On the Cliff of the Living, having eagerly waited on the cliff for 29 days but without seeing Li Mu come back, Shan Tian, the captain of the Sword of Freedom, had no choice but to leave the Ghost Rally Star and set foot on the road back.
He also gave the remaining supplies on the ship to Ding Yi and the Second Senior Fellow Apprentice.
The two insisted on staying on the Cliff of the Living, waiting for Li Mu’s return.
So, Shan Tian could only bring his most loyal interstellar sailors back to the Opposite Bank Star.
“You two, please stay calm. Never step out of the Cliff of the Living. Otherwise, once you are trapped in the fog of Yin Qi, you will have little chance to survive. Don’t ever underestimate the danger here. And we will come back in 10 days.”
Shan Tian made the promise to Ding Yi and the pig spirit and repeatedly cautioned them.
He would never quit halfway on the promise he had made to Hero Li Mu, the Wild Broadsword, even if this were to prevent him from doing his normal delivery business for several months.
Yet, he could not let supplies on the ship run out. After all, the sailors’ meals and drinks, as well as the fuel of the Sword of Freedom and the tactical deployment, all needed to be replenished and maintained at the dock on time.
Three days later.
Shan Tian sailed the Sword of Freedom and left the area of the Ghost Rally Star.
On the way he came here, he had placed a few secret sentries on the outskirts of the Ghost Rally Star.
But at this time, the sentries were all gone.
Instead, there was a shining scarlet flying ship, which was quietly waiting for Shan Tian and his sailors.
The shining scarlet flying ship was hundreds of meters long and looked very majestic. The banner of the Shan family of the Opposite Bank Star was floating over the shuttle. It was the carriage of the most important member of the Shan family, which was the most powerful family on the Opposite Bank Star.
On the deck of the space shuttle quietly stood a stern-faced middle-aged man in scarlet armor, as though he were a nail knocked into the board.
If one looked closely, one would find that the middle-aged man looked quite like Shan Tian.
“Third Brother, you’ve finally come out of that darn place.”
The middle-aged man casually flicked his scarlet cloak when he saw the figures coming out of the Sword of Freedom and beamingly hailed Shan Tian, who was surrounded by all others.
When Shan Tian and his trusted men filed out of the operator cabin, he asked with a surprised look on his face, “Sixth brother, how come you are here?”
The middle-aged man on the opposite who looked quite similar to him was his half-brother, Shan Jian, who was born of a different mother. He was one of the most valued successors of the Shan family, the most powerful family on the Opposite Bank Star. Unlike Shan Tian, who loved driving flying ships and going on adventures, Shan Jian had been familiarizing himself with managing family affairs since he was a child. He was now a member of the family’s management and had a lot of power.
In contrast, Shan Tian rarely participated in those family affairs. On some family occasions, he only briefly made his appearance. He was not enthusiastic about seizing power or status in the family. Most of the time, he had been meandering outside the entire family system.
In fact, in the early years, the head of the Shan family valued Shan Tian very much. Because at that time, in the area of the Opposite Bank Star, Shan Tian was well-known for his chivalry and generosity. But later, as he acted frivolously and showed little ambition, the Shan family slowly shifted their focus to other young members.
Shan Jian was one of the children of the family who had been specially trained to be a successor.
So, the arrival of Shan Jian really took Shan Tian by surprise.
This brother of his had never been close to him. The only few times they met were at the family’s ceremonies to offer sacrifices, and they merely nodded at each other out of courtesy. They had totally different hobbies and ambitions. If it weren’t for the fact that they were blood relatives, they would have been just like two strangers.
“But he is actually here waiting for me?”
“Something has happened at home. They asked me to bring you back,” Shan Jian smiled and said in a cool tone.
Shan Tian knitted his eyebrows.
“Something’s happened at home?”
What could have happened in his family that had made them summon him, the “ungrateful son” who had been abandoned a long time ago? And why had they even sent Shan Jian, the sixth son who had been regarded as one of the several successors of his family, to come and pick him up in person?
From the looks of it, this sixth brother of his had probably waited for quite a long time outside of the Ghost Rally Star.
Shan Tian got suspicious and asked, “Sixth Brother, where are the bros I’ve left here?”
Shan Jian said with a smile, “They are all on my ship, and have been served good food and drinks. Third Brother, you’ve caused big trouble this time, so I have to come to greet you in person. This way, please.”
“Trouble?
“What trouble?”
Shan Tian was slightly taken aback.
The things he had done in the past six months flashed back in his head. But he did not think that there was anything serious enough that could affect the interests of his family.
Upon a closer look, he found that there were about 20 battle flying ships of his family stationed thousands of meters away behind the High Mountain, the ship that Shan Jian was on. The battle flying ships were ranked like an arch, which had conveniently surrounded his Sword of Freedom. If he wanted to run away, he would have to escape to the area of the Ghost Rally Star behind him.
But there was no need to run away.
Because if Shan Jian was really here to catch him, he would not have bothered to chitchat with him and intentionally or unintentionally gave him the heads-up. Nor would he had made the 20 battle flying ships stay so far away. It seemed that Shan Jian was also just going through the motions.
All those years, there had never been a case of internal strife in the Shan family. Whether close or not, the many members of the Shan family had never tried to harm one another. Therefore, Shan Tian was not much nervous about this.
He ordered his assistant to drive the Sword of Freedom, and then he boarded the High Mountain.
“Sixth Brother, what’s the matter?” he asked curiously.
Shan Jian said, “Third Brother, you’ll know when you get home.”
Shan Tian did not feel like asking again.
A moment later, in the closed VIP cabin of the High Mountain, when he saw the three interstellar sailors he had stationed in the periphery of the Ghost Rally Star pelted over and knelt down with a flop. “Brother Shan, run. This place is not safe.”
“Big brother, something bad has happened.”
“You can’t follow him and go back!”
The three men dropped to their knees and tried to persuade him almost at the same time.
Shan Tian did not panic. He helped the three to their feet one by one and said, “Brothers, take your time to tell me what’s going on.”
One of the three men hurriedly said, “It has been more than half a month since we were detained on this ship by the sixth young master. One day, after overhearing the private conversation of his trusted subordinates, we knew that your escorting Li Mu, the Wild Broadsword, to the Ghost Rally Star this time has been strongly disapproved by some major forces. Now the storm is coming, and the world of the Opposite Bank Star is about to change. Your family can’t bear the pressure for long, so they’re going to bring you back. This can only bode ill rather than well.”
“Huh?
“This has something to do with the Wild Broadsword?”
It was not until Shan Tian heard this that he was truly shocked.
Nowadays, who in the entire Brilliance Immortal Star Region didn’t know the reputation of the Wild Broadsword? He was a man with integrity and principles. People admired him. But not everyone endorsed the Wild Broadsword. After all, in the past, whether it was on the ruthless battlefield or on the forum fraught with mixed views, Li Mu had offended a lot of people.
There were how many people admiring Li Mu, and there were equally how many people holding a grudge against him.
As for the big sects that controlled the Brilliance Immortal Star Region, Shan Tian knew very well what kind of forces they were. If they couldn’t solve an issue openly, they still had thousands of dark and vicious means to solve it in private.
Why wasn’t he interested in family matters back then?
Didn’t he want to contribute to his family?
That was certainly not the case.
The blood running in his veins was the blood of the Shan family after all.
The reason why he transferred his interests to sailing and exploring was that in the early process of dealing with the family affairs, he had come across many dark and sinister secrets. Especially after he saw the true color of the pretentious big sects, he was very disappointed with the class that had a say in everything in this star region.
He didn’t want to go along with such a class in their evil deeds, so he exiled himself from that society.
Shan Tian was a chivalrous and generous man in Jianghu, but he was never reckless.
Therefore, he was well aware how much the big sects, such as the Tianyi Palace and the Heavenly Devil Sect, privately wanted the Wild Broadsword to disappear forever.
He even doubted whether the Wild Broadsword could really bring in a new world even though he was now a moral example and had gained the strength of the General Realm. It was simply impossible. Anyway, it was already hard enough for him to survive all the schemes of the various sects and forces.
Therefore, the reason why he helped Li Mu this time was that he wanted to contribute his own strength to this hero who had great character but was destined to end in tragedy before he met his guaranteed doom.
Perhaps this was also sort of a sacrificial ceremony for his dream of being a hero in the universe, the one that had ended before it got started.
However, what Shan Tian didn’t expect was that although he clearly knew that the major sects would secretly retaliate against Li Mu, their revenge seemed to have arrived too soon, didn’t it?
The influence of being the moral example had not dissipated any bit yet. It had only been a month and a few days since that event occurred, but the major sects already couldn’t wait any longer, could they?
“Big Brother, I’ve heard from the six young master’s trusted subordinates that once you go back, you’ll be in great danger. Some figures behind the scene will never let go of anyone related to Li Mu, unless they are willing to sell Li Mu out,” that trusted man of his said through gritted teeth.
“Yes, Big Brother, it’s not too late now. Run for your life. Since you’ve explored many places in the universe, you’d better go out and find a place to hide for a while. Then, when the heat of this matter recedes, you can come back again.”
“That’s right. I know what kind of man you are. Even if you had to die, you would not betray the Wild Broadsword. But if you go back to the Opposite Bank Star, you’ll have no way out.”
His other two trusted subordinates also tried their best to persuade him.
He shook his head with a smile.
Others might know how vicious and cruel the means of those major forces could use in secret, but how could he not know?
If he really fled, then the entire Shan family on the Opposite Bank Star would probably suffer a huge loss.
Over the years, he had been self-willed and had never cared about the family. He had also stirred up some trouble from time to time. Although the family had punished him repeatedly, they had always been tolerant of him, hadn’t they?
So, to flee was definitely not an option.
He decided to go back and see how things would turn out.
After running away from the family for so many years, it seemed that things like this would still inevitably befall him.
Shan Tian gave it a thought and said with an ever more composed tone, “Since I’m here, the three of you are free. It’s now pointless for my sixth brother to keep you here. So, I want you to do a thing for me. Mind you, you must get it done no matter what.”
“Please go ahead, Brother Shan. We’ll get it done even at the cost of our lives,” the three men patted their chests and pledged.
On the Ghost Rally Star.
On the outskirts of the Bone Sacred Mountain.
As the huge face was vanquished by Li Mu’s Taoist magic arts, this epic battle, which was legendary enough to be recorded in the history of this world, finally started to come to an end.
The figure of Ghost Seer fell out from the broken huge face as if a small pebble under the collapsed city wall. He was no longer as imposing and forbidding as before. With a panicked expression on his face, the figure, who was the size of a normal person, turned into a stream of light and flew to the distance.
“How could you get away?”
Li Mu sneered.
