As the golden divine aura screamed, a thin golden wall materialized, separating the middle-aged man and the figure that appeared between him and Elder Gabica.
The middle-aged man's countenance paled, he tried retracting his attack but found out that he was too late. He struck the wall of divine aura, followed by a miserable shriek that cried out.
The middle-aged man was thrown backward and struck the walls of the pavilion, his condition, unknown. The spectator's eyes widened in shock as their mouths hung wide open, they stared right at Khan as if looking at a ghost in broad daylight.
Khan clenched his teeth, feeling the pain all over his body, and his damaged dantian. Earlier, when he was about to activate Emperor's Divide, he siphoned all of the remaining Divine Emperor Qi in his dantian, causing it to lose its main nourishment provider.
Khan then separated then separated the Divine Emperor Qi to fly towards people whom he marked earlier, namely Elder Maverick and the teenager who blocked him earlier.
He also sent the remaining grain of Qi towards the other people who had seen him move within the sect, while the other half was used to materialize the Emperor's Divide.
Resplendent golden light flew across the skies as it struck the souls of all the people he had marked, forcefully erasing all memories related to Khan that they had, all of them shook, as they became unconscious.
The entire sect went into a huge ruckus, because of course, there were some who didn't see Khan nor had any memories regarding him and was unaffected.
Elder Maverick who was currently concocting some pills was struck by the Qi, his pill creation was interrupted and the resulting backlash made him flew backward as he struck the wall, rendering him coughing out blood as he lay there unconscious.
'The Sect is under attack?!'
Almost all of the Elders and even the Grand Elder in the sect had awoken, with their figures swiftly rushing towards the skies as they scoured the area, trying to find the source of these golden Qi.
'Puah!'
A huge mouthful of blood colored the ground crimson red, Khan's figure momentarily swayed as he felt an enormous feeling of tiredness spreading out his entire body.
Biting his tongue, the sharp pain helped him regain momentary control over his body as he clutched the air in front of him. Within a blink of an eye, a small yellowish paper materialized on his clenched palm.
Amidst the shocked gazes of the people around him, he moved towards Lily and snatched her from the middle-aged man's companions whose knees were trembling in fright.
The majestic deterrence coming from the golden divine aura alone made them incapable of any resistance. Khan carried Lily's body who became unconscious thanks to the shock of seeing her grandfather's last moments.
Elder Gabica, although conscious was unable to make heads or tails of anything that just happened and just sat there in astonishment. Khan moved towards the two, as he flicked his wrist, sending the remaining Divine Emperor Qi to remove the memories of those present here about what just happened.
However, he specifically instructed his Qi, when it struck the middle-aged man's head to shatter his soul, rendering him a retard for his life.
With clenched teeth, Khan thought about a certain place in his mind as he threw the yellowish talisman in his hand and shouted.
"Escape!"
The carved words in the paper wriggled as if they were alive, they materialized in the air before Khan as they encircled the three. Khan gave a small smile as he felt the familiar sensation of space being torn apart appearing around him.
A small distortion of spacetime swallowed the three, their figures disappeared, as if they were not even there in the first place. The space that was torn, stabilized itself again, and tranquility had returned...
Grand Elder Ceres frowned, his line of sight turned towards the source of space distortion.
'Teleportation?'
'There was still someone capable of doing that?'
His figure moved, crossing several tens of meters in a fraction of a second as if he was teleporting. But he was not teleporting, it was just a small display of technique, where everyone in the realm of Spirit Tempering could do.
In just a span of several seconds, he arrived in the summit of the fifth peak. The frown on his forehead deepened when he saw the figures of those people who were rendered unconscious.
He moved, appearing before an unconscious man, his Qi spreading through the man's body as he inspected his condition. His eyes narrowed. He didn't detect any anomalies in the man's body, however, his sea of memories was extremely blurry, as if someone had scattered it by brute force.
Keep in mind that a normal person's sea of memories shouldn't look blurry since it contained almost all of the person's memories starting from the day they were born, it should be solid, yet almost intangible to touch.
But the man's sea of memories before him was scattered, it looked more like a smokescreen rather than a solid sea of memories. He divided his Qi sending it throughout all the people who became unconscious and found out that all of them had the same condition.
Unfortunately, his cultivation wasn't enough to determine if there would be any permanent damage to their soul as a result of their scattered sea of memories. He then proceeded to check their pulses, at least, they were still breathing.
But what rendered him in shock was the condition of the middle-aged man whom he recognized as Elder Davies, one of the Elders of the sect. His shock gradually turned into fright as he discovered that Elder Davies' soul was missing.
A numerous swishing sounds echoed behind him as the eleven elders of the sect arrived, they turned towards Elder Ceres and the middle-aged man behind him. The expression on their faces became pale as they discovered that Elder Davies' soul was missing.
This could only mean one thing, since the person that had done this went undetected under their nose this whole time, that could only mean one thing.
The cultivation of the person who attacked their sect was at least higher than all of them! Unfortunately, their Sect Leader wasn't there to help them find the culprit, they could only stand there, dumbfounded, and in panic, as they desperately tried any means to recover Elder Davies' soul.
Grand Elder Ceres countenance looked like he had aged several tens of years in an instant as wrinkles formed around his face. He deeply sighed in sorrow for he knew that his sect had a significant amount of enemies ready to strike them down.
The person who attacked their sect should be one of those sects who held irreconcilable hatred towards them since the option of talking through peaceful means wasn't possible, Grand Elder Ceres could only feel unfortunate about what happened.
Fortunately, the one who attacked didn't attack to annihilate, but to confuse them all.
Khan, the person who perpetrated all of these kneeled on all fours as he spat out several mouthfuls of blood. The muscles on his body twitching in pain, thanks to the hundred thousand years of not moving, his body was incredibly weak.
Although he was still able to move like usual, his stamina was incomparable to what it was before, feeling his incredibly sore muscles, he laid there looking towards the familiar ceiling.
Yes, the place where Khan had escaped into was the place where his Divine Talisman Sect had stood.
Khan slowly stood up, his muscles trembling in protest. His eyes scoured the area. The bodies of the treasure hunters whom he killed were still there since they were still there even though several days had already passed, that could only mean that their operation to raid Khan's tomb was something that they kept to themselves.
Khan gave a small smile as he moved towards one corpse. He subconsciously pointed his finger towards the body, finding out that nothing had happened, Khan could only give a bitter smile. He tried melting the body with his Qi, but since his dantian had withered, and his Divine Emperor Qi all spent, he had nothing to use to melt them.
Next, Khan moved towards the unconscious Elder Gabica and Lily. His muscles furiously twitching as he carried the two towards an elevated circle where the Infinity Coffin stood and laid them inside the Asura Slaughter Formation.
He branded the two with his blood so that they wouldn't be attacked by the live formations in the area.
After he had done all of this, Khan's eyes closed, and with a loud bang, he fell unconscious, his condition unknown.
An unknown amount of time had passed, feeling a warm pair of hands on his body, Khan's eyes slowly opened.
Before him, was a familiar face that expressed genuine worry. With an aquamarine hair and black eyes that sparkled like a gem, although her countenance was covered by dirt, a person could still conclude that she was a real beauty.
Khan moved his upper body up, A small cry of relief came from Lily as she spoke.
"You're awake!"
A pair of hands hugged Khan's body as he felt a familiar warmth that he once felt several hundreds of years ago. Khan who was still in the arms of Lily, slowly shook his head, his emotions scattering to the wind along with Lily releasing her grip on Khan.
Khan looked towards Lily who was now fidgeting, her eyes darted around the area, her head hung low, as she didn't dare to look straight at Khan.
"Hmm?" Khan gave a questioning gaze towards Lily as he titled his head in confusion.
Lily took a deep breath, as she spoke in a voice that seemed to dissipate in the air.
"Thanks for helping us..."
However, how could it escape Khan's perception, although he was now crippled, his trained senses still helped him know about what Lily had said.
"Don't be so awkward, it was nothing." Khan gave a small smile and rubbed his hand on Lily's head, making the maiden's countenance as red as a tomato. A pink and dreamy atmosphere that was clearly out of place was forming between the two.
But before they were about to indulge in their own world, a small dry cough interrupted the two as their bodies jolted, Khan swiftly retracted his hand and turned towards the source of the voice as if nothing had happened.
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There, he found Elder Gabica, his countenance pale, and his eyes had a yellowish tint in it, paired with his yellowish white hair, he looked like a candle struggling to survive through the passing wind.
"Who are you?" Elder Gabica spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Grandpa!" Lily spoke in protest.
"Quiet, Lily!" Elder Gabica rebuked.
"Who are you? and what is this place?" Seeing that Khan's eyes towards him weren't filled with ill-intent. He spoke in a more gentle manner as he asked.
Numerous scenarios were simulated inside Khan's mind as he thought about his response, however, within a fraction of a second, he still decided to reveal his true name, since Elder Gabica and Lily was his benefactor, he didn't hesitate to tell the truth.
"My name is Khan Paradyne, and this is where the Divine Talisman Sect once stood." His voice had a tinge of sorrow as he spoke.
His eyebrows frowned when he noticed that Elder Gabica and Lily's countenance became filled with surprise.
"Paradyne?! Your surname is Paradyne?!" Even the already hoarse-voiced Elder Gabica couldn't help but shout. But afterward, he violently coughed, prompting Lily to help her grandfather.
"Hmm? Yes, my surname is Paradyne, is there something wrong?" Khan spoke in an uncertain tone.
"Is there something wrong you say? Are you kidding me?! You don't know anything about your origins?!" Elder Gabica spoke in a swift and furious tone. Elder Gabica's eyes became filled with rage, amidst Lily's worried gaze, he took a deep breath and said.
"We're leaving! Although I owe you my life, I don't want to get involved with a Paradyne!" He dragged his aged body towards a stack of rocks that was clearly just built.
"Grandpa! Wait! Even if Khan is from the Paradyne family, that does not mean that he has any direct connection towards them! Maybe, Khan is... Khan is..." Lily tried to convince her grandfather, but when she spoke the last part of her sentence, her tone became uncertain until she became unable to say what she wanted to express.
"Khan is what?" Elder Gabica turned towards his granddaughter who didn't dare to look at his eyes.
"Erm... I-I just want you to at least listen to his story..." Lily spoke in a low, but pleading voice.
Witnessing this, Elder Gabica's countenance softened. He momentarily closed his eyes, when he opened it once more. The previous Elder Gabica that Khan witnessed at the Divine Pills Sect was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, a steadfast expression filled his visage, his eyes sparkled like gems, similar to Lily, and was filled with determination.
"What is your relationship with the Paradyne family?" Elder Gabica asked, his face, frosty.
Khan looked towards the pair who was also looking at him with profound gazes, particularly, Lily who looked at him with an expectant gaze. Khan gave a small smile, as he gave a fake identity without any loopholes in it.
Khan told them that he was half a part of the Paradyne family. His mother a normal villager in a remote area that was ravaged by bandits. As he spoke about his village, Khan's eyes became misty, and his tone became filled with bitterness and endless sorrow.
He recounted his 'journey' starting from when the bandits had attacked his village and that he was the only one survivor. When Elder Gabica asked for the name of his village, Khan said that it did not matter, for his village was no more.
Lily's eyes looked misty, as Khan recounted his 'painful experiences' she would turn around with his back faced towards Khan and used her hand to wipe something on her face, along with low sniffing sounds that didn't escape Khan's perception, Lily would then turn back and listen with patience.
Khan then spoke about how he found this ruins, and that he accidentally dripped his blood on the formations here because he was injured, resulting in it becoming his. Although it sounded preposterous to those who had the mind to think, Elder Gabica and Lily didn't refute anything about what he had said, except the times where he had something to ask.
He also emphasized that he was thrown out of the Paradyne family when he went there to pay his respects to his ancestors. When he spoke about this, He could feel the rage bubbling within Elder Gabica and Lily's figure.
Khan ended the story about his 'life' with tears forming on his eyelids, he copied Lily's movements and turned his back towards the two. He 'wiped' his 'tears' as he turned back and gave a tired and bitter smile.
Elder Gabica went beside him and patted his shoulder. Lily didn't pat his shoulder but stared at him with a sympathy filled gaze. Now, it was their turn to speak about their hatred towards the Paradyne family.
As Khan listened towards the two he discovered that the current Paradyne's standing in the cultivation world was at the peak. They were the overlord of the entire cultivation world, however, instead of helping those in need with their power. They would frequently abuse their standing as a member of the Paradyne family, raping young women, stealing, and even killing was okay, for as long as you were a member of the Paradyne family, or has a connection to the Paradyne family.
When Khan heard all of this, veins bobbed on his temples, as he gritted his teeth, and clenched his fists hard. The Paradyne Family whom he had fostered to return kindness with kindness and hatred with hatred was now a tumor of the entire world. Just what did happen when I was asleep?
However, to the eyes of the two, Khan's current expression became an expression of utmost resentment to the family that had abandoned him.
"It's okay, Khan. Someday, someone will definitely avenge us." Elder Gabica consoled him. With Lily nodding in tow.
Khan could only give a bitter smile in regards to this misunderstanding. He couldn't imagine what would happen if they knew that Khan was the first patriarch of the Paradyne Family.
The atmosphere between the three became solemn, the other two had a determined, and fierce expression, while only Khan had an atmosphere that was clearly out of place as he awkwardly gave a 'solemn' look.
However, this did not last long. For a low growl as if it came from a monster in the depths of the abyss had resounded.
"Grrr..."
Khan's eyes darted, yet he frowned, for the formations around the sect wasn't triggered, clearly, there were no invaders. If so, where did that growl come from?
Khan looked towards Lily whose head had hung low, her face became red with shame as she clutched her stomach, trying to prevent the growling voice from coming out.
"I see..." Khan gave a small comment of realization, prompting the maiden to blush even more. Elder Gabica could only smile at the sight of his daughter being embarrassed.
"Now that I think about it, I also feel hungry..." Khan gave a small smile as he moved. His upper body still aching in pain. He endured it as he walked towards the stack of rocks which covered a hole to the outside world.
"Where are you going, Khan?" Elder Gabica asked.
"I'm gonna find some food," Khan said.
"Food? Oh, we have some food, I went outside earlier and found five rabbits." Elder Gabica gave a small smile. He, along with Lily stacked rocks together. Elder Gabica pierced the five rabbits with sturdy branches, as he manifested a fire with his Qi.
Khan gulped a mouthful of saliva when he smelled the fragrant meat being roasted under fire. His stomach gave a small growl, which prompted Lily to laugh and Elder Gabica to smile.
"You were teasing me earlier, but you're also hungry, hmmph!"
"Hahaha, come and eat some, don't be so distant." Lily snorted as she bit on the roasted meat before her while Elder Gabica laughed with mirth as he gestured for Khan to take a seat beside them and eat.
Witnessing this warm feeling of being at home. Khan gave a small smile. Lily stared towards Khan, dumbfounded. For the smile that Khan gave, was filled with mirth, and genuine sincerity.
After they ate, Khan told them that he would go out. Khan walked towards the stacked rocks and moved them aside. Bright rays of sunlight struck Khan's eyes, making them squint. Before him, was a stair that leads outside.
Khan traced the walls beside him with his fingers, as he reached the end of his path, he could see vast amounts of trees surrounding him, the familiar scent of nature enveloping his entire being. Khan couldn't help but squint his eyes in pleasure, savoring this feeling of being one with nature.
Khan's ears twitched. He looked towards the east as the sound of rumbling water became closer and closer. Khan approached, and with the final obstruction being pushed aside, there he found a waterfall.
The crystal clear water and the rumbling sound of it gave Khan a weird sense of relief. After a moment of hesitation, Khan stripped all his clothes and leaped towards the waters with a big splash.
There he made his body float as the impurities that stained his skin disappeared carried along with the rushing current. Khan stood up and took a good look towards his face.
But the scene before him was something that he didn't expect. For he didn't see a middle-aged man, but a youth that was in the prime of his life. The youth reflected before him had fiery reddish hair and black eyes that shone like gems.
His bronze-colored skin shone, glazed with the crystal clear water that came from nature, he looked absolutely stunning.
'What the hell did just happen to my body? Why did I become a teenager?!' Khan furiously thought, but no matter how many reasons he tried. All of them sounded illogical and ridiculous.
Khan gave a small smile of submission as he removed himself from the water and wore his clothes. However, as soon as he took a step forward. An intense feeling of crisis enveloped his entire being.
Khan could see a huge tear in spacetime materializing before him as a decrepit old man leaped out from the black patch of spacetime. Khan could feel an enormous pressure enveloping his body. His knees subconsciously bent down, as he stealthily traced his spatial ring.
The old man's eyes filled with profound wisdom stared at Khan. His voice grating to the ears as he asked.
"Are you the one who attacked my sect?"
Khan understood, for the only sect that he had passed by was the Divine Pills Sect, that this guy must be the current Sect Leader of the Divine Pills Sect.
"So what?" Khan didn't deny it. For someone with higher cultivation, detecting a person's lie was easy as pie.
"Hmmm, interesting, you have quite the guts for admitting it so easily. Earlier, you escaped by using some kind of an artifact right?" The old man spoke with a mocking tone.
'Hmm? He thinks that I escaped using some kind of artifact? Does he not know the existence of talismans?' Khan thought to himself.
"What's the use of talking? You're gonna get some revenge for your despicable sect disciples right?" Khan aggressively spoke, when in a battle, never let the enemy take the initiative.
"Oh... You're quite strong-willed aren't cha? I don't know if you're just stupid, or strong..." The old man purposely lengthened the last part of his sentence as he sent a probing Qi towards Khan.
Of course, the Khan who didn't have any Qi within him was unable to repel this probing.
"Oh, you're just stupid." After detecting Khan's condition, the old man grew even more confident, moreover, his heart became filled with disdain. 'Hmmph! The reason why he was able to scatter the disciple's sea of memories must've been the work of a cursed artifact. If I had that artifact, I could contest against those monsters.' The old man thought as a smile crept across his face.
His fingers slightly twitched as the space in a one-kilometer radius around them was sealed. In a sealed space, escape by teleportation was impossible.
Khan gave a bitter smile. 'what a cunning old man! He is decisive when dealing with people, cutting off their possible routes of escape. Even the place where he is standing right now is subtly blocking my remaining escape route!'
"Since you have such a powerful artifact within your hands, I will not make things hard for you. Just hand me that artifact and I will spare your life. " The old man spoke with a solemn tone, paired with him increasing his pressure upon Khan, it looked like his imposing aura had increased.
But what use was imposing aura against Khan? He who had experienced innumerable amounts of Life and Death battles would not be swayed with this. Khan still stood there, with his knees slightly bent, looking at the old man with caution.
"Oh... quite the willpower there, eh..." The old man gave a small smile, in the next second, his figure blurred appearing behind Khan. Khan reacted by furthermore bending his knees.
The old man slapped Khan's back with his palm, sending Khan flying backward for about several hundred meters. The old man frowned. The force that I used should not be enough to send him, flying that far.
Of course, that wasn't enough. What Khan did was at the last moment when the old man's palm had just struck Khan's back. Khan used his knees as a medium to cushion the force and direct it towards the ground, while at the same time leaping towards the entrance of the Divine Talisman Sect.
The added force gave him enough momentum to fly that far. However, Khan knew that that small distance wasn't enough to shake off the old man.
However, that was enough for Khan to roll towards the underground stairs. The old man trembled in rage. He was tricked! He furiously stamped his foot on the ground as his figure blurred in hot pursuit.
However, when he reached the first step of the stairs. An intangible wall rebounded him back to the ground.
"Petty tricks!" The old man's qi materialized in a fiery fire embued on his fist as he struck the invisible wall before him.
A deep sound rumbled, followed by a miserable shriek, as the figure of the old man became like a rocket that flew backward.
The ground shook as dust filled the air. The old man looked at his hand broken hand, and at Khan who still stood at the second step of the stairs, looking at him with a mocking gaze.
"You bastard! Just wait until I break this artifact of yours, I will let you experience the feeling of wanting to die!" The old man's figure once again appeared before Khan.
But instead of punching the walls, he decided to throw his Qi towards the walls. Rumbling sounds echoed one after another. Lily and Elder Gabica, of course, had noticed this, but they did not dare to find the source, for they felt the suffocating pressure that came from the old man.
The two admired Khan who stood before the old man as if nothing was happening. With each attack, the barrier would flicker with a crimson red glow, seeing this Khan couldn't help but smile as he insulted the old man in his mind.
'Idiot!'