The Art of Chaotic Divinity-Chapter 1236: The Past
"Heavenly Pool Island?"
Ling Feng narrowed his eyes, a confused look crossing his face.
"Oh, young man, you must be from the outside world. It's no wonder you haven't heard of it," the old woman said, slowly shaking her head. "This area used to be known as the Sea of Miracles. Five hundred years ago, a battle between two powerful experts shattered the surrounding space. The Sea of Miracles, along with several nearby islands, was then dragged into that chaotic space."
"Heavenly Pool Island was the most populated of those islands. According to ancient records, that island was originally called Jiumu City."
"Jiumu City!?"
Ling Feng and Lin Mu exchanged glances in astonishment. So the people of Jiumu City really had been swallowed by the Sea of Miracles.
The old woman nodded. "At first, our ancestors thought they were doomed. But by sheer luck, they survived. They thanked the gods, believing that escaping such a calamity meant they were blessed."
"That's still better than everyone dying," Lin Mu said with a grin.
"But the real disaster was only beginning!"
Ma Chunhua's brow furrowed deeply. "During the first few decades, our ancestors searched everywhere for a way out. They soon discovered that the space within the Sea of Miracles was extremely unstable. Strange black vortices would appear without warning, instantly devouring anyone who strayed too close. No one ever returned from them."
Ling Feng and Lin Mu exchanged glances. "Space rifts," Ling Feng murmured. They had already known the laws of space-time were unstable in the Sea of Miracles.
"It didn't stop there," Ma Chunhua continued. "After a century passed,it became clear that escape was impossible, and people began to settle down and reproduce on Heavenly Pool Island."
"If that's true, why did you leave the island?" Ling Feng asked. "The ancestors of Jiumu City chose to build a life there, yet you fled. What happened?"
The old woman's face turned pale with fear. "Please, allow me to explain slowly. Heavenly Pool Island may once have been a haven within the Sea of Miracles, but that was long ago. It is no longer the same place."
"After the second century began, the cultivators on Heavenly Pool Island discovered that the spiritual energy of the world was fading. Their cultivation stopped advancing, and then started to decline. As their power weakened, so did their life essence. People who once lived for centuries quickly became ordinary mortals, unable to resist the passage of time. Panic spread among them."
Ling Feng frowned. "A change in the world's structure and the depletion of spiritual energy. That is a serious problem!"
"But what came next was far worse."
Ma Chunhua's frail body trembled. "In the beginning, cultivators did not need to eat because they sustained themselves by absorbing spiritual energy. The food supplies on the island miraculously lasted for a century. But everything changed when they began to feel hunger."
"Their appetites grew far beyond those of ordinary people. They devoured food with desperate hunger, yet it barely helped maintain their strength. The stores were soon emptied, but their hunger never faded. They started eating tree bark, roots, even soil. They consumed anything they could swallow."
Her voice broke. Tears welled in her cloudy eyes, as if she were reliving a memory too painful to bear. "Until, finally..."
Ma Chunhua stopped speaking, her aged eyes welling up with tears as she recounted a painful memory.
"???"
Ling Feng clenched his fists. He already knew what came after everything edible was gone...
...
...
"I used to be a singer when I was young..." She said at last, her voice trembling. "But ten years ago, those monsters provoked a terrifying enemy. In the chaos, I found a small boat and fled. That was how I reached this island. It has been ten years since then..."
