Under the misty moonlight and starlight, which seemed like a thick fog, Chu Feng was engulfed. From afar, one could see a cloud of white vapor rising there.
It felt very comfortable. Chu Feng was practicing a special breathing technique, his chest and abdomen moving rhythmically, with a faint fragrance wafting from his nose and mouth.
Historical records mention that some old Taoists or high monks, when they passed away while meditating, their bodies did not decay but emitted a pleasant fragrance throughout the room—a strange phenomenon.
Some say this was due to their years of research on elixirs, causing their bodies to be long imbued with these substances.
Other scholars have researched and believe that originally everyone would emit such a fragrance, reminiscent of orchids and musk, but because the world has become polluted, only a few can still exude this natural scent.
Now, Chu Feng's nose and mouth were surrounded by white mist, with a light fragrance spreading around him; he could even feel the sweet taste of saliva being swallowed, making him feel extremely comfortable.
This was a peculiar breathing technique performed at a certain specific rhythm. Chu Feng felt his body becoming light, as if about to lift off the ground.
This breathing rhythm made his vital signs stronger, full of vitality.
The time wasn't very long before the yellow ox opened its eyes first, lifting one hoof towards the sky and another towards the earth, mooing several times, signaling the end of its own breathing exercise.
Starlight fell upon them, and Chu Feng followed suit, vaguely realizing that although the time was short, his bodily vitality had reached saturation, continuing would be pointless.
"Crack!"
Suddenly, Chu Feng heard the sound of cracking coming from the courtyard wall, the ground shaking slightly, not violently but noticeable immediately.
"An earthquake?"
Then came the cries of alarm, disrupting the tranquility of the town.
Suddenly, the streetlights went out one after another, houses darkened simultaneously, power was cut off.
At the same time, Chu Feng turned on his communicator, finding the signal fuzzy, then completely lost.
"Moo!"
The yellow ox let out a low growl, its eyes shining brightly, looking towards the Taihang Mountains where purple clouds bloomed and silver light flowed.
Distant rumbling sounds could be heard.
Another drastic change began, though far away, it already brought an oppressive atmosphere, overwhelming energy covering everything.
"There are more mountains!"
Chu Feng was shocked to see many more mountains appearing in the distance, some towering ten thousand feet high, surpassing what was seen before.
Is this the true face of the Taihang Mountains?
The town was filled with panic, screams echoing everywhere.
Because the ground was stretching, streets breaking apart, houses starting to crack, showing terrifying fissures, threatening collapse.
Fortunately, this change happened slowly.
That night, peace was impossible.
Various frightened screams and children's weeping echoed through the night, creating chaos.
Boom!
A building collapsed.
"Mommy, I'm scared!"
"Wah... Grandma, what's happening? Dongdong is so scared."
Children cried out loud, terrified.
In this night, Qingyang Town was thrown into turmoil, unprecedented disaster striking.
Chu Feng ran out to save people, somewhat relieved that casualties were minimal, as most had fled their homes in advance.
When dawn broke, Qingyang Town had undergone a complete transformation.
A quarter of the houses collapsed, mostly in the northern part of the town, seemingly torn apart, leaving large gaps between broken buildings.
The eastern, southern, and western parts of the town were relatively better off, with only partial damage to houses, cracks appearing but no collapses.
Water and electricity were completely cut off, greatly impacted by the ground fissures.
Three people died, and a dozen were injured. Relatively speaking, it was fortunate that the ground fissures developed slowly, giving people enough time to escape.
Only a few who slept too deeply didn't leave their homes, leading to tragedy.
But this was enough to cause widespread panic, something never experienced before, especially with uncertainty about the future, changes in the environment, and uncertainty ahead.
People always fear the unknown because of lack of understanding, making it seem more frightening.
And now, it was a period full of mysteries, various anomalies occurring along with disasters. Who could predict what kind of era awaited?
Would it be prosperous or terrifying? People had no idea.
Qingyang Town was shrouded in gloom.
Cries, uneasy whispers, people were listless, fearful, unable to see the future.
Moreover, without water, electricity, or communication, isolated from the outside world, would rescue come?
People wondered about the outside world, whether similar situations occurred elsewhere, perhaps worse.
"Don't worry, only a small number of houses collapsed, enough for us to live in. Power outage isn't scary, our town has generators ready to use. As for water shortage, don't worry, several ancient wells will suffice," said Elder Zhao, invited by Chu Feng to calm people down.
Due to Elder Zhao's respected status in the town, his ancestral craftsmanship, unique cold weapon workshop, broad-mindedness, and toughness, he was highly esteemed.
Chu Feng returned home, located at the easternmost part of Qingyang Town, with little damage, only a few cracks in the courtyard walls.
The yellow ox gazed eastward, golden beams glowing in its eyes, seeming excited, hoping for something.
"What are you waiting for?" Chu Feng asked.
The ox remained silent, very quiet.
For several days, they were isolated from the outside world, completely cut off.
Some tried driving towards the county seat, but many asphalt roads were broken, turning into dirt paths, traveling over a hundred miles without seeing any towns.
This caused great unease, no longer daring to drive rashly, fearing fuel depletion and inability to return.
Normally, the county seat was just a dozen miles away, quite close to Qingyang Town, but now everything had changed.
Furthermore, mysterious mountains appeared along the way!
Some mountain bodies were dark, giving a sense of oppression, others lush with vegetation, filled with ape calls and tiger roars, truly astonishing.
If not for familiar scenery in the area, people might think they'd entered another world.
Qingyang Town seemed isolated from the world, people pessimistic. Even though the town's generator was running, nighttime lights couldn't dispel the fear of unknown fate.
Over several days, Chu Feng remained calm, closely observing all changes.
His parents lived in Shuntian, a giant city known as the Northern Center, with comprehensive protective measures, so he wasn't overly worried.
Several days, he practiced the peculiar breathing method regularly, feeling significant changes in himself.
He once lifted a heavy stone table in the yard, which was impossible before despite his superior physique—he could barely raise it half a foot high.
Chu Feng was secretly amazed by the obvious effects.
Morning and evening sessions, though brief, the special breathing rhythm seemed to gather medicinal properties, nourishing his body, enhancing physical vitality.
Remaining time, Chu Feng walked around, observing changes in the landscape.
Some places stretched, others unchanged. He traversed all familiar areas nearby, noticing a dramatic increase in overall area.
Adjacent mountains, lakes, distances increased tenfold, other terrains similarly affected.
Chu Feng pondered, originally Shuntian, the largest city in the north, was merely two hundred miles away, but now, according to estimates, it might be two thousand miles away?
Meeting his parents would be difficult now.
Six days later, his communicator suddenly received signals again.
Chu Feng contacted his parents first, both sides reported safety, sensing their concern, wanting him to go to Shuntian City.
Because it should be considered the safest place, with comprehensive defense measures and contingency plans.
Six dynasties had established capitals there, perhaps for good reason. Even during this drastic change, the entire city remained intact, not in a stretch zone, buildings undamaged.
This reassured Chu Feng, comforting them, promising to visit soon, asking them to wait patiently.
"Chu Feng, are you okay? My God, my weather has changed, the county seat split in two, with two colossal prehistoric mountains right outside the city, piercing the clouds, vast beyond measure," Zhou Quan called, describing in excitement, "Guess what I saw? A toad, damn it, as big as a millstone, eating an elephant!"
Zhou, incoherent, shouted over the phone.
Chu Feng finally understood, next to the county seat's two mysterious mountains, strange creatures emerged, though they hadn't descended yet, clear images captured through telescopes.
Zhou once saw a millstone-sized toad chasing and killing fierce beasts, even pouncing on and devouring an elephant.
After hanging up, Chu Feng fell into deep thought—if those fierce birds and monsters escaped, wouldn't the world fall into chaos? Hoping they couldn't leave the mountains.
Subsequently, his communicator kept ringing, friends and classmates checking in, exchanging recent conditions, ending with mutual wishes for safety and well-being!
The world was about to fall into chaos, Chu Feng's first impression.
Continuing like this, inevitably major events would occur, things would spiral out of control.
He quickly went online, reading various reports, gathering detailed information, knowing communication signals might be unstable, potentially interrupted anytime.
Worldwide, drastic changes had taken place!
Many feared, cried, recognizing it wasn't the world they knew anymore, peace irretrievably gone, anticipating storms ahead.
Houses collapsed on a large scale, although the ground fissures formed slowly, allowing enough time to escape, a small number still lost their lives.
People noticed distances between places increased roughly tenfold, meaning the world's area expanded over a hundredfold!
Some cried out, believing Earth connected to other terrifying worlds.
Others argued this was Earth's true face, previously hiding a primordial land, now revealed.
Folding space theories were intensively studied by various parties.
Unrest everywhere, photos of miraculous scenes reported.
Especially in famous mountains and rivers, divine trees blooming, holy springs bubbling forth, people competing for these sites, sparking surprise and suspicion.
For several days, the yellow ox stood quietly in the yard, staring into the void, as if watching something.
However, beneath its calm exterior, its eyes burned with heat, excitement, anticipation, lying dormant, waiting!
One morning, as the red sun rose above the Taihang Mountains, the yellow ox could no longer contain itself, letting out a low growl, urging Chu Feng to follow, rushing out of the yard!