Chapter 494: Everything Has Changed

Song Yi's conjecture was entirely correct; this was the very reason Zhang Nuo did not alert the Song family, choosing instead to leave quietly on his own!

Several days later, when he arrived near Shenjian Peak, he felt a heavy heart looking at the mountain shrouded in clusters of yin energy! How magnificent the Divine Sword Sect had been in those years, but looking at it now, everything had changed!

At the same time, he could not help but admire the power of the Master, who was actually able to turn a mountain rich in spiritual energy directly into a place of cultivation filled with yin energy!

After wandering around Shenjian Peak for several days, Zhang Nuo still could not see any cultivators coming out from the Great Underworld Mansion! Without obtaining the exact location of Jin Buhuan, Zhang Nuo absolutely dared not act rashly, because he only had one chance; once the Master was alerted, it would surely be a great battle, and at that point, wanting to kill Jin Buhuan would no longer be so simple!

His purpose in coming this time was to seek revenge, not to fight the Master! As for what plans the Great Underworld Mansion had, that was none of his concern!

After a few more days passed, Zhang Nuo truly had no other options, and suddenly he remembered his former small village! Because he was afraid of being reminded of the past, he had not dared to go near that place during this time!

Now, with no clues and feeling frustrated, he slowly walked toward Heiniu Village! He hid all the spiritual power fluctuations on his body! Zhang Nuo was just like a mortal, walking along a small path!

This road led to Heiniu Village, and as his mood grew increasingly heavy, the past surfaced in his heart once again; the scenes of him laughing in the fields with his father as a child appeared one by one!

Before he knew it, a dilapidated, ruined temple appeared before him; this was exactly the place where he had met Zhu Tong. Things remained but people had changed, and the ruined temple was almost nothing but a pile of rubble! Standing in place, staring blankly at the ruined temple, suddenly a not-so-weak fluctuation of spiritual power came from the direction of the village!

Zhang Nuo's heart gave a violent jolt! Ever since that Blood Sacrifice incident, no one had lived in the village; who could be inside at this time?

Quickening his pace, Zhang Nuo carefully rushed toward the village, and just as he reached the halfway point, a stream of spiritual power like water surged into the sky, disappearing into the heavens in the blink of an eye!

That radiance was quite strong, at least something emitted by a Golden Core Stage cultivator! Seeing that spiritual light, Zhang Nuo's heart pounded wildly! He felt it was very familiar! It was just like! Just like the light emitted by Lin Fan's Lishui Sword!

That was indeed the Sword Qi of the Lishui Sword! After confirming this in his heart, Zhang Nuo approached the village even more cautiously, countless thoughts surging in his mind!

When he arrived at the edge of the village, he saw a man in his fifties entangled in a fight with several men in black! The unique attire of the men in black allowed Zhang Nuo to recognize them at a glance as cultivators from the Great Underworld Mansion, and that man looked somewhat familiar at first glance; when he looked closely, Zhang Nuo almost cried out in surprise!

Although this person's face was a bit older, it could still be seen that he was Lin Fan! Zhang Nuo's master from back then! However, Lin Fan's cultivation had only improved by one small realm over these few hundred years, reaching the Golden Core Late Stage level! There were six cultivators surrounding Lin Fan, two of whom had reached the Golden Core Early Stage, while the rest were all at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage!

They set up a strange Array, trapping Lin Fan firmly within it; despite Lin Fan's all-out efforts to break through, it was of no use, and it looked as if he was about to be trapped to death in the hands of these six people!

Zhang Nuo's eyes grew a bit moist; having not seen him for many years, his master had aged a lot, but the Lishui Sword in his hand was still flashing with spiritual light, its power undiminished from those years!

A murderous intent suddenly flashed through his teary eyes! Now that Lin Fan was right before his eyes, he could not let the people of the Great Underworld Mansion kill him no matter what!

Thinking of this, Zhang Nuo's figure flashed like lightning to the front of a Foundation Establishment Stage Great Underworld Mansion cultivator, his fingers flicked lightly, and a streak of Sword Qi shot out; only a scream of "Ah!" was heard! The cultivator's heart was pierced through by the Sword Qi, and he fell to the ground and died instantly.

The other five saw another cultivator appear, and before they could even react, Zhang Nuo flicked his robe sleeve, and several points of cold light flashed out; on the bodies of the remaining five, a transparent blood hole appeared in the chest of each person!

The corpses fell to the ground, staining a large area red! Lin Fan was stunned by this sudden turn of events! However, the scene before him made it clear that someone had stepped in to save him!

At this moment, he was standing with his back to Zhang Nuo, and feeling the immense Spiritual Pressure coming from behind him, he guessed that the person who had acted was at least a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator!

"Many thanks to the senior for saving me! This junior will surely..."

As he turned around, Lin Fan was speaking, but when his gaze landed on Zhang Nuo, his words stopped, and his body froze in place like a wooden statue.

The cultivator in front of him was very young, looking only twenty-something, but how did this face feel so familiar! It was just like his little disciple Zhang Nuo's!

"Master!"

Zhang Nuo looked at Lin Fan, who was much older than before, and felt a pang of soreness in his heart! If Lin Fan hadn't taken him in back then, he probably wouldn't be where he was today!

As the word "Master" left his lips, Lin Fan was completely dumbfounded! He could not imagine it! This was the Zhang Nuo from back then! Over a hundred years ago, he had heard that Zhang Nuo had fought against the Five Great Demon Mountains on the Tianjiang Plain, and his fame had been renowned for a time! After that, Zhang Nuo went to the Immortal Illusion Continent, and there had been no news of him since!

"Are you really Nuo Er?"

Lin Fan's hands trembled, and he could barely hold onto the Lishui Sword in his hand! Zhang Nuo stepped forward a few paces and grabbed him to steady him!

"Master! It's me!"

Hearing the affirmative answer, Lin Fan looked up and let out a long howl! It was as if the resentment that had been suppressed in his heart for a long time had all been released!

"This is not a place to talk! Let's leave first!"

Looking at the corpses all over the ground, Zhang Nuo flicked his robe sleeve, and several purple electric arcs shot out, blasting the corpses on the ground into powder, then he took Lin Fan and transformed into a streak of light, flying toward the distance!

Only after flying out of the sphere of influence of Shenjian Peak did Zhang Nuo land back on the ground! Looking at the stunned expression on Lin Fan's face, a warm current rose in his heart!

He and Gao Dakuan and the others had been searching bitterly for Lin Fan, never expecting that he had been right around Shenjian Peak the whole time, never having left!

"You have entered the Spirit Severing Stage?"

From the flight along the way, Lin Fan felt the change in the Spiritual Pressure on Zhang Nuo's body, and a bold idea arose in his heart!

"Yes!"

Zhang Nuo nodded heavily, not hiding it!

"Oh my! This... this is truly the good fortune of my Divine Sword Sect! After the founding patriarch, another Spirit Severing Stage cultivator has emerged! Senior, please accept a bow from this junior, Lin Fan!"

Not knowing if Lin Fan was happy or if he had seen hope, he got up and wanted to kneel and bow to Zhang Nuo! Zhang Nuo hurriedly stopped him!

"A teacher for a day is a father for life! How can a master pay respects to a disciple? Regardless of whether I have advanced to the Spirit Severing Stage, even if I were at a higher realm, am I not still your disciple?"

Looking at Zhang Nuo's earnest appearance, Lin Fan revealed a knowing smile!

"Master, how have you been getting by all these years?"

"It's a long story! Come, I'll take you to see someone!"

After speaking, without waiting for Zhang Nuo to react, Lin Fan took him and flew in one direction; after about two days of travel, the two landed on an inconspicuous small mountain! Then they walked to the front of a Cave Abode!

This Cave Abode was very hidden; even if Zhang Nuo hadn't used his Divine Sense to probe, he absolutely would not have discovered it! Breaking the Restriction in front of the Cave Abode, the two walked inside!

"Why did you only just return? You worried me to death!"

Just as he walked into the Cave Abode, Zhang Nuo heard a woman's voice! This voice was familiar, and when he saw the woman's face, Zhang Nuo was stunned; she was actually the Second Elder of the Divine Sword Sect from back then, Xiao Jingxuan! At this time, she was clearly much older as well, but compared to Lin Fan, the change was not too significant!

Upon seeing Zhang Nuo, Xiao Jingxuan was also slightly taken aback, but in an instant, she felt the powerful pressure radiating from Zhang Nuo!

"Who is this senior..."

Xiao Jingxuan asked Lin Fan, looking very puzzled.

"Don't you recognize him? He is Zhang Nuo!"

Lin Fan introduced him to Xiao Jingxuan with great joy!

"Zhang Nuo? That little disciple of yours?"

This time, even Xiao Jingxuan could not accept this fact! It was very common in the Cultivation World for a disciple's cultivation to exceed their master's, but for it to exceed it by this much all at once was very strange!

Feeling the spiritual power fluctuations on Zhang Nuo, it was at least the Nascent Soul Late Stage Great Perfection realm!

"Nuo Er has already advanced to the Spirit Severing Stage! His cultivation is the same as Patriarch Deng's from back then!"

Lin Fan said to Xiao Jingxuan very mysteriously! The two seemed quite intimate; this made Zhang Nuo feel very surprised—could it be that these two had become Dual Cultivation partners?

The astonished Xiao Jingxuan did not notice Zhang Nuo's strange gaze at all; she tried her best to open her eyes as wide as possible, wanting to see Zhang Nuo more clearly!

"Aunt-Master Xiao, there is no need to look; I have indeed already entered the Spirit Severing Stage!"

The title 'Aunt-Master Xiao' pulled Xiao Jingxuan's thoughts back! She hurriedly waved her hands and said:

"This form of address must never be used again! You are already a senior at the Spirit Severing Stage! I cannot bear such a title!"

Zhang Nuo smiled faintly and did not say much more; the three of them sat down in the main hall of the Cave Abode, and looking at the surrounding environment, Zhang Nuo discovered that this Cave Abode was extremely simple, as if it had been excavated only recently!

"Hehe! Nuo Er, we only moved here a few days ago! In order to avoid the pursuit of the Great Underworld Mansion, we have to change locations frequently!"

Seeing the questions in Zhang Nuo's heart, Lin Fan explained.

"Could it be that Master has not left the vicinity of Shenjian Peak all these years?"

"Correct! That day, after the two of us saw with our own eyes the Sect Master self-destruct his Golden Core, we made up our minds that we must avenge the Sect Master, so we have been living around Shenjian Peak! However, our cultivation is low! For over a hundred years, we have not found an opportunity for revenge, and in the end, we were even targeted by people from the Great Underworld Mansion!"

As he spoke, a burst of killing intent suddenly erupted from Lin Fan's lonely eyes!