Chapter 162: The Maelstrom

Changsun Chengluo appeared beside the others, carrying a massive sword.

“Where?”

Everyone was taken aback.

What did he mean by a turbulence vortex?

“What I mean is… something in the outside world has already inflicted damage on the Heavenly Martial Realm. We haven’t sensed anyone breaking through the boundary, so the problem must lie in the turbulence vortex!”

Changsun Chengluo continued, “Why don’t we cross the boundary now and take a good look?”

The Purple Sun Holy Lord and the others immediately agreed.

“Let’s go now!”

Everyone thought Changsun Chengluo was right. There was no other explanation for what was happening.

“Fellow Daoist Lingji, we’re heading out beyond the boundary now. I’ll have to ask you to go to the Kingdom of Anluan and find the two goddesses, An Yue’er and Leng Qianxue. With such a grave crisis threatening the Heavenly Martial Realm, the few of us won’t be enough to hold it back. We may need Senior Zhu to intervene!”

“Understood!”

Lingji left it at that, then turned and sped toward the Kingdom of Anluan.

Changsun Chengluo and the others crossed beyond the boundary in the blink of an eye.

A layer of white mist usually shrouded the outer reaches of the Heavenly Martial Realm. But now it had dispersed, as though it had sensed the approach of some overwhelmingly powerful presence.

“Let’s go!”

Changsun Chengluo strode forward, sword in hand. The others followed at once.

In an instant, they were outside the boundary.

They stood amid a vast turbulence vortex, and silence fell over them.

The moment they crossed the boundary, their hearts sank. A dreadful feeling weighed on them, growing stronger the closer they came.

“No… That’s… What is that?”

Master Kongling stared ahead, mouth agape, his face full of disbelief.

Before him lay a sight both terrifying and magnificent.

A colossal, moving vortex surrounded the Heavenly Martial Realm!

It seemed to carry an endless force capable of destroying heaven and earth. Not just one Heavenly Martial Realm—even ten might be wiped out in a vortex of space and time like this!

The terrifying vortex was hurtling toward the Heavenly Martial Realm.

And it was moving fast—unbelievably fast.

They watched as the turbulence swept over shattered, drifting worlds. In the space of a few breaths, those worlds crumbled into dust.

The spatial turbulence drew ever closer. The space around them seemed to twist, like water on the verge of boiling.

“What is this? How can it be so powerful?”

The head of the Benevolent Retreat stood in the void, with nothingness stretching behind her. Her beautiful eyes were filled with panic.

“That vortex is about to reach the Heavenly Martial Realm! It could destroy the entire world! I think this is the end for us!” The Purple Sun Holy Lord was stricken with terror.

“What is it? A space-time storm? Even an immortal—no, even a celestial immortal—couldn’t withstand it! We’re all going to die!”

Master Kongling’s eyes were filled with despair.

Changsun Chengluo felt his heart tremble. His eyelids kept twitching.

The vortex’s power was plain for all to see. There was no one who could withstand its assault!

“Fall back! We’re going back into the Heavenly Martial Realm!”

Changsun Chengluo shouted. The others hurried back through the boundary, returning to the Heavenly Martial Realm in the blink of an eye.

By now, the presence of the vortex outside had made the Heavenly Martial Realm tremble even more violently.

Across the land, every living creature seemed to sense that the end was near. They all fell to the ground, wailing in terror.

The Purple Sun Holy Lord and the others hurried back to the Southern Barbarians.

“Come on. We need to find Senior Zhu. He’s our only hope!”

“If he has a way to stop this, we might survive!”

At Changsun Chengluo’s words, the others understood at once. They raced toward the Nanling Mountains.

…

At that moment, in a small village in the Nanling Mountains, in Zhu Xiaoyuan’s courtyard—

“Why do I feel so frightened?”

“The sky looks so strange. Why did it suddenly grow dark, then suddenly brighten again?”

“Could our world be about to end?”

Zhu Xiaoyuan’s disciples stood in the courtyard, abandoning what they were doing and staring up at the sky. Their faces, too, were clouded with alarm.

The Heavenly Martial Realm had sensed the fear, and that fear spread through the land to every living thing.

Zhu Xiaoyuan was teaching Xinjing to read poetry. Seeing what was happening, he frowned.

The last time something like this had happened, he had assumed it was due to the weather. But this time, it was clear that something was wrong with the Heavenly Martial Realm. Even an ordinary mortal like him could feel it.

Xinjing’s expression changed as well. She glanced toward Qiya, who was pouring tea beside Zhu Xiaoyuan.

Qiya immediately sensed the gaze of her Demon Lord. But she, too, looked astonished.

“Is Senior Zhu here?”

A frantic voice sounded from outside the door.

“Come in,” Zhu Xiaoyuan replied.

An Yue’er and Leng Qianxue hurried in with the others. When they saw Qiya, they froze.

It had only been a few days since they last visited. How had such a beautiful woman appeared at Senior Zhu’s side? And who was she?

But this was no time to dwell on that. They had no time to spare.

Leng Qianxue spoke at once. “Senior Zhu, something terrible has happened!”

“The Heavenly Martial Realm seems to be facing a catastrophe!”

“We heard from several seniors that a turbulence vortex outside the Heavenly Martial Realm is drawing near. If it hits us, the Heavenly Martial Realm will cease to exist!”

Leng Qianxue was so tense that her palms were drenched in sweat.

At her words, Long Ruxuan, Changsun Puyu, and the others widened their eyes.

A turbulence vortex?

What was that?

They had no idea, but they could tell this was no ordinary matter. Some force was about to destroy the Heavenly Martial Realm!

Even Qiya could only murmur, “Storms? Vortices? Those things won’t be easy to deal with…”