But if drastic changes were also happening in the outside world and the belief that sustained them collapsed, no one, not even Yang Zhan, could predict what would happen.
Kong Xiangdong shook his head, "No, it won’t happen!"
"It should just be that the scope of the extreme night has expanded."
"Why are you so sure?" Yang Zhan’s eyes lit up, and he eagerly asked.
"Because of that homing pigeon," Kong Xiangdong said.
Yang Zhan suddenly realized and felt at ease.
"Oh, how could I forget about that homing pigeon?"
At that time, just after they crossed the Great Snow Mountain, the first thing Kong Xiangdong did was to release that homing pigeon.
If the outside world had also plunged into darkness, the pigeon would have lost its sense of direction and eventually returned.
But now that the pigeon had flown away and never returned, it was evident that the outside world was normal.
"Let’s go. Although the outside world should be normal, changes can happen over time. Staying on this snowfield, we cannot rule out the possibility of other incidents," Kong Xiangdong said.
"Understood!"
Yang Zhan gathered his spirits and turned to shout to the Sea Gatherers behind him.
"Everyone, keep pushing! It won’t be long before we can leave this damn place, so don’t lose heart now!"
Hearing Yang Zhan’s words, the Sea Gatherers’ spirits were lifted, and even their steps became lighter.
So they continued to march for half a day more. Although the sun was nowhere to be seen, by the passage of time, it should be morning.
Since crossing the Great Snow Mountain, no one had stopped for even a moment, pushing forward for a full day and night, yet wherever they looked, all they saw was the gloomy and dark landscape.
Once again, everyone’s morale hit rock bottom.
Some were so exhausted and hungry that they laughed and cried while walking, clearly on the brink of mental collapse.
Kong Xiangdong’s eyes were also bloodshot, but he remained remarkably composed and continued to lead at the front.
Yang Zhan no longer had the strength to speak.
At this moment, all he felt was parched, craving for a drink.
But the last jug of wine was finished hours ago.
He could only occasionally scrape some clean snow from rocks or dead shrubs to relieve his thirst.
They continued on, without knowing how much longer.
Yang Zhan felt disoriented, and if not for occasionally looking back to see the dark ship looming in the distant horizon, he would’ve thought it was a dream.
And once he woke from the dream, he would be resting comfortably back in camp.
He wasn’t the only one; others were in a similar state.
Many Sea Gatherers stumbled and fell to the ground, never to rise again.
Initially, people panicked and did everything they could to help.
But as time passed, everyone became numb. Some even felt envy for those lying breathless on the ground.
It wasn’t so bad to lie down like that!
At least they wouldn’t be so tired!
They kept walking like this!
Suddenly.
The drowsy Yang Zhan felt a sharp pain in his eyes.
At first, he was confused and didn’t know what happened.
But next, he heard Kong Xiangdong shouting beside him.
"Close your eyes, don’t look at the light, we’ve made it out!"
The elite among them understood they had been in the dark for too long, and sudden exposure to light could easily lead to blindness.
Hearing Kong Xiangdong’s words, they immediately closed their eyes.
Despite this, the warm sensation on their skin made many people weep with joy.
Is this the taste of sunshine?
After a full fifteen minutes of adapting, Yang Zhan opened his eyes and saw Kong Xiangdong observing the distant scene from the top of a large tree.
He rushed over to him.
"How...?"
Yang Zhan was about to ask how it was, but what he saw shut his mouth.
They had indeed left the boundaries of the extreme night.
But when looking back, they saw the path they had taken shrouded in a layer of gray mist.
Moreover, in that mist that seemed to sap the world of all color, the silhouette of the Black Ship remained faintly visible.
"What should we do now?" Yang Zhan muttered softly.
"Just stay cool!" Kong Xiangdong replied casually.
Yang Zhan couldn’t help but smile wryly, "Are you joking at a time like this?"
"I’m not kidding. We’ve left the Northern Realm snowfield. Those who wish to leave can do so, but I intend to stay here and watch for any changes while waiting for Zhao Ya’s reply!" Kong Xiangdong earnestly said.
Hearing this, Yang Zhan nodded and said, "Count me in too!"
"You?" Kong Xiangdong looked surprised at Yang Zhan.
"Why not? We’ve eaten from the same pot, so how could I abandon you?" Yang Zhan replied naturally.
And it wasn’t just him; upon learning the situation, most chose to stay, except for a few who wanted to leave.
According to the Sea Gatherers, it was obviously up to no good. If they don’t investigate thoroughly, they might not even have peace of mind, let alone go gathering by the Wuyang Sea.
Kong Xiangdong was silent for a moment before finally agreeing to let them stay.
Soon, they rebuilt the camp and assigned tasks, ensuring round-the-clock observation of distant movements.
Meanwhile, far away, thousands of miles away, Zhao Ya finally received the message delivered by the homing pigeon as Kong Xiangdong and the others set up their first observation line outside the Northern Realm snowfield.
After reading the message, even Zhao Ya couldn’t help but change color.
The message depicted such horrific facts.
Mist rising, the Black Ship appearing, the dead returning to life...
Each of these occurrences combined added to the air of mystery.
But Zhao Ya soon took a deep breath and calmed down.
Before this, Zhao Ya had already speculated about the existence lurking within the mist of the Wuyang Sea.
The appearance of the Black Ship didn’t escape these speculations much.
What shocked Zhao Ya was the strange attack method of the beast head on the prow.
According to Kong Xiangdong’s letter, the deathly aura that extinguished all life upon eye contact was enough to destroy a person’s spirit.
Had it not been for the Free-Loading Bird leader’s reminder, he would have died then.
Kong Xiangdong also included a rough sketch of the beast head in the letter.
Looking at the seemingly inaccurate sketch, Zhao Ya fell into deep thought.
Though simple, and many areas were severely distorted, something about it felt familiar to Zhao Ya.
Until, viewing it from a certain angle, inspiration struck him.
Isn’t this the legendary Hell Demon?
Thinking of this, Zhao Ya recalled a tale about the Wuyang Sea.
Rumor had it that the depths of the Wuyang Sea connected directly to hell, and the ever-present mist floated up from hell.
The appearance of the Black Ship and the beast head statue at its prow lent credibility to this rumor.
Could the Black Ship truly have come from hell?
Otherwise, how could it resurrect the dead to fight?
But Zhao Ya quickly dismissed the idea.
Even if hell existed in this world, without solid evidence, it would be nothing more than baseless speculation.
The urgent matter was not to ponder the Black Ship’s origins but to strategize responses.
Zhao Ya wasted no time, heading to the Library and dispatching his disciples to summon Qin Jianji and Shen Yunshen.
Upon hearing the events at the Wuyang Sea, even they couldn’t help but react.
"A Black Ship? The Wuyang Sea is perpetually shrouded in mist, how could a ship appear?" Qin Jianji exclaimed in disbelief.
"But it did appear!" Zhao Ya responded grimly, then looked at everyone.
"Master, elders, at this point, I plan to publicize this information immediately, so all sects can prepare."
Guo Luming, Qin Jianji, and Shen Yunshen were all taken aback, and Shen Yunshen couldn’t help but ask, "So you’re saying...?"
"That’s right, I intend to issue the Azure Dragon Order, disseminating it to major sects Beyond the World!"