Dominating Aura

The old man let out a long groan. His eyelids fluttered a few times, then slowly opened.

At first, he was dazed. Then an unprecedented sense of comfort surged through every part of his body, like a riverbed that had been dry for decades being filled by a sudden downpour. He instinctively moved, but instead of the usual aches and stiffness, he felt filled with explosive strength.

"This... What is this..." The old man abruptly sat up and stared at his hands in disbelief. Most of the age spots had faded, and his skin had regained some elasticity. It was no longer as withered as tree bark. He could feel the vitality in his body rising like bamboo shoots after the rain, until he was even stronger than he had been at the peak of his youth!

How could this be mere healing? It was a complete rebirth, a gift of a new life!

He jerked his head up. He saw Xuanyuan gazing tenderly at Xiao Xi, and the few "living dead" nearby, their eyes vacant and drool hanging from their mouths. Fragments of memory flooded back. The old man shuddered, scrambled over to Xuanyuan, and without the slightest hesitation, tried to bow his head to the ground.

"Immortal..."

But his forehead never touched the ground. An invisible, gentle force held him up, keeping him from bowing no matter how hard he tried.

"My people don't kneel to me." Xuanyuan's voice had returned to its usual calm, as if the cold god who had just ruled over life and death had been an illusion. "You took a blow for me. This is what you deserve."

A fair exchange. The debt was settled.

His logic was simple and pure, yet it left the old man even more shaken. What surged in