Chapter 1454: Heavenly Calamity

As the sky suddenly darkened, Wei Donghai and Zui Wuyi exchanged glances, their faces filled with shock and suspicion. They quickly looked up.

"Something's not right..."

"It is indeed strange. It's just past noon—how could it suddenly become so dark?"

When everyone else followed suit and looked up, they realized that the sky, devoid of any light and growing increasingly gloomy, had lost the sun entirely!

Instantly, the reclusive elders were even more astonished.

"Where did the sun go?"

"Could it be a solar eclipse?"

In the brief moment of surprise, the surroundings became so dark that one could hardly see their own hand in front of their face. However, this was no challenge for these seasoned reclusive experts. With a slight surge of spiritual energy, they gathered light at their fingertips, illuminating each other's puzzled expressions.

After waiting for several breaths, the sky still showed no signs of brightening. Wei Donghai and the others felt something was amiss and decided to seek guidance from the ancient sage, Luo Hongfei.

Unfortunately, when they found him, Luo Hongfei was equally bewildered.

"I've never encountered such a thing before. Perhaps it's just a temporary solar eclipse."

Hearing this, the group was only half-convinced. They dispersed, each waiting for the sky to brighten again.

Little did they know, this wait would last for several months.

After months of living in darkness, the reclusive experts in the village could no longer remain calm. They gathered at the village entrance, their faces filled with suspicion and on the verge of argument.

"How could this happen?"

"If the sun doesn't return, we'll have to continue living in darkness. Relying solely on our spiritual senses to perceive our surroundings isn't sustainable. Forget about mundane tasks like collecting manure—even our daily cultivation has become impossible to focus on."

"If even we are at a loss and our minds are in such turmoil, imagine how much harder it must be for ordinary cultivators and common folk."

"Ah, no matter how anxious we are, it seems there's nothing we can do!"

"Is there really no other way but to wait for the sun to reappear?"

"What else can we do?"

Hearing the urgency in their voices, the ancient sage Luo Hongfei's expression turned grave. After a long moment of staring at the pitch-black sky, he solemnly put an end to the argument.

"Everyone."

"In all my years, I've never seen such a strange phenomenon. Even with our cultivation, we're struggling and anxious. The plight of the common people must be dire indeed!"

"The situation is urgent. We must all act immediately to uncover the reason for the sun's disappearance. Otherwise, disaster is imminent!"

Hearing this, the village's powerful cultivators responded with determination, scattering into the sky to investigate.

However, the situation was far more complicated than Luo Hongfei had imagined.

After a long search, the dozens of powerful cultivators found nothing. Some ventured into the starry sea but found no trace of the sun—even the stars had dimmed. Others traveled across the cloud-covered stars, their spiritual senses revealing a world of withered life and hellish landscapes.

The entire world had plunged into endless darkness, with fear and the unknown sweeping across the cloud-covered stars.

In just two years, the world had withered, and the common folk had been reduced to less than one percent of their former numbers.

With the sun gone for so long, all forms of life began to perish. The spiritual energy in the air grew increasingly scarce, and even common spiritual herbs used for crafting ordinary elixirs became nearly impossible to find, their value skyrocketing. Relying on spiritual energy to light up their surroundings became a luxury, and the days of sustaining themselves with elixirs were numbered.

Finally, even the various cultivation sects began to panic. Many of the ancient families and reclusive experts could no longer remain detached. All forces united, doing everything they could to find the sun while experimenting with various countermeasures.

To their despair, no matter how hard they tried, nothing worked. They could only watch helplessly as the world withered away, awaiting the arrival of the apocalypse.

Two short years, a mere blink of an eye for cultivators.

Yet in that seemingly brief moment, an unprecedented heavenly calamity had struck, transforming the cloud-covered stars and plunging the entire world into despair...

...

In the blink of an eye, another two years passed.

Since humanity had first discovered the path of cultivation, never had two years felt so long.

In these difficult two years, many cultivators had perished as their spiritual energy dwindled and their cultivation regressed. Even the reclusive elders lived in extreme hardship.

Amidst the cold, dark clouds, Wei Donghai was flying on his sword, no longer exuding the extraordinary aura of someone on the verge of breaking through to the heavenly realm. In such a harsh environment, his reserves were nearly depleted, and conserving every bit of spiritual energy was crucial.

Despite this, he continued his search for the reason behind the world's descent into darkness.

But as he flew, the scenes his spiritual senses revealed filled him with heartache.

The earth was cracked and barren, a desolate wasteland as far as the eye could see.

If cultivators were struggling in this cruel environment, the lives of common folk were even more unbearable. Those who had survived to this point numbered less than a thousandth of their former population, and even those who clung to life were gravely ill.

Corpses littered the land, and the heavens and earth were silent.

The once vibrant and thriving land had, in the blink of an eye, turned into a hellish wasteland.

Wei Donghai's heart ached as he slowly descended, looking around in sorrow.

His spiritual senses revealed no signs of life for thousands of miles.

Despite his cultivation, he was powerless to help the common people. Overcome with guilt and anger, he let out a furious roar to the heavens!

"Heavens!"

"Why have you taken the sun away?"

"Will you just stand by and watch as all life perishes?!"

His anguished cry echoed across the land, but there was no response. The silence of the surroundings was deafening, filling him with an indescribable sense of despair and helplessness.

After years of fruitless searching, Wei Donghai was on the verge of despair.

The silence now felt like the final straw, crushing his spirit. He lowered his head in resignation, slowly unclenching his fists.

Just as he was about to withdraw his spiritual senses, something unexpected happened.

He suddenly sensed ripples in the void not far away, accompanied by several powerful auras.

Instantly, Wei Donghai's eyes shot open in shock!

"In this world of withering life, how could there still be such powerful auras?!"

"Could it be that the ancient ancestors of humanity have come to our aid? Or perhaps Master Lu, who once subdued countless demons, has emerged with his followers?!"

Suddenly, a glimmer of hope ignited in Wei Donghai's heart.

Without a second thought, he flew toward the source of the powerful auras at full speed!

In the depths of despair, even the faintest glimmer of hope was enough to invigorate anyone. Wei Donghai was no exception. He pushed his cultivation to the limit, disregarding the immense drain on his spiritual energy.

Despite the heavy toll, his eyes were filled with hope, and a smile of excitement was on the verge of breaking through.

But when he reached the source of the auras, Wei Donghai froze in mid-air.

Below him, a small city was being ruthlessly slaughtered. The cultivators, already weakened by the lack of spiritual energy, were powerless to resist. They could only flee and wail in despair.

The owners of those powerful auras did not appear to be human ancestors. Instead, they were shadowy figures of unknown origin, now acting as executioners, slaughtering the city!

These shadowy figures possessed profound cultivation, their entire beings radiating a chilling, murderous intent. They showed no mercy, and in the blink of an eye, the city was drenched in blood!

Witnessing this scene, Wei Donghai trembled with rage!

"Bastards! Bastards!"

In a world already fraught with hardship, these scoundrels had emerged to kick humanity while it was down, exploiting our weakness to commit mass slaughter.

Such bullying was utterly despicable!

At this moment, Wei Donghai's fury surged like a raging sea. Ignoring his own declining cultivation, he drew his treasured sword and charged forward, ready to fight to the death!