The Dawn of the New World Chapter 1624

Hao Xuan bade farewell to Elder Khadim and the rest of the villagers before his figure blipped out of existence right in front of their eyes.

He stood rooted to the spot until the youngsters walked up behind him. One of them stepped forward, speaking in their own language.

"Do you believe it to be him, great father?"

Elder Khadim weakly shook his head once.

"Too early to tell. It could be another trickster God toying with us, we mustn't let our guard down."

The younger Djinn's shoulder slumped, "It would be good if he was the one the Old Lord told us about. We cannot afford to make another enemy during our exile."

Elder Khadim turned to face him and the rest of the youngsters. He could see past the concealment magic that hid their true forms so their many wounds were as clear to him as the ground beneath their feet.

They were ready to fight to the death but it would be a brief encounter if it came to it.

"Children, it pains me to see your suffering from my indecision. How I wonder if leaving was the right choice..." he lamented.

But before he could beat himself up too much the youngsters surrounded him and carefully escorted him back on their shoulders.

"You forced no one to follow, great father," the youngster continued speaking for all the rest, "We came because we believed this was the right path for us. Our suffering is a price we are all willing to pay."

Elder Khadim gently tapped his "cane" on the youngster's shoulder, "You have become a fine warrior, child. Even with the curse, there is little that could hold you down."

The youngster laughed, "Hahaha! We will not fail simply because the traitors stripped us of our names! A time will come when we will find a new home, believe it!"

The others joined in one by one chanting in unison.

"Believe it!"

"Believe it!"

"Believe it!"

**

Hao Xuan returned using the soul connection with Cerberus to make full use of his time within the Umbral Planes. He wanted to practice the esoteric arts since they all originated from the Umbral Planes to begin with.

After arriving at one of the neighbouring peaks he quickly sat down cross-legged and began spreading out the spiritual threads.

Due to his actual soul being here in person, the power and effects of the Spiritual threads were amplified many tens of times.

He made sure not to use the power of his imagination to influence the world in any way while making "small" changes within the nearby terrain.

The golden threads gathered around him like petals of a flower, spreading out for tens of kilometers in every direction. With a wave of his hand they gathered in one spot and carved out a path for a new river.

He easily pushed, shoved, broke, and carved a path through countless tons of rock and stone as if they weighed nothing.

Then he turned his attention towards another mountain and split it in half with a single flick. There was almost no resistance to speak of. The shackles of his soul were pushed to the extreme as he continued to draw out more and more power.

Hao Xuan's soul began to glow with the intensity of a small dwarf star, one that was visible even from the outside.

*Treeeemble*

The entire world shook back and forth twice, breaking his concentration.

'?!?'

Hao Xuan flew high into the air but could not see anything out of place and yet...something was amiss. His eyes narrowed and vision extended to the very limits.

He could not put a finger on it but the world felt heavier somehow- a little darker even- despite his glow trying to keep the night at bay.

So Hao Xuan closed his eyes and focused his mind, letting it wander throughout the lands. It reached into the depths and became one with it before coming out from the other side. In this moment he WAS this minuscule world and then he could was on the other side.

He saw the emptiness- the sunken recesses staring back at him.

He saw the void between the realms and what slept within its depths.

*KREEEEEEEEEEEE*

It was loud!

*Shliiiiirp*

And sharp!

Something reached out and grabbed a hold of him. It began pulling, dragging him into the cold.

Hao Xuan could feel the chill invading his form. It was overwhelming and overpowering and he knew that if he backed down now then everything would be lost for all of eternity.

And he wasn't going to let that happen without a fight.

Back within the city Hao Xuan's eyes burst open bathing the hideout in white light. The restraints around his neck began to loosen until only the last one remained.

His soul power surged, leaping stages and then entire realms- as much as it needed to break free.