C678 The Gray Fog Spread!

Just outside the city of Afnetalos, the Chen family's teleportation circle was situated amidst a dense gray fog that enveloped an area of a hundred miles. The human cultivators trapped within the fog found their perception severely limited; their remnant souls and spiritual senses were obstructed, and even their mental states were compromised.

Piercing screams that sent shivers down the spine erupted suddenly from an area shrouded in Ashen Shadowmist. The cries were like blades slicing through the eardrums, causing immense discomfort to all who heard them.

A Lunar Spirit Elder from the Cloudwater Sect, leading three Veil Breaking disciples, had been racing through the Scarlet Dunes. The once radiant green leaf-shaped boat they rode upon was now dulled within the mist.

Invisible particles within the Ashen Shadowmist had corroded the boat, stripping it of its spiritual energy as if it had weathered countless years of decay.

"The Chen family's teleportation circle!"

Aboard the boat, a young woman with a striking appearance pointed excitedly at the teleportation circle that had finally come into view outside the city.

Their journey had been fraught with challenges. Star-Spawned Terrors, Terra Fiends, treacherous archdemons, and Otherkin had ambushed them at every turn.

Battling alongside the Thunder Sect, Ethereal Void Sect, and Winter's Bite against the malevolent creatures of the Scarlet Dunes, they seized their chance to flee. Engaging in skirmishes with small bands of Sky Fiends and Otherkin, they had paid a heavy toll in lives to break through the siege.

Now, with the sight of the teleportation circle before them, they were filled with a sense of relief after enduring so much hardship.

Whoosh!

The boat, shaped like a green leaf, came to an abrupt halt.

The sect elder, who stood at the front of the boat with his back to them, suddenly emanated a sinister black glow from his ears.

In that moment, the elder's silhouette took on a chilling and ominous presence.

"Elder Liu?" the curvaceous woman inquired tentatively.

Elder Liu turned around slowly, his eyes a terrifying shade of black.

"Not good!"

The three disciples of the Cloudwater Sect instantly recognized the change in Elder Liu's demeanor. He had failed to ward off the inner demon's invasion. Unbeknownst to them, his mind had likely been compromised by the Ashen Shadowmist, making him vulnerable to a Terra Fiend lurking in the shadows.

Boom!

The levitating vessel, shaped like a verdant leaf, shattered abruptly.

Liu Changlong's bones crackled as he disintegrated, his blood separating into streams that instantly killed the three Cloudwater Sect disciples who had been protecting him.

Liu Changlong's head remained intact, but a dark specter infiltrated his Mindscape, gnawing at his Lunar Spirit, heaven soul, and dominant soul.

The teleportation circle, expensively constructed by the Chen family on the outskirts of the city, had long ceased to function.

Without the Chen family's guardians or external experts, no one could use the teleportation circle to instantly travel from the Land of Quiescence or Euwrea.

What was once a convenient rune circle now stood deserted, engulfed entirely by the thickening Ashen Shadowmist.

...

In Afnetalos, on Azure Alley, the seven lower sects had chosen this location for their training halls, all facing the shimmering Cloud Lake.

Liu Ying of the Starmoon Sect jolted awake in a luxurious high-rise building.

"Another nightmare?"

Pu Xian, the Starmoon Sect's Afnetalos overseer, noticed her awakening and expressed his concern. "We can't afford to linger in Afnetalos any longer."

Still groggy, Liu Ying propped herself up and asked, "What happened?"

"The Chen family's teleportation circle outside the city has been overwhelmed by the Ashen Shadowmist," Pu Xian explained with a sigh. "The circle has been overrun, and the Ashen Shadowmist continues to spread rapidly. At this rate, the entire Songbird Empire could be consumed."

"That grave?" Liu Ying exclaimed, startled.

For nearly a month, every attempt at meditation plunged her into deep illusions she couldn't escape.

It felt as though an unseen eye was perpetually watching her from afar.

She couldn't discern whether this hidden observer was the Evil Statue from the Moonfall Sanctuary or Zu Ann, whom she glimpsed through the Fallen Star Eyes in the Scarlet Dunes.

This time, she resolved not to seek Yu Yuan's help but to confront the issue alone, relying on her willpower to resist the consciousness dragging her into these visions.

She devoted herself to cultivating her spirit, seeking a breakthrough to the Lunar Spirit realm. Unaware of the many events transpiring outside, she was oblivious to the fact that in just over a month, the situation in the Scarlet Dunes had nearly spiraled out of control.

"The sect master has conveyed a message; this time, we must depend on your Fallen Star Eyes to quickly evacuate the disciples from the city," Pu Xian stated.

"My master issued such an order?" Liu Ying exclaimed.

"It was Master Tan Junshan. I'm not sure how he persuaded your master, but your master then used a mystique to send the message," Pu Xian explained succinctly. "Your master has given you three days. In three days' time, you must lead everyone to depart from the south of Afnetalos, and we'll discuss the next steps once we're far from the Songbird Empire."

"I need to go out and find someone!" Liu Ying said, springing into action.

...

The spread of the Ashen Shadowmist surpassed all expectations. Cultivators planning to leave Afnetalos soon discovered that the Ashen Shadowmist had engulfed the city overnight!

By the time they sensed something amiss, it was too late. Yu Yuan stood on the street, observing the frantic pedestrians and anxious cultivators, feeling a foreboding sense of impending doom.

Whoosh!

Liu Ying, through her Fallen Star Eyes, suddenly established a secret connection with Yu Yuan.

"You haven't left yet?" Yu Yuan asked, astonished.

"I was planning to leave after three days, but now, just two days in, the Ashen Shadowmist has already inundated the city," Liu Ying replied, clearly flustered. "Yu Yuan, did you know that through the Fallen Star Eyes, I saw the Ashen Shadowmist seemingly erupt from beneath the city's outskirts?"

"Not from the Scarlet Dunes?" Yu Yuan asked sharply.

Liu Ying shook her head, declining to continue the conversation.

"From underground!"

A jolt ran through Yu Yuan as he realized that the underground beneath Afnetalos was the inner city of the Chen family. It was there, in the Scarlet Dunes, that an Earth Fiend had given him the beast skin imprinted by Chen Liangquan. And it was that same Earth Fiend's assistance that had saved him from a lethal ambush by Yingye.

Behind him, the Terra Fiend seemed to be acting under Zu Ann's orders.

Could it be that some members of the Chen family were in collusion with Zu Ann and those malevolent entities?

If not, why else would the Ashen Shadowmist have suddenly emerged from the ground outside Afnetalos?

Without the Chen family's involvement, the Ashen Shadowmist would have originated from the Scarlet Dunes and crept over gradually, not engulfing the outskirts of the city in the blink of an eye.

The thought alone sent a shiver down his spine.

"Someone has been secretly watching me," Liu Ying admitted after a moment's hesitation. "It's not through the Fallen Star Eyes. It's as if someone occasionally glances my way. I can sense it, but I can't pinpoint the location or identify who it might be."

"Open the gate!"

"Let us in quickly!"

As they spoke, desperate cries echoed from the gates of Afnetalos.

Liu Ying summoned the Fallen Star Eyes, which expanded to the size of a palm and hovered in the air. "Survivors from various sects are flooding into Afnetalos. Zhao Yafu is still among the living, as are Zhan Tianxiang, Qu Yi, Qi Jinghai, and others. Kong Banbi is here too, though they're all in poor shape."

Yu Yuan was about to respond when he was struck by an uncanny sensation, as if Afnetalos itself had suddenly sprung to life.

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