Night gradually fell, and the cold wind wailed as it swept past.
Baili Gan sat alone in the biting wind, the words of that Gu Family elder endlessly echoing in his mind...
"Our Gu Family keeping you here is becoming somewhat inappropriate."
Those words echoed through his mind again and again, making his seated figure hunch a little more, abase itself a little further. That once-meager hope had been ground to dust by every sentence.
He was not afraid of death, nor was he afraid of being cannon fodder. He only hoped to at least trade it for a place to live in peace, a mountain to lean against, somewhere the children of his clan could grow up safely—instead of becoming "artifacts" for another clan's amusement and cultivation.
The night wind grew even more frigid, whistling through Baili Gan's robes.
He fiercely wiped his face with his rough hands, then rubbed it hard again. Yet the cold wind scraped across his face like blades and swords, bringing piercing pain.
"Over a hundred strands of Rule Power should be enough."
The majestic aura of Baili Gan, a Great Vehicle Realm venerable, slowly rose before silently dissipating. His gaze became exceptionally resolute as he looked once more upon the vast mountains and rivers beneath the night sky. "...There will definitely be a way out."
Tap.
Suddenly, a pair of hands silently settled upon his shoulders. His entire body jolted, his aura bursting forth. Anyone capable of such a thing had to be a Gu Family Immortal!
"This lowly clan..."
Baili Gan spun around in an instant. The determination in his eyes and his immense, steadfast bearing vanished at once, replaced by instinctive humility and reverence.
Yet when he saw that figure, his words caught in his throat.
It was not the