Cang Dong's face was full of smiles, unmoving, while Zuo Yongning's countenance was hidden under his hood, leaving everyone unable to see his face clearly.
Gongsun Bai'an and Xia Kun also maintained a poker face, their reactions extremely calm, appearing not to take the initiative to speak.
Qiu Feng swept his gaze across the gathered people and cursed silently in his heart: "A bunch of slick old hands!"
Although no one spoke, no one denied it either, which meant they tacitly acknowledged that just now, everyone had sensed that strange feeling from the Abyss Will.
They were Abyss Cultivators who were personally bestowed with special powers by the Abyss Will, with an unusually close relationship to it. If explained in terms of the Mystical Mechanism Continent, these six power-gifted individuals would be referred to as "Children of the Heavenly Dao."
As long as the six of them were in the Abyss, great fortunes and destinies would constantly envelop them, almost possessing the mighty will to make any thoughts come true!
Moreover, their powers could directly communicate with the Abyss, making them countless times stronger than the average Ninth Realm Great Perfection Cultivators. Add to that, these six were already the strongest Abyss Cultivators, and after becoming Abyss Envoys, their powers were significantly enhanced like a tiger that had grown wings.
This is why for tens of thousands of years, there have only ever been these six Abyss Envoys and no other persons ascending to this position.
They were meant to always stand at the pinnacle of the world until the seal of their Great Abyss Formation was lifted, and they turned their gaze back to the Mystical Mechanism Continent—that's when they encountered Chen Hua.
That was the first time they hit a wall, and after Chen Hua reached the same Realm as them, none of the five could match him in a solo fight. This was the main reason Gu Chengan became interested.
Previously, if the Devouring Spirit Sect's White Tiger Envoy could advance to the Ninth Realm, the Abyss had intended to promote him, who controlled the White Tiger authority, to an Abyss Envoy as well. Unexpectedly, he proved to be useless and fell amongst a group of juniors.
"The Abyss Will seems to have undergone some changes we are unaware of..."
Seeing that the others were even more patient than one another, Qiu Feng couldn't hold back his impatience any longer. They, a group of busy people, were not gathered here to see who could stay mute the longest.
So, after taking a deep breath, Qiu Feng took the lead to break the ice and spoke up.
Everyone's expression changed slightly, and even Xia Kun, who had been feigning slumber, opened his eyes, showing interest.
"Let's hear it."
The ice orbs in Cang Dong's hands, which had been imperceptibly shaped into two, were now deftly twirled by him.
"I can't pin it down; if I could have, why would I need to ask you?"
Qiu Feng replied irritably.
"..."
As Cang Dong ceased twirling the ice sphere in his hand, he knew that if he didn't say something, Qiu Feng might genuinely not bother to speak anymore and they would only make various guesses about this change.
"It's not that I don't want to speak; it's mainly that I, too, like you, can sense an unusual change, but I'm unclear about its nature."
Cang Dong's facial expression became incredibly abrupt. One second his face was full of smiles, the next it morphed into helplessness; the rapid and abrupt transition could only be described as a "switch."
"But well, if I really have discovered something..."
Sensing the growing impatience in Qiu Feng's eyes, Cang Dong changed the subject and spoke in a leisurely tone.
"I feel that the constraints given to us by the Abyss have increased."
Qiu Feng's brows quirked, surprised, and he looked at Cang Dong, not expecting him to have actually perceived something else.
"It's not a constraint, but a limitation."
Zuo Yongning, who had been silent since his arrival, suddenly spoke; his voice sounded old and hoarse, like an elderly man in his late 80s or 90s.
But Zuo Yongning just made this one remark and then closed his mouth again under the puzzled gazes of the others.
Gongsun Bai'an frowned, feeling somewhat different from the others. But after listening to the others' observations, he pondered and realized that what they said seemed correct.
"I felt as if the Abyss glanced at me during the anomaly."
When it was his turn, Gongsun Bai'an did not withhold any information, speaking candidly.
"A glance?"
Qiu Feng was slightly puzzled. Wasn't it normal for the Abyss to observe them? Or to say, isn't the entire Abyss World under the scrutiny of the Abyss Will? What was so surprising about that?
"It's not the usual observation we talk about..."
Gongsun Bai'an shook his head, understanding the doubts in everyone's hearts, but he was clear about whether this glance was normal or not.
"Usually, the observation of the Abyss Will is just a routine patrol over the whole world, a simple understanding of the situation of us Abyss Envoys. But after the anomaly occurred, I felt the gaze of the Abyss Will was especially fixed on me—or rather on us, the Abyss Envoys—as if it was confirming and scrutinizing something."
Qiu Feng and Cang Dong both stroked their chins. In terms of perceptiveness, Gongsun Bai'an was indeed the strongest among them. Since he said so, there should be no mistake.
What's more, they also faintly sensed that the Abyss had indeed cast a covert inspection on them at that time, but they subconsciously ignored it, thinking it was just as usual.
However, even now as Gongsun Bai'an mentioned it, it appeared that there was some enigmatic motive behind this scrutiny, and it was still completely unclear what standards were applied to this unexplainable scrutiny aimed specifically at them, the Abyss Envoys.