"Where is he?!
Where is he?!
He was just walking there a moment ago, how did he suddenly vanish without a trace?"
After discovering Gu Qingfeng had disappeared, Lei Lie widened his eyes, searching everywhere. When he couldn't see him, he immediately released his divine sense to probe, but no matter how he searched, his eyes saw nothing, and his divine sense detected nothing—it was as if he had vanished into thin air.
"How could this be?"
Lei Lie was dumbfounded, standing there in a daze, at a loss.
And he wasn't the only one.
The white-haired Elder, the handsome man, the serene woman, and the stern-faced man who had appeared alongside him at the same moment Gu Qingfeng vanished all released their divine senses to probe, just like Lei Lie. Yet no matter how they probed, they could never detect Gu Qingfeng's trace.
This left them both unable to comprehend and utterly baffled. Had they not witnessed it with their own eyes, they might not even have dared to believe it was real.
Especially Lei Lie.
Originally, he had been traveling with a group of brothers aboard a Xuantian Great Vessel, heading for the Lingluo Heavenly Domain. Passing through the Jinyang Heavenly Domain, they decided to step out for some fresh air and visit the Trading World to buy some resources. After browsing the Trading World for seven or eight days, they were just about to return to the Xuantian Great Vessel when they were attacked by demon beasts.
Although quite a few demon beasts had appeared, fortunately, there were also many passengers aboard the Xuantian Great Vessel, and among them were no lack of experts, so no one was injured. It was only after returning to the great vessel that he realized one of his younger brothers hadn't come back. So, he led some men out to search.
When he found his younger brother, the youth was already exhausted, his immortal energy depleted, and he was being chased by a demon beast.
Lei Lie hurried as fast as he could, but he was still a step too late.
Yet what he never expected was that just as he thought his younger brother was doomed, a mysterious man suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Not only did he save his younger brother, but with a mere wave of his hand, that demon beast was utterly annihilated, reduced to ashes.
One must know that demon beast was a Ring-Patterned Azure-Horned Beast, whose strength was so formidable that even a Great Luo Golden Immortal who had achieved the Five Luminosities Unity was no match for it. Even he, a Golden Immortal at the peak of Nine Luminosities perfection, wouldn't dare claim he could handle a Ring-Patterned Azure-Horned Beast.
Yet that mysterious man had merely waved his hand, and the Ring-Patterned Azure-Horned Beast was reduced to ashes.
Lei Lie had originally thought this mysterious man must be some kind of expert, at least a Great Desolate Spirit Immortal or something. But what he never, ever anticipated was that the mysterious man was not only not a Great Desolate Spirit Immortal, he wasn't even an Immortal at all—he was just a Mortal with no cultivation and no destiny.
Truly just a Mortal.
At first, Lei Lie couldn't believe it. For this reason, he specifically probed several times and was absolutely certain the mysterious man was merely a Mortal with no cultivation and no destiny.
Not only could he confirm it, but the white-haired Elder, the handsome man, and the serene woman could all confirm it as well.
But that was all they could confirm.
None of them could fathom how an ordinary, common Mortal could annihilate a Ring-Patterned Azure-Horned Beast with a mere wave of his hand.
What was even more unbelievable was that just now, all of them had seen clearly: the mysterious man had merely lifted his foot, and before it even touched the ground, he had vanished without a trace. No matter how they searched or probed, they couldn't find him.
What was this?
Could it be spatial teleportation?
Speaking of spatial teleportation, while it wasn't some incredible great divine ability, these people all knew how to perform it.
The problem was, this was the vast and boundless Great Desolate.
Anyone with a bit of common sense knew that performing spatial teleportation in the Great Desolate was a taboo. Once it caused spatial fluctuations, being swept into spatial turbulence meant certain doom.
A Mortal not only understood the divine ability of spatial teleportation but also dared to use it recklessly in the Great Desolate?
This...
"Could it be that I, Lei, saw wrong just now?
He wasn't a Mortal?"
Lei Lie scratched his head, utterly unable to make sense of it. He turned and looked at the white-haired Elder and the others.
"He possessed neither any cultivation nor any destiny. He was neither Immortal nor Buddha, nor any kind of demon or monster," the stern-faced middle-aged man said, his expression also clouded with worry. "As for whether he was a Mortal...
that remains unknown."
"No cultivation, no destiny, not an Immortal or demon, not a monster or ghost—if not a Mortal, then what?"
"But if he was just a Mortal, with no cultivation and no destiny, how on earth did he annihilate a Ring-Patterned Azure-Horned Beast?"
"Yes! Why?"
Lei Lie looked at the white-haired Elder, cupped his hands, and asked, "Elder Huang, you are a senior of high standing, widely experienced and knowledgeable. Could you offer some guidance? What kind of existence was that mysterious man who saved my younger brother just now?"
The white-haired Elder addressed as Elder Huang gazed in the direction where Gu Qingfeng had vanished, his brow deeply furrowed as if pondering something. After a long moment, he finally spoke: "In this Present Antiquity Era, all things are reviving. Many ancient great powers have also broken their seals one after another, awakening and returning. Perhaps...
the man just now was one of those legendary ancient great powers who broke their seals and awakened to return."
"An ancient great power?"
Lei Lie opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately didn't speak. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but he was too frightened to dare.
One must know that those worthy of being called great powers were without exception figures who dominated the scene and shook the Great Desolate with their might.
Such existences were themselves already powerful beyond comprehension.
If the word 'ancient' preceded 'great power,' it wasn't just about being powerful beyond comprehension, but terrifying beyond comprehension.
In the Great Desolate, a saying had always circulated:
When the great calamity descends, the great powers in the heavens slumber, the great powers underground seal themselves.
The so-called great powers in the heavens referred to the great powers within the Great Dao, such as the Five Wisdom Kings of the Western Buddha Dao, or the Three Pure Ones and Four Sovereigns of the Nine Heavens Immortal Dao. Because before the great calamity descends, the origin of the Great Dao becomes extremely weak, forcing them to enter seclusion to protect the Dao origin.
As for the great powers underground, they referred to those sinful great powers, such as the old evil demons of the Nine Netherworlds, the old monsters of Hell, and so on.
Because when the great calamity descends, heaven and earth will judge all sin. Hence, those sinful great powers had no choice but to seal themselves away.
"Saying he was an ancient great power might be a bit of an exaggeration," the stern-faced man said. "However...
his situation does remind me of a certain kind of existence."
"What existence?"
"Have any of you heard of the two words 'Shangren'?"
Hearing the stern-faced man mention 'Shangren,' the others all fell into deep thought.
Regarding legends about Shangren, they had all heard some.
They knew that in this heaven and earth, every era would always produce a few extraordinary individuals. These people were neither Immortal, demon, monster, nor Buddha, nor were they within any Great Dao. Though they were Mortals, they were extraordinary, and each possessed vast divine abilities. Such people were hailed as Shangren.