High above Yellow Leaf City, a massive flying ship was gliding smoothly across the sky. But without warning, a violent surge of spiritual wind swept through the air. The hull shuddered violently. The formation stabilizers lost control, and the entire ship was thrown off balance, plunging straight down from the heavens.
Before Zhang Wen's thoughts could fully settle after the system's warning, a faint tremor rippled through the stone floor of the trading house. His brows knit slightly as the ground beneath his feet began to quiver, as though something immensely heavy was descending from the sky.
He released his divine sense at once.
The image that returned caused his eyes to narrow.
A colossal flying ship was falling uncontrollably from the heavens. It was plunging directly toward Yellow Leaf City, with no sign of slowing down in the slightest.
Zhang Wen turned to look at Ming Yuan. A certain thought flashed through his mind. He suddenly recalled the system's earlier words about investing in someone with black luck.
Misfortune… that could take their lives at any moment.
Boom!
A deafening impact shook heaven and earth as the enormous cargo ship slammed down onto the city's protective barrier. Shockwaves burst outward in all directions. The air distorted violently, and the stone floor trembled as dust rained down from the ceiling of the trading house.
Zhang Wen frowned immediately and spoke in a low voice.
"Follow me."
Ming Yuan, still caught off guard, was startled. He hastily wiped away the remaining tears and followed Zhang Wen without hesitation.
The two stopped by a second floor window, staring outside.
The scene before them made even Ming Yuan, who had just crawled back from the edge of death, draw in a sharp breath.
The massive cargo ship was crashing down onto the city's protective formation. Moments later, the defensive array began to fail. Cracks spread rapidly across its surface, glowing lines fracturing like a giant web. Dust and compressed shockwaves battered the barrier until the fractures expanded uncontrollably.
Then the formation could endure no longer.
Boom!
A sharp cracking sound rang out as the city's protective barrier shattered into countless fragments. Screams erupted throughout the city at the same time. Buildings trembled violently as people panicked and fled in all directions.
And the path of the falling flying ship… was aimed directly at the trading house where Zhang Wen and Ming Yuan were standing.
Ming Yuan's eyes widened, his face turning deathly pale.
"That ship… it's falling right here!"
At that very moment, the great river flowing through the center of Yellow Leaf City began to tremble. The water surged upward as if a slumbering dragon had awakened. A vast torrent of water shot into the sky, forming a gigantic watery arm that caught the falling flying ship in midair with ease.
The terrifying impact was absorbed by the current. The sound of twisting metal echoed loudly, yet the ship no longer continued its fall. The mass of water rotated steadily, supporting its entire weight before gently dragging the ship away from the city, as though it were nothing more than a fragile paper boat.
Inside the fractured hull, Zhang Wen's gaze swept across the interior, and in that instant his eyes narrowed sharply.
Explosive stones.
Countless blocks of black red energy stones were piled densely inside the cargo hold. They were materials used to construct large scale weapons, such as war cannons. If this ship had successfully crashed into the ground from such a height, Yellow Leaf City would have vanished in an instant, leaving not even ruins behind.
And that was not all.
Several iron cages inside the ship had been smashed open. The deafening sound of wings beating filled the air. A swarm of man eating bees, a ferocious insect type demonic beast species, was rampaging within the vessel, slaughtering the crew with brutal efficiency.
Within the ship, Zhang Wen could sense the corpses of several cultivators at the Nirvana Realm being devoured by the swarm. If the ship did not explode, those creatures would likely survive and escape. When that happened, the entire city would become a massive dining table overnight.
Zhang Wen let out a soft sigh.
Was this the misfortune the system had spoken of?
The reasons for death were truly… abundant. If one did not die from the explosive stones, there was always the second option of being hunted down and eaten alive by man eating bees.
He glanced toward the direction of the city lord's residence. Three faint Nirvana Realm auras were spreading outward in tension as they worked together to guide the ship away using water manipulation. Judging from the aura fluctuations, the lord of Yellow Leaf City appeared to be at the same realm as him, perhaps slightly higher in minor stage.
Such cultivation would be considered low for a city lord on the Black Wind Continent. However, this region lay at the southernmost edge, near the boundary with the Jade Gold Continent where spiritual energy was thin. As a result, the spiritual energy within the city itself was scarce, and few powerful cultivators were willing to settle here.
Zhang Wen immediately turned his gaze back toward the flying ship as the swarm of man eating bees began to burst free in frenzied chaos. Countless auras at the Spirit Formation Realm spread outward, overlapping in dense waves. Translucent black wings shook the air violently, the buzzing sound merging into something closer to the roar of a high level demonic beast. The stench of poison and fresh blood diffused rapidly, blanketing the surroundings, and among them were even stronger auras that surpassed the Spirit Formation Realm, slowly stirring within the ship.
"Dangerous…"
Zhang Wen frowned. Almost instinctively, he condensed water energy to envelop Ming Yuan. Pure, transparent water formed a thin protective armor around the young man's body. At the same time, Zhang Wen raised his hand and activated a teleportation formation without hesitation. Blue light spiraled into existence in midair, and both figures vanished from Yellow Leaf City within a single breath.
But the moment the teleportation ended, Zhang Wen sensed something terribly wrong.
The ground shook.
This was not an ordinary tremor. The vibration came from deep beneath the earth itself, as if the world's core were being disturbed. A deafening cracking sound echoed outward, like something was tearing the planet's crust apart.
"It is hunting Ming Yuan…"
He had only just brought Ming Yuan to a desolate stretch of land dozens of li away from the city. This place should have been a silent plain, untouched and calm.
Yet in the very next instant, a massive fissure split open directly before them.
The earth collapsed inward, the ground caving down in a widening circle as the land itself seemed to be swallowed by an unfathomable abyss below.
Ming Yuan shouted immediately.
"Watch out!"
Before his words had fully left his mouth, the ground beneath their feet collapsed without warning. A massive sinkhole opened wide, devouring everything around it. If it were an ordinary cultivator, even someone at the Nirvana Realm would find it difficult to withstand such terrifying suction.
But Zhang Wen merely flicked his hand.
An enormous volume of water erupted from the surrounding air, condensing into a gigantic pillar that stabbed into the ground. It anchored both of them firmly in place. The裂 gap beneath their feet expanded violently, passing by their toes with only a hair's breadth to spare before collapsing completely into the abyss below.
Yet they had no time to breathe in relief.
Boommmmm!
The rocky mountain beside them collapsed in its entirety. Tens of thousands of boulders shattered loose, crashing down like a meteor shower. Enormous chunks of stone hurtled through the air at terrifying speed, and the entire area was swallowed by dust and smoke.
Ming Yuan's eyes widened. His heart pounded wildly as fear sank deep into his bones. He could sense it clearly now.
This was not an accident.
It was as if the world itself was trying to take his life.
A massive boulder fell from the sky, plunging straight toward the spot where Ming Yuan stood. If it struck him directly, his body would be crushed into dust in an instant.
But Zhang Wen simply stepped forward.
Water swirled calmly around his body before surging outward with precision. It collided head-on with the descending boulder. A deafening explosion echoed as the stone disintegrated into fine powder in midair.
The ground continued to tremble without pause. The sky darkened unnaturally as black clouds churned low overhead. Thunder roared across the heavens, and purple red lightning bolts tore downward without reason. One of them curved sharply in midair, shooting straight toward Ming Yuan as if guided by an unseen hand.
Zhang Wen let out a soft sigh.
"This is starting to get frightening…"
He spread his arms as boundless water gathered, forming a vast watery dome that enclosed both of them. It lifted them into the sky as lightning slammed violently into the ground below, shaking heaven and earth with a thunderous roar.
Within the water sphere, Ming Yuan gasped for breath, his chest rising and falling rapidly. His heart beat wildly out of rhythm, his face drained of all color. Only now did he truly understand.
His life was being hunted by the heavens themselves.
This was not mere misfortune.
It was the entire world, ready to kill him at any moment.
If Zhang Wen had not been here, he would have died long ago within Yellow Leaf City.
Zhang Wen calmly observed the chaos outside as a thin line of blood slipped from the corner of his mouth. His Nirvana Realm aura surged violently, pressing outward like a rising tide. Then he drew another teleportation formation with a swift motion of his hand.
In the next instant, both Zhang Wen and Ming Yuan vanished once again.