Chapter 73: Vortices in the Celestial Mist
The sky above the Central Region rumbled with silent thunder.
There were no clouds.
No rain.
Yet distant flashes of pale light occasionally appeared beyond the horizon, illuminating the mountains for a brief instant before vanishing.
Han Feng walked alone through a narrow canyon.
The walls rose hundreds of meters on both sides, covered in dark vegetation and patches of pale spiritual moss.
Ahead lay the Hidden Jade Gate.
The official passage into the Central Region.
He had been traveling for several days since leaving the territory of Blue Stone City.
He had avoided major roads whenever possible.
He had changed his route repeatedly.
And he had concealed his aura almost constantly.
But something had changed.
The deeper he traveled, the stranger the world felt.
Han Feng stopped.
He raised his hand.
The air in front of his fingers trembled.
A faint ripple spread outward.
Then disappeared.
His eyes narrowed.
"This isn't natural..."
The spiritual energy around him wasn't flowing normally.
It wasn't simply weak.
It wasn't simply chaotic.
It was being pulled.
Two opposing currents seemed to be moving through the invisible fabric of the world.
One moved toward the Central Region.
The other seemed to come from somewhere beyond it.
Han Feng remained still for several breaths.
The Tear of the Black Sun was safely sealed within its jade container inside his storage space.
He didn't need to activate it.
Even without directly exposing the Tear, the resonance left behind in his spiritual sense allowed him to recognize certain abnormalities more clearly.
This was different from ordinary spiritual fluctuations.
It reminded him of the strange phenomenon he had witnessed in Jade Tear Canyon.
The same feeling.
A world trying to maintain its balance while something pressed against it from the outside.
Han Feng lowered his hand.
"The signs are appearing earlier than I expected."
He continued forward.
He had no idea what would happen when the six points awakened.
He didn't even know whether the mysterious seventh point represented a seventh node, a gate, or something else entirely.
But one thing was becoming increasingly obvious.
Whatever had been sleeping beneath the ancient network was no longer completely silent.
Several hours later, Han Feng heard screams.
He immediately slowed down.
The sound came from beyond a bend in the canyon.
He activated Shadow Concealment and moved closer.
A caravan had stopped in the middle of the road.
Or what remained of it.
Several overturned carts blocked the path.
Boxes and spiritual herbs were scattered across the ground.
Bodies lay among them.
And surrounding the caravan were beasts.
Han Feng's eyes narrowed.
Spiritual beasts.
But not normal ones.
One had three eyes arranged vertically along its forehead.
Another possessed two front legs on one side and three on the other.
A wolf-like creature had a second mouth growing beneath its jaw.
Their bodies were covered with dark veins that pulsed beneath their skin.
Han Feng's expression became serious.
"Mutations?"
The beasts moved strangely.
Not like creatures that had evolved naturally.
Their spiritual energy was unstable.
It flickered between different attributes.
Fire.
Wind.
Earth.
Then something colder.
Something Han Feng couldn't identify.
A cultivator desperately swung his sword.
The blade struck one of the beasts.
The creature screamed.
Then its body twisted.
Its wounds closed.
The cultivator's expression changed.
"Impossible!"
The beast lunged.
Han Feng watched from the shadows.
He could intervene.
He probably should.
But every additional fight increased the chance of attracting attention.
Especially now.
He had enemies searching for him.
The Deep Shadows Sect had already demonstrated that they were willing to pursue him across regions.
And there were other factions watching the ancient phenomena.
Han Feng remained still.
Then one of the beasts suddenly stopped.
Its three eyes turned toward him.
Han Feng's pupils contracted.
The creature had detected him.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then Han Feng disappeared.
Dark mist swallowed his figure.
Shadow Concealment carried him backward.
The beast roared and charged toward the place where he had been standing.
Its claws tore through the rock.
Han Feng landed on a distant ledge.
He looked back.
"Your senses are improving too."
The beast stared at him through the canyon.
Then it turned away.
Han Feng frowned.
It hadn't pursued him.
That was strange.
He looked toward the caravan.
The mutated creatures were still attacking.
But none of them crossed the invisible boundary between the road and the canyon walls.
They were confined to the area.
Or perhaps—
They were guarding something.
Han Feng memorized the location.
He continued toward the Hidden Jade Gate.
Some mysteries were better left untouched.
For now.
By late afternoon, Han Feng finally saw it.
The Hidden Jade Gate.
The canyon opened into an enormous natural basin.
Thousands of cultivators had gathered there.
Caravans.
Independent cultivators.
Members of merchant clans.
Disciples from various sects.
Even several powerful clans had established temporary camps around the basin.
Han Feng lowered his aura even further.
He had changed his appearance before arriving.
His long white hair was hidden beneath a dark hood.
A simple black mask covered the lower half of his face.
His clothing had been treated with spiritual ink, making his presence blend into the surrounding fluctuations.
He looked like one more wandering cultivator among thousands.
Perfect.
He entered the crowd.
Then he began listening.
"The passage hasn't opened yet."
"They say it collapsed yesterday."
"That's impossible."
"Three cultivators disappeared during the last crossing."
"I heard twelve."
"You're both wrong. The formation swallowed an entire caravan."
Whispers spread through the crowd.
Han Feng listened without reacting.
Eventually, he found the source of the rumors.
Several border guards stood near a massive formation carved into the ground.
One of them shook his head.
"The vortex is becoming unstable."
Another guard looked toward the sky.
"Not just the vortex."
"What do you mean?"
"The celestial pillars."
The first guard lowered his voice.
"They've been fluctuating."
Han Feng's gaze sharpened.
Celestial pillars.
He remembered the phrase from the vision inside the crystal fragment.
Floating pillars.
A black sky.
Something beyond a boundary.
Was it connected?
He couldn't be certain.
An elderly Gu Master standing nearby suddenly spoke.
"Something is wrong with the world."
Several people turned toward him.
The old man's cultivation was clearly at Rank 4.
His expression was solemn.
"The spiritual currents are fluctuating across the Central Region."
He pointed toward the sky.
"Formation masters have been reporting strange distortions."
Another cultivator laughed nervously.
"You're saying the heavens are angry?"
The old man shook his head.
"No."
He looked toward the distant horizon.
"I'm saying the heavens are afraid."
Silence.
Han Feng's eyes narrowed.
That sentence stayed in his mind.
Night fell.
The Hidden Jade Gate remained closed.
Hundreds of cultivators waited.
Some meditated.
Others drank.
A few argued over passage priority.
Han Feng found a secluded corner beneath a stone platform.
He sat down.
For the first time since entering the basin, he allowed himself to breathe normally.
The jade container holding the Tear of the Black Sun remained inside his storage space.
He didn't take it out.
Not here.
Too many people were watching.
Instead, he extended his spiritual sense slightly.
The Tear resonated faintly.
A strange pressure touched his consciousness.
Then—
Boom!
The formation beneath the basin trembled.
Everyone looked up.
A massive vortex appeared above the central formation.
Black.
Purple.
And faintly golden.
Lightning twisted around its edges.
The air screamed.
Several cultivators immediately retreated.
The border guards shouted.
"The passage is opening!"
"Stay inside the formation!"
"Do not approach the center!"
"Wait for the stabilization signal!"
Han Feng looked at the vortex.
His expression became serious.
It wasn't stable.
Not even close.
The spatial energy was folding inward in uneven layers.
Some sections were compressed.
Others were stretched.
If someone entered at the wrong moment...
They might never arrive.
Or arrive somewhere else entirely.
Han Feng waited.
Three breaths.
Five.
Seven.
Then the vortex stabilized slightly.
The guards gave the signal.
"Go!"
The crowd surged forward.
Han Feng moved with them.
The moment he entered the vortex, his body became weightless.
Then heavy.
Then weightless again.
His bones felt as though they were being pulled in different directions.
His spiritual sense screamed.
For an instant, Han Feng couldn't tell whether he was moving forward or falling.
Then something whispered inside his mind.
Not a human voice.
Not even a language.
Yet he understood it.
The Void awakens.
Another voice followed.
The Spirit devours.
A third.
Much quieter.
The Guardian sleeps.
Han Feng's pupils contracted.
The words vanished.
He tried to grasp them.
Nothing remained.
Then the world twisted.
For a moment, he saw something beyond the vortex.
A black sky.
Floating pillars.
And a distant red point of light.
It looked like a star.
Then it opened.
Like an eye.
Han Feng's heart tightened.
The image disappeared.
A violent force threw him forward.
He crashed onto solid ground.
Han Feng rolled across the grass and stopped beside a stone pillar.
He immediately stood.
His breathing was heavy.
His clothes were slightly torn.
But he was alive.
He looked around.
The Central Region stretched before him.
Golden plains extended toward the horizon.
Mountains floated in the distance, suspended above the earth by enormous spiritual formations.
Rivers of spiritual energy flowed through the valleys like silver streams.
Even the air felt different.
Denser.
Purified.
Stronger.
Han Feng took a slow breath.
"So this is the Central Region."
Compared with the Western Region, it felt like an entirely different world.
Yet something was wrong.
He looked upward.
The sky was blue.
Clear.
Beautiful.
Then he noticed the cracks.
Thin silver lines crossed the sky.
They were almost invisible.
Most people would never notice them.
Han Feng did.
One of the cracks suddenly brightened.
Something appeared behind it.
A red star.
No.
Not a star.
Han Feng stared.
The object pulsed once.
Twice.
Like a heartbeat.
Then the crack closed.
Han Feng's expression became cold.
"It isn't time yet."
He looked away.
"But it's coming."
Han Feng spent the next several hours traveling away from the Hidden Jade Gate.
He needed somewhere quiet.
Somewhere he could cultivate.
Somewhere he could investigate the changes without immediately attracting the attention of the Central Region's major factions.
Eventually, he discovered an abandoned village.
The houses were still standing.
Doors remained open.
Cooking utensils sat on tables.
A child's wooden toy lay in the dirt.
But there was no one.
Not a single person.
Han Feng entered the village cautiously.
The silence was unsettling.
He checked several houses.
No bodies.
No signs of battle.
No blood.
No broken formations.
It was as if everyone had simply vanished.
Then he saw the markings.
Circular symbols had been burned into the ground at several locations throughout the village.
Han Feng crouched beside one.
His eyes narrowed.
"This isn't a defensive formation."
He traced one of the lines with his finger.
"Transfer..."
He paused.
"...or sacrifice."
The symbols were incomplete.
Whatever had happened here had been interrupted.
Han Feng stood.
A cold feeling settled in his chest.
If the ritual had been a transfer formation, where had the villagers gone?
If it had been a sacrifice...
What had been summoned?
He looked toward the northern edge of the village.
A faint spiritual fluctuation came from beneath the ground.
Han Feng considered investigating.
Then he remembered the mutated beasts.
The unstable vortex.
The cracks in the sky.
The crystal fragment.
Too many abnormalities were appearing at once.
He decided to leave.
For now.
He didn't make it far.
A blade struck the tree beside his head.
Han Feng immediately disappeared.
Three figures emerged from the darkness.
Then two more.
Five cultivators.
Black robes.
Deep Shadows Sect.
Han Feng's eyes became cold.
"So persistent."
The leader stepped forward.
His face was pale.
A scar crossed his left cheek.
"You escaped us in the Western Region."
He raised a hand.
"We were ordered to make sure you didn't reach the Central Region."
Han Feng smiled faintly.
"Then you failed."
The man's expression hardened.
"Kill him."
The five attacked simultaneously.
Han Feng moved.
A blade passed through his previous position.
He twisted sideways.
A second attack came from behind.
He blocked it with Abyssal Shield.
Boom!
The impact forced him several steps backward.
Five opponents.
Not overwhelmingly powerful individually.
But coordinated.
Han Feng couldn't afford a prolonged fight.
He reached into his storage space.
The jade container appeared briefly in his hand.
The Tear of the Black Sun resonated.
A mental pressure spread outward.
One of the attackers suddenly staggered.
"What—?"
His eyes lost focus.
Han Feng took advantage of the opening.
He disappeared into shadow.
Then reappeared behind another cultivator.
Crimson energy erupted from his palm.
The man was thrown into the dirt.
The remaining three immediately changed formation.
One of them took out a strange Gu.
It looked like a translucent leech covered in tiny eyes.
Han Feng's expression changed.
A Soul-Absorbing Gu.
The Gu released a wave of spiritual energy.
Han Feng's consciousness shook.
Memories surfaced.
Misty River Village.
His first life.
The ancient cave.
The black urn.
The white-robed stranger.
The six-point formation.
The images came faster and faster.
Han Feng gritted his teeth.
"So that's your trick."
He tightened his grip around the jade container.
The Tear resonated.
Not by merging with his consciousness.
Instead, the resonance formed a thin barrier around his spiritual sense.
The invading force struck it.
The barrier trembled.
But held.
Han Feng's eyes sharpened.
He had only seconds.
He released the Dual Chaos Larva.
The Gu transformed the chaotic energy flowing through his body into a brief burst of controlled power.
Han Feng slammed his palm into the ground.
Roots exploded upward.
Lightning surged through them.
Rooted Lightning.
The roots wrapped around two cultivators.
Electricity tore through their bodies.
They screamed.
The Soul-Absorbing Gu fell from its master's control.
Han Feng caught it before it hit the ground.
The leader's expression changed.
"Don't!"
Han Feng crushed the Gu's controlling connection instead.
The Soul-Absorbing Gu shrieked and collapsed.
The remaining cultivators hesitated.
Han Feng didn't give them time.
He moved through the darkness.
One strike.
Another.
A third.
The fight ended quickly.
The leader fell to his knees.
Blood dripped from his mouth.
Han Feng stood over him.
"Who sent you?"
The man laughed weakly.
"You think this changes anything?"
Han Feng stared at him.
"Answer."
The man's smile faded.
"We were told..."
He coughed.
"...that the Central Region must not receive you."
"Why?"
The man looked at him.
For the first time, genuine fear appeared in his eyes.
"Because..."
His voice became faint.
"...something already knows you're coming."
Han Feng's expression froze.
"What?"
The man died before he could answer.
Silence returned.
Han Feng slowly lowered his hand.
He searched the bodies.
Weapons.
Spirit stones.
Several mission tokens.
And one scroll.
The scroll contained celestial inscriptions.
He unfolded it.
His eyes moved across the text.
The records described unusual phenomena observed throughout the Western Region during the previous several weeks.
Unstable spiritual currents.
Mutated beasts.
Formation disturbances.
Sudden disappearances.
Cracks in the sky.
And repeated references to an unidentified fluctuation appearing near ancient ruins.
Han Feng read the final line.
His expression darkened.
"The phenomenon is moving toward the Central Region."
He folded the scroll.
"So they knew."
The strange events weren't isolated.
They were spreading.
Near midnight, Han Feng finally reached Baihua City.
The city walls were enormous.
White stone towers surrounded the city, each engraved with flower-shaped formations.
Thousands of cultivators entered and left through the gates.
Merchant caravans filled the streets.
Disciples from different sects walked beneath colorful banners.
The city was alive.
Too alive.
Han Feng lowered his hood.
He needed information.
A place to cultivate.
And time.
Baihua City would provide all three.
If he was careful.
He found an inexpensive inn in the outer district.
The room was small.
But it had a formation that could isolate spiritual fluctuations.
Perfect.
Han Feng locked the door.
Then placed several ordinary defensive talismans around the room.
Only after checking the walls twice did he sit down.
He took out the jade container.
The Tear of the Black Sun floated quietly within it.
Han Feng stared at the dark relic.
He didn't know what it truly was.
He didn't know why it reacted to memories.
And he certainly didn't know why it seemed capable of perceiving things that ordinary spiritual sense could not.
But now he had a city filled with cultivators, merchants, sect disciples, formation masters, and information brokers.
He could investigate.
He could cultivate.
He could wait.
Outside the window, the sky over Baihua City was perfectly clear.
Han Feng looked upward.
For a moment, he thought he saw a thin silver line crossing the stars.
Then it vanished.
He closed his eyes.
The Celestial Diagram slowly rotated within his consciousness.
Six points.
And the faint seventh.
Han Feng opened his eyes.
"When the world starts to fall apart..."
His fingers tightened around the jade container.
"...I'll be ready."
Far above Baihua City, something moved behind the clouds.
Not a beast.
Not a cultivator.
Something much farther away.
A red light flickered once.
Then disappeared.
And somewhere beyond the boundary between worlds, something had begun to look toward the Central Region.