The Manor

The journey passed in silence. Perhaps the barbarians had poured out in full force and lacked manpower, or perhaps they simply did not care about Gu Han and his group, this mere itch of a disease.

Along the way, apart from Wang Lang, who could barely be counted as an expert, Gu Han encountered no other Inner Qi masters or large barbarian forces.

Thus, after roughly two hours, he finally led the remaining hundred-odd Treasure Pearl Temple disciples to a safe place.

This was a manor beneath Treasure Pearl Mountain in Fangnan Prefecture of Great Yan, outside Xiongyuan City. It had been abandoned for decades and was ringed by a bamboo grove.

The origins of the manor's owner could no longer be investigated. Yet rumors in the city claimed that its master had been a Martial Arts Master at the peak of the Blood Tempering realm, a Rogue Cultivator from several centuries ago. Back then, his strength had been extraordinary, his fame unrivaled for a time, and he could be said to have shaken all eight directions.

But after the ancestor's death, his descendants proved unworthy. Never again did they produce a disciple worth the name, and so they gradually failed to hold on to their ancestral estate, moving away in silence.

At the time, the manor was also too far from the city, and no one could be found to take it over. Thus, it slowly fell into ruin. By now, no one had come here for dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of years.

But that was merely what the Outside World believed. Few knew the true reason, and Gu Han happened to be one of them.

The manor's owner had indeed been a Martial Arts Master at the peak of the Blood Tempering realm more than three hundred years ago, and his strength had indeed been remarkable. But he had never been a Rogue Cultivator. He had been played by an outstanding Treasure Pearl Temple disciple from over three hundred years ago. His attendants, children, guards, even his wife, had all been people he took in, serving as camouflage.

Naturally, the purpose was to create a perfect refuge for Treasure Pearl Temple.

This had originally been nothing more than a playful undertaking by Treasure Pearl Temple's Abbot at the time, who had thought it would never be needed.

After all, Treasure Pearl Temple had not only been founded by the legendary Patriarch Bodhidharma, but was also the foremost Martial Arts Holy Land of Great Yan. Whether among common folk or in the martial world, its prestige stood exceedingly high. Coupled with Treasure Pearl Mountain's terrain, easy to defend and hard to attack, as well as the temple's own strength—

It could be said that so long as they did not rebel against the Emperor of Yan and provoke him into sacrificing tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of lives to wipe out Treasure Pearl Temple, this manor would almost certainly never be used.

Yet the affairs of the world changed easily. How could mortals possibly calculate everything?

Who could have imagined that, several centuries later, such a terrifying force as the Barbarian Tribe would appear upon the lands of Yan?

And who could have foreseen that, alongside this barbarian army, the Barbarian Tribe would produce a peerless genius like the Barbarian King A Yanda—and that this genius would personally act to massacre Treasure Pearl Temple?

All one could say was that the skies held unforeseen storms, and people faced fortune and disaster overnight. No matter how powerful one was, no matter how glorious one's present was, it was never wrong to make a few extra preparations and leave oneself a road of retreat.

Sighing inwardly, Gu Han led the disciples into the manor. Before an artificial rockery whose water had long dried up and whose surface was covered in moss, he followed the memories buried deep in his mind and worked for about the time it took to burn an incense stick. Finally, amid a series of "crack, crack" sounds, a man-high opening slowly appeared in the rockery, revealing a dark, deep passage.

This was the method Ben Zhen had taught him more than ten years ago, and he had always remembered it deeply.

It could be said that Ben Zhen had truly thought highly of him back then. He had practically raised Gu Han as Treasure Pearl Temple's future Abbot, providing him with abundant pills and resources, even telling him all manner of secrets.

Of course, that did not include Patriarch Bodhidharma's three supreme martial arts.

Those were Treasure Pearl Temple's true highest secrets. Only the successive Abbots of Treasure Pearl Temple could learn of them and cultivate them.

Even eminent monks of the previous generation, such as Ben Deng and Ben Guan, who had once served as chief seats and possessed extremely high seniority, could only know that secret. They likewise had no qualification to practice them. As for newly appointed chief seats, they were not even qualified to learn of the secret.

This showed just how deeply those three martial arts had been hidden, and also reflected their value from another angle. Otherwise, even Treasure Pearl Temple, the foremost Martial Arts Holy Land of Great Yan, would not have needed to hide them away so carefully, not daring to reveal them to the world.

"All right, go down. Inside is a cellar spanning several acres, enough to accommodate several hundred people. Its ventilation, warmth, heat insulation, even its lighting arrangements have all been done extremely well.

Supplies sufficient for you to survive three or four years have also been stored inside for a long time. From this day onward, stay there. Do not come out until the barbarian army has withdrawn!"

Looking at the deep passage, Gu Han first went in to investigate for a while. Once he found no problem, he came back out and spoke to the young monks, signaling for them to enter.

"Yes, Martial Uncle!"

After the lesson they had just received, the young monks seemed to have matured considerably and gained much more trust in Gu Han. Each respectfully bowed to him before efficiently lining up and entering.

"Crack, crack, crack..."

A sound like mechanical gears turning rang out. Gu Han watched the slowly closing door, inspected it carefully once more, then turned and left after confirming there was no problem.

The young monks had been settled, but Jingyuan had not returned. He did not know what difficulty Jingyuan might have encountered.

With Jingyuan's pace as a peak Blood Tempering realm martial artist, he should have caught up to their large group long ago. He should not still be nowhere in sight.

"I hope nothing has happened to him."

At that thought, Gu Han's heart grew somewhat heavy. In the dozen or so years he had spent in this world, Jingyuan could absolutely be called the person closest to him. Whether Gu Han was glorious or downcast, Jingyuan had never harbored any divided loyalties. He had always remained the same, maintaining his respect for Gu Han.

Therefore, from the bottom of his heart, Gu Han naturally did not wish for any accident to befall him.

"Rustle, rustle, rustle..."

Just as Gu Han was about to set off, heavy footsteps crushing bamboo leaves reached his ears.

"Is that Jingyuan?"

Gu Han called cautiously toward the bamboo grove ahead. At the same time, he leaned forward slightly, ready to rush ahead and strike with all his strength at the first sign of anything wrong, taking the other party's dog head!

"Senior Brother, it's... it's me!"

A familiar yet weak voice came over. Gu Han focused his gaze and saw Jingyuan, his face twisted in pain and blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, clutching his chest as he staggered toward him.

"Jingyuan, what happened to you?"

Seeing Jingyuan's face pale as gold paper, clearly gravely injured at a glance, Gu Han's face filled with concern. With a movement of his feet, he swiftly arrived before Jingyuan.