After seeing that humanoid figure following behind Gu Han, alarms went off in Chu Kuang’s heart. “Quick! Get out of the way! Whatever you do, don’t let him—”

At full speed, Gu Han was actually a bit faster than these people. Coupled with the fact that they were intimidated and reacted too slowly, he had charged into the crowd in a flash.

A follower saw him rapidly approaching and felt despair. It was too late to run. This is bad! Screw it!

As he gritted his teeth, he took out his profound item, ready to fight to the death. However, the imagined sword light never came. Gu Han brushed right past him as if he was never there.

The man was first stunned, then overjoyed. Huh? Did he go blind?

Just as he showed a relieved expression, thinking he had survived a disaster, he collided against the humanoid figure. His smile froze as his consciousness rapidly faded. In less than half a second, he went from being a living, breathing cultivator to a pile of dust. And not just him. Gu Han’s had passed by six people. In the space between, six piles of dust instantly appeared.

“Quick!”

“Run quickly!”

“Hurry! Don’t let him get close!”

Upon seeing this extremely bizarre scene, everyone’s scalps went numb. Their courage was nearly gone. Finally, each rose into the air, putting distance between themselves and Gu Han.

At this moment, Gu Han’s excitement far outweighed his fear. This thing is so powerful!

On his own, he definitely wouldn’t have enough time or means to kill all six! For a moment, he felt a bit smug. It was as if the humanoid figure was truly a friend who had come to help him!

In an instant, the remaining people were all floating in mid-air.

Gu Han was a bit dissatisfied. “Come down! I brought a friend to introduce to you all, is this your hospitality as guests?”

The others were so angry they nearly cursed. Guests? Bullshit!

Chu Kuang held the trembling Yuan Gang, his eyes full of fear and dread. “Let’s go!”

The humanoid figure alone already exceeded his understanding. With Gu Han as well, it was a complete disaster! Even Wu Han and Qi Jun could no longer be bothered to hate Gu Han as they escaped into the distance. Now, the only thing they hated was that their cultivation and speed were too low.

Meanwhile, Gu Han had long been holding a belly full of anger. As if besieged by these people wasn’t enough, the humanoid figure also stalked him endlessly. How could he let them off easily?

“You’re leaving already? Stay behind!”

The long sword let out a light tremble, and an unmatched sword light flashed, cutting down the last person lagging behind. Yet Gu Han still seemed unsatisfied. He gritted his teeth and unleashed all his cultivation to chase after them

***

Outside another palace, a follower’s face showed lingering fear and relief. “Young Valley Master, thank goodness! We finally escaped!”

Di Kan sighed in relief then gasped. He didn’t even know he had sustained a three-chi-long wound, still seeping with blood.

A follower said carefully, “Young Valley Master, didn’t you say that person was injured? How is he still so powerful?”

Di Kan was the number one prodigy of the Heavenly Demon Valley. He had caused the Dao Bell to ring seven times, receiving the Great Dao’s blessings of the Heavenly Demon bloodline. He was so strong that even the valley master praised him endlessly. Who would’ve expected Gu Han’s sword could still injure him?

Di Kan’s expression was unpleasant. “How would I know? Could that guy be feigning injury, fishing for people? Tsk! What a cruel piece of shit!”

He didn’t know that Gu Han’s injuries were mainly in his soul and divine sense, which was why his sword light was as fierce as ever. At most, the accuracy was a bit off.

Thinking of that humanoid figure, he secretly shivered, then felt a bit gleeful. “That humanoid figure gave me a very, very dangerous feeling. Now that he’s haunted by that thing, he’s probably in deep trouble—huh?”

He suddenly looked up and frowned deeply. In the sky above, over a dozen human figures were fleeing like mad, passing over him without a care.

He was a bit puzzled. “What’s going on?”

The follower suddenly screamed, “Young Valley Master, l-look over there! R-run!”

Following the direction he pointed, Di Kan’s golden fur stood on end again.

In the distance, Gu Han was running swiftly, chasing merrily. The humanoid figure followed behind him like a ghost. No matter how fast he was, it always maintained the same distance.

After spotting Di Kan, Gu Han grinned and greeted him.

Di Kan wildly spewed curses. “Fucking hell! What a persistent ghost! D-don’t come over here!”

***

Beside the Soul-Nourishing Lotus, Murong Yan and the other two had completely recovered. Nevertheless, their eyes showed not the slightest joy, only concern.

Murong Yan sighed. “Finally! Anyway, I wonder how Brother Gu is doing...?”

Yang Ying thought for a moment. “He should be fine. We’ve all seen how powerful that thing is. If it really wanted to harm him, it would have done so long ago.”

Even though he said this, the worry in his eyes hadn’t lessened one bit. Clearly, even he found this reason very unconvincing.

Murong Yan was restless. “What do we do? It seems like I really called it. Brother Gu really got haunted by that thing.”

Shen Xuan was speechless. “Junior Sister, this place is very strange. In the future, you should try to say such things less often.”

Yang Ying glanced into the distance. “I hope that he can come back safely.” 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

***

At this moment, inside a dilapidated and ruined palace, Gu Han was constantly communicating with the black shadow.

Earlier, he had chased Chu Kuang and the others for almost half an hour. Although he had gone all out and killed three more along the way, he also knew that killing them all was unrealistic. In the end, he simply turned around and hurried back.

The pavilion’s opportunity was the top priority now. Moreover, although the time was short, he had already figured out the humanoid figure’s characteristics. It didn’t harm him nor did it attack him.

Whether he went forward, backward, or stopped, this humanoid figure always kept a distance of one zhang from him. No more, no less, as if it just wanted to follow him. Curious, he had taken some time to consult the black shadow.

Hearing his account, the black shadow was extremely certain. “It’s time power! That light mist is undoubtedly time power. The Great Dao of Time transcends and surpasses all other Daos. Since ancient times, I have never heard of anyone truly being able to control it. Apart from some dangerous places, or where a trace of this power might remain, it’s extremely difficult to see elsewhere. But why would this kind of power exist in such a small place?”

It dawned on Gu Han that only such power could make a tender sprout complete its entire life in an instant. Thinking for a moment, he asked again, “What’s the deal with that humanoid figure?”

The shadow thought for a moment. “Humanoid figure? They should be remnants of thought!”

“Remnants of thought?”

“Yes, remnants of thought that can’t even be considered remnants of the soul. Or rather, just a wisp of obsession!”

Gu Han was a bit puzzled. “Is this obsession hard to come by?”

The shadow nodded. “Yes! Unless driven by an extremely strong unfulfilled wish, it’s nearly impossible for living beings to leave such a thing behind after death. Even I have only seen it once or twice! But how could the Great Dao of Time be ordinary? Under its erosion, even obsession would disappear in an instant. Yet not only did these humanoid figures withstand it, they even fused with a trace of its power. I’ve never seen such a phenomenon before! That’s why someone turns to dust upon contact with them!”

Gu Han was silent for a moment. “I wonder how long these remnants of thought existed?”

The shadow shook his head. “From what you’ve said, this place definitely has been around for a long time. It could be a hundred thousand years, or a million years, or even longer!”

Gu Han fell silent as he grew solemn. How long can a Saint realm cultivator live? A million years of time... What kind of obsession could withstand the erosion of time power? Waiting bitterly for a million years, just for an unfulfilled wish? What exactly could that wish be?

The shadow glanced at him. “I’m quite curious. Why does it specifically follow you? Could you fulfill their wish? Isn’t that nonsense! A mere brat, with cultivation so low you’re not even fit to be cannon fodder! Only your troublemaking skill is top-notch... What can anyone expect from that?”

Gu Han stared at him. “You are now a remnant soul. You probably don’t count as dead, right?”

The shadow waved his hand. “Not really. With my cultivation base, as long as the remnant soul exists, it’s not real death. If I get the chance—”

Gu Han interrupted him. “Got it. If your remnant soul disappears, you’re a goner.”

“Obviously!”

Gu Han’s eyes gleamed. “Then if you die, would you leave behind an obsession?”

The shadow was furious. “Fuck! Who can say for sure?”

“Want to find out?”

The shadow didn’t dare speak anymore.

After that, Gu Han left with a victorious smile.

After he left, the shadow was silent for a long time, finally sighing after a while. “A million years... A pitiable group of people as well.”

***

Outside, Gu Han slowly opened his eyes. One zhang behind him, that humanoid figure still quietly floated there. He suddenly felt that this humanoid figure was more pitiful than scary.

“What exactly are you waiting for?”

Of course, the humanoid figure wouldn’t speak.

Gu Han sighed lightly. He had a feeling that if the wish remained unfulfilled, this humanoid figure would keep waiting forever. It would wait another million years, ten million years, or even until the world was destroyed.

After staring at it for a long time, he finally asked, as if compelled by some ghostly force, “It couldn’t be that you are waiting for me, right?”