The next chapter bore a simple title.
THE GREAT WITHERING
According to the book, the second great disaster arrived only a few years after the Night of Vanishing.
This time, it was not people who disappeared. It was the world itself that began to change. Qi, the invisible force upon which the Age of Dao had been built, started to fade.
The decline was gradual at first. Almost imperceptible. Yet it was undeniable. Spirit veins weakened. Sacred lands lost their vitality. Heavenly treasures became increasingly rare.
Regions that had once overflowed with spiritual energy slowly grew barren. Generation after generation, the decline accelerated.
Cultivators across the world noticed the change. Ancient clans launched investigations. Great sects gathered every record they possessed.
Powerful elders traveled between sacred lands in search of answers.
