191: Chapter 191 Zhou Xinghe

The two chatted along the way.

Shen Xingchen gained an increasingly clear picture of Snowfield Dragon City.

A drizzle began to fall from the sky.

Shen Xingchen raised his hand to catch a few raindrops.

The rainwater was like ink, slipping from his fingertips into his palm and emitting wisps of black qi.

Seeing Shen Xingchen's confusion, Wang Xian also caught a drop of black rain and said, "Wherever the Demon Race has invaded, the surrounding vegetation and soil turn into this terrible state."

Shen Xingchen asked, "Is it really fine to just walk in the rain like this?"

There were still many pedestrians on the street. Seeing this eerie black rain, they treated it as ordinary rain and didn't even bother to seek shelter.

Wang Xian said, "It's actually just rain contaminated with demonic qi. It's indeed harmful to ordinary people who haven't cultivated, but once you reach Tier-3 Martial Artist, it has no effect."

Shen Xingchen showed a look of sudden realization.

Right then.

Wang Xian suddenly asked with belated realization, "Did you say earlier... that you encountered a Tuitian Demon Snake?"

Even the weakest Tuitian Demon Snake should have Tier-5 combat power.

With Shen Xingchen's current combat power, how could he have survived?

Shen Xingchen thought for a moment and said, "I remember that after transforming into human form, that Tuitian Demon Snake was a woman who liked to wear bright red robes, named Youyue."

Come to think of it, he really ought to thank this royal snake woman.

If she hadn't traveled thousands of miles to Qiunan for some secret mission and happened to be caught by him, he didn't know how long his father's injuries would have been dragged out.

Wang Xian's eyes suddenly widened. "Who did you say!?"

"Youyue. What's wrong?" Shen Xingchen asked.

Wang Xian suddenly turned around and grabbed Shen Xingchen's shoulders in excitement. "Do you have any idea who you're talking about? The youngest General-level leader among the Demon Race, equivalent to a human Xiang Realm expert, a member of the Tuitian Demon Snake royalty... Youyue?"

Although this Youyue was only a newly ascended General-level entity, she had caused the frontline forces to suffer heavy losses, so she certainly could not be underestimated.

Shen Xingchen showed a look of surprise.

Was this woman named Youyue really that famous in Snowfield Dragon City?

He explained, "What I encountered back then was merely an external avatar of hers."

Wang Xian was still in disbelief. "Even if it was just an external avatar, if she was truly determined to fight to the death, it's not something you could have resolved."

The Demon Race also possessed secret techniques that sacrificed essence blood.

If that royal snake woman had sacrificed her external avatar to cast a terrifying spell,

even across vast territories, it would be enough to make a Tier-8 Martial Artist feel the threat of death.

Shen Xingchen didn't explain any further.

Sword Saint Cui Ping's sword qi involved his ultimate trump card; the fewer people who knew about it, the better.

Seeing that Shen Xingchen didn't intend to elaborate, Wang Xian didn't press the matter further.

Suddenly.

Without warning, the rustling sound of the rain came to an abrupt stop.

It wasn't that the rain had stopped—the rain was... suspended in midair.

Shen Xingchen stopped in his tracks in shock, his eyes widening.

Everything before his eyes looked like the handiwork of a deity.

Raindrops froze in the space between heaven and earth, blocking the view in the distance.

In a teahouse by the street, a woman held a cup with tea spilling near her lips, frozen in place like a picture.

On the road, wheels rolled through a puddle, and the splashed water droplets hung suspended, about to fall but never falling.

All sounds were drained away, leaving the world so dead silent that his ears rang.

Time... had been stopped by someone!

Shen Xingchen took two quick steps, confirming that he was the only person in this world who could still move.

"This..." Shen Xingchen was dazed and shocked.

Amidst this ultimate silence,

a sound echoed slowly from the end of the street.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap!

It was the sound of a cane tapping against the ground, bearing indisputable authority.

At the end of the long street, the curtain of rain was parted by an invisible force.

A figure walked over unhurriedly.

He was extremely old.

So old that one could barely estimate his age.

He wore an old-fashioned suit of an ancient style and held an ebony cane in his hand; that "tap, tap" sound came precisely from the cane striking the ground.

He walked very slowly, but every step seemed to tread on the pulse of time, carrying an ancient rhythm.

Shen Xingchen's lips felt dry. "You..."

"My name is Zhou Xinghe."

The old man's cloudy eyes were filled with the vicissitudes of life. Standing there, he looked like a living ancient monument.

Shen Xingchen opened his mouth, but in the end merely cupped his fists and said, "Greetings, Senior Zhou."

He had seen two King-tier experts before.

Sword Saint Cui Ping and Qiyuan.

Both were merely in a remnant soul state, giving Shen Xingchen a feeling that leaned more toward mysteriousness.

But the King-tier oppressive aura brought by this old man was the clearest and strongest.

This was a true, living King-tier figure, the only one in all of Huaxia.

Furthermore, this King-tier figure accommodated Authority.

It could be said that only with this old man's existence did Snowfield Dragon City refrain from falling, keeping the territory peaceful and stable.

The old man surnamed Zhou patted Shen Xingchen's shoulder. "Not bad. Your foundation is solid, a few degrees stronger than mine back in my younger days."

Shen Xingchen felt as though he had been seen right through.

It was as if nothing could hide in front of this old man.

The old man surnamed Zhou said with an unruffled expression, "Wondering why I wanted to see you?"

Shen Xingchen gave a quiet "mm."

Legend had it that Senior Zhou didn't have much lifespan left.

Most of the time, he sealed himself in time, falling into a deep slumber to protect the Northern Border for a longer duration.

Only the arrival of a true King-tier demon in person would draw him out.

The old man's ebony cane tapped lightly on the ground, and time seemed to freeze even deeper.

When Shen Xingchen opened his eyes again, he was already standing atop the city walls.

His body froze slightly as he murmured, "Snowfield Dragon City?"

Without a doubt, the Great Wall beneath his feet was that very Snowfield Dragon City towering high above the clouds.

Seen from afar, Snowfield Dragon City looked like a long barrier.

But only when standing atop its walls would one realize that this barrier... could actually be so expansive.

"This is the Northern Border," the old man said, pointing into the distance.

Shen Xingchen looked in the direction he pointed.

The land to the north had completely changed color.

The vast green and brownish-yellow soil was entirely covered by a squirming darkness.

That was demonic qi, coiling and rising like a boundless, filthy swamp.

Wherever it passed, vegetation withered completely into charred dust, and even rocks were eroded with countless holes.

Farther away,

at the end of the surging demonic qi, in the chaotic realm where heaven and earth met,

a few pairs of eyes lit up.

They were immense and glowing an eerie green.

Although he had heard about it in textbooks long ago, actually witnessing this "purgatory on earth" still sent tremors through Shen Xingchen's heart.

If Qiunan City turned into this state, Shen Xingchen could hardly imagine how frantic he would become.

Once again, he deeply felt just how heavy a responsibility the frontline warriors bore on their shoulders.

The old man surnamed Zhou asked casually, "Guess how much lifespan I have left?"

Shen Xingchen was somewhat surprised.

He had initially thought Senior Zhou brought him to see this to ask about his thoughts, but didn't expect such an irrelevant question.

Shen Xingchen spoke cautiously: "Three years?"

The old man surnamed Zhou calmly gave the answer:

"Fifteen minutes."