Chapter 53: The Sanctuary of Hollow Judgment

Huan Yue's eyes were wide with shock. As she listened to the villagers shouting, she couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

Any one of these spirit beasts, if taken out into the Tianwu Realm, would probably create a huge stir. To eliminate just one of them, at least a supreme-level cultivator would have to act—otherwise, no one could possibly stand against such creatures. Yet here and now, these spirit beasts were being butchered so ruthlessly by a group of villagers wielding nothing but knives, and not only that, they were about to be eaten! If Huan Yue and the others hadn't witnessed the scene with their own eyes, she would never have believed it, no matter what anyone said.

“It’s all… it’s all because Master is here,” Ruofeng declared with conviction.

At that moment, Zhu Xiaoyuan was not far ahead, looking troubled! Ruofeng and Huan Yue gazed at Zhu Xiaoyuan’s back with utmost solemnity, unsure what to say. Apart from reverence and admiration, no other emotion showed on their faces.

Zhu Xiaoyuan, for his part, was oblivious to all this. Right now, he was trying to figure out the cause of the earthquake. Fortunately, nothing had happened to their little mountain village—it had been spared! It must be the blessing of the heavens, he thought.

Still, even though the quake hadn’t affected the village, Zhu Xiaoyuan couldn’t guarantee their safety if aftershocks struck. The best solution, it seemed, was to move away… to leave this place.

As the thought crossed his mind, he cursed under his breath. Damn it—if it weren’t for this damned system, he wouldn’t have ended up living here in the first place!

“Xiao Zhu, come over here. You’re the educated one among us—why don’t you take a look and tell us if our village is in any danger? What’s going on with these mountains?” An old man called Zhu Xiaoyuan over, his tone earnest.

This elder was one of the most respected figures in the village. Even though nothing had happened during the night, after seeing the devastation outside, everyone was still shaken. Though everyone was cheerfully dividing up the wild game, who could guarantee the next earthquake wouldn’t strike their village?

Zhu Xiaoyuan scratched his head, then reassured the old man with a shake of his head. “Everyone, don’t worry. Our little village is absolutely safe!”

After all, this was the place the system had chosen for him. If anything happened here, he’d be in mortal danger. Would the system really let him die here?

With this in mind, Zhu Xiaoyuan was able to make his promise to everyone with absolute confidence.

Hearing Zhu Xiaoyuan’s words, the villagers finally let out a sigh of relief. He would never lie to them! He was a man of learning and character, so they trusted him.

“Our master is truly calm and collected!” Ruofeng and Huan Yue were filled with admiration.

Suddenly, darkness swept across the sky. Everyone looked up to see a massive treasure ship speeding toward them from the distance!

“I checked the Soul-Seeking Mirror—it says Ruofeng and Huan Yue are somewhere nearby,” Zhu Xin and Haoming said excitedly.

Aboard their ship, lights flickered on and off. Several elderly experts with formidable abilities waited behind them, ready to act.

“Ruofeng, Huan Yue, come out here right now!” they shouted, their voices booming down onto the village below.

At the same time, the treasure ship slowly drew closer to Ruofeng and the others. Haoming’s shout echoed throughout the little mountain village. The villagers, still busy with the beast carcasses, looked up in astonishment at the ship in the sky.

“What is that?”

“Are they immortals? I’ve never seen a flying ship like that before!”

“They must be cultivators. Only cultivators have things like that.”

Eyes wide, the villagers watched as the treasure ship descended from the clouds, whispering among themselves.

“This is bad!” Ruofeng and Huan Yue also looked up at the ship. As soon as they recognized it, their expressions changed drastically.

“It’s Haoming and the others. They’ve come for us,” Ruofeng said.

Zhu Xiaoyuan looked at Ruofeng. “What’s going on?”

Ruofeng didn’t hesitate to explain. “To be honest, Master, we were originally disciples of the Void Absolute Sanctuary. Our master passed away for certain reasons, and before dying, told us to come here to seek our own destiny. But while we were there, we were always looked down upon…”

“The people on that ship are ones who never got along with us in the Sanctuary! I suspect they’re here now for…”

Ruofeng trailed off, realizing they might have brought unnecessary trouble to their senior.

Zhu Xiaoyuan seemed not to understand. He asked, puzzled, “This ‘Void Absolute Sanctuary’ you speak of—what kind of place is that?”

Ruofeng was momentarily thrown by the question. Did Senior Zhu truly not know of the Sanctuary’s existence?

But it wasn’t a big deal; after a brief pause, Ruofeng realized the truth. Senior Zhu had been living in seclusion and knew nothing of the outside world—even if he didn’t know about the Sanctuary, it was perfectly normal. Besides, what was the Sanctuary anyway? Senior Zhu was a figure mightier than immortals; to him, the Sanctuary must seem no more significant than a jumping grasshopper!

“It’s like this,” Ruofeng respectfully explained. “Void Absolute Sanctuary was founded by the immortal Kong Jue. The founder excelled in music, painting, and calligraphy, so the Sanctuary is built upon those arts.”

In front of Senior Zhu, Ruofeng didn’t even dare mention the word “immortal.” After all, with Zhu Xiaoyuan’s strength, what were immortals to him?

After Ruofeng’s explanation, Zhu Xiaoyuan understood. So it was just a group of artsy types—masters of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. The whole sect must be full of people steeped in culture and the arts. And they called it a “Sanctuary”? What a mystical-sounding name.

It all reminded Zhu Xiaoyuan of the various music and art associations back in the modern world. Once he thought of it that way, his worries melted away. It was just that sort of organization—nothing to fear. If things didn’t go well, they could always compete.

Zhu Xiaoyuan was confident that no one could surpass him in any of those arts. With his mind made up and full of confidence, he stepped forward, ready to negotiate with the people on the treasure ship.

But as he approached, before he could speak, he saw Zhu Xin and Haoming standing at the bow of the ship with their entourage, gaping in awe—a group of people who looked as if they had never seen the world.