The instant Hong Fu met those eyes, an uncontrollable tremor rose from the depths of his soul.
What kind of gaze was that?
A moment ago, it had been gentle as warm sunshine, but now it was like an eternal night without stars or moon.
Like an ant that had inadvertently looked up and seen a god in the heavens.
But he had lived in comfort for too long.
Or rather, the Hong Household, and even the whole of Purple Firmament Heaven, had lived in comfort for too long.
So long that they had almost forgotten even the most basic instinct for survival.
Although he instinctively sensed danger now, his long-standing arrogance and limited understanding made him forcibly suppress that shudder.
So what if he could not see through this man's cultivation?
He was a member of the Hong Household of the Middle Three Heavens!
Their patriarch was even at the late Mystic Immortal stage, only a step away from becoming a Golden Immortal!
At that thought, Hong Fu straightened his back a little more.
"Sir, I am Hong Fu, of the Hong Household in the Middle Three Heavens..."
"Quiet."
Si Chen interrupted him, uttering that single word softly. It was no roar, yet it carried the force of a decree from the Heavenly Dao.
The instant his voice fell...
Hum.
The cries of vendors, footsteps, the wind, even the distant stream...
Every sound vanished.
Everyone on the street froze. Some opened their mouths to speak, some slapped their throats in terror, and some desperately sucked in air.
Countless cultivators lost their voices at the very same instant.
The entire world fell silent.
"Hee-haw?"
Gray Gray tilted its head and looked around, confusion written all over its donkey face.
Why had everyone stopped talking?
It tried braying again. "Hee-haw-!"
Its