Martial Peak Chapter 999 - Strange Old Man

Chapter 999, Strange Old Man
The strange old man gave Lu Gui Chen and the beautiful woman from Sword Union an unusual feeling which caused them to become very concerned, so both of them had ceased their battle and were now silently paying attention to him instead.
“Yue Xi, you and I are old acquaintances, we both know neither of us is capable of easily defeating the other. Why not end our little battle here for today? I think that whether it is your or my people, they are in need of some rest to recover,” Lu Gui Chen waved his hand and addressed the mature beauty from Sword Union.
The beautiful woman named Yue Xi thought about it for a moment before gently nodding, “Good!”
“I knew you’d be reasonable,” Lu Gui Chen laughed, putting away his golden light armour and storing his short spear, knitting his brow in the next moment, “Yue Xi, I have a certain issue I need to discuss with you.”
“If you need to put out a fart just get it over with,” Yue Xi’s pretty face wore a look of impatience as she crudely spat.
Lu Gui Chen curled his lips, not minding her attitude, and stuck out a finger, saying, “Is this old man from your Sword Union? How come I’ve never seen him before?”
When he asked this, Yue Xi’s expression suddenly became weird and she asked back, “Isn’t he one of your people?”
Lu Gui Chen brow furrowed and he slowly shook his head.
The two people stared at one another for a moment before their eyes brightened, simultaneously saying, “He’s a native of this place?”
As soon as their voices fell, both of their figures transformed into streaks of light as they shot towards the old man who was still carefreely sifting through the Starship debris.
Where this place was and what kind of dangers existed here, neither Lu Gui Chen nor Yue Xi knew.
However, all of a sudden, right before their eyes, a native of this world had appeared!
Both of them naturally thought that whoever was able to grab this old man first would be able to monopolize the information he had, giving them an advantage over the other side. In this unknown place, information was the key to survival. This much was obvious to everyone.
So, without even saying a word, the two of them had taken action.
Two auras belonging to Saint King Realm masters spread out and competed with one another, sending out much stronger shockwaves than when they had been fighting just now, both of them obviously going all out.
Lu Gui Chen and Yue Xi had indeed known each other for many years and were aware that their strengths were roughly equal, so when they rushed over to seize this old man, neither of them was willing to compromise in the slightest.
The old man had just picked up a piece of Starship debris and hadn’t had time to put it into his Space Ring when the two of them both reaching out and grabbing one of his arms, their auras pressing down on him, causing him to stiffen up, like he was too scared to even move.
However, in the next instant, his expression became strange and a look of interest flashed across his face. Even facing the suppression and fallout from the battle between these two Saint King Realm masters, he calmly and leisurely placed the Starship piece he had just picked up into his Space Ring.
This strange action immediately caused Lu Gui Chen and Yue Xi to stare, both of them realizing that their situation was not good.
Being able to act so carefreely and completely ignore their confrontation either meant that this old man was a madman, or a master powerful enough to not put them in his eyes.
The latter possibility was much greater.
So Lu Gui Chen and Yue Xi both immediately let go and tried to withdraw from this strange old man.
However, just as they attempted to escape, a powerful force emerged from the old man’s body, solidifying the area around him, trapping Lu Gui Chen and Yue Xi in place.
The next moment, the two masters felt the Saint Qi in their bodies rapidly being drained away and pouring into the old man.
The two were horrified and Yue Xi even let out a panic-stricken scream.
As their strength passed, the old man’s face became more and more rosy, seemingly receiving great nourishment, even his white hair gradually became darker and glossier.
The old man flashed the two people a faint grin.
Suddenly, a terrifying aura burst from the old man’s body, and as it rapidly spread out, everyone couldn’t help stopping whatever it was they were doing and trembling in fear.
Near everyone’s ear, a burst of cries and howls resounded as a frigid wind wrapped around their bodies. From simply revealing his aura, this old man had let everyone present feel like they had been plunged into the deepest depths of purgatory and were experiencing a kind of spiritual torture that made them wonder if death wouldn’t be preferable.
“You two little things seem to look down on others a bit too much. En, this old master hasn’t bumped into such a lively and entertaining scene for many years, so this time I’ll spare your lives, but if you dare make such a mistake again, I’ll extinguish your souls!” Saying so, the old man sneered and shook his body lightly, sending out an incomparably powerful burst of power.
Lu Gui Chen and Yue Xi both screamed and flew backwards like broken paper baskets. Both of them spat blood as they tumbled through the air, their complexion paling as their auras became feeble.
Simply being thrown off by this old man had nearly caused them to die on the spot.
When they finally managed to stand firm, both of them stared at the old man with utter horror.
Yang Kai’s eyes also nearly popped out of their sockets, hardly able to believe what he had just witnessed.
He had personally experienced how strong Lu Gui Chen was. When Yang Kai had faced him, he didn’t even have the ability to resist.
Lu Gui Chen was at least a Second-Order Saint King, possibly even a Third Order Saint King powerhouse.
Yet such a master, in front of this strange old man, was no better than a three-year-old child.
[What kind of cultivation does this old man possess?] Yang Kai couldn’t even imagine it.
“En, right, it’s rare that so many visitors come here. Let your people settle down. The more that dies, the more deserted this place becomes,” The old man thought for a moment before suddenly saying.
Lu Gui Chen and Yue Xi both gawked at him for an instant before nodding quickly, “We will obey Senior’s instructions!”
After witnessing the astonishing strength of this old man, they didn’t dare disobey him again, because they knew that if this old man wanted to, he could easily kill everyone here in a flash.
His strength was not something they were capable of resisting.
“En, those who already died can’t be wasted, best to collect them,” The old man seemed to mutter to himself before waving his hand and summoning out a jet black flag which gave off a cold, gloomy aura. On this flag, there seemed to be countless faintly visible hum and beast figures. Each of these figures was clearly a Soul-Spirit Body, each one of which was extremely powerful.
They were all bound and shackled inside this flag and had seemingly lost their own consciousnesses, turning into bloodthirsty and vengeful spectres.
The big flag fluttered in the wind, sending out piercing cries and howls that rang throughout the world.
The semi-transparent Soul Avatars of the recently fallen cultivators suddenly appeared and were seemingly caught up in some kind of suction force which dragged them towards the flag.
A breath later, the dark flag drew in the Soul Avatars of some thirty or forty cultivators.
Just as if a stone had been thrown into the calm lake, the surface of the dark flag rippled, and the resentful spectres which were sealed within it suddenly began madly competing for these new Soul Avatars.
The sound of crunching and chewing lingered in the air, grating at the minds of those still living.
In the blink of an eye, the dozens of Soul Avatars belonging to the Purple Star and Sword Union cultivators were devoured and disappeared, as if they had never even existed.
The gloomy aura of the jet black flag became even heavier as a result.
“If anyone dares stir up trouble, I’ll collect all of you like this!” The old man wore a sinister grin as he swept his eyes over the crowd before putting away his dark flag.
Everyone went completely pale and none dared to respond.
After seeing the scene just now, who among them would have the courage to make trouble? Having their Soul devoured by evil spirits after they fell, this was more terrifying than simply dying.
Everyone immediately became well-behaved and restrained their strength.
“Find a place to settle down by yourselves then familiarize yourself with the environment. En, I’ll tell you now, there are no dangers here, but there are plenty of precious resources and World Energy. It’s a perfect place to cultivate. The fifty-kilometre radius around that mountain over there is off-limits, that’s where this old master lives. Anyone who dares to approach it… you should know the consequences!” The old man pointed to a mountain not far away and spoke at length, as if he hadn’t spoken for many years and couldn’t stop himself once he got started. After he finished, he drifted away and, before anyone even realized it, he had disappeared without a trace.
For a long time after he left, no one dared to move, all of them standing in place, the hearts in their chests pounding loudly as many of them gulped unceasingly.
Lu Gui Chen and Yue Xi glanced at each other across a long distance and for a while were speechless.
Soon after though, the two of them sat down and took out some healing pills and Saint Crystals to begin restoring themselves.
After an hour, the two of them stood up one after the other.
It was only after they saw their respective leaders stand up that the surviving cultivators from Purple Star and Sword Union dared to breathe out and gather around them.
“Yang Kai, Yang Kai…” Hearing his name called out from afar, Yang Kai stuck his head up and saw a slightly pale He Miao beckoning to him.
Yang Kai stood up and walked towards them.
A dozen meters or so away, Bi Ya ground her teeth and stared at him with obvious hatred, but she didn’t dare try to block his way.
The old man had said that whoever dared to cause trouble would have their Soul Avatar fed to his dark flag, Bi Ya didn’t dare annoy do anything that might annoy him.
“Many thanks,” Yang Kai arrived at He Zao and He Miao’s side and sincerely thanked them.
If, a moment ago, they hadn’t diverted Bi Ya’s attention, he wouldn’t have had a chance to escape and hide until the strange old man had shown up and displayed his invincible might.
“No need for that,” He Zao shook her head, “It’s what we owe you.”
“Who is the old fogey? He nearly scared me to death,” He Miao patted her milk-white bosom and muttered, her face still covered in fear.
“Master should have some idea,” He Zao said thoughtfully as she glanced over at the beautiful woman name Yue Xi, “In any case, since he has spoken, those people from Purple Star won’t dare act unreasonably again so, for the time being, we’re safe. Yang Kai, was your strength sealed?”
“En, it was something that Lu Gui Chen did,” Yang Kai nodded.
“Come with me, I’ll take you to see Master and ask her to help unlock that seal.”
“I’ll have to ask that of you two,” Yang Kai’s expression brightened.
“No need to be so polite,” He Miao smiled, finally seeming to restore her spirits a bit, “Before, if you hadn’t given me and Elder Sister those restorative items, we wouldn’t have been able to insist until Master saved us, we owe you our lives.”
“A minor matter,” Yang Kai faintly nodded, neither warmly nor coldly, displaying an attitude of a passerby who had simply done a bit of charity.
He followed He Zao and He Miao over to where the people from Sword Union had gathered and soon arrived in front of the mature beauty named Yue Xi.