Night gradually fell, and the cold wind wailed as it swept past.
Baili Qian sat alone in the frigid wind, the words of that Gu Family Elder echoing endlessly through his mind...
"Our Gu Family keeping you here is already somewhat inappropriate."
Those words echoed through his mind again and again, making his seated figure hunch a little more, humble itself a little more. That once-tiny hope had been ground utterly to dust by every sentence.
He was not afraid of death, nor was he afraid of becoming cannon fodder. He had only hoped to at least exchange it for a place to live in peace, a mountain to lean against—somewhere the children of his Self Clan could grow safely, rather than becoming "artifacts" for other clans' amusement and cultivation.
The night wind grew even colder, whistling as it blew past Baili Qian'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 swords, stabbing him with unbearable pain.
"Over a hundred strands of Rules of Power should be enough."
The vast aura of Baili Qian, a Great Vehicle Honored One, slowly rose before silently dispersing. His gaze became incomparably resolute as he once again looked out over the boundless mountains and rivers beneath the night sky. "...There will definitely be a way out."
Tap.
Suddenly, a pair of hands silently came to rest on his shoulders. His entire body jolted, and his aura burst forth. Anyone capable of such a feat had to be an immortal of the Gu Family!
"This lowly clan..."
Baili Qian turned around in an instant. The determination in his eyes and his immense, steadfast aura vanished in an instant, replaced by an instinctive humility and reverence.
Yet when he