Tundra.

Blizzard raged.

A dozen armored off-road vehicles sped through the snow, exuding an invisible killing intent!

Overhead, heavy helicopters circled.

At the rear of this formation, almost completely obscured by the frost and snow kicked up by the convoy, was a dilapidated old car. The cold wind battered the windows, and the chill seeped into the cabin.

Luo Yu's voice was transmitted to the passenger seat of the old car through the central control system.

"Mr. Xing Yun, just bear with it a little longer. It's just ahead."

The man placed at the very end of the convoy was none other than "Grave Fiend."

Due to his "vehicle killer" attribute, traveling, especially long distances, required extreme caution. No one in Nagano's supernatural team dared to let him ride in their cars... The final solution was to let him travel alone, using autonomous driving for navigation.

At the same time, to ensure that the entire convoy wouldn't be affected by Grave Fiend's misfortune.

This guy's "travel experience" had to be very bad.

"Achoo—"

Grave Fiend wore a cold-proof suit, his arms crossed, shivering from the cold.

This old car was produced a long time ago and could no longer withstand the severe cold. The average temperature in the tundra region was minus thirty degrees Celsius, or even lower... The supernatural beings in the off-road convoy were physically strong and had enough heating, so they basically didn't feel the cold, but he was different.

"Brother Luo... how much longer?"

Grave Fiend's teeth chattered, making it difficult for him to speak clearly.

"Almost there."

The helicopter blades whirred.

Luo Yu, piloting the helicopter, glanced at the road conditions below, ended the call, and asked with some compassion, "Young Master... isn't he suffering a bit too much?"

Gu Nanfeng sat in the passenger seat, feigning sleep with his blade in his arms.

Hearing this, he slowly opened his eyes and shook his head, "Have you forgotten? Although Grave Fiend's strength is weak... he is still an ability user. Even a first-tier supernatural being can resist the cold."

Luo Yu paused for a moment, then suddenly realized.

"This arrangement for the trip was actually requested by him."

Gu Nanfeng said, "Because he is tainted with 'inauspiciousness'... he has been burdened with pain all these years."

"Long before the establishment of Nagano Seizuka, he was a pawn used by others, hunted down by Gu Lushan, and played with by Zhao Xilai... No one really cared about what he wanted. The bigwigs of East洲 only saw him as an 'ancient text translator,' nothing more."

Luo Yu was silent.

In his impression, Grave Fiend was a "heartless" guy.

This bastard had no integrity. He clung to the Young Master's leg every day, seemingly loyal, but in reality... as long as he was given enough benefits, he could turn around and cling to another leg.

If it weren't for what the Young Master had just said, he would have forgotten Grave Fiend's tragic story.

This was a man with few choices.

"I think... the reason he's doing this is probably because he feels that 'inauspiciousness' is something that will descend on him sooner or later."

Gu Nanfeng said softly, "Rather than dragging the people around him into misfortune, it's better to bear it alone."

"Sigh..."

Hearing this, Luo Yu could only sigh silently.

He looked at the lonely figure on the ground, his eyes filled with an indescribable complexity.

...

...

A short while later.

In the distant, swirling snow, a majestic "Iron Wall" gradually emerged.

It was a circular prison like an arena, mimicking the "Great Wall" design used in North洲 to resist storms. Thick, high walls surrounded the outermost perimeter, almost blocking out the sunlight, and even from several kilometers away, one could feel the oppression within the Iron Wall.

"Almost there, there shouldn't be any more accidents."

Gu Nanfeng, sitting in the passenger seat, opened the helicopter door and said softly to Luo, "I'll go down and sit with him."

As soon as he finished speaking, he leaped down.

The wind howled, whipping Gu Nanfeng's cloak. The "Mist Concealment" given by Rustbone resounded in the air—

Gu Nanfeng released his arm, and the wooden sword in his arms fell.

He stepped on this dry wooden sword and cut through the wind and snow.

Lanqie swept out a flash of brilliant sword light!

The Gu family's supernatural beings in the off-road vehicle team watched this scene through the rearview mirror, filled with envy and awe.

"As expected of the Young Master..."

Such sighs filled the convoy.

Gu Nanfeng landed on the roof of the old car like a withered leaf. After putting away the wooden sword, he gently pressed down on the roof and climbed into the back seat through the car window... The whistling cold wind was blocked by the Lanqie domain.

Grave Fiend, sitting in the passenger seat, was stunned. He only heard a very slight tapping sound, and then there was another person in the car.

"I said, Young Master... it's not necessary..."

Grave Fiend rubbed his hands and blew warm air on them, and smiled, "Look, we can already see it ahead. We'll be there in a few steps. You don't think my body can't handle it, do you?"

Gu Nanfeng sat in the back seat.

As soon as he sat down, Lanqie instantly spread out, and the silent wind blades shattered the frozen snow—

The temperature in the car slowly rose. Although it wasn't warm as spring in an instant, at least it was no longer freezing. Through the rearview mirror, one could see that Grave Fiend's pale complexion had also improved a lot.

This guy was freezing, but he was still pretending to be strong.

"Don't misunderstand, I know you're in good health," Gu Nanfeng said. "I'm just bored, so I came to chat with you."

Grave Fiend chuckled.

"The Gu family shouldn't have brought you along this time to escort prisoners."

Gu Nanfeng said slowly, "You clearly rejected Gu Lushan's proposal back then and didn't want to interpret the ancient texts. Now... why have you changed your mind?"

"Aha."

Hearing this question, Grave Fiend did not hesitate at all and immediately patted his chest and said, "Of course, it's because Young Master, you are handsome, mighty, suave, unrestrained, and brave... This subordinate is willing to serve you like a dog or horse, doing whatever you ask, and would die without regret!"

"..."

A very Grave Fiend-like answer.

Gu Nanfeng rubbed his eyebrows. He said helplessly, "No... I want to hear your real thoughts."

Grave Fiend scratched his head, somewhat puzzled.

"Back then, you served the Gu family in Nagano... You cracked the mausoleum array patterns and were responsible for building the entire mausoleum array," Gu Nanfeng said seriously, observing the skinny man in the front seat through the rearview mirror. "But you are unwilling to touch this ancient text... This is not reasonable."

Grave Fiend laughed, "Young Master, what are you talking about? I was planning to escape from Nagano at that time, to completely escape the Gu family's control. What's unreasonable about rejecting your proposal?"

"If you wanted to escape, you should have cooperated even more," Gu Nanfeng said in a low voice, "Based on my understanding of you... you shouldn't have refused."

There was a brief silence in the car.

"That's... the reason."

A sarcastic laugh rang out.

Grave Fiend murmured, "Young Master, you understand me, but Gu Lushan doesn't understand me, and Zhao Xilai of Huazhi doesn't understand me... They don't want to understand, they don't want to understand, and there's no need to understand."

Xing Yun said in a low voice, "Some things, why do you need so many reasons? I am a person, I have the right to refuse things I don't want to do... Isn't that enough? And in recent years, the only people who have treated me like a human being are you."

His fate had been shrouded in a cloud of darkness for most of his life.

Until Gu Shen brought him out of the Huazhi Building.

Although the journey to Nagano was bumpy and rather embarrassing... Grave Fiend finally breathed the air of freedom.

During his days living in Nagano, he was still a "hostage."

But Gu Nanfeng gave him great freedom.

He could do the things he liked, he didn't have to sneak out, and he could have some basic... "rights" that belonged to a person. The funny thing was that he had never had these simple "rights" before.

This answer silenced Gu Nanfeng.

"I'm not someone with great ideals and aspirations, I just hope that my life doesn't end so painfully."

Grave Fiend said calmly, "How Gu Lushan treats me, and how Young Master treats me, Grave Fiend isn't stupid, I can weigh it in my heart. Since the ancient text has been troubling Nagano for so long, then... why not let me try? What if I can solve it?"

As he spoke.

The convoy drove into the Iron Wall, and the helicopter cast a blazing light, illuminating the night sky.

Inside the Iron Wall, one could vaguely see a huge rock stuck in the snowy plain.

The largest prison in East洲, confining top criminals, was actually built around this "giant stone"... This giant stone was called "Sky Sheath," because it looked like a meteorite that fell from the sky, and its shape resembled a long, slender sword sheath, hence the name.

The Five Great Families and the Three Great Institutes believe that "Sky Sheath" is an ancient relic as old as the Giant Stone Ruins.

At first, the Iron Wall was not built to contain prisoners.

But to contain the "Sky Sheath" and protect this relic.

This ancient stone, which fell from somewhere, had unbreakable surfaces engraved with ancient texts. The Five Great Families had been trying to decipher them, but all attempts had failed.

And later... the Five Great Families discovered that "Sky Sheath" had a terrifying ability.

That was to make supernatural beings lose their power.

The closer one was to "Sky Sheath," and the longer one stayed with "Sky Sheath," the weaker the surge of "supernatural source matter" in the body would become... In theory, the stronger the supernatural being, the stronger the ability to resist this weakening effect.

But this was only resistance after all.

And after discovering this effect...

The Five Great Families decided to build a large prison around "Sky Sheath" to imprison all the high-risk supernatural beings who violated the law within the Iron Wall.

The detention and containment of supernatural beings and out-of-control individuals had always been a headache.

The stronger the supernatural being, the easier it was to escape!

But the discovery of "Sky Sheath" solved this big problem.

The top supernatural beings imprisoned in the Iron Wall... were weakening all the time. No matter how hard they cultivated, they could not resist this weakening effect.

When the fluctuation of supernatural source matter became increasingly weak, they were left with only mental power, and the only thing they could do was connect to the exclusive deep-sea area to provide computing power for East洲's deep-sea evolution.

...

...

(ps: 1 It was a really painful day, writer's block exploded, I deleted and revised a lot, and also re-formulated the detailed outline. The current thinking is smooth, and I won't ask for leave before the end of the volume. 2 There's still one tonight.)