Chapter 111: Ancient Mysteries

Little Point felt his scalp go numb. An old man without any signs of life blocking his path—what could be the intention behind this? It made his hair stand on end.

The old man's gray hair was stained with black, dried blood, which had been there for countless years. The ancient sword that had once been extremely sharp was now covered in rust, a testament to its long history.

"Old man, why are you stopping me? If you have something to say, just say it," Little Point asked.

Mao Qiu had taken cover behind him, its big eyes darting nervously, clutching his hair, afraid that the old man might become aggressive.

Silently and without any sign of movement, the old man stood there with a wooden expression, his eyes hollow, simply blocking his way.

Seeing this, Little Point tried to avoid him and move to the side to bypass him.

With a swish, the old man reappeared in thin air, blocking his path again.

"Old man, are you going to make sense or not? Just tell me what's going on and stop scaring me," Little Point said, frowning and remaining on guard.

This was too strange. How could such a lifeless old man keep appearing and blocking his way? It was truly unnerving.

It was especially bizarre in this place where the guardian spirit resided. How could there be such a lifeless, ghost-like old man wearing ancient clothes? It was spine-chilling.

Suddenly, Little Point turned around and quickly returned to the courtyard, rushing toward the rear garden.

The guardian spirit was here; could this gray-haired old man really defy the heavens? If even the guardian spirit’s gourd vine couldn’t subdue him, there would be no hope left.

Throughout, Little Point had not acted because he felt that this seemingly human, yet ghostly presence could be extremely dangerous. It was better not to provoke it.

In the rear garden, the gourd vine remained withered, bathed in starlight and moonlight, the area shrouded in mist and softness.

"Guardian spirit, there’s another old man here. Please talk to him; otherwise, he won’t let me leave," Little Point said as he approached the gourd vine.

He hoped that the guardian spirit would respond—after all, they were within the sacred ground, and it should take action. However, he was disappointed. The withered vine remained still, the yellow leaves dull, showing no response.

The gray-haired old man had also approached, standing in front of him, blocking his path, with hollow eyes locked onto him.

Little Point, frustrated, climbed onto a pile of rocks, trying to move the blue gourd on the vine to awaken the guardian spirit.

As soon as he approached, the blue gourd emitted chaotic energy and booming Daoist sounds, manifesting a mysterious rune with a terrifying aura that forced Little Point to retreat.

Countless runes intertwined, and the chaotic energy thickened, enveloping the blue gourd as if arriving at the beginning of creation, with mist and lightning intertwining.

At the same time, the gray-haired old man’s body trembled, and he uttered a voice, "Return my sword!"

In the dead of night, Little Point shivered. What sword? There was indeed a sword, but it was embedded in the old man’s own head. How could it be returned?

"Old man, the sword is on your head."

The old man seemed not to hear and continued to repeat, "Return my sword."

Little Point, both shocked and confused, wondered if he needed to help pull out the sword. He asked, "How about you lower your head, and I’ll pull it out for you?"

"Clang!"

The ancient sword emitted a trembling sound, and black blood oozed from it. The old man trembled again and mumbled, "Return my sword."

He blocked Little Point's way, repeating the same line, leaving Little Point helpless. Finally, Little Point, pushed to the brink, said, "Alright, I will help you find it and return your sword."

As soon as he said this, the sky darkened, the wind roared, and lightning flashed. The old man vanished without a trace.

Little Point felt a chill down his spine. It was astonishing that such a commotion occurred in the guardian spirit’s domain, and the gourd vine showed no reaction. Did the two know each other?

"What exactly is this old man’s background? Why is he so eerie?" Little Point was deeply frightened and fled quickly, not looking back, leaving the guardian spirit's domain.

Mao Qiu, also nervous, clung to his collar like a koala, its fur standing on end, floating with the wind, keeping up with his hasty escape.

The Sky Repairing Pavilion was vast and boundless. Little Point ran for dozens of miles, finally escaping the guardian spirit’s domain. Looking back, the bright moon and twinkling stars illuminated the silent land, and the old man did not reappear.

"Let’s go," he said, continuing to run.

Along the way, the spiritual mountains stood majestically, shrouded in a thin mist under the silver moonlight, appearing ethereal and serene. Palaces dotted the mountains, and spiritual waterfalls cascaded down like white silk, rising mist creating an otherworldly scene, as if arriving in a fairyland.

Crossing a hundred miles, Little Point returned to his dwelling. The night was deep, and other disciples had long gone to sleep. He slid into his grass hut and went straight to bed.

After the previous commotion, he did not want to dwell on it and hoped to quickly forget it and enter dreamland.

Mao Qiu was also anxious. After peeking out the window and being tense for a while, it covered its eyes and hid behind Little Point, beginning to fall asleep.

For several days, everything was normal. Little Point was relieved that nothing further went wrong, although he did not visit the guardian spirit’s place again, afraid of encountering more ghosts.

For consecutive days, he was obedient, especially avoiding going out at night. He sat on the roof, absorbing celestial essence and refining starlight, going to bed when tired.

On the sixth night, Little Point suddenly felt his hair stand on end. He sat up with a start, shouting, "Ghost!"

The gray-haired old man had somehow appeared, standing at the foot of his bed with hollow eyes, black blood dripping from his head, and the ancient sword exuding murderous intent.

In the dead of night, such a scream carried far, waking many disciples who quickly sat up.

Mao Qiu, still deep in sleep, was startled awake by the scream, its fur standing on end. It leaped from Little Point’s pillow, landing on the old man’s head and staring into his hollow eyes, immediately letting out a terrified cry, scrambling to climb onto his head and then falling onto his shoulder, almost fainting from fright.

Little Point, also frozen with fear, immediately grabbed Mao Qiu by the tail, yanked it over, and smashed through the window, rushing outside.

The commotion attracted many people, and lights began to flicker in several houses. "What’s happening? Who is screaming? What’s going on?"

"Who is causing this disturbance in the middle of the night? It’s affecting others’ rest."

Many people rushed out to find the source of the noise.

"This way, everyone, come quickly. I have a new friend to introduce," Little Point shouted, trying to stay calm and give everyone a "surprise."

The gray-haired old man, like a ghost, appeared silently in front of him, staring at him blankly.

If he were really a ghost, with three thousand youths gathered together and their strong yang energy, he should not be able to scare them away. Little Point thought this way, hoping that everyone would come together to "meet" the strange "uncle" who had caused such trouble.

“Hey, what are you shouting about?” A group of youths rushed in, looking at him strangely while ignoring the gray-haired old man.

Little Point was stunned. “Aren’t you guys scared at all?”

“What are you talking about? We don’t understand,” the youths complained.

Especially the beautiful girl from the crowd who had her skirt pulled by Little Point earlier, now glared at him, hands on her hips, “Are you playing tricks again and causing trouble for everyone?”

Little Point was dumbfounded. Could this group not see the old man with gray hair? This was terrifying. He felt a chill run down his spine. “Can’t you see him? Right in front of me—a老人 with hollow eyes, a sword stuck in his head, and black blood flowing.”

“That’s nonsense. It’s the middle of the night, don’t scare us,” the beautiful girl glared at him, and the others were also dissatisfied.

“I’m not lying. Ah, ghost!” Little Point screamed as the old man drew closer, nearly pressing against him.

His loud shouting naturally alerted everyone. In no time, over a hundred people gathered, staring at him in confusion.

“There really is an old man with black blood running down his face. How can you not see him?” Little Point pleaded urgently.

In the end, hundreds of people had gathered, pointing fingers and expressing their displeasure for being disturbed from their sleep.

“Clang!”

Little Point, frustrated, jumped up and lightly flicked the iron sword with his finger, producing a resonant clang. The previously noisy courtyard fell silent in an instant.

Everyone was stunned, shivering in fear.

But some quickly realized, with someone shouting, “Who are you trying to fool? Do you think a trick can scare all of us?”

With a whoosh, Little Point rushed forward, and the gray-haired old man naturally followed, blocking his way again.

“If you don’t believe it, come and feel for yourselves,” Little Point challenged.

“I don’t believe in such things,” the girl who had been glaring at him stepped forward, along with a few other youths.

In an instant, they felt like touching a block of ice, bone-chillingly cold, and were so frightened that they quickly pulled their hands back, shouting, “Ghost!”

Although they couldn’t see anything, the sensation of touching something made the group of youths terrified, with a few stumbling over each other as they tried to retreat.

“Ah!” The beautiful girl screamed and fled, stepping on several boys who had fallen, disappearing in a flash.

Little Point squeezed into the crowd, causing a panic among the children. Many who had touched the old man were terrified and ran away in all directions.

In the blink of an eye, hundreds of people had vanished, leaving the place desolate. Little Point was dumbstruck. That was too fast.

The area around the rocky mountain became chaotic. All the houses lit up, and over three thousand new disciples were alarmed. The news spread quickly, from one person to ten, and then to hundreds.

In no time, Little Point’s surroundings were eerily quiet. Everyone who lived nearby fled in panic, leaving no trace behind.

“Quick, report to the elders!”

Elders Xiong Fei and Zhuo Yun had been exhausted from recent events, their lives in disarray, and even their sleep was restless.

After finally having a few peaceful days, they thought everything was under control. But in the middle of the night, a group of children began shouting loudly under the spiritual mountain.

“What now?” The two elders felt a sense of helplessness.

“Elders, there’s a ghost! An old man with his head pierced by an ancient sword, bleeding black blood, and with disheveled hair has appeared!” the youths shouted.

“What?” Xiong Fei and Zhuo Yun’s faces turned pale. They rushed down the spiritual mountain, grabbing a child’s hand, questioning sternly.

The youths quickly recounted what had happened.

Xiong Fei and Zhuo Yun’s faces turned ashen, their lips trembling, and they almost fled in panic.

“What’s wrong, elders? Please check it out!” the children urged.

“From ancient times until now, such things have appeared every few hundred years. Whenever they do, many people die,” Elder Zhuo Yun said, his voice trembling.

Hearing this, the children were greatly frightened. They backed away, all extremely nervous, feeling cold and their scalps going numb.

Moreover, unexpectedly, Elders Xiong Fei and Zhuo Yun ignored them and ran away, vanishing in no time.

Were the elders so irresponsible that they fled first?

“You all wait here. We’re going to find an old expert,” the voices of the two elders were heard in the wind.

The area around the stone mountain was in turmoil. The ancient supernatural phenomenon, which had been unresolved since ancient times, had apparently been encountered by them.

Everyone was both fearful and sympathetic toward the unfortunate child, who was clearly targeted by the presence.

Many, braving their fear, walked a short distance forward to look at the courtyard, stunned by what they saw. How bold was this person?

After being startled, Little Point gradually regained his composure and, no longer afraid, jumped onto the gray-haired old man’s back, riding on his shoulders.

He held a piece of green stone, repeatedly banging on the old man’s head, not knowing if he wanted to crack it open or break the ancient sword, shouting, “Return my sword! I’ll knock it out for you. Stop following me, it’s really annoying!”

Meanwhile, a sound of breaking air was heard as an old man appeared in the distance, holding a golden gourd emitting chaotic energy.

Additionally, distant howls echoed as powerful cultivators from the grand mountains were alerted, and high-level members of the Sky Repairing Pavilion emerged, heading towards the scene.