Within the Dream Realm, heaven and earth changed abruptly.
That vast Dream Realm had been a peaceful, tranquil world. Mortals tilled their fields, and cultivators flew on swords. Its cities flourished, its mountains and rivers brimmed with spiritual beauty.
All living beings rested content with their fates, each in their rightful place, utterly unaware that they were dream-dwellers.
But now, the heavens had changed.
Every accomplished cultivator, regardless of cultivation level, suddenly sensed something.
It was as though a piece of something was slipping away, something they could neither grasp nor touch nor keep.
"What is this-"
A high-tier cultivator looked up at the sky, bewilderment on his face. He reached up to touch his cheek, only to find rough skin beneath his fingers.
He stared blankly at his palm. Fine lines were emerging across his once-smooth skin, turning it coarse.
He was not alone.
Throughout the Dream Realm, every cultivator felt a hollowness at that moment. Something was stripping away their lifespans, silently and irresistibly.
"What foul fiend is doing this?!"
"Who is it?!"
Some cultivators roared in anger, others panicked, and others soared into the sky, sweeping their divine thoughts across ten thousand miles of space, yet finding no source.
There was nothing.
The effect was everywhere, yet left no trace. It was as though this were heaven's will, fate, the abhorrence this world itself held for them.
"Heaven's abhorrence-it's heaven's abhorrence!"
No one knew who first shouted those words, but an uproar followed. Fear passed among the cultivators, spreading swiftly through the cultivation world.
One day.
One month.
One year.
Time flowed differently in the Dream Realm than outside. Only a moment passed outside, yet several years hurried by within.
The cultivators' lifespans continued to drain away. No method they tried-pills, cultivation methods, secret arts-could stop even