—Holy shit!
The air nearly froze solid in that instant.
Lu Chen could even hear the thump-thump of his own heart inside his chest.
Each beat was heavy and frantic, as though it might burst out of his chest at any moment!
When had this old man appeared?
How had he made no sound at all?
Separated by only a few steps, the two stood perfectly still and stared at each other. It was as though someone had pressed pause on the world around them.
—Whoosh!
A cold wind swept past, and the old man finally moved.
Lu Chen's heart tightened. Just as he was about to will himself back to the hotel, the other man moved with astonishing speed, passing straight through his soul body and coming to a silent stop before the ancient cypress.
"Could it be that he isn't looking at me... but at this cypress tree?"
Lu Chen grew a little bolder and carefully stepped in front of the old man, waving a hand before his eyes.
Yet the man's eyes remained fixed on the ancient cypress. His lips moved in a mutter, though no sound could be heard, and he showed no reaction at all to Lu Chen's actions.
"That scared the life out of me!"
Only then did Lu Chen let out a long breath.
He had almost thought he'd been exposed...
But what exactly was this old fellow chanting?
He frowned at the old man's lips, unease quietly rising in his heart.
—Rustle, rustle.
At that moment, the ancient cypress's branches and leaves began to tremble faintly without warning.
Lu Chen's pupils constricted, and he immediately activated the Lunar Dharma Eye once more.
He saw the shimmering divine radiance flowing through the cypress suddenly rush from every part of the trunk toward its