Less than two hours after entering the valley, their youth inexplicably vanished, aging them by several decades.
Wen Daier touched her face, then looked at the white hair growing on Madame Yaoguang's head and the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes. Her eyes widened in shock. "Mother, how did you become like this? Your hair..."
"Daier, you... you too..." Madame Yaoguang, along with the three Tianji who were still alive, touched their faces in astonishment, looking at each other, completely disbelieving, their hearts filled with terror.
Shangye Zhuo also developed wrinkles. Upon seeing his hands, he looked significantly older by over twenty years, trembling all over in shock.
Everyone began to panic, including Shangye Shaoqing, Chu Tianshu, Li Tianjue, and Lu Jixing, these youngsters.
They looked at each other and realized that everyone else had become middle-aged. Although their features remained handsome, the inexplicable loss of time filled them with dread. They had suddenly grown old; what was going on?
"Senior Brother, you've aged too!" Chu Tianshu exclaimed, staring wide-eyed at Li Tianjue.
Li Tianjue's heart stirred. He looked at his hands and then at the people around him, his expression clearly becoming solemn.
His gaze fell upon Su Luo. He saw that she had transformed from a girl of sixteen into a mature woman. Although still beautiful, this change made him understand the gravity of the situation.
"Perhaps this is the bizarre power of the Life and Death Chasm? It has devoured everyone's time without us realizing it, causing us to age?" Chu Tianshu stood frozen in frustration and panic. "Damn it, nothing was wrong before. Why did this happen as soon as we entered the valley..."
Lu Jixing suddenly realized, "I know! It must be the environment of this valley, carrying a special power that can make everyone age without them knowing!"
Shangye Shaoqing retorted irritably, "Knowing doesn't change anything. Becoming so old, it's so terrifying!"
Du Wei touched his head full of white hair and his aged skin, saying tremblingly, "This is bad. If we stay here any longer, we'll undoubtedly grow even older and our deaths will accelerate. We should leave here quickly!"
He quickly said to Shangye Zhuo, "Sect Leader, we can't delay any longer. We must leave immediately, or everyone will die!"
The other elders of the Longevity Hall fared even worse. Already in their forties and fifties, their faces and hands were now covered in wrinkles, their skin dry, and their strength seemed to be continuously draining away.
If they had encountered enemies, no matter how powerful, they would still have had the strength to fight. But now, faced with such strangeness, they were utterly powerless.
Shangye Zhuo, encountering such a situation for the first time, felt an immense weight in his heart and was speechless for a moment.
This place was truly terrifying!
They had been transformed by this mysterious power. What about Shui Hanyi and Moluo Jia, who were further ahead? Had they also aged, or did they have a way to escape this change? Or perhaps, this was all their doing!
"Don't panic, calm down first."
Shangye Zhuo addressed everyone, "Let's not go any deeper. We need to see if we continue to age and first understand the cause before we can figure out how to deal with it."
Duan Jinghong cast a grim glance at him and said, "Will just waiting around make everyone recover? This is truly unlucky. We originally intended to follow Shui Hanyi and Moluo Jia to find Sect Leader Bai. Now, we haven't found the secret to becoming a god, but we're about to die of old age!"
An elder from the Longevity Hall said unhappily, "Island Master Duan, what you said is incorrect. Our Sect Leader didn't ask you to come. Now that everyone is in this state, do you want to blame our Sect Leader?"
Duan Jinghong was rendered speechless and felt even more agitated. He snorted heavily and said no more.
While everyone was in a panic, Su Luo was also startled.
But she quickly calmed down.
Su Luo remembered that she still had some Spring of Life on her. Although it was only a small bottle, it was enough to restore her youthful appearance.
However, she couldn't take it out now. The Spring of Life wouldn't restore everyone's youth present, and taking it out would inevitably cause a disturbance. As for the Spring of Life in the Giant King's Court, much of it had been consumed previously, and later the giants drank it daily. There wasn't much left now.
But at least it was enough to protect the people of Qingxu Heaven.
With a clearer plan in mind, Su Luo became even calmer.
She shook her head at Li Tianjue and transmitted her thoughts, "Senior Brother, don't worry. I have some Spring of Life on me, so I can recover. But we need to find the reason for this loss of youth now. More importantly, should we continue to go deeper?"
A flicker of surprise flashed in Li Tianjue's eyes.
It was always her, remaining calm in the face of danger.
Although Li Tianjue didn't care about youth or appearance, he certainly didn't want to see a situation where everyone was buried here due to such a bizarre aging process.
At this moment, Duan Shu said with flickering eyes, "Everyone, don't panic. We can definitely find a solution. If the special environment here is causing us to age, then there must be a way to reverse it. Everything in heaven and earth is interconnected. Perhaps there's a Spring of Life nearby, or a spiritual fruit that restores youth..."
"Right, the Vermilion Fruit from before, let's try it!"
He was acting out of desperation, as if resorting to any means. Although he told everyone not to panic, he was more flustered than anyone.
Duan Shu rushed to Duan Jinghong and said eagerly, "Father, quickly give me the Vermilion Fruit we picked earlier to try!"
The people of Penglai Island had not received any of the Vermilion Fruits that Su Luo and the others had discovered earlier. They only obtained the last few unripe ones. The only ripe one was the one Duan Shu had snatched from the Mo Demon on the cliff edge at the very beginning, but he had kept it with his father, Duan Jinghong.
"This... Shu'er, don't be anxious. The Vermilion Fruit might not be able to restore us."
Duan Jinghong looked at his son, hesitating.
There was only one ripe Vermilion Fruit. If he gave it to his son to eat, what would he do? If it didn't work, wouldn't it be a waste?
But Duan Shu wouldn't listen. "How will we know if we don't try! Father, hurry and get it out. That was obtained by me!"
After much hesitation and internal struggle, Duan Jinghong finally took out the Vermilion Fruit and handed it to his son. "Alright, you try it. I hope it works."
As he spoke, he thought that if it was effective, since the Longevity Hall and Qingxu Heaven had obtained so many Vermilion Fruits, he would find a way to get some from them.
For now, he would let his son try it.
Duan Shu snatched the Vermilion Fruit and quickly ate it.
The others watched him expectantly. Time passed, and Duan Shu showed no change. Anxious, he punched the ground in frustration, and everyone else was also deeply disappointed.
Madame Yaoguang's expression was very unpleasant.
As a woman, and once the most beautiful woman, how could she bear to lose her appearance and age so easily?
"There's no need to try, it's useless!"
Madame Yaoguang said with a cold face, "Since it's already like this, there's no point in staying here. We might as well keep moving forward, perhaps there's still hope to find the reason. Otherwise, even if we turn back, will we just let go of over ten years of our lives for nothing?"
Su Luo was about to say this herself. Hearing Madame Yaoguang suggest it first, she immediately nodded at Li Tianjue.
Turning back would not restore them. They could only move forward.
Only then could there be hope of recovery.