Hearing his words, An Lisha's expression turned happy. It meant that Master would help!
But Claire stood in shock at those words. This old man actually knew how many strikes of lightning she would be facing!
"Little lass, how old are you this year, actually being able to draw seven strikes of lightning…" The old man leisurely spoke while sizing Claire up. "Also, what kind of cultivation technique are you practicing? Huh? Why does it feel a bit familiar?"
Claire hesitated for a moment. Should she tell this old man the truth? Even if she did, he wouldn't know.
After a moment of deliberation, in the end, she still said, "Treasured Lotus Style." With the current situation, the old man was the only person who could help her block the lightning, so it was better to cooperate.
But who would have expected that after Claire said this, the old man's expression would change.
"What?! Treasured Lotus Style? Did you just say Treasured Lotus Style?" Unexpectedly, the old man dashed forward and grabbed Claire by the shoulders, then shook her furiously, not caring for his image at all. His expression was very fierce. "Say that again!"
Feng Yixuan's expression changed greatly too. He had seen the old man so frantic. Just when he was going to dash forward, An Lisha pulled him back. Feng Yixuan looked at An Lisha anxiously, about to say something, but she shook her head slightly, indicating that Claire wasn't in danger.
Claire also stood dumbly. She didn't have a clue of what was going on with the old man's overreaction, but there was no killing intent from him. What was going on?
"What is your relationship with Si Konglin, that old thing? Speak! It's impossible! That old fart would never teach the Treasured Lotus Style to others!" the old man sad madly, his expression and his actions completely not matching his age.
"I do not know Si Konglin." Claire's quiet reply made the old man stop in his haste.
The old man stopped his actions. He looked at Claire dumbfoundedly, then said, "Then how can you use the Treasured Lotus Style?"
Claire's next words made the old man almost cough up blood. "I just found the Treasured Lotus grimoire somewhere so I learned it."
"J-just found it?" Claire's words echoed in the old man's bind. She learned it just because she found it somewhere.
The old man wanted to spit, wanted to yell, wanted to throw himself onto the ground laughing.
"Ahaha! Si Konglin, that idiot. I never expected that his unique techniques would actually be learned by a stranger. Hahaha, I'm going to die of laughter. That stupid, stingy idiot! Serves him right!" The old man was laughing while jumping, making Claire, An Lisha, and Feng Yixuan stare with their mouths wide open. What the?
An Lisha had never seen her master so out of control, and so she asked cautiously, "Master, can you discuss this afterwards? The lightning will strike any second now."
Claire and the old man looked up towards the sky. Sure enough, there were thick layers of clouds, lightning flashing ominously within.
"Little lass, I'll block the lightning for you, but you must tell me everything after." The old man was visibly very happy.
"Okay, but, senior, are you able to?" Claire frowned, facing the sky. Lightning flashed and thundered continuously within the clouds. Claire understood clearly that she wouldn't be able to block the lightning by herself this time. She could only rely on the old man before her. If she only had to tell the old man how she obtained the Treasured Lotus grimoire for him to block the deadly lightning strikes, then it was a great deal. The way she had obtained the grimoire had been too easy.
"No problem. All of you get out of the way!" With a serious expression, the old man motioned for An Lisha and Feng Yixuan to distance themselves.
Seeing the old man's serious attitude, Claire understood that this time, the lightning was definitely not normal.
Her expression also turned more serious.
"Hah!" The old man faced the sky seriously, blocking in front of Claire. Then, he placed clasped his hands together before his chest and frowned deeply.
An Lisha and Feng Yixuan watched anxiously, but could do nothing to help.
The surroundings became darker and darker because the black clouds in the sky grew thicker and denser. The sound of thunder also grew louder and clearer.
"Seven strikes of lightning, huh. Little lass, at such a young age, you've actually broken through the eighth level of the Treasured Lotus Style. I wonder how that old fart Si Konglin could react. Probably angered to death." The old man frowned at the dark clouds, his expression serious, although his tone a little gloating.
Claire inferred a few things from his words. The Treasured Lotus grimoire was in all likelihood created by Si Konglin and he must have a special relationship with the old man.
"Open!" The old man bellowed, his palms separating. Two brilliant streaks of white light shot out from his palms, then morphed into a circle surrounding Claire and himself.
The old man frowned and with a wave of his hand, two more streaks of light shot forth then surrounded An Lisha and Feng Yixuan, the magnificent barrier protecting them.
"Hmm, there's one thing missing…" The old man gently stroked his beard, pondering.
After thinking for a while, he whipped his hand and a small, clear disk appeared. His expression solemn, with a gentle throw, the disk flew to Claire and started hovering over her head while starting to rotate. The disk emitted a soft, white light. Claire understood that it was definitely not ordinary, probably a defensive type of treasure.
"Alright, everything's ready." The old man nodded seriously, then turned his face towards the sky.
The lightning was about to strike!
The situation was truly worrisome. An Lisha frowned slightly, watching the slowly spinning disk above Claire's head. Master had actually used that item. It seems the lightning really wasn't trivial this time! Feng Yixuan was even more anxious, clenching his fist until his knuckles were white.
"Fierce Wind!" The old man brought together his index and middle finger, and with a forceful wave, A violent wind surged with the barrier in its center, sweeping up everything and leaving the group of people in a spacious void while the surroundings were violently swept up in a tornado.
Claire was shocked at such a scenario before her. In her heart, she thought to herself, exactly how profound was this old man's cultivation technique?
Boom!!!
A long, lightning strike full of terrifying strength struck down.
Feng Yixuan's heart was already tense. He stared fixedly at the two people in the midst of the circle.
The old man's expression was also very grave, making them even more concerned.
However, the next scene left the three people watching completely speechless.
"Hup! Hah!"
The old man bounced around and lightly flicked his finger. A powerful blast streaked up to clash with the lightning.
Bang!!
In a split second, the sky lit up. The powerful lightning had been completely blocked by the old man's force, breaking apart and dispersing. The broken specks of lightning looked like a firework mid bloom; it was a dazzling sight.
…This easy? This simply?? It only took a flick of a finger??
"Mhm, a pretty sight. Hah!" The old man rolled his shoulders, showing off, and continued to flick his finger at the next lightning bolt striking down. Splendid lightning fireworks sparkled in the sky again, and in that moment, nothing could be more beautiful.
An Lisha's lip twitched, utterly speechless.
Feng Yixuan gulped, watching the sky filled with sparks dumbfoundedly, unable to speak.
Claire watched as the old man shimmied his shoulders, showing off, and then shifted her gaze up at the spinning disk overhead, then the splendid barrier around the group and violent yet magnificent tornado whirling about, wanting to ask the old man, what were all the preparations for? If he could deal with the lightning so easily, why did he set up such complex arrangements?
The old man even found time to tidy up his beard, which had been blown messy by the wind, before continuing to deal with the lightning effortlessly.
And just like that, the seven strikes of lightning were dealt with by the old man easily. He then fished out a small comb from his sleeve and started brushing his beard and eyebrows prudently, muttering, "Humph! It got me all messy."
The dark clouds slowly dispersed, revealing an azure sky again, a peaceful expanse.
The old man waved his hand and the splendid barrier, whirling tornado, and translucent disk all disappeared.
"Let's go inside. Lisha, go make some tea." The old man started walking towards the house, smiling widely.
"Wait! Master!" An Lisha's voiced trembled slightly, showing how she had been holding back but couldn't take it any more.
Seeing An Lisha walk over almost violently, the old man asked with confusion, "What?"
"Master, why did you do all that even though you were able to deal with the lightning so easily? What's with the barrier and that so-called Fierce Wind!" An Lisha was almost driven a bit mad. She had asked what Claire and Feng Yixuan were wondering too.
"What do you know? Elaborate arrangements are a must, otherwise how could I display my magnificence?" The old man rolled his eyes at An Lisha, sounding like it had been as a matter of course. "Let's go. Little lass, you must tell me everything.
Claire went 囧, An Lisha went crazy, and Feng Yixuan's mouth twitched as he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Claire followed the old man in. The old man plopped onto a chair, then motioned for the others to sit too.
"Little lass, tell me how you obtained the grimoire. You have to understand, that old fart Si Konglin treasured his techniques so much, he wasn't even willing to exchange it for my Heavenly Astral Wind.*" The old man gritted his teeth a little.
*罡风 – in Daoism, astral wind on which immortals may ride (literal dictionary definition, did not know it was a thing…)
With every detail Claire told the old man that had led to her obtaining the grimoire, the old man's eyes widened even more.
Feng Yixuan frowned. He had remembered how he was present when Summer had been caught, but he had been unaware Claire had obtained the grimoire at that time.
"Can I borrow it for a glance?" But even as the old man said these words, he understood that it wasn't proper.
"Master, how can you do that?" An Lisha had entered carrying tea at this time, her tone angry.
"Haha, I also know that's crossing the line a little…" The old man laughed awkwardly. Unexpectedly, his old cheeks had reddened.
"At least you're aware of it. Even though you helped Claire block the lightning, asking to see her grimoire is too much." An Lisha did not give her master any face at all, her tone chiding.
"I won't see, alright?" The old man muttered from the corner of his mouth embarrassedly.
But Claire's next action left An Lisha and the old man astounded.
"I'll let you see."