Zhang Tai Xuan ignored him, continuing his calculations with concentration. After a while, his eyes lit up, and he excitedly rose to his feet, exclaiming, "As expected, as expected, there is a sliver of hope. All beings under heaven can be saved."
"Hmm? Is that true?"
"True Master Zhang, what do you mean? Are you joking with us?"
"True Master Zhang, what did you calculate? How can we be saved? Tell us more details quickly."
Zhang Tai Xuan's words were like cold water poured into a hot oil pan, instantly turning the silent room into a clamor.
Everyone immediately surrounded him, bombarding him with questions.
Who would choose to die if they could live?
Moreover, these people had painstakingly cultivated their strength to its current level.
They also had families they had worked hard to raise. If they encountered the cleansing of this catastrophe, all of it would cease to exist.
Zhang Tai Xuan said, "According to the卦象 (guàxiàng), the crisis we are facing this time is very powerful, but there is still a ray of light. That light is our hope..."
Zhang Tai Xuan spoke cryptically, with no intention of explaining in detail to the crowd.
After giving a perfunctory explanation, he turned to Elder Li and asked, "Elder Li, according to my calculations, the chance of survival this time rests on someone. May I ask, Elder Li, who is it?"
"Who?"
"Who is it?"
"Are not the strongest people of this era all here?"
Everyone was confused.
Elder Li, however, understood Zhang Tai Xuan's words. He was asking about Xia Feng.
While Xia Feng's existence was not a secret, not everyone knew about him.
Xia Feng himself was low-key and did not want to be bothered by trivial matters. Elder Li knew this, so he had always helped conceal Xia Feng's true identity.
Upon hearing Zhang Tai Xuan's words, Elder Li knew he could no longer conceal it.
After a moment of contemplation, Elder Li said, "True Master Zhang, I understand what you mean. Everyone, I know you all have doubts, but there are some specific matters that I don't have time to explain to you now. I can only say that we are not entirely without hope."
"We still have a trump card. As long as that person is here, Blue Star will not perish."
Elder Li knew that Xia Feng was in seclusion in Kunlun Mountain, making his final push, but he could not reveal it.
Otherwise, he feared that these people would impatiently rush to his aid.
If that were to happen, it might backfire and delay important matters.
Elder Li believed that just as Xia Feng had once disregarded his own safety to single-handedly bear the impending disaster of Blue Star, he would not stand by idly this time either.
As for why Xia Feng had not emerged yet, it was likely because he was at a critical juncture of breakthrough.
If he were disturbed and his breakthrough interrupted at this moment, not only would he fail to advance, but he might even suffer a backlash and be injured.
Therefore, he had to ensure Xia Feng's safety.
As long as Xia Feng was present, Blue Star would still have hope.
The most crucial point was that Elder Li did not know how much longer Xia Feng would take to emerge from seclusion.
Although he had absolute faith in Xia Feng, what if Xia Feng genuinely ran out of time?
So, he could not say anything. As long as he kept it a secret, everyone would have confidence knowing they had a trump card to sustain them.
As long as they could hold on a little longer, Blue Star would have more hope.
Time quickly passed, and evening arrived.
In an instant, a fierce wind began to blow, and dark clouds hung low, as if intending to engulf and submerge the entire earth.
People walking on the streets felt as if they could reach out and touch the unsettling, oppressive cloud layer.
Panic spread among the populace. Some rushed to find safe places to hide with their families, while others stood on the streets, gazing blankly at the sky with a hint of resigned peace on their faces, as if awaiting the arrival of the apocalypse.
Meanwhile, overseas, other regions were already bearing the brunt of the third solar magnetic storm.
This time, the impact was not just on the environment but also on the human body.
It directly caused some people to awaken latent abilities, transforming them into beings akin to superheroes.
However, these awakened individuals lost their sanity and became frenzied and bloodthirsty.
The people killed by these superpowered beings, their lingering resentment, influenced by the bizarre energy of the solar magnetic storm, inexplicably revived.
But they were not truly resurrected; instead, driven by their resentment, their bodies were reanimated into mindless, bloodthirsty monsters.
Much like in apocalyptic survival movies, they had all become zombie-like beings.
In the United States, Canada, and Europe, streets were filled with zombies madly chasing and biting people.
At this moment, it truly seemed as if the end of the world had arrived.
As for China, the reason it had not yet been affected was that the remaining cultivators were burning their own life force to maintain a protective array, shielding everyone within China.
"Hold on, hold on a little longer, and we can wait for a turning point."
"Everyone, persevere, don't give up. Behind us are fourteen hundred million innocent civilians. For our families, for all beings under heaven, we must hold on."
Beneath the clouds were ordinary people either numbly awaiting death, fearfully seeking survival, or madly lashing out. Above the clouds were cultivators shouldering the mission of protecting the world.
They used their own lifespan as a price to hold up a giant, luminous shield.
The faint blue shield was being constantly bombarded by fierce, crimson energy.
With each impact, more than a dozen cultivators perished, unable to withstand the shockwaves of the energy.
As time wore on, the faint blue protective shield grew weaker and weaker.
The crimson impact energy, however, grew increasingly powerful, and its attacks became more ferocious.
Just as the faint blue protective shield was about to be breached, Zhang Tai Xuan, the most powerful among them, bit his tongue and produced a large seal, onto which he spat a mouthful of pure yang blood.
"Dragon Tiger Town Heaven Seal..."
Zhang Tai Xuan roared and flung the seal forward.
Instantly, the palm-sized square seal rapidly expanded, growing to the size of a mountain peak.
The seal hovered above everyone's heads, and colossal phantom images of a dragon and a tiger flew out from within. As they danced in the air, they unleashed powerful energy, reinforcing the faint blue protective shield.
"I, Zhang Tai Xuan, shall burn my flesh and blood to fight for a sliver of hope for the ten thousand people against heaven."
Zhang Tai Xuan's voice, like the sound of the heavens, echoed through the land.
"Ridiculous. How dare a mere mortal body presume to contend with heaven?"
As soon as Zhang Tai Xuan finished speaking, a voice like a muffled thunderclap resounded from the sky.
The voice was sacred yet carried an aura of destruction. With just that sentence, hundreds of cultivators were killed.
*Puff...*
Zhang Tai Xuan also couldn't hold on, spitting out a mouthful of blood, his vitality rapidly declining.
Swallowing a pill, Zhang Tai Xuan forced himself to remain standing.
"What fiend art thou?"
Zhang Tai Xuan roared.
"Fiend? Open your eyes wide and see who I am."
The voice spoke again, and everyone saw a colossal human face appear in the sky.