170: Chapter 170 Did you know it's haunted?

That aura came without warning, like a towering mountain appearing out of thin air above Muyun Villa, suppressing the Spiritual Qi of the entire world into a momentary standstill.

Immediately after, an extremely sharp sword light slashed down from the Void Realm, precisely blocking the path in front of Yun Tianxiang.

The dark gray spiritual light collided with the sword light, turning into a sky full of dark gray specks of light that dissipated into the air.

Deacon Ji's face became extremely unsightly in an instant. He abruptly raised his head and looked toward the south, where a figure was slowly walking out of the twilight.

Dressed in a green robe, carrying a long sword on his back, with a lean face and a calm gait.

With every step he took, a faint ripple of spiritual light spread out beneath his feet, causing the surrounding air to tremble slightly.

He did not release any pressure, yet the aura exuding from his gait already made everyone present feel a shudder from the depths of their Souls.

Elder Cangwu came to a halt a few Zhang in front of Yun Tianxiang. His gaze swept over the pale-faced Venerated Experts of the Xie Family and Ji Mang, finally landing on the Shadow Pavilion Deacon.

"Early Stage Mahayana," Elder Cangwu spoke, his voice flat as his gaze fell upon Deacon Ji. "The hand of the Northern Territory's Shadow Pavilion has indeed stretched quite far."

Deacon Ji's face finally darkened completely. He recognized this person—Elder Cangwu of Kunlun, at the Peak of Tribulation Transcendence, renowned throughout the Southern Wilderness.

The Shadow Pavilion operated secretly on the continent, but as one of the top three assassin organizations in the Northern Territory, its tentacles reached across the Five Regions, so they had naturally conducted enough investigations into Kunlun's affairs.

He took a deep breath, slowly straightened his back, and suppressed the shock in his heart. "My Shadow Pavilion has never had any disputes with Kunlun. May I ask why Elder is interfering in our Shadow Pavilion's affairs today?"

Elder Cangwu glanced at him, his tone remaining flat. "This person is my Disciple."

In an instant, all color drained from Deacon Ji's face. He opened his mouth, his voice trembling slightly. "Senior, this junior did not know he was your Disciple. I have offended you just now, and I beg for your forgiveness."

He lowered his posture extremely low, bowing his waist even deeper than the Xie Family's Venerated Expert had just now.

He belonged to the Shadow Pavilion and was used to acting overbearingly in the Northern Territory, but in the face of a Peak of Tribulation Transcendence cultivator, his cultivation and background were simply not enough.

"This junior will immediately order people to release the captives from the dungeon and personally escort this little brother's younger brother back to Kunlun. I would never dare to be negligent again..."

Elder Cangwu watched him quietly, his gaze calm yet seemingly able to pierce through all illusions straight to the heart.

Deacon Ji's voice grew lower and lower, and cold sweat began to slide down his temples.

"You did not know, so you could offend."

Elder Cangwu finally spoke, his voice flat but carrying a bone-chilling coldness.

"But with your palm strike just now, if he hadn't dodged it, he would already be a corpse by now."

Deacon Ji trembled all over. Just as he was about to explain further, Elder Cangwu had already raised his right hand, lightly pinching his thumb and index finger together, and flicked in his direction.

In an instant, Deacon Ji felt an unprecedented sense of crisis, as if the entire world were crushing down upon him.

He instinctively wanted to dodge, to activate his protective spiritual light, and to tear through the Void Realm to escape.

But before his body could make any response, he was already frozen in place.

An extremely tiny crack emerged on his forehead, spreading downward, passing over his nose, lips, and chin, neatly splitting his entire body in half down the middle.

In the next instant, his body turned into a sky full of fine specks of light, blown by the mountain wind and dissipating without a trace.

Inside Muyun Villa, there was a deathly silence.

The two Venerated Experts at the Middle Stage of Void Refining collapsed to the ground, lacking even the strength to beg for mercy.

Ji Mang stood frozen in place, his face as pale as paper, his legs trembling violently, yet he did not even dare to move.

Elder Cangwu did not look at the spot where Deacon Ji had disappeared. With a slight wave of his hand, a beam of spiritual light flew out from his sleeve, exploding in the air and turning into countless tiny blades of light that swept across the entire Muyun Villa.

Wherever the light blades passed, the Xie Family's Venerated Experts hiding in the dark, the sentries of the Shadow Pavilion, and even the core hubs of the villa's Formations were all shredded by that seemingly gentle yet extremely sharp spiritual light.

In just three breaths, throughout the entire Muyun Villa, there was not a single living Soul left, except for Yun Tianxiang and those imprisoned in the dungeon.

Elder Cangwu withdrew his hand, stood with his hands behind his back, and turned to look at Yun Tianxiang. "Go save your brother."

Yun Tianxiang was slightly startled, then nodded and quickly sped toward the entrance of the dungeon.

His figure vanished beneath the stone steps in a few leaps through the twilight. Before long, a muffled sound of a shattering Restriction came from underground, followed by the weak coughing of a youth.

A moment later, Yun Tianxiang emerged from the dungeon exit, supporting a thin youth.

The youth was about seventeen or eighteen years old, his face pale, his robes covered in dust, and he was clearly injured. However, his eyes were incredibly bright, reflecting the starlight in the twilight as he looked up at his older brother.

"Brother... is it really you?" The youth's voice was hoarse, filled with disbelief and an uncontrollable tremble.

Yun Tianxiang looked down at his brother's face, which was so pale it was almost translucent, and lightly patted his shoulder. "It's me. I've come."

From the direction of the Xuanyuan Dynasty's capital, a streak of light shot out from the depths of the imperial palace, flying toward Muyun Villa at extreme speed.

The streak of light stopped in mid-air, revealing the figure of an old man with white hair and beard. It was none other than Ancestor Xu Tianyan of the Xuanyuan Dynasty.

He had been alarmed by that soaring Tribulation-level aura. Although that extremely sharp Sword Intent had only flashed and vanished, he could still clearly perceive it.

Xu Tianyan originally thought something major had happened in the Southern Wilderness again, but when he clearly saw the green-robed figure above Muyun Villa, his expression became complicated.

"Fellow Daoist Cangwu," Xu Tianyan stopped a few Zhang away and bowed with cupped hands.

"Elder Cangwu turned to glance at him and nodded slightly. "Fellow Daoist Xu."

Xu Tianyan's gaze fell upon Muyun Villa, which had already turned into ruins, and then swept over the corpses scattered everywhere in the debris, his brow furrowing slightly. "Fellow Daoist Cangwu, what happened here?"

Elder Cangwu did not answer directly but looked at Yun Tianxiang, who was supporting the youth, and said calmly, "Take him back to Kunlun first."

Yun Tianxiang nodded, bowed to Elder Cangwu, and then activated his spiritual energy, turning into a streak of light with the youth as they sped toward Kunlun.

Elder Cangwu watched the two leave before looking back at Xu Tianyan, his flat tone carrying a hint of warning. "Do you even know that your Xuanyuan Dynasty has been infiltrated by ghosts? It has already become one of the strongholds of the Northern Territory's Shadow Pavilion."