12: Chapter 12 One Finger Can Determine the Universe, the Ancestor's Divine Power

The young girl was so frightened by Wang Tianba's lewd actions that she shrank back, her eyes filled with terror and disgust.

She struggled, trying to pull away, but was firmly held by the shoulders by two quick-witted servants nearby.

"Let me go! Let me go!" Her voice was choked with tears, helpless and desperate.

Wang Tianba greatly enjoyed the thrill of his prey struggling. He took a few pieces of broken silver from his bosom and tossed them in front of the girl; the silver clattered crisply against the bluestone pavement.

"From now on, you are this young master's person." He grinned hideously and reached out, grabbing directly at the wooden sign on the girl's chest. "As for this... it's an eyesore!"

He wanted to tear off the wooden sign that read "Selling myself to bury my father" and smash it to pieces.

This action was not just an insult; it was trampling upon the last shred of a young girl's dignity.

The onlookers around them either shook their heads and sighed or turned their heads away, unable to bear watching, yet not one dared to speak up to stop him.

Just as Wang Tianba's hand was about to touch the wooden sign, a steady voice rang out from the crowd, unhurried and calm.

"Stop."

The voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable penetrating power that clearly reached everyone's ears.

Everyone followed the sound and looked over, only to see a man in his fifties, wearing an old long gown and with a refined, lean face, slowly walking out from the crowd.

Wang Tianba's movements paused. He narrowed his eyes and looked impatiently at this suicidal meddler.

"Where did this old thing come from, daring to meddle in this young master's business? Tired of living?"

A servant behind him immediately understood and stepped forward, pointing at Gu Yan's nose as he cursed: "You old immortal, don't you see this is our Wang Family's young master? Get lost quickly, or watch out for us breaking your dog legs!"

Gu Yan ignored the clamoring servant, his gaze landing calmly on Wang Tianba.

Wang Tianba was initially full of disdain, but when he looked closely and saw Gu Yan's face, his expression changed abruptly.

"It's you?!" he exclaimed involuntarily.

He remembered!

Yesterday, when Steward Wang Fu was carried back, bruised and swollen, he had described the appearance of the person who had attacked him.

An old thing from the Gu Family who had rejuvenated and become only fifty-something years old!

New grudges and old hatreds surged into his heart instantly.

"So it was you, you old immortal!" The hideous grin on Wang Tianba's face became even more ferocious. "I let you luckily escape a disaster yesterday, and today you dare to deliver yourself to your death?"

"Just as well, it saves this young master from having to go to your dilapidated house to find you!"

He waved his hand and issued a cruel order to all the servants behind him.

"Get him! Break all four limbs of this old thing! I want to make him kneel here and watch how I play with this little beauty!"

"Yes, Young Master!"

Seven or eight servants responded in unison, their faces filled with bloodthirsty excitement. Waving the sticks in their hands like a pack of hungry wolves, they lunged fiercely toward Gu Yan!

The young girl who was being held down opened her eyes wide in terror and let out a short scream.

The onlookers around them retreated one after another, fearing they would be caught in the crossfire. In their eyes, this meddling old man was likely going to die on the spot today.

However, facing the sticks raining down from all directions, Gu Yan stood his ground, not moving an inch.

His face remained as calm as an ancient well, as if these aggressive, vicious servants before him were nothing more than a swarm of buzzing flies.

Just as the wooden stick in the front was about to smash onto the top of his head.

He finally made a Move.

He slowly raised his right hand and extended an index finger.

There was no earth-shattering Aura, no flashy or dazzling Move.

His action was understated, just like an old man from next door pointing out the scenery in the distance.

He pointed gently at the servant rushing in the front, from several steps away.

An invisible and intangible Qi, completely unseen by the naked eye, burst forth from his fingertip.

The hideous grin on that servant's face froze abruptly before it could fully bloom.

He felt as if his chest had been violently struck by a charging rhinoceros. A vast, irresistible force penetrated his chest and ran through his entire body.

Crack!

The bones in his chest emitted a teeth-grinding sound of shattering.

"Urgh ah—!"

A shrill, off-key scream erupted from his throat. His tall body, as if all its bones had been extracted, flew backward limply.

Behind him were two other companions who had rushed up.

The two felt a gale rush towards them, and before they could see what had happened, they were violently struck by their companion's heavy body.

The three of them rolled on the ground like gourds, screaming and tumbling together, knocking over who knows how many stalls, before finally crashing seven or eight meters away, unconscious.

A single finger.

Just a single finger.

Without even touching the other party's body.

The scene, which had just been noisy and violent, instantly fell into an eerie silence.

Everyone was like a duck whose neck had been strangled, mouths agape, unable to make a single sound.

What had they just seen?

Immortal means!

This was definitely a technique only legendary Immortal Masters possessed!

The remaining few servants who were halfway through their charge stopped dead in their tracks. They could no longer hold the sticks in their hands, and with a "clang," they all dropped to the ground. Their faces were ashen, and their eyes, looking at Gu Yan, were filled with unprecedented fear as their legs uncontrollably shook violently.

The hideous grin on Wang Tianba's face had long since vanished without a trace, replaced by a deathly, ashen pallor.

Although he was a prodigal, he was not a fool.

Injuring someone from a distance!

This was something only an Immortal Master at the Qi Refinement Stage could do!

This old immortal from the Gu Family, not only was he not dead, not only had he rejuvenated, but he had actually become a cultivator?!

Immense fear gripped his heart.

The only thought in his mind was to flee!

The further away from this monster, the better!

Without a second thought, he turned and ran.

However, the moment he lifted his foot, a figure appeared before him silently like a ghost.

It was Gu Yan.

Wang Tianba's pupils instantly contracted to the extreme.

He wanted to scream, wanted to beg for mercy, but found that his throat seemed to be blocked by something, unable to make any sound.

He could only watch helplessly as Gu Yan's finger, which felt like a life-taking Talismanic Incantation, extended once more and continued to enlarge in his field of vision.

Finally, the finger, without a trace of mortal Aura, gently tapped onto his right arm.

Crack!!!

A shattering sound, crisper and louder than any previous bone-breaking, suddenly rang out in the silent market.

Wang Tianba's entire right arm twisted and hung down in a bizarre manner that defied human anatomy.

The bones inside his arm had already been pulverized into dust by the seemingly gentle, but in reality, incomparably domineering True Qi!

"Ah—!!!"

The delayed, pig-slaughtering scream finally erupted from Wang Tianba's throat.

Clutching his limp arm, he rolled on the ground in pain, snot and tears covering his face; gone was any shred of the evil young master's imposing manner.

Gu Yan withdrew his finger and looked down at him from above, his tone flat but carrying an unquestionable majesty.

"Scram."

"If there is a next time, it will be your life that I take."

The surviving servants felt as if they had been granted amnesty. They did not even bother to pick up the sticks from the ground; they hurriedly helped the still-screaming Wang Tianba up from the ground and fled the market in a panic, scrambling away as if chased by evil ghosts.

Not until their figures completely disappeared around the street corner did the frozen atmosphere in the market slowly loosen.

Everyone's gaze converged on Gu Yan.

In their gazes, there was no more discussion, no more speculation.

Only deep... awe.