Chronicles of Heaven's Chosen - Chapter 73

The sight before Yuan Yao was unmistakably the gates of Yunming City.

But the imposing walls she had seen during the day were gone. Now there was only a ruin of broken stone and crumbling masonry.

The towering, thick city wall had collapsed as though its supports had vanished. Dust billowed into the sky and mingled with the murky gray fog all around them, blurring everything from view.

Countless grotesque blood-red tentacles burst from the ground and attacked the gathered disciples.

They writhed with terrifying agility, striking again and again. In the blink of an eye, several young disciples were caught in their coils and dragged bodily into Yunming City like captured prey.

Before Yuan Yao could gather her wits, a powerful hand seized her wrist.

Startled, she looked up. The instant she recognized the newcomer, she cried out, “Third Senior Brother!”

She desperately wanted to ask Cang Li what was happening, but the blood-red tentacles were already lunging toward them.

Without hesitation, Cang Li pulled Yuan Yao behind him. A cold gleam flashed along the spear clutched in his hand as he swung it with tremendous force.

Boom!

Lightning flashed and thunder cracked. A violent surge of power erupted and struck the tips of the approaching tentacles.

Like vines recoiling from danger, they abruptly shrank back.

Yuan Yao immediately summoned the Phantom Spirit Sword. “Third Senior Brother, what happened?”

“The barrier around Yunming City broke, and the fog spread outside. When we opened our eyes again, everything had become like this.” Cang Li’s expression was grave. “It may be an illusion!”

“Junior Brother Cang!”

“Little Junior Sister!”

The Xiaoyao Sect disciples gradually converged on the pair. They formed a circle with their backs to one another, fending off the blood-red tentacles from every direction.

“Senior Brother Ao, Junior Brother Cang, what do we do now?” one senior brother asked anxiously.

“If everything before us truly is an illusion, we find the point where it can be broken.” Ao Su remained composed. “And that point may well be inside Yunming City…”

“What if it isn’t an illusion?” Yuan Yao asked suddenly.

She had thought of something. The residents of Yunming City had inexplicably fallen into a sleep from which no one could wake them. Perhaps their consciousnesses had been drawn into some kind of mental space.

When Yuan Yao had trained her mental power, her own consciousness had been pulled into the mental space created by Senior Nie Lie.

Could the two situations be different tunes played with the same skill?

Ao Su frowned. “If it isn’t an illusion, then we have an even greater problem.”

“Look out!”

Several enormous tentacles—thick, vicious, and red as fresh blood—erupted from the hard ground without warning. They hurtled straight at Yuan Yao’s group with astonishing speed.

Yuan Yao twisted her wrist and thrust.

With a wet rip, the Phantom Spirit Sword pierced one of the tentacles. It thrashed violently in pain.

At the same time, the sword sent Yuan Yao a frantic message.

*It stinks! It stinks! Let go of me!*

The corner of her mouth twitched. She sent back, *Put up with it a little longer!*

She yanked the blade free without hesitation and swung again, slashing hard at the same tentacle.

A heavy thud sounded as a revolting length of severed flesh struck the ground.

Meanwhile, the other sects had been thrown into chaos by the tentacles’ sudden appearance. Most of their disciples had been forced apart and left to fight alone.

The tentacles seemed endless. No matter how many were cut down, more took their place.

“Aah! Save me!”

Another disciple was caught and dragged violently into Yunming City.

The leading disciple of the Tianyun Sect had intended to retreat with his group to Yushan City. Yet after running for some distance, they discovered that Yushan City had been replaced by a bottomless abyss.

At that moment, the cliff edge began to collapse.

Countless chunks of stone tumbled into the darkness amid a deafening rumble.

“Go! Turn back!”

The Tianyun Sect leader shouted, terror written across his face.

The group raced back toward Yunming City.

The cliff collapsed faster and faster behind them. One disciple ran so desperately that he twisted his ankle and crashed heavily to the ground.

Before his fellow disciples could reach out to save him, the ground beneath him split and gave way.

“No—!” he screamed, one hand outstretched in terror.

The Tianyun Sect disciples went pale. All they could do was run faster for Yunming City’s gates.

At the same time, the Severed Affections Sect, Dual Poles Sect, and Taisui Sect all chose to enter the city.

Strangely, the tentacles made no attempt to attack them while they were crossing through the gates.

It was almost as though the creatures were welcoming them inside.

Anyone who refused to enter remained under assault.

“They’re forcing us into the city,” Cang Li said grimly.

Ao Su formed a hand seal and blasted a tentacle with his palm. “There must be something deeply wrong inside!”

Hearing noise behind her, Yuan Yao looked back and saw the Tianyun Sect disciples fleeing madly toward them.

The moment she saw what was happening behind the group, her expression changed.

“Third Senior Brother, look!”

Cang Li and the others followed her gaze and saw the collapsing abyss.

His expression shifted. “It seems we have no choice but to go in…”

If the collapse reached them, there would be nowhere left to stand.

Cang Li and Ao Su exchanged a glance, then nodded in silent agreement.

“Move!”

Cang Li caught Yuan Yao by the wrist and led her toward Yunming City. The other Xiaoyao Sect disciples followed at once.

They soon crossed through the gates.

What no one expected was that the instant they entered, everyone around them vanished.

“Yuan Yao! Yaoyao!”

Cang Li’s hand closed on empty air. His face changed as he spun around, searching desperately for her.

When the fog around him thinned, he discovered that he was inside a room with three other people.

One of them was huddled fearfully in a corner. Her unfocused eyes suggested that she was close to a complete mental collapse.

The other two were disciples of the Chongxu Sect and Dual Poles Sect, and both had plainly been sent into the room only moments ago.

“What is this place?” the Chongxu Sect disciple asked nervously.

The Dual Poles Sect disciple went straight to the door. The moment his hand touched the latch, a sharp pain exploded through his sea of consciousness.

“Aah!”

His body convulsed, and he staggered two steps backward.

Cang Li watched thoughtfully.

His gaze settled on a stool nearby. He walked over, picked it up, and hurled it at the door.

Then something astonishing happened.

Just before the stool struck the door, it stopped. It hung suspended in midair for several seconds before falling to the floor with a bang.

Cang Li instantly understood.

They were trapped here.