Chapter 72: The Omen of Two Realities
Three days after leaving the Blue Stone City, Han Feng walked through the desolate areas that separated the edge of the Western Region from the official entrance to the Central Region. The rapid storms that ravaged the gorges seemed to have intensified, and lightning struck the sky with increasing frequency. The air had a strange density, as if the spiritual energy were oscillating between two extremes. With the Tear of the Black Sun now fused into his sea of consciousness, Han Feng felt sharper, more present, but also... disconnected. It was as if two truths inhabited his mind, as if memories and sensations that did not belong to him were trying to manifest. "It's not just the spiritual energy... The sky is different too," he murmured, watching a thin, almost imperceptible fissure cross the heavens for a brief moment before disappearing. He headed towards the Jade Tear Canyon, where, according to an ancient map he had acquired from Old Mo, an extremely rare defense-offense type Gu was hidden: the Starry Wind Lotus. He couldn't afford to let this chance slip away. The growing tension in the world, the instability in the natural laws, and the constant feeling of being watched made it clear: a catastrophe was approaching. As he crossed the ravine, he found signs of a recent battle. Pulverized rocks, marks of spiritual burns, and dismembered bodies of wild beasts. But the strangest thing was a fragment of a cocoon made of a material he had never seen before. It looked like crystal, but pulsed with an energy completely different from that of the Gu World. Upon touching it, a flash crossed his mind. He saw a field of black stars, with floating pillars and mountains that moved like serpents. A name echoed in his consciousness: "Ancient Cultivation Planet..." Han Feng's eyes widened. That didn't belong to his world. The energy pulsating from that fragment was similar to an old memory from her past life... but different. Still, somehow, familiar. — Has the collision already started? — he murmured, closing his fist around the fragment. Before he could meditate on it, a presence cut through the air. A young man in white clothes and jade eyes landed ahead, his steps as silent as the breeze. — You found the fragment... Return it. It doesn't belong to this world. Han Feng frowned. The aura of that man was strange, almost as if it were not rooted in the natural laws of the Gu World. — Who are you? — Someone who came before their time. You shouldn't see this yet... Without further ado, the young man attacked. His style was rigid, methodical, like the cultivators from the world where Han Feng had come in his first life. Each strike seemed to warp the space around it. Han Feng retreated, activating the Crimson Whirlwind and his new defense Gu: the Veil of Darkness Barrier. The battle dragged on for intense minutes. The rocky columns of the gorge were destroyed, and the spiritual energy present there seemed on the verge of collapse. At the peak of the confrontation, Han Feng revealed part of the power of the Black Sun Tear, creating a mental illusion that momentarily trapped the opponent in a cycle of memories. Using the gap, he launched a combined attack of shadow and wind, piercing the enemy's chest. The man staggered, but smiled. — It doesn't matter... more will come... and you will see... And then, his body turned to golden dust. Han Feng remained silent, feeling his heart race. It was not just an anomaly: he had faced a being that did not belong to the Gu World. He looked at the fragment in his hand, which now floated slowly, as if it recognized his presence. Behind him, on the horizon, a faint silver dawn cut across the skies. Signs of the collision were becoming more frequent. But Han Feng was prepared. Because when the worlds met, he didn't just intend to survive... He intended to dominate.