After traveling through Lingnan, Gu Hui headed north. He walked at an easy pace through mountains and forests, crossing streams and fields.
He reached a desolate valley as dusk fell. Birds returning to their nests swept past its shadowy entrance.
At his level of cultivation, the grudges of the mortal world, its partings and deaths, were no more than dust rising and settling beneath the heavens. They stirred not a ripple in his heart.
He kept walking, his course unchanged. As always, he intended to leave it all beyond an invisible barrier.
But just as he was about to pass the valley entrance—
"Wah... Let me go!"
A child's shrill, terrified cry pierced Gu Hui's still heart.
The voice was so young, its tearful words barely formed, its anguish wrenching.
He vanished without disturbing a speck of dust and appeared deep within the valley as if he had teleported.
The sight was appalling. Seven or eight masked men in black, their auras cold, surrounded a little girl who was struggling desperately.
She looked three or four years old. Her clothes were worn and her small face was filthy, but neither could hide her delicate features. Her large eyes brimmed with tears and fear, like those of a startled fawn.
One of the men held her up as if she were a chick. Her little arms and legs kicked in vain.
"Keep crying, brat! I'll cut out your tongue!" one of the men threatened.
"Boss, she's got good potential. They'll love her over there. We can sell her for a fortune!" another said greedily.
"Move it! We can't stay here!" the leader urged.
Just as they were about to carry her off by force—
Hummm!
A terrifying, unseen pressure descended like a towering iceberg from the frozen depths of Jiuyou!
It