The upper part of the wind sphere opened up the clouds, letting in the starlight, causing the figure to be illuminated in this celestial radiance.

An elderly man with white and light gray hair in torn and tattered robes floated in the air, his features showing signs of decay and death, but his sharp eyes were brimming with life as they slightly glowed from under the thick gray brows and the sunk eyes that looked like two dark eye sockets of a skeleton.

He took a brief moment to seemingly access his surroundings before turning to the three people on the road. The moment his eyes turned their way, goosebumps went through all three as an intense dread pinned the twins to the spot while Wu Long inwardly sighed. His aura, vast as the sea below his feet was suffocating. Though he quickly withdrew it.

‘Shit’

A singe word went through his mind as he tried to figure out whether it was a foe or a stranger, but it definitely was not a welcome surprise unlike the one before, because he recognized the distinct breath of a Seven Profound Realms cultivator in this man’s aura.

The man’s eyes shifted to the twins, and with a step he was before them, not Wu Long or the twins being able to see the actual movement.

“Hmm, Bahshi Assassins huh? Are those old fogeys of yours still breathing?”

The old man spoke with a feeble, unstable voice that struggled to produce a chuckle.

“Reporting to Senior, Our Elders are still in good health”

Hong Yue woke from the initial stunned state and cupped her hands, slightly lowering her head. Her demeanor was vastly different, as she had no choice but to be respectful while Hong Ye became silent under the pressure the old man gave off even without trying to intimidate.

“Ehehehe khu-khu~ I’m sure they are, that old hag especially, that one is definitely not dying before these old bones are in the ground, ehehehe khak-khu-khu”

The man coughed at the end of every feeble laugh, at one point a corner of his mouth colored with a drop of red. His limbs were shaking, and it was apparent that he wasn’t using physical muscles anymore to stand. Even as his feet touched the ground, the hems of his tattered clothes were slightly swaying as if he was still midair.

In Wu Long’s Chaos Origin Eyes, a thick layer of Death Qi was enveloping the man as if clinging on to him.

But the tears and tattered appearance of his clothes did not seem to be because of the age or bad care. In fact the fabric looked quite new and luxurious, and was only recently damaged.

‘Judging from the direction he came from… the central sea, huh’

Wu Long narrowed his eyes. He did expect that after that earthquake, the higher cultivation practitioners might be able to access the central part, but by the looks of it, it was still early for that, as the man’s left hand was missing, and the wound was something distinctly identifiable as inflicted by a space crack.

The twins exchanged looks at the mention of an ‘old hag’, seemingly having an idea who the stranger referring to.

“My apologies, Senior. May it be possible to know-…”

Hong Yue started but the old man raised his hand, stopping her words.

“Ehehehe khu-khu this old man’s name is nothing big to be recognized, but… may I know which continent is this?”

“…Reporting to Senior, this is the Azure Eagle Continent”

“Oh? It seems my luck has not yet run out… Khu-khu, khu-khu-khu…!”

A sudden bout of coughs overwhelmed the man who raised his hand which quickly became stained with blood.

His eyes then turned to Wu Long. It was these eyes that were still too sharp and lucid to write this man off as someone on his deathbed. There was a strong will harbored in them.

As they looked at each other, there was a shift in the old man’s eyes. 𝑖.𝑐ℴ𝑚

‘What a scary young man… or is he young at all…? Those eyes seem to have witnessed the turn of the universe and basked in its glory, and yet stayed steady through it all…’

The old man became speechless, staring into those cold, indifferent eyes. He could tell Wu Long was not afraid or nervous, just alert.

Wu Long, in turn could tell that the power gap was too vast, and even his hidden card would be a gamble, but as in any moment of extreme stress or danger, his mind became completely cold and calculating as the temperature around him became a degree lower.

Despite the ridiculous power difference, despite all odds and inconsistencies, the old man was standing before the God of Slaughter.

At this moment, the Lightning Rune froze as Wu Long took off one layer of protection from the Annihilation Lightning he refined on the Wood Spirit Continent, shifting to a position where he could use it at a moment’s notice. He only had one charge for emergencies, and would be left without a safe trump card for the decisive battle if he used it now, but he couldn’t potentially sacrifice his life to keep the trump card.

“…!!!”

The old man widened his eyes as he felt an existential dread coming from this young man in Revolving Qi Realm. A deep sense of danger filling him with instinct-like fear he thought he could no longer feel.

The air around them became filled with static electricity as it seemed like sparks would start firing off in between their gazes any moment, tension that could be cut with a knife hanging in the surroundings as the twins held their breaths from the suffocating feelling.

“Haha… hahaha… ehahahahaha ku-khu… and here I thought I feared nothing and nobody, ahahaha kheuk-kha-kha! How foolish, how foolish of me ehahahaha khaum-kha!”

The old man suddenly started maniacally laughing, causing the twins to widen their eyes as they looked at the old man and Wu Long, struggling to understand what was going on.

“…”

Wu Long simply stood in silence, calmly looking at the old man who seemed to have encountered an existential crisis.

“Haa~, yes, yes… this is how it is… this is how it always was… khu-khum”

The old man sighed as his posture became less confident, the magnificent presence retreating into the feeble human shell and making him seem even older.

“Thank you”

He inexplicably said to Wu Long, and turned to leave.

The twins were looking with round eyes as this mysterious stranger started leaving. But at the next moment, a new sonic boom resounded from the other side, as another figure appeared in the sky this time from the direction of the North.

It was another old man, but in better health, seemingly still in his prime. His white robes were luxurious and neat, made from the finest materials. his long white beard was reaching his belt. A luxurious leather crown* was worn on his head as his long white hair were neatly collected into it.

Wu Long could tell that this man was also in the Seven Profound Realms, but his aura was significantly less powerful than the feeble old man.

“You have gotten older, Do Bishui”

The old man who was still not far from Wu Long and the twins chuckled as he looked up at the newcomer.

“Oh, so it was Senior. Greetings, my apologies for not noticing you first”

The newcomer respectfully bowed when he saw the old man, cupping his hands.

Wu Long narrowed his eyes as he saw that the gesture was not sincere, driven more by obligation than genuine respect.

“Hm? Only you came out from your side? Tsk, tsk, tsk, it really isn’t worth getting older. Getting respect is just a lie that old folks lick their wounds with ekhu-khu”

“Haha, Senior Must be joking, I just happened to be…”

The man’s words were interrupted by the sounds of two more people appearing in the sky as Wu Long started to feel that his luck was really not that great today. But he couldn’t leave or hide without drawing attention to himself, so he just stood with his bamboo hat covering him from anyone looking down from the sky, observing everything through it with the Chaos Origin Eyes.

Though in fairness, none of the people who were assembling paid any mind to the three of them, like people would not even notice there was an ant nearby when meeting an acquaintance.

Surprisingly, he felt a familiar aura from the newcomer that came from the South-West as a corner of his mouth turned up. A beautiful figure stopped wid-way in the air, bowing to the old man with cupped fists.

“Greetings, Senior”

“Oh… you have only become more beautiful with time Fairy Liang Yuhan khu-khua, or should I call you Madam Liang? Ehehehe khek-khu”

The old man’s face suddenly became brighter and full of life at the sight of the gorgeous beauty with a long smoking pipe, as he stepped and appeared mid-air not far from the people who came to this spot.

“Hahaha, Senior is flattering me”

Liang Yuhan laughed, drawing the eyes of the men to a certain part which shook in unison to her laughter.

“My Greetings as well, Senior”

The one who also came from the northern direction but kept a distance from the man who came before cupped his fists as well. His azure blue hair and silver eyes betrayed his identity.

“Heh, your elders also didn’t show up. Though they never thought much of humans anyway khu-khum. Anyway, now that you’ve seen that it’s just me you can all leave”

The old man grumbled, waving his head in a shooing motion as Wu Long suddenly understood why the conflict that has been brewing for so long has not started.

‘So it is this old man huh, everyone’s waiting for him to die’

His eyes narrowed as he finally found the missing piece of the puzzle that confused him.

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