The tolling of a bell echoed in their ears, and Emptiness had already begun to change.
A figure slowly emerged.
The man wore a plain Daoist robe, simple in cut and devoid of ornament. His face was refined, his features picturesque, and his bearing detached and unrestrained, as ethereal as an immortal. He stood in the void with his hands behind his back, his indifferent gaze sweeping over everyone present.
That single glance sent a chill through every cultivator's heart.
"Something is wrong with this man."
Luo Chuan halted his attack, his gaze sharpening slightly. He could not discern the depths of the man's cultivation, yet he sensed an indescribable danger.
It even felt a little like facing a Dao Venerable.
Wuxie withdrew the Blood Spear as well. His scarlet eyes narrowed slightly, and an excited smile appeared on his face. "Ever since I entered this Grotto-Heaven, I've felt an inexplicable unease. I suppose you were its source."
Ji Heng retreated to Chu Mo's side and warned him, "Fellow Daoist Chu, something is wrong with this Daoist. His aura resembles the Qi-Gathering Dao, but how could a Qi-Gathering Spirit Transformation cultivator live this long?"
Chu Mo nodded slightly. His judgment matched Ji Heng's.
Whether they practiced Qi-Gathering or Receiving the Register, Spirit Transformation cultivators could not live this long. This Grotto-Heaven should have been left behind in the Primordial Era. Even if it had an owner, that person should have died long ago. If the original owner's descendants had survived here to this day, it hardly made sense for there to be only one.
As he pondered this, Mystic Daoist moved. A tremendous aura abruptly spread from his body. Like the heavens collapsing and the earth overturning, it bore down in a vast, crushing wave. Ripples visible to the naked