The change was not in the plains, but in the void above them.
In that blue sky, at the peak of the white clouds, a massive vortex had appeared.
The vortex was so enormous that it shrouded half the void, making it impossible to overlook.
And the vortex was deeply strange — it was pitch-black in color. As it rotated, the surrounding space warped and twisted, and the dark vortex seemed as though it could devour everything.
One glance was enough to see how terrifying it truly was.
"Chu Feng, you've come out. How was it? Did you find anything?" Chu Youyuan noticed Chu Feng and the other two and immediately asked.
"I did, sir. A major discovery," Chu Feng said.
"What discovery?" Chu Youyuan asked.
"The Abyss Spirit Clan was exterminated," Chu Feng said.
"Exterminated?" Upon hearing this, Chu Youyuan's expression shifted.
"That's right. I saw their remains. They died in the most wretched manner — tortured to death."
"But the most important thing is this: in the deepest reaches of the Spirit Clan's sacred land, there is something terrifying. I'm not certain whether that terrifying being is the true culprit behind the massacre of the Abyss Spirit Clan."
"But what I can confirm is that the thing emanates an aura of antiquity. It very likely exists from the ancient era," Chu Feng said.
"So that's the case." Hearing this, Chu Youyuan's brows knitted tightly together as he sank into deep thought.
"Sir, let's leave this place quickly. I'm not sure whether that creature might chase us out," Chu Feng said.
"There's no need to worry about that. The Spirit Clan's sacred land has existed for so long. If there truly is some ancient, terrifying creature sealed inside, it would have come out to slaughter long ago — it wouldn't have waited until today."
"In other words, if it truly possessed the power to exterminate the entire Abyss Spirit Clan, then you wouldn't have made it out alive. Even if we fled now, we couldn't escape," Chu Youyuan said.
Hearing Chu Youyuan's reasoning, Chu Feng had to admit it made sense.
If the creature lurking in the depths of the abyss really was the one responsible for wiping out the Abyss Spirit Clan, then if it wanted to go on a killing spree, no one could have stopped it.
Unless… it was currently unable to help itself. In other words, it wanted to slaughter everything around it, but it couldn't — because it was trapped.
Otherwise, why would the sound of chains be echoing from within?
But then, who had trapped such a creature?
Chu Feng's mind was filled with confusion.
"Sir, then what is that?"
Suddenly, Chu Feng pointed upward at the sky and asked about the enormous dark vortex.
"That, I'm afraid, is the true calamity of our Great Thousand Upper Realm."
Gazing up at the dark vortex in the sky above, Chu Youyuan's brows furrowed even more deeply.
"Calamity?"
"Sir, what exactly is this?" Seeing this, Chu Feng grew even more worried.
For Chu Youyuan to use the word "calamity" to describe that dark vortex was proof enough of how dangerous it truly was.
"This vortex is called the Gate of the Upper Realm," Chu Youyuan said.
"The Gate of the Upper Realm?" This was the first time Chu Feng had ever heard this name.
"The so-called Gate of the Upper Realm is a gateway that connects the various upper realms to one another."
"According to legend, during the ancient era of the Ancestral Martial Star Domain, every upper realm contained multiple Gates of the Upper Realm, and each gate connected to a different upper realm."
"During that time, nearly all of the upper realms within the Ancestral Martial Star Domain were linked together."
"But for reasons unknown, the Gates of the Upper Realm eventually closed. The closure of the gates, much like the ancient era itself, remains an unsolvable mystery to us."
"However, there are times when the Gate of the Upper Realm does open again. And once it opens, it never disappears," Chu Youyuan said.