A loud clang resounded.
The twin halberds scraped apart with force, a strong buzzing echoing through them as arcs of electricity danced between the blades.
The appearance of the electric arcs stunned the crowd.
Clang! Another loud crash.
The twin halberds scraped apart once more, and the dancing arcs grew more numerous. As the blades separated, the arcs stretched between them like pulled silk.
Clang!
After the third crash, the single-edged crescent blades of the grinding halberds locked together. The arcs intertwined into a ball that wrapped around the twin blades, and the old man directed both halberds towards the canyon passage. The ball of swirling arcs transformed into a thunderbolt that roared into the void ahead.
Immediately after, one thunderbolt after another shot out, continuously bombarding the void ahead.
The atmosphere in the valley gradually shifted, taking on the appearance of surging winds and clouds. The crowd’s clothes flapped wildly in the wind, and the old man wielding the twin halberds had his long hair flying freely.
This scene truly shocked the crowd. The key point was that, apart from the three martial brothers Yu Qing and Wu Hei’s family, none of the others present understood what was happening. They simply continued to be stunned while already in a state of shock.
Outside the broken valley, the clear sky began to turn grey. Wind picked up, blowing dust everywhere.
Grape vines in the fields swayed and rustled in the wind. Working villagers raised their hands to shield themselves, squinting as they looked around. They were long accustomed to sand and wind, but what alarmed them was the continuous rumbling of thunder coming from the broken valley direction.
Village children also ran out, looking towards the valley in fear.
The wind grew stronger, gradually turning into a fierce gale that sent sand and stones flying. People could barely stand steady, and visibility was lost. The villagers in the grape fields had no choice but to temporarily take refuge in nearby hidden ditches.
In a hidden ditch cave where no villagers were nearby, a group of people in black cloaks emerged one after another. The iron-masked man was among them, all looking towards the direction of the lightning and thunder in the valley. The four demons of Bailan were all present, their faces showing shock and suspicion. How could continuous flashes of electricity appear in the mountain terrain?
Inside the village, three people dressed as villagers burst into Old Master Wu’s earthen-walled courtyard through the blinding sand and wind.
The three went straight into the house, closed the main door to block the wind and sand, then removed the cloth covering their faces to reveal their true appearances. They were none other than the three manor lords of Liegu Villa who had previously fled.
Seeing no one in the main hall, the three immediately went to the bedroom to check. Upon seeing Old Master Wu dead on the couch, all three were greatly shocked.
“Clan chief!” Wu Dao exclaimed in a low voice.
Who would have thought that the moment his hand touched Old Master Wu, the latter, whose eyes had been tightly shut, suddenly opened them wide. A cold glance swept across the three, startling them into quickly retreating, not daring to act rashly.
A burst of evil energy suddenly seeped under the couch, spreading to cover the dried bloodstains on the floor. When the evil energy covering the bloodstains was drawn back like flowing clouds, the bloodstains on the ground were gone, leaving only faint traces.
Before Old Master Wu’s mouth and nose, a dense stream of evil energy circulated repeatedly through his nostrils and lips, just like his usual habit of puffing on a dry tobacco pipe.
With a deep inhalation, he swallowed all the evil energy, and his entire body shot straight up. His eyes no longer showed any trace of cloudiness. They were bright and piercing, radiating a strange, sharp light.
He tilted his ear to listen, revealing a sinister smile. “Thunder is rumbling.”
Wu Dao said respectfully, “Clan chief told us to come when thunder rumbled and wind rose. Now indeed thunder is rumbling and wind is rising. Outside, sand and stones are flying, and we can easily avoid prying eyes to get here.”
Wu Heyun also said respectfully, “The clan chief can predict celestial phenomena. Truly divine foresight.”
“Celestial phenomena?” Old Master Wu snorted coldly. “What celestial phenomena? It is man-made, that’s all. Haven’t you always wanted to meet the old ancestor? Let’s go. I’ll take you to see him.”
The three immediately became greatly energized, bowing together in response. “Yes.”
Old Master Wu casually picked up the leather cap from the couch. Only when he was about to put it on his head did he realize it was unnecessary, but out of habit, he eventually put it on anyway. Maintaining his appearance as a dirty old man, he went out the door…
Inside the rumbling broken valley, lightning split crack after crack into the void. As the thunderbolts erupting from the twin halberds continuously bombarded it, they finally seemed to collapse that shattered void.
The collapsed void began to curl inward, spinning and curling inward under the stimulation of the thunderbolts. Finally, it seemed to connect to something, giving the sensation of suddenly opening an airway. A suction force appeared. If an ordinary person was unprepared, they would definitely be pulled off their feet. The flying dust and sand in the broken valley were sucked into it.
The卷入 of dust and sand allowed the crowd to see the outline of the invisible spinning area. It looked like a horizontally placed whirlpool.
After the dust and sand were completely sucked in, the whirlpool became transparent again.
The arcs缠绕 on the crossed twin halberds in the old man’s hands gradually weakened.
The bad temper that had been pent up in heaven and earth also seemed to have vented its frustration. The strong wind gradually subsided, and the sand and wind slowly stopped.
But just then, Yu Qing and the others suddenly felt a powerful surge of energy rushing from behind. Before they could even turn their heads to see what was happening, they were struck as if by a heavy blow and sent flying out of control. They vaguely sensed that a human figure had crashed into them and knocked them flying.
The old man wielding the twin halberds turned around with lightning speed, driving a thunderbolt to blast out wildly. Just as he was about to strike the charging figure, he urgently swung both halberds, diverting the lightning serpent diagonally towards the sky. The thunderbolt practically flashed over the intruder’s head, discharging into the air with a roar.
The old man separated the twin halberds in his hands, and the electric arcs disappeared from the blades. He stared intently at the hostage in the opponent’s grasp.
Only now did Yu Qing and the others, who had been thrown into a dizzying spin, see what had happened. Wu Hei and his son, who had been among them just moments ago, were now in someone else’s hands. The intruder had one hand gripping Wu Hei’s neck, while the other slowly took the struggling little boy from Wu Hei’s arms, quickly rendering him unconscious.
Wu Hei had an expression of unwillingness, yet he was completely at the mercy of others, instantly subdued by someone.
This attacker shocked Yu Qing and the others to the extreme. Leather cap, dirty clothes, all that was missing was a dry tobacco pipe. It was Old Master Wu, who had been pierced through the heart by Lu Xingyun’s sword.
At that time, Old Master Wu had clearly been dead beyond any doubt. Why was he still alive?
He was clearly an ordinary person without cultivation. How could he possess such strength?
A group of people gathered together, and apart from the subdued Wu Hei and his son, all the others had been knocked flying.
As they quickly scrambled up, they saw the three manor lords dressed in villager’s clothing.
The three manor lords were clearly also stunned by Old Master Wu’s dazzling display of strength. After landing beside him, they still wore expressions of shock and uncertainty.
The scene suddenly fell into dead silence.
“Move aside!”
Old Master Wu broke the silence. His voice had changed too, carrying an aloof coldness.
The old man slowly stepped aside, retreating to reveal the swirling void opening behind him.
Old Master Wu tilted his head left and right. “You’d better keep close to me. If you fall into his hands, it won’t end well.” With that, he pushed Wu Hei forward while carrying the little boy under his other arm.
The three manor lords indeed obeyed, carefully hiding beside him as they walked together towards the void waves.
Their figures gradually blurred within the void waves, eventually disappearing completely, giving the impression that they had vanished into thin air.
The old man wielding the twin halberds immediately strode after them, also disappearing within.
What was going on? Ning Chaoyi and the others still hadn’t understood what it meant. They didn’t even have time to ask questions. Seeing that Yu Qing and the others had also charged into the void waves, they naturally followed immediately.
When they flashed out from the void waves, their eyes were suddenly greeted by a refreshing scene. They discovered they had instantly arrived in a jungle, with tall trees and thick vines. It seemed they were standing on a large platform in the jungle.
Where was this? The uninformed looked at each other in confusion.
Old Master Wu was also on the platform, standing at one corner with his captives, or rather, forced into that corner by the old man wielding the twin halberds.
With nowhere left to retreat, he simply stopped retreating. Old Master Wu’s face suddenly twisted, and his hair rapidly turned snow white. In an instant, he transformed into another person’s appearance, with wrinkles like ravines covering his face and a deathly pale complexion.
After seeing his appearance clearly, Yu Qing and the others’ faces changed drastically. Wasn’t this the sleeper lying in the stone chamber?
Yu Qing’s eyes flickered rapidly. The faces of the three martial brothers instantly turned ugly, as if they had all realized something.
The three manor lords were also stunned. They clearly didn’t recognize him and retreated uneasily to the side.
The transformed Old Master Wu tilted his head to look at them. “Haven’t you always wanted to see me?”
Upon hearing this, the three manor lords’ expressions froze. Wu Dao asked uncertainly, “Clan chief, you are the old ancestor himself?”
Old Master Wu no longer paid attention to them. He looked around, appearing rather emotional. “I haven’t entered here for thousands of years. I never expected it to have changed beyond recognition, with weeds and wild trees growing everywhere, waiting for an old friend to come and restore order.”
He turned back to stare at the old man and smiled. “Younger brother, we have finally met again. If I hadn’t died this time, you probably wouldn’t have shown yourself to open the entrance.”
The old man glanced at Yu Qing and the others. “I never believed they could kill you in the first place.”
“Is that so?” Old Master Wu burst into loud laughter, clearly not believing him. There was obvious mockery in his smile, the kind that came from being wise after the fact. “Could it be that my younger brother, who has blocked me for so many years, has finally come to his senses and deliberately let me in? If that is truly the case, then that would be wonderful. We are flesh and blood brothers. There was never any need to be hostile. We should join hands to sweep across the world.”
The old man replied, “As expected, your villainous heart still hasn’t died. Are you still dreaming of lording over all living beings? I truly regret that I was bewitched back then and listened to your nonsense, reopening the entrance with you to pursue eternal life, ending up in this neither human, nor demon, nor ghost state.”
Old Master Wu said, “It can be changed. You simply don’t want to change. You would rather keep me out and remain in this neither human nor ghost state forever. Why torture yourself?”
The old man replied, “Blame yourself for forgetting our mission and having delusions you shouldn’t have had. If you obtained eternal life, all living beings would be enslaved by you forever. I cannot be your accomplice.”
Old Master Wu became enraged. “Ridiculous! The strong ruling over the weak is an eternal truth. After the immortals left the world, this realm should have been ruled by us brothers. If the masses aren’t enslaved by us, they will be enslaved by others. You fool with water in your brain, you actually let a bunch of ants run rampant and act like kings over our heads, forcing us to hide and endure for thousands of years. What were you thinking? Tell me, are you beyond saving with your stupidity?”