That night.
The night was overcast with clouds, so much so that the bright moon that had been hanging in the sky was obscured by them, and not a single ray of light could be seen between heaven and earth. It was as if a pure black curtain had shrouded the entire world.
A biting, eerie wind swept through the air. Above the dark forest, the sound of waves crashing against the rocks could be clearly heard. The pitch-black night, coupled with this chilling wind, would surely make anyone standing here shiver.
"Look at the sky, it looks like there's going to be a storm!"
Above a certain forest, an old man whose features were obscured stood atop a giant tree, surrounded by a vast expanse of undulating tree branches. Strangely, these tree branches would automatically disperse when they reached a radius of ten feet around the old man.
Upon closer inspection, even the giant tree beneath the old man's feet seemed completely unaffected by the surrounding yin winds. The entire tree remained motionless, like a sculpture. If it weren't for the life force emanating from it, no one would believe that this tree could remain completely still under the biting yin winds.
Of course, rather than saying that the tree was motionless, it would be more accurate to say that the old man, whose appearance was obscured, remained completely still in this world.
"That's good. This land has been peaceful for too long. Those withered trees that should have fallen long ago should indeed fall. Spring goes and autumn comes, the seasons change. Only in this way can this mountain forest continue to function."
The old man murmured something under his breath, while his bright eyes, shining in the darkness, gazed straight at the distant northwest horizon.
A brief moment later, the old man's eyes lit up slightly, and a smile appeared on his lips in the darkness.
"They've arrived."
He chuckled again, unaware that it was a completely dark sky, devoid of any human presence. How could there be anyone there?
Ten breaths later, a tiny purple light suddenly appeared in the pitch-black world. Although the light was not dazzling, it was enough to illuminate a section of the night sky.
"Hehe, Win, you've finally come."
Under the purple light, the outline of the old man's face could be roughly seen.
The old man appeared quite approachable, his face etched with deep lines—the marks of Suiyue.
His beard, which should have been white, reflected an eerie light under the purple glow, making the kind-looking old man appear somewhat sinister at this moment.
"Elder Haoxuan, something unexpected happened. We've kept you waiting."
The purple light drew closer and closer, until it was within a hundred feet, at which point a middle-aged man's faint laughter could be heard.
"Hmm? Clan leader, what happened? Could it be that old bastard from the Sun Clan...?"
"No, I just didn't expect Sun Shuo to actually find a way to counter my Dou Qi, which made me spend some time on it, but I was also fortunate enough to see that guy get his comeuppance, haha."
The old man frowned, and before he could utter a slightly solemn word, the figure who had already arrived waved his hand lightly. As his laughter subsided, he didn't forget to shake the black-robed youth he was carrying.
The person who came was Bai Ying, who had left Hanxi City at dusk, and the one he was carrying was Xiao Yan.
If he wanted to escape the clutches of the demon, Xiao Yan certainly had the ability. However, he was also curious as to why Bai Ying had repeatedly shielded him from Sun Shuo. Therefore, driven by his curiosity, Xiao Yan allowed Bai Ying to bring him here.
However, upon realizing what was happening, Xiao Yan suddenly felt a tremendous sense of danger, and the source of that danger was none other than the old man who had appeared before him and Bai Ying.
"This person's strength is definitely above Bai Ying's!"
A silent gasp escaped Xiao Yan's lips; he couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. He hadn't expected that following Bai Ying would lead him to such a predicament. And judging from Bai Ying's address of the old man, he seemed to be an elder...
What if he's an elder of the Heavenly Sword Sect? Wouldn't I be in danger?
"Damn it! I've practically handed myself over to them!"
Xiao Yan cursed himself inwardly, feeling helpless. It seemed that he could only place his last hope on Gu You. He couldn't even tell how strong the old man was, let alone fight Xiao Yan. Who knew, the old man might actually kill him with a single slap.
Of course, the two of them had no idea what Xiao Yan was thinking at this moment. However, even if they did know, they would probably just burst into laughter.
"This gentleman is Mr. Xiao Yan?"
Sensing the mockery in Bai Ying's words, the old man couldn't help but turn his gaze to Xiao Yan, who was currently closing his eyes and drooping his head. He frowned slightly and spoke in a slightly polite tone.
Seeing that Xiao Yan, who was being held in his hand, did not react at all, Bai Ying was taken aback. His expression changed rapidly, and he quickly put Xiao Yan down in the air. He stretched out his sleeve and grabbed Xiao Yan's wrist. At the same time, a surge of Spiritual Strength rushed out and flowed into Xiao Yan's body through his palm.
At the same time, the old man's expression faltered slightly, but he didn't know what had happened, so he walked over with a curious look on his face.
However, the next moment, Bai Ying's already furrowed brows suddenly changed drastically. The Spiritual Strength that had surged into Xiao Yan's body rapidly withdrew, and the hand that had been gripping Xiao Yan's wrist abruptly released its grip. Bai Ying quickly stood up and took several steps back before looking at Xiao Yan with lingering fear.
Beside him, the old man's expression also changed slightly, and the wrinkles on his old face appeared even more pronounced at this moment.
"What's wrong with this kid? He's acting strangely?"
The old man asked indifferently, while his withered hand transformed into a claw, and a dazzling ball of battle Dou Qi was about to burst forth from his palm.
"No... it's not that he's acting strangely, it's just that I forgot, Xiao Yan controls Heavenly Flames. Just now, the Heavenly Flames was protecting its master, and I was careless, which is why I was startled by it. But now we're in trouble. We can't let Xiao Yan stay unconscious like this. We can't wait that long. If you and I stay here, the other families and the Heavenly Sword Sect will definitely become suspicious."
"What should we do? This kid won't wake up, and we can't take him back to our clan. Are we really going to kill him and give him to the Heavenly Sword Sect as a gift?"
The old man frowned, and his expression looked extremely unwilling.
"Hmph, even if we really killed him, we would never hand him over to them. Besides, Xiao Yan's identity is special. We absolutely cannot act rashly without knowing his exact identity!"
Bai Ying snorted coldly, seemingly unimpressed by the powerful figure behind him.
Upon hearing this, even the old man standing beside him nodded in agreement.
"What do we do now? We can't keep them alive, and we can't kill them either. It's a dilemma!"
The old man's face appeared particularly gloomy under the purple light, yet he was at a loss for what to do, so he could only turn his gaze to Bai Ying once more.
Seeing this, Bai Ying frowned and was about to speak when Xiao Yan, who seemed to have fainted, suddenly coughed violently.
"Cough cough cough..."
Opening his eyes, a glint of light flashed in Xiao Yan's eyes. Bai Ying and the old man, on the other hand, looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh helplessly.
Why did Xiao Yan wake up only after they revealed his connection to the Heavenly Sword Sect? Isn't that obvious enough? The unconscious Xiao Yan in front of us was just faking it!
"Haha, Mr. Xiao Yan really woke up just in time! Otherwise, our elders would have been unable to resist stepping in to save him."
Bai Ying laughed heartily, and at the same time breathed a long sigh of relief. He slowly stood up from the void, stared at Xiao Yan with his eyes fixed on him, and said something inscrutable.