Thump, thump, thump. Thump, thump, thump.
Knocking sounds rang out.
“Who is it?”
Bai Lian opened the door, first seeing only a pair of white eyes.
She blinked, and then a face emerged from the white, “Second Elder, what brings you here?”
“Can’t an old man come to greet the Holy Maiden without something important?” Second Elder smiled. The smile on his aged face should have been kind, but because only the whites of his eyes remained, it looked very sinister. “The Holy Maiden’s cultivation has improved greatly, truly a blessing for our Bai Gu Dao.”
“Where. Elder, you are the pillar of this sect, the purple-gold beam that supports it.”
“Haha. Aren’t you going to invite this old man in for a bit?”
“This…” Bai Lian’s eyes showed a hint of difficulty. “After all, I am a young lady, it’s not convenient, right?”
“This old man watched the Holy Maiden grow up from a young age. You’re like my daughter. What’s inconvenient?” Second Elder said, then squeezed into the room.
He looked around a few times, then asked casually, “Holy Maiden, why are you still wearing a veil to cover yourself in your own room in the sect?”
Bai Lian blinked. “Born with natural beauty, I must hide my light and cultivate obscurity.”
“Hahaha…” Second Elder laughed, then suddenly stopped. “Ouyang has returned. I can smell him.”
“This is a good thing! It wasn’t in vain that we exhausted our efforts and sacrificed so many pawns to cover for him all the way. Why hasn’t the Great Elder appeared yet?”
“Who can guess his thoughts?”
“If even you can’t guess, I certainly don’t know.”
“Don’t know, or don’t want to know?”
“There’s no need to know,” Bai Lian said with a charming smile. “The sect’s important matters must still be decided by the elders. I will just wait for news.”
Second Elder looked at her deeply, then got up and walked outside.
He stopped just before stepping out the door. “Holy Maiden, why are you so good at talking today?”
Bai Lian giggled. “Look at you. When was I not good at talking? Even if I occasionally have some temper, isn’t it all for the sect’s important matters?”
Second Elder finally left, and the oppressive feeling that enveloped the room seemed to be cut off by the door.
…
“Perhaps this is the last test.”
Bai Lian murmured softly.
She sat quietly for a while, confirming that no one else came to disturb her. Only then did she put down an array plate, pull open the wardrobe, and pinch out the tightly closed Jiang Wang, throwing him onto the bed.
At this time, Jiang Wang was in a state of sealed senses. Only like this could he avoid those eyes that only had whites.
Bai Lian pinched a formula and unsealed his senses.
Jiang Wang suddenly sat up, looked at Bai Lian, and gripped his sword without speaking.
Although he had been in a state of sealed senses and could not hear the dialogue between Bai Lian and Second Elder, with his five senses empty and his heart calmed, he had repeatedly thought about today’s matters.
“What do you want to ask? Just ask,” Bai Lian walked to the table and sat down directly.
“You saved me again,” Jiang Wang’s voice was a little difficult.
Bai Lian smiled. “What do you mean?”
“This is the Bai Gu Dao’s old nest. Are you a member of the Bai Gu Dao?” Jiang Wang asked.
“We are all people of the Dao Gate,” Bai Lian said.
Knowing that arguing with her about whether the Bai Gu Dao belonged to the orthodox Dao Gate was fundamentally meaningless, Jiang Wang repeated, “I’m just asking you, are you or are you not a member of the Bai Gu Dao?”
“Not me,” Bai Lian stretched out a slender finger and pointed at Jiang Wang. “It’s us.”
“What do you mean?”
“I originally didn’t want to tell you so soon, because your ‘transformation’ is still incomplete,” Bai Lian sighed, then asked, “But since you’re here today, you won’t give up without an answer, right?”
Jiang Wang didn’t answer her question, but asked, “So Fang He Ling coming to Niu Tou Shan today was a trap? Who was the target?”
“It was just an idle move by the Bai Gu Messenger, not targeting anyone. It’s just that tonight, whoever followed Fang He Ling would die here. Anyway, we are abandoning this place soon. You and that Ji Xing Si’s spy just happened to meet.”
The Bai Gu Dao would soon leave Niu Tou Shan.
Jiang Wang keenly grasped this information, but he put it aside. He turned and asked, “What do you mean by transformation? What do you mean by ‘you all’ and ‘we’?”
“The white bone lotus on your spine, your sudden mastery of the Flesh Born Soul Return technique… Isn’t that enough to make you connect the dots?”
“You always understand me very well. These might all be your arrangements. The white bone lotus might have been tattooed on me while I was in a coma, and it’s also possible that you used some method to pass the Flesh Born Soul Return technique to me… I can’t possibly be related to the Bai Gu Dao!”
“I don’t have the divine ability to modify memories,” Bai Lian suddenly laughed. “However, I have indeed always paid close attention to you, since you were a beggar…”
Jiang Wang was suddenly shocked!
He had transformed into a beggar to escape Fang Peng Ju’s pursuit, barely surviving in Huan Zhen Guan. That was before he had opened his pulse. Bai Lian had been observing him since then?
Bai Lian quickly explained, “Originally, that group of beggars in Huan Zhen Guan was just completing a selection under our guidance.”
Her voice was faint. “Huan Zhen Guan is a very meaningful place, also a place chosen by the Venerable God. As early as the time Zuo Guang Lie died in battle, I was curious, so many beggars died, why only you didn’t die? Could it be mere coincidence?
Why did you immediately make rapid progress in cultivation after returning to the Dao Academy?
Presumably, you also have some awareness, right?
After opening your pulse, your cultivation speed surpassed ordinary people.
Most importantly, you can devour the Bai Gu Dao seed, you can perfectly adapt to Bai Gu Dao secret techniques, you can use the Flesh Born Soul Return technique! You are not ordinary, you are a child of the Bai Gu Dao!”
Bai Lian finally said, “Later I only understood why you appeared in Huan Zhen Guan, it was precisely the Venerable God’s arrangement.”
“No, that’s not right!” Jiang Wang shook his head. He believed his cultivation came from the Tai Xu Illusion Realm, fundamentally unrelated to being a child of the Bai Gu Dao. But the Tai Xu Illusion Realm was his biggest secret now, and he couldn’t reveal it to argue.
“I’m just afraid that you say it’s not right in your mouth, but weep in pain in your heart.”
“What Path child!” Jiang Wang took a step back. “I said, I can’t possibly forgive the actions of the Bai Gu Dao. I also can’t possibly associate with you despicable people. We are not on the same path!”
“That’s because you still haven’t seen the truth of this world clearly, haven’t thoroughly wiped away your hypocrisy, and haven’t found your true self.”
“I know very well who I am, I don’t need you to remind me.” Jiang Wang controlled his emotions as much as possible, allowing himself to think calmly.
“What do you mean by the Bai Gu Dao seed?” he asked.
“That’s a very precious thing, I only have one. It can absorb nutrients from the host and grow, finally perfectly controlling the host. But I didn’t expect you to devour it… So you see, the seed of course can’t affect a Path child!”
Jiang Wang looked at her coldly. “You tried to parasitize me?”
Bai Lian rarely had a hint of apology in her gaze. “At that time, we weren’t familiar yet…”
“We’re still not familiar now, and you make me feel very strange!” Jiang Wang said coldly. “No need to say more! I absolutely don’t believe I am any Bai Gu Dao child, even if I am, I will absolutely not associate with you despicable group of human-faced beasts!”
The phrase “even if,” although expressing determination, also revealed hesitation.
Bai Lian was not in a hurry to dwell on this point, but instead counter-asked, “Is it raising ferocious beasts and disregarding the lives of common people that counts as human-faced beasts? Or is it extracting Dao pulse from the water race to refine open-pulse pills that counts as human-faced beasts?”
“Don’t think you can shake my Dao heart with words!” Jiang Wang’s voice was firm, as if anything less would be insufficient to resist the pressure he was under.
He took a deep breath, reinforcing his determination. “Bai Lian, since our paths are different, let’s go our separate ways. I said, you saved my life, you can take it back now.”
Bai Lian’s eyes were very beautiful, filled with a mix of anger and resentment, her eyes like autumn waves. She just gazed at Jiang Wang with those eyes.
“How could I be willing to kill you?” She softened her voice and said softly, “However, as long as you cooperate, I can erase your memory of tonight. Just pretend everything didn’t happen. When you thoroughly awaken, you will remember tonight’s matter.”
“Burying your head in the sand?”
“No, the time is just not right yet.”
Bai Lian got up and leaned in, pressing Jiang Wang onto the bed and holding him down before he could react.
“Look at my eyes,” she said. “I don’t have the divine ability to manipulate memories. I’m just using a secret technique to temporarily seal this small segment of memory, so you must open your body and mind and fully cooperate. If something goes wrong, at best you will be mentally disordered, at worst your soul will scatter.”
Jiang Wang knew clearly in his heart that this was already the best choice.
Tonight he had mistakenly entered Niu Tou Shan, stepping into the thieves’ den. Originally, his end should have been death.
Bai Lian’s various covers had already saved his life. But no matter how they discussed it, it was impossible for him to take the secrets of the Bai Gu Dao back to Feng Lin City.
And he would rather die than associate with the Bai Gu Dao.
Now he could temporarily postpone the choice he had to face without dying.
Jiang Wang thoroughly opened his heart and mind, letting his consciousness be drowned in countless lotus petals.
He felt a kind of warmth, inclusiveness, and attachment.
Then, in this boundless sea of lotus petals, he saw a lotus bud drifting towards him.
It grew taller and taller, until it was parallel with Jiang Wang’s line of sight.
Then the lotus flower bloomed. In the center of the blooming flower were not stamens, nor lotus seeds.
But… a black candle!
…
…
PS: It will be officially launched at noon tomorrow. I already said my launch testimonial last week, so I won’t say it again. In total, one sentence, please everyone must support with subscriptions. The first subscription is very important to this book, it can be said to be the last opportunity for this book. If the subscription ratio looks good, there will still be recommendations. Whether this book can maintain quality and quantity depends not only on my efforts, but also on everyone’s efforts!
I beg you!
On the day of the launch, I will update with over ten thousand words continuously to repay everyone, a total of five chapters. From noon to ten o’clock in the evening, one chapter will be updated every two hours! After the launch, I will try my best to maintain two chapters updated every day.
Keep going! Wish me luck!