Chapter 563: Severing the Phenomena (II)
That Daoist Master… severed the natural phenomenon… Li Qinghong mused quietly to herself, in awe.
The cultivators were visibly shaken, staring dumbly at the turbulent skies above them. Cold raindrops began to fall, and as Li Qinghong bowed her head and closed her eyes, a warm tear traced down her cheek. She heard an elder cultivator beside her murmur, "The eclipse and falling stars… it is the True Monarch of the Yue Cultivating Sect at work!"
The Qi Cultivators could not even make out the True Monarch's form and thus escaped the more intense side effects. But Li Qinghong, at her Foundation Establishment Realm, had caught a fleeting glimpse and suffered a cascade of haunting visions. Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself, feeling the unsettling tremor in her heart.
She drifted away from the crowd, diving deep beneath the water's surface to distance herself. It took her a moment to recover fully before a thought surfaced, prompting her to mutter, "What weapon was that True Monarch wielding? Was it a staff? A sword?"
She mulled it over for a moment, glancing all around her. Her gaze blurred slightly, and she murmured, "How did I end up at the ocean floor...?"
Emerging from the water, Li Qinghong glanced toward the lingering, unmoving thunderclouds. She turned back to look upon the now-serene Jiangnan, muttering in bewilderment, "How strange… why are those clouds not moving?"
After flying a few more li, a sudden, chilly sensation settled over her in the Shenyang Mansion region. She halted imperceptibly, suppressing her unease, and quickly dove back beneath the waves.
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Darkness settled over several prefectures in the Yue State, and on Splitreed Island in the Eastern Sea, the night grew even denser. Under the water, the entire seabed was cloaked in an inky blackness while turbulent storm clouds surged above, swallowing up the once-bright sky and darkening the waters until they resembled thick black ink.