The rain poured down in buckets, and the night was dark as ink, yet someone was leisurely strolling about the run-down temple!

This unusual, unsettling scene immediately put Uncle Yong and the other guards on edge. They readied their weapons, instantly on high alert.

As the figure drew near, Su Yi and the others finally saw their appearance clearly.

He was a man in cloud-patterned long boots, his eyebrows dark as ink and his hair bound up in a crest. He had a straight nose and held a folding fan.

He was handsome, his jade robes tight-cut and form-fitting, like a dandy young nobleman. Every inch of him emanated elegance. 

The uniformed girl was stunned. She muttered subconsciously, “That guy’s really pretty!”

Using the word “pretty” to describe a man seemed a bit inappropriate, but she couldn’t think of a better way to describe him.

“Careful, Miss. Whoever he is, he’s not simple.” Uncle Yong reacted as if a powerful foe had arrived. His expression went solemn, his gaze sharp as a knife. He stared intently at the elegant young lord drawing closer and closer to the hall.

“This is an abandoned temple in the wilderness, a place where ghosts run rampant. You’d best go back from whence you came, Young Lord. Otherwise, don’t blame us for our poor manners!” shouted one of the guards. His words were harsh and threatening, but also probing.

The young lord stopped about thirty feet from the gates, playing with his folding fan. He said in a carefree tone, “Poor manners? Heh heh, if I hadn’t taken pity on you earlier, I’m afraid the ghoul worms would have devoured you by now. You’d be nothing but rancid empty skins already.” 

“What?” Everyone visibly started, waves coursing through their hearts.

“Are you a member of the Deathbringer’s Gate?” asked Uncle Yong solemnly.

“You’re mistaken. Those Deathbringer’s Gate guys are just flunkies I took under my wing, that’s all.” The young lord shook his head. “I’m here to see you for much the same reason. So long as you acknowledge me as your master and pledge your loyalty to me, you can live on.”

He stood amidst the downpour, but an invisible force seemed to disperse the rain before it hit him. His clothes weren’t the least bit damp, and he didn’t look at all bedraggled. On the contrary, he emanated an incomparably mysterious air.

“Acknowledge you as our master? Who the hell do you think you are? What gives you the right to speak with such arrogance?” the girl in military attire snorted.

“When you pledge allegiance to me, you’ll naturally learn who I am.” The young lord smiled as he looked at her. 

Then, for the first time, all of them saw the young man’s bloody red, faintly lustrous pupils. They shone like crimson moons, eerie and terrifying.

The girl’s heart shook. Her eyes went blank, and she suddenly drew her sword and held it at the ready.

Uncle Yong reacted quickly, pushing down on her shoulder and saying in a voice that boomed like spring thunder, “Miss, hurry and clear your head!”

Every word boomed like thunder, echoing throughout the skies and sweeping away the unsettling atmosphere. Even the stone tiles shook.

The girl felt a buzzing in her ears as she suddenly regained mental clarity.

When she next looked at the beautiful but unnatural young lord, her gaze carried a hint of newfound terror, and her pretty face was noticeably paler than before.

Just now, she’d been in a daze, as if struck by some demonic magic. She’d completely lost her awareness!

“Oh? A peak Qi Accumulation Realm martial artist. That body of yours is actually quite well trained.” The young lord looked Uncle Yong up and down appreciatively, with the air of someone choosing goods from a store. It was deeply uncomfortable.

“So, ‘Your Excellency’, what will you do if we refuse? Will you use force?” Uncle Yong took a deep breath, and his aura expanded, like signal fires billowing into the skies. Even his voice boomed like thunder, every word carrying terrifying force.

This was a martial artist at the peak of the Qi Accumulation Realm: blood and qi like signal flares, forceful as thunder!

Were an ordinary yin soul to see this, it would be no different than if they’d seen the sun; the soaring power of his blood and qi would exterminate them where they stood.

But the young lord didn’t seem to care in the least. He said, “I came here to give you a chance at life, so I urge you to treasure it. Otherwise, once I attack….”

His blood-colored eyes narrowed, and his gaze swept across the group before he said, “I guarantee that not one of you will leave this place alive.”

His words were casual, yet utterly scornful and confident.

The guards’ hearts sank, their expressions noticeably more solemn. 

“All of you, protect the young miss!” Uncle Yong took a deep breath, then stepped forth. 

In that instant, he was like a saber leaving its sheath. His bones cracked like booming thunder, and his energy surged, roaring like the currents of the Yangtze River.

Clang!

Uncle Yong drew his saber with explosive force.

The force cut right through the downpour, dispersing the nearby raindrops. Countless beads of water burst into mist. As the water scattered, Uncle Yong shot forward like lightning.

His fierce bravery left the girl and the other guards stunned.

Only Su Yi silently shook his head.

They then watched as the young lord stood in place. He casually waved his fan.

Clang!

The heaven-shaking sound of a collision rang out. The folding fan effortlessly blocked Uncle Yong’s enraged attack. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t move it even a hair.

“You’re no good.” The young lord shook his head, then raised his fan.

Uncle Yong felt an abundant cold yin energy course through the fan and into his saber, like a limitless chill slamming into him. The webbing of his hand shook, and he staggered several steps back.

His saber almost flew from his hand.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

With every step he retreated, the stone tiles beneath his feet split and shattered, stirring up smoke and dust.

It was easy to imagine just how terrifying the strike Uncle Yong had just endured was. The uniformed girl and the guards were rooted to the spot, their hearts quivering. How could that young lord be so terrifying?

It’s worth noting that Uncle Yong was the strongest member of their party. Throughout the nineteen cities of Cloudriver Prefecture, he was a peak expert, second only to Grandmasters!

Yet now, a young man had sent him staggering back with a casual, understated swing of a folding fan!

“The Grandmaster Realm!?” Uncle Yong’s expression was unsightly. He was completely stunned. 

“A Grandmaster?” The young lord paused, thought, then said, “Someone of that level can barely even put up a fight against me. I only just dealt with an old man of that level. Alas, he escaped in the end…..”

His voice carried a thread of regret.

The group’s heart’s clenched. They felt as if they’d plunged into an icy abyss.

Even Grandmasters are no match for this young lord?

Who is he? Why has he hidden himself away in a haunted place like Mother Ghost Ridge?

But Su Yi’s expression seemed to say, “Indeed, just as I suspected!” From the look of him, he’d long since seen through their opponent’s secrets.

The young lord glances at the skies, then let out a long sigh. "It’s getting late. I’ll give you one last chance: submit, or die.”

“Uncle Yong, take this!” The uniformed girl suddenly took out a silver longsword and tossed it to him.

The sword was silvery with a frosty sheen, white and translucent like snow. It was engraved with obscure, distorted symbols and cloud patterns, as bright as moonlit snow.

“An Origin Talisman Weapon!” Surprise flashed across Su Yi’s face. He immediately recognized this sword’s extraordinariness.

This blade was forged of spiritual materials. It was a true blue spiritual weapon.

But unlike ordinary spiritual weapons, an Origin Dao cultivator had carved markings into the blade, giving it the power of a talisman or formation array. Its uses far exceeded ordinary spiritual weapons.

Thus, such weapons were known as “Origin Talisman Weapons.”

In the Nine Provinces of the Wilds, such weapons weren’t particularly rare, but in the spiritually-barren Great Zhou, this was absolutely a top-class divine weapon! For the girl in military uniform to carry such an object on her person only made it increasingly obvious that her background was extraordinary. 

With this sword in hand, Uncle Yong grew noticeably calmer, and he emanated an air of great confidence. His eyes blazed with a hint of intensity as he stared at the weapon.

The sword was called “Heavenly Frost,” and it was a gift from an Earthly Immortal 

When the young lord saw it, his unnatural, blood-red eyes flickered with a hint of dread. He’d clearly picked up on how extraordinary this weapon was. He struck without any further hesitation.

Whoosh!

He lunged forward, practically flying. His fan opened, revealing the image of eighteen mountain ghosts. Black light surged, and murderous energy billowed forth.

As he raised his hand, eighteen streams of black smoke emerged, transforming into eighteen vicious ghosts. Their murderous intent spread, blotting out the skies.

It was as if they’d been plunged into an infinite hellscape. Ghostly wailing and unearthly howls echoed throughout the air.

Uncle Yong held the Heavenly Frost Sword aloft, its blade flashing a dazzling silver, like flowing mercury or pouring moonlight.

He swung, sending arcs of sword light. Without exception, every vicious ghost that drew near writhed as if they’d been set on fire. Wounds burst open on their bodies, and a bloody smell permeated the air as they let out agonized howls. 

But beneath the young lord’s control, the eighteen vicious ghosts didn’t retreat at all. They just charged ahead like fiends, lunging at Uncle Yong with no regard for anything else.

In a breath of time, Uncle Yong was surrounded. As dazzling as the Heavenly Frost Sword was, he couldn’t kill so many apparitions so quickly.

The young lord then seized this opportunity to leap up. He avoided the sword energy with the utmost caution; it seemed he dared not clash with it head-on.

When he locked onto his target, he slashed his folding fan against the sword.

Clang!

The resulting clash was enough to split stone or pierce metal.

Uncle Yong trembled, the Heavenly Frost Sword shaking so violently that he almost lost his grip on it.

There was no way he’d miss that his foe had set his sights on the Heavenly Frost Sword!

He gnashed his teeth and endured that terrifying power, then tightened his grip. He rallied all the power of his Martial Dao and fought with all his might.

In just a few breaths of time, he slaughtered three vicious ghosts. The sword light had sliced and injured the others, dispersing their malevolent energies and leaving them heavily wounded.

The young lord snorted coldly, then shot forward in a flash, aiming for the girl in military uniform standing near the gateway.

“Crap!” Uncle Yong immediately sensed something was wrong, shouting, “Hurry and use your Godshadow Crossbows! Don’t let him get any closer!”

The guards near the young woman didn’t hesitate. They each immediately drew distinctive-looking crossbows, then placed sharp-edged bolts against the bows’ taut strings.

Godshadow Crossbows!

These were the highest-class crossbows available to the armies of the Great Zhou. They included abstruse iron bolts, and when fired, they had enough force to kill ordinary Qi Accumulation martial artists.

If they were surrounded, even Martial Dao Grandmasters would suffer grievous injuries. Of course, Grandmasters wouldn’t be so stupid as to just stand there and let themselves be surrounded….

Godshadow Crossbows were powerfully destructive, but their lifespans were short. After firing just thirty bolts, they’d become nothing but scrap metal.

But even so, a single Godshadow Crossbow was worth over ten thousand taels of silver. If you included the cost of the abstruse iron bolts, the price was even higher.

It’s worth noting that the method of crafting and using these crossbows was under the strict control of one of the Great Zhou’s nine non-Zhou, “outside-surnamed” kings, “The Sea-Swallowing King.” They were rarely made available to the public.

Any faction capable of obtaining one was certain to have a powerful background and deep roots!

Twang! Twang! Twang!

As the guards pulled the triggers, a dense rain of crossbow bolts shot forth with an ear-splitting wail. Every last one of them was aimed directly at the young lord.