Firmament Sword

At the sage-like old man’s words, the expressions of the other three changed in unison. Had it been anyone else, they might have simply been surprised by the existence of such a powerful young man and thought nothing more of it.

But the three of them—the stout old man, the hunchbacked old man, and the dwarfish old man—had been sworn brothers with this divination-adept, sage-like man for many years. They knew each other all too well.

And so, the moment the sage-like old man asked his question, a chill ran down the spines of the other three. The nonchalant looks on their faces hardened into solemnity, for all three of them were reminded of a past event.

It happened over thirty years ago, on a dark and windy night deep in autumn. The four of them, led by their leader—the very same sage-like old man—had used divination to pinpoint the exact location of a tomb from the Ancient Era.

They planned to rob the tomb under the cover of darkness. Everyone knew that a tomb from the Ancient Era would be filled with countless treasures, and a tomb worthy of their attention was certainly not the grave of some common rich family.

But when they arrived that day, they found that someone had already beaten them to it. Another group was already inside the great tomb.

So the four of them decided to wait outside for the group to emerge with the treasures, and then they would ambush them.

It wasn’t the first time they’d done something like this. Besides, their power was considered among the absolute top tier on the entire Central Plains Star Continent, so they acted without any scruples.

The four were so supremely confident in their own strength that they didn’t even bother to deal with the lookouts posted outside the tomb.

After waiting all night, the group finally emerged from the tomb around dawn. Every one of them was beaming with joy, clearly having made a handsome haul.

When the four old men saw the group, they were even more delighted, because as it happened, they recognized these tomb raiders who had beaten them to the punch.

The group hailed from a mid-sized sect on the Central Plains Star Continent. They weren’t weak, but compared to the four old men, the gap in power was immense. The strongest among them, at that time, was merely at the Fourth Layer of the Transformation Realm.

Back then, the leader of the four, the sage-like old man, was already a great power at the Fifth Layer of the Transformation Realm!

As a result, the ambush went off without a hitch. Their opponents were completely unable to pose any real threat.

In the end, the group resigned themselves to their fate, knowing they had run into powerful figures they couldn’t afford to offend. They surrendered outright, offering to hand over the treasures from the tomb to spare their own lives.

But the four old men were vicious and merciless. They didn’t just want the loot; they wanted to wipe them all out!

Ordinarily, they maintained a very positive public image. They recognized this group, which meant the group could recognize them in return!

Their surrender was merely a desperate attempt to survive. If they were allowed to leave, they would surely spread word of this incident everywhere.

So, the four elders decided to see it through to the end and slaughter every last one of them!

On a dark, windy night, deep in an old mountain forest, they felt no guilt about what they were about to do.

The group, shocked and enraged, resisted with all their might. But they were hopelessly outmatched; the gap in power was too great, and in a matter of moments, only one man remained.

The four elders were relaxed and cheerful, thinking to themselves how wonderful life was.

But just then, the last survivor—a Sword King at the Fourth Layer of the Transformation Realm—suddenly pulled out an item he had taken from the tomb. Weeping, he confessed his sins to it and swore that if he could escape with his life, he would worship this item forevermore!

At the time, the four elders sensed no power coming from the seemingly ordinary object. They determined it wasn’t even a Magical Artifact, let alone one capable of Spirit Communication.

The cruel, bloodthirsty dwarfish old man even laughed, saying the man had lost his mind, and rushed forward to strike him dead!

But then, something horrifying occurred. The man instantly seemed to transform into someone else entirely. His eyes, devoid of all human vitality, became as cold as Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice.

His power surged by several levels, becoming so immense that it made them tremble!

The dwarfish old man was sent flying instantly, and the stout and hunchbacked old men were powerless to resist.

After performing a quick divination, the sage-like old man spat out a mouthful of blood and asked in horror, ”You are not him. Who in the world are you?”

The man, whose power had suddenly multiplied, let out a strange cackle that seemed to rise from the depths of the earth, striking terror into their hearts.

In the end, the four elders fled in a panic. Deep down, they were relieved. ’Though the man’s power had suddenly skyrocketed, for some reason he didn’t use Dharma Heaven and Earth. Otherwise, not a single one of us would have escaped!’

Because of this incident, the four elders went into hiding for a long time. It was only after making discreet inquiries much later that they learned the man had never returned to his sect and had simply vanished.

The incident became a constant source of anxiety for the four of them, leaving behind a deep psychological scar.

Thus, the sage-like old man’s question today was only the second time in over thirty years that one of them had voiced it!

How could the other three not be utterly shocked?

The corner of the dwarfish old man’s mouth twitched violently as he muttered, ”Could it be... this kid is just like... like that person from all those years ago?”

Disbelief flashed in the stout old man’s eyes. ”How could that be? It’s absolutely impossible!” he said.

”That’s right, Big Brother. You must be mistaken,” the hunchbacked old man said, unwilling to believe it. He felt their leader was making a mountain out of a molehill. ”He’s just a talented young man. How could he possibly be like that person from back then?”

Xu Luo was slightly taken aback as he looked at the four men surrounding him, their expressions grave. He immediately sensed that these four powerful old geezers were afraid of something.

The corner of his mouth curled into a cold sneer. ”Who am I? You don’t know? Hmph!”

With that cold snort, Xu Luo secretly infused it with the Jade Balance Demon Sound, creating a powerful psychological suggestion.

The snort reverberated directly in the four men’s minds, like a clap of thunder exploding within their hearts.

The already suspicious and paranoid old men paled instantly. The scene from thirty years ago flashed through their minds, and terror seized their hearts.

Although the Jade Balance Demon Sound was powerful, it shouldn’t have had such a profound effect on the four elders, who were far stronger than Xu Luo. But who could be blamed? The four men had their own demons... the incident from all those years ago had lingered in their hearts, becoming a deep-seated trauma.

Thus, Xu Luo’s unusual snort terrified the four men so much that, like birds startled by a hunter’s bow, they all... turned and ran!

As expected of experts at the High Tier of the Transformation Realm, the four elders vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye. Xu Luo couldn’t help but admire their speed. ’Even with the Shaking Light Step,’ he thought, ’I doubt I’d be much faster.’

A long while after the four terrifying old men had completely vanished, Xu Luo could no longer hold it in and spat out a mouthful of blood.

He couldn’t help but mutter, ”So strong!”

The dwarfish old man was indeed formidable. His True Essence Power was incredibly dense, and though his palm strike had seemed casual, it had made Xu Luo suffer greatly.

Xu Luo gave a bitter smile. ’Thankfully, they were scared off for some reason.’ He then plucked two peaches from Master Tao and began to devour them.

A warm current flowed down his throat into his stomach, and its powerful energy immediately eased his injuries.

”You sure are lucky!” Master Tao couldn’t help but grumble. ”Those four humans are anything but ordinary. Plus, they must have some incredible Spirit-Connected Magical Artifact on them, otherwise, there’s no way they could bypass the rules of this Small World.”

”So what? Those four old bastards are too strong. I’m no match for them at all,” Xu Luo said.

”While you may not be their match, they aren’t the strongest beings in this Small World,” Master Tao said, then chuckled. ”Heh heh, if they were to provoke *that one*…” He trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished.

”Leaving things half-said is the most despicable habit!” Xu Luo retorted.

”I was just wondering... what the odds would be of instigating a fight between *that one* and those four humans?” Master Tao said in a leisurely tone.

...

「Small World, Saint God Mountain.」

It was an impossibly vast, snow-covered mountain. Even from a hundred miles away, one could feel its oppressive aura washing over them.

A sea of clouds swirled below its midpoint, completely obscuring the summit from view.

Gazing at the vast, white expanse before him, the corner of Xu Luo’s mouth twitched. ”I must be insane,” he grumbled, ”to have agreed to come here and meet a Holy Beast!”

”This is your only chance, and don’t tell me you don’t understand why,” Master Tao sneered. ”Those four old men were only temporarily fooled because of their own guilty consciences. Once they snap out of it, they will definitely not let you off the hook!”

Xu Luo fell silent. He had to admit, he couldn’t be sure that those four terrifying old men wouldn’t come after him again.

After all, his identity wasn’t a complete mystery. If those four elders were determined, it wouldn’t be hard for them to dig up information on him.

At that point, they would surely feel they had been made fools of and come back to settle the score.

Xu Luo never underestimated himself and didn’t lack courage, but he wasn’t delusional. He knew the gap between himself and those four elders was immense, and that he was by no means their match.

Therefore, he had decided to accept Master Tao’s suggestion and take a gamble on Saint God Mountain.

According to Master Tao, this Small World was a very peculiar place. In the past, it hadn’t been home to just a single sect but several great institutions from the Ancient Era.

Among them was another terrifying existence—an Elder Holy Beast on Saint God Mountain!

Back in the Ancient Era, even those great institutions, so powerful they made people tremble, were unwilling to provoke this Elder Holy Beast lightly. It had always lived and cultivated on Saint God Mountain.

Xu Luo was skeptical. ’The Ancient Era was tens of thousands of years ago,’ he thought. ’Even if a Holy Beast really did live here back then, could it possibly have survived to this day?’

Master Tao was dismissive of Xu Luo’s doubt, explaining that most of the Small World’s rules had been established by this very Holy Beast. The rule preventing anyone over the age of twenty-five from entering, for instance, had come directly from this Elder Holy Beast!

”Because it doesn’t like to be disturbed!”

Those words made Xu Luo’s heart pound with fear. ’It doesn’t like to be disturbed, yet here I am, willingly walking right up to its door...’