The Dawn of the New World

"Their blood?" Ryfon straightened his posture, "What do you mean?"

Cao Shuren used his pinky finger to dig into his left nostril while recalling what he saw, "I don't remember exactly but...it was like their blood was changing? or something? I don't know, it was so boring that I fell asleep halfway through. Anyways, they have been quarantined and Elder Wushing said he will take them back himself in a day or two."

"Hmm," Ryfon nodded and clicked on another window that was showing the scene of the roach camp, or rather where it once used to be.

He scoffed looking at the completely different scenery. There was a red mist covering the entire valley, only the massive bones protruding from the sides were visible from afar. Red and yellow flesh-like substances were growing all around the sides of the mountains like moss, covering everything.

It had even begun spreading outwards and towards other directions.

"We still don't know what exactly is down there. Not even our molecular scans were able to go further than a few hundred feet and they are sending kids in like its no big deal?" Ryfon scoffed.

"I agree with you on that one," Cau Shuren tapped on a screen that showed the same area from different points. The screen continued to zoom in until it was showing the fleshy moss growth.

He sighed, "We tried burning it, freezing it, suppressing it, used every law we could get our hands on, but no matter what we do it doesn't stop. It eats through everything and continues to expand. Its almost like...it's alive.." by the end his voice had dropped to a mere whisper but Ryfon who was right next to him obviously heard it.

"The Council needs to make a decision quickly. The longer this goes on, the worst it will become," Ryfon murmured with a shake of his head.

But Cao Shuren who was lost in thought a second ago suddenly woke up from his stupor and leaned in even further towards Ryfon, "Speaking of the Council, I heard your Uncle came too. I thought you guys didn't get along??"

Once again, using his index finger Ryfon pushed his head away, "We don't. Uncle is here for personal reasons."

It seemed like Cao Shuren was used to being treated like this since he didn't mind. He let out a deep breath as his eyes began to twinkle.

"Man, I really want to see him though. Us seniors have all heard rumors of the Great Elf General that wiped out two entire colonies a few years ago. They say he fights like a madman, like someone that has nothing to lose. Is that true?"

Ryfon kept looking at the screen in front of him in silence. Only after a good few minutes did he mumble, "No, he is much worse. He cultivates the Emotionless Dao so he feels nothing. No regret, no anger, no love, no hate. To him, everything is black and white."

Cao Shuren knew Ryfon had a history of not getting along with his Uncle so he chose not to speak any further.

***

Above the control room of the Vessel, a piece of space filled with white clouds and clear blue skies stretched out without end. The ground was covered in lush green grass that went further than the eye could see. There were small hills every now and then that moved up and down like a beating chest. What was inside then was unknown.

There was only one structure here. A two-story pagoda that continuously poured out thick streams of spiritual energy into the surrounding environment from each side.

Inside the pagoda sat seven people. Three on each side to the left and right in a row with the last one at the end.

Each of these individuals was covered in undulating white fog from the waist down, revealing only their upper bodies.

In front of each person was a small table with an assortment of unique foods and drinks. It was a minimalistic setting but one that spoke volumes.

At the far end was a middleaged man. He had a gentle smile on his completely ordinary face but the space around him was strange. Sometimes it looked like he was a thousand meter tall and the next, the size of an ordinary man. It was almost like an illusion but still real at the same time.

He looked around at the six people silently sitting in front of him and nodded.

"It is good to see that you all still haven't slowed down in your cultivation."