Vice Sect Master Ji Hantian had also arrived, personally escorting Gu An and Ye Qingxue to the Council Hall.
Eventually, Gu An took the chief seat, while Ye Qingxue stood beside him. The other elders remained standing as well. Seeing Gu An close his eyes, they began whispering to each other using transmission techniques.
Because everyone was communicating telepathically, the Council Hall remained eerily silent.
Ye Qingxue felt immensely nervous, her entire body tense.
At this moment, she worried that things had escalated too far.
Would her and her disciple's affairs cause Tai Xuan Sect to collapse?
Such consequences were beyond what she could bear.
After all, the Qin family had only taken an interest in her disciple's talent, not her life. If she had never sought out Gu An, her disciple would have merely lost his freedom, not his life.
But if Tai Xuan Sect lost Gu An, it would affect everyone in the sect.
Ye Qingxue started to blame herself, thinking that she should have explained the situation more clearly before coming.
She looked toward Gu An, wanting to speak but hesitating.
Little did she know, the truth she understood was far from reality—the Qin family didn't just want her disciple's talent, they wanted his life.
As time passed, more and more elders arrived. Some of them, upon spotting Ye Qingxue, had their expressions drastically change, as if they had already guessed the reason for this gathering.
Even Lü Baitian had come.
Since he had the closest relationship with Gu An, he braced himself and stepped forward to ask why Gu An was here.
"It's nothing. I just wanted to bid everyone farewell."
Gu An, eyes still closed, spoke calmly.
At those words, the entire hall erupted into panic.
Elders immediately spoke up, trying to dissuade him.
"Sword Master, have we done something wrong?"
"That's right, Sword Master! Tai Xuan Sect can survive without anyone—but not without you!"
"Who has offended you? Just say the word! Tai Xuan Sect will ensure you receive justice!"
"Sword Master, please, don't scare us like this!"
"Where are you going?"
Regardless of their family backgrounds, even the elders of the Qin family were shaken to their core.
At this point, most of the elders in the Council Hall had joined the sect later on. They had all chosen Tai Xuan Sect because of Gu An.
Without Gu An, what was Tai Xuan Sect?
Gu An finally opened his eyes, scanning the faces around him.
Most of them were strangers to him.
Just like Tai Xuan Sect itself, which felt more foreign to him with each passing day.
It wasn't just that old friends had passed away—the sect's culture itself had changed.
It now looked no different from any other sect.
The strong preyed upon the weak, and power dictated status.
No one spoke of chivalry anymore—the only goal was pursuing destiny.
This kind of mentality had even started influencing the Third Medicine Valley.
Even though this change was orchestrated by the Heaven's Dao pursuers, the fact that Tai Xuan Sect was so easily swayed still left Gu An feeling weary.
With his current abilities, he could leave at any time, bringing his entire Medicine Valley with him.
Gu An was truly planning to leave.
He was preparing to go into seclusion, to transcend his tribulation and break through to a higher realm.
The conflicts in this world were far from over.
Catastrophes would continue to unfold, and unforeseen changes would persist.
If he remained in the open, he would only bring endless trouble to those around him.
Lü Baitian remained silent.
Unlike the others, he wasn't panicked.
He simply assumed Gu An wanted to recover.
If Gu An was truly exhausted, he wouldn't stop him.
To him, Gu An had no obligation to remain in Tai Xuan Sect forever.
Besides, he had heard what He Qingsong said in the Third Medicine Valley.
He knew that Heaven's Dao was actively resisting Gu An.
Tai Xuan Sect seemed stable on the surface, but who truly understood the pressure Gu An was facing?
Gu An's gaze swept across the hall, making every elder lower their heads in submission.
The whispers in the hall ceased instantly.
Then, Gu An raised his right hand.
In his palm, an object appeared out of thin air.
It was a stone, enveloped in a faint silver light, with water swirling around it.
But upon closer inspection, it wasn't a stone at all.
It was an island—only appearing small because it was within Gu An's palm.
"What is that?" Lü Baitian frowned.
The others also turned their gazes toward the island.
They extended their spiritual senses into it—and soon, some of them turned pale.
The elders of the Qin family, however, looked outright terrified, their bodies trembling violently in fear.
Ye Qingxue, also stunned, focused on the miniature island.
She probed it with her spiritual sense, and in an instant, she saw the entire landscape of the island.
And there—she saw her disciple.
"Chang'er..."
Ye Qingxue's beautiful eyes widened, her voice filled with disbelief.
She saw her disciple bound to a stone pillar, barely clinging to life.
Around him, other captives were also tied to different stone pillars, their bodies covered in talismans.
The moment she spoke, the Qin family elders collapsed to their knees, drenched in a cold sweat.
Gu An had directly seized the island itself.
Even though they couldn't understand such a technique, they knew one thing for sure—Gu An was here for them.
Lü Baitian turned toward the Qin family elders, frowning.
"What is the meaning of this?"
The other elders furrowed their brows. They were unsure what exactly the Qin family was scheming, but judging by the formation on the island, it seemed they were preparing to sacrifice those bound to the stone pillars.
Were those people disciples of Tai Xuan Sect?
They didn't know for sure.
But one thing was certain—someone on that island was connected to Ye Qingxue.
And Ye Qingxue had come here with Gu An.
This was a disaster!
The elders turned their cold gazes toward the Qin family elders, barely restraining their killing intent.
The Qin family was powerful, but power meant nothing when faced with Gu An.
If the Qin family dared to make an enemy of Gu An, then the entire Tai Xuan Sect would join forces to annihilate them.
With a mere thought, Gu An summoned figures from the island.
One after another, countless captives, all genius cultivators, flew out of the island and landed in a miserable state on the ground.
Ye Qingxue immediately rushed toward one of them.
At the same time, Gu An casually cast a lifespan investigation on him.
[Ye Chang (Nascent Soul Realm, Fifth Layer): 129/700/9999]
Oh?
9999-year maximum lifespan?!
It had been a long time since Gu An had seen such a remarkable talent.
He sighed inwardly.
Then, he clenched his right fist, and an endless series of lifespan absorption notifications appeared before him.
This island had existed for a long time, committing countless atrocities.
Before Ye Chang and the others were even captured, the Qin family had already been practicing their evil techniques here.
Everyone on this island had bloodstained hands.
To Gu An, there was no burden in exterminating them.
The moment he clenched his fist, the elders watching felt their hearts leap to their throats.
They didn't even look at the rescued geniuses—all eyes were locked on Gu An, their breathing tense and shallow.
The Qin family elders turned ashen, trembling in sheer terror.
Before their eyes, Gu An opened his right hand—
Grains of sand slipped through his fingers.
From start to finish, Gu An's expression remained unreadable.
That made everyone feel as if they had fallen into an icy abyss.
A chill ran down their spines.
No one dared to speak—not even Lü Baitian.
They didn't know what to say.
All they felt was fear.
For the first time, they truly understood what it meant to be an enemy of Gu An.
It felt like even a single breath from him could end their lives.
"Find out the truth yourselves," Gu An said indifferently. "Consider this a warning."
He rose to his feet and walked toward the exit.
Ye Qingxue, supporting Ye Chang, quickly followed him.
Everyone watched Gu An's departing figure in silence.
The rescued cultivators, still dazed, looked at him in confusion.
They didn't even realize that they had been saved.
Ji Hantian stepped forward and stood before one of the Qin family elders, his face dark and menacing.
Through gritted teeth, he growled, "Speak. What exactly has your Qin family done?"
Countless eyes filled with murderous intent turned toward the Qin family elder, making him tremble uncontrollably.
Under the unbearable pressure, he finally spilled the truth about the Qin family's sinister cultivation technique.
Lü Baitian sighed deeply.
This was not the first time.
The battle that had made Gu An, the Sword Master of the Dao, rise to fame had been to prevent such evil.
Yet after nearly two thousand years, such atrocities were still happening.
Suddenly, Lü Baitian felt exhausted.
The Tai Xuan Sect had indeed grown rapidly—
But what was the point?
What was the meaning of him remaining as Sect Master?
Meanwhile—
Gu An stepped out of the Council Hall.
He paused, then turned to Ye Qingxue and said, "Take him back and let him recover. No one will trouble you anymore."
With that, he strode toward the bustling streets, planning to take a walk through the sect's main city.
Ye Qingxue quickly bowed respectfully toward his retreating figure.
Covered in blood, Ye Chang barely managed to open his eyes.
His voice was weak as he murmured, "Master… who is he…?"
Ye Qingxue suppressed her overwhelming emotions and whispered, "He is your grandmaster's senior brother. Your master's martial uncle."
Ye Chang's eyes widened.
He lifted his gaze, trying to catch a glimpse of Gu An's retreating figure—
But by then, he was nowhere to be seen.
Gu An disappeared into the sea of people.
As he walked through the lively streets, he began calculating the fate of Tai Xuan Sect.
This street, so full of bustling life, would one day become desolate.
It would rise and fall with the changes of the world.
And with the decision he made today—
This street would, many years later, become a barren wasteland.