The Dawn of the New World

Blasts of potent demonic energy began to ring out from all directions, turning the already ruined city of lights into a hellscape.

Grey kept a low profile while cutting through the remains of Argham but picked up speed upon reaching the open ground to sprint towards the dark forest. They all could hear the bellowing howls and screams of terror even after traversing several kilometers of the forest's rough terrain which spoke volumes of the force behind them.

The mere thought of it left Hao Xuan both excited and horror-struck because he had felt at least five different demonic energy types congregating towards his position, all of them stronger than the one he had just killed.

In fact, one of them was still following them from a distance.

Hao Xuan glanced over his shoulder but could not physically make out anything. Grey's swiftness was nothing to scoff and if it was simply a contest of speed Hao Xuan was sure that not many could catch up to him without several Laws or supplementary abilities to aid in the process.

"But then again, it's not impossible," he mumbled to himself.

The guard thought Hao Xuan was talking to him so he screamed in his ear, "WHAT?! I CANT HEAR YOU!"

*Sigh*

"Nothing, I wasn't talking to you!"

"WHAT? YOU HAVE TO SPEAK LOUDER, THE WIND IS TOO STRONG!"

"For fuck sakes, I ASKED WHERE THE OTHERS WERE, WHERE DO WE GO??"

"OHH, ITS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CITY, IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION! WE HAVE TO GO DOWN TO SOME OLD RUINS THAT HAVE A BUNCH OF SECRET TUNNELS UNDERNEATH!"

'Ruins? On the opposite east of the city?' Hao Xuan's brow naturally furrowed, 'Isn't that the same place Jin Wang took me to? It has to be, there were no other ruins on that side.'

"Alright, we'll head there after I take care of Wern's injuries."

"WHAT?! YOU HAVE TO SPEAK LOUDER IF YOU WANT-" the guard shouted again which was the last straw for Hao Xuan since he was still recovering from the aftereffects of the changes to his Mind Palace.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, I WASN'T TALKING TO YOU!" he screamed back, "QUIT SCREAMING IN MY GOD DAMN EAR!"

The guard instantly pipped down, muttering under his breath in embarrassment, "No need to be so rude...I was only trying to help."

Hao Xuan slowly steered Grey towards the northern side, keeping the city to the right so they could go around it from above.

"Slow down a little, don't make too much noise."

"Neigh!" x2

Thankfully with their speed it only took a little over 15 minutes for the black mountain to come into view. At first Grey tried to go around it but the city was far too close and Hao Xuan could still feel a couple of demonic energies roaming about.

"I guess stop here, we will wait for them to move away and then continue. It's too risky right now."

On Hao Xuan's command, Grey maneuvered around the barren landscape of the black mountain and climbed up from the west side, stopping in front of the same cavern that Hao Xuan had visited not too long ago with Ma Jiang.

"Get off, we will stop here for a couple of hours. Wern is too badly injured to keep moving around on horseback."

The guard jumped down reluctantly while glancing left and right, ever so vigilant in his quest for self-preservation.

The moment he let go of Hao Xuan the Yin Qi began to seep into his bones and a coldness took root in his heart. He let out a deep breath, watching the vapor get carried away deeper into the caves by a silent breeze.

"This place is cursed. We should not be here...only death roams these paths."

Hao Xuan picked up Wern in his arms and walked past him with wide strides, "Stay here then."

Dumbfounded, the guard watched Hao Xuan's back disappear into the cave. He gulped loudly and turned towards Grey with hope, "I guess it's just you and me, huh?"

Both of Grey's heads threw him a disdainful look before quickly jumping away and vanishing behind some boulders out of sight.

The guard stood in place for a minute or so before it became too much listening to the countless ghostly voices wandering in from all sides.

"Damn it all, these stupid foreigners will be the death of me!" he cursed lightly before running after Hao Xuan.

And just a few meters in he could see the light coming from a room.

"There you are!" he breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing both Hao Xuan and Wern inside.

But before he could go in a sharp whisper came from his immediate left, and it was a voice he recognized.

"Where were you all this time? Do you know how worried I was?!" it spoke.