Dull sounds of rumbling earth could be heard as the wind scattered around the area, the old man's furious figure flickered before Khan's eyes, with each passing second, the crimson glow of the barrier became even more concentrated.
Khan's eyes glittered with expectation, however. In the next blink of an eye, not a trace of emotion could be seen from his visage. The old man's maddened attack intensified.
'With the intensity of his attacks, this barrier could still last for a minute.' Khan deduced in his mind. He gave a small smile before retreating, not even glancing at the old man.
Seeing Khan's attitude, the old man's eyes flashed with an intense light of killing intent. 'Just you wait!' The old man uttered in a hoarse tone, his attacks becoming even more serious.
Elder Gabica who already detected the old man's attack couldn't help but feel worried about Khan, he tried going towards the source of the attacks, but the moment he approached the broken walls. His body would feel constricted as if the time around him was slowed down.
Because of this strange phenomenon and the fear of the unknown. Elder Gabica was unable to go towards Khan and felt extreme guilt about it.
Elder Gabica's attention was caught by a pair of deep footsteps going towards him. Elder Gabica's eyes flashed with caution, taking a stance, he looked towards the entrance.
"Sup!" Khan walked out with a small smile while waving his hand towards Elder Gabica. Seeing this, Elder Gabica gave a small sigh of relief, but in the next instant, his face became grim.
The reason was, the attacks from the outside became even more powerful. Elder Gabica's countenance became filled with sweat, and his fingers slightly trembled.
"Khan did they fi-"
"Yes, they found where we are. " Interrupting Elder Gabica's speech, Khan spoke with indifference in his tone.
"Also, he has a deep connection to the Divine Pills Sect, I suspect that he is at least, an Elder."
"No, that's impossible! An Elder with that kind of power?! No- that could not be an Elder!" Elder Gabica's eyes widened in fear, his speech became agitated as he fell down on his back.
"Grandpa!" Lily leaped towards her grandfather. Her eyes filled with deep worry.
"Yeah, I also think that he is not an Elder, that amount of power could only belong to the sect's Grand Elder or he may be the current patriarch himself." Khan gave out a small smile and spoke with the same tone of indifference.
Witnessing this, Elder Gabica couldn't help but feel strange. Knowing that the person attacking them possesses an enormous amount of power. Why is it that I can't detect any hint of worries within his eyes?
Elder Gabica couldn't fathom, the existence called Khan, at first, he thought that Khan was some kind of a country bumpkin that didn't know anything about the outside world. But now, he was unsure of how to evaluate the existence called, Khan.
"Don't worry, since he wants to enter here, I will just let him enter. But if he wants to leave, he must leave his life behind!" Khan's eyes narrowed, as a deep sound of rumbling rocks falling, followed by the sound of glasses breaking echoed behind him.
Smoke and dust scattered in the air. The human-sized hole that connected to the outside world was nowhere to be found. Instead, what greeted the three was the bright rays of sunlight penetrating their faces, giving them the warmth that they looked for.
"To actually last for a minute under this old man's attack, that artifact is quite formidable isn't it?" A tattered figure came out within the rubble, seeing the old man's appearance, Khan couldn't help but feel amused.
Earlier, he had sent a command towards the formation core, so that it will explode if it were to be breached. Not knowing that, the old man suffered the full brunt of the explosion which contained a part of his power.
Khan gave an amused smile, his eyes, clear, without any hint of emotion within it.
"Yes, my artifact is quite formidable, however. You're much more formidable than it. To think that you were able to destroy it within two minutes is good enough for me to consider you as my enemy."
The old man's eyes flashed with ferocity. His right hand formed a palm, his knees slightly bent. His entire consciousness if focused towards Khan. If Khan moved just a little, he would instantly pounce and smash him into meat paste.
Elder Gabica's eyes flashed with a strange light as he looked towards the old man. He swore in his heart that he had seen everyone in the ranks of at least an Elder in the sect. However, he didn't recognize this old man that stood before them.
There could only be one possibility. First, he was an Elder that didn't return to the sect in the last twenty years or he was someone that held the greatest power in the entire sect.
With this realization, Elder Gabica's countenance became even paler. His granddaughter held tightly held his trembling hand as if sensing his current mental state.
Lily herself was trembling in fear. Just from the aura, and the ferocious killing intent that came from the old man was enough to make her almost unable to move.
However, the youth before her, called Khan was unaffected by the killing intent that came from the old man. Lily couldn't help but feel admiration and also worry for Khan.
To be able to endure this great amount of killing intent. Just what kind of atrocities did he experience?
"Oh, interesting." The old man gave a cold smile, he admired the youth's indifferent attitude towards the killing intent that he released. Ever since the wars around the world had ended. Everyone became complacent and seemed to have forgotten the hardships that their ancestors had endured to achieve this state of peace.
Thanks to the modern and advanced world that the mortals had created, everyone, even cultivators stopped challenging the heavens, great sects had fallen apart one by one.
The valiant aura that the youth's of the past, possessed, also disappeared along with their dreams of becoming an immortal, all because of the convenience that modern technology had created.
The old man shook his head, the emotions bothering him scattered as his eyes became as clear as the sky. His eyes when he looked towards Khan became even colder.
'If a youth, this formidable and an enemy of my sect grows, a calamity will soon befall my sect! I must kill him!'
"Since you have harmed the members of the sect, I will use your life as an offering to appease their souls in heaven!" The old man's eyes flickered, in a blink of an eye, he was already in front of Khan.
The old man's right hand formed a palm and slapped towards Khan's head. The power contained within his palm forcefully scattered the air as it emanated a whistling sound.
Khan's lips curved in a slight smile. His fingers formed a mudra as he shouted.
"Protection of the Asura!" A bright flash of blood-red light exploded. The walls around them gleamed with the same light. The runic carvings embedded on the walls pulsated with power.
Meanwhile, the old man's palm struck Khan's head. However, the feedback that he felt didn't come from him striking a human's flesh. Instead, a sickening sound of bones cracking rang. The old man swiftly retreated.
"Hmmph, only having that amount of power and you dare strut in here?!" Khan's eyes flashed with a fierce light, his hands flashed in the air, forming several kinds of mudras.
With each mudra, the light that came from the runic carvings on the walls flew upwards, forming a tangible figure of a bloodthirsty Asura.
The old man's right hand drooped down in a weird angle, he popped a pill in his mouth and gritted his teeth while enduring the pain. His eyes flashed with caution upon seeing the figure of a bloodthirsty Asura becoming even more tangible in each second.
'Damn it! Just what kind of evil artifact is he using?! At this rate, that Asura will completely form in ten seconds, I must stop him before it happens!' The old man leaped once more, with his left hand covered in Qi he fiercely punched towards Khan.
However, the same strange phenomenon had occurred, the power that he used to strike Khan became the power that damaged him, causing him to leap backward in retreat.
But this time, the aura that came from the Asura went inside his body, threatening to destroy his meridians.
"Ughhh..."
The old man spat a mouthful of blood. He once again popped a pill in his mouth. Taking a defensive stance, he observed the enemy before him. After two futile attacks, the old man deduced that Khan was protected by some kind of strange barrier that could reflect back the attacker's power in full.
Knowing this, the old man couldn't help but shudder in fear, but at the same time sigh in relief. Anywhere in the world, everyone knows that a barrier that formidable should not be able to run perpetually.
However, for it to be able to run for this long. A power source should be present. The old man's eyes darted around the area, apart from the runic carvings on the wall, his eyes eventually fell on the coffin behind the Khan, and the runic carvings that covered it.
The old man's left hand sent a wisp of his Qi towards the coffin. His target. The runic carving that seemed to be even more alive than the ones on the walls.
Khan gave a small smile as he commended in his heart. 'As expected, this geezer is not too stupid.'
'However, if he thinks that he could stop my Asura Slaughter Formation just by disrupting its energy flow he would be disappointed!' By this time, the bloodied Asura's form was now completed.
A wretched cry that seemed to have come from the depths of hell echoed around the area. The shrill voice actually has the power to penetrate the souls of those listening and make them submit to fear.
However, the old man's cultivation made him immune to this kind of deterrence. His face became ferocious, his figure flickered once more. Appearing behind Khan, he materialized his entire power on his fists as it swung downwards.
'Since the barrier protecting is so formidable, you should be able to instantly transfer it to protect this energy grid!'
As the old man expected, Khan formed a mudra as the bloodied red light that enveloped his body flew towards the energy grid, protecting the energy flow of the entire formation.
A cold smile suffused on the old man's face, the power that he directed towards the energy grid, curved, as it flew towards Khan's unprotected body.
"Arghh!!" A sorrowful shriek resounded, as an incredible amount of dust flew upwards, followed by a tattered figure of an old man flying towards the wall.
Khan's figure could be seen with his hands stretched out in a circle. And in the middle of that circle was the bloodied barrier that could reflect any damage. Precisely, the feedback that the old man felt didn't come from Khan's flesh. But from the barrier that Khan concentrated in one point.
Khan gave a small triumphant smile, as blood leaked from his lips. Although he protected his head and vitals from damage. The rest of his body suffered the full brunt attack of the old man's concentrated power.
It was so strong that his body that was tempered by the Divine Emperor Qi had a hard time enduring it. After that attack, he knew that his body would be unable to endure more.
However, he still has the Asura Slaughter Formation, with it. He was confident that he could still finish this fight as a victor.
But he was mistaken. No- he wasn't mistaken, everything that happened was within his range of prediction. Khan's eyes became filled with melancholy, his eyes directed at the old man who had already stood, a menacing power of fire enveloped his body.
Despite his miserable appearance, the noble power of fire that covered him made him seem like a warrior in his prime of life. On his hand, a sword that was the embodiment of the Divine Pills Sect was there.
Before Khan, a middle-aged man with a valiant aura could be seen smiling before him as he gave him a small shoulder pat. On the middle-aged man's waist was the sword marked with the symbol of the Divine Pills Sect.
"Brother Khan, how about another spar?" The favorite words of a certain middle-aged man echoed in Khan's mind. The voice filled with mirth and hot-headedness pierced through Khan's soul, feeling him with deep sorrow and loneliness.
"Enough with playing games!" The old man's fierce voice pulled away Khan's mind from his melancholy. The old man that stood before him, didn't look as unpleasant as he was earlier.
"That sword... You're the current patriarch of the Divine Pills Sect?" Khan said in a small gentle tone.
The old man furrowed his eyebrows, as he didn't expect the gentleness that came from Khan's tone. He stared at the youth before him, not even bothering to give him a reply.
The disrespectful attitude of the old man didn't bother Khan, instead. He gave a small smile of appreciation towards the old man as he thought. 'At least a sensible disciple of that bastard still exists.'
"What are you smiling for?!" The old man couldn't bear the weird atmosphere anymore and leaped towards Khan, his sword came crashing down with enormous might.
But for Khan, who had a part of his soul embued within the sword wasn't affected by its imposing might. The force that could flatten an entire mountain disappeared, as it suddenly turned gentle and submissive as if it was afraid that the youth before him would rebuke it.
"Wha-?!" The old man's eyes widened in shock, the sword that was the symbol of the Divine Pills Sect actually behaved like a wronged child in front of this youth?!
Sensing the shock on the old man's face. Khan gave a small sigh and spoke
"This is normal... For this sword is partly mine." Khan gestured with his hand, and the sword on the old man's grasp shuddered in excitement as it flew toward Khan.
The old man could only stare in shock, frozen like a statue.
Hello, everyone! This is TheAdventurer speaking.
Since the hectic days of university exams and graduation ceremony preparation is done, and now I have a good amount of time in my sleeves, I will try to commit myself into posting at least one chapter a day, for about five chapters a week.
And also, I have decided to dual host this novel in Qidian so that I could reach a more broad array of audiences that could criticize my novel. Thanks for reading this and I hope to see you next chapter.