Most of the alien tribes, though skeptical upon receiving the news, still made preparations. After all, it was better to be safe than sorry. If nothing happened, all the better. But if disaster truly struck, these preparations might save lives. Now, sensing the changes, their expressions changed drastically as they immediately sprang into action.
"The catastrophe is really here."
"Don't be afraid! Trust in our strength! All of our Great Yi's immortal cities are constructed with Xuanhuang Bricks—incredibly sturdy. No matter how great the disaster, we can withstand it."
"Exactly! What are we afraid of? We are no longer defenseless mortals. We are all cultivators—self-reliant and strong like dragons! If we unite, we'll surely weather the calamity."
In the various immortal cities, countless citizens felt shaken. Although warnings had long been issued, until something actually happened, everyone still held a sliver of hope that it was a false alarm. But now, all illusions were shattered. There was no longer any room for luck or doubt.
"Let's go up to the city walls and see what kind of disaster this is."
Some brave souls even rushed up to the city walls, determined to see the catastrophe with their own eyes. Ever since becoming cultivators, they had gained not only strength but also courage. Before, few would have dared climb the walls during danger.
"It has begun. The natural disaster is finally here."
Above Xuanhuang City, a seven-colored Rainbow Bridge appeared in the sky, suspended in midair. Standing atop it were Yi Tianxing, Huang Chengyan, and other high-ranking officials of Great Yi, all watching the surroundings in silence, faces heavy with solemnity. From the wilderness, countless fierce beasts fled in terror, ferocious birds filled the skies, blotting out the sun. Panic and fear radiated from every direction.
At the same time, a rumbling sound echoed from deep within the earth—growing louder with each passing moment.
"An earthquake. These are the precursors of an earthquake," Jiang Ni said with certainty.
The Seismoscope hadn't been wrong—the fluctuations it detected came from underground. This disaster was rooted in the earth itself.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ground thundered louder and louder.
Suddenly, the earth began to tremble. Everyone on the Rainbow Bridge tensed up. They felt a formless pressure fall over them, their hearts pounding uncontrollably.
"It's here. The earthquake has truly begun."
The first tremor was only a warning.
RUMBLE!
Then came the second, much stronger tremor.
The first tremor merely alerted the people of Great Yi and all surrounding territories—both humans and aliens—that the earthquake was real. A heavy pressure began pressing down, increasing rapidly.
The second tremor was much more violent.
One could see ripples spreading across the land like waves on an ocean. The sight was terrifying. In the wilds, towering trees swayed violently, leaves fell like rain. Stones bounced off the ground and into the air.
Fierce beasts were thrown several feet off the ground, some bleeding from their eyes, ears, and nostrils. The sky-borne birds were disoriented and thrown off course. Clearly, the tremors weren't just for show—they contained immense earth-shattering force.
The tremors extended across the entire Great Yi Dynasty. You could visibly see the rippling ground crashing against the immortal cities. It looked like the earth was a raging sea and the cities were islands, being pounded by monstrous waves.
Each immortal city rocked violently, as if they were tiny boats in a stormy ocean. Buildings inside the cities shook, daily items fell, and some porcelain smashed into shards. Fortunately, the citizens were all cultivators, so there were no casualties.
Even so, the shaking was intense. A great force surged from underground, knocking everything askew.
RUMBLE!!
Outside Xuanhuang City, a towering mountain quaked. Huge boulders tumbled from its peak, thundering as they fell—an avalanche of rocks. Though it seemed the mountain might collapse, only loose rocks fell; the mountain itself remained.
Even this couldn't shake Xuanhuang City—a supreme artifact in its own right. The tremors were completely neutralized before they could threaten it.
But only a few breaths after the second quake, the third tremor struck—far more intense than the last.
This wasn't a wave—it was a storm over a raging sea.
The once-solid earth now rippled like boiling water. It felt like bombs were going off beneath everyone's feet—violent tremors made it impossible to keep balance.
CRACK!!
The ground split open.
Countless cracks, like spiderwebs, spread in all directions. Beasts fell into these cracks and were swallowed whole—dead on impact. There was no escape. The earth devoured them.
Ancient trees were shattered and reduced to splinters, debris flying in every direction.
From these cracks, blazing flames suddenly burst out—earthfire! One could glimpse lava beneath the surface. Beasts struck by these flames were cooked alive, turned to ash. The smell of scorched flesh and burning meat filled the air.
This earthfire, pulled from deep underground, was no less terrifying than a volcanic eruption. It could erupt anywhere, at any time, from any crack. There was no pattern—just unpredictable destruction.
The air was thick with the stench of sulfur.
"This is what a natural disaster truly is..." Huang Chengyan muttered, stunned. One could not fathom the terror of a natural disaster without seeing it with their own eyes.
"A world-ending force... true extinction," he whispered.
"The ground cracks and collapses. Earthfire rages. This... is this hell?" Wu Yong stared in horror, his face pale. In the face of nature's wrath, the power he once held felt like a joke. If he had been outside, he was certain he wouldn't have lasted long.
"Those beasts weren't weak—some were Tier 2—and still, they were crushed by the seismic waves, bleeding from every orifice, then burned by earthfire..." Yang Ye gasped.
"There is no safe place. The disaster reaches everywhere," Zhuge Liang said softly, clutching his feathered fan.
"Our immortal cities suppress the wilderness. Each is built with Xuanhuang Bricks, unyielding, and located at convergence points of earth energy. They suppress the flow of that energy and remain stable—for now," Yi Tianxing explained.
This earthquake had long surpassed a mere "magnitude 9 or 10." The critical factor was the power of the earth itself, earthforce—a destructive energy beyond mortal comprehension.
The dragon of the earth has stirred!
Across the Great Yi realm, the immortal cities emitted divine light. The Xuanhuang Bricks glowed, anchoring into the land and suppressing the chaotic earthforce. Though the cities shook, they remained whole—no broken walls, no collapsed structures.
Even the surrounding dozens of miles remained mostly stable. Minor cracks appeared, but no earthfire emerged. It was nothing short of a miracle.
While Great Yi was protected, the alien tribes in the wilds were thrown into utter terror.
In the Iron Hoof Tribe, a large group of Minotaurs gathered around a colossal Minotaur statue in the center of the camp—ancient, mysterious. Many were on their knees, furiously kowtowing.