The Dawn of the New World

*Clang*Clang*Clang*

*Aurrrrrrhhh*

Hao Xuan reacted in a swift manner, ducking and rolling into a nearby bush for cover.

The gulley he had just crossed was only about six meters wide but he would need a running start if he wanted to jump back over right now since he was so tired. That meant that his back was against the proverbial wall and he could not just fall back that easily if there was trouble.

Keeping as low a profile as possible, Hao Xuan tried his best to focus all his senses to figure out what was happening around him.

The whispers were so loud that in this place that even though he managed to block out a few thousand of them, some of the stronger ones still managed to drill their way into his mind.

"As long as we are together, nothing can stop us!"

"Hahaha, we're here! What did I say? Didn't I tell you we would be rich?!"

"Brother, are you okay? Can you hear me? Brother?"

"AAAHH! No, brother! Please come to your senses! It's me! It's Su-"

"Someone help us, please! My brother is sick! His skin, something is wrong with him!"

"Brother! Where are you?! I- I can't see anything! Brother, please don't leave me behind, I beg you! I don't like the dark!"

"Bro...ther...ar...e...we...ther...e...ye...t...auuugh!"

Hao Xuan could easily tell that this was one of the more recent ones. It was also quite rare in the sense that all the sentences were coming from the same person one after another, creating a coherent and comprehensible series of events.

After listening in for a few minutes he was able to distinguish between the whispers and the sounds that were coming in at this moment.

It sounded like a fight, a group of more than a dozen individuals fighting against something, or perhaps several somethings. A little more than 20-30 meters away.

Hao Xuan sat down cross-legged where he was and started meditating. At least half of his concentration always had to be focused on keeping the whispers out otherwise he would probably go mad, but in a place like this where so many emotions gathered for whatever reason, he had to focus all his attention so as not to get overwhelmed.

He used the most basic breathing technique mentioned in the Imperial Glaive Doctrine and tried to circulate what little bit of Qi that was inside his meridians to alleviate the effects of some of the more severe whispers.

It took him close to ten minutes to get used to this new intensity of the whispers at which point he slowly got back up on his feet.

After checking his immediate surroundings Hao Xuan slowly moved towards the source of the noise through the shadows. But he was far too focused on the danger ahead to notice the strange imprints left behind on the spot he was just meditating on.

At a cursory glance, a two-meter wide ring colored in by shallow spiderweb shaped cracks was etched into the ground. It was barely deep enough to be able to be perceived for what it was, and far too shallow to leave any long-lasting markings. In fact, a moment after Hao Xuan left it disappeared of its own accord as if it was never even there to begin with.

Step by step Hao Xuan got closer. He was surrounded by tall bushes on all sides which provided enough cover for him to move with some level of freedom. A cold wind blew in from the front as Hao Xuan came to the edge of the forest and peered downward.

His mouth fell open as soon as he realized what he was looking at queuing the memories of the past to flood back.

In front of him was a collapsed valley. There was only a single broken structure inside it that looked like it had been dug up halfway.

The structure was in the shape of a polyhedron, resembling a mesoamerican pyramid from earth like the ones created by the Mayans. It was identical to the ones discovered on earth, only much larger in size.

Seeing it jogged Hao Xuan's memories because that was the last significant world event of note before he was brought over to the Beast world. He remembered seeing it live with some online friends as people prayed thinking the world was going to end.

'I wonder if their prayers were answered...' Hao Xuan couldn't help but think seeing the same scenes.

From the looks of it, only the top-front side of this pyramid was dug up and the rest of it was still buried deep underground. But it was in front of this cleared area where the noises were coming from.

Hao Xuan's eyes narrowed as his gaze fell on the familiar silhouettes engaged in combat not far from him.

"Looks nice doesn't it?" a somewhat muffled voice asked from behind, startling Hao Xuan.