Not the crimson of the sunset, nor the deep blue of the ocean.
But a filthy, viscous blood-red.
Slowly spreading from east to west, as if a giant has poured a vat of bloody brine into the distant sea.
Above the blood-red hue, dark clouds churn and roll like boiling water, occasionally flickering with lightning yet no thunder follows.
Deathly silence.
Gao Zhenxiong put down the telescope and turned to look beside him.
Yu Chanzi stood three steps away, wearing a pale-washed daoist robe.
The Wudang Sect Leader was gazing upward, his right hand silently calculating within his sleeve, each movement of his fingertips causing his brows to furrow even tighter.
Behind him, Southern Heavenly Master Zhang Jingxuan from Dragon and Tiger Mountain, Daoist Qingwei from Shu Mountain Emei, Master Yushu from Maoshan... a group of Mystical Sect experts stood silently.
Every face was extremely grim.
"Sect Leader."
Gao Zhenxiong spoke in a deep voice, "This phenomenon—"
"Not a phenomenon." Yu Chanzi interrupted him, a rare solemnity in his voice, "It’s a breach in the Dharma Realm barrier, something is seeping out."
"What is it?"
"Unclear." Yu Chanzi shook his head, "Could be Qi, resentment, or... a Divine."
A young general beside them couldn’t help but interject, "A divine? Those wild gods from Japan?"
Yu Chanzi glanced at him, saying nothing.
Li Yan stepped out from the crowd.
Though his damaged foundation had not yet recovered, his complexion pale, his eyes shone terrifyingly bright.
"Compass." Li Yan suddenly said.
Gao Zhenxiong was surprised, then reacted sharply, shouting, "Bring the compass!"
A personal soldier hurriedly brought forth a bronze feng shui plate.
The magnetic needle at the center was spinning wildly, fast as a phantom, emitting a sharp "zizi" sound as it scraped against the base.
"Mugwort!" someone else shouted.
An official from the Qintian Bureau, hands trembling, extracted fifty stalks of mugwort, placing them on the military table where, the top three inexplicably ignited and turned to ash.
The official’s face turned deathly pale, staggering backward, "What’s happening..."
He had never encountered such a situation before.
Wang Daoxuan’s expression darkened, staring at the equally frantic compass, "The Heavenly Mechanism... is in chaos!"
Panic spread through the army like a plague.
Though regular soldiers could not see the blood line on the horizon nor the eerie figures in the clouds, they could feel it—the wind had changed.
The formerly salty sea breeze had somehow become infused with a sickly sweet stench, like corpses stewing under the summer sun. The sandy ground beneath their feet grew soft and damp, yielding dark red stains underfoot.
Darkness fell swiftly, though it wasn’t yet dusk, the surroundings were dim as midnight.
"Sect Leader."
Gao Zhenxiong clenched his teeth, gazing at Yu Chanzi, "Now is the time, surely you must have an explanation."
Yu Chanzi remained silent for a long moment, finally speaking slowly:
"In simple terms, someone has used an evil technique to tear open a hole in the world’s barrier."
He paused, seeming to weigh his words, "It’s like a room, once sealed tight, now someone has smashed through the wall. Outside wind, snow, beasts, evil spirits... will all flood in."
"Those wild gods from Japan?" Gao Zhenxiong asked.
"Not just them." The response came from Southern Heavenly Master Zhang Jingxuan.
The Dragon and Tiger Mountain Heavenly Master was now stoic as water, gripping the horsetail whisk so firmly it creaked, "Once the Dharma Realm barrier breaks, all manner of ’existences’ attached to it will sense it. Japanese, South Seas, Western Regions... even those remnants of ancient gods long submerged in history will seep into the Human World through the cracks."
An Assistant General questioned tremulously, "Why? Aren’t they immortals? Isn’t it better to stay in the Immortal Realm?"
Yu Chanzi and Li Yan exchanged glances, both saw a trace of bitterness in each other’s eyes.
Li Yan gently stroked the Hook Paper, murmuring, "Being an immortal... isn’t so easy."
He didn’t continue.
He couldn’t disclose to the ordinary soldiers that so-called eternal life is merely a dream anchored in the incense fire wish power of the human world. When people forget, temples crumble, scriptures disappear, even the greatest Divine will gradually wither, sinking into the endless "historical layers" at the bottom of the Dharma Realm, where consciousness is slowly eroded in eternal solitude.
And now, the human realm is undergoing dramatic change.
Firearms, steam engines, new studies, opening the sea... ancient order is collapsing, new beliefs are sprouting.
Those Divines relying on the incense of the old era are losing their anchorage.
To them, staying in the chaotic Dharma Realm waiting to die is less favorable than fighting to descend to the human world for a chance at survival.
All of this, perhaps, is just the beginning.
"Enough!"
Gao Zhenxiong suddenly shouted, drawing his sword, "I care not for any immortals or demons! To oppose Great Xuan is a capital crime!"
His blade pointed straight at the sea, "Yu Chanzi Sect Leader, tell me, is there a solution?!"
Yu Chanzi was about to speak—
The sea surface underwent abrupt changes.
That blood line suddenly expanded like a spilled jar of rouge, instantly staining the vast sea.
In the swirling clouds, countless shadows swam down like schools of fish.
Thick fog rose from the sea’s surface.
Not the usual milky-white sea mist, but a thick, dark gray fog tinged with crimson, billowing toward the coast.
Through the mist, ghostly figures loomed: monk-like demons over a zhang tall, with singular eyes and crimson feet; fox-like shadows with nine lush tails sweeping through the fog; resentful spirits riding skeletal warhorses, dressed in the courtiers’ attire of the Heian Dynasty; countless hunched shadows crawling like reptiles...
The Japanese fleet was swallowed by the fog, disappearing without a trace.
Replacing it, dots of eerie green phosphorus fire flickered in the misty sea.
Whether they were ship lamps or ghost eyes, none could tell.
A terrifying murderous intent surged onto the shore like a tide.
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