didn't move erratically.

The vortex above spun faster and faster. A tremendous suction force came from above, and the muscles in my arm felt like they were tearing. The rock made a cracking sound, my fingertips slipped, and I was suddenly lifted into the air.

We were rising.

The wind roared in my ears, my body tumbling uncontrollably. I tried my best to shield the spirit beast against my chest, my back facing outwards. Rubble grazed my shoulders, stinging like fire. In my peripheral vision, I saw the valley below shrinking, the clear stream becoming a thin line, and the stone platform and vines disappearing.

"Hold on," I said to it, not knowing if it could hear me.

The System in my sea of consciousness suddenly prompted again: "Extreme environment has triggered passive defense mechanism, charging, activation expected in three breaths."

I didn't have time to count. The wind was too strong, every breath felt like swallowing glass shards. My throat burned, and my eyes couldn't open. But I couldn't let go.

One breath.

I used all my strength to press the spirit beast closer to me, arching my back to block the flying stone fragments.

Two breaths.

Something hit my right shoulder, numbing my entire arm. Fortunately, I didn't lose my grip.

Three breaths.

My sea of consciousness trembled, and a faint golden light film instantly covered my entire body. The next second, a stone the size of a millstone hit my back. The light film flickered but didn't break.

I breathed a sigh of relief, but before I could adjust my posture, my entire body was suddenly thrown to the side. The main vortex of the Chaos Wind began to move, and the airflow direction changed. We were thrown like grains of sand into a new trajectory.

The heat continued to rise.

I could feel the temperature dropping. My clothes clung to my body, stiff and cold. The spirit beast's breathing became rapid, and the white mist from its nostrils was blown away as soon as it appeared.

"Are you still alive?" I asked.

It moved its head and rubbed against me.

Good. It hadn't fainted.

I tried to circulate my spiritual power, only to find my meridians felt suppressed, and every bit of movement was extremely difficult. My Dantian only had sixty percent of its spiritual power left; that fall had consumed quite a bit.

"Just how strong is this wind?" I thought.

The System didn't answer. The prompt bar in my sea of consciousness only displayed one line: "Passive shield duration: Unknown. Please leave the core area as soon as possible."

Leave? I couldn't even tell which direction was which right now.

Above, below, left, and right were all gray-black airflow, mixed with rubble and broken branches. Occasional flashes of light appeared in the distance, not lightning, but energy sparks generated by airflow friction. Those lights flashed and disappeared, illuminating no terrain.

We were spinning continuously.

My stomach churned, and I felt intensely dizzy. I forced myself to close my eyes and sense my surroundings with my spiritual sense. The spirit beast's body was pressed tightly against me, its body heat transferring through the soaked clothing, becoming the only thing that confirmed reality.

After an unknown amount of time, the wind suddenly paused.

All sounds vanished.

The spirit beast and I hung suspended in mid-air, completely still. The golden light of the shield remained, but its brilliance had dimmed.

A void appeared in the airflow below. It was circular, with neat edges, as if cut by a blade. Through this opening, I saw the ground.

A wasteland.

Not a blade of grass, the land cracked and parched. In the distance were a few collapsed stone pillars, their original purpose indistinguishable. Further away, a tilted mountain peak had a broken spear stuck in its summit.

I had never seen this place before.

"Where is this?" I asked the System.

There was no response.

The spirit beast suddenly struggled, its head turning towards the southeast. Following its gaze, I saw a red pillar of light shooting into the sky on the horizon in that direction, as if erupting from underground.

Before I could get a clear look, the void beneath us closed.

The wind returned.

This time, it pressed in from all directions simultaneously. The shield let out a crisp sound, a fine crack appearing on its surface.

I tightened my grip on the spirit beast's arm.