“Master…”
Gu Qianxue ran up to Tianshan Elder with tears streaming down like the rain, and cried, “Master, how… how are you?”
For as long as she could remember, her master had maintained the appearance of a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl, but now she had suddenly transformed into an old woman with a hunchback. Age had ravaged her face and her hair was white, revealing just how old she was. No matter how stupid one was, it wasn’t difficult to tell that something terrible had happened to her.
Tianshan Elder’s youthful appearance was no more. In her place was an ancient woman who had lived for thousands of years.
Badly injured, Tianshan Elder coughed in pain. She reached out with a shriveled hand and touched Gu Qianxue’s head. She smiled kindly and said, “Silly girl, why are you crying? This is how I looked like, to begin with, and there is nothing to worry about.”
Gu Qianxue couldn’t help but shed tears, despite her master’s comforting words.
“Junior Sister, you could keep your appearance thanks to the Divine Art of Moulding, but what’s going on now? Has the technique lost its effect?” Elder Long said with his face filled with concern.
Tianshan Elder sneered in reply, “Do you think I did not need to tap on my True Inner Force to bring out that stinky little brat’s powers? I had to use a tremendous amount of my Inner Force to maintain that youthful appearance, but now that I only have a little left, and my injuries are severe, I naturally reverted to my true appearance.”
“Junior Sister, you aren’t going to… to follow… our master’s fate, are you?” Elder Long asked anxiously.
Tianshan Elder blew up the moment she heard that. She picked up a stone and flung it at Elder Long, then spat on the ground. “Ptui! You old fool with the surname Long, how dare you curse me! Do you have a death wish?”
She wouldn’t stop even after shying the stone at him and made to dash at Elder Long to scratch his eyes out.
Elder Long backed away and quickly explained, “Junior Sister, please calm down. I was only worried about you.”
“Worry? What nonsense! I bet you can’t wait for me to kick the bucket! Well, I’m so sorry to disappoint you, but I still have at least five hundred years left in me. Five hundred years is more than enough time for me to rest and recuperate, and by then, I’ll get my youthful appearance back. It won’t be just a dream, and I’ll make sure I live longer than you,” Tianshan Elder hissed.
“Junior Sister, look at you! Senior Brother is showing concern for you. I wasn’t trying to curse you, but you just can’t seem to understand my good intentions,” Elder Long lamented, shaking his head helplessly.
BOOM!
At that moment, what sounded like a deafening sonic boom came from the sky.
A blood-red light shot up into the sky from a distance, releasing a tremendous amount of pressure into the surrounding.
BOOM! BOOM! CRASH!
As the ground shook violently, it caused a huge avalanche, and dozens of mountain peaks crumbled and fell.
A boulder that shot into the sky along with the blood-red light exploded into myriad pieces and rained down like a shower of meteorites. The scene looked like a catastrophe, and it destroyed the Tianshan summit. Even people at the foot of the mountain could see the huge avalanche.
“Is it Luo?” Xiao Quanren asked as he widened both of his eyes.
“Things are getting serious. You people from the Xiao clan are insane. Even a slap from me had no effect on him, and it seemed to have made him even stronger,” Elder Long cried and couldn’t help but swallow a bit of saliva. His entire body was about to break into a cold sweat.
Tianshan Elder gasped and stared with shock at the strange light that now covered the entire sky.
The light was burning violently like a fireball and caused one corner of the sky to turn completely red. It felt as if a bloody aura was filling the land with untold dread.
“Huh?”
The strange fireball headed right for the cliff in a steep trajectory, then crashed into the ground but made no sound. The force within it was extraordinarily mighty, and it resembled the violent force of a turbulent sea.
This was an unstoppable force that made those who felt it tremble. Gu Qianxue and Gu Qianlin could not handle it and almost fell into a swoon, and even Elder Long and the other two elders were equally shocked. This little brat had truly become stronger. Was it possible that the people from the Xiao clan could continuously increase their powers without limit?
Not long after, the immense pressure dissipated like a retreating tide.
The blood-red fireball morphed into a figure who slowly strode toward them. The fire gradually died as he advanced, and after taking five steps, the fire extinguished completely. And there stood Xiao Luo.
His white hair was billowing like rising smoke, although there was no wind. His eyebrows were long, his body was like the trunk of a tree, his skin was white as a sheet and was as smooth as porcelain around his neck.
His unclothed upper body was rippling with well-defined muscles, and he was wearing black underpants on the lower half of his body. He emanated a mystical aura that evoked fears typically caused by an energy that was innately evil, yet it felt refined, eminent, and gentle. His pupils were blood-red, but at that moment, it showed no signs of aggression.
Aloof and arrogant, he stood alone and feared nothing—he was emanating a divine aura.
Gu Qianlin was in a stupor, for she was looking at the world’s most handsome man. No one else could compete with him, and somehow she was in awe with this elegant version of Xiao Luo.
Gu Qianxue was dumbfounded, but in the next moment, emotion overcame her, and started crying. Xiao Luo had come back, and he was no longer the ferocious, white-colored monster. She was elated to see him again.
Xiao Luo advanced a few more steps. His natural eye color and black hair had now returned and replaced his white hair and red eyes. The tremendous energy that emitted from his body earlier stopped and his demeanor was like that of an ordinary human being.
What was going on?
Had he finally broken through his limit and reached new heights?
Elder Long, Tianshan Elder, and Xiao Quanren looked at one another. They couldn’t believe that Xiao Luo had reverted into a normal human being. They didn’t know the extent of Xiao Luo’s powers, and there were only two possibilities—either Xiao Luo had reached a realm that was above them, or he had reverted to his original form.
Xiao Luo was by then already standing right in front of them. Without waiting for them to say a word, he went down on one knee and gave the three of them a respectful bow. He expressed his genuine appreciation for their efforts, and said, “To the two seniors, and old grandfather, thank you for increasing my powers!”
“Luo, have you regained your senses?” Xiao Quanren asked eagerly.
Xiao Luo smiled as he nodded his head and said, “Yes, I have. I was fighting against a terrifying force that was within me, but thanks to you, I completely suppressed it. And it is the reason I could exceed my limits, regain my senses, and be in full control of my body.”
“Xiao Luo!”
Gu Qianxue ran up toward Xiao Luo without a care in the world and hugged him.
“Everything is now fine, you don’t have to worry anymore,” Xiao Luo said as he patted her on the back softly and comforted her.
“Stinky little brat, who would have thought that you’d make it? How do you feel right now?”
Tianshan Elder looked at Xiao Luo in disbelief. And she was wrong about him, for Xiao Luo was not the prophesied demon who was going to destroy the world. While the form of the white-colored monster he took on earlier was that of a demon, Xiao Luo had now regained his sanity and he no longer looked evil.
“I think I’m alright.”
Xiao Luo showed no emotions, and he displayed innate confidence in himself.
“Junior Sister, where is our master’s Dragon Blade?” Elder Long suddenly asked.
Tianshan Elder glanced at him and said, “Why are you asking that for?”
“It’s for Xiao Luo to try it, of course! Even the heavens cannot wield that Dragon Blade, so why not let Xiao Luo try it and see if he can control it? If he can, then give it to him. Besides, the blade is filled with master’s spirit of justice, and it will aid those who seek to do right.”
Elder Long slapped his thighs, recalling the power that Xiao Luo displayed when he lost control earlier on. “Oh, my God, this blade is destined for Xiao Luo!” he exclaimed.
