439: Chapter 439 Why Not Avoid It?

"Senior, we've arrived."

"Due to health reasons, the elder of our family finds it inconvenient to move about. I must trouble Senior to walk a few extra steps."

Within the imperial palace, Zhou Yan was being led toward a side hall by a young man wearing a python robe.

Originally, they were accompanied by eunuchs and guards, but as they approached the side hall, those people stopped in their tracks, leaving only the youth in the python robe.

"Please, Senior. Once you cross the main hall, you will see a large gate. That is where the Old Ancestor resides. It is inconvenient for me to follow further."

"I will wait here until Senior comes out."

After saying this, he bowed deeply, but Zhou Yan caught him by the arm to stop him.

"This might be a bit forward, but can you tell me why you have no cultivation?"

The man was taken aback for a moment, then responded with a smile.

"I do not care for cultivating the Dao or seeking immortality; I prefer researching Daoist techniques and national construction. Besides, I am living very well right now and do not lack for lifespan."

"Perhaps when I am old and fear death, I will set foot upon the path of cultivation."

The young man's smile was gentle, and an outsider wouldn't have noticed anything amiss, but Zhou Yan's Six Desires Heaven could sense a trace of sadness.

"You've accompanied me all this way, and I find you quite likable. Can you tell me your name?"

The young man grew slightly wary upon hearing this, but then relaxed a bit.

"My surname is Liu, given name Yin, and my courtesy name is Tingyi."

"Well then, enough talk. Please proceed, Senior."

Zhou Yan looked at Liu Yin, who bowed again. This time he didn't stop him, but instead turned and walked into the hall.

No matter how he looked at it, Zhou Yan felt something was wrong. He wasn't sure if it was because he'd stayed in this place too long or if it was the effect of his newly acquired Law of Karma.

He no longer needed direct physical contact to see the faint color of Liu Yin's fate.

Initially, seeing the fate didn't seem like much, but when he swept his gaze over, he realized this person actually had no cultivation.

Since he couldn't rule out issues like poor Aptitude making it difficult to enter the Dao, Zhou Yan hadn't asked much before.

But on second thought, the man's Luck was so thick that his Aptitude shouldn't be bad either. Out of curiosity, Zhou Yan took the opportunity to make contact, which completely confirmed the man's Aptitude and Luck density.

He had a Dual Spiritual Root, and his Luck was abnormally thick, rivaling that of the little Emperor Song Yan he had met in the Kaifeng.

Since the man said he would only start cultivating in old age, that meant the time until Great Liang's downfall wasn't far off. Being in a high position, old and frail, and having no time to Cultivate—no matter how one looked at it, he shouldn't be a match for this kind of Luck and fate.

Could it be that Great Liang also had masters of Qi-observation who had long ago seen through his situation, which is why the Emperor of Liang was suppressing him?

If such a person truly existed, they could only be from the Dao Sect.

"Is this the imperial family? Their social circle is too messy."

Shortly after stepping into the hall, Zhou Yan felt a sense of viscosity in the surrounding space. The further he walked, the greater the spatial distortion. By the time the space stabilized, he was no longer in that empty hall.

Before Zhou Yan stood a structure similar to the walls of an imperial Kaifeng. Looking left and right, he couldn't see the ends, and it was also extremely tall.

Embedded in this wall-like structure was a large black-and-gold gate. The purity of the gold seemed quite high.

"Eh?"

"It didn't open?"

Zhou Yan stared at the motionless gate in a daze, but in the next moment, the gate opened on its own, revealing an old man standing at the entrance with an equally surprised expression.

This old man had white hair and a youthful complexion, with a square face as well. However, compared to the Emperor of Liang, Liu Yi, his features appeared much sharper.

And he was still wearing that same black Daoist robe engraved with golden runes.

"Why were you trying to slide the door sideways?"

Zhou Yan rubbed his nose, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Uh, personal habit, personal habit."

As soon as Zhou Yan stepped through the gate, it closed automatically behind him.

Then, firelight flared up. Under the reflection of the flames, countless glints of gold sparkled, far exceeding the amount of gold and silver he had seen at Ma Hao's grave.

Looking at this massive amount of gold and various mineral Materials, with the feedback popping up on his panel one after another, Zhou Yan almost started drooling from greed.

He really felt like he had discovered a new continent. This...

Hum—!

A humming sound rang out as a golden light flashed. The firelight flickered, plunging the room into darkness for a split second.

When the light returned, there was only the old man holding a longsword with a calm expression, and an equally calm Zhou Yan.

Holy crap!

I've been discovered?

He's trying to one-shot me right off the bat?

Zhou Yan appeared calm on the surface, but his heart was already in a state of shock.

Just now, combat mode had triggered instantly, followed immediately by the evaporation of over four million of Zhou Yan's HP out of thin air.

After using the Physique card again, Zhou Yan's health bar had reached the 4.9 million mark, not far from five million.

But even so, his current health was down to less than ten thousand.

Usually in combat, it was a case of him being one-shot or him one-shotting others. The last time Zhou Yan had felt this kind of pressure from HP control was when facing that 'sunny boy' Wang Yao. He hadn't expected to encounter it again.

Zhou Yan's mind was in a mess; he didn't know why the other party was doing this.

Did he see through his fake cultivation and want to intimidate him?

Or was he just testing me?

But the man made no further move, and the mini-map still showed him as neutral.

They just stood there in a stalemate. If this continued any longer, his health would start regenerating on its own.

However, it was because of this stalemate that Zhou Yan had time to look at the panel that had just appeared for the other party.

[Liu Dan]

[Realm: Void Refining Late Stage (Old Method)]

[Vitality: One with the Law]

[Mana: One with the Law]

Seeing this panel, Zhou Yan almost broke into a cold sweat. This was a huge mess. The Late Stage of Void Refining should be among the strongest group of people in this era, right?

Seriously, why is there a top-tier server player here!

Already nervous, Zhou Yan became even more tense. He was ready at any moment—if the other party made a move, he would immediately commit suicide, switch to his female character, and launch the Saint's flying boat.

What Zhou Yan didn't know was that Liu Dan was even more panicked than he was.

Just now, the moment Zhou Yan stepped in, Liu Dan had planned to strike first to test the man's depth.

His sword strike had originally incorporated the Law of the Sword and the Law of Gold.

To block it, the opponent would either need a massive amount of a single Power of Law or a combination of multiple Laws.

Because it contained two Laws, even someone who had just reached Void Refining could take it, though they would appear to struggle.

But what he didn't expect was that when Zhou Yan saw the sword strike, he didn't even dodge. He even had a face full of confident smiles.

This made him uncertain for a moment.

But he knew that if this strike landed solidly without any resistance, even a Void Refining Middle Stage cultivator wouldn't be able to take it.

While this would confirm the other party was a fraud, he himself would have to bear the backlash from the unknown amount of Karma and national destiny on the man's person.

At that thought, he hastily withdrew the Power of Law, but it was too late to pull back the sword itself.

This Magic Treasure, which had just been enchanted by dual Laws, could heavily injure an ordinary Early Stage Void Refining cultivator even with its power greatly reduced. If a Soul Transformation cultivator were here, they'd basically die if it touched them and be crippled if it grazed them.

Fortunately, at the last second, he diverted the angle. According to his calculations, only the tip of the sword should slightly graze him, which shouldn't be fatal.

But as Luck would have it, Zhou Yan took another step forward at that exact moment, entering the optimal attack range.

Just as Liu Dan thought a tragedy was about to occur, Zhou Yan stood there completely unscathed, with not even a scratch on his dharma robes.

This scene completely dumbfounded Liu Dan. Despite living for so long, he had rarely seen someone who added no protection whatsoever and relied entirely on their Physical Body to resist an attack.

And Zhou Yan was the only one among them who acted as if nothing had happened after being struck—no signs of rapid healing, not even a single drop of blood spilled.

What's the situation?

Why didn't he dodge?

Why wasn't he injured?

Why didn't he even bleed?

Liu Dan's elderly brain was filled with giant question marks.

He never once considered the possibility that Zhou Yan simply hadn't reacted in time.

Now, he had already labeled Zhou Yan as a great Body Cultivator expert. Combined with the man's various behaviors, he might truly be an Immortal descended to earth or a Reincarnation, with a cultivation of at least the Middle Stage of Void Refining.

"Why didn't you dodge?"

After a long silence, Liu Dan asked, somewhat dazed.

"Because I am not afraid."

Zhou Yan spoke with a face that was only 'mostly' calm.

As soon as he finished speaking, the longsword in the other man's hand dropped to the ground. Then, the man's eyes filled with admiration and excitement. He stepped forward quickly, grabbed Zhou Yan's hands, and said sincerely,

"Please, you must join the Great Liang Dynasty!"

Huh? Me?

Zhou Yan, who hadn't kept up with the plot yet, was still thinking about the conspiracy theories from just now. He hadn't expected things to develop like this in such a short time.