Above the Southern Border, streaks of light tore through the sea of clouds.
Ancestor Yan Tian and nine Dao Sages of the Setting Sun Divine Palace raced toward the Western Wastes, flying like the wind and lightning.
The wind howled past their ears like thunder.
They traveled in silence, each of them weighed down by anxiety and unease.
Ancestor Yan Tian had spent so long inside the hall on Bright Moon Spirit Tide Valley's Main Peak. When he emerged, he said nothing. He simply called the nine of them by name and headed back toward the Western Wastes. Even a fool could guess the negotiations had not gone well.
The farther west they flew, the harder it became for Dao Sage Luo Yang and the others to hold back their questions.
He kept close beside Ancestor Yan Tian, his brows tightly furrowed. After hesitating several times, he finally asked in a low voice, urgent and bewildered:
"Ancestor!"
"Why are we rushing back to the Western Wastes?"
"The others are still in Bright Moon Spirit Tide Valley. What will happen to them?"
The other eight Dao Sages of the Setting Sun Divine Palace looked over as well, their gazes anxious and confused.
They had followed Ancestor Yan Tian across territories in a show of force, only to be surrounded, and now they seemed to be fleeing in disgrace... It all felt like a nightmare.
They had been left in the dark from start to finish, and the humiliation was unbearable.
As Cloudsea Territory sped away behind them, Ancestor Yan Tian's hair and beard whipped against the wind. His expression was grim, and the grief and humiliation pent up in his eyes finally burst forth.
His voice was hoarse and heavy, carrying a desolation that bordered on ruin.
"Because we have to