The two landed right beside Duan Xiangmei. Of everyone there, only this petite, delicately built young woman had stayed by the lamp array without leaving. Anyone could see she was worried about Wu Jinliang's safety.
Xiang Lan'er and Feng Chi were not the only ones stirred into action. Watching the lamp array had gradually grown so dull that almost everyone except the attendants assigned by the various sects had left. Now, suddenly, people appeared from nowhere like fallen leaves swept up by a gale.
Before long, the crowd stood shoulder to shoulder. Even Young Master Nan emerged from somewhere, watching with his head raised and his hands clasped behind his back.
The lamps were not exactly falling like rain, but the steady fall of one after another was already alarming enough. They dropped frequently, sometimes several at once.
Duan Xiangmei shifted her gaze from the lamp array to Xiang Lan'er and Feng Chi, asking nervously, "The Chief and the others will be all right, won't they?"
How could either of them know for certain? Feng Chi could only reassure her. "The Bright Mountain Sect's thirteen lamps are all steady up there. They should be fine."
Not far away, someone suddenly pointed at the array and called, "Look, look! Another Summer Path Mountain lamp fell!"
Someone nearby answered, "The Extreme Fire Sect's losing far more. They're dropping like leaves in a gust of wind. Almost half are gone already."
Everyone searched the sky as though counting stars, a chorus of chattering discussion rising around them.
Young Master Nan, accompanied by several people, occasionally swept his gaze over the Bright Mountain Sect's Life Lamps.
Crowds had also gathered on Artifact Cloud Valley's highest peak. The sect leaders had all rushed over after hearing the news. Arriving first meant nothing; the smaller sects'