The winds outside didn’t relent since danger was coming to the canyon.

Li Qiye looked out from the house and saw that it was dark due to the black clouds above.

The canyon was gigantic, capable of separating Stone Plateau into two sections. In other words, it most likely spanned up to ten million miles long. However, the entire place was still covered by black clouds. They looked like a colossal dragon hovering above.

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!” The winds caused sands and debris to go flying along with flowers and leaves.

“It’s starting.” The cultivators and mortals who have yet to make it to safe harbor started panicking.

“We need to get to a village now!”

One could hear the horns from certain villages. They served to summon late arrivers or to warn the outsiders.

The animals began to run. They have lived in the place long enough to be aware of this danger.

The pillar in front of each village also reacted and became resplendent. Their runes had a clear light at this point, seemingly always there and only activated when necessary.

The clear light seemed to be coming from the ground up through the runes, not the other way around.

After the runes reached a certain stage, they no longer needed to absorb the power from underground, evident by having enough radiance. On the other hand, the absence of this empowerment would render the runes useless.

“Poof!” The pillars became bright as well and created barriers around the villages. These barriers had a purifying property, capable of removing all evil.

Because the entire canyon was dark right now due to the clouds, the pillars served as guiding lamps. One would be able to see them and make it back to the nearest village.

Li Qiye watched this process with keen interest and derived the runes. Normally, even the greatest masters would have a hard time comprehending them.

However, the runes turned into ever-changing supreme words in Li Qiye’s eyes. They were flowing from the pillar down to the ground.

He could see what lies below - an invisible grand vein just like a sleeping dragon. Its majestic power flowed in silence beneath the earth.

The runes wove together to form laws and began to flow with the grand vein. Remember, the canyon had countless pillars. When they connected with the grand vein below, this culminated into a peerless grand formation.

This formation received the power of the grand vein and in turn, it protected the villages from harm. Someone extremely powerful had prepared this formation inside the reclusive grand vein.

The pillars were nothing more than the eyes of the formation on the surface. The creator of this formation naturally knew about the dangers of the winds and wanted to protect the villages.

“Such great length to protect the descendants. Ingenious even. Very few people know about the three grand veins.” Li Qiye touched the pillar and praised.

Plenty of secrets hid underground, unbeknown to most. The person who did this had access to these ancient secrets on top of being mighty.

Li Qiye had a smile on his face while touching the pillar - one small part of the great formation. Taking away one pillar out of greed for its power would be a futile endeavor.

“The legend says that this was left behind by our Golem Ancestor.” Shi Wawa spoke with pride: “The great ancestor created an empire at the plateau and left behind pillars at the canyon to stop the scary winds. This allows us to live here safely.”

His pride was understandable. The rest of his race also felt the same about Golem Ancestor. They virtually worshipped him.

“He’s one of the greatest dao lords too.” Wawa continued. He hasn’t seen much of the world, only having heard about the exploits of Golem Ancestor, enough to memorize all of them.

“An amazing fella indeed.” Li Qiye nodded. Also unreasonable and unreliable at times - he thought.

Golem Ancestor had certainly left his marks on his story, just not his actual identity with the exception of Li Qiye.

“Black Duck” might have hidden his roots quite well but it wasn’t enough. Regardless of how cautious he was, there were still clues that would lead to him only. This allowed Li Qiye to calculate the guy’s true identity and origin.

By this point, the winds have stopped and the canyon became quiet once more.

“It’s coming, don’t be so close.” Shi Wawa quietly told Li Qiye while retreating cautiously, still keeping an eye towards the outside.

This had nothing to do with cowardice. In reality, everyone should exercise prudence when dealing with the dangerous petrification found here.

Strangely enough, they also had a feeling of reverence towards it. This could be considered an instinct imprinted deep in their soul.

The next development was fog spreading at a rapid rate. It encompassed the entire canyon in no time at all. A certain dimness took over. One wouldn’t be able to see their hands in front of them even though there was no complete darkness. This was a bizarre feeling.

“It’s coming.” Wawa reminded Li Qiye.

“Boom. Boom. Boom.” A series of quiet noises could be heard only by the attentive listeners. At first, they sounded as if they came from the distance. However, after a careful listen, they should be coming from below the ground.