Chapter 161: Ancient Owl

Gu Sha was slightly startled by Wild Blade's message and was just about to reply when Wild Blade sent a second message:

"Big shot, if you are not in Kunlun Mountain, do not come here under any circumstances. If you are already in Kunlun Mountain, find a way to leave immediately. The powerful beings behind the four major factions of Longbei have descended, and they are coming for you!"

Gu Sha's pupils constricted slightly, a flicker of confusion crossing his mind.

Just as he was about to inquire further, his phone buzzed again, surprisingly with a message from Han Ze: "Mr. Gu, are you free to take a call? If not, as soon as you read this message, leave Kunlun Mountain as quickly as possible."

Finding this rather curious, Gu Sha replied: I can take a call.

Not long after the message was sent, Han Ze called. His tone was somewhat urgent as he asked, "Mr. Gu, how is your situation right now? Are you in any danger?"

"No," Gu Sha replied.

"That's good," Han Ze said. "You previously massacred the four major factions of Longbei. Now, powerful figures from the orthodox sects behind them have descended upon Earth, and they have openly declared they are coming to settle accounts with you.

"If you are not in Kunlun Mountain right now, find a place to hide. After a while, I will come looking for you. I have recently joined a powerful orthodox sect, and they are willing to protect you. If you are already in Kunlun Mountain, let's meet up now, how does that sound?"

Gu Sha pondered for a moment before asking, "Where are you?"

"Soul-斷魂谷 (Broken Soul Valley). This is the entrance to Kunlun Mountain, and right now, various factions are gathering here," Han Ze answered.

"Alright."

Gu Sha hung up the phone and immediately headed toward Broken Soul Valley.

He was indeed interested in tangling with those upper-realm factions this time. From what he had gathered in his future memories, once Kunlun Mountain opened, ordinary mortals would find it extremely difficult to seize any fortuitous encounters. This was because those powerful upper-realm sects would immediately seal off any precious treasures or rare artifacts they discovered, making it hard for independent cultivators to even approach. However, if he mingled and moved together with those upper-realm factions, seizing those opportunities would become much easier.

Gu Sha touched the rakshasa mask on his face, stepped onto his flying sword, and sped toward Broken Soul Valley.

In the outer periphery of Kunlun Mountain nowadays, the commotion caused by flying swords and aerial navigation wouldn't attract any attention at all. After all, everyone who came here was at least at the King-of-War realm, and plenty of people were flying back and forth through the skies.

Broken Soul Valley, despite its name, was actually a basin serving as the entrance to Kunlun Mountain. It possessed a vast area, stretching as far as the eye could see like an endless desert.

However, Broken Soul Valley at this moment was bustling with activity, filled with a constant stream of pedestrians. Palaces stood proudly on the ground, forming various distinct camps. As for those palaces, they were presumably conjured through the extraordinary means of those powerful beings.

Some entities sat in palanquins carried by groups of Kings-of-War as bearers, others rode majestic divine beasts, while still others sat on the ground tending to their injuries.

Along the way, Gu Sha broadened his horizons. However, seeing many heavily wounded individuals and overhearing the discussions among the beings, he learned that just half an hour ago, a fierce battle had broken out outside Broken Soul Valley—a mass clash between the indigenous entities of this universe and the beings of the Dark Clan from the Tianyuan Realm.

Gu Sha sent a message to Han Ze.

Before long, he spotted Han Ze near a hill. Accompanied by Han Ze were several familiar faces—all transcendental beings who had previously received training from Gu Sha at the Base City J. By now, they had all become Kings-of-War, and Han Ze himself had reached the rank of a high-level King-of-War.

Upon seeing Gu Sha wearing the rakshasa mask, Han Ze's face lit up with excitement, and he hurried over. Gu Sha had mentioned in his text message that he would be wearing a rakshasa mask.

Lowering his voice, Han Ze called out, "Mr. Gu, long time no see!"

The other Kings-of-War also greeted Gu Sha in low voices.

Gu Sha gave a slight nod in acknowledgement.

"I heard from Old Qin before that you stayed behind at Base City J and built your own mercenary corps. Why did you suddenly join an orthodox sect?" Gu Sha inquired.

Han Ze explained, "At first, I didn't join any upper-realm faction. However, some time ago, I met a Domain Lord-realm supreme being from the upper realm. We hit it off immediately, sharing many of the same views. He repeatedly invited me to join his orthodox sect and later even directly appointed me to a high-ranking position.

"That sect is also a human orthodox sect, an immortal family lineage from the Tianwu Starfield, and they are very close to us Earth humans. At the time, I figured that joining the sect and holding a high position would indeed allow me to better look after my compatriots, so I agreed."

Gu Sha nodded.

Based on his understanding of Han Ze, this man was definitely not someone driven by a desire for wealth and glory.

Furthermore, Han Ze shared Old Qin's mindset of always maintaining vigilance against upper-realm factions. Therefore, the only reason he would ever join one was if it allowed him to better protect his fellow human beings.

"Oh, right," Han Ze suddenly said. "Come to think of it, it's quite a coincidence. Back when we were at Base City J, didn't you, Mr. Gu, ask me about someone named Gu Xiao? The person who invited me into the orthodox sect is also named Gu Xiao. He has an extraordinary status, possesses True Immortal bloodline, holds a very high position in the Gu family, and it was he who promised to protect you."

Gu Sha raised an eyebrow and said, "Protecting me would mean offending the four major upper-realm factions. Did he really agree to that?"

Han Ze replied, "Mr. Gu, you may not know this, but the so-called upper realms are actually powerful starfield civilizations. The Gu family originates from the Tianwu Starfield, which has nothing whatsoever to do with the starfields behind the four major factions of Longbei.

"Moreover, among those powerful cultivation starfields, there is actually a lot of covert friction and rivalry. Take the Gu family, for example—their philosophy is sustainable development: preserving the spark of civilization, multiplying, and fighting a protracted war of attrition against the Tianyuan Realm. However, a large group of other factions holds a different philosophy. The orthodox sects behind the four major factions of Longbei are hardliners. Their belief is to devour and assimilate contemporary strong entities, with powerful civilizations directly consuming lower-tier civilizations internally to strengthen themselves, rapidly giving birth to more powerhouses, and then clashing head-on with the Tianyuan Realm in a decisive, life-or-death battle.

"These two factions have been feuding for thousands of years, with plenty of hidden conflicts and a mutual disdain for one another. Therefore, the Gu family isn't afraid of offending the four major factions by protecting you, because to them, it doesn't matter at all."

Gu Sha suddenly understood.

Before long, Han Ze led Gu Sha into a large estate containing several grand palaces.

Han Ze chuckled and said, "These big shots try to remain as comfortable as possible wherever they go. The things packed inside their spatial magic treasures are varied and numerous—they even pack entire houses in bulk."

Chatting casually along the way, Han Ze led Gu Sha into a small courtyard.

From afar, Gu Sha saw an extraordinary-looking young man sitting in a gazebo drinking tea, holding a scroll of books in his hand bearing the four large characters: *The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon*.

Upon laying eyes on that youth, Gu Sha experienced a surreal sense of time and space distortion. This was genuinely the very same top powerhouse of Base City J known to him from his twenty years of memories of his suspected previous life—Gu Xiao!