58: Chapter 58 Preparation and Departure

After the Family meeting, the entire Gu Family began to operate frantically, like a precision machine that had been wound up, with unprecedented efficiency.

Migrating an entire Family was a major event that would shake the very Foundations of any clan.

However, under the command of Gu Yan, an "Old Ancestor" with modern management thinking, everything became orderly.

A massive task list was personally drawn up by Gu Yan, detailed down to every single step, with responsibilities assigned to specific individuals.

Shen Qingxue, the virtuous helpmeet who had long been managing the position of mistress with ease, was responsible for coordinating internal affairs.

Counting the population, packing valuables, and soothing the emotions of the clansmen—she arranged everything, no matter how small, perfectly.

Bai Linger was responsible for managing logistics.

Purchasing the food, clothing, and Medicinal Pill needed for the journey to ensure that this massive team would not encounter any logistical problems during the long trek in the coming months.

And the most shrewd and capable Liu Ruyan was entrusted by Gu Yan with an important task—handling all of the Gu Family's fixed assets in Luoyun Town.

The news that the Gu Family was leaving had already quietly spread among the high-level members of other families who had come to pay their respects.

This news was undoubtedly a violent earthquake.

But this time, no one dared to have even the slightest covetous heart.

They just watched eagerly, waiting for the Gu Family's next move.

They knew very well that since this "fierce tiger," the Gu Family, was leaving, it would inevitably leave behind a large, blank "territory."

Whoever could get the biggest piece of the cake in this gluttonous feast would be the new king of Luoyun Town in the future.

Liu Ruyan did not make them wait too long.

Representing the Gu Family, she bundled all the farmland, shops, and property deeds under their name into a single package and publicly held a "tender" for all capable families in the town at a "sky-high price" that far exceeded the market value but was still within everyone's affordability.

The highest bidder would win.

For a time, all the wealthy households in Luoyun Town went crazy over it.

In the end, after a fierce competition, this massive Family business was swallowed whole by the Zhang, Li, and Sun families, who pooled their funds together.

And in this sale, which could be called the "deal of the century," the Gu Family obtained a massive amount of gold and silver that would make anyone gasp in astonishment!

With this starting capital, which was large enough to buy ten Luoyun Towns, the subsequent preparations became much smoother.

Dozens of wide carriages, made of the sturdiest ironwood and capable of resisting ordinary swords, were urgently purchased from other places.

All the guards and mercenaries in the town with the best skills and most experience were hired by the Gu Family at triple the usual pay as the escort team for this long journey.

Large amounts of food, clean drinking water, Medicinal Pill for healing, and clothing to protect against the cold...

Everything that could be used on the road was continuously purchased and loaded onto the carriages.

In just one short year, a massive caravan, armed to the teeth and with enough logistical supplies to support hundreds of people on an expedition for a year, began to take shape in front of the Gu Mansion.

As for Gu Yan himself, he had not been idle during this year.

His Dual Cultivation with Liu Ruyan had never stopped, day after day.

His cultivation had already reached a natural Breakthrough to… Qi Refining Stage 7 half a year ago!

Now, there was even a faint trend of advancing towards Level 8 Qi Refining!

Besides that, the scale of his harem had also quietly expanded a little over these past few years.

Several families that came to pay their respects, in order to build a relationship with "Old Immortal Gu," were extremely "sensible" and sent the most beautiful legitimate daughters of their clans into the Gu Family under the guise of "maids."

Regarding this "goodwill" delivered to his doorstep, Gu Yan, adhering to the noble principles of "not failing people's kind intentions" and "struggling for the rest of one's life for the Family KPI," naturally... could not refuse.

Although the Aptitude of these women was only ordinary, the Lifespan rewards they brought were only a few years.

But every little bit helped, and it was better than nothing.

More importantly, in their wombs, they were also nurturing new hope for the Gu Family.

Everything was ready.

The day of departure had finally arrived.

On this day, the sky was clear and the breeze was gentle.

The entire Luoyun Town was deserted as everyone had gone out to the streets.

All the townspeople, regardless of gender or age, spontaneously walked out of their homes and stood on both sides of the long street.

Their gazes were all focused in the same direction—the Gu Mansion.

There, a massive caravan composed of thirty-six huge carriages and over three hundred elite guards, like a long Dragon about to set off on a long journey, was quietly crouching on the street.

At the very front of the caravan was a "flagship" that was twice as gorgeous and spacious as an ordinary carriage.

The carriage body was made of precious golden nanmu wood, and on the carriage walls, complex defensive runes were carved, emitting faint fluctuations of Spiritual Qi.

The horses pulling the carriage were no longer ordinary horses, but two magnificent steeds with a trace of Yao Beast Bloodline... Fire Cloud Horses!

This was the vehicle that Gu Yan had spent a huge amount of money to specially create for his Family.

"The auspicious time has arrived—!"

With a long, drawn-out chant.

The vermilion-painted gates of the Gu Family slowly opened.

Dressed in a black brocade robe, with a handsome face and a bearing as deep as a pool and as steady as a mountain, Gu Yan walked slowly out of the gate, holding a cute, doll-like child in each hand.

Behind him followed the veiled and graceful Shen Qingxue, Bai Linger, Liu Ruyan, and a group of other female Family members.

All the townspeople who saw Gu Yan's appearance at this moment could not help but let out stifled gasps.

He was too young!

Compared to the "Old Immortal Gu" who was in his early forties seven years ago, the current Gu Yan looked as if he were only about thirty years old!

Time, on him, not only left no traces but was... flowing backward!

Gu Yan ignored the surrounding gazes of awe, envy, and even fanaticism.

He just calmly sent his children, one by one, into the gorgeous carriage.

Then, he turned around and bowed from a distance to all the people of Luoyun Town who had come to see them off.

It was, in a way, a final farewell.

Then, he flipped onto the carriage and sat steadily in the driver's seat.

He wanted to personally drive this ark, which was sailing toward a new world, for his Family.

He turned his head and took one last look.

He looked at the brand-new plaque that he had personally replaced and re-engraved with the two characters "Gu Mansion."

He also looked at this small town where he had lived for nearly seventy years and which carried the memories of his two lifetimes.

Here, there was his frustrating past, and his departed loved ones.

But more than that, it was the beginning of his rise, and the Foundation of his Family.

His gaze finally fell on the families of his newly taken concubines in the crowd, who had already cried until they were tear-stained.

He nodded solemnly at them.

Then, he turned his head back, his gaze looking toward the distant East, which led to the unknown and hope.

He raised the whip in his hand and cracked it in the air, creating a crisp sound.

"Set off!"

The wheels began to roll slowly.

The horse hooves struck the bluestone road, making a "clatter" sound.

The massive caravan, like a waking Dragon, marched out of the gate of Luoyun Town and headed toward the vast, boundless... distance.