773 Returning to Earth

On March 28th, 2016, at the Deity Burial Valley on Earth.

The stone door deep in the valley suddenly shook and a black hole appeared.

A man in a black outfit with grey long hair walked out of it. There was a dimensional storm behind him and the space fragments pelted his body, but he wasn't injured at all.

Whoever had a phenomenal-success Divine Body could crack the air with bare hands.

Chen Fan had traveled through the space tunnel without using any Dharma Treasures or Divine Powers. He withstood countless space fragments pieces and returned to Earth from the Realm of Kunxu.

"It's been three years since I left," Chen Fan said.

It was August in 2012 when he went to the Realm of Kunxu and more than three years had passed. He glanced at the altar and was suddenly startled. "There should be someone from Kunlun or the North Qiong Sect guarding the Deity Burial Valley. Why is it empty? Looks like a battle took place here…"

The stone platform was full of marks and cracks. Apparently, there had been a battle after Chen Fan left.

"There was a battle even at the Deity Burial Valley? Did someone attack China? Who are they? The United States?"

Chen Fan was shocked.

He was desperate to go back.

"Boom!"

A thunderous sound clap was heard in the sky and Chen Fan instantly traveled ten miles. He took only three steps to get out of the Deity Burial Valley as if he had teleported himself.

Chen Fan looked gloomier as he moved along the way.

The Deity Burial Valley and the snow mountains in Kunlun were full of traces of war. Apparently, there had been a large number of enemies. It seemed that the Chinese warriors were defeated and they had abandoned the mountains.

"What happened to Earth? It seems that the United States isn't responsible for this, but who else attacked China and defeated Kunlun?"

Chen Fan was startled.

He turned into a beam of golden light, shooting from Kunlun across the sky. He had to know what exactly happened in the past three years.

"Swish!"

Chen Fan slowed down and traversed the skies.

The snow on the mountains in Kunlun had melted. There used to be a lot of Tibetans and herdsmen there, but all the tents and villages had been destroyed, leaving the wild dogs and wolves behind. Chen Fan even found a wolf the size of a calf and its eyes were green.

"This isn't right. When did the creatures on Earth become so powerful?"

He knew something bad had happened.

After flying three hundred kilometers, he saw the first city.

This was a city in Xihai Province called Shenmen. There used to be a population of around only a few dozens of thousands, but at the moment, it was full of people. The buildings were packed and a long line of defense had been set up outside the city with troops stationed there.

The wide streets were flooded with people and most of them were herdsmen from the snow mountain, but they were currently living in Shenmen. They looked worried and gloomy, and were apparently feeling hopeless about the future.

"Did you hear? Qinghu Town was attacked by the wolf pack several days ago. Thousands of residents there were all eaten. It's horrible!"

"Isn't there a troop?"

"There's nothing they can do. I heard that there's a mutated beast among the wolf pack and it broke through the entire line of defense directly. Without Martial Artists and Spell-casters, normal soldiers were completely unable to resist."

Everyone shook their heads and heaved sighs.

Chen Fan frowned.

Troops, wolf pack and mutated beasts sounded unfamiliar to him. The Earth was peaceful and safe before he left. Why did it look like the end of the world at the moment?

"Ah, I should just make some money and move to the eastern coastal area as soon as possible. It's safer there. The mutated beasts only exist around the borders and many residents have started to move somewhere else."

"It's easier said than done. The price of housing in the eastern cities has increased to ten thousand per square meter. Besides, I heard there are mutated beasts in the ocean as well. They just haven't messed with the land yet."

"We're not the worst. I heard that India has lost half of their territory. Areas around the two rivers have the most number of mutated beasts."

Chen Fan kept walking as he listened to everyone else.

He knew that the planet must have undergone drastic changes after he left three years back.

"No matter how strong those beasts are, they shouldn't be able to fight against modern armies. India has nuclear weapons but they still lost half of their land. Did they encounter a Connate Spirit Beast?" Chen Fan thought.

He walked around.

He noticed the commodity prices were much higher than before.

The price of necessities like rice, flour and oil was soaring. Chen Fan saw several Martial Artists who had strong Internal Force and the most powerful one was at the perfected state. Such a master could have suppressed half a province in the past.

Chen Fan caught that Martial Artist and brought him to the top of a tower.

The middle-aged Martial Artist felt dizzy and suddenly went from the street to the roof of a ten-story building. He was stunned and quickly said, "The Grandmaster and I were just joking. I'm Huo Tingshan from the Ba Ji Sect."

Even though Huo Tingshan greeted Chen Fan respectfully…

He wasn't relaxed at all. He gathered his energy around his fists and was planning to throw a punch if something went wrong.

After all, someone who could take him to the roof without anybody knowing had to be a peak-stage Grandmaster or an Immortal State Overlord. Huo Tingshan wasn't sure if Chen Fan was a friend or an enemy.

"You're from the Ba Ji Sect? What's your relation with Huo Donglai?" a cold voice said.

"He's my cousin. He became the Grandmaster three years ago but died in the battle at Qinghai Lake. Do you also know him?"

Huo Tingshan looked up and saw someone standing in front of the fence with the back facing him. The man was wearing a black outfit and his white hair was fluttering in the breeze.

"He's dead?"

There was a hint of grief in Chen Fan's eyes.

Huo Donglai was Cang Dragon's instructor and Chen Fan's former colleague. He was gone.

"What happened during the last three years? How did Earth end up like this?" Chen Fan asked after a while.

Huo Tingshan finally realized.

Chen Fan was someone who had shut himself in to cultivate. No wonder he was so powerful. Huo Tingshan was thrilled by this. He thought that it would be wonderful if he could ask Chen Fan to join the Ba Ji Sect or the army.

"To be honest, we're also confused…"

Huo Tingshan told Chen Fan the changes that happened on Earth during those three years.

Chen Fan was astonished.