Chapter 424 - 361: Reuniting with Old Acquaintances, An Elder Powerhouse

"Lord Chen, it’s been a while!" Liu Ziming was quick to change his tune. Though arrogant, he was no fool. Chen Ping’an’s rise to power was undeniable. Even the Liu Family Patriarch would have to be polite in his presence, let alone someone like him.

Chen Ping’an sized up Liu Ziming with a smile. "Young Master Liu, on the path of the Martial Dao, to not advance is to fall behind. We cultivators must press forward with sharp determination! Don’t let yourself stagnate and dither, wasting your precious time.

Too much complaining will only tear you apart. It’s always best to take the long view!"

With that, Chen Ping’an dropped the curtain and settled back inside the carriage.

"Let’s go."

"Yes, My Lord." Yuan Zutong respectfully complied. He glanced at Liu Ziming before urging the carriage forward.

Liu Ziming stood rooted to the spot, lost in a daze.

The two Liu Family Clan Elders at his side looked at Liu Ziming, then at the departing carriage, and exchanged a wordless glance.

...

Chen Ping’an had a good impression of Liu Ziming. ’Despite being a descendant of a Noble Family, he doesn’t have the typical airs of one. We’ve met twice before, and I found him quite interesting. That’s why I didn’t mind offering him a bit of guidance this time. Whether he can truly absorb it or not, well, that will depend on his own fortune!’

Sometimes, you can know a principle perfectly well, but hearing it from someone else feels completely different than just knowing it yourself.

The carriage drove to the exit of Beicang Town and came to a stop. A line had already formed at the town’s exit. It wasn’t particularly long, but it wasn’t short either.

Apparently, upon learning that the town’s lockdown had been lifted, many people, like Chen Ping’an, were eager to leave as quickly as possible. Including the days before the auction, some of the longer-term visitors had been stuck here for over a month.

"My Lord, I’ll go check on the situation!" Yuan Zutong announced. After receiving Chen Ping’an’s permission, he headed toward the line at the exit.

The carriage remained where it was, but with their escort of Guards nearby, no one dared to approach recklessly.

"Quite a few people," Chen Ping’an said as he lifted the curtain, taking in the surrounding scene.

The area was extremely lively, filled with the ceaseless din of conversations and clamor. Many people seemed incredibly excited; clearly, the news of Beicang’s reopening was a great psychological relief for them.

The gloom that had hung over them for days was swept away in an instant!

Chen Ping’an’s gaze traveled further, toward the head of the line, where the elites of the Beicang Garrison stood. Each one was burly and broad-shouldered with sharp, piercing eyes, strictly inspecting everyone leaving the town.

Hm!?

As Chen Ping’an scanned the crowd, he spotted two figures in the line who seemed faintly familiar.

...

"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH..." In the line, an old woman, her body almost completely enveloped in a gray robe, couldn’t help but break into a fit of violent coughs. The coughing was so forceful that it sent her whole body into a tremor.

"Mother, it’s time to take your medicine!" a sweet voice called out, laced with worry and urgency. The speaker was also shrouded in a robe, with only a fair, delicate hand visible as she continuously patted the old woman’s back.

The old woman tremblingly took a Jade Bottle from her robes, tipped out a pill that was a deep, faint blue all over, and swallowed it in one gulp.

After taking the medicine, the old woman regulated her breathing for a good while before her coughing gradually subsided.

"Mother, are you feeling any better?" the young woman at her side asked with concern, rubbing the old woman’s back.

"Much better," the old woman replied, her expression bitter and her brow tightly furrowed. "I’m old... so old. If this had happened twenty years ago, I wouldn’t be suffering like this..."

In that battle, she had forcibly used a Forbidden Technique of the Five Poison Earth Fiend Palm, suffering a backlash that left her gravely injured. Even now, more than half a month later, her injuries showed little sign of improvement. The backlash from the toxic fiend energy would flare up from time to time, and she could only suppress it with medicinal pills.

To this day, the old woman’s heart still trembled with fear when she recalled that battle. ’If Ying’Er hadn’t achieved a breakthrough right before the fight,’ she thought, ’we probably would have died there!’

’That Vajra Giant was truly terrifying! He clearly hadn’t stepped into the Grandmaster Realm, yet he possessed the astonishing combat power to suppress an ordinary Grandmaster!’

’If I had known, I never would have made a move. Not even for a Quasi-Divine Weapon right in front of me would I have taken such a risk.’

’My rash action nearly led to a catastrophe.’

’If it had just been me, it would have been one thing. I’m old and decrepit, just a wretched life to be thrown away! But I almost got Ying’Er killed!’

’Even now, though we were lucky to escape, Ying’Er’s Enchanting Bell was taken, and I was left so gravely injured that I may never recover!’

"Mother, you’re not old at all!" Lan Yingjun consoled her from the side.

The old woman glanced at the young woman beside her, smiled, and said nothing.

She had lived for more than 180 years. For someone in the Pseudo-Master Realm, this age wasn’t actually considered too old. She should have had at least another sixty or seventy years to live. But...

In her youth, she had taken a twisted path in her arduous cultivation of the Five Poison Earth Fiend Palm. The Earth Fiend energy had entered her body, and the five poisons had assaulted her heart, causing her lifespan to be far shorter than others of the Same Realm. In her current state, she likely had twenty years left at most.

Now, after suffering such a grievous wound, her remaining years would likely be even fewer.

’I refuse to accept this!’

A wave of resentment washed over the old woman as she thought about the irreversible, twisted path she had taken. If not for that, with her talent, she might have truly become a Grandmaster! Even when she forcibly used the Forbidden Technique of the Five Poison Earth Fiend Palm, although her age was a factor, the backlash shouldn’t have been so severe.

"Ying’Er, your talent is far greater than your mother’s. Moreover, your cultivation of the Five Poison Earth Fiend Palm is on the correct path. As long as you keep going like this, even I can’t foresee the heights you’ll reach! I just wonder if I’ll live long enough to see you become a true Powerhouse, renowned throughout the lands."

"Mother, what are you talking about? You’re going to live for a very long time. Of course you’ll see it!" Lan Yingjun said sweetly.

The old woman just smiled without replying, her gaze fixed on the young woman.

As the two spoke, faint fluctuations of True Qi surrounded them, preventing anyone else from hearing their words.

During their conversation, as if by a stroke of insight, Lan Yingjun sensed something and suddenly turned to look behind her. Standing on an all-black carriage was a man with heroic features, and he was looking right at her.

’Mang Blade, Chen Ping’an!’ Lan Yingjun recognized him instantly. His name had been circulating widely throughout Beicang Town these past few days—the one who cut down an Evil Master of the Profound Light Middle Realm and earned considerable fame!

’Peak Profound Light Middle Realm combat power! That’s enough to be proud of among the younger generation. A pity... he’s still a huge distance away from a true prodigy!’

Lan Yingjun had once challenged him, only to be flatly refused. She had even wondered what Chen Ping’an’s reason for rejecting her might have been.

Now, with his great fame spreading through the town, his combat power was actually a bit higher than she had imagined.

’But it doesn’t matter,’ she thought. ’Whether his true strength was previously comparable to the Profound Light Middle Realm or is now close to that of an Absolute Master, he would still only know defeat before me!’

Her previous challenges to other prodigies, where she staked her very self, were merely to cheer her mother up and make a name for herself throughout the world.

But with her mother so gravely injured, Lan Yingjun was in no mood to challenge prodigies one by one. She wouldn’t have the heart for it until her mother recovered from her wounds.

The most urgent task now was to help her mother recover as quickly as possible. Challenging prodigies could wait.

After just a single glance, Lan Yingjun withdrew her gaze.

Her combat power was enough to dominate the younger generation, and even the youth generation, but before the truly powerful elders, she was still so fragile, so vulnerable.

In that battle, her mother had been gravely wounded, and she herself had been on the verge of being suppressed on the spot. At the time, her opponent had been completely shrouded in Golden Light, like a god descending from the heavens. His attacks were sharp and domineering. Under his relentless bombardment, she could only flee in disarray. The slightest misstep would have resulted in her being pinned beneath him and brutally savaged.

If not for the Enchanting Bell buying her time, she likely would not have escaped.

In the end, the Enchanting Bell fell into her opponent’s hands. And with his final grab, her clothes were torn, leaving her nearly naked and utterly humiliated.

A so-called "favored daughter of heaven," before an old-generation Powerhouse like that, was nothing more than a lamb to the slaughter.

At this thought, Lan Yingjun’s resolve to grow stronger hardened once more.

’Get stronger. I must become even stronger! Only with strength can I protect Mother!’

’Mother is old now. She can no longer shelter me from the wind and rain like she did when I was a child. From now on, it’s my turn to protect her.’