We Can Have a Chat

A bonfire crackled in a small clearing. An unidentifiable beast's meat sizzled over the flames, clearly being handled by an inept cook. Much of it had been charred, and the fat dripping into the fire gave off a burnt stench rather than a savory aroma.

Beside the fire sat an old man in hemp clothes, legs crossed. His face was ruddy, but his snow-white hair showed that he was no longer young.

He watched the meat intently, turning it from time to time. He seemed not to notice that it looked utterly inedible, regarding it instead like some peerless delicacy, his gaze expectant and focused.

A long saber lay across the old man's knees. Its hilt and scabbard were both black, and it seemed quite ordinary. Yet the terrifying fissure stretching for hundreds of miles across the distant earth had been carved by this seemingly ordinary saber!

He was an ascetic who wandered the edge of life and death, setting his own safety aside in pursuit of the ultimate breakthrough. No one knew how long he had been in this forbidden zone; his face was weathered by the elements.

Suddenly, his brows furrowed slightly. Still staring at the meat, he said in a low voice, "Can't you understand when I tell you to get lost? Or do you think my saber can't kill you?"

In the distance, Bai Yang put away his Dharma form and approached with his true body, bringing Little Cat, Qing He, and the others along. He cautiously drew near and said, "Senior, to be honest, I'm an ascetic too. I think we could have a chat..."

"..."

The old man grilling the meat paused, likely speechless and itching to complain.

Who would bring a bunch of beautiful women along to a forbidden zone where you could