Great Li Martial God

The old man appeared exceedingly ancient, his long gray-white hair slightly disheveled, his eyes dull and lifeless, his face gaunt and hollow, as though he were on the very threshold of death.

He wore the worn robes of an ordinary Falling God Peak disciple, and in every way looked unremarkable, like nothing more than an old servant tasked with tending the shrine.

Yet Sikong Xuan and the others felt an inexplicable warning stir within them, and they remained exactly where they were, still and silent, not daring to make the slightest move.

At that moment, Yuwen Chengqing’s expression shifted, and he immediately stepped forward several paces to stand before the blind old man, clasping his hands in a deep and respectful bow, ”Chengqing pays his respects, Elder. It has been close to a year since we last met.”

At those words, the blind old man slowly turned his face toward Yuwen Chengqing, and spoke in a voice as dry and rasping as dead wood splitting apart, ”You should not have come here. This old one wishes only to live out his remaining years in peace and quiet, and has no desire to be drawn into the entanglements of the mortal martial world.”

Yuwen Chengqing’s expression shifted slightly. He raised his eyes to look at the blind old man, and immediately let grief show on his face as he hurried to explain, ”Chengqing knows that the Elder stands apart from worldly affairs and wishes only to devote himself to martial cultivation. In truth, Chengqing would like nothing more than to do the same. But fate has not been willing. The Great Li court launched a surprise assault on Falling God Peak and is slaughtering our sect’s disciples.”

”The sect is now on the verge of destruction. Even the grandmaster and all four honored elders have...”

But before he could finish, the blind old man raised a hand to stop him, and said slowly, ”There is no need to explain. This old one is already aware of what happened to the grandmaster and the others. That you came here hoping to persuade this old one to act, this old one understands full well.”

At those words, Yuwen Chengqing’s expression changed sharply. He immediately cupped his hands and bowed deeply, his voice trembling slightly, ”Chengqing knows this was wrong. But Chengqing had truly run out of options, and resorted to this out of desperation. I only ask that the Elder, in consideration of our bond to this sect, preserve some way out for Falling God Peak. Whatever punishment the Elder sees fit to give, Chengqing will accept without complaint.”

At those words, the blind old man fell silent for a time and made no reply.Not far away, Sikong Xuan’s expression had grown grave. He studied the blind old man from a distance. He could detect not a trace of true qi emanating from the man’s body, nor the slightest leak of any martial aura or pressure.

And yet, from the way the man had acted earlier, striking without making a sound and without Sikong Xuan sensing a thing, effortlessly neutralizing both his and Yuwen Chengqing’s attacks, it was clear this was no ordinary old servant of Falling God Peak. He was unquestionably a martial artist of extraordinary depth, one whose cultivation likely surpassed both his own and Yuwen Chengqing’s.

And the way Yuwen Chengqing treated the blind old man with such reverence and deference only confirmed the man’s tremendous power.

More importantly, in all the dossiers Sikong Xuan had studied on Falling God Peak, he had never once come across a single piece of information about this person.

He genuinely had not expected that beyond the grandmaster and four honored elders, Falling God Peak had been hiding a martial artist whose cultivation surpassed that of any Peak Master.

Finding himself face to face with such a person now, he honestly could not tell whether it was good news or bad.

Sikong Xuan’s gaze turned inward, and he was already weighing whether to strike first.

He was not afraid of death. With so little time left, that was not the concern. But if the gap between them was too vast, then there would truly be no satisfaction in it.

At the same time, Yumian Jiao and Ouyang Mingqi, who had followed at a distance, were likewise observing the blind old man from afar.

Ouyang Mingqi in particular, having heard the rumors about Yuwen Chengqing earlier, knew well that where there is smoke there is fire. He had once gone out of his way to search the main peak for the powerful figure behind that rumor, but had come away with nothing.

He had even visited this very shrine before, and had never once seen this blind old man.

Looking back now, the man’s martial cultivation must have surpassed his own, which was why he had so effortlessly avoided detection during that search.

”So the rumor was true. Falling God Peak was actually hiding an elder of this caliber.”

Yumian Jiao’s expression held surprise and uncertainty. She too could sense that the blind old man standing before the small shrine possessed cultivation of unfathomable depth.

Ouyang Mingqi’s gaze flickered slightly, and he shook his head, ”A pity. Even with an elder of this standing, it likely still would not be enough to overcome the Great Li Eighth Prince. Falling God Peak’s destruction was already inevitable.”

Yumian Jiao gave a quiet nod and said nothing in disagreement.

Clearly, Li Musheng’s feat of single-handedly cutting down the Falling God Peak grandmaster and all four honored elders had been too staggering. Even knowing the blind old man’s cultivation was formidable, neither of them believed he could be stronger than Li Musheng.

At that moment, the blind old man slowly turned his face, and though his dull, lightless eyes could not see, they moved toward Sikong Xuan, and then toward Yumian Jiao and Ouyang Mingqi.

Then, his sightless gaze fixing on Sikong Xuan, the blind old man spoke, ”This old one has no wish to raise a hand. This place is a shrine for Falling God Peak’s disciples, and it is where this old one cultivates in peace. Outsiders are not welcome here. You will withdraw immediately.”

At those words, Yuwen Chengqing, who had been holding his bow with his head lowered, felt a shift in his expression. Since the blind old man had said this much, he was evidently already inclined to protect him.

Sikong Xuan, however, narrowed his eyes. He could sense that the blind old man did not appear to hold him in much regard, and yet he made no move to leave. Instead, he said in a low, firm voice, ”If you can take one palm from this old man and not yield, then this old man may consider withdrawing.”

Sikong Xuan was not about to be frightened off by a few airy words. On the contrary, he had already set his mind on trying to gauge the blind old man’s martial cultivation.

If there was truly a vast gulf between them, he would withdraw. But if there was a real fight to be had, he was not about to back down a single step.

The blind old man heard Sikong Xuan’s words, and his expression remained completely unmoved. He only shook his head slowly and said, ”Your martial aura is in decline. Your blood energy is depleted, your vital pulse is faint. You already bear the mark of a dying man, and you would not withstand so much as one sword from this old one.”

As he spoke, the blind old man turned his face slightly, seeming to look past Sikong Xuan toward Yumian Jiao and Ouyang Mingqi standing behind him, ”This old one can identify you two by your voices. You were once Peak Masters of this sect, and now you have pledged yourselves to the Great Li court. In that case, you may as well come at this old one together.”

”Perhaps the three of you combined might have some small chance of enduring one sword from this old one.”

At those words, both Yumian Jiao and Ouyang Mingqi felt their expressions change at once.

They had followed Sikong Xuan here with the thought of perhaps lending a hand if he found himself in real danger, and earning some goodwill along the way. They had never intended to actually risk their lives in a fight, especially not against someone whose cultivation was as clearly unfathomable as the blind old man’s.

Ouyang Mingqi immediately called out to Sikong Xuan, ”Lord Sikong, we three have ventured deep into the main peak with no support at our backs. We truly should proceed with caution. Perhaps it would be best to withdraw for now and wait for Commander Fu and the rest of the Tianjin Guards to arrive.”

Yumian Jiao also spoke with a grave expression, ”Lord Sikong, I had long heard the rumor about Senior Brother Yuwen and this elder. This elder once guided Senior Brother Yuwen’s cultivation, and his martial cultivation is beyond all measure.”

”I do not say this to underestimate ourselves, but I fear that even the three of us together would be no match for him.”

She then turned and bowed from a distance toward the blind old man, speaking with sincerity, ”I hope the Elder will understand. With the grandmaster and four honored elders gone, Falling God Peak’s destruction cannot be stopped. We too had no choice in the matter, and only by pledging our allegiance to the court could we preserve our lives.”

At those words, the blind old man’s aged face remained as still as a windless pool, apparently indifferent to Yumian Jiao’s explanation.

And as for the matter of her and Ouyang Mingqi betraying the sect and surrendering to the court, not the slightest trace of his true feelings on it showed.

His sightless eyes simply remained fixed in the direction of Sikong Xuan, as though waiting for his decision.

Sikong Xuan stood staring at the blind old man, and for a moment he wavered.

The fact that the man could read his current condition so precisely had already given him a sinking feeling inside. But he could not be certain whether the old man’s words about him being unable to withstand a single sword were genuine, or merely empty boasting.

And beyond that, those words had genuinely gotten under his skin.

Sikong Xuan had, after all, once been the Commander of the Great Li Tianjin Guards. In his prime, his martial cultivation had been no weaker than Fu Qiwen’s today. It was only the decay of age that had caused his cultivation to fall back from where it had been.

Yet his pride had not gone with it. And besides, if he still had years left to live, he would certainly be weighing his options carefully right now.

But as things stood, his heart held only one desire, to fight one last satisfying battle before the end. He had already cast aside most of his hesitation.

In the end, Sikong Xuan did not choose to withdraw. His expression steadied, and he looked at the blind old man and said, ”Then let this old man test your ability. Even if I truly fall to your sword, this old man has no regrets!”

With those words, Sikong Xuan hesitated no further, and struck with his full power at once.

In an instant, both his hands rose, the lines of his palms blazing with a deep azure light. His sleeves billowed and the wind around him tore through the air, and the space for dozens of zhang in every direction froze rigid.

Then Sikong Xuan overlapped his palms and thrust them forward with a massive surge.

Visibly, the immense martial True Qi in his body condensed into nine enormous azure serpents. Wherever they passed, the force of crumbling cities and toppling mountains radiated outward, and the very air in all directions heaved like waves.

The strike was ferocious and absolute. The nine azure serpents shattered through space for several zhang in a single breath, then descended to engulf the blind old man from above.

Under the terrifying pressure of that palm, the air around the blind old man congealed in an instant, as thick and sluggish as molten lead.

The blind old man, however, simply stood in place without moving, while Yuwen Chengqing, who seemed to know exactly what the elder was capable of, stood to one side with an expressionless face, from first to last showing no intention of intervening.

On the contrary, the look he cast at Sikong Xuan was that of a man regarding someone already dead.

And in the very next instant, the entire world seemed to go quiet.

Without anyone knowing when it had appeared, a faint, half-real sword shadow materialized above the blind old man’s head.

In that same moment, the aura before the small shrine turned suffocating and absolute, and a killing intent that seemed to cut through all of heaven and earth spread across the space.

Then the sword shadow hovering above the blind old man shifted, and at the point of its tip, the air transformed into a vast and terrifying sword hell.

At the same time, both Yumian Jiao and Ouyang Mingqi felt their expressions change, stricken with complete horror!

Because in that moment, both of them realized that the direction the blind old man’s sword was pointed had already encompassed them within it.

In the space of a single breath, with no time to react at all, they found themselves deep inside that terrifying sword hell.

In an instant, a bone-chilling cold swept through Yumian Jiao and Ouyang Mingqi’s bodies, their hair stood on end, and each of them was submerged in an overwhelming and irresistible sword intent, barely managing to pour all their effort into running their martial arts to protect themselves.

At that moment, the two of them finally understood the blind old man’s attitude toward them.

He had said nothing aloud, but it was clear that he had seen them pledge themselves to the Great Li court, and intended to use this chance to dispose of them both.

At the same time, Sikong Xuan’s own expression was grim. The nine azure serpents he had struck out with had been shattered to nothing in an instant beneath that single sword point.

Now the sword energy above his head was spreading like ten thousand locusts devouring the moon, as though he stood within an endless sword domain. The blind old man’s terrifying sword intent unfurled with killing imagery as its edge, and had already arrived above his head. In the very next instant it would cleave him in two.

No matter how Sikong Xuan ran his martial arts or drove his true qi to resist, none of it made any difference. He could only watch as that sword descended toward him, slow and inexorable.

”It seems this old man was wrong. He really is killing me with just one sword.”

A flicker of fear rose in Sikong Xuan’s eyes.

Even knowing full well that this day would come sooner or later, when death truly stood before him, he still found he could not face it with calm.

At the same time, Yumian Jiao and Ouyang Mingqi faced the same desperate situation as Sikong Xuan.

But beyond the terror of that sword bearing down on them, what filled them above all else was boundless regret, regret for having followed Sikong Xuan here, and for having provoked something they had absolutely no business provoking.

And yet, right at the moment when the three of them were on the verge of being cut down by the blind old man’s sword, a large cat carrying a dark jade stele on its back suddenly darted in from somewhere.

Its pair of green eyes snapped wide open at the sight before it, and it instantly froze in place, completely stunned.

Evidently the big black cat had only come ahead to scout the way, and upon suddenly witnessing the blind old man unleash a sword strike of such overwhelming and terrifying power, it had absolutely no idea what to do.

But in the very instant the big black cat appeared, every single person in the scene, whether Yumian Jiao, Ouyang Mingqi, Sikong Xuan, Yuwen Chengqing, or the blind old man himself, turned their head at the same moment and looked toward the big black cat.

Yuwen Chengqing’s eyes clearly flashed with shock. Sikong Xuan and the other two wore expressions of complete disbelief.

And on the blind old man’s normally unruffled aged face, an extremely rare ripple of surprise appeared.

In that moment, everyone present could see it clearly.

From the instant the big black cat burst onto the scene, the vast sword hell that had been closing in beneath the blind old man’s sword seemed as though an unseen hand had seized it tight.

All of heaven and earth froze utterly still.

And the sword that had been descending toward the three of them halted abruptly half a cun above their heads, and fell not a single fraction further.

At that moment, Sikong Xuan and the other two, who still hung with a blade above their heads between life and death, had no idea what had just happened.

But they could dimly guess that whatever it was, it likely had something to do with this strange large black cat that had appeared out of nowhere.

”Elder...”

Yuwen Chengqing furrowed his brow and looked toward the blind old man beside him, but the man raised a hand and stopped him.

The blind old man seemed to be straining with great focus to sense the big black cat’s condition.

And right at that moment, the big black cat finally gathered itself slightly, then urgently turned and let out a soft meow toward the darkness behind it.