At that moment, many Ancestral Gods sensed a tremendous upheaval sweeping through the Black Rock Mountains. It was as though a mighty force had torn the range apart.
Even the slumbering Black Rock Progenitor suffered another grievous blow. Part of his power was torn away, leaving him weaker still.
As the Spirit Realms of Tribal Stockades converged from every direction, the Nine Lands Returning-to-Origin Grand Formation finally unfolded in full. It drew together every Spirit Realm Hongdong Stockade had conquered, and an immense Spirit Realm, larger than any of them had been, slowly took shape.
At the same time, the Earth Veins throughout the Black Rock Mountains shifted dramatically. Countless veins, large and small, ultimately converged here.
This Spirit Realm was like a vast new hollow, while the Earth Veins Spiritual Qi flowed like rivers and streams. Now those waterways had all changed course, pouring into the hollow without cease and gradually turning it into a great lake.
Though this place occupied only a corner of the territory once ruled by the Rock-Piercing Ancestral God, the diverted Earth Vein Spiritual Qi affected far more than that corner. Its reach extended across most of the Black Rock Mountains.
Some unfortunate Ancestral Gods even saw their power plummet as great quantities of Earth Vein Spiritual Qi drained from the lands under their rule...
All this magnified the panic in the Black Rock Mountains. The Ancestral Gods there, limited in what they knew of the world, had no idea what was happening.
They only felt their power ebbing for no apparent reason, and laid the blame on the invading Pan Tribe army.
"It must be those Pan Tribe people burning the forests that has weakened us so badly..." More than one Ancestral God thought so.
In truth, the fires had long since begun