Everyone heard Bai Tianyi's cry and was shocked. They hadn't expected the Bai family's ancestor to truly appear, and this method of appearance was as bizarre as the ancient legends of primordial spirit leaving the body.
The old man in the white robe stood in mid-air, his flickering eyes scanning the scene before finally settling on Zhang Fan.
Seemingly countless worms writhed within his ethereal eyes, and a mere glance was enough to send chills down one's spine, making their scalp tingle as if haunted by a nightmare.
Zhang Fan, witnessing this, merely let out a cold chuckle. "It's just a wisp of divine consciousness remnant, not even a divine sense clone. How dare you appear before me!"
Hearing this, the old man in the white robe didn't get angry. He smiled faintly and said, "Fellow Daoist, with your status, why bother with a junior? How about, for my sake, we let this matter pass?"
"You hold no sway with me. You could withstand my finger, but can you withstand my palm?" Zhang Fan sneered.
"Sky-Reversing Palm!" Zhang Fan flipped his right hand, a pure surge of spiritual energy coalescing in his palm before he slammed it down towards the ethereal figure.
The old man in the white robe's expression changed. He hadn't expected Zhang Fan to act so decisively, showing him no deference.
Facing Zhang Fan's palm, he did not resist, for he knew he was incapable of doing so.
After all, this was merely a wisp of divine consciousness remnant he had left within his descendants, not even a divine sense clone, and its combat power was not significant. At most, it could contend with a peak Saint Realm expert.
The Bai family ancestor's wisp of divine consciousness remnant was left on Bai Tianyi not for combat. His intention was that as long as this wisp of divine consciousness appeared, even an ordinary Divine Realm expert would give face.
But he had not anticipated encountering a Divine Realm expert who was not ordinary!
"To dare kill my Bai family descendant, Bai will surely seek revenge one day!" The old man in the white robe's eyes instantly turned icy. He glared intently at Zhang Fan, as if etching his face into memory. As soon as his words fell, he was dispersed by the palm strike!
"No!" Seeing his ancestor's divine consciousness scattered, Bai Tianyi fell into utter despair.
One moment in heaven, the next plunged into hell. Even his greatest reliance was rendered useless. It seemed that today, he was undoubtedly doomed...
Zhang Fan, however, remained indifferent. With his current strength, even if the Bai family ancestor's true body were to appear, he would not be afraid, let alone a mere wisp of divine consciousness remnant that wasn't even a divine sense clone.
Back then, when his strength was far inferior to the Pope of the Holy See, he could still force the Pope's divine sense clone to flee in disarray.
Glancing at Bai Tianyi, Zhang Fan had no interest in further pleasantries and directly struck him down with a palm!
Before his death, Bai Tianyi stared fixedly at Zhang Fan, the regret in his heart too immense to be washed away by all the waters of the world.
The crowd in the manor was silent, their hearts filled with awe at the might of Saint Master Zhang, who showed no deference even to the appearing Bai family ancestor and acted decisively.
It was foreseeable that with the Bai family ancestor's parting words, a great battle might soon erupt between the two.
Upon thinking of this, countless hearts began to burn with excitement. This was a battle of the Divine Realm. Previously, lacking understanding of the martial path, they hadn't felt much.
But having witnessed the divine power of martial arts today, they were naturally immensely curious about a Divine Realm battle and longed to witness it firsthand.
"Thank you, Saint Master Zhang, for saving my life. I have no way to repay this kindness," Qin Tuyi's voice rang out at this moment, though it was hoarse and aged compared to before.
Hearing this, the crowd finally noticed Qin Tuyi's presence and, upon looking, were stunned.
Qin Tuyi, who had appeared as a man in his forties, now looked very old, almost as aged as Wei Xian, who was past seventy.
"Grandfather," Qin Luoshui's eyes flickered with heartache and worry upon seeing this. Although Qin Tuyi's actions had deeply disappointed her, she had not forgotten the love and care her grandfather had once shown her.
"Luoshui, I was blinded by greed this time. Consider it my just deserts. You needn't worry too much about me." Seeing Qin Luoshui's concern, Qin Tuyi's old face was filled with shame.
He had been momentarily blinded, and though Bai Tianyi had played a part in instigating it, the final decision had been his. After today's events, he finally awakened, his heart filled with regret.
"Brother Qin, you truly took the long way around. Didn't you know that Saint Master Zhang is not only a Divine Realm expert but also a Master Alchemist?"
"With Saint Master Zhang's alchemy skills, a single spiritual pill he crafts would be far more effective than the Bai family's so-called 'Longevity Gu'," Wei Xian said, sighing at Qin Tuyi's plight but still offering a reminder.
Qin Tuyi froze on the spot. Carefully considering his ridiculous decision earlier, the regret in his heart intensified, perhaps no less than Bai Tianyi's.
However, no matter how thick his skin, he couldn't bring himself to ask Zhang Fan for medicine and could only shake his head slightly, turning to walk back into the villa, leaving behind only a lonely figure.
"Old Qin," Zhang Fan called out, glancing at Qin Luoshui.
Qin Tuyi turned back to look at Zhang Fan, a hint of confusion in his eyes, along with a flicker of anticipation.
"Could it be..."
Zhang Fan flicked his finger, a streak of black light flashed, and landed steadily in Qin Tuyi's hand.
"This pill won't make you young again, but it will nourish your depleted body. Living to a hundred years old won't be difficult," Zhang Fan said calmly.
Upon hearing this, Qin Tuyi looked at the dark, dragon-eye-sized spiritual pill in his hand and became visibly excited. If he hadn't forced himself to suppress it, he would have likely shed tears of joy on the spot.
The dark spiritual pill was a Great Replenishment Pill refined by Zhang Fan. Its medicinal properties were extremely gentle, posing no problem even for an ordinary person like Qin Tuyi who had never cultivated.
In the past, such a spiritual pill would have been extremely precious, and Zhang Fan would not have given it away so easily.
But now, having mastered the method of mass cultivation of high-grade spiritual herbs, these spiritual pills were as abundant as he wished. However, he wouldn't give them out casually.
Giving Qin Tuyi one was purely out of consideration for him being Qin Luoshui's grandfather.
Although he found the old man distasteful, he was ultimately Qin Luoshui's grandfather. If he hadn't given the pill, Qin Luoshui would have understood, but it would have created some resentment from the Qin family towards Qin Luoshui in the future, which Zhang Fan did not wish to see.
"Thank you, Saint Master Zhang." He carefully put away the spiritual pill and bowed solemnly to Zhang Fan. The sincerity in his words was moving to listen to and envious to hear.
After Qin Tuyi entered the villa, Qin Zhengming took over hosting duties. However, with the occurrence of such an event and the birthday celebrant having left, the banquet took on a different flavor.
The leaders of the various prominent families present lined up and came to pay their respects to Zhang Fan, hoping to engage in conversation. Perhaps if Saint Master Zhang was pleased, he might bestow a spiritual pill, which would be a tremendous gain.
Zhang Fan had no interest in such worldly matters. After dismissing them with a few words, he bid farewell to Qin Luoshui.
...