Chapter 1420: Deepening Abyss

A deep rumble echoed from beyond the Tianshu Domain.

Those who were furiously resisting the waves of calamity from the Whispering Wilds, relying on the Celestial Spire's defenses, felt the ground beneath them shake violently. Even the buildings within the domain trembled, as if on the verge of collapse. Although the calamities of the Whispering Wilds had caused tremors when they trampled the land before, the current violent shaking was not on the same scale. It felt as if an earth dragon was twisting and burrowing deep underground, threatening to turn the entire domain upside down.

"What's happening? An earthquake?"

"I've never heard of the Whispering Wilds' calamities causing an earthquake of this magnitude."

"Is it just me, or does the epicenter feel like it's moving?"

"Wait..."

"The vibrations are coming from outside the domain!"

As if realizing something, the Celestial Spire's artisans immediately brought a giant telescope from the top of the spire. After adjusting its direction, they peered towards a specific point outside the Tianshu Domain. The next second, everyone froze.

"That... that's..."

Billowing dust rose from the land outside the Tianshu Domain, like a colossal storm of sand and gravel, surging forward with a roar, filling every corner of the world. Innumerable terrifying abyssal fissures spread wildly across the ground, as if something from deep beneath the earth had burst through from the north, merely brushing past the edge of the Tianshu Domain before rushing straight in another direction! The mere glancing blow of these abyssal fissures almost caused a thousand buildings to collapse, and even the Celestial Spire itself began to sway precariously!

It was the apocalypse of the land, the roar of the abyss. The Celestial Spire's artisans had never witnessed such a sight.

"The Scarlet Overlord of the Ghost-Mocking Abyss, the Formless King who mocks fate," an elder inside the Celestial Spire murmured to himself. "The last calamity domain, which has always lain dormant, has finally moved..."

"The Ghost-Mocking Abyss is joining the fight too? Do we stand any chance?" Everyone's hearts sank into icy despair.

"No, it's not targeting us."

"...Then which domain are they targeting?"

The elder gazed in the direction of the cracked earth and paused, slightly startled.

"Strange..."

"In that direction, there should only be..."

The Nanhai Domain.

"Damn it..." Pu Xiachan dragged her exhausted body, stumbling through the scarred streets. Her gaze fell upon the bloodied corpses of her family members lining the streets, their bodies covered in forbidden runes. Her face was deathly pale.

The Pu family members who had fought their way out of the siege with her just a short while ago had fallen one after another under the relentless attacks of the calamities. The Forbidden Sea's calamities were simply too numerous; every street they traversed required two or three major battles, and now even Pu Xiachan was on the verge of exhaustion. She looked at the Nanhai Domain, which had been completely transformed into a calamity's playground, and felt a moment of daze. She had grown up in the Nanhai Domain, and her feelings for it were beyond words. Now, watching her home turn into ruins, powerless to stop it, anger, helplessness, and bitterness flooded her heart.

*Whoosh!*

Just then, a red flare shot up from the distance, soaring into the sky. The moment she saw the flare, Pu Xiachan paused, her fists clenching silently. A look of struggle appeared on her face.

As Pu Xiachan was momentarily lost in thought, a dark shadow leaped from a mirror-like icy reflection. A long, spined fish, jet-black and covered in runes, surged forth like an assassin hidden beneath the water's surface, rocketing towards Pu Xiachan's neck with astonishing speed! By the time Pu Xiachan felt the chill, it was too late. She turned back in shock, the calamity's spike already upon her!

*Pffft—*

A faint gunshot echoed from a distance. A deconstructing bullet instantly annihilated the spined fish into nothingness. It wasn't until the cold, foul-smelling breeze brushed against Pu Xiachan's cheek that she belatedly snapped back to reality.

She looked behind her. An enforcer's trench coat flapped in the cold wind. Han Meng stood with a black pistol, scavenged from the corpse of a Nanhai police officer, in his hand, his gaze fixed on the burning flare in the air.

"The flare means the last inter-domain train is ready... We should leave."

"Leave..." Pu Xiachan's face twisted in pain. "...I won't be a deserter!"

"Leaving now isn't desertion."

"No! You don't understand, this *is* desertion!" Pu Xiachan's eyes were red. "I grew up here; this is my home... Now my home is occupied by calamities, and my friends from childhood have been killed by them. I can't just leave like this!"

The wailing wind and snow brushed against Han Meng's face, and he fell silent. After an unknown period, he looked at Pu Xiachan's breaking eyes and spoke softly:

"I understand..."

Pu Xiachan paused, slightly startled. She looked at the enforcer's trench coat flapping in the wind and snow, and finally remembered something, her gaze incredibly complex. Yes... perhaps no one in this world understood this feeling better than Han Meng. The same Forbidden Sea, the same bone-chilling cold. When calamity surged into the Aurora Domain, everything he once protected was trampled into dust before his eyes... He had already experienced the same thing once before.

"Abandoning your comrades and people when there's still hope—that's called desertion..." Han Meng paused for a moment. "The Nanhai Domain is now a dead city. You've done your best. Even if you stay and risk your life to kill one or two more calamities, what good will it do? Don't forget, you are a Celestial Starbearer, the hope of the new generation of humanity. So many people have placed their hopes in you. If you die here, all their efforts will be in vain... If you can't perish with these calamities, then first save your own life and seek an opportunity for revenge later."

Pu Xiachan lowered her head. After a long inner struggle, she finally nodded.

Han Meng said nothing more, quickly leading Pu Xiachan towards the direction where the flare had risen. He didn't know how many combat-ready survivors remained in the Nanhai Domain, but he estimated that very few would be able to reach the inter-domain train. Fortunately, both Han Meng and Pu Xiachan were exceptionally strong. Working together, they fought their way through several streets of overwhelming odds.

"Wait."

Just as they were about to reach the inter-domain train, Han Meng's peripheral vision caught something, and he stopped. Pu Xiachan followed Han Meng's gaze and saw a hand protruding from a pile of collapsed ruins. Half of a wanderer's robe sleeve looked somewhat familiar to Han Meng.

Han Meng walked forward and directly pushed aside the heavy stone wall pressing down. The unconscious Zhao Yi came into his view.