Although the brilliant light pierced their eyes with searing pain, Elder Tuoba and the others endured the agony and kept their gazes fixed forward.
They had to know just who this powerful being was. Even if they were to die, at least they would die understanding who had killed them.
Under their continued staring, their vision gradually began to clear.
Vaguely, they could make out a figure at the center of the blinding light. The figure was not tall—stooped and hunched, holding a long tobacco pipe, puffing on it one draw at a time.
Though things were still somewhat blurry, Elder Tuoba could tell that it appeared to be an old woman—one who had reached a truly advanced age.
Elder Tuoba began sifting through everyone in his mind who might be powerful enough to suppress him, but he simply could not recall any such existence.
"Who are you?" Unable to make sense of it, Elder Tuoba spoke up and asked.
"Who I am is not important. What matters is what I am about to say."
A hoarse, aged voice rang out. Sure enough, it was not a man's voice—it belonged to an old woman.
She was truly aged; one could hear it from her voice alone. It was even somewhat frail.
Yet despite that, no one questioned this old woman's strength. With a mere thought, she could likely take every life present.
And so, Elder Tuoba and the others did not dare act out of line. They could only listen attentively, feeling that whatever she said next might well determine their fate.
"Remember this—some people are not ones you can afford to cross. If you do, it will not be a question of whether you live or die. The forces behind you may cease to exist as well."
"Do not think I am bluffing you. If you do not believe me, you are welcome to test it."
With that, the old woman actually laughed. But her laughter was so terrifying, so eerie, so unsettling.
It hardly seemed like the laughter of a human, yet it was far more spine-chilling than any demon beast or dark creature.
Along with her laughter, the sound of bronze bells also rang out. The two sounds drifted further and further away until they vanished entirely.
The old woman was gone. After she left, the elders present finally regained their freedom of movement.
But as for the state they were in—they were drenched in cold sweat.
The pressure they had just felt was far too overwhelming. Even someone as powerful as Elder Xingyi could not stop his entire body from trembling.
Those who were somewhat weaker had collapsed to the ground with a thud, unable to even summon the strength to stand. They panted heavily, sweat pouring down like rain, as though they had just survived a brush with death itself.
Even beings of Elder Tuoba and the silver-haired elder's caliber had faces pale as paper, their palms trembling ever so slightly.
"That kind of pressure—she must be at the Sovereign realm," the silver-haired elder said.
"Mm." Elder Tuoba nodded, his eyes still somewhat vacant. He had yet to emerge from the terror that had gripped him moments before.
"Didn't you say this Chu Feng was not a member of the Chu Heavenly Clan? Why would such an existence be backing him?" the silver-haired elder asked, his voice laced with fury.
He had every right to be furious. They had not yet made a move against Chu Feng. Had they actually done so, they would not be standing here right now.
They would already be dead.
Not "likely"—certainly. That woman absolutely would not have let them off.
"You cannot blame me for this! It was Chu Feng himself who said he was not part of the Chu Heavenly Clan. He claimed to be from the Mortal World."
"When he had those previous conflicts with the smaller powers, none of those smaller powers suffered any consequences. So everyone assumed he had no backing, that he truly was from the Mortal World and had simply been gifted with decent talent and a few fortuitous encounters."
"Who could have imagined that someone like that was standing behind him? This fellow is far more cunning than anyone gave him credit for."
"However, he is probably not a member of the Chu Heavenly Clan. Even if his origins are not simple, he may well come from some other Upper Realm."
"At the very least, that Sovereign-level existence from just now was definitely not from our Great Thousand Upper Realm," Elder Tuoba said.