58: Chapter 58 Grandpa's Close Friend, Xu Que!

A terrifying power erupted in an instant. This was even with Chu Xiao not using his full strength; if he had struck with full force, the old man before him would likely have kicked the bucket.

"Cough, cough..."

The old man coughed twice and rolled off the wall, his elderly eyes staring at Chu Xiao, filled with astonishment.

He couldn't understand why Chu Xiao, who had previously been confirmed as an ordinary person, now possessed such terrifying power and even had an extremely rare Innate Thunder Spirit Root within his body.

A Spiritual Root is the Origin of a Cultivator, a natural Aptitude one is born with!

From ancient times to the present, no one had ever heard of someone growing a Spiritual Root as an Acquired trait. Perhaps it happened in the primordial era when Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was dense, but it certainly shouldn't be possible now, just as the Spiritual Qi is beginning to recover.

"Old man, are you alright?"

Chu Xiao spoke with a face full of apology. After all, this old man was suspected to be his grandfather's close friend and likely had deep ties with the Chu Family.

Moreover, with the System's prompts, Chu Xiao was well aware that this old man was a Cultivator.

The old man didn't answer. He sat cross-legged on the floor, circulating his internal Spiritual Qi to regulate his breathing. After a few minutes, he finally burst into a hearty laugh: "Good! Good! Good! Truly, the youth are to be feared! Your grandfather can finally rest in peace in the afterlife!"

As soon as these words were spoken.

Chu Xiao's expression changed drastically, and he said in a heavy voice, "What did you say?"

The old man sighed toward the sky and shook his head: "Everyone has their fate, and your grandfather is dead! I came here to fulfill a promise! A promise I made to your grandfather!"

Hearing this, a surge of nameless fire rose in Chu Xiao's heart. He instantly flashed in front of the old man, grabbed him by the collar, and roared, "How do you know my grandfather is dead?! My grandfather was perfectly fine a few days ago..."

The old man's deep eyes stared at Chu Xiao as he said, "What's the rush, kid? Can't you let an old man finish speaking? You have the exact same temperament as your grandfather! It's quite annoying!"

Chu Xiao calmed down slightly. He turned his head to look at Chu Lingyin nearby; the girl was having a great time playing with the Golden Tortoise and the Golden Snake.

"Forty years ago, your grandfather Chu Jianghe and I met in the ancient Secret Realm of the Kunlun Mountains. We hit it off immediately, shared wine and laughter, and viewed each other as soulmates! We even became sworn brothers!"

"Later, I cast a divination for him. The hexagram said... yesterday! Yes! Just last night, he would die at the hands of the beloved disciple he personally raised for many years!"

"At the time, your grandfather was dismissive. He felt that divination and fortune-telling were unreliable, just some unorthodox paths. He told me that a man's fate is held in his own hands!"

"But I told him that a man's fate is predestined by heaven! Since he didn't believe it, we made a bet. If I lost, I would call him 'Grandpa' three times!"

"If he lost, he would have to call me 'Grandpa' three times!"

"In the blink of an eye, forty years have passed..."

"Last night, I cast another divination for your grandfather. The hexagram showed that he... is already dead!"

As the old man spoke, he pulled a flask of wine from his robe and took a swig. His weathered eyes were full of memories and sighs, as if everything had returned to that night years ago.

The sky that night was brilliant with stars. Beside a campfire, a young Taoist and a young Spirit Catcher laughed and talked freely, dreaming of the future. They shared each other's secrets, discussed the Dao together, and spoke of their beliefs, each trying to convince the other.

The young Taoist never started a Family; he had long ago divined that he was destined to be alone. If he were to marry and establish a career, he would surely bring misfortune to others.

Meanwhile, that young Spirit Catcher inherited his Family's will, exploring famous mountains and great rivers to find the last remaining spiritual items in the world to suppress a certain being.

The old Taoist spent his life wandering, penniless and destitute, yet free and easy.

The Spirit Catcher was constantly busy, starting a Family and building a career, achieving a position of great power...

"So, all of this is just based on your divination? You didn't actually see my grandfather die with your own eyes?" Chu Xiao lowered his voice and let go of the strange old man.

The old man chuckled, "So, you don't believe in fate either?"

Chu Xiao was silent for a moment: "Fate is determined by heaven, but man can conquer heaven! I don't believe Grandfather would die just like that! Unless I see it with my own eyes!"

Clearly, this answer was not outside the old man's expectations. He smiled and nodded, saying, "Well said, well said! You said exactly what your grandfather said back then! But you are different from him! You are more ruthless than your grandfather! You, kid, can achieve great things! If your grandfather had your personality, he wouldn't have met such an end!"

Chu Xiao didn't speak again.

He sat on the sofa.

Alone, staring blankly at the floor...

The old man actually died?

How is that possible!

A perfectly fine, normal old man—how did he suddenly become some Spirit Catcher and get killed by his own disciple?

Thinking carefully, the grandfather in his memories was indeed very mysterious and often went out.

Especially those things in the room in the backyard...

Connecting all these events together.

Chu Xiao knew this old man couldn't be a fraud, but the claim that his grandfather was dead was something Chu Xiao couldn't accept.

However, Chu Xiao's heart didn't feel much panic.

He had already prepared for the worst. Even if Grandfather really was dead, so what?

At worst, he would just sacrifice to resurrect him!

Thinking of the Sacrificial Resurrection Technique, Chu Xiao found it a bit difficult again. Although this secret technique was profound and could be called a Heaven-Defying technique.

The conditions for implementation were also very harsh. It required the sacrifice of a blood relative of the deceased, and the practitioner would also suffer a certain degree of backlash, perhaps even divine retribution.

Divine retribution wasn't particularly scary!

After all, he was a man with a System. No matter how powerful the Heavens were, if they pushed him too far, he wasn't someone to be trifled with.

Except for this blood relative part...

The Chu Family had been sparsely populated for generations, and now there were very few relatives left. Even if there were, Chu Xiao wouldn't use his own Family members' lives for a sacrifice.

This was problematic!

Specifically, to perform a sacrificial resurrection on the deceased, the primary condition was to find the body, and within three days was best.

Once it exceeded three days, or if the body was incomplete, it would be difficult to fully execute this secret technique.

Bringing the dead back to life was much harder than achieving immortality.

Chu Xiao sat there, lost in thought.

The slovenly old man, meanwhile, picked up various snacks and began wolfing them down. While eating, he said, "Become my disciple. I'll teach you the methods of cultivation! Within three years, you'll definitely be able to avenge your grandfather! What do you say?"

Chu Xiao glanced at him.

[Name: Xu Que (Slovenly Taoist)!]

[Age: 68!]

[Background: Loose Cultivator, (Unknown!)]

[Cultivation: Peak Foundation Establishment!]

[Specialties: Picking up girls, begging for food, fishing, setting traps, fortune-telling, physiognomy, formations, Alchemy, talisman making, Seven Stars Sword Technique, Acupoint Sealing, Puppet Arts, Corpse Refining...]