The astonishing pillar of energy persisted for several hours before finally dissipating. The instant it faded, the figures who had long been waiting by the shore swarmed like a plague of locusts, flying swiftly toward the island in the middle of the sea.
Zi Yan looked eager to try as well, but Xiao Yan stopped her before she could take flight. He shook his head gently. Being the bird that stuck its head out first was hardly wise at a time like this. Only after several minutes had passed without any casualties among the first wave did Xiao Yan take Qing Lin and Zi Yan into the Ruins of Return, following behind the crowd.
The moment he entered the Ruins of Return, Xiao Yan suddenly felt his body grow heavy. The gravity here was actually around ten times stronger than outside. Quite a few experts flying high in the air lost their balance and plunged straight down. A fall from that height would surely hurt, even with Dou Qi protecting their bodies.
The gravity did more than weigh down their bodies. Even the flow of Dou Qi within them slowed considerably, and they could no longer successfully form the Dou Qi Wings on their backs. Even Zi Yan showed a trace of panic; this was probably her first time encountering such a situation. Xiao Yan, however, was somewhat accustomed to it, having long since grown used to this sensation while training with the Xuan Heavy Ruler.
Normally, something like this only happened when a higher-level expert used their aura to suppress someone of a lower level. With Xiao Yan's experience, however, he could naturally tell that the gravitational field around them was not caused by an expert's oppressive aura, but by the place itself. The source of the problem likely