Looking at the scene before him, Chu Feng’s brows knitted tightly. A faint sense of unease began to well up in his heart.
Although none of the skeletons were intact, all shattered and torn apart, Chu Feng could still piece together their original forms in his mind from the broken bones.
He could tell they were not human.
They belonged to some kind of demon clan. Not only were their bodies far larger than humans, their bone structure was also completely different.
If Chu Feng’s judgement was correct, they had originally been an extremely ferocious-looking race.
Beyond that, however, he could see nothing more.
The undercurrent seemed to possess a special power that blocked his perception.
Because of this, Chu Feng could not determine how long ago these beings had died.
If they had perished many years ago, that would be one thing.
But if their deaths were recent, then he had to consider what could have killed every single one of them.
And, very possibly, danger still lurked here.
After all, whether natural disaster or deliberate slaughter, the force capable of wiping out so many lives would be utterly terrifying.
Precisely because he did not know the truth, Chu Feng did not dare rashly enter the undercurrent.
Instead, he turned to Yu Hong and Yu Yin.
“Was this place like this before?”
Chu Feng asked the two of them.
As members of the Yu Heavenly Clan, they might know more about it.
“No, it wasn’t. There used to be nothing in the undercurrent except heavenly energy.”
“How can this be? Where did all these skeletons come from?”
“This isn’t good. We need to fetch the Patriarch at once.”
Yu Hong and Yu Yin spoke hurriedly, then swiftly swam towards the surface.
The others had originally planned to stay and observe further.
“Leave now. Get out of here first.”
Sensing something wrong, Chu Feng urgently urged Long Xiaoxiao and the rest to depart.
Seeing his reaction, Long Xiaoxiao and the others did not hesitate. They immediately followed Chu Feng out.
When Chu Feng and the others returned to the surface and reported the situation to the Patriarch of the Yu Heavenly Clan and the rest, the Patriarch and the others also realised something was gravely amiss.
Thus, everyone dived back into the Daylight Star River together to investigate.
Yet once they reached the depths, even Martial Venerable experts like the Patriarch of the Yu Heavenly Clan and the Patriarch of the Dragon Clan furrowed their brows deeply.
The Patriarch of the Yu Heavenly Clan, in particular, wore an especially complicated expression.
While others were merely curious about the origin of those countless bones, visible fear surged across the Patriarch’s face.
“How can this be?”
“Could the legend actually be true?”
The Patriarch blurted out as he stared at the skeletons, his voice trembling as he spoke.
At this sight, everyone else grew even more tense.
The members of the Yu Heavenly Clan especially had never seen their Patriarch display such terror before.
This alone showed how dire the situation was.
“Patriarch Yu, what legend?”
The Master of the Myriad Demons Sacred Palace and the others pressed him.
“Leave first. Everyone, leave now.”
The Patriarch was genuinely frightened. His face had turned ashen, as though he were gravely ill.
While speaking, he quickly led the Yu Heavenly Clan members away from the Daylight Star River.
Seeing this, no one else dared linger. They hurriedly departed as well.
After exiting the Daylight Star River, the Patriarch did not stop. He continued flying into the distance until they were far from both the river and the desert before finally coming to a halt.
By now, everyone could see that the Patriarch was drenched, as if he had just emerged from a bath.
With their cultivation, ordinary river water could not even touch their bodies, let alone soak them.
So it was not water. It was sweat, cold sweat, sweat induced by sheer terror.
“Patriarch Yu, what on earth is going on?”
“Didn’t you say the Daylight Star River was perfectly safe? How have you ended up terrified like this?”
“Just what kind of place have you brought us to?”
“You must explain everything clearly today.”
The Master of the Myriad Demons Sacred Palace demanded again, his tone harsh and tinged with anger.
He too had realised how dangerous the Daylight Star River had become.
If they had truly met with disaster, it would all be the fault of the Patriarch of the Yu Heavenly Clan.
After all, he was the one who insisted on bringing everyone here and had repeatedly guaranteed the place was safe.
“For a full thousand years, nothing ever happened. I never imagined it would suddenly turn out like this.”
“I thought it was only a myth, yet it has actually come true.”
The Patriarch of the Yu Heavenly Clan said.
“Senior, what exactly is going on?”
Chu Feng also asked.
He did not wish to blame the Patriarch. He knew the Patriarch had brought them here to cultivate out of goodwill.
But he needed to know what those skeletons in the Daylight Star River were, and what had terrified the mighty Patriarch of the Yu Heavenly Clan to such an extent.
“Since things have come to this, I will hide nothing.”
“The truth is, my clan discovered the Daylight Star River from a stone tablet inside some ruins.”
“That tablet not only recorded the precise location of the Daylight Star River and the properties of its undercurrent, it even contained the pills that allow one to cultivate inside the undercurrent.”
“But it also recorded certain other matters.”
“You could call them warnings.”
The Patriarch of the Yu Heavenly Clan explained.
“Warnings?”
Hearing this, everyone began to understand why the Patriarch was so afraid.
Yet no one interrupted. They listened quietly as he continued.
“The tablet stated that deep beneath the Daylight Star River dwelled a powerful ancient race.”
“It warned that this ancient race was exceedingly strong and utterly ferocious.”
“Although we could cultivate inside the Daylight Star River, we must never disturb that ancient race. If any member of that race appeared, we were to flee immediately and never linger.”
“Moreover, the tablet even depicted the appearance of that ancient race.”
“And the skeletons now filling the undercurrent of the Daylight Star River bear a striking resemblance to that ancient race.”
“If I am not mistaken, those skeletons are the corpses of that very ancient race.”
“I never imagined that beneath the Daylight Star River, that ancient race truly resided.”
The Patriarch of the Yu Heavenly Clan said.
“So you’re saying that powerful ancient race has been exterminated?”
Everyone was deeply shocked.
Just who could have slaughtered an entire ancient race of such strength?
Could a still more terrifying existence have come to the Daylight Star River?
Or had the ancient race fallen to internal strife, resulting in such a horrific scene?
Everyone speculated silently.
