After that, Gu Ruoyun began to pack her things. In the middle of packing, her hand stopped as she noticed the black box which had been gifted to her by Mei Xue.

"I can feel an aura stirring within this box but I still have not been able to open it. Perhaps I don't know how to unlock it?" She frowned and sighed, "Forget it. I'll bring it along. I'll find a way to crack it open someday."

She threw the box into the Ancient Divine Pagoda then wrapped up her belongings and pushed the room's door open.

A familiar face greeted her outside the door, causing Gu Ruoyun to pause her footsteps.

"You're leaving?" Murong Yan gently bit her lips and asked softly.

Gu Ruoyun nodded, "I've lingered here for far too long and now that I've gotten the information I needed, it's time for me to leave this place."

"Then... Will you come back?"

"Yes."

Gu Ruoyun replied without hesitation.

If possible, she really wanted to take these forces out of the Banished Lands. However, she could not expose her final trump card in front of the others. Therefore, she had no other way to take them with her.

"Murong Yan, there are all sorts of plants in the governor's palace's courtyard that you can use to scare off other forces. They will also draw unwanted attention from some of them. So, I've placed a formation in the governor's palace. If something were to happen to Black Rock City, you can hide the citizens there. This way, you won't have to worry about an invasion from foreign powers."

This formation had been given to her by Zixie back in Azure Dragon Country long ago. Now, she finally had a use for it.

Without this formation, she would never feel easy with showing off those valuable plants for all to see.

"Understood." Murong Yan nodded and a complex look flashed across her eyes, "We will await your return here. As long as you are absent, the governor's position will remain empty."

Gu Ruoyun smiled but didn't say anything else. She excused herself from Murong Yan and kept moving forward without looking back. She raised her hand and waved goodbye, followed by a light and airy voice that solidified a final image in Murong Yan's eyes.

"Say goodbye to your grandfather and Lu Shaochen for me! I'll take my leave now. Once I've finished my task, I'll come back and visit you all."

Murong Yan gazed at the woman as she left. She felt tears forming in her eyes but she stubbornly forced them down.

She believed that one day, this woman will come back to them.

Be it a few years or over ten years, they would wait for her to return to Black Rock City...

If she forgot about them, they would continue to wait for her forever.

...

In all of the Plain Hills, the most mysterious city of all was the legendary Holy City.

It was said that every family in the Holy City contains at least a few Martial Honors and a single family could easily annihilate any of the other cities. As such, this has cemented the position of the Holy City in people's hearts.

Still, everyone knows that the ones who held the leadership position in the Holy City were the legendary Ye family!

The Ye family was indeed legendary, especially Ye Lan. To this very day, no one knows his true rank! Perhaps he had even surpassed the rank of a Martial Honor! The Ye family had been able to cement their position as the most powerful family in the Banished Lands because of him.

However, aside from a few elders in the Ye family, not many have actually seen Ye Lan in person. He does not usually show himself in public and until now, not even the citizens of Holy City knew what he looked like.