The night was deep and dark at the foot of Tianshan Mountain. Looking toward the horizon, the moon hung high in the sky, adorning the majestic peaks with silver light, creating a scene of desolate beauty.

At the remote mountain’s edge, cold winds blew in waves, stirring up the accumulated snow on the ground. An old man crouched on the ground, gazing at a large burlap sack. His face bore not a trace of beard and he appeared to have the bearing of an immortal, but now his face was streaked with tears, showing great emotion.

In the distance, a man holding a long sword coldly watched the old man and the sack on the ground. His brow was deeply furrowed as if deep in thought.

The old man wiped the tears from his face and sighed: “Sect Leader Ning, the person has already been brought out. Do you still insist on retiring?”

The man said: “Please forgive my willfulness. Since the person is out, for the sake of Mount Hua’s century-old foundation, I must withdraw from the martial world. Otherwise… you know what the consequences will be.”

The old man shook his head: “There’s no talk of consequences or not. To be loyal and righteous unto death – why not fight with everything we have?”

The man, hearing these words, only smiled faintly. He seemed about to say something when suddenly the sound of light footsteps could be heard – it seemed a large group was approaching. His expression changed slightly as he gently exhaled a breath of stale air: “Consider me afraid then. In this matter, I, Ning, have done my utmost and have no shame before my trust. Please take care of yourself.”

The old man nodded: “No matter what, I owe you a debt of gratitude.” He looked at the burlap sack and said softly: “Consort Qiong is about to arrive. Are you truly unwilling to see her?”

The man smiled sadly: “What would be the point of meeting? It would only add to troubles.” He hung his long sword at his waist and walked toward the shadows. This person’s movement technique wasn’t particularly fast, but when he moved, he seemed to float without his feet touching the ground. In an instant, his figure had disappeared into the darkness.

The old man watched his retreating figure and said in a low voice: “Victorious in eight hundred battles, martial arts honored throughout the world – Ning Bufan, ah Ning Bufan, you must be extremely careful in this final battle of your life…”

As he muttered to himself, footsteps sounded behind him, followed by a voice: “Reporting to the Chief Steward, this subordinate has brought Consort Qiong here as ordered.”

The old man slowly stood and turned around to see several men escorting a beautiful woman approaching.

The beautiful woman curtsied lightly: “Old Liu.”

The old man nodded: “The journey was arduous, and you had to hide everywhere – it was truly hard on you.”

The beautiful woman smiled faintly: “As long as I can see ‘him,’ no hardship frightens me.”

The old man smiled slightly and pointed to the burlap sack on the ground. The beautiful woman’s body trembled, tears immediately filling her eyes as she said in a shaking voice: “Old Liu, this… this is ‘him’?”

Seeing the old man nod gently, the beautiful woman was overcome with grief and rushed toward the burlap sack, wanting to embrace it tightly.

The old man grabbed her and whispered: “Don’t rush over yet. ‘He’ lived in the dark cave bottom for thirty years – his body is very weak and his mind hasn’t recovered. I’m currently nourishing him with snow lotus water. Please be patient.”

The beautiful woman wiped away her tears and nodded: “I understand. Old Liu, may I watch over ‘him’? I just want to see ‘him’ once, and I’ll be completely satisfied.”

The old man sighed: “You’ve already waited thirty years – why be urgent about this moment?”

The beautiful woman choked: “In the past, I thought myself dead. Today, knowing ‘he’ is still alive – how can I bear it?”

The old man shook his head. Seeing the woman’s face full of expectation, he waved his hand: “Fine, do as you wish.”

Seeing the beautiful woman’s face full of joy as she hurried toward the sack, the old man, not wanting to disturb her, walked to one side.

More than ten subordinates, seeing him approach, immediately gathered around. The old man’s expression was stern as he said in a low voice: “Where is Jiang Chong?”

A subordinate reported: “Jiang Chong has left Tianshan and headed directly toward Mount Hua.”

The old man smiled coldly: “Good boy – he wants to deal with Ning Bufan.” He snorted twice and asked again: “I told you to investigate the whereabouts of Marquis Wude’s descendants. How did you fare?”

From the distance came an extremely shrill laugh: “Your Excellency guessed correctly – that bastard turtle is indeed a disciple of the Nine Provinces Sword King. I don’t think he can escape involvement.”

Everyone, hearing this voice, turned their heads to see a tall, thin man approaching from the distance. His face was painted with thick white powder, looking extremely bizarre. But he walked with a limp, as if his leg had suffered some serious injury.

The old man hummed and said: “Has he himself become aware of this matter?”

The tall, thin man laughed shrilly: “That idiot understands shit! I think he knows nothing himself – truly stupid to the extreme.”

The old man nodded: “That’s good then. As long as he doesn’t know and that Liu Angtian is also kept in the dark, this coup has hope.”

Everyone, hearing the word “coup,” immediately fell to their knees, trembling all over. Even the tall, thin man’s expression changed, showing great apprehension.

The old man paid no attention to the crowd and slowly raised his head to gaze at the night sky. In that instant, a strange light appeared in his eyes, like blazing flames shooting straight up three thousand zhang into the blue sky.