Those eyes swept back and forth across Chu Feng, sizing him up.
At the same time, Chu Feng could feel that the Nine Dragon Sacred Robe on his body was beginning to respond, as though answering some kind of summons. It stirred with restless agitation.
Rumble—
The lightning in the sky grew increasingly violent, and the thunderclaps became more and more piercing.
Crack—
Then, a bolt of lightning came crashing down from the void above, slamming directly into the Nine Dragon Phenomenon Ridge.
The twenty entrances of the Nine Dragon Phenomenon Ridge had always been there.
Though the twenty dark passages shifted and changed unpredictably, the positions of their entrances had never varied.
But now, bolt after bolt of lightning falling from the sky was striking one place—the entrance to the thirteenth dark passage.
After each bolt struck the ground, it transformed into streams of electricity that surged into that thirteenth entrance.
The entrance to the thirteenth passage showed no signs of damage. Instead, lightning churned and surged within it, making the thirteenth entrance a spectacular sight compared to the other nineteen, which remained completely unchanged.
"What's going on here?"
The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, speculating wildly.
"I know," suddenly spoke Tantai Xiangnan, patriarch of the Tantai Celestial Tribe. "This is the phenomenon of the Nine Dragon Phenomenon Ridge."
"The phenomenon? The Nine Dragon Phenomenon Ridge has a phenomenon?" Most people were taken aback, as none of them had ever heard that the ridge possessed such a thing.
"Patriarch Tantai, are you certain? Is this truly a phenomenon summoned by the Nine Dragon Phenomenon Ridge?" Wuming Ken asked.
"Actually, I've only ever heard about this phenomenon—I've never witnessed it myself. But among my grandfather's generation, there were indeed those who saw it. The last time it appeared, lightning struck one of the entrances of the Nine Dragon Phenomenon Ridge. The lightning was relentless—it struck exactly nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine times before stopping," Tantai Xiangnan said.
"Phenomena are often omens of something. What does this one signify?" Wuming Ken asked.
"There is a legend about this phenomenon. It is said to appear only when a Chosen One emerges, and when it does, it lights the way for that Chosen One," Tantai Xiangnan said.
"Then doesn't that mean the entrance struck by the lightning is the path leading deep into the Nine Dragon Upper Realm?" The crowd grew excited.
But Tantai Xiangnan shook his head. "That is what the legend says. However, according to my grandfather, this phenomenon has appeared more than once. He even heard from our ancestors that back when the Nine Dragon Phenomenon Ridge was under the watch of our Tantai Celestial Tribe, this phenomenon occurred frequently—but every time someone entered the path it indicated, they never came back."
"So, our ancestors eventually realized that the phenomenon was indeed offering guidance—but not the kind of guidance spoken of in legend. The path it pointed to was not the way into the Nine Dragon Upper Realm. Rather, it was a warning. This path was the one passage among the deadly dark tunnels from which there was no return," Tantai Xiangnan said.
"What? It's actually like that?"
Hearing this, every gaze in the crowd shifted.
Moments before, they had looked upon the lightning-struck entrance with eager anticipation and longing. Now, many regarded it with wariness and dread.
Lightning continued to rain from the sky, striking the same entrance again and again.
But after a short while, the lightning finally ceased.
Among the crowd, someone had been counting every bolt, and so they learned that the total number of strikes matched exactly what Tantai Xiangnan had described—proving that the phenomenon was indeed what he had claimed.
Then, the vast thunderclouds in the void began to disperse, and the heavens and earth returned to normal.
Having learned what the phenomenon foretold, most people treated it as nothing more than a spectacle, their hearts relatively undisturbed.