67: Chapter 67 The Mysterious Old Man

Eastern Region, Tianshui City.

Ye Yuan sat on the roof of the Haiyue Inn, carrying a jar of strong liquor in his hand.

Three atavistic Silver Flood Dragons were coiled in the inn's backyard, breathing in and out Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi; not even a fly dared to approach within a hundred-foot radius.

At the end of the long street, Chu Kuangren walked over step by step on the bluestone road, carrying a sword casket on his back.

There was no flying sword, and no grand display.

Chu Kuangren leaped onto the roof and sat down opposite Ye Yuan.

"Sect Master Chu took quite a while to consider," Ye Yuan said, tossing the wine jar in his hand over.

Chu Kuangren caught the jar, slapped open the mud seal, and took a large gulp. The spicy liquid rolled down his throat as he wiped his mouth. "The list Fellow Daoist Ye gave is too terrifying. The waters of the Eastern Region are shallow; they cannot hide so many true dragons."

"Can't find them, or don't dare to find them?" Ye Yuan's dark purple pupils stared at him.

"The Penglai Sword Sect indeed has a say in the Eastern Region, but those few on the Jade Slip are all old monsters who have lived for thousands of years," Chu Kuangren sighed. "For instance, that 'Fishing Sea Guest'—rumor has it he uses true dragons as bait to fish in the Return to Ruins. The Penglai Sword Sect cannot afford to provoke such an existence."

Ye Yuan burst out laughing.

"Chu Kuangren, you still haven't understood the situation." Ye Yuan stood up, facing the sea breeze. "Over in the Central Plains, the Great Xia Dynasty's sky has already changed. The Everlasting Gu Family has entered the world, and even the Taichu Holy Land has backed away. Do you think the Eastern Region can remain unaffected?"

Chu Kuangren gripped the wine jar tightly.

"If the Gu Family eats the meat, the Ye Family must at least have a sip of the soup." Ye Yuan pointed to the three Silver Flood Dragons in the backyard. "The Dragon Clan has already made their stance clear. By sending these three Silver Flood Dragons, they are testing the limits of the Heavenly Dao. In the struggle of the great era, if you do not advance, you will fall back."

"What does the Ye Family need the Penglai Sword Sect to do?"

"Lead the way," Ye Yuan said crisply. "You know the terrain, Secret Realms, and the sleeping places of those undying old fogies better than I do. Find them and tell them that the Ye Family has emerged and is willing to plot for the great era together with them."

Chu Kuangren remained silent. This was equivalent to completely tying the Penglai Sword Sect to the Ye Family's ship. If they won, they would soar to the heavens; if they lost, they would be beyond redemption.

"Fine." Chu Kuangren finally gritted his teeth. "The Penglai Sword Sect takes this deal."

Ye Yuan nodded. Gu Sheng's instructions were clear: the messier the Eastern Region, the better. It would be best to dig out all those secluded old monsters to cause some trouble for those self-righteous Holy Lands in the Central Plains.

As the two were speaking, Ye Yuan turned his head and looked toward a dark alley below the inn.

An Old Beggar was squatting there.

He was dressed in rags, his hair was gray, and he held a tattered begging bowl in his hand.

The Old Beggar was looking up at the roof, a trace of a strange smile showing in his cloudy eyes.

Ye Yuan frowned slightly. With his cultivation at the Nascent Soul Great Perfection and the perception of the Ancient Desolate Magic Body, he actually hadn't noticed when this old man had appeared there.

"Sect Master Chu, is that one of your Tianshui City people?" Ye Yuan tilted his chin slightly.

Chu Kuangren followed his gaze and shook his head. "Never seen him. Tianshui City is a gathering place for Loose Cultivators, a mixed bag; it's normal to have a few more beggars."

Normal?

Ye Yuan sneered. Could an old man who could quietly approach under the eyes of two high-level Cultivators be an ordinary beggar?

His figure flickered, disappearing directly from the roof, and in the next moment, he appeared at the entrance of the dark alley.

The Old Beggar stood up slowly, patted the dust off his clothes, and tucked the broken bowl into his bosom.

"Young man, don't be so hot-tempered." The Old Beggar grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "I'm just an old man passing by, looking for a drink of water."

Ye Yuan didn't waste words, raising his hand in a Black Tiger Heart-Ripping strike.

The power of the Ancient Desolate Magic Body erupted, and the air was forcibly compressed into a sonic boom. This punch was enough to level a small hilltop.

The Old Beggar neither dodged nor avoided it, but simply raised that filthy hand slowly to meet it.

Fist and palm met.

There was no world-shaking roar, and no billowing airwaves.

Ye Yuan felt as if his punch had hit a bottomless mass of cotton; all the power was like clay oxen entering the sea, vanishing without a trace.

His pupils shrank slightly, and he pulled back, retreating.

The Old Beggar still stood in place, not even a corner of his clothes disturbed.

"Ancient Desolate Magic Body. Tsk tsk, how many years has it been since I've seen this thing?" The Old Beggar smacked his lips. "Little fellow, is your surname Ye?"

Ye Yuan stared at him, the Devilish Qi within his body circulating frantically. "Who is Your Excellency?"

"A beggar." The Old Beggar waved his hand. "I just heard you two bragging on the roof about some struggle of the great era and the Everlasting Gu Family. This old man has slept for eight thousand years and just woke up; I'm quite curious about the outside world. Why don't you tell me about it?"

Eight thousand years.

A stormy sea rose in Ye Yuan's heart. Judging by his appearance, this old monster had actually lived from eight thousand years ago until now!

Far away in the Central Plains, Gu Sheng witnessed this scene through Divine Sense sharing.

[Ding! Detected unknown high-level target, cultivation level cannot be probed. Suspected ancient remnant.]

The System issued a rare warning.

Gu Sheng sat on the soft couch in the Star-Plucking Tower, his fingers tapping the tabletop rapidly. The waters of the Eastern Region were even deeper than he had imagined. To think that throwing out a random bait would actually hook a prehistoric crocodile.

"I have to stabilize him first," Gu Sheng thought.

In the dark alley, Ye Yuan restrained his Devilish Qi and made a gesture of invitation. "Since Senior is interested, why not come upstairs for a drink?"

The Old Beggar wasn't polite either, strolling into the inn with his hands behind his back.

Chu Kuangren also landed at the alley entrance at this time; looking at the Old Beggar's back, a layer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He hadn't even clearly seen how the Old Beggar had caught Ye Yuan's punch just now.

The sky over the Eastern Region was truly about to change.

Central Plains, Taichu Holy Land.

Mountains stretched on, shrouded in clouds and mist.

Inside the main hall of the Taichu Main Peak, the atmosphere was suppressed to the extreme.

Second Elder Qi Yuan knelt in the center of the hall, his face pale. The black tortoise shield was lost, manpower was sacrificed in the Luoxia Mountains, and most importantly, the Taichu Holy Land's reputation had been ground into the dirt by the Everlasting Gu Family in the Great Xia Imperial City.

On the main seat, Holy Lord Taichu rested with his eyes closed, Laws circulating around him.

"Holy Lord, the Gu Family has gone too far!" A red-robed Elder stood up. "If we don't show them some color, who in the Central Plains will still respect our Taichu Holy Land!"

"How will you show them color?" another Elder snorted. "They have a damaged Imperial Weapon and a Saint realm Dao Protector. You going there would just be delivering yourself on a platter."

"Are we just supposed to swallow this insult?"

The hall was filled with incessant arguing.

Suddenly, an extremely ear-piercing zither sound drifted in from outside the mountain gate.

This zither sound carried not a shred of beauty; it was like two pieces of raw iron rubbing against each other, carrying an extremely frigid killing intent that directly penetrated the Taichu Holy Land's protective Formation and echoed within the hall.

Several deacons with weaker cultivation coughed up blood on the spot and collapsed to the ground.

Holy Lord Taichu snapped his eyes open, two golden lights piercing through the void.

"Who dares to act so insolently at the Taichu Holy Land!"

Outside the mountain gate.

Luo Qingxue, dressed in black, sat cross-legged on a giant rock. The nine nether soul-suppressing zither lay across her knees.

Her fingers flew across the strings, the zither sound transforming into physical ice blades that frantically sliced at the Taichu Holy Land's protective Formation. Several fine cracks had already appeared on the green Formation light barrier.

"Luo Qingxue of Xuanming Hall."

Her voice was cold and clear, spreading throughout the entire Taichu Mountains.

"By the order of Pavilion Master Gu, I have come to the Taichu Holy Land to smash the gates."

Inside the hall, when Qi Yuan heard these words, his vision went black, and he nearly fainted. The Everlasting Gu Family really intended to drive them to total extinction.

Holy Lord Taichu's face turned ashen as he stepped out of the hall.

In the sky, tribulation clouds began to gather.

Luo Qingxue looked up at the heavenly thunder; far from stopping, she instead increased the speed of her plucking. Gu Sheng had only said to smash a gap in the gate, but she felt that wasn't enough.

Three hundred years of resentment was just right to vent on the Taichu Holy Land.

The situation in the Central Plains was completely ignited along with these few zither notes.

And in the distant Star-Plucking Tower of Heavenly Saint City, Gu Sheng stretched lazily.