Chen Xun heard the young cultivators' whispers.
He did not turn back. His gaze stirred ever so slightly, then returned to calm.
Beside him, Big Black Ox's massive body paused slightly. He sent a voice through his divine sense, his tone carrying something impossible to name for the first time:
Moo, moo~~
It was not a question, but a confirmation.
Chen Xun was silent for a moment. Without speaking, he lifted his foot and took the first step.
The crowds remained clamorous. No one noticed those two figures beginning to walk deeper into the mountain domain, nor did anyone notice that with every step they took, some indescribable change quietly came over the subtle currents of heaven and earth around them.
As though this mountain domain, after lying dormant for far, far too long.
At a moment even it had never foreseen.
Was, in a soundless way.
Trembling, ever so slightly.
As though it had recognized something.
As though...
Something it had awaited for far too long was finally coming.
The farther they walked along the mountain path, the quieter it became.
The clamor behind them was shut away little by little in another world, as though an invisible barrier lay deep within this mountain domain, keeping all that bustle, all those voices, and every trace of this age outside.
The currents of heaven and earth grew weighty and ancient here. Every breath carried a heavy texture, sedimented over hundreds of millions of years, as though the air itself had been left behind by another era.
The mountain path beneath their feet was thick with untouched green moss, spreading between the cracks in the stones, lush and silent. Ancient trees towered on either side, their interwoven branches screening out the daylight. Only scattered flecks of light slipped through the leaves