10: Did the old man sweeping the floor pierce through the Holy-Rank Flying Boat with his broom?

The mountain gate of the Hidden God Sect was truly dilapidated.

Half of the two wooden doors was missing, and the remaining half swayed precariously in the wind, letting out a "creak, creak" scream. Weeds grew thick in the cracks between the bluestone slabs on the ground, some even reaching the height of a person.

Leng Yanran followed behind Li Daoxuan, her footsteps somewhat unsteady.

Looking at the dismal scene before her, her brows furrowed tightly beneath her mask.

This was the so-called "hidden Sect"?

This was the territory of that cheap Revered Master who claimed he could make her "too formidable for gods or demons to bury"?

No matter how she looked at it, it seemed like a beggar's den on the verge of bankruptcy.

"We're here."

Li Daoxuan stopped and pointed at a row of thatched huts that looked like they could collapse at any moment, his tone carrying a strange sense of pride.

"This is our Hidden God Sect's main hall... next to it is the dining hall, and over there is the latrine."

"It might look a bit simple, but its strength lies in its tranquility."

Leng Yanran's lip twitched.

Simple?

This is called shabby, okay!

In her past life, she was the noble Demon Empress; she lived in the Demon God Palace and slept on a Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Jade Bed. Where had she ever seen such a dump that even a mouse would leave in tears?

She began to wonder if she had been swindled.

Could that single finger that suppressed the demonic Aura earlier have just been him using some kind of one-time secret treasure?

Just as Leng Yanran was struggling internally and even considering whether to run away now...

Her gaze was suddenly drawn to a figure in the corner of the plaza.

It was an old man dressed in gray cloth clothes.

His hair was white, his frame hunched, and he held a large, balding broom. He was bowing his head, sweeping up fallen leaves one stroke at a time.

His movements were very slow.

Very sluggish.

He looked like any ordinary, dying old man you could find anywhere.

"That's Grandpa Wang."

Li Daoxuan introduced him casually, "He's in charge of the Sect's hygiene. Don't bother him if there's nothing important; he has a bit of a temper."

Leng Yanran withdrew her gaze, the last shred of hope in her heart shattering.

She had originally thought that since it was a hidden Sect, there would surely be a hidden expert like a 'sweeping monk,' right?

And the result?

She had specifically used her Divine Sense to investigate just now.

There were no spiritual energy fluctuations at all.

His vitality was withered.

This was just a Mortal old man who hadn't even crossed the threshold of cultivation; it was even a question whether he could survive this winter.

"It seems I really did bet wrong."

Leng Yanran sighed, a sense of despair rising in her heart.

Just then.

"Vroom—!!!"

A massive roar suddenly came from overhead.

The sound was so loud that the pebbles on the ground jumped. Immediately after, the originally bright sunlight suddenly vanished.

A vast shadow, like dark clouds pressing down, instantly enveloped the entire plaza of the Hidden God Sect.

Leng Yanran's expression changed, and she whipped her head up.

There, in mid-air.

A massive Airship, a hundred zhang long, broke through the clouds and slowly descended over the Hidden God Sect with a suffocating pressure.

The Airship was built entirely of Black Iron, engraved with complex defensive Formations. A large flag fluttered in the wind at the bow.

On the flag, three gilded characters were prominently embroidered—

**Yunlan Sect!**

"It's a Yunlan Sect Warship!"

Leng Yanran's pupils constricted. She reflexively tried to circulate her Demonic Technique, only to find herself empty inside.

Her heavy injuries hadn't healed yet. Forget a Warship; even a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator could kill her as easily as crushing an ant.

"That's... a Saint Grade Low Grade Airship!"

"War weapons of this level are usually only deployed during Sect wars! Is the Yunlan Sect crazy? To deal with a tiny Hidden God Sect, they actually sent out a Warship?"

Aboard the Airship.

Dozens of Disciples in Yunlan Sect robes, holding Magical Artifacts, looked down condescendingly at the dilapidated Sect below.

The old man leading them had a face full of scars and a gaze brimming with Killing Intent.

He was the Hall Master of the Yunlan Sect's Law Enforcement Hall, with a cultivation at the Early Stage Golden Core!

The life tablets of the three scouts from earlier had shattered.

For the extremely protective Yunlan Sect, this was a provocation, a declaration of war!

"Is that the Hidden God Sect down there?!"

The Hall Master's voice, carried by powerful spiritual energy, exploded like thunder.

"What audacity! How dare you kill my Yunlan Sect Disciples!"

"Kneel and accept your death immediately! Otherwise, today I shall flatten this mountain and leave no survivors!"

The sound waves rolled.

Shaking the dry grass from the thatched roofs.

Leng Yanran gritted her teeth and looked at Li Daoxuan beside her.

She found that instead of being afraid, her Revered Master had his hands in his pockets and an expression like he was watching a play.

"Revered Master... they have a Golden Core powerhouse and a Warship..."

"Aren't we... going to run?"

Li Daoxuan curled his lip and picked his ear.

"Run?"

"Why run?"

"It's just a slightly larger fly buzzing around, quite annoying."

Leng Yanran was going crazy.

That's the Golden Core Stage! That's a Saint Grade Airship! One shot could level this entire mountain! You call that a fly?

However.

Before she could say anything more.

In the corner of the plaza, Grandpa Wang, who had been sweeping the whole time, suddenly stopped.

He slowly raised his head.

In those originally cloudy old eyes, there was now no emotional fluctuation whatsoever.

He looked at the blocked sunlight, then at the ground he had just swept clean, which was now covered in dust from the sound waves.

On that wrinkled face, a hint of... annoyance gradually emerged.

He was very annoyed.

"You're blocking the light."

Grandpa Wang muttered.

His voice was very soft, so soft that only he could hear it.

The old man was elderly and his legs were poor; he relied on this bit of sunlight to warm his back and dispel the chill.

He was just enjoying the sun.

When suddenly this big hunk of iron came along and blocked the sun entirely.

How could he endure this?

Grandpa Wang sighed.

He straightened his back with some effort, and his hand, withered like tree bark, tightly gripped the balding bamboo broom.

Then.

He casually waved it toward the sky, as if shooing away a fly.

"Move aside."

This action was completely unremarkable.

Just like any ordinary sanitation worker sweeping the floor.

No spiritual energy fluctuations.

No dazzling light.

Not even the sound of wind was produced.

Watching this, Leng Yanran felt even more despair.

Was this old man scared witless? Waving a broom at an Airship? Did he think he could sweep it down?

The Yunlan Sect Hall Master on the Airship laughed even more wildly:

"Hahaha! This is hilarious!"

"Are the people in this trashy Sect all lunatics?"

"A senile janitor dares to disrespect me?"

"Fire! Blast this old thing into dust!"

However.

His laughter came to an abrupt halt in the next second.

Because.

A gust of wind.

An invisible wind drifted gently from the end of that broken broom.

At first, it was a breeze.

Three feet from the broom, it became an air current.

Ten zhang above the ground, it became... Sword Qi!

An invisible, formless, yet terrifying Sword Qi capable of severing the Laws of heaven and earth!

There was no sound.

Because it was too fast—so fast that sound couldn't keep up.

The Sword Qi sliced through the supposedly indestructible Saint Grade Airship as effortlessly as a hot knife through butter.

Time seemed to stand still at this moment.

The defensive Formations on the Airship didn't even flicker, as if they didn't exist.

The hard Black Iron hull was like fragile tofu.

"Crack—"

An extremely faint sound echoed in the air.

Immediately after.

Under everyone's terrified gazes.

A frighteningly neat black line appeared right in the middle of that massive, sun-blocking Airship.

The black line expanded rapidly.

"Boom!!!"

With a massive explosion, the Airship split directly into two halves!

The cut was as smooth as a mirror!

Countless Yunlan Sect Disciples, before they could even react, fell from the sky screaming like dumplings being dropped into a pot along with the fractured hull.

The Golden Core Hall Master happened to be standing at the bow.

He didn't even manage to scream.

Because as the Sword Qi sliced the Airship, it also happened to... evaporate him.

Truly reduced to ashes.

Not even a speck remained.

"Bang! Bang!"

The two massive halves of the wreckage slammed heavily into the cliff below the Hidden God Sect, kicking up clouds of dust.

The aggressive punitive force from just a moment ago...

One broom stroke.

Wiped out.

On the plaza.

There was a deathly silence.

Leng Yanran's mouth hung wide open, her jaw nearly dislocating.

She stared fixedly at Grandpa Wang, who had lowered his head again and continued sweeping slowly.

In that instant.

Her worldview collapsed.

Shattered into pieces that couldn't be put back together.

That was a Saint Grade Airship!

Even a Soul Transformation Stage powerhouse would have to put in some effort to break its defense, right?

But this old man... just waved a broom?

And from the looks of it, he hadn't even used much strength?

"Sword Intent... that's the Sword Intent of 'Great Dao is Simple'!"

As the Demon Empress, Leng Yanran still had her discerning eye.

She finally realized.

That seemingly casual wave contained a supreme Sword Dao that surpassed her understanding!

Returning to simplicity!

Sword Dao reaching divinity!

How was this just some janitor?

This was clearly a living Sword God! A peerless powerhouse living in seclusion here to experience life!

*Gulp.*

Leng Yanran swallowed hard.

She stiffly turned her neck to look at Li Daoxuan, who remained calm beside her.

Her gaze had completely changed.

From doubt to awe.

Absolute awe!

If even a janitor is a monster of this level... then just how ridiculously strong must this Sect Master be?

"Ma... Revered Master..."

Leng Yanran's voice trembled as she pointed at Grandpa Wang, who was still sweeping.

"Is that Senior... really just in charge of hygiene?"

Li Daoxuan glanced at Grandpa Wang and said casually:

"Yeah."

"He insisted on applying back then. I saw he was pitiful, so I took him in."

"But the old man has a quirk: he's a bit obsessive-compulsive and can't stand dirty things."

"See, that Airship was blocking the ground just now, so he swept it away."

Li Daoxuan shook his head with a "no big deal" expression, then shouted toward Grandpa Wang:

"Old Wang! When you're done sweeping, remember to clean up that trash (the Yunlan Sect people). Don't leave them at the entrance; they're an eyesore!"

In the distance.

Grandpa Wang didn't look up.

He just kept his back to them and raised a withered hand, making an "OK" gesture.

Then.

He continued sweeping.

"Shua... shua... shua..."

The sound of the broom rubbing against the ground echoed in the silent valley.

To Leng Yanran's ears.

It was no longer the sound of sweeping.

That was the footsteps of the Grim Reaper.

She took a deep breath, and the last hint of wanting to run away was completely extinguished.

Run?

Run where?

This Hidden God Sect... was clearly the thickest thigh in this world to cling to!

Even at her Peak in the Demon Realm, she estimated she would only be worth a couple more broom strokes to this janitor!

Leng Yanran made an immediate decision.

With a "thud."

She knelt decisively before Li Daoxuan, her eyes fanatical and her tone as firm as if she were making a solemn vow.

"Revered Master!"

"I was just thinking, those thatched huts on the back mountain are too dilapidated and don't suit your status!"

"I'll go build a palace for you right now! Please, leave the heavy lifting like carrying bricks to me!"