Leaving

"Bang."

The old patriarch slapped Su Ye on the head and scolded angrily, "Do you even know what you've missed? Holding that Talisman Token doesn't just exempt you from the assessment; it also grants you access to vast cultivation resources. And you just gave it up like that?"

Su Ye reached up to rub his head, looked at the old patriarch, and pouted, "Do you really think that with my strength, I couldn't become a genius disciple of the Heaven Mending Pavilion?"

"This?"

The old patriarch paused. It was true; with Su Ye's strength, he could easily join any major power and receive priority cultivation. He said, "Even if you don't need it, you could have given it to someone else. This Talisman Token is extremely precious. If you sold it, you could fetch a staggering price."

What a spendthrift, to actually abandon such an important item.

"This is a token of recognition for my strength gifted by the Heaven Mending Pavilion. If I were to just sell it off, wouldn't that be a slap in the face to the Pavilion?"

Su Ye shook his head. He didn't tell the old patriarch about the visions he had seen, but instead rubbed his hands together and said with a beaming smile, "Old man, I'm leaving. Does the clan have any treasures? Hurry up and bring them to me now."

"Get lost. You aren't a disciple of my Wind Clan, so even if I had treasures, I wouldn't give them to you. Of course, if you're willing to marry my granddaughter and produce a chubby grandson before you leave, I might consider giving you one."

"Forget it then."

"Don't refuse so quickly. Won't you reconsider? They say a woman three years older is like holding a brick of gold—I'll give you three gold bricks as a dowry right now."

Outside the Wind Clan.

"Is he politely refusing us?"

A disciple of the Heaven Mending Pavilion spoke up. He was quite shocked by Su Ye's rejection, knowing full well how precious the Talisman Token was—even major powers struggled to obtain one, yet it had been turned down.

"I don't think so."

Xia Youyu shook her head slightly. The image of Su Ye's innocent smile surfaced in her mind as she said, "That person's eyes are very special. When he looked at the token in my hand, it was as if runes were flickering within them. It's just that he was half a head shorter than me, and since he was looking down, I couldn't see clearly.

However, I suspect that Su Ye possesses a special talent that allows him to perceive certain karmic threads."

She recalled the words he had spoken, claiming that they would soon encounter someone—someone truly extraordinary.

"Karma?"

The old woman beside her pondered for a moment before saying, "Speaking of karma, it reminds me of someone. It is rumored that the Rain Clan has two outstanding prodigies in this generation, known as the Rain Clan Twin Prodigies. One of them possesses a 'Spirit-Connecting Divine Sense' capable of discerning karmic threads. Could this person have a similar talent?"

The Spirit-Connecting Divine Sense was a rare gift. While it couldn't compare to the Double Pupil or the Supreme Bone, it was still extraordinary, allowing one to sense danger in advance or even predict the future.

"Whether it is or not isn't important now. I am simply curious: who is this person destined to meet us?"

A smile touched the corners of Xia Youyu's lips, her grace as moving as a blooming celestial flower. She felt that this trip to the Western Frontier would be highly rewarding.

"You're just leaving like this?"

"If I don't leave like this, are you expecting me to hold a ceremony?"

Su Ye looked at the old patriarch, and as a thought struck him, his face filled with anticipation. "Does the clan have some great hidden treasure for me to inherit?"

"What great treasure?"

The old patriarch, exasperated, slapped the back of Su Ye's head and retorted, "If you're in such a rush to leave, why didn't you just go with the people from the Heaven Mending Pavilion earlier?"

"I want to traverse the Great Wilderness alone to temper myself."

Su Ye said with a firm expression. If the Little One and Qing Feng could cross the Great Wilderness, he certainly wouldn't have any problems doing it on his own.

The old patriarch looked at Su Ye's high-spirited demeanor and asked, somewhat speechless, "In which direction is the Heaven Mending Pavilion?"

"..."

Su Ye blinked, looking at the old patriarch with an awkward expression, and chuckled, "Um, where is the Heaven Mending Pavilion?"

Although he was a transmigrator who knew many things, he truly didn't know where the Pavilion was located. After all, his knowledge was merely a summary of destiny, like reading a history book—it didn't mean he knew every detail of the era.

Furthermore, he had never traveled far from home; the furthest he had ever been was a few thousand miles from the tribe.

The old patriarch felt weary. To run off without knowing anything—he sighed, "I don't know the exact location of the Heaven Mending Pavilion, but I know the general direction."

"Where is it?"

"To the east."

The old patriarch said, and with a flash of light, a primitive map appeared in his hand. The map was drawn on animal hide and looked incredibly ancient, riddled with wormholes. He spread it out and pointed to a spot, saying, "Our Wind Clan is here. You head east...

You must bypass this area; it's an ancient battlefield. Even though countless years have passed, it remains extremely dangerous. Go around this region, and then...

Forget it. If all else fails, just catch a fierce beast and ask for directions. The Heaven Mending Pavilion isn't some obscure place; even the beasts know of it."

"..."

Su Ye looked at the old patriarch, speechless. Is this how you give directions? That's so irresponsible!

"Ahem."

The old patriarch coughed, looking a bit embarrassed. "Well, don't look at me like that. I've never traveled far either. This map was left behind by our ancestors."

The Great Wilderness was too vast, filled with endless mountain ranges and terrifying beasts. Consequently, most tribes in the Great Wilderness never traveled far in their entire lives; many never even left the region where their tribe was located.

Su Ye didn't stand on ceremony and tucked the map away. He looked at the old man before him, his expression turning serious. He bowed deeply to the elder and said with a smile, "Grandpa Patriarch, I'm leaving. Take care of yourself."

"Get lost."

The old patriarch spoke, waving his hand as if shooing someone away.

Su Ye turned and left.

Watching Su Ye's departing back, the old patriarch sighed in his heart; who knew if they would ever meet again after this parting?

However, this fellow was no good sort, so he likely wouldn't die easily out there.

A hidden dragon leaving the abyss would surely soar to the nine heavens.

Half a month later.

The world was gray and hazy, permeated by an eerie aura.

Su Ye frowned slightly as he looked at the empty village before him. The village did not appear to have been attacked, yet there was not a single soul within the tribe.

Gone out?

Evacuated?

Su Ye immediately dismissed this speculation, as cured meat still hung in some of the houses; if they had evacuated, it would be impossible for them not to take their food. Some tables even held food that had barely been touched. Moreover, this was not the first deserted village he had encountered.

If it wasn't an evacuation, then where had the people gone?

It was impossible for them to have simply evaporated into thin air!

Su Ye fell into deep thought. This could not be the work of bandits or fierce beasts; if it were bandits, they would only capture children and women and plunder the grain.

As for fierce beasts?

The entire village would have been reduced to ruins, with bloodstains everywhere, rather than being as clean and tidy as it was now. The situation before him looked as if the villagers had walked out of their homes of their own volition and then left.

"The outside world is truly bizarre."

Su Ye sighed inwardly. From a young age, he had heard the old patriarch tell many stories about the outside world, claiming how terrifying and strange it was, but he had never taken it to heart.

Because so-called strangeness and mystery were merely the divine abilities of powerful beings; as long as one's own strength was sufficient, nothing was strange.

But at this moment, Su Ye felt he had been somewhat arrogant, underestimating this world and thinking that because he knew the future, he could walk sideways through it.

Knowing was merely knowing.

It did not mean he could afford to be contemptuous.

To live well in this world, what was needed was not knowledge of the future, but the possession of formidable strength. Strength was the root of everything.

Su Ye took a deep breath. Just as he was about to leave this eerie place, a call suddenly appeared in his mind, beckoning him.

Soon, Su Ye's eyes became vacant, his entire demeanor appearing extremely dull, and then he began to walk forward with a wooden expression.