New chapter 16

# Chapter 16 — The Crimson Gate

# Sun City — Eastern Wall

The entire city gathered beneath the eastern walls before sunrise.

No one ordered them there.

Fear simply pulled everyone toward the mountains automatically.

---

Far beyond Sun City—

the ancient stone gate continued rising slowly from beneath the eastern mountains.

Massive crimson cracks spread across the earth around it while violent spiritual energy storms twisted through the sky endlessly.

The sight alone felt oppressive.

Ancient.

Wrong.

---

Xu Yuan stood atop the eastern wall beside Xia Yu and several Xu Family elders.

For once—

even he had no joke ready.

Because the pressure coming from the mountains kept growing stronger every minute.

---

Nearby civilians whispered nervously.

“What is that thing…”

“An ancient ruin?”

“No ruin should feel like this…”

Several weaker cultivators already looked pale simply from standing nearby.

---

Lin Hao tightly held the wall railing.

“I officially regret becoming a cultivator.”

Xu Yuan glanced sideways.

“You say that often lately.”

“Because terrifying things keep appearing!”

“That’s unfortunately reasonable.”

---

Below the wall—

city guards struggled maintaining order as frightened civilians crowded the streets.

Some wanted to flee the city.

Others wanted to enter the mountains searching for treasures.

Cultivators truly lost intelligence around ancient ruins.

---

Suddenly—

BOOM!

The crimson gate trembled violently.

A massive wave of spiritual pressure exploded outward instantly.

Wind roared across the city walls.

Several weaker disciples nearly collapsed on the spot.

---

Xu Yuan grabbed the wall instinctively.

The resonance inside his chest erupted again.

Much stronger than before.

It almost felt—

responsive.

Like the gate recognized him somehow.

---

At the same moment—

deep within the glowing cracks surrounding the gate—

countless crimson eyes slowly appeared one after another.

Watching the city silently.

---

Several civilians screamed immediately.

“What ARE those things?!”

The city guards themselves looked terrified now.

Because the eyes weren’t illusions.

They moved.

Blinking slowly within the darkness beneath the mountain.

---

Then—

a low ancient sound echoed across the entire region.

Not language.

Not beast cries.

Something older.

Something that vibrated directly through the soul.

---

Xu Yuan suddenly froze again.

Fragments flashed through his mind violently.

Black crystal halls.

Broken chains.

Ancient corpses kneeling endlessly.

And beyond the gate—

a massive sealed shadow covered in countless crimson eyes.

---

Then—

another voice echoed faintly inside his mind.

Gentle.

Trembling.

> “Run… before it fully wakes…”

BOOM!

The vision shattered instantly afterward.

Xu Yuan staggered backward slightly.

Xia Yu immediately grabbed his arm.

“You heard something.”

Her voice remained calm.

But her eyes had already turned serious.

---

Xu Yuan slowly nodded.

Before he could answer—

the mountains trembled again.

Then—

CRAAAAACK.

One side of the massive stone gate slowly opened.

Only slightly.

But the moment the gap appeared—

cold crimson mist instantly flooded outward from inside the ruins.

And within the darkness behind the gate—

something moved.