「An incense stick later.」
Darkness fell over the night once more as all light vanished in an instant.
「Inside the house.」
Yang An curiously sized up the man and woman before him.
"Are you two really Cultivators?"
He was still on his guard, so he didn't get too close to them.
'What I can't figure out is, why don't they look like Cultivators at all?'
"We really are Cultivators, Fellow Daoist, it's the absolute truth!"
Pan Shi wiped the sweat from his brow. He glanced down ruefully at the several scorch marks burned into his clothes. More importantly, the Protective Magical Artifact his master had given him was now unusable for the time being.
To resist Yang An's attack and suppress the flames erupting within his body, he had been forced to use the Protective Magical Artifact his master had given him. It was the only reason he had escaped injury.
But every time that Magical Artifact was used, it needed to absorb the moon's essence for several nights to recharge before it could be used again.
This meant he would have one less life-saving measure for the upcoming Feasting Assembly, a loss that made him ache.
'I never expected his methods to be so bizarre and incredibly powerful. It looked like he wasn't holding back at all.'
'If I hadn't used the Magical Artifact from Master, my junior sister and I would have definitely died here.'
'The direct disciples of these major Righteous Sects... they're truly terrifying.'
"If we were Demon Fiends, why would we show ourselves and provoke you, Fellow Daoist? We really are Cultivators!"
Pan Shi continued.
Beside him, Pan Yu looked utterly wretched. Not only were there several holes torn in her clothes, but her hair even carried the acrid smell of being scorched.
If her senior brother hadn't protected her, with her strength only at the Resonance Stage, she would have been the first to fall.
She looked at Yang An, her face a mask of indignation.
"What is wrong with you? We just met and you immediately tried to kill us! You clearly heard my senior brother's explanation, but that just seemed to make you more excited. You... Are you crazy?"
She had wanted to ask if he had a screw loose, but remembering what her senior brother had said about the man's identity, coupled with his terrifying strength, she reined in her words at the last second to avoid truly angering him.
Finished, she pointed at their clothes.
"Our clothes are ruined, and we had to use the Magical Artifact our master gave us! You... you have to pay us back!"
Pan Yu said, her voice filled with a mixture of indignation and fear.
"No, no need! It was an honest mistake, Fellow Daoist. You just finished fighting Demon Fiends, so it's understandable you'd mistake us for them. The fault doesn't lie with you; if anything, we were the ones who were too abrupt. Junior Sister, don't be so rash."
Pan Shi quickly wiped away his sweat and held back his junior sister, hurriedly cutting in.
'He was terrified that if his junior sister's reckless words angered Yang An, he would attack them again. This time, they had no Protective Magical Artifact to save them.'
Hearing their exchange, Yang An mulled it over for a moment and decided to believe them. They were likely Cultivators, not Demon Fiends.
The Demon Fiends he had just killed had been mindless, filled with nothing but madness and bloodlust.
'If they were really Demon Fiends, why waste time talking? It would be more straightforward to just attack.'
The pair's actions and words were much more like those of normal people. Yang An found them rather interesting.
'Still, based on what they've said, it seems they've mistaken me for a fellow Cultivator. They must have witnessed me killing those Demon Fiends and decided to show themselves to make my acquaintance.'
Yang An hesitated. 'Should I explain to them that I'm not actually a Cultivator?'
"By the way, Fellow Daoist, we still don't know your name. And on which Immortal Mountain do you cultivate?"
Just as Yang An was hesitating, Pan Shi took the opportunity to ask.
They had introduced themselves when they first appeared, but they still knew nothing of Yang An's background.
'Pan Shi also wanted to know which major Righteous Sect Yang An belonged to. To be so young, yet so powerful...'
Hearing Pan Shi's question, Yang An decided against explaining the truth.
'First, we're strangers. If they have some ulterior motive, I have to be on my guard.'
'Second, being mistaken for a Cultivator isn't so bad. This facade can at least intimidate them. If they found out I'm not a Cultivator, just an ordinary person, they might get angry from the humiliation and attack me. I can't afford another fight right now.'
As it was, Yang An could feel his body growing weaker by the second. If not for the Lighting Technique from the Blood Bowl keeping him conscious, he probably wouldn't even have the strength to remain standing.
After a moment of thought, Yang An decided to play along. He answered,
"My surname is Yang, and my given name is An. As for my sect... forgive me, but it is not convenient for me to disclose that information."
"Ah, so it is Fellow Daoist Yang. If it's inconvenient to say, then please don't worry about it. We understand."
Pan Shi said with a smile, though his mind was already racing with speculation.
'It seems he's from a major Hidden Sect of the righteous path. His background is truly formidable!'
'No one really knows how many Hidden Sects there are in the world, but without exception, any that can survive in seclusion were all renowned major sects from thousands, or even tens of thousands, of years ago.'
'After all, only those with a deep enough foundation would have the power to remain in seclusion through chaotic times, preserving a lineage that stretches back thousands, or even tens of thousands, of years.'
'It's not as if any Tom, Dick, or Harry hiding in the mountains for a few years could call themselves a Hidden Sect.'
'Moreover, based on the methods Yang An had used, I couldn't identify the origin of his Technique. All I know is that it's incredibly bizarre, capable of igniting flames directly inside a person's body.'
'More importantly, while the form of attack for this Technique was bizarre, the aura it contained was righteous and majestic, completely free from any trace of impurity.'
'This alone was enough to prove that the Technique had an extraordinary origin. It was definitely not something a minor Sect could possess.'
'Besides that, another detail had piqued my curiosity.'
'It was the Light Wheel that had manifested behind him when he first appeared, radiating a white glow.'
'Just being bathed in that white light made both my sister and I feel an unbearable discomfort, as if we were being pricked by needles.'
'And yet, within that same white light, I also sensed something sacred and solemn.'
'If my guess is correct, that aura should be from a Buddhist Technique, the kind cultivated by Monks of the Buddhist Sect. The doctrinal aura it contained was incredibly potent.'
'But to be able to fully manifest a Buddhist Technique, even condensing it into a protective Light Wheel... that must be a state achievable only by someone with profound mastery of Buddhist Techniques.'
'Yet, looking at Yang An, he doesn't have the slightest hint of a Monk's aura or bearing. His head isn't even shaved. How can he have mastered such an exquisite and profound Buddhist Technique?'
'This was another thing that confused me.'
'The more I tried to piece together the clues, the less I understood. It only made Yang An's Sect seem all the more mysterious and powerful.'
'Just what kind of behemoth stands behind this Fellow Daoist Yang?'