The chill from the ground was still rising.
I stared at the crack. The moss along its edges had already split apart, revealing grayish-white stone veins beneath. The spirit beast stood nearby, its horn aimed toward the pile of rubble, its ears constantly twitching. It did not move forward again, as though it knew that place could not be touched.
I stood up and brushed the damp earth from my Daoist robe. Having just broken through to Qi Refining Level 8, the spiritual energy within me was much steadier than before, but I could not stay here any longer. Yin energy was seeping up from underground. It had not formed naturally; there were signs of human interference. If I barged in now and triggered some formation or mechanism, the consequences would be impossible to predict.
"Let's go out and take a look first," I said.
The spirit beast turned to glance at me but did not move. I knew what it was worried about, but the situation in the valley had already changed. The once-stable spiritual energy field had begun to fluctuate. Of the Spirit Vein Nodes I could clearly sense last night, two had already stopped flowing this morning. Such a change could not have happened for no reason.
I took out a mid-grade spirit crystal from my storage pouch and placed it beside the stone platform. The instant it touched the ground, a thin mist rose across its surface before quickly being blown away. This was not a good sign.
"We might find clues outside." I reached out and stroked its back. "The wind direction, terrain, and flow of spiritual energy can all tell us something."
It gave a low cry and finally stepped forward to follow me.
We headed toward the valley entrance along the same path. As we passed through the vine-covered trail, I could feel the air becoming somewhat drier. The canopy overhead had thinned, allowing sunlight to filter through and cast a pale yellow hue over the blades of grass. Halfway there, the spirit beast suddenly stopped and pressed its nose to the ground, sniffing.
I crouched down to inspect it as well. The soil was slightly blackened, and it did not feel as soft beneath my feet as usual. I scraped up a little with my finger and smelled it. There was a faint scorched odor.
"Something's wrong." I frowned.
Just as I was about to investigate further, the spirit beast abruptly raised its head. Its ears stood straight up, and its body tensed. It quickly retreated half a step behind me, its horn aimed ahead.
I immediately stood and circulated spiritual energy into my eyes. My vision instantly sharpened. A mass of gray-black clouds appeared on the distant horizon, moving rapidly toward us. They did not look like rain clouds. Their shapes were twisted, as though something had torn them apart. A deep hum came from the sky, and the ground beneath our feet trembled faintly.
The grass began to bend flat. It was not being blown by the wind—the airflow was pulling in the opposite direction.
"This isn't an ordinary storm," I said quietly.
Before my words had faded, the system's voice sounded in my sea of consciousness. "A high-energy Chaos Wind mass has been detected approaching. Danger level: medium-high. It is recommended that you return the way you came or seek shelter."
I looked back at the path behind us. The valley entrance was still a hundred paces away, but the ground we had just crossed had already begun to lift stones into the air. Several fist-sized rocks floated overhead, slowly spinning. It was already too late to retreat.
"We can only go forward," I said.
Grabbing the spirit beast by the scruff of its neck, I rushed toward the valley entrance. Its four hooves left the ground, yet it did not struggle. Instead, it curled itself up and pressed close to my chest. I could feel its heart pounding rapidly.
The moment we rushed out of the valley, the mountain wall behind us suddenly let out a muffled boom. Looking back, I saw a crack split down from the mountaintop. Rubble rolled down and instantly sealed the entrance. At that moment, the wind speed surged. Sharp howls filled my ears, like countless blades scraping across bone.
I raised a hand and formed a protective barrier, but the spiritual energy had barely taken shape before it was torn apart. I tried twice, but neither attempt succeeded.
"At this rate, we'll be swept away." I gritted my teeth.
The sky darkened completely. The gray-black cloud mass had already descended overhead. A vortex opened at its center like a gaping maw. The wind began circling around a single point, sucking up loose stones and broken branches from the ground and forming spinning streams in the air.
My feet began to leave the ground.
"No!" I dropped to one knee, my left hand gripping a protruding rock with all my strength while my right arm held the spirit beast tightly. Its body was trembling too, but it did not struggle.
The vortex overhead spun faster and faster. A tremendous suction force descended from above, and the muscles in my arm felt as though they were about to tear apart. The rock cracked. My fingertips slipped, and my entire body was suddenly hurled into the air.
We were rising.
The wind exploded beside my ears, and my body spun out of control. I did everything I could to shield the spirit beast against my chest, turning my back outward. Flying stones grazed my shoulder, leaving a searing pain. From the corner of my eye, I saw the valley below growing smaller and smaller. The once-clear stream had become a thin line, and the stone platform and vines had vanished from sight.
"Hold on," I said to it, not knowing whether it could hear me.
The system suddenly issued another alert in my sea of consciousness. "Extreme environment has triggered the passive protection mechanism. Charging in progress. Activation estimated in three breaths."
I had no time to count. The wind was too fierce; every breath felt like swallowing shards of glass. My throat burned, and I could not open my eyes. But I could not let go.
One breath.
I used all my strength to press the spirit beast tighter against my chest, arching my back to block the stone fragments flying toward us.
Two breaths.
Something struck my right shoulder, and my entire arm went numb. Thankfully, I did not lose my strength.
Three breaths.
My sea of consciousness shook, and a pale golden film instantly covered my entire body. The next second, a millstone-sized boulder slammed into my back. The light film trembled but did not break.
I let out a breath of relief, but before I could adjust my posture, my entire body was suddenly flung sideways. The main vortex of the Chaos Wind had begun to move, and the airflow changed direction. We were tossed into a new trajectory like grains of sand.
The heat was still rising.
I could feel the temperature dropping. My clothes clung to my body, stiffening from the cold. The spirit beast's breathing became rapid, and the white vapor from its nostrils was scattered the moment it emerged.
"Are you still alive?" I asked.
It moved its head and nuzzled against me in my arms.
Good. It had not passed out.
I tried circulating spiritual energy, only to find that my meridians seemed to be compressed. Pushing even the slightest bit through took immense effort. Only sixty percent of the spiritual energy in my dantian remained. That last tumble had consumed quite a lot.
How strong is this wind, exactly?
The system did not answer. The notification panel in my sea of consciousness displayed only one line: "Passive shield duration: unknown. Please leave the core area as soon as possible."
Leave? I could not even tell which direction was which now.
Gray-black currents filled every direction, mixed with shattered rocks and broken wood. From time to time, flashes of light flickered in the distance. They were not lightning, but energy sparks created by friction in the airflow. They vanished as soon as they appeared, revealing no terrain at all.
We kept spinning.
My stomach churned, and dizziness overwhelmed me. I forced myself to close my eyes and rely on spiritual awareness to sense my surroundings. The spirit beast's body was pressed tightly against mine, its warmth passing through our soaked clothes. It was the only thing confirming that reality still existed.
I did not know how long passed before the wind suddenly stalled.
All sound vanished.
The spirit beast and I hung motionless in midair. The golden light of the shield remained, but it had dimmed considerably.
A hollow appeared in the airflow below us. It was circular, with perfectly neat edges, as though it had been cut out by a blade. Through that opening, I saw the ground.
A wasteland.
Not a blade of grass grew there. The earth was cracked, and several collapsed stone pillars stood in the distance, their original purpose impossible to discern. Farther away was a slanted mountain peak, with a broken spear embedded 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 and turned its head toward the southeast. I followed its gaze and saw a pillar of red light shooting into the sky from the horizon in that direction, as though it had erupted from underground.
Before I could see it clearly, the hollow beneath us suddenly closed.
The wind returned.
This time, it squeezed in from all directions at once. The shield let out a crisp crack, and a thin fracture appeared across it.
My arms tightened around the spirit beast.