As Yue He spoke, Guo Ziyan's eyelids suddenly fluttered shut, and he collapsed to the ground.
"Dad!" The girl called Miao'er cried out in alarm, her face draining of color.
Yue He said, "Don't worry, he's just fainted." He had been besieged by enemies and could have lost his life at any moment. Now that Yang Kai and Yue He had rescued him, the tension that had held his mind in a vice finally released, and combined with the enormous expenditure from the earlier battle, he simply couldn't hold on any longer.
Though she knew Yue He wouldn't lie to her, Miao'er still personally examined Guo Ziyan's injuries to confirm he had merely fainted before she allowed herself to relax. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and bowed deeply and respectfully. "Thank you both, Lords, for saving our lives. Thank you both."
Yang Kai said, "Commander Guo is my Void Land's man. He has followed me through life and death for many years. When he's in trouble, of course I'll help—there's no need for thanks. This time, it was my oversight."
Guo Ziyan had only gone to find his daughter—how could Yang Kai have anticipated his life would be in danger? Had he known beforehand, he would have insisted on going along no matter what. With Yue He at his side, something like this surely wouldn't have happened.
"What's your name?" Yang Kai looked toward her.
The girl sniffled softly and said, "This humble one is Guo Miao."
Yang Kai nodded and summoned Lang Qingshan, Lai Zi Tou, and the others to carry the unconscious Guo Ziyan back to the Lotus Fall and settle him in properly. Yue He, meanwhile, took Guo Miao's small hand in her own and offered quiet comfort.
A short while later, inside the Lotus Fall, Yue He asked gently, "What exactly happened? Who were the people giving you trouble? Wasn't Commander Guo going to Blood Nether Continent to pick you up?"
Guo Miao apparently already knew of Yang Kai and Yue He's existence—Guo Ziyan must have told her beforehand—so under Yue He's soothing words, her emotions had gradually settled.
In response, Guo Miao said, "Those people were all Stewards and Elders of Blood Nether Continent. The Third-Stage Open Heaven realm cultivator was called Gu Zhixin."
Yang Kai was visibly surprised. "Gu Zhixin?" He thought for a moment. "Isn't that your master?"
Guo Ziyan had mentioned this person a few days ago, saying he had old ties with Gu Zhixin and had therefore entrusted his daughter to his care.
Guo Miao gritted her teeth, her eyes blazing with hatred. "I don't acknowledge such a sinister and despicable man as my master. He nearly killed my father."
Yang Kai frowned. "What exactly happened?"
Guo Miao took a light breath and began recounting the whole story from the beginning.
Only after hearing her account did Yang Kai understand the full picture of today's events.
Back when Guo Miao was only a few years old, Guo Ziyan had sent her to Blood Nether Continent and arranged for her to apprentice under Gu Zhixin. First, the environment Guo Ziyan found himself in at the time had been treacherous—the three great factions in that Star Market were locked in open and covert struggles, grinding against one another, with survival uncertain from one day to the next. Sending his daughter away was meant to protect her. Second, Guo Ziyan was merely a Second-Stage Open Heaven cultivator, not particularly powerful in his own right. Blood Nether Continent wasn't much to speak of either—only a third-tier power—but at least Gu Zhixin was a Third-Stage Open Heaven, stronger than him, so sending Guo Miao there would mean better opportunities for her growth.
Guo Miao's aptitude was decent. Over the years at Blood Nether Continent, she had trained diligently, and with Guo Ziyan regularly sending her Cultivation resources, she had steadily advanced to the peak of the Emperor Realm.
Before that Star Market was swallowed by the Grand Ruins Space, she had been preparing to condense her Dao Seal. Once the Dao Seal was successfully formed, the next step would be to refine the forces of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements, open heaven and earth within her body, and achieve the Open Heaven Realm.
Guo Ziyan's own starting point had been low—merely Second-Stage—but for his daughter's sake, he had gone to great lengths. He had thrown himself into mortal peril within Red Star, and virtually everything he had earned he exchanged for various Cultivation resources, which he sent to Blood Nether Continent for Guo Miao.
When the time came for Guo Miao to condense her Dao Seal, Guo Ziyan had naturally prepared well in advance. He had spent his life's savings early on to purchase two portions of Fourth-Grade resources and handed them to Guo Miao, so that once she formed her Dao Seal, she could refine them immediately.
If the Star Market where Red Star resided hadn't been swallowed by the Grand Ruins Space, none of what followed would have happened.
Yet over a decade ago, the Star Market had suddenly vanished without a trace. The three great factions that had occupied it for thousands of years—Red Star, Radiance, and Sword Pavilion—disappeared along with it, and the hundreds of thousands or even millions of people within the market were all unaccounted for.
The incident had caused a massive uproar across several nearby Grand Territories, and many had gone to investigate, but nothing was found.
Guo Miao had gone to look as well, under Gu Zhixin's lead, but they could never find the slightest clue.
Years passed with no word from Guo Ziyan. Everyone simply assumed he was dead.
In the beginning, Gu Zhixin had still harbored some measure of old sentiment. While he hadn't exactly shown Guo Miao any particular favoritism in her training, at least he had treated her fairly.
But one day, several years later, Gu Zhixin summoned Guo Miao for a talk, and throughout the conversation he repeatedly brought up the two portions of Fourth-Grade resources that Guo Ziyan had previously given her, clearly implying that she should hand them over to him.
Hearing this, Yang Kai frowned in confusion. "Gu Zhixin is already a Third-Stage Open Heaven cultivator—what use would Fourth-Grade resources be to him? How would Fourth-Grade resources even help him?"