Chapter 632: Another Old Man, What's True and What's False

When a powerful Skill that could originally only be maintained for thirty seconds—a skill used to preserve one's life or slay a powerful enemy—became something that could be permanently sustained.

Jiang Chen could no longer imagine just how much his strength had been Amplified.

He felt that even leveling up three or five times wouldn't bring such a huge improvement.

The only pity was that the fusion degree wasn't high enough, only fifty percent.

If he wanted to increase the fusion degree further later on, it would be much harder than the first time.

"This is already good enough, I can't be greedy!"

"Stop while the going's good; being too greedy will lead to trouble."

Jiang Chen warned himself that everything must have its limits.

He felt as if the space around him had twisted for a moment.

A wondrous fragrance entered his nose, a warm sun shone on his body, and all his fatigue seemed to be swept away.

When Jiang Chen opened his eyes again, he found that he had already returned to the pavilion.

Back in the pavilion once more, after that round trip, his soul level had improved considerably, and his senses had become sharper.

Within the pavilion, aside from an ancient, vast atmosphere, there was also a sense of heaviness.

Previously, Jiang Chen's mind had been on the assessment, so he hadn't observed it carefully.

Now that the assessment was over and he had fully obtained both Skills, his mind was completely relaxed, and only then did he sense the heaviness hidden within the ancient vastness.

"No. Aside from the heaviness, there's also a trace of killing intent."

Jiang Chen frowned slightly; he had truly sensed that killing intent.

There could be no mistake.

This pavilion was a weapon—one that had been on a battlefield, had killed enemies, and had seen blood.

Not a few people had been suppressed and killed by it, and all of them were strong.

Otherwise, this killing intent would not have lingered for countless years without dispersing.

Just like the aura the Dragon Race had left on his body, this was also an aura left behind by a strong person before death.

"Young friend, your guess is not bad."

Suddenly, a voice came from ahead. Jiang Chen looked over and saw that not far outside the pavilion, a stone table had appeared at some unknown time.

An old man sat by the table, and tea had been brewed on it.

The fragrance of the tea drifted over along with the voice.

The Secret Realm was already filled with a wondrous fragrance, yet that wondrous fragrance still could not mask the tea's aroma.

This tea was extraordinary!

Jiang Chen had drunk quite a few fine teas before, and the teas at Li Xueru's place were all top-grade without exception.

But compared to this, they fell far short.

Jiang Chen walked out of the pavilion and approached. Only when he got close did he clearly see the old man's appearance.

He was instantly stunned on the spot. It took him a few seconds to react, and he quickly bowed to him in greeting. "Greetings, Senior."

The old man was the very one who, riding a green ox in the starry sky, had waved his hand and instantly killed countless powerful beings.

Jiang Chen had once suspected that the old man was the legendary Laozi of Huaxia, but he dared not ask.

The old man wore a smile. "Young friend, do you have many questions?"

Jiang Chen nodded, but immediately shook his head.

The old man's smile did not change. "Young friend both nods and shakes his head. The nod is instinct—you want to ask. The shake is restraint—you dare not ask. You fear that the more you know, the sooner you'll die."

Jiang Chen looked at the old man with shock; his own thoughts had actually been guessed by him.

If it was truly a guess, that would still be fine. But if it wasn't a guess...

Cold sweat had already broken out on Jiang Chen's back.

The old man continued, "Young friend is thinking, if this old man guessed it, that's still fine. But if this old man didn't guess it, then that would be rather terrifying."

He knew again!

Jiang Chen's heart skipped a beat. He stopped thinking any further and simply said directly, "Senior, please stop teasing this junior."

The old man pointed at the stone stool by the table. "Sit down, have some tea."

Jiang Chen shook his head. "With Senior before me, this junior dares not sit. This junior will stand."

The old man said, "Then you want this old man to keep looking up to speak with you?"

Jiang Chen gave an awkward smile again and immediately prepared to sit down.

Before sitting, he suddenly picked up the teapot and poured a cup for the old man and one for himself.

The tea was colorless, like clear water.

Yet its fragrance permeated the air.

Jiang Chen sat down, stared at the tea in his cup, and couldn't help but praise, "This tea is extraordinary."

The old man laughed heartily. "You haven't even tasted it, so how do you know this tea is extraordinary?"

Jiang Chen said, "The tea's fragrance assails the nose; even the wondrous fragrance of the Secret Realm cannot suppress it."

"And?"

Jiang Chen mustered his courage and continued, "Also, tea has a color, but this tea is colorless. It has fragrance yet no color, which further proves that this tea is out of the ordinary."

The old man nodded with a smile. "Though it's all nonsense, I'll count it as you passing. Since you say this tea is extraordinary, then drink it."

"Thank you, Senior, for your generous gift!" Jiang Chen did not hesitate and directly picked up the tea and drank it.

The tea was like clear water, without any taste.

The tea liquid did not go down his throat but turned into vapor directly in his mouth.

Then a stream of pure energy rushed straight toward his soul.

The Nine-Colored Dragon Soul Crystal showed no reaction, allowing this stream of pure energy to enter the soul.

The soul felt as if bathed in sweet rain, an indescribable sensation of comfort washing over it.

The soul's level rose sharply, increasing by one level almost in the blink of an eye, reaching Level 92.

The higher the soul level, the more difficult it becomes to raise.

It had taken him a long time to go from Level 90 to Level 91, but from Level 91 to Level 92 took only the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

"Senior, your methods are truly beyond comprehension." Jiang Chen couldn't help but admire, from the bottom of his heart, with utmost sincerity.

He had already realized that before the old man, any petty tricks of concealment were useless.

It was better to be straightforward and open, which would actually be more beneficial.

If the other party truly bore him ill will, there was no need for trouble; a single glance would suffice.

The old man asked, "Now you're finally sincere. A perfectly good child, why grow so many schemes?"

Jiang Chen gave a bitter smile. "There are too many mysteries in this world that I cannot solve, and I always seek answers. Some answers cannot be obtained without a bit of cleverness."

"The so-called mysteries in your eyes are as clear as a mirror to me. Do you know why?" the old man asked.

Jiang Chen now answered whatever came to mind, since he couldn't hide it anyway. "Strength, realm, experience."

The old man was fairly satisfied with Jiang Chen's answer. "Not bad. So then?"

Jiang Chen continued along the old man's line of thought. "So there's no need to use too much cleverness, nor to seek answers too early. When strength is attained, when the realm is reached, when experience broadens, the answers will naturally come."

The old man hummed in acknowledgment and took a sip of tea. "Master one principle, and a hundred principles follow. There's no need to force it; the more you force it, the more inferior it becomes."

"You only need to maintain a pure heart and keep climbing higher, and the answers will naturally appear."

Jiang Chen's eyes lit up. "This junior will remember that."

The old man continued to ask, "Do you know why Ghost Husband wanted to kill you?"

Jiang Chen heard the name Ghost Husband for the first time and immediately realized that Ghost Husband was the old man who had presided over the assessment earlier.

Jiang Chen shook his head. "I don't know, but this junior feels it should be related to my second Source Skill."

The old man nodded. "Then have you ever doubted whether the Starry Sky Ancient Road you saw before was real or not?"

Jiang Chen spoke truthfully. "I had my doubts, but my intuition told me it was real. You really did annihilate countless experts with a wave of your hand."

The old man laughed. "Since that's the case, and Ghost Husband claims to be my servant, how dare you still disobey him?"

Jiang Chen gave an awkward smile, knowing his little trick hadn't fooled the other party. "This junior just didn't want to give up the Source Skill, and at the same time, didn't dare to offend him."

Ha ha ha ha!

The old man laughed, laughing very happily.

Jiang Chen suddenly felt that the man called Ghost Husband also laughed like that.

It should be said that Ghost Husband's laugh was imitating the old man before him.

It wasn't just the laugh; every move Ghost Husband made was imitating the old man before him.

But he only imitated the form, not capturing the spirit.

Every move the old man made was perfectly natural, with a sense of the Dao following its own course.

While Ghost Husband seemed somewhat forced, which was one of the reasons Jiang Chen had suspected him earlier.

After laughing a few times, the old man spoke again. "You're very clever. You started suspecting him early on."

"His words were a mix of truth and falsehood. The truth is that I did put him in charge of managing the Assessment Space. The falsehood is that he is not my servant."

"He wanted to kill you, and that was indeed because you wanted to obtain the second Source Skill."

"That's because of a bet I made with him. As for what the bet was, do you want to know?"

Jiang Chen shook his head rapidly. "No. You said that when strength, realm, and experience are attained, the answers will naturally come."

The old man laughed again. "Good, good, good. Applying what you've learned—you really are quite impressive."

Jiang Chen said sincerely, "Thank you for your guidance, Senior. This junior will keep it in mind."

The old man said, "I will now give you a chance to ask a question. You may ask one question, just one."

"No matter what the question is, I will answer truthfully."

The old man's meaning was clear: he wanted to see what kind of question Jiang Chen would ask.

If he asked something too deep, even if answered, Jiang Chen wouldn't understand, and it might cause trouble.

If he asked something too shallow, it would only disappoint him.

It had to be said that this single question was another test.

Jiang Chen thought for a moment, then mustered his courage. "Can I really ask anything?"

"Yes. Ask, and I shall answer." The old man slowly savored his tea, eyes closed, listening faintly.

Jiang Chen took a deep breath. "Ghost Husband wanted to kill me because of the second Source Skill. This junior wishes to know the reason behind it."

He spoke cautiously, while closely watching the old man's expression for any change.