Just as Jun Xiaomo was working hard to unlock the master formation array, Zhou Zilong was following the paper crane which Zhang Shuyue had sent him back to the location it had come from. Stumbling and fumbling about, he gradually drew closer and closer to where Zhang Shuyue and the others lay waiting for him.

Zhou Zilong had taken the very same route connecting Zhang Shuyue’s residence to the heart of the valley just a little while ago. Back then, he hardly noticed the environment around him because his martial brothers were all around him at that time. But now, as he travelled alone, he began to discover the eerie, deafening silence around him – neither rushing winds nor the rustling of leaves, and not a single chirrup from bugs or birds either. The only thing that Zhou Zilong could hear were his own heavy breaths and thundering footsteps.

He knew that returning on his own might very well mean his own demise. After all, there was hardly any chance he could possibly rescue Zhang Shuyue given his own abilities. However, he did not mind this. In fact, he was prepared for this – he wanted more than anything to follow his heart and live without regrets.

Zhou Zilong did not blame Martial Brother Ye and the others for not tagging along for this selfish request of his. He knew that Martial...