The hill was not large, and everyone gathered there was an Alchemist with a powerful soul, capable of watching all six directions and listening on all eight sides. Although the hill bustled with people and rang with voices, they could still pick out anything of interest from the din.
Thus, when Song Qing, a prominent figure in the Pill Tower, clashed with someone, he immediately drew everyone's attention. Most stopped what they were doing at once and looked toward the center of the dispute with amused interest.
Yet just as the two men's auras reached their peak and were about to erupt, the entire hill suddenly shook violently. The ground split, rocks tumbled, and then the whole hill collapsed in an instant.
Everyone, including the two men involved in the dispute, was caught off guard by the sudden upheaval, their faces filling with horror. Those with quick reflexes hastily unfurled their Dou Qi Wings or stepped onto empty air, finding a foothold in the sky and steadying themselves.
Quite a few slower people, however, plunged down with the collapsing hillside. Struck by tumbling boulders and pinned beneath them at the foot of the hill, they were injured and left in a miserable state.
"What's goin' on here?!"
"Who's behind this?! Come out!"
Everyone's face was now filled with alarm and uncertainty. They scanned their surroundings frantically, their eyes wary, like birds startled by the twang of a bowstring.
"Look! What's that?!"
As everyone stood on guard, a horrified cry rang out. They looked up to find that a crystalline, transparent wall of light had risen from the ground without their noticing. Gleaming dazzlingly like a mirror, it enveloped the entire area without leaving a single gap.
The scenery beyond the wall was warped and blurred, enough to make them dizzy