Stronger with Crimson Modifier-Chapter 125 - 135: Gray Fog [2]

The gray fog twisted and swirled, taking on a murky hue, like dust settled over the ages.

They mingled with the snowflakes and seawater, remaining inconspicuous.

However, as time passed, the gray fog grew more plentiful. Once it reached a certain concentration, it rapidly spread through the surroundings, becoming increasingly dense.

By the time Du Wang noticed, the gray fog seemed to have a life of its own, rapidly billowing outward. In just a few seconds, it had enveloped the sea for several thousand meters in every direction.

It all happened so suddenly.

Du Wang’s expression shifted slightly as an invisible ripple burst from his body.

With a raise of his hand, a blast of white True Energy slammed into the gray fog.

Yet it only managed to evaporate less than half of it. The remaining fog swelled and spread rapidly, as if it had consumed a potent elixir.

Seeing this, Du Wang’s heart sank as a sense of foreboding washed over him.

He rose to his feet and executed the Void Soaring Step.

He arrived above the vortex and looked down to see the gray fog surging out from within.

Upon seeing this, his expression wavered. The next moment, the phantom of a colossal Red Snake materialized behind him. It threw its head back and hissed, letting out a heaven-shaking roar.

Crimson, crescent-shaped ripples pulsed outward, colliding with the gray fog and dispersing it.

But a second later, the fog rapidly reconverged as if imbued with Spirituality. It grew denser, transforming into tendrils that shot out to entangle and envelop Du Wang.

No matter how his aura flared, he couldn’t destroy the chains formed by the fog’s tendrils.

"Hm? This... this power..."

His expression twisted in horror as he clearly felt the gray fog invading his body.

The True Essence Power within him, which he normally controlled with perfect ease, now felt sluggish and stagnant.

His body swayed, and he nearly fell from the sky.

Realizing this, he ignored everything else, focusing his mind and circulating his True Essence Power in an attempt to expel the invasive force.

From a distance, he looked like a massive, dark cocoon wrapped in gray fog, hovering eerily above the sea.

After Du Wang was trapped, the gray fog over the sea grew thicker, spreading out like a vast gray blanket.

Everything in its path was shrouded within.

If one’s gaze could pierce the dense gray fog, one would see countless dark shadows darting about inside.

After spreading to a certain size, the gray fog, as if sentient, coalesced into a thick gray cloud and surged toward the nearest human settlement: Anshan City.

「Meanwhile, on the southern coast of Anshan City.」

The sky was dim, with thick, leaden clouds hanging low. Snowflakes drifted down, weaving a silver-white curtain over the vast expanse of the sea.

The coast was deserted as far as the eye could see.

In years past.

All year round.

This place had never been short of tourists.

But with the sudden appearance of the Earth Core Passage, Zhu Xi had long since sealed off all roads leading here.

At this moment, in an observation room near the coast, a young observer was watching a monitor.

Suddenly, a red alert siren blared through the room. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

On the display, a massive red wave pattern was shown approaching the coast.

The observer had just noticed this when he heard a colleague cry out in alarm.

"Oh my god, what the hell is that thing?"

Hearing this, the observer looked up, his face a mask of horror, as if he had witnessed something impossible.

In the distance, across the once-calm sea, a gray-black mass was rapidly approaching.

As it drew closer, he could finally see it clearly: a colossal wall of gray fog, hundreds of meters high.

Its full length stretched beyond what the naked eye could see.

Now, this colossal wall of fog was rolling and surging toward the shore at high speed.

The weather over the ocean is fickle; sunny one moment, pouring rain the next. This is perfectly normal.

And it’s not unusual for widespread fog to form due to differences in temperature and air currents.

However, the thing before them was clearly no normal Sea Fog.

’That direction is...’

Snapping back to his senses, the observer hurriedly picked up the phone to report the situation.

In the few moments it took him to speak, the gray fog had already reached the shore, engulfing the coastline like a rushing tide.

...

「Anshan City, Zhu Xi Conference Room.」

Helinta, who had been hosting her guests, answered a phone call, and her expression changed drastically.

"What did you say? A gray Sea Fog is heading for Anshan City?"

Veins bulged on the hand gripping the phone, showing just how shocked she was by the news.

Just as Helinta was about to ask another question, two short, sharp screams came from the other end of the line.

Then, there was only a dead silence.

The conference room fell utterly silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

No one present was an ordinary person.

The call on Helinta’s phone wasn’t loud, but everyone in the room had heard it clearly.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of those present varied.

They all turned in unison to look out the window.

They were in Zhu Xi Mansion, hundreds of meters above the ground. With no surrounding buildings tall enough to obstruct the view and through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the powerful eyesight of the Secret Martial Artists allowed them to clearly see the gray fog rolling in from the distant horizon.

"Based on the reports, I’m afraid something has happened at the vortex passage. I just tried to contact Senior Brother, but there was no response."

At that, Helinta lowered her phone, her expression grave as she turned to Li Xia and Chu Feng.

"My apologies, you two. I should have let you rest first, but the situation is urgent. I must ask for your immediate assistance."

Hearing this, the two exchanged a glance and stood up, their expressions turning solemn as well.

"Don’t worry. We’ll go investigate."

With that, Chu Feng took a single step, shattering the floor-to-ceiling window. His figure transformed into a streak of Flowing Light, shooting straight into the sky and racing toward the distant coast.

Li Xia followed close behind.

One after the other, their figures transformed into two brilliant streaks of Flowing Light, like a pair of shooting stars blazing across the sky.

In the blink of an eye, they vanished from sight.

Inside the room, a powerful gale whipped in through the shattered window, sending nearby objects scattering.

But no one paid any mind to such details.

Instead, they watched the two departing figures with awe.

’A Qi Dao Grandmaster... they can actually fly. It’s simply unbelievable.’

To the side, Hu Qi’s expression remained placid.

But inwardly he was reeling, and a fervent glint flashed in the depths of his eyes.

Flight was something almost every human had dreamed of.

Since ancient times, humanity has envied the birds that soar freely through the sky.

Watching them flap their wings, weaving weightlessly through the clouds—that image of conquering the heavens and roaming free had long ago planted the seed of flight in the human heart.