CHAPTER 372: CHAPTER 326

Lan Tian returned to the Hua Hall, silently rejoining Mr. Mo’s side. Mr. Mo glanced at Lan Tian, his smile amiable as he reminisced with the other elders.

Bai Qingqing noticed Lan Tian by Mr. Mo and slowly made her way over, subtly nudging Lan Tian aside. She did it stealthily, and with the hall crowded with people, no one noticed her maneuvering. Lan Tian didn’t mind and thought it was merely due to the crowd.

Peacock and the others saw her and blinked at her, but unfortunately, Lan Tian did not share a telepathic connection with him and couldn’t understand the meaning in his eyes. Zhang Shenjing, however, was heading their way.

At that moment, the raucous garden outside suddenly fell silent, the music and singing all stopped.

"What’s going on?" The dancing men and women gradually came to a halt, looking around in confusion.

"Who knows? It just stopped all of a sudden."

"The music just stops without a warning; what’s this all about?"

"Hey, did you all notice? The waitstaff are all gone." Someone suddenly remarked.

"Yeah, really, the waitstaff disappeared; what happened?"

...

It wasn’t just outside where something had gone wrong. In the Hua Hall as well, all the waitstaff had withdrawn in the instant the music stopped, yet nobody realized just yet.

"What’s going on outside? It’s so noisy."

The commotion from the garden outside was even audible to those in the Hua Hall. Mr. Yang frowned, querying his grandson beside him.

"I don’t know." Yang Lan shook his head, directing someone to go out and investigate while he stayed put.

Like Mr. Yang, many in the Hua Hall were puzzled and in succession, people began stepping out to inquire about the situation. Lan Tian and her group, which included Mr. Ji, Ye, Yang, Zhang, Hua, Zhao, and other elders from the Ji Faction, were among the largest there.

"Good evening, everyone. I apologize for the sudden interruption of the music and for any disturbance to your enjoyment. Please don’t be alarmed or frightened; it isn’t an accident." At the garden’s left pavilion, now serving as a makeshift podium, a man had appeared at some point, dressed in a black tailcoat, holding a microphone, and smiling at the crowd below.

Hearing the host’s voice outside, people from inside the Hua Hall came out, with Mr. Ji rising and heading outside. Mr. Mo and several others followed suit, leaving Lan Tian and the younger generation no choice but to accompany them.

Seeing the person on the stage, Lan Tian didn’t express much surprise, as if it were an anticipated event, a lifeless puppet.

"I’m very glad you all could take time out of your busy schedules to attend the host’s party. Many may wonder who could be hosting an event that brings together the Four Major Families of Hidden Dragon Mountain. You must be very curious, right? Now, please welcome the host to the stage."

Suddenly, the fire in the garden’s Lighthouse flared up, burning fiercer than ever, as a spotlight illuminated the path beside the pavilion. The quiet path echoed with the crisp sound of high heels on the floor, drawing everyone’s attention, listening to the sound and growing tense without realizing it.

Yet, Lan Tian’s gaze was on something above. Looking at that fist-sized Moonlight Stone, she pursed her lips – such a grand gesture. She felt a little mix of envy and resentment; thinking of her meager possessions, not a single Spirit Stone to her name, she had a particular contempt for wealth and desired to claim the fine things she saw for herself.

In her previous life, she had a portable dwelling filled with numerous treasures; Moonlight Stones as big as basketballs were piled up, and she wouldn’t even spare a glance for fist-sized ones. But in this life, she had nothing, so poor she thought about committing burglary, but in this realm, there were no other cultivators besides herself.

To obtain Spirit Stones, Lan Tian was willing to go all out.

Lan Tian’s thoughts wandered wildly, and suddenly she heard a series of gasps. Coming to her senses, she looked around.

On the quiet path, four stunning beauties approached leisurely. They wore their hair in the complicated Flying Immortal Ancient Bun, dressed in radiant, ancient red garments, with white scarves draped over their elbows, their foreheads adorned with red plum blossom hairpins, each carrying a vermillion lantern, their long skirts dragging gracefully along the ground. They moved with such enchanting charm, as if fairies from a painting, breathtakingly beautiful.

"It’s them," recognized Hua Kongque and her companions at once. The fairies approaching on the path were none other than the sisters of Tian Yuying.

"We couldn’t find them no matter how hard we searched; turns out they knew the owner of the manor," Hua Kongque and her friends realized with a look of sudden enlightenment. It was normal for them not to find Tian Yuying and her sisters because the master of the house had hidden them; how could they possibly be found?

Following Tian Yuying and the others was an old man with an aged, dragon-like appearance, his hair covered in white frost. He hunched over, supporting himself with a purple cane, and staggered forward, each step taken extremely slowly as if he might collapse at any moment, causing onlookers to anxiously fret for him.

Upon seeing the elder, Mr. Ji’s demeanor became solemn and respectful as he made his way through the crowd to greet him. Not just Mr. Ji, but the patriarchs from the other three families of Hidden Dragon Mountain also stepped forward.

However, the unbelievable happened.

Before everyone’s eyes, the white-haired elder transformed with each step he took. His hunched body straightened, and after three steps, he tossed aside his cane and stood upright. The frosty white of his hair slowly turned back to black, and his wrinkled, chrysanthemum-like face grew younger. By the time he reached the pavilion, he had become a handsome young man, with the looks of a man in his twenties.

He wore a bright red, embroidered ancient attire, his long black hair topped with a jade crown, and his peach blossom eyes narrow and slightly upturned. His deep eyes were like a serene pool, undisturbed and profound. His straight nose and thin lips, slightly pursed, held a smile that was yet not a smile as he casually observed the crowd below.

The audience below were dumbstruck, gawking at him and unable to recover their senses.

Such a stunningly beautiful man was like an Immortal, making males feel ashamed of themselves, and prompting unnatural blushes to appear on the women’s faces as they admired the man on the stage, their clear eyes filled with the warmth of spring.

Before them, an old man on the verge of entering his coffin had rejuvenated... please pardon their limited imaginations; they could not conceive of such a thing.

From childhood, they were taught that there are no ghosts or gods in this world, only science to believe in. Suddenly faced with a phenomenon that science could not explain, should they still trust in science?

It must be a trick, right?

This wasn’t a play; they didn’t see him attaching a fake beard, nor removing makeup. They watched with their own eyes as he slowly grew younger. Was he an Immortal? Many suspected so.

Lan Tian was also shocked; she couldn’t see through the man’s cultivation. Only a high-level cultivator at the Nascent Soul Stage who practiced Spells could achieve such Rejuvenation.

Lan Tian glanced at him and immediately lowered her gaze, concealing the scrutinizing look in her eyes. High-level cultivators were known for their fickle nature, capable of taking a life with a mere wave of their hand, and the dead would have no place to reason their case, dying in vain.

Hmph!

The cultivator on the stage gave a light snort, like a great thunder roaring in their ears, causing a buzzing sound that left their minds blank. Those with weak willpower fainted on the spot, and this was him being merciful.