Below, mortals gathered around with worried faces as they looked towards the thick red fog outside the city wall and above.
Each had a worried look on their faces, after all... This was something that was called the calamity of an era.
How about the villages outside these immortal cities?
Most were worried about this, regarding those who weren't able to escape in time and were plunged into this deathly fog...
Well.. the answer was simple...
"Help!"
"Help me!"
"Pls help!"
The sound of cries echoed from the outside, scaring the mortals within the fall to back up several steps.
Over the air, the immortal cultivators frowned when they heard the noises, their eyes focused into the thick red fog, "What are these... ?"
"They... "
"What a horrible fate... "
What they saw were something horrible. Something grotesque, a group of inhuman machines made out of fleshes, seemingly sewn and stitched poorly together from pieces of human remains.
Most were four legged, hairy at the end of their forelimbs, eyes protruding out, frantically looking around as if these creatures were asking for salvation.
There were tears from their eyes, tears of pain and misery.
Though...
Boom!
A huge fireball came crashing down onto their position, bursting into flame and a huge explosion.
Shrieks of pain resounded, and the creatures, seemingly provoked their bodies against the city protective's shield. Sending ripples all over the shield's protective surfaces.
To no avail, they couldn't do anything to it but to remain hindered outside.
Successfully killing some of the creatures, the monk who made the shot just now snorted.
Though his prideful feelings were cut off short as he was astounded by the sudden changes in the situation before him.
Sizzles...
Sizzles...
The melted fleshes that were blown to pieces just now... They squirmed and wiggled throughout the place until they re-assembled into the same grotesque creature.
"What horrible existence is this?"
The monk's eyes narrowed down into a thin slit, his eyes squaring up the creature down below.
Each one of these horrible existences looked up at the sky, roaring in defiance to whatever they couldn't see that had struck them.
"Humph, as long as they don't come into this place, we won't touch them for the time being"
"After all, with the presence of a Nascent soul ancestor in this city, nothing should go amiss for us. Our safety is sure to be guaranteed."
"But this just seems to be the beginning. It seems the casualties outside would turn into these monsters."
"Do not worry, when the sky falls, the ancestors of our human race would naturally take the shot"
"How many will survive, that would depend on fate. "
The monks discussed a little more up in the sky. Then, after a few moments, they decided to exit the scene, leaving behind the perplexed crowd of mortals down in the streets.
They couldn't see the scene that occurred outside the city wall, but the brief booming and the vibration that came. These commotions from outside the wall sent terrors into the mortal's hearts.
"What happened just now?"
"What's with the noises?"
"Huuu... Huuu... I am glad I managed to bring my whole family into this city."
"We are safe right?"
"For now."
The mortal's fate in this world had always been unpredictable. Their well-being and the choices, well... The so called choices that they said they wanted to have, none of those were in their hands.
It wasn't really a life one should strive for. But in the situation where the people don't have any options. The best they could strive for is to live in those immortal cities where powerful monks could be living.
Especially this particular city, where a suspected Nascent soul ancestor lived.
At the top of the tower, Purple Cloud Pavilion's upper most room where Ilya resided in, the light was dim, but the dimly lit lights that were hung on the wall illuminated the whole room.
Ilya could be seen sitting behind the main table in the center of the room. Despite the grandeur of the chair that she was sitting on, her bodily curves still failed to hide themselves from the view.
Especially the way her head turned each time she was trying to think up an idea, the pen she held as she was trying to sign the documents on the table.
Each frowns...
Each furrows...
Everything that she had that we might label as facial expressions. Well, they were simply beautiful...
What an amazing sight it is as the dress clung tightly against the curvy body of hers.
"Well?"
A sudden tremor echoed across the whole city akin to that of a ripple's movement over a water's surface. The papers that she were holding in between her fingers folded, paused even to be even more precise.
Then, as her eyes slowly turned to the side...
A cloaked puppet appeared on the side...
Half kneeling on the floor with his fist thumped down against the wooden floor.
"My lady, the red fog has arrived as the Lord anticipated... Do you need someone to scout the outside area of the city's walls?"
Her eyes paused as she heard the sudden voice, her outstretched fingers retracted back as she shifted in the seat.
Not caring enough to even look out of the window on the side where the scene of an ocean of blood enveloped the whole sky.
"How is the Lord doing?"
Her voice dropped, and the puppet indifferently replied, "The lord had been repeating the same experiments over and over again"
"Does the lord need more eggs?" Her hand paused for a moment as she asked, "We can open up several trade routes to nearby cities for more eggs."
"The lord hasn't made any further requests."
"I see... " Ilya's eyes shifted for a moment, finally overlooking the red sky outside of the city.
"Contact the city lord mansion. See if their protective formation has any issues with it"
"After all, the absence of their head meant that they are barely functioning as one."
"Understood, my lady. I will personally perceive the whole situation to make sure nothing goes amiss."
The cloaked figure then slowly vanished like smoke, went into the air and disappeared from the room.
Ilya doesn't mind, she wasn't even bothered by the strange way these people appeared and disappeared.
As time passed, interactions with these guardians that Liam sent for her, she gradually realized there was something... strange about them.
'Oddly too human, too perfect'
At random times, she would find several chances to touch the skin directly. And the sensation she felt, 'Corpses?'
"Liam... "
She curled her lips, seemingly thinking of something. But she didn't dare to say it, at the very least not now, where the cause and effects she was currently in.
But still, 'To hug such a thigh... I am about to take off for sure'
She hummed, continuing with the papers signing.
Elsewhere, Hero was currently perching on the wall. It was on the right side of the city, legs dangling down as he gazed upon thick red fog outside of the protective film.
"Old man, anything?"
"There's one... "
"Ohhh? What is It?"
"The red miasma seemed to be a type of energy itself rather than my prior speculation"
The old voice sounded, clearly amazed and also fearful at his findings.
A type of energy? Hero thought, "If anything, were there any similar records in the past that is similar to this calamity?"
"None... "
"There have been few similar calamities recorded for the last thousand of years. This one is different on its own... "
"Then we are truly stuck here until it ends?"
Hero grimaced, subconsciously remembering the amount of pills in his storage ring, "It seems it will be quite awhile before I can enjoy the fast cultivation speed like before"
"But it's not without a solution" the old voice sounded again.
"Oh? Is there a way to go outside of the city?"
"Of course, the red tide isn't a wall, it's a corrosive factor. A normal cultivator can still make his way out of this city without any issues"
"Then, What's the main problem?"
Hero was curious. If there weren't any issues, then there's no need to be fearful.
To this, the old voice replied with a slight trepidation, "The issue is that there are monsters out there. Countless, crawling, slithering, every inhuman movement out there. Coupled with the fact that the red fog would constantly corrode spiritual energy"
"For mortals, it is death. For cultivators, it is akin to that of liquidified air, as if you are swimming under the water"
"And that is not the worst part of it all"
"There's a hideous creature out there, boy..."
The old man's voice turned solemn, even inside the hero's sea of consciousness, he could discern the scenery outside using his divine mind.
There, several miles away from the city, stood a huge shadow that bloated out the sun.
The old man frowned, sensing the creature's crazed desire to come forward but fearful to take a step.