Beneath the ancient tree on Holy Mountain, Mo Nancang stopped his account.
Just then, a north wind swept past, stripping a withered leaf from the ancient tree's branches.
The withered leaf fell, and the dust that the years had laid upon it swirled like smoke...
After a long silence.
"Whew!"
Mo Nancang let out a long breath.
"Boy, do you understand now?"
Gu Chenfeng nodded slightly.
"Those two fellow disciples were Grandpa and you, Granduncle Master, weren't they?"
"As for the ruler of the small country who helped you, he was the Founding Emperor of the Great Li Dynasty."
Mo Nancang nodded.
But something suddenly stirred in Gu Chenfeng's eyes.
"Could the master who taught Grandpa and you have been..."
"That's right. Our master was the sect master of the Four Symbols Divine Sect.
"Back then, when that mysterious expert destroyed the Four Symbols Divine Sect and seized that supreme treasure,
"Master relied on a secret method and, by a stroke of luck, escaped with grave injuries, saving his own life.
"But after that night, the Four Symbols Divine Sect no longer existed, and Master had suffered injuries from which he could never recover.
"Disheartened, he wandered the borderlands of Yan Province, saving me and my senior brother along the way.
"Perhaps Master still harbored much unwillingness to accept what had happened.
"Or perhaps my senior brother's talent for cultivation kindled his hope of revenge. He poured a great deal of effort into training us.
"Sadly, on that night when blood stained a hundred li, Master fell, and I implicated my senior brother, causing damage to his Dao Foundation and utterly extinguishing Master's hope of revenge."
"Who were those people? That supreme treasure had already been taken. Why did they still attack you?"
Gu Chenfeng could not help asking.
"I