The eerie, sinister voice spread across the square. As that laughter died away, a startling mass of black mist suddenly surged from the pitch-black void in the ground, rising violently and spreading across the square.
"What is this?!"
The sudden change brought Hun Changqing, who had been about to advance, to an abrupt halt. The greedy, wicked smile on his face froze, and he cried out in bewilderment.
Xingxiu froze as well. Seeing Hun Changqing approach the pitch-black disc, she had been preparing to activate the restrictions her ancestor had laid here, but her fingers stopped midway through forming the hand seals. Even Xingxiu knew nothing of this development. The information her ancestor had left behind contained no record of the scene before her.
Black vapor rose and swirled through the air. Watching the mist spread toward them, Hun Changqing and Xingxiu both grew intensely wary. Energy surged from their bodies and enveloped them as they tried to fend off the approaching mist.
Yet the black mist seemed to exist in a different space from the two of them. It passed straight through the energy barriers they had raised, enveloping them without the slightest resistance. Both Hun Changqing and Xingxiu stared at the mist surrounding them, their eyes filled with horror.
Yet the pain they had expected from the mist's attack never came. As it passed through their bodies, they clearly felt only a probing sensation sweep across them. Under that scrutiny, nothing within them-not even their souls-had anywhere to hide. It felt as though all their secrets had been laid bare in that instant.
That probing sensation vanished as quickly as it had come. Within moments, the black mist dispersed from around them. As it receded, Hun Changqing felt his taut nerves ease slightly.
The feeling of having been