Chapter 51: The Twilight Years of an Old Man

  Night falls, stars fill the sky, shining brightly.

  About four or five miles away from the valley where Zhang Heng was smashed, there is a gurgling and clear river flowing here. Under the moonlight, you can see a person's reflection in the water.

  Zhao Rui stared blankly at the wilted snow lotus in his hand, about the size of a fist, its entire body crystal clear and snowy white, like an exquisite work of art untouched by dust.

  If Zhang Heng were present, he would have discovered that this snow lotus and the one Ning Xueyan had transformed in his storage bag were almost identical.

  The only difference is that this snow lotus seems more wilted, as if it might wither and die at any moment.

  Zhao Rui had not yet reacted from the strange scene just now, and he stared blankly at Luo Ningxue transforming into a snow lotus beside him, his expression even more shocked than Zhang Heng's earlier.

  "What should I do? Luo Shijie has actually turned into a snow lotus, it seems like she was chased to death by Tang Shixiong."

  Zhao Rui's mind was in a mess, unlike Zhang Heng, he was naturally simple and kind.

  Moreover, he who walked out of a place isolated from the world also had affection for Luoxianzi who was as gentle as an immortal, otherwise he wouldn't have gone to look for trouble with Lǐ Fēngzi after eating his fill.

  Unlike Zhang Heng, he cherished the snow lotus transformed by Luo Ningxue even more, and was willing to use his own life to rescue the last thread of this snow lotus.

  He wandered aimlessly along the small river for a while, and in front of him, a bright light appeared faintly.

  Zhao Rui's heart was filled with joy, as if he had seen a guiding light in the dark journey.

  He walked quickly in that direction, and before long, a thatched cottage appeared in front of him.

  This thatched cottage has nothing special about it, if anything can be said to be special, it is only that such a thatched cottage would actually be built in such a remote and secluded valley.

  There is a faint light inside the thatched cottage, and it's likely that someone will be inside.

  "Is anyone there?" Zhao Rui carefully cradled the snow lotus in his hands and called out.

  No reaction at all.

  "Is there really no one? Then I'll come in." Zhao Rui pushed open the door of the thatched hut.

  Inside the thatched hut there was a bed, a table, a chair and a lamp. Apart from these, there were no other things at all.

  On the wooden pallet bed, there was a blurry figure.

  Zhao Rui was startled and did not expect that there would be another person here. He carefully opened his eyes to take a look, but could only judge that the other party seemed to be an old man who had passed sixty years of age.

  Moreover, no matter how Zhao Rui used his eyes to look or observe with his spiritual eye technique, he could only see the outline of his opponent vaguely.

  In a subtle way, it seemed as if some unknown force was preventing Zhao Rui from seeing his opponent's specific appearance.

  "Sorry to disturb you, sir." Zhao Rui wasn't a fool either; he naturally wouldn't think that an old man met in such a place would be an ordinary mortal.

  Perhaps he is a great god who hides in the world.

  Thinking of this, Zhao Rui's gaze towards the old man became even more fervent, he actually hoped that the other party was a certain hidden world expert, in that case, the Snow Lotus in his hand would be saved.

  The old man slightly raised his head, a pair of seemingly lifeless eyes glanced at Zhao Rui, and a weak, hoarse voice came over: "Please sit down, I'm just an old man who has been in this world for too long. It seems that not long ago, oh, about 100,000 years ago, the last friend also came to my place... To be honest, I'm tired of this world, but I don't want to leave either... However, you can meet me here, it's also a kind of fate, so let's chat for a while..."

  Zhao Rui didn't quite understand the old man's words, nor did he glean much information from them. However, he could affirm that the other was a reclusive master. He sat down in the chair and chuckled: "Sir, having lived for so many years, you must have attained unparalleled magical powers."

  The old man shook his head: "Actually, there is no spiritual power in my body at all... My body has been completely crippled..."

  "How is this possible? If you didn't have a bit of magical power, how could you have survived here for so many years?"

  The old man coughed slightly and pointed shakily at the distant mountain outside the door: "You see, that mountain peak opposite us, doesn't it also have no hint of magical power? And according to my estimate, this mountain has been alive for at least tens of millions of years..."

  Zhao Rui disagreed and said: "How can you say that? This mountain is an inanimate object without life, so it can survive for such a long time."

  The old man smiled slightly, his eyes falling on the snow lotus in Zhao Rui's hand: "Is this snow lotus in your hand also an inanimate object? In my estimation, this snow lotus has lived for at least over a million years."

  As soon as the old man mentioned the snow lotus in his hand, Zhao Rui's heart skipped a beat, and he thought of his purpose for coming here. He anxiously said: "Old man, I beg of you, please save her, she's running out of time!"

  "The old man said slowly: 'She has about an hour of life left, and it's likely that she used some kind of secret technique that exceeded her physical limits. An hour later, she will become a ordinary snow lotus, even if cultivated, waiting for tens of thousands of years, there is only a tiny bit of hope to recover her human form.'"

  Zhao Rui saw the old man easily "guess" the cause of Luo Ningxue's illness, and a look of joy appeared on his face: "Then please save her."

  The old man said indifferently: "Although I can barely save her life at this moment, it is absolutely impossible for me to take action for her sake."

  Zhao Rui said in a puzzled tone: "Since you can save him, why not go and rescue her? What do you want me to do? As long as I can do it, I will definitely not refuse!"

  The old man didn't waver in the slightest, speaking slowly and deliberately: "If I save her, it would be equivalent to going against an invincible existence, and at that time, I will definitely pay a terrible price."

  "Are you saving someone or opposing someone? Who is that person?" Zhao Rui's eyes gradually showed a few points of impatience, and after a while, Luo Ningxue would completely disappear from this world.

  The old man pointed to the sky outside with his hand and said casually: "It's that one."

  "Heavens? Sky?" Zhao Rui was perplexed and couldn't understand.

  The old man nodded and said, "Right, it's this. This Snow Lotus Spirit will change back to its original form according to the natural development. If I interfere with this trajectory of development, it will cause unpredictable results in the causal cycle between heaven and earth, which is equivalent to breaking the order of this world, and also equivalent to going against the Heavenly Way."

  Zhao Ruiyi's face turned red with rage as he glared at the wilted snow lotus in his hand: "You're talking nonsense! She was forced into this state, how can you say it's natural development?"

  The old man said indifferently, "Everything that happens in this world is the result of natural development. Even if the entire Eastern Cloud Continent were to vanish into thin air in an instant, there's nothing strange about it. As the saying goes, 'Heaven and earth are not benevolent, treating all things as straw dogs.' Who said that, I've forgotten, but it makes sense..."

  Zhao Rui's eyes blazed with anger as he stared at the old man, cursing: "You so-called reclusive sages, are you all this ruthless and heartless? Saving a person is considered going against the heavens, and can only watch as a life comes to an end."

  "There must be decline after prosperity, death after birth, and consequences after causes..." The old man muttered in a low voice.

  "Go die!" Zhao Rui finally couldn't bear it anymore, stretched out his hand and threw a fireball at the old man's body.

  A loud "poof" sound was heard and the old man's body caught on fire, which was beyond Zhao Rui's expectations.

  The old man said calmly: "If there's a fire, let it burn..."

  Before long, the old man's entire body was on fire, but he still looked at Zhao Rui with a calm gaze, as if life and death had no effect on him.

  Zhao Rui was shocked by the old man's calm demeanor as he burned in the fire, staring blankly at the old man's body and clothes turning to ashes in an instant.

  "Oh no, I've killed him..." Zhao Rui suddenly felt regretful. He had originally thought that his opponent was a powerful expert from the outside world and that this small fireball shouldn't have been able to harm him.

  Suddenly, Zhao Rui seemed to remember something and slapped his own head several times with his hand: "I burned him to death, who will save Luo Shizi now?"

  However, at this moment, Zhao Rui found that the ashes in front of him suddenly gathered together, rapidly combining, and before long, the old man who seemed to be crippled appeared again.

  "You're not dead?" Zhao Rui looked at him in disbelief, then revealed a look of surprise.

  The old man nodded and said: "I died once just now, but I came back to life."

  "Please, I beg of you, save her life, okay? I'll give you everything I have on me."

  Zhao Rui put his pouch on the table, as if he had thought of something, took out an ordinary necklace from his chest: "This has been worn since I was born, and it's for you."

  The old man looked at him calmly as he took out these things, as if nothing in this world could move him anymore.

  But just as he saw the necklace that Zhao Rui took out from his chest, his expression changed slightly.

  He stretched out his hand and the necklace appeared in it. To the naked eye, it seemed as if the necklace had vanished into thin air and then reappeared in his hand.

  Zhao Rui was also startled by the old man's divine power, but he didn't dare say much either.

  The old man looked at the necklace and sighed slightly, with a complex expression, he asked: "Are you surnamed Zhao?"

  Zhao Rui was shocked and said: "How did you know?"

  The old man's hand relaxed, and the necklace suddenly returned to Zhao Rui's chest.

  "Alright, since you're a Zhao and have the necklace in hand, I'll make an exception this time." The old man surprisingly agreed with him.

  Zhao Ruisheng felt a very unreal feeling and asked hesitantly: "Are you really willing?"

  The old man didn't say a word, stretched out his hand, and Zhao Rui's snow lotus floated into the air.

  Then, the old man pointed with his hand, and there was no sign of any spiritual energy fluctuations. The originally wilted Snow Lotus rapidly regained its vitality.

  In a flash of white light, in the next moment, Xue Lian transformed into a woman wearing a snow-white dress, like a dust-falling fairy, Luo Ningxue.

  Zhao Rui was dumbfounded, this kind of divine ability was indeed against the heavens!

  Could he be the legendary immortal?

  "Thank you for saving me." Luoyin Xue bowed deeply to the old man.

  The old man waved his hand and began to dismiss them: "You can leave now."

  "Yes, yes..." Zhao Rui repeatedly thanked the old man.

  Luo Ningxue couldn't help but ask: "I wonder if Tang Feng, who was hit by my secret technique, is alive or dead?"

  The old man's eyes widened slightly in surprise: "The Tang Feng you mentioned seems to have left this world already. As for the cultivator who was affected by your secret technique, heh heh... if it were in the past, I would definitely be interested in him..."

  Luoning Xue was puzzled and just about to ask something, when the old man waved his hand, and the two of them disappeared from the thatched hut and reappeared on a mountain peak several miles away.

  Just as the two disappeared in an instant, a subtle tremor that no one could sense appeared in the sky.

  A black lightning bolt descended from the sky.

  This black lightning bolt seemed transparent, passing through the clouds, penetrating the mountains, and seeping into the thatched hut, as if it came from a billion miles away in space-time. The things it passed through were unaffected.

  It seems as if everything in the world has nothing to do with it.

  At last, the black lightning struck right onto the old man's body.

  "With a 'zhi' sound, without any power to resist, the old man was struck by the black lightning and his entire body disappeared into thin air."

  Under the night sky, only an empty thatched cottage was left, and the dim yellow light that was about to go out at any moment.