Misty Rain of the Old Times

The power of a Grandmaster is beyond doubt. A sword can cleave a river, a punch can destroy a mountain, and a single person can destroy a city. These strengths and methods, which are unimaginable to ordinary people, are nothing more than commonplace for a Grandmaster.

Therefore, every country pays close attention to and guards against such beings. Their every move is watched by countless people, both openly and secretly. Whenever such a person sets foot in another country, they will be immediately approached to find out the reason, for fear that they might suddenly erupt and cause unimaginable disaster. After all, such beings are elusive and can cause endless destruction. Who will hold them accountable afterward?

That's why Yan Quan's master was approached by the Jing Kingdom's Martial Arts Bureau as soon as he set foot in Shangyun Prefecture. They urgently mobilized five top-tier innate experts. Even with thorough preparations, these five were still extremely wary of Fairy Piaomiao, speaking with utmost respect, afraid of offending her with a single wrong word.

After all, rumors in the martial arts world say that this ethereal fairy's thoughts are unpredictable; one moment she's talking nicely to you, and the next she might just turn around and kill you.

The Jing Kingdom's Martial Arts Bureau members found her incredibly quickly, but they only managed to stop her once she set foot in Shangyun Prefecture. Countless people racked their brains to analyze her route and make advance arrangements, which shows just how terrifying the speed of a Grandmaster-level expert can be.

The best solution, of course, would be to stop them at the border, but that has to be feasible.

Logically speaking, the whereabouts of a Grandmaster are elusive and difficult to spot unless they act on their own initiative. However, this brings us to the strategic planning and defensive awareness of each nation. Which well-known Grandmaster doesn't have a large number of spies watching them? By considering various factors, it's not difficult to analyze their travel direction and even their purpose, allowing for advance planning.

Of course, such surveillance is often useless because the gap is too large and difficult to predict and prevent.

Although Chen Xuan usually wanders around, he is almost always within the territory of Jing Kingdom. He also has a good relationship with the old emperor, which is why he is not under constant surveillance wherever he goes. Even so, there are countless people watching him openly and secretly. However, they just keep quiet about it and pretend they don't know as long as it doesn't affect his life.

Chen Xuan had been to Yuhua Kingdom many times. The reason why no one stopped him to question him was firstly because his cultivation level was not exposed the previous times, so Yuhua Kingdom did not take any precautions. Later, however, he had to be able to do it. Chen Xuan's lightness skill was his forte. Even his taillights could not be seen. How could they stop him?
The fact that Fairy Piaomiao was stopped by the Jing Kingdom's Martial Arts Bureau at this moment was largely due to luck. Her purpose is not hard to understand; she had arranged this tense meeting in advance.

How could Li Xi and the others not be uneasy? The person opposite them was a Grandmaster-level expert, and also the one with the most eccentric mind. They had rehearsed and prepared many backup plans for how to communicate with her, but even so, they were still unsure of themselves.

Originally, Fairy Piaomiao didn't need to pay any attention to them, as no one present could do anything to her. However, she was from a prestigious and righteous family, and the Forbidden Martial Arts Division had directly invoked the banner of the Jing Kingdom. Therefore, she stopped and gave them some face, since causing a misunderstanding would not benefit anyone. Although she claimed to have never encountered an opponent, in the end, even a Grandmaster is not invincible. Openly going against a country would only be a sign of a madman.

Under the moonlight, she stood lightly on the treetop, dressed in white as snow, her clothes fluttering as if in a vacuum. She was enveloped in a pure white halo, as if draped in a moonlight veil, obscuring her figure and appearance, hazy and dreamlike, like a fairy from the moon palace descending to earth, holy and ethereal, inspiring no disrespect, as if any impure thought would be a sin.

However, through that dreamy halo of smoke and mist, one could vaguely make out that her black hair was like a waterfall, flowing like water without wind, wearing a veil, and that she was about 1.7 meters tall. Her exquisite figure seemed to be the most perfect masterpiece of heaven, and she was barefoot.

Yes, there is a big difference between wearing shoes and not wearing shoes, even though she is surrounded by a dreamlike halo.

If Chen Xuan saw her now, he would definitely say that this old baby is even better at pretending than me. I usually just find an angle with the bright moon as a background, but this old baby always puts on a veil that seems to be made of moonlight. Isn't that a bit too high-profile?
However, considering the rumors about her vain and narcissistic personality, it seems quite reasonable. After all, He Hongyi said that many times this old baby was moved to tears by his own beauty and couldn't extricate himself from his own beauty. That's probably what she meant.

At this moment, the ethereal fairy standing on the treetop looked in the direction of Li Xi and the others. Her clear voice was like a mountain spring flowing, and she spoke in a slightly indifferent tone: "It's not that I look down on you, but do you think you few minor innate masters can stop me? Who gave you the courage? Is it the armor under your paper-thin clothes, or some lowly trinket?"

That was a completely irrelevant answer; she clearly didn't take Li Xi and the others seriously at all, which was a bit disheartening. But she truly had the strength and confidence to back it up, and the fact that she stopped to say something was already a sign of respect for them.

Five top-tier Innate Realm experts were nothing more than minor Innate Realm masters in her eyes, no different from ants. This left Li Xi and the others furious but helpless, as the gap between them was stark and immense, a difference of one major realm being as vast as clouds and mud.

The fact that she stopped and spoke proved that communication was possible, which was already the best-case scenario. Li Xi clasped her hands in a respectful bow again and said, "I humbly request that you explain your purpose to avoid any misunderstanding, so that we may return and report back. We dare not delay you any longer."

He didn't dare to call himself a junior, nor did he use any respectful titles for her. Everyone in the martial arts world knows that the Fairy of the Misty Clouds loves beauty, and people who love beauty care about their age. If he dared to use those titles, it wouldn't be surprising if she turned on him the next moment.

Facing this person, without the corresponding status and strength, every word spoken must be carefully considered. It is best to state the purpose directly, without wasting time, for who knows if saying one more word will offend or anger her.

She clearly didn't want to waste any more words and had no interest in communicating with them, saying indifferently, "My dear disciple has been bullied, it's only natural for a master to stand up for her, right? What, do you have a problem with that?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xi and the others quickly exchanged glances, their hearts churning with emotion, but they dared not utter a word at this moment. Li Xi stepped aside and said, "Not at all, please, fairy. Please forgive us if we have offended you."

"You're quite sensible, going to such lengths to stop me here just for these two sentences. You're all so bored," the ethereal fairy chuckled, and as soon as she finished speaking, she disappeared into the distant night, leaving only a faint, beautiful shadow in the night sky.

After she left, Li Xi and the others exchanged glances. One of them spoke up, "That person was clearly after Young Master Chen. After all, Young Master Chen gave Yan Quan a minor punishment, and Yan Quan is still circling around Yang County. What should we do next?"

“Go back and report it. This is beyond our control. Although there was only a few words exchanged, that person made it very clear that they came only for this matter and nothing else. Naturally, innocent people will not be affected,” Li Xi said, taking a deep breath.

Several people nodded, agreeing that this was the only option. However, another person hesitated and said, "She's after Young Master Chen, shouldn't we show our appreciation? After all, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"If you want to die, go ahead and do it yourself. Don't you know your own limitations? Do you think we can just meddle in this kind of thing? It's only legitimate if we show that we're not actively seeking it out, but rather following the orders of those above us. Everyone understands the principle that fortune favors the bold, but it has to be reasonable. Let's go back and report," Li Xi said irritably, waving his hand as the group quickly disappeared into the night.

The Armed Forces Control Division has its own special means of communication. Before long, it received instructions from above to remain still, keep a close watch, and unconditionally stand by Young Master Chen's side when necessary, even if it means death!
After all, Fairy Piaomiao is a powerful figure from another country, while Chen Xuan is Princess Fuyao's husband and the current emperor's brother-in-law. Furthermore, how young is Chen Xuan, a Grandmaster-level expert? It's obvious which side he's on...

On the other side, after Chen Xuan went out, he quickly arrived at the riverbank of Qingping River, a deserted area stretching for dozens of miles, with a bunch of fog-shrouded flags.

Back then, he traveled by boat to the Gao family from this river, which stretched for dozens of miles at its widest point. This river almost ran through the entire Jing Kingdom from north to south, with few turbulent sections, hence its name, the Qingping River. Under the cover of night, Chen Xuan stood on the river, a trace of emotion flashing in his eyes. Due to the lack of rain for several months, the water level of this river had dropped by several feet, and occasionally, reefs could be seen emerging from the water. This had not happened in the history of the Jing Kingdom for a hundred years, and if it continued, there was even a risk of it drying up completely. However, it was the will of Heaven, and no human power could change it.

Chen Xuan said he would bring rain to Yang County, but the dense fog caused by the fog formation was just dense fog, not cumulonimbus clouds, so it could not be used directly to bring rain. The only solution was to transport natural water sources.

Logically, the fog array should have formed such a thick fog that it's impossible to see more than a meter away, so rain is only missing certain conditions. However, Chen Xuan's current cultivation level is not high enough to meet these conditions, so he has to resort to a clumsy method.

Once, he told Gao Jingming that with his cultivation level, he could easily carry a mountain, and that was no exaggeration. Now, he was just watering the land of Xiangyang County. At most, he would have to make a few more trips. The role of the mist array was just to make it look more natural. It would be the same even without the mist array. But Chen Xuan was afraid of trouble. What if he openly watered Xiangyang County and people saw him? The drought affected such a wide area, and people from all directions would come to him for help.
For him, carrying water and watering plants was simple; the trouble was precisely and smoothly manipulating the fog array to cover them up during the process.

It should be noted that the arrangement of the mist array is very particular. It is necessary to take into account factors such as the surrounding environment, season, and even time. It is easy to set up the array in a fixed place. The difficulty lies in the fact that he needs to move around and control four arrays at the same time. There can be no mistakes. Chen Xuan even wondered if the amount of calculation involved would burn his brain.

Give it a try. If it really doesn't work, just control two fewer sets of flags. When it rains, there doesn't seem to be much difference between ten or twenty miles. Just circle around a few more times.

Before that, he needed to study the movement and control of the mist array. With a thought, he circulated his true essence to control more than a hundred array flags to scatter in all directions, arranged according to a special orientation and adjusted according to the environment and time, and dispersed within a range of dozens of miles around him.

Controlling the array flags over such a large area was not difficult for him, but precisely controlling and adjusting their position required mental effort, and he couldn't help but furrow his brow slightly.

After the formation was set up, under the clear night sky, thick fog quickly began to gather, eventually covering the land for dozens of miles.

Chen Xuan was not surprised to see this, after all, this was the basic function of the mist array. Then he began to try to move several arrays at the same time. At first, there were some problems, but after an hour or two, he was able to control it skillfully. After all, the dense fog gathered by the mist array does not dissipate all at once, and any mistakes can be adjusted in time.

Nodding inwardly, Chen Xuan thought to himself that it was alright, within his capabilities, and not too strenuous.

With the formation sorted out, he got down to business. Under the cover of the thick fog that blotted out the sky, his gaze sharpened, and he multitasked, raising his hand to inhale the Qingping River below. In an instant, the river water surged backward, as if a dragon was hiding in the fog, swallowing the river water whole.

The surging river flowed upstream until it gathered into a large water sphere with a diameter of over three thousand meters in the thick fog, at which point it stopped. Its weight was immeasurable, and if it continued any longer, it would feel strained.

It was fortunate that Chen Xuan was a Grandmaster with abundant and pure true essence, and that the Ze Yuan Technique he cultivated had a long-lasting and inexhaustible source of power. Otherwise, if another Grandmaster had come to do this job, he would have been drained of his true essence in no time.

With a silent command in his mind, he carried the terrifying water sphere towards Yang County, shrouded in thick fog, rolling forward like dark clouds obscuring the sun.

Since the intention was to bring rain to Yang County, it was necessary to make it look convincing. As he returned and approached Yang County, he unleashed a palm strike, causing a surge of air like a raging storm. Then, a ray of electricity flashed in his eyes, and his true essence surged. He raised his hand and made a grasping motion, and a lightning spear formed from his true essence appeared in his hand. The electric current surged so much that even his hair flew up.

With a silent shout, the Thunder Spear in his hand shot out, exploding like a thunder dragon tearing through the sky. Even the thick fog formed by the mist array could not conceal it, turning the night sky a pale white. The surging sound of electricity was like real thunder resounding in all directions!

The Thunderous Dragon Spear Technique is a superior martial art that Chen Xuan has practiced. He demonstrated it once in front of others when he went north with Gao Jingming, and he even borrowed Zhao Qingluan's spear. However, compared to that time, he was only at the acquired level of cultivation, and his performance of this spear technique only produced a few sparks. Now, he is finally able to reveal a portion of its true power.

The wind came, the thunder came, and then it started to rain. Under Chen Xuan's control, the large water sphere shrouded in thick fog poured down like a torrential downpour!

Although they weren't doing all these things at the same time, such a grand undertaking still put a strain on Chen Xuan, a Grandmaster. However, as the water sphere continued to shrink, the pressure gradually eased.

The ethereal fairy who traveled across mountains and rivers took some time to arrive in Yang County after parting ways with Li Xi and the others. She had never been here before. Although she was on the right track, she had to ask for directions several times to find the specific place.

Upon arriving outside Yang County, she glanced around and saw Yan Quan still circling the county town. For several days, Yan Quan had been without sleep, food, or water, and was in a sorry state. Seeing this, the Fairy of the Misty Clouds felt a pang of heartache in her eyes, after all, he was not only her disciple, but also her own nephew.

Then came a surge of anger. Her disciple was such a handsome and dashing person, but now he was pale, disheveled, and swaying, having been bullied like this. How could she not be angry? Did he think she didn't exist?

"Chen Xuan, is it? You claim to be an eighteen-year-old Grandmaster, a feat unprecedented! I don't care how talented you are or what your status is, but you've bullied my disciple like this. If you don't give me a satisfactory explanation, I'll repay you tenfold for this torment. Even if the legendary third-place scholar isn't as handsome as you, I'll just close my eyes and deal with you, okay?"

These thoughts flashed through the ethereal fairy's mind, her anger rising. She stepped forward to welcome Yan Quan, stopping him with a gesture of protest: "My dear disciple, your master is here. Stop. With me here, no one will dare force you anything."

However, Yan Quan ignored her and even did something that shocked Fairy Piaomiao the next moment. He actually attacked her, and with all his might, as if anyone who stopped him from spinning around was a mortal enemy.

His tricks were easily countered by Fairy Piaomiao, after all, he had learned everything from her. But this action made her frown and rebuke him: "You unfilial disciple, I came here out of kindness to support you, and not only do you not know how to be grateful, you even attacked me. You are truly going against the heavens... Wait, something's not right, this is not your intention at all."

She quickly realized what was going on; after all, she wasn't stupid, and she knew there was a problem.

But at that moment, before she could even figure out what was going on with Yan Quan, she abruptly turned to look at the distant horizon, her beautiful eyes revealing a hint of disbelief… (End of Chapter)