Chapter 64: Unrestrained Chaos in the Clear water Mountains

— "What was that?" — asked Elder Ki, stopping abruptly and placing a hand on the ground. He felt a strange vibration coming from below, as if the earth itself were groaning.

Beside him were his disciples, including Shang Hua-Ren and the others. Surprisingly, not only had they survived the attack in the mist, but their auras were several times stronger, having advanced multiple levels.

— "What is it, Elder?" — asked Shang Hua-Ren, looking around with worried eyes. After all, they were doing quite well now—not only had they survived the White Mist Wolves, but they had also had a stroke of luck at the last moment.

Before the elder could answer, she felt the vibration. The ground beneath her feet began to tremble, and loose earth jumped as if alive.

— "Wake up quickly and run!" — shouted Elder Ki, with no time for politeness. He shook the disciples who were still meditating and ran out of the rocky formation that had sheltered them.

The others woke up startled and, realizing the intensity of the vibration, ran as if their lives depended on it—and indeed, they did. Within seconds, the vibration grew stronger, and distant sounds began to echo through the walls of the formation. They were a few meters from the exit when disaster struck.

— "Crack! Crack! Crack!" — A terrible sound began to be heard, coming from the walls of the formation. The ground shook violently, nearly knocking several disciples off their feet.

— "Watch out!" — shouted Disciple Ma, jumping toward Bai Xiaxia to protect her from a falling rock.

— "Crash!" — The rocky ceiling began to collapse, and the two quickly got up, running outside as rocks and dust fell around them.

— "Boom!" — The deafening noise of the rocky formation collapsing echoed behind them, but there was no time to rest. The surroundings were in total chaos: trees swayed, foliage fell, and animals ran in all directions, frenzied.

— "We need to get out of this rocky area! Head to open ground!" — ordered Elder Ki, his voice serious and urgent, with no trace of the joy he had felt just hours ago.

The rocky formations that had once served as shelter were now a constant threat. Cracks spread across the ground, and landslides and falling rocks occurred around them. The group ran, feeling insignificant before the overwhelming power of nature.

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Meanwhile, in another part of the mountains, Wu Jian and his men struggled to escape the same disaster, but they were closer to the source.

— "Creak! Creak! Creak!" — The sound of falling trees and cracking ground echoed around them.

— "Quick! It's getting closer!" — shouted Wu Jian, running ahead of his men. They moved as fast as they could, using talismans and techniques to enhance their agility, but the task was arduous. Trees fell around them, and the ground shook with a thunderous force, hindering and slowing their movement.

— "Captain, we should run in another direction! The crack will catch up to us!" — shouted one of the Primary Origin Realm members, his face dirty with sweat and dust as he dodged obstacles.

— "It's useless! No matter the direction, there are cracks everywhere!" — replied Wu Jian, staying calm despite the desperate situation.

— "Use body reinforcement talismans!" — he ordered, trying to ensure none of his men were left behind.

Unfortunately, even with the talismans, they weren't fast enough to escape the approaching crack. In moments, it overtook them.

— "Clatterrrrr!" — The sound of chunks of cracked earth falling and rising filled the air. Several cultivators and fleeing animals had no chance to escape, being crushed by collisions or swallowed by holes opening in the ground.

— "Follow me closely!" — shouted Wu Jian, his voice infused with spiritual energy to be heard above the chaos. His men, with high-quality amulets, managed to follow him closely, narrowly escaping being swallowed by the earth.

With their enhanced speed, they managed to move safely, but Wu Jian knew it was temporary. Once the talismans' effects wore off, they would be at the mercy of the disaster.

'We're going to die like this! Buried or crushed!'— he thought, looking at the chunks of earth collapsing around him.

It was then that he saw something that gave him hope. A herd of Fire Crest Horses was running ahead of them. These animals were known for their aggressiveness and speed, but now they represented a chance of survival.

'There must be something I can do!' — thought Wu Jian, quickly analyzing his options.

— "Jump onto that piece of earth!" — he shouted, pointing to a large chunk of earth rising diagonally. His men obeyed, jumping onto the unstable piece of earth.

— "Aim for the horses, and at my signal, jump!" — ordered Wu Jian, as the chunk of earth rose rapidly, the wind blowing fiercely against them.

When the chunk of earth reached its peak, Wu Jian shouted: — "Now!"

Everyone jumped toward the horses, grabbing onto the animals' manes as the chunk of earth collapsed behind them. It was a risky move, but their only chance.

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Meanwhile, in another part of the mountains, the cultivators who had entered just days ago were now desperately running for the exit. The tremors grew in intensity, and a chorus of rumbles approached.

— "Run!!!" — shouted a cultivator, his face pale with fear.

Several cultivators didn't know what was happening, but they didn't look back. Those who hesitated regretted it immediately. The trees ahead began to fall, and a stampede of spiritual animals surged, trampling everything in their path.

As the tremors increased, the animals were the first to sense the danger and ran in panic. And so, as they advanced, the groups of animals crossed paths, forming a frenzied wave of creatures that didn't distinguish between plants, trees, other animals, or humans. Anything that couldn't keep up was trampled without mercy.

The area closest to the exit of the mountains, though less affected than the source, became a purgatory. The largest number of cultivators was concentrated there, and now they fought to escape the stampede and the tremors threatening to swallow them.

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In the skies above the disaster, a large number of birds gathered. They were the calmest in the face of the disaster, having flown away at the first sign of trouble and now scattered above. Even the predators were unwilling to hunt during this event and had a privileged view of the unfolding disaster.

They witnessed everything from the initial tremor within the valley to its rapid spread, extending for thousands of kilometers.

While some birds were scattered, a small group paid attention to the valley covered in cracks that seemed ready to give way to the tremors at any moment. Nothing remained on its surface but rubble and holes.

Something strange to note, if anyone could see, was the fact that the entire valley hadn't shattered or sunk—something unusual, considering that several kilometers around it had collapsed, filled with giant blocks of earth rising and falling abnormally with each tremor…

As the birds observed the phenomenon, another shock wave erupted from the valley: — "Clatterrrrr!" — and spread this time with such power that even the air above the valley seemed to distort.

The birds, caught off guard, cawed, chirped, and were swept away by the wave of power, thrown against the sky above and the ground in the distance. Many died, not from the impact of the wave, which seemed mostly absorbed by the ground, but from the resulting collisions.

The birds, who had seemed to be observing the spectacle, finally realized the danger and panicked. They flew in all directions, desperate. Leaving the valley alone, which seemed on the verge of collapse, while the waves of power emanating from it grew with each new surge and could soon destroy the entire Clear Water Mountains—and perhaps beyond…