Chapter 479 - 476: The Old Man Blocking the Road

Chapter 479: Chapter 476: The Old Man Blocking the Road

The mountain forest was lush and green. The afternoon sun filtered through layers of branches and leaves, scattering flecks of light across the ground blanketed in fallen foliage.

Three figures in deep blue darted through the woods. Their speed was astonishing, yet strangely, they stirred almost no wind.

Lei Zheng led the way, his steps steady. His aura was contained, yet it faintly exuded a heart-stopping, oppressive presence.

Leng Ling and Han Yue followed close behind. The three maintained a constant distance of no more than thirty feet between them, moving in perfect, unspoken coordination.

"Who goes there?"

After a pursuit of only a few miles, Lei Zheng suddenly came to a halt.

Leng Ling and Han Yue stopped as well, their gazes following his.

In the middle of the mountain path stood a man.

An old man.

He wore a deep cyan robe, its hem fluttering slightly in the mountain wind.

His figure was gaunt and his face thin, with wrinkles so deep they looked as if they had been carved by a knife. His skin had the pallor of one who rarely saw the sun.

He stood casually in the middle of the path, hands clasped behind his back. His posture was so relaxed it was as if he were simply taking a stroll through the desolate wilderness and had happened to wander here by chance.

But how could anyone be strolling here?

This spot was dozens of miles deep into the wilderness, with no sign of human life for miles in any direction. Even hunters rarely set foot here.

For an old man who looked to be on death’s door to appear alone in such a place was highly unusual.

’This old man isn’t normal!’

Lei Zheng’s brows furrowed slightly.

His Spiritual Perception swept over the old man, but he detected nothing.

There were no fluctuations of Inner Qi, no potent life force. He seemed to be an utterly ordinary old man.

But an ordinary old man couldn’t possibly be here.

This was anything but normal!

Leng Ling’s hand quietly came to rest on her sword hilt, a flicker of vigilance in her cold eyes.

Han Yue remained standing with his hands clasped behind him, his expression as stern as ever. But his piercingly bright eyes were now fixed on the old man, and a sharp light glinted in their depths.

The three exchanged a glance, each seeing the same conclusion in the others’ eyes: this old man was not normal.

"Sir, may I ask why you are blocking our path?"

Lei Zheng took a deep breath, maintaining his distance as he cupped his fists.

His voice was courteous, but beneath the courtesy lay caution and a probing intent.

The old man lifted his eyes, his gaze landing on Lei Zheng.

His eyes were cloudy, as if veiled by a thin mist, no different from those of any other elderly man.

Yet for some reason, as those eyes watched him, Lei Zheng felt an inexplicable chill crawl up his spine, as if he were being targeted by some terrifying entity.

"This road is closed."

The old man spoke, his voice aged and flat, as if he were stating a simple, everyday fact.

"This road is closed?"

Lei Zheng’s brow furrowed.

The road is closed?

The old man meant to bar their way?

He suppressed the unease in his heart and cupped his fists once more.

"Sir, we are on urgent business. We hope you will grant us passage."

The old man’s gaze shifted from Lei Zheng, sweeping over Leng Ling and Han Yue before finally returning to rest on Lei Zheng again.

Those cloudy eyes betrayed no emotion.

"If you continue on, the three of you will die."

His tone was still flat, as if he were stating another simple, everyday fact.

But the content of his words made all three of their expressions change.

"An empty bluff."

Leng Ling’s brows knitted sharply, a flash of anger crossing her cold eyes.

She had cultivated for decades to reach the First Grade realm and held a position of power and authority within the Thunderlight Pavilion.

How dare some old codger who’d popped out of nowhere make such an outrageous claim, cursing them to die?

Rather than believe this old man was truly powerful, she was more inclined to think he had simply cultivated an exceptionally advanced Breath Concealment Secret Technique.

"Hmph—"

She snorted coldly.

Her right hand clamped down on her sword hilt. With a sharp CLANG, the longsword left its sheath.

The blade was a deep blue, gleaming with a cold light under the afternoon sun. Several blue Gemstones were inlaid into its body, and arcs of lightning now faintly flickered across them.

She slashed out with her sword.

She held nothing back in this strike, the terrifying Cultivation of a First Grade Martial Artist erupting without reservation.

Deep blue Sword Qi shot from the blade, swelling in the wind until it instantly became a beam tens of feet long.

With a deafening shriek, it tore through the air, carrying a Mountain-Splitting Stone-Shattering Momentum as it slashed straight for the old man.

Wherever the Sword Qi passed, the air tore apart and a deep trench was gouged into the earth. The trees and plants on either side snapped and fell as if battered by a typhoon.

This single strike was powerful enough to cleave a boulder dozens of feet high in two.

"HUMMM—"

Faced with this Mountain-Splitting Stone-Shattering Sword Qi, the old man did not move.

He didn’t dodge, he didn’t block. He didn’t even lift a hand.

The old man simply stood there quietly, hands clasped behind his back, as if the Sword Qi didn’t even exist.

The Sword Qi screamed through the air, arriving within tens of feet of the old man in an instant.

And then—

It disintegrated.

Without warning, without a sound, the substantial, deep blue Sword Qi simply broke apart as if it had struck an invisible wall.

The entire beam of Sword Qi shattered inch by inch, dissolving into countless fine motes of light that scattered on the mountain wind.

From beginning to end, the old man hadn’t so much as blinked.

"You..."

Leng Ling’s pupils contracted violently.

Though she hadn’t used her full strength, that strike had contained seventy to eighty percent of her Cultivation.

Even another First Grade Martial Artist could never have dispelled it so effortlessly.

No, this wasn’t dispelling it—this was complete and utter disregard.

A chill shot up from the soles of her feet, racing up her spine to the crown of her head.

Her knuckles turned white from how tightly she gripped her sword.

"..."

Lei Zheng’s expression changed as well.

He was a First Grade Martial Artist, and his combat prowess ranked in the top three among the First-Grade Elders of the pavilion.

It was precisely because of his high standing that he understood exactly what he had just witnessed.

The ability to make a First Grade Martial Artist’s attack simply fall apart was a level of power far beyond his comprehension.

’Grand...master...’

Han Yue’s piercingly bright eyes were now filled with solemnity.

He had lived for more than sixty years and seen many powerful experts. He had even witnessed a Grandmaster Level powerhouse in action from a great distance.

The scene just now reminded him of those beings he could only gaze up at in awe.

A thought he didn’t want to believe surfaced in his mind.

The old man before them was a Grandmaster Powerhouse!

"..."

The old man’s gaze swept over the three of them.

He still didn’t release any terrifying aura. He still looked like an ordinary old man on death’s door.

But as those cloudy eyes watched them, the three felt an indescribable chill envelop their bodies, as if they were being stalked by some primordial beast.

Leng Ling’s sword hand trembled. Her earlier anger had vanished without a trace, replaced by a profound sense of terror.

She didn’t even dare to meet his gaze, and her eyes fell to the ground involuntarily.

Lei Zheng’s Adam’s apple bobbed. Cold sweat broke out on his back.

Han Yue took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the storm raging in his heart.

"This road is closed. The three of you, please turn back."

The old man spoke again, his voice still aged and flat, as if he were talking about some trivial matter.

This time, the three of them didn’t hesitate for a moment.

"Yes. We’ll leave at once."

Lei Zheng was the first to cup his fists, his voice immeasurably more respectful than before.

With that said, he turned and fled.

Leng Ling and Han Yue followed right behind him. The trio’s footsteps were even faster than when they arrived, as if something terrifying were chasing them.

In just a few moments, the three figures in deep blue vanished into the depths of the forest.

The old man stood where he was, hands clasped behind his back, watching the direction they had fled. His aged face was expressionless.

After a moment, he withdrew his gaze.

"WHOOSH—"

With a flash, his figure vanished from the middle of the path as if he had never been there at all.

The mountain wind blew past, swirling a few fallen leaves into the air before carrying them away.

Everything returned to silence, as if nothing had ever happened.

「After fleeing for dozens of miles.」

Lei Zheng and the others finally stopped, coming to a halt on a mountain ridge.

Leng Ling leaned against an ancient tree with one hand, panting heavily.

Her normally cold face was now filled with the terror of having narrowly escaped death. Cold sweat dripped from her forehead, soaking her temples.

"Was that... a Grandmaster Powerhouse?"

Her voice was hoarse and carried an uncontrollable tremor.

"There’s no doubt about it!"

Lei Zheng said in a low voice.

His own expression was grim. The robe on his back was soaked through with cold sweat, clinging to his skin.

The scene from moments ago replayed endlessly in his mind.

A beam of Sword Qi powerful enough to shatter mountains and stone had simply... disintegrated.

No fluctuation of Inner Qi, no collision of energy, not even the slightest sound.

This was beyond the realm of Martial Techniques, beyond the limits of his comprehension.

"A Grandmaster..."

Han Yue spoke slowly, his voice low and filled with an indescribable solemnity.

A Grandmaster.

An existence that surpassed the First Grade, a figure who truly stood at the pinnacle of the Martial Dao.

The entire Thunderlight Pavilion had only one Grandmaster Powerhouse in its ranks. He was the Sect’s ultimate pillar of strength, a foundational power to be deployed only in the direst of circumstances.

And that old man just now was a Grandmaster.

"I actually attacked a Grandmaster!"

Leng Ling’s face went white as a sheet. She had just attacked a Grandmaster. It was a death wish.

If he hadn’t intended to spare her, she would likely be a corpse right now.

"That Grandmaster... could he be from the Qingxuan Sect?"

Lei Zheng asked quietly.

"He must be a Grandmaster Powerhouse from the Qingxuan Sect. I’ve heard that the Qingxuan Sect’s Supreme Elder, Gu Changqing, is fond of wearing cyan robes. I fear it was him."

Han Yue was silent for a moment before nodding slowly.

Lei Zheng fell silent, a wave of lingering fear washing over him. If they had continued on, they really would have died.

In the face of a Grandmaster, three First Grade Martial Artists were no different than three ants.

"We must report this to the Pavilion Master immediately,"

Han Yue said gravely.

Lei Zheng and Leng Ling nodded in agreement. Without further delay, the three employed their Body Techniques and sped off in the direction of the Thunderlight Pavilion.

The ridge returned to silence.

Back on the mountain path, the figure in deep cyan reappeared.

Gu Changqing stood with his hands clasped behind him, his gaze fixed on the direction the trio had fled. His cloudy eyes showed no emotion.

Yesterday, the Sect had received a distress call sent by special means from Chen Wanjun, all the way from another county.

Upon receiving the call, he had chosen to come to the rescue himself, which was why he was here now.

...

「Half a day later.」

The forest began to thin, and the terrain gradually flattened out.

Ahead, a massive boundary marker stood quietly beside the main road. Carved into the stone were two large, ancient words: "Qingyang County."

The boundary marker was mottled and covered in moss, having clearly stood in this spot for countless years.