An earth-shaking boom rumbled out from the heavens.
The source of the sound wasn’t close, but seemed to billow forth from quite some distance. It wasn’t directed toward the location of Meng Hao and the others, but rather seemed to cover the entire State of Zhao. At this moment, every Cultivator within the nation could hear the massive roar.
A red glow appeared, so large that it was impossible to tell how much area it covered. It seemed as if the entire sky was crimson. No one knew what was happening.
Far away from the State of Zhao and the eyes of its Cultivators, in the middle of the Southern Domain, an enormous rift had appeared in the sky.
It was a Heavenly Rift!
The booming grew more intense, rolling across not just the State of Zhao but the entire Southern Domain. Every place, every Sect, every Clan in the massive Southern Domain eventually heard it.
Meng Hao’s face changed. He was shocked to see the black aura roiling out from his body at an increased rate of speed. He moved forward even faster, his body turning into an iridescent streak of light.
Yan Ziguo and the others were awestruck. Their hearts began to race, and their Cultivation bases suddenly seemed unstable, as if they were about to fly out of their bodies.
At this moment within the mountains of the State of Zhao, a thick mist swirled around the Cold Wind Sect, one of the three great Sects. When the roaring boom sounded out, the mist began to seethe and the mountain peaks trembled. Within the Sect, hundreds of pale-faced disciples stared up into the heavens in shock.
On a mountain behind the Sect, its two strongest members, both Elders at the Core Formation stage, awoke and emerged from a secret chamber. They flew out and hovered in the air, looking up into the sky and gasping. Their Cultivation bases rotated rapidly. Even though they couldn’t see exactly what was happening so far away, they could feel an enormous, shattering pressure from the Heavens. And then, because of their extraordinary Cultivation bases, they were able to sense the Heavens splitting.
“What happened? The noise is coming from the center of the Southern Domain. Impossible! That’s such an incredible distance away, how can a sound travel so far?!”
Five of the Cold Wind Sect’s Foundation Establishment Elders flew up behind them in succession. Their faces were pale and their bodies trembled.
Within another of the State of Zhao’s three great Sects, the Upright Evening Sect, two Eccentrics of the Core Formation stage and four Elders of the Foundation Establishment stage floated in mid-air, gazing numbly toward the distant Heavens. The entire sky was crimson, as if it were on fire. Seeing this left them in shock.
“What… is this…?”
It wasn’t just the members of the Cold Wind Sect and the Upright Evening Sect. The disciples of the Winding Stream Sect also heard the sound and stared dumbly up into the heavens, looking awestruck. The Sect’s Core Formation Eccentric was trembling. His Cultivation base was profound, and yet he stared off into the distance, wondering what was happening. Even more shocking, amidst the burning screen which covered the entire sky, there suddenly appeared what looked like countless fissures.
“This is not a normal sound, otherwise it wouldn’t transmit so quickly across the State of Zhao. Its speed… this sound could exterminate everything!”
The situation in Sects in other surrounding countries was the same as that of the State of Zhao. Far away in the Southern Domain, the Patriarchs of the five great Sects and three great Clans, with their profound Cultivation bases, also felt the enormous pressure bearing down from the Heavens. Being in the center of the Southern Domain, they could see what all those other could not.
They saw the enormous rift in the sky. Disbelief covered their faces.
On this day, at this moment, the entire Southern Domain was in an uproar. Countless Cultivators flew into the air, and an innumerable amount of experts looked up in amazement. This strange sign which had appeared in the air shocked them all to the core.
Meng Hao flew along as quickly as he could; more black aura than usual was pouring out of him, as if it were answering a summons. This, combined with the strange sign in the sky, had him scared nearly witless. He shot forward at full speed until he arrived at the top of a tall mountain. He stood there, looking off into the Heavens.
Far away, it seemed as if the Heavens were slowly being split open. Then, a dark glow spread out, filling heaven and earth both with pitch-black darkness.
A moment passed, and then the entire Southern Domain began to quake, as if a powerful force were shaking its very center, sending tremors rippling outward. Mountains crumbled and the land was rocked.