Inside the damp, hidden cave, the violent residual waves of Gu Chen’s breakthrough gradually settled into a quiet, icy silence.
Su Yan exhaled a long breath, her eyes still lingering on Gu Chen’s smooth, unblemished left wrist where the Lin Clan's Beacon had burned only moments prior. She looked up at him, a mix of awe and practical concern washing over her flustered face.
"Gu Chen," Su Yan began, her voice soft as she stepped closer. "Once we step out into the open, we can't take any unnecessary risks. The nearest Sun-Moon Sect border territory isn't too far from this region. Just beyond this mountain range lies a major border merchant city under our sect's jurisdiction."
Gu Chen adjusted his dark charcoal sleeves, looking at her attentively.
"In that city, our sect maintains a fortified staging outpost with daily flying vessels heading straight back to the main peaks," Su Yan explained, her eyes brightening with determination. "The docks are heavily guarded by Outer Sect Elders and Enforcers. Not even the Lin Clan would dare launch an open attack on a Sun-Moon Sect flying ship without igniting an all-out war between faction territories. If we cross the forest tonight, we can board a vessel by dawn."
Gu Chen considered her words for a brief second. Traversing miles of open wilderness on foot as a low-level disciple was an unnecessary waste of time and energy. Boarding a protected sect ship was the most pragmatic route available.
"Lead the way," Gu Chen said with a calm nod.
Leaving the cavern behind, the two figures melted into the thick, mist-shrouded night of the primordial forest.
The forest was treacherous, teeming with nocturnal spirit beasts and jagged terrain, but traveling with Gu Chen proved to be a surreal experience for Su Yan. With her background as a inner disciple of Lotus-Phoenix Peak, she drew upon her detailed knowledge of the local topography to steer them through safe passages.
Yet, it was Gu Chen’s movements that left her perpetually spellbound.
Even while carrying the massive, unawakened Asura Blood-Spite Sword wrapped in plain cloth over his back, Gu Chen moved like an ethereal shadow. His footfalls made no sound against the damp leaves, his breath remained completely even, and his dark-violet eyes picked up environmental hazards long before she could spot them. Every step he took was executed with mathematical precision, zero wasted motion, zero unnecessary Qi expenditure.
Su Yan found herself casting sideways glances at his sharp profile throughout the trek. Watching his icy composure in the dead of night, her heart throbbed with a strange, intoxicating warmth. How can someone be so pragmatic, so terrifyingly composed, yet make every movement look like an art form?
As the first rays of morning light pierced through the heavy canopy, the thick treeline gave way to a towering obsidian wall.
Perched at the border of Sun-Moon Sect territory was the bustling merchant city of Cloud-Pass. At the highest ridge of the city stood the Sun-Moon Sect Staging Outpost, its grand golden banners snapping loudly in the morning mountain breeze.
Moored at the stone skydock was a massive, three-tiered wooden flying vessel. Arrays of luminous spirit stones glowed along its hull, surrounded by dozens of heavily armored Sect Enforcers and imposing figures wearing the dark gray robes of Outer Sect Elders. The sheer martial pressure radiating from the dock kept the surrounding crowds orderly and subdued.
Gu Chen and Su Yan emerged from the forest road, stepping into the busy courtyard toward the passenger boarding line.
"Look! It's Senior Sister Su Yan!"
"She made it back from the secret realm!"
Whispers rippled through the gathering crowd of returning disciples. But before Su Yan could approach the boarding registrar, a harsh, venomous voice shouted from the side of the plaza.
"Gu Chen?!"
Gu Chen slowed his pace, glancing sideways with deadpan indifference.
Stepping out from the shadow of a stone pillar was Huo Tian.
He was in an absolute state of disrepair. His fine silk robes were torn and covered in dried mud, his face was bruised, and his arm was held tightly in a makeshift sling.
When the secret realm began collapsing, Huo Tian had fled early, only to run straight into a group of furious Lin Clan elders stationed near the outer perimeter. The elders, enraged over their Young Master's sudden injury and the severed Beacon, had ruthlessly cornered the fleeing juniors. They had harassed, searched, and humiliated Huo Tian, treating him like an insignificant bug while demanding answers he didn't have.
Huo Tian had been terrified, bitter, and utterly helpless. If only a senior elder from his own faction had been there to back him up, he wouldn't have suffered such public disgrace!
Now, seeing Gu Chen walking into the outpost completely unscathed and walking side-by-side with Su Yan , a wave of suffocating jealousy and humiliation exploded in Huo Tian’s chest.
"Elder! Arrest this man!" Huo Tian screamed, pointing a trembling, enraged finger directly at Gu Chen's face as he stumbled toward the center of the outpost.
The loud shouting instantly drew the attention of everyone in the plaza. Several Sect Enforcers adjusted their spears, and a tall, stern-faced Outer Sect Elder step forward. The Elder radiated the heavy, dense aura of the Bone Refining Realm, his piercing gaze locking onto the scene.
"What is the meaning of this commotion?" the Bone Refining Elder demanded coldly, his voice echoing across the skydock.
Huo Tian puffed out his chest, trying to sound authoritative despite his battered appearance. "Elder! This trash, rogue cultivator, engaged in suspicious, evil practices inside the secret realm! I saw it with my own eyes! He secretly cultivated forbidden demonic arts, ambushed fellow disciples, and even attacked Young Master Lin Feng of the Lin Clan to steal his treasures!"
A sharp gasp echoed through the crowd. Attacking a Young Master of a major clan was a catastrophic charge that could bring war to the sect’s doorstep.
"Is this true?" The Bone Refining Elder’s eyes narrowed into cold slits as he stepped down the stone stairs, his heavy aura crushing down upon Gu Chen.
Gu Chen stood motionless, his dark eyes hollow and relaxed. He didn't offer a single word of defense, nor did he flinch under the Elder's heavy pressure. Deep inside his dantian, his newly formed Abyssal Foundation hummed smoothly, while the Ring of Qi Suppression on his finger clamped down with absolute precision.
The Bone Refining Elder reached Gu Chen, grabbing Gu Chen’s left arm without warning. He pulled back his dark sleeve, scrutinizing the skin.
There was no blood tattoo. No tracking spell. Not a single trace of residual Lin Clan mark existed on his pale wrist.
Next, the Elder thrust a thread of his divine sense directly into Gu Chen’s meridians to inspect his cultivation base.
What the Elder found was a thin, frail, almost pitiful thread of spiritual energy, the weak, unimpressive aura of a mediocre 5th-Stage Qi Refiner.
The Elder froze. He looked at Gu Chen’s clean wrist, then scanned his pathetic 5th-Stage Qi Refining dantian once more, his face slowly turning from serious to utterly furious.
He snapped his head toward Huo Tian, his voice booming like thunder. "Impudent fool!"
Huo Tian blinked, stunned. "E-Elder?"
"You dare slander a fellow cultivator with such absurd, brainless lies?!" the Bone Refining Elder roared, his voice laced with disgust. "This young man is barely at the 5th-Stage of Qi Refining! Young Master Lin Feng is a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment genius! Are you telling me a 5th-Stage Qi Refining youth defeated a Late Foundation master, stole his weapon, and erased a Beacon mark single-handedly?!"
"I -No! Elder, he used evil tricks! He-"
"Silence!" the Elder barked, waving his sleeve aggressively. "You returned from the secret realm empty-handed, battered, and disgraced, and now you fabricate ridiculous tall tales to shift the blame onto an innocent junior to cover up your own utter uselessness!"
The surrounding disciples burst into quiet laughter and mocking snickers. Huo Tian’s face turned bright crimson, his throat catching as he stood frozen under the stinging shame.
Before Huo Tian could utter another word, Su Yan stepped forward, her flaming lotus Qi flaring with sharp disdain.
"Huo Tian," Su Yan said, her voice ringing out clearly across the entire outpost. "I must ask which sect do you actually belong to? Do you belong to the Sun-Moon Sect, or are you merely a barking dog for the Lin Clan?"
Huo Tian gasped, staggering back a step. "Su Yan, how can you-"
"You stand here publicly accusing my Guest of heinous crimes without a single shred of evidence, eagerly parroting the accusations of foreign clans!" Su Yan’s eyes burned with cold anger as she looked down on him. "Your cowardice inside the secret realm was pathetic enough, but your shameless malice outside of it is truly disgusting."
"I... I..." Huo Tian’s mouth opened and closed like a dying fish.
With his loyalty to the sect publicly questioned by a direct inner disciple of Lotus-Phoenix Peak, the surrounding Enforcers glared at him with visible hostility. Knowing he was completely ruined, Huo Tian hung his head in sheer humiliation, squeezing his eyes shut as he slunk back into the shadows of the crowd, unable to utter another syllable.
"Enough of this foolishness," the Bone Refining Elder grunted, dismissing the scene with a wave of his hand. "All surviving disciples, line up and board the vessel immediately!"
Su Yan turned back toward Gu Chen, her angry expression melting instantly into a soft, gentle smile. "Let's go, Gu Chen."
Gu Chen gave a faint, imperceptible nod, stepping onto the wooden gangway behind her.
Minutes later, the massive flying vessel let out a low, resonant chime. Its ancient spirit arrays flared brightly, lifting the majestic ship into the clouds as it glided smoothly away from merchant City, heading directly toward the majestic, cloud-shrouded peaks of the Sun-Moon Sect.
Standing near the edge of the upper deck, Gu Chen found a quiet, secluded corner away from the noisy chatter of the other disciples.
He leaned against the polished wooden railing, feeling the cold, high-altitude winds whip through his dark charcoal robes. Inside his spatial storage, the indestructible Asura Blood-Spite Sword rested quietly beside his refined pills and spirit stones.
Gu Chen closed his eyes, letting his consciousness settle into his dantian to gently nurture his newly formed Abyssal Foundation. A cold, dark smile touched the corners of his lips as the mountain peaks of the Sun-Moon Sect slowly appeared on the horizon.