Chapter 633 - Storm of the Abyss (VI) (Patreon)

Hou Tu stared at the group of children younger than him discussing how to attack a figure that looked to be no weaker than Sect Master. It was a public knowledge that the Twin-Wind Daggers duo were both at the Sovereign Realm, yet were struggling to even land a hit against the man which meant that he was likely in the Immortal Foundations Realm, if not possibly True God Realm.

And yet, there was a gaggle of children younger and seemingly weaker than him currently assessing a plan to fight that cloaked thing, with their Master having listened to another child without so much as a question. Those kids would die, and he didn't seem to care one bit.

Though he wanted to say something, he held himself back; Senior Hua wasn't saying anything, and neither was Sister Meng. Perhaps it was simply pointless to say anything, as Senior Hua seemed to know the man. And perhaps she knew him well enough to understand interference was pointless.

While the kids chattered about in a circle, the rest of their group--as well as he, Sister Meng, and Senior Hua--retreated to the far edge of the chamber, sitting down. Somewhat annoyingly, the man whipped out some wine and shared it with both the alchemist as well as that boy, appearing to not care whether his disciples lived or died.

"How confident are you in this plan?" Senior Hua finally spoke up, seemingly annoyed at the leisure of it all.

"About as confident as in any of the ones before," the man replied casually. "Forget that; I've been meaning to ask: what did you mean when you said you saw my eyes in a portrait? What portrait? Where?" Hou Tu nearly snapped at him, wanting to ask, What do you mean 'forget that'? Aren't those your disciples?!, but managed just barely to hold back.

"I've come across two, actually," she said. "Though your face in them was different for some reason, your eyes... were the same."

"Eh? There are portraits of you out there, Master?" the youngest girl spoke out for the first time. Truthfully, Hou Tu thought that the little girl was completely mute as he'd never known children to be that silent and calm, especially in circumstances like these.

"Apparently," the man replied, frowning. "I'm still suspicious. I'd be hard-pressed to recognize my own mother from just her eyes alone, let alone if they were embedded into a painting and a face that was nothing like her own. Very suspicious."

Senior Hua visibly rolled her eyes, and yet, the man didn't seem to take issue with it. In fact, even his alchemist companion looked at him oddly, creating a strange, drifting atmosphere that was broken by the little girl speaking up again.

"It might have been either in Silvercrest City or Moonlake City, Master," she said. "I spotted men making paintings."

"Oh?" the man exclaimed. "There were strange rumors from what I remember about what happened in Silvercrest City."

"What happened there?" Senior Hua asked.

"Those guys," the man said, casually pointing at the cloaked figure in the distance. "They attacked it."

"Really?"

"Hm. Came in by the thousands," he said. "Sort of like this, actually. Just not quite as strong." Hou Tu frowned; was he casual with sending his disciples into certain death because they managed to defeat some lesser dregs of the same society before, and he now believed they'd do it again? "The most depressing part is that they don't know the meaning of retreat. Even as they were all being killed, hundreds of corpses piling on, they... kept attacking. As if they had no other purpose. That's actually when I met this old sack over here."

"... lovely sentiment," the alchemist said, rolling his eyes. "It's not here, however."

"It's not."

"What isn't?" Sister Meng asked, seeming to surprise herself as she quickly covered her mouth.

"A vine," the man replied. "Every other time we encountered them, there was something--usually a vine--that was sucking up all Life Qi in the vicinity. There isn't one here, which means their purpose is very specific."

"What could it be?" Senior Hua asked.

"My bet is the shard."

"What shard?"

"The one I bought," the man said, taking a sip of wine and briefly glancing at the young boy seated next to them who was yet to even open his eyes let alone speak. In fact, until now, Hou To forgot he was even there. "Though it might just be a bit of my bias showing. Regardless of what they're here for, my guess is that they'll get what they came for... or they'll all die."

"... now it's my turn to be suspicious," Senior Hua said. "You say there's an organization out there with the ability to attack a Holy Land directly on their soil, and can send literal thousands of their members to die without a rhyme or reason, and that somehow... none of us heard of it?"

"Yes, that's how secret organizations are like," the man looked at her oddly, prompting Senior Hua's eyebrows to twitch for a moment. "Otherwise, you know, they wouldn't be secret."

"I understand how a secret organization works."

"Are you sure? Doesn't sound like you do."

"..."

"Try living with that for years on end," the alchemist commented with a faint smile, as if feeling vindicated that Senior Hua was almost shaking with frustration.

"The only person hard to live with here is you," the man fought back. "Any time you enter a room, it's like somebody detonated a concoction of a million fragrances right in front of my nose. Shit, after you concoct something, I physically have to clog my nose."

"And yet you happily gobble up whatever I concoct."

"Yes, so? You never met a hypocrite before?"

Hou Tu's anger and frustration had slowly spiraled into a confusion. This man... didn't appear to be either evil or callous. Rather, unlike most other Senior Members he'd met in his life, he didn't really seem to care how people conversed with him, what tone they used, or even what words they used.

Which further saddened him, in the end--that even he would send children to fight.

"Master, somebody's watching," the little girl suddenly announced. The man's and the alchemist's reactions to it were quite extreme--both immediately surged with Qi, as if ready to battle, prompting Senior Hua to also react nervously.

"Where?" the man asked, his voice deep and commanding.

"Far away," she said. "There." she raised her arm and pointed to their left at a wall.

"Are they in the city?"

"Yes," she nodded.

"Strong?"

"Very."

"... looks like a Sage tagged along," the man said, his frown deepening. "How do they have the luxury to watch us? Shouldn't they be fighting like mad?"

"Maybe because of this," the young boy who stayed silent and seated, his eyes closed, finally spoke up again. He opened his had and showed a remnant shard of a blade--the very one that was auctioned off.

"... eh? Did they bring it to us?"

"No. I took the liberty of... taking it."

"That does sound like something you'd do," the man said and sighed while the boy shrugged. "Can you defend it?"

"Unlikely," the boy said. "That woman's at the Eternal Barrier Realm."

"!!!" Senior Hua shot to her feet and even Hou Tu felt all blood in him freeze.

Eternal Barrier Realm.

A single step before the Imperial Realm itself.

A mark of some of the strongest people in the world. At any given time, there were no more than twenty people at the Eternal Barrier Realm, and yet... one of the attackers was at it?

"Wow," the man whistled lowly. "They... really want it, huh?"

"They can't have it."

"I thought you didn't care for it."

"It has a trace of Divinity," the boy said, putting the shard away. "Nowhere near enough to help with cultivation or ascending into the Imperial Realm, but enough to power a specific kind of a formation for some time. At least, I assume so."

"... if we get tangled up, it'll cost us dearly," the man said. "So, let's hope that she's dealt with by the time we get there."

Wait, Hou Tu's mind circled back to something the boy said a few moments back. He said... unlikely? Does that mean that there's a 'chance' he can defend it against someone at the Eternal Barrier Realm?!!

He couldn't posit a question out loud as a massive explosion diverted his attention to the center of the chamber--where the kids have finally begun their assault.