Ye Xiaotian seemed a little taken aback. Did he truly have a Master Physique now?

He recalled the last time he'd seen the young man. The latter's cultivation and physique had appeared underwhelming. He hadn't expected such a transformation after a single trip to the Tianxuan Gate.

​​

It seemed that Elder Sang had a really good eye for picking disciples!

Some people might seem a little eccentric, but sometimes you need someone to think out of the box to win a fight. That didn't sound bad, did it?

He remembered their encounter with Lei Shuangxing. If it'd been someone else instead of Xu Xiaoshou and his odd antics standing against the man, he would have found it a feat to find a way out of that predicament.

"Alright, hurry back and hide yourself. The Spirit Palace is in the middle of an emergency now. Don't go running around unless you have to," Ye Xiaotian said as he collected his thoughts and threw a glance at the young man and young woman.

Lei Shuangxing had been dealt with. Even if they were to take him seriously as a threat, he was still only a Master Level threat.

The man who'd appeared at their gates, and the masked man, who was lurking in the dark and whose whereabouts remained unknown, were their biggest threats.

Buzz…

As if to prove Ye Xiaotian's words right, the Spirit Palace's array flared suddenly, as it was as if the world had suddenly cracked.

A streak of panic coursed through Xu Xiaoshou. He nodded hurriedly and watched as Ye Xiaotian left with the unconscious men and women.

He must be heading off to help Elder Qiao and the others at the gate!

"Who could it be? Why haven't they managed to take him down after deploying so many Sovereign Stage cultivators?" Xu Xiaoshou felt slightly alarmed. The Holy Vassal seemed overwhelmingly powerful…

"Where are we going?" Mu Zixi looked at Xu Xiaoshou with mild bewilderment. She wanted to return to her residence but had a feeling that it wasn't safe there either.

"Has your fever gone down?" Instead of replying to her question, Xu Xiaoshou stuck his hand to her forehead, surprised to find that her fever had gone. What…

"This must be some kind of joke. That was some strange fever you got."

Mu Zixi somewhat coyly pushed his hand away. "What fever?"

"You don't know?"

There was a look of confusion on the young woman's face.

Xu Xiaoshou was momentarily speechless. The young woman appeared clueless.

He remembered Mu Zixi's glare as she'd helped Ye Xiaotian out of his tough spot. Without that glare, they might not have been able to turn the tables on their opponent.

"Do you have some kind of backstory?" Xu Xiaoshou asked.

"What backstory?" Mu Zixi blinked her wide eyes in confusion.

Xu Xiaoshou looked away and sighed. He gave up. He couldn't tell if the young woman was feigning ignorance or was actually clueless.

"Forget it. If we have the chance, let's grab a drink one day."

Mu Zixi was speechless.

"I'm underage!"

Xu Xiaoshou gave her a once-over. "Yeah, I can tell."

Mu Zixi was once again rendered speechless.

Cursed, Passive Points +1.

"Let's go. We should head for the Spiritual Library Division and check if the old geezer is there." Xu Xiaoshou stared at the sky. The frequency at which the Spirit Palace's array was flaring up was increasing at an alarming rate, and he couldn't help but feel worried.

"I hope nothing terrible happens!"

…

The Tiansang Spirit Palace sat on the top of the tallest mountain in the mountain range, a spot most rich with spiritual energy. Its gates faced east, allowing for an easy flow of natural energies in and out of the Spirit Palace that further nourished and filled its air with spirit energy.

A heavenly mist surrounded the mountain that was populated with cranes. To the commoner, it was a place where deities resided.

To the ordinary person, a spiritual cultivator was a deity who had gained enlightenment on the Great Path.

Such a group of deities was currently sprawled on the ground before the gates of the Tiansang Spirit Palace, moaning in pain.

They were the law enforcers of the Spirit Palace!

Wails of pain filled the air as an old man with a slight hunch slowly walked toward the gates.

With a pole over his shoulder and a small axe hanging from his waist, he looked like an ordinary old man who frequented the woods.

The only thing missing from the picture was two bundles of firewood, each tied to either end of the pole.

Everyone lying on the ground shrank away from the old man in terror as he walked past them, and the look they gave the kind-looking old man was one usually reserved for one's greatest nightmare.

A kind smile lit up the old man's face as he briskly walked down the uneven, meandering mountain path. One law enforcer attempted to climb to his feet, but with a casual swing of his pole, the old man shoved the law enforcer back onto the ground, then laughed brightly.

"You kids have done quite well for yourselves achieving such a level of cultivation at your age! You have a bright future ahead of you!

"I knew nothing when I was your age.

"I was climbing up and down mountains all day, chopping wood with my little axe, toiling all day long just to make a living. Come to think of it…"

A look of nostalgia colored the look on his face as he paused. "I miss those days when I wasn't killing and beating other people up!"

A law enforcer whose face was swollen from his bruises tried to hurriedly creep past the old man, but he was too slow. With a swing of the pole, he was sent flying into the air.

Thud!

The impact of the man landing heavily on the ground sent dust flying and yellowing the air.

Everyone's heart skipped a beat, and they couldn't help but glance around and stare at their fellow law enforcers, who were either suffering from swelling bruises on their faces or other parts of their bodies…

…all of which had been inflicted by that cursed pole!

The old man stopped in his tracks. He'd reached the top of the mountain. Before him stood five men.

They were Xiao Qixiu, Qiao Qianzhi, Jiang Bianyan, and two white-haired founding elders of the Spirit Palace.

That made five Sovereign Stage cultivators!

"Haha, what a pity! A pity indeed…"

The old man laughed unexpectedly as he stared at the five intimidating cultivators before him. He casually placed the tip of his pole on the ground, and the light touch sent the Spirit Palace's array rippling.

"What's the pity for?"

A solemn look darkened Qiao Qianzhi's face. The power that the old man displayed was terrifying.

It finally struck him why Xiao Qixiu had called for reinforcements. The five of them might not be a match for this old man!

"For the two of them…"

The old man pointed at the two white-haired founding elders. "Look at those two young fellows with their white hair at such a young age! Isn't that a pity? What can be more pitiful than that?"

Everyone was stunned when they heard those words. Young fellows?

He'd called them young fellows. These were old men who'd lived more than a hundred years.

This old man…

Was he doing it on purpose? Could it be that his age gave him the right to call them young fellows?

The founding elders immediately blew up. This was the first time they'd come across someone so audacious. Did he believe that he could do whatever he wanted simply because he'd managed to preserve his dark hair despite his age?

"Don't attack!"

Xiao Qixiu stopped the founding elders before they could lash out, then tilted his head toward Jiang Bianyan. "Hallmaster Jiang, do you know this man?"

Jiang Bianyan had been studying the old man for some time but couldn't tell who he was or where he hailed from.

As a hallmaster of the Holy Divine Palace, he'd accumulated a wealth of experience and many connections. While he might not be able to claim that he knew every Sovereign Stage cultivator on the continent, he was confident that he knew more than half of their numbers.

Yet, he hadn't the slightest clue who the man before him was.

"I don't know him. I know almost every Sovereign Stage cultivator who's reached the Sovereign Stage within the past century. But this man…"

"Haha… the past century?" The old man interrupted Jiang Bianyan with sudden laughter. "I've been a hermit for more than a century. Do you know any Sovereign Stage cultivator who was alive more than a hundred years ago?"

He swung his pole over his shoulder and eyed Jiang Bianyan with a look of anticipation. He seemed to show a keen interest in whether his juniors still knew who he was.

The five cultivators reeled back in shock.

"More than a hundred years?"