"Third Grandfather!?"
Ling Zhigao led the way. As soon as they ascended, they saw an old man standing by the gate next to the thatched hut.
The old man's beard and hair were all white, and he was dressed in tattered clothes, looking truly disheveled like a beggar!
However, the old man now stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes flashing with sharp light as he scanned everyone intently.
It was clear that this was no ordinary old man.
It was precisely this state, completely different from his usual demeanor, that startled Ling Zhigao, the family head!
Third Grandfather's eyes quickly locked onto Ling Feng, and his pupils suddenly contracted!
Ling Feng also met Third Grandfather's gaze, and at that moment, Ling Feng's pupils also contracted sharply.
"Golden Core stage!?"
Muttering inwardly, Ling Feng was truly astonished!
Having reached this realm himself, Ling Feng felt that no one else in the world could possibly reach this realm.
Otherwise, why would the King-level monsters rampage, bringing large numbers of monsters to occupy seventy percent of the land originally belonging to humans, without anyone to suppress them?
It wasn't that humans didn't want to, but that there were simply no experts of that level among humans.
If the King-level monsters were already at the Half-step Golden Core, then a Golden Core stage expert could easily kill them!
That was the gap between them.
And besides himself, there was actually another Golden Core stage expert before him. What surprised Ling Feng the most was that this person was actually his great-grandfather.
His own great-grandfather!
"Young Ling Feng pays his respects to Great Grandfather!"
Ling Feng stepped forward and respectfully performed a single-knee salute!
This was a living elder, a true expert who had lived for a hundred years!
This was absolutely enough reason for Ling Feng to kneel on one knee!
Yang Fei was stunned by Ling Feng's actions, but after a brief pause, Yang Fei also knelt down directly with Ling Feng!
*Thump!*
The sound of knees hitting the ground echoed, and even the stones on the ground shattered!
The group of people behind them were all awakened. Whether it was Ling Yan or Ling Zhigao, they all bowed down to Third Grandfather!
But Third Grandfather's mouth twitched: "I didn't expect, I didn't expect! The cause of this chaotic world, the one who will bring peace, is within my Ling family. Is it already the fifth generation?"
Hearing this, Ling Feng got up and stepped forward: "Young Ling Feng, by your generation, I am the fourth generation!"
Third Grandfather looked Ling Feng up and down, then smiled and nodded: "I know you are the fourth generation. But don't you already have children? The one over there is your elder brother Ling Yan, right? This kid actually has the aptitude to awaken dragon blood power. He must have had continuous fortuitous encounters. When I saw him in my early years, I knew he would face a calamity at the age of twenty-seven, a sign of premature death. Now that he is still alive, someone must have helped him resolve it. In this world, besides myself, only you could have done it!"
Ling Feng was stunned by this, and a cold sweat broke out on his back!
Ling Yan had met this Third Grandfather when he was a child. At that time, Third Grandfather had already predicted that Ling Yan would face a calamity at the age of twenty-seven, and that he might even die.
What a terrifying ability this was!
But the next moment, Ling Feng's expression turned a bit grim: "Third Grandfather, since you knew my brother would face a life-or-death tribulation, why didn't you help? Even twenty years ago, you should have been able to resolve it easily, right?"
Third Grandfather's mouth twitched at this: "What do you mean 'easily'? Didn't you see I'm already guarding the dead here? What more do you want from this old man? Do you want me to crawl into a grave to make you happy? There are so many injustices in this world, can I manage everything? You are too young and don't understand!"
With that, Third Grandfather withdrew his aura and returned directly to the side of the pond!
Ling Feng waved his hand at the crowd behind him, signaling them not to disturb, and then followed Third Grandfather, sitting down by the water.
"Are you here to see your father today?"
Third Grandfather asked casually while replacing the broken fishing line, not looking at Ling Feng.
Ling Feng nodded: "Did you know beforehand?"
"No, why would I calculate these things when I'm idle? You can cultivate to this realm, and you should know that the methods practiced by us Xuanmen cultivators are different from your methods of cultivating immortality. We have five deficiencies and three lacks, and there will be retribution. It's all you, kid. Just now, the old man's fishing line broke, and I felt something was wrong. So I calculated it, and who knew you were so capable that I couldn't calculate it. Now it's bad, I'll definitely have to go to the toilet in the middle of the night!"
Third Grandfather complained.
Ling Feng's mouth twitched. Retribution?
You calculated on me, and it didn't leak heavenly secrets, so why would there be retribution?
Besides, you having diarrhea in the middle of the night, is that considered retribution?
However, Ling Feng fell silent at this moment. He scanned Third Grandfather from head to toe, then frowned slightly: "You are hiding here, like a beggar, and you even changed your appearance, all to avoid the so-called retribution?"
"Alas, this matter cannot be revealed. They are listening from above. Keep your voice down!"
Third Grandfather suddenly became nervous, acting like a madman. He leaned closer to Ling Feng and put up a finger, blowing out a breath.
Ling Feng almost fainted from the smell. This person was truly filthy!
Yet, such a powerful expert with extraordinary abilities insisted on making himself look like this. He was definitely despised by everyone, and even looking at him felt like dirtying one's eyes.
In such a place, he was extremely solitary. Was this the so-called retribution?
One person guarding so many graves, this was not just loneliness, but also how much fear! After staying for a long time, how could one's state of mind not change?
This should also be considered a form of man-made retribution. However, if this kind of retribution could preserve one's life and avoid other heavenly tribulations, it could also be considered a clever method!
"Are you going to continue like this forever? Or will this method no longer be needed when the time is right?" Ling Feng asked directly as he thought of something.
Third Grandfather glared at Ling Feng: "You are the cause of this chaotic world. Those demons and monsters appearing are related to you. However, you are also the one who will bring peace to all this. It has nothing to do with this old man. Don't think about getting me out of seclusion. My cultivation method is like this. If I shed this mortal coil, I will only have half my life left. Considering that your grandfather is my son, and your father is my grandson, please don't trouble me!"
Ling Feng's mouth twitched. This Third Grandfather was truly a chatterbox!
Ling Feng had indeed had some thoughts of inviting this expert out of seclusion before. If the two of them joined forces, bringing peace to the world's chaos might not be an impossible feat.
However, after hearing what the old man said, Ling Feng naturally gave up on this idea. He couldn't possibly risk the old man's life for his own thoughts!
Ling Feng immediately stood up and bowed respectfully: "Sorry to have disturbed you, Elder!"
Third Grandfather waved his hands repeatedly: "No disturbance, no disturbance. I am already very happy that you came to see this old man. Heh heh, I haven't been this happy in a long time. However, if you are here to dig graves, then no need!"
Ling Feng's expression darkened: "Please grant me permission, Third Grandfather. I want to verify if my mother..."
"No need to verify. The woman buried with your father is not your mother. As for your mother..."
Third Grandfather said casually.
His words shocked Ling Feng, whose eyes widened. Then he saw Third Grandfather start to move his fingers again, as if calculating something.
"West, southwest. Go look. I've told you the approximate direction. This old man cannot say more."
Ling Feng was suddenly greatly alarmed: "You mean, my mother is not dead?!"
"Nonsense, if she were dead, I would have to find her grave. But living people are not as easy to find. That's it. Today, I can only catch two fish, and I don't even have enough to eat myself. You should quickly take your people down the mountain!"