âBoom! Boom! Boom!â A mysterious power engulfed the canyon.
âCroak.â A frog didnât know anything and jumped out of its hole onto a rock near the village entrance.
âBuzz.â It immediately turned into stone and stopped moving, similar to being frozen by extreme cold.
It still had its jumping posture with the right leg raised. Its left leg couldnât touch the ground before the petrification.
âItâs here.â Shi Wawa warned Li Qiye again: âDonât stay near the entrance, that power is terrible.â He then moved back deeper into the village.
This wasnât his first time seeing the perilous phenomenon. Alas, the fear still struck him each time.
He went back into his house and only extended his head out the door for a look.
Li Qiye remained standing by the entrance in order to sense the mysterious power in the fog.
âHurry, come back here!â Wawa shouted.
Everyone in the canyon was hiding in their own house. Thatâs the only way to guarantee safety. Taking one step out of the village meant certain death.
âBoom. Boom. Boom.â The sounds approached like an indistinct whisper.
It resembled an ancient grand dao echoing in oneâs ears, a type of mantra wishing for someone to understand it.
Li Qiye carefully listened. âBoom. Boom. Boom.â All could hear the sound despite how quiet it was. There was an unknown rhythm belonging to an old period.
âTheyâre right there at the entrance! Come back to the house or itâll petrify you!â Shi Wawa panicked.
Li Qiye didnât heed the warning.
By this point, one could only see the fog outside the entrance, nothing else.
The pillar became even brighter and shot out more rays in order to strengthen the barrier around the village. This looked like sparks suddenly shooting out of a bright lamp.
âTheyâre right there.â The reaction of the pillar told Wawa what was going on. He hid inside the room.
âBoom. Boom. Boom.â Li Qiye heard this sound as clear as possible.
There was a lack of fanfare and divinity but the most majestic force suddenly emerged. This power could crush the firmaments. However, the fog was keeping it under control, not letting it erupt.
Li Qiye continued sensing this power. âThis isâ¦?â
He became surprised because this power and rhythm were very familiar to him.
A figure finally emerged inside the shrouding fog, barely visible. It seemed to be jumping forward.
One more figure emerged not long after and another after and another. These figures moved too quickly for anyone to tell. This only served to scare people even more.
A spectator would assume that there were corpses jumping in the fog or some other evil creatures.
The lack of identification spawned multiple explanations about the fogs. One said that evil creatures in the fog were finding food.
But why the petrification? Because these evil creatures immediately sucked the victimsâ soul and essence, leaving behind an empty stone shell.
Another theory stated that the fog came from the opening of a terrifying world with dreadful existences. Alas, these beings couldnât come through this opening. They could only breathe out the fog to suck the life essences from this world. This theory made some people think that the canyon contains a portal to a dangerous realm.
âHow odd.â Li Qiye raised his brows while looking at the figures. He stretched his hand forward through the barrier to touch the fog.
âBuzz.â The petrification process immediately turned his hand into stone.
âAre you insane?!â Shi Wawa saw this and was scared out of his mind.
He mustered courage out of nowhere and ran out of his house towards the village entrance, pulling Li Qiye back from the fog.
The power permeating through the barrier truly affected him, causing him to stagger backward in fear. Nonetheless, he didnât let go and continued pulling Li Qiye back.
âDo, do you have a death wish?!â He was furious and shouted at Li Qiye: âDo that again and the monsters in there will eat you!â
Li Qiye smiled and stared at his stone hand.
âNo, no, no! Your hand is done for, nothing can cure this petrification, not even the greatest alchemist. Itâll shatter tomorrow.â Wawa became aghast.
âSays who?â Li Qiye chuckled and channeled his vitality using Chaos Mantra. The stone hand became resplendent and vitality returned.
âBuzz.â The stone affinity melted like snow and disappeared from sight. His hand turned into normal, completely undamaged.
âSee, still good.â Li Qiye touched it, amused.
Shi Wawa became slack-jawed. This was his first time seeing a recovery from the petrification.
âWhat?â He started touching Li Qiyeâs hand. Sure enough, it was made from flesh and bones. âIs this magic? How did you chase the petrification away?â
âBecause Iâm Li Qiye.â Li Qiye smiled, not revealing the actual reason.
â...â Wawa had no choice but to believe it since he witnessed the whole thing with his own eyes.
âStay in the village.â Li Qiye turned and walked towards the entrance.
âWhat are you doing?!â Wawa became afraid.
âGoing to take a look outside.â Li Qiye said flatly.
âNo, donât do it! No one can survive in the fog!â Wawa panicked and tried to stop him.