The Dawn of the New World

"Alright!" Hao Xuan only needed to take a single look around at the situation that was getting worse by the second and before agreeing instantly.

He patted the lizard's back and made it change its direction to an area further to the left. The area he was aiming for looked like it had empty caverns from a distance but whether that was true was another story.

*Rumble*

Thunder rumbled once again, sounding more and more menacing every time. Rain droplets were now starting to be mixed in with the gales but they weren't very gentle.

It felt like someone was pricking Hao Xuan's skin with cold needles whenever a raindrop hit him. Even the lizards were starting to flinch from the pain.

Hao Xuan extended his hand outward and channeled his Qi. A Qi barrier using the Force energy was created, a forcefield of sorts.

"Come on, just a bit more," he leaned in spoke to Walking Lizard that was starting to lose its momentum. He then turned around and looked towards Jin Wang who was getting further away.

"STAY CLOSE!" he shouted loudly but with the thunder and the raging tempest closing in on them he could barely hear him. Thankfully he didn't need to hear the words to understand what Hao Xuan meant.

He steered his lizard towards Hao Xuan's, following closely behind in his slipstream.

*BOOOOOM*

An explosion that made Hao Xuan think the very dome of heaven was crashing down sounded some distance away. He looked towards its direction and saw a webbed silver wing coming out of the tornado.

He couldn't see the creature it was attached nor did he have any idea what had caused the explosion, but the sheer size of that wing was enough to send shivers down his spine.

Fully extended, it seemed like it was more than 70 kilometers wide. If someone had told him he was watching a movie right now, he would be inclined to believe that more.

Jin Wang's lizard was already having a hard time holding on and the shockwave from that explosion made it slip backward. Hao Xuan reached out to try and grab him but he was too far.

"God damn it!" Jin Wang cursed as he felt his body and the lizard about to freefall.

He waved his hand and a longsword appeared in his grasp. He plunged it into the cliff wall with everything he had, pushing it in all the way to the hilt.

*Crash~*

He still didn't let go of the Lizard, instead grabbing it even tighter with his legs. With both his and the lizard's weight the longsword ripped the cliff wall open and slowed them down just enough for his Lizard to grab hold of the cliff once again.

"Up here!" Hao Xuan's voice came from the spirit band as soon as Jin Wang stopped falling.

He looked up and saw him waving towards him from a ledge.

"Come on big boy, go!" he patted the flustered lizard again, making it sprint towards Hao Xuan.

As soon as Jin Wang reached Hao Xuan he looked around before calling the lizard back into the token.

It looked like the shallow ledge was home to a few smaller beasts some time ago. It expanded into the cliff and looked like it was going in pretty deep.

Hao Xuan grabbed a hold of his Glaive and walked in first, "Let's go."

The tornado was less than 20 kilometers away now. Even the massive beasts that were almost a dozen kilometer-long looked like ants in front of it and were thrown around like them as well.

Beasts, trees, rocks, and boulders, everything was now within the tornado's range and couldn't escape its momentum. Even parts of the cliff wall were being broken apart in the grinder-like winds and turned to dust.

The path Jin Wang and Hao Xuan had taken went straight inside the cliff. They didn't know how deep it was or what laid in store for them at the end, but it was better than staying near the entrance where nothing was safe.

They walked until the already dim light was all but gone. Hao Xuan waved his hand and took out a couple of Lightstone torches.

The hollow tunnel stunk of animal feces and stale air. If they weren't cultivators it would have been wiser to stay put.

An hour of walking later and the noises from the debris crashing against the cliff fall had all but vanished. In the dim light, they silently made their way through the never-ending network of tunnels. The only sound came from their footsteps, their breathing, and from Fortis chomping on Hao Xuan's hair like a cow.

He didn't care if anyone heard him or not so he just lazed around on Hao Xuan's head with a lock of hair in his mouth, chewing it much like bubblegum.

"Shh," Hao Xuan abruptly stopped. His ears twitched as he heard the sounds from a few hundred meters away. It sounded like....water?

He bent down to minimize his frame. Even Fortis became interested and turned around to see what was happening.

As they got closer, the sound of running water became louder and louder until even Jin Wang was able to hear it. He tapped Hao Xuan on the shoulder.

"If there's water, there are beasts. Careful!"

Hao Xuan nodded and covered his feet with Qi to reduce the sound even more. About a minute later they finally saw where it was coming from.

It was a fast-flowing underground river but what was flowing through it wasn't water but a purple liquid.

On the other side was another tunnel, this one much larger than the one they were in.