Dong dong dong~ Dong dong dong.

Knocking sounds echoed.

“Who is it?”

Bai Lian pulled open the door, at first only seeing a pair of white eyes.

She blinked a few times, then out of the whiteness a face struggled to appear. “Second Elder, what brings you here?”

“Can’t this old man come to greet the Holy Maiden even if there’s nothing in particular?” The Second Elder smiled. The smile on his aged face should have been benevolent, but because only the whites of his eyes were visible, it appeared very strange and sinister. “The Holy Maiden’s cultivation has advanced greatly, truly a blessing to our Bai Gu Dao.”

“Nonsense. Elder, you are the pillar that props up this sect, the beam that frames the sea.”

“Haha ha. Aren’t you planning to let this old man come in and sit?”

“This…” A look of difficulty appeared in Bai Lian’s eyes. “After all, I am just a young girl, it’s not convenient, is it?”

“This old man watched the Holy Maiden grow up from a young age, you are like this old man’s daughter. What’s not convenient?” The Second Elder said, then squeezed into the room.

He looked around a few times, then asked seemingly unintentionally, “Holy Maiden, why are you still wearing a veil in your own room within the sect?”

Bai Lian blinked her eyes. “It’s a naturally beautiful quality, I have to conceal its brilliance and nurture its obscurity.”

“Haha ha ha…” The Second Elder burst into laughter, then his laughter suddenly stopped. “Ouyang has returned. I can smell his scent.”

“This is a good thing! It wasn’t in vain that we poured our hearts and blood into it, sacrificed so many dark pieces, covering for him all the way. Why hasn’t the Great Elder appeared yet?”

“Who can guess his thoughts?”

“If you all can’t guess, I know even less.”

“Is it that you don’t know, or you don’t want to know?”

“This person doesn’t need to know.” Bai Lian giggled sweetly. “Matters of importance in the sect still require the Elders to make decisions. I will just quietly wait for the news.”

The Second Elder looked at her deeply, then got up and walked outside.

Before stepping out of the room, he suddenly stopped. “Holy Maiden, why are you so good at talking today?”

Bai Lian chuckled. “Look what you’re saying. When have I not been good at talking? Even if I occasionally lose my temper, isn’t it all for the important matters of this sect?”

The Second Elder finally left, and the oppressive feeling in the room seemed to be cut off by the door.

…

“Perhaps this is the last probe.”

Bai Lian muttered softly.

She quietly sat down, confirming that no one else would come to disturb her. Only then did she put down a formation plate, pull open the wardrobe, carefully carry out the tightly closed Jiang Wang, and throw him onto the bed.

At this moment, Jiang Wang’s five senses were sealed. Only like this could he avoid those eyes that only had whites.

Bai Lian pinched a formula, undoing the five senses seal.

Jiang Wang suddenly sat up, looked at Bai Lian, and held his sword without speaking.

Although he had been in a state of sealed five senses and couldn’t hear Bai Lian and the Second Elder’s conversation, with his five senses empty and his heart quiet, he had been repeatedly thinking about today’s events.

“Whatever 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 strained.

Bai Lian smiled. “What’s the big deal?”

“This is the old nest of the Bai Gu Dao. Are you people 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 Bai Gu Dao belonged to the orthodox Dao Gate was fundamentally meaningless, Jiang Wang repeated, “I’m just asking you, are you people of the Bai Gu Dao or not?”

“Not me.” Bai Lian stretched out a delicate finger and pointed at Jiang Wang. “It’s us.”

“What do you mean?”

“Originally, I didn’t want to tell you this quickly, because your ‘metamorphosis’ is not yet complete.” Bai Lian sighed and asked, “But since you’ve appeared 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 Mountain today was a trap? Who was the target?”

“It was just a casual move by the Bai Gu Shi Zhe, not targeting anyone in particular. It was just that tonight, no matter who followed Fang He Ling, they had to die here. Anyway, we will abandon this place soon. You and that Ji Xing Si’s dark sentry just happened to meet.”

The Bai Gu Dao would soon leave Niu Tou Mountain.

Jiang Wang keenly grasped this information, but he put it aside. He turned and asked, “What does metamorphosis mean? What do you mean by ‘you all’ and ‘we’?”

“The Bai Gu Lian Hua on your back, your sudden mastery of the Rou Shen Hun Gui technique… Isn’t that enough to make you think?”

“You’ve always understood me well. These might all be your arrangements. The Bai Gu Lian Hua might have been tattooed by you while I was unconscious, and it’s also possible that you used some method to pass the Rou Shen Hun Gui technique to me… It’s impossible for me to be related to the Bai Gu Dao!”

“I may not have the divine ability to modify memories,” Bai Lian suddenly laughed. “However, I have indeed always paid close attention to you. When you were still a beggar…”

Jiang Wang was suddenly shocked!

To escape Fang Peng Ju’s pursuit, he had disguised himself as a beggar and barely survived in Huan Zhen Guan. That was before he had even opened his meridians. Bai Lian had actually been observing him since then?

Bai Lian quickly explained, “Initially, that group of you beggars settling in Huan Zhen Guan was completed under our guidance.”

Her voice was faint. “Huan Zhen Guan is a very significant place, and it was also a place chosen by our Zun Shen. As early as when Zuo Guang Lie died in battle, I was curious. So many beggars died, why did only you survive? Could it be merely a coincidence?”

Why did you return to the Dao Academy later, and your cultivation immediately advanced a thousand miles in a day?

Presumably, you have some awareness too, right?

After opening your meridians, your cultivation speed surpassed that of ordinary people.

Most importantly, you can devour Bai Gu Dao seeds, you can perfectly adapt to Bai Gu Dao secret techniques, you will Rou Shen Hun Gui technique! You are not ordinary, you are a child of the Bai Gu Dao!”

Bai Lian finally said, “Only later did I understand why you appeared in Huan Zhen Guan. It was precisely Zun Shen’s arrangement.”

“No, that’s not right!” Jiang Wang shook his head. He believed his cultivation came from the Tai Xu Huan Jing and was fundamentally unrelated to being some child of the Bai Gu Dao. But the Tai Xu Huan Jing was his biggest secret now and couldn’t be revealed in an argument.

“I’m just afraid that while you say it’s not right, your heart is crying and weeping in pain.”

“What child of the Dao!” Jiang Wang took a step back. “I said, I can’t possibly forgive the actions of the Bai Gu Dao. It’s also impossible for me to be as dirty as you all. We are not on the same path!”

“That’s because you haven’t seen the truth of this world clearly, haven’t thoroughly wiped away your hypocrisy, and haven’t found your true self.”

“I am very clear about 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 is this Bai Gu Dao seed you mentioned?” he asked.

“This is a very precious thing, I only have one too. It can absorb the nutrients of the person it parasitizes to grow, and finally perfectly control the parasitized person. But I didn’t expect you to devour it… So you see, the seed, of course, won’t take effect on a child of the Dao!”

Jiang Wang looked at her coldly. “You tried to parasitize me?”

Bai Lian rarely had some apology in her eyes. “At that time, we weren’t familiar yet…”

“We’re still not familiar now, you make me feel very strange!” Jiang Wang said coldly. “No need to say more! I absolutely don’t believe I am some child of the Bai Gu Dao. Even if I were, I absolutely would not be as dirty as you all, this group of people with human faces and beast hearts!”

The phrase “even if” expressed determination, but also hinted at wavering.

Bai Lian didn’t rush to make an issue of this point, but instead asked, “Is it raising fierce beasts and disregarding the lives of common people that counts as having human faces and beast hearts? Or is it extracting the Dao pulse of the water race to refine Open Meridian Pills that counts as having human faces and beast hearts?”

“Don’t think you can shake my Dao heart with words!” Jiang Wang’s voice was firm, as if not doing so would be insufficient to resist the pressure he bore.

He tried his best to take a deep breath and confirm his determination. “Bai Lian, since our paths are different, then let’s go our separate ways. I said, my life was saved by you, you can take it back now.”

Bai Lian’s eyes were very beautiful, like anger and resentment, full of autumnal waves. She just gazed at Jiang Wang with those eyes.

“How could I be willing to kill you?” Her voice softened, and she said softly, “However, as long as you cooperate, I can wipe away your memory of tonight. Just treat everything as if it didn’t happen. When you thoroughly awaken, then you will remember tonight’s matter.”

“Is this burying your head in the sand?”

“No, it’s just that the time hasn’t come yet.”

Bai Lian got up and leaned in. Before Jiang Wang could react, she pushed him down onto the bed and sat him down.

“Look into my eyes,” she said. “I don’t have the divine ability to manipulate memories. I can only temporarily seal this short period of memory using a secret technique, so you must open your body and mind and fully cooperate. If an accident happens, the light ones will have spiritual disorder, and the heavy ones will have their souls scattered.”

Jiang Wang understood clearly in his heart that this was already the best choice.

Tonight, he had mistakenly entered Niu Tou Mountain, stepping into a den of thieves, and originally should have ended with his death.

Bai Lian had covered for him in various ways and had already saved his life. But no matter how they discussed it, it was impossible for him to bring the secrets of the Bai Gu Dao back to Feng Lin City.

And he would rather die than be as dirty as the Bai Gu Dao.

Now, he could temporarily delay the choice he had to face, and he didn’t have to die.

Jiang Wang thoroughly opened his heart and mind, allowing his consciousness to be drowned by countless lotus petals.

He felt a kind of warmth and inclusiveness, and a sense of 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, there were no stamens, nor were there lotus seeds.

But… a black candle!

…

…

PS: It will be officially put on the shelves at noon tomorrow. I already said last week that it would be put on the shelves, so I won’t say it again. In short, everyone, please support it 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, then there will still be recommendations. Whether this book can continue with quality and quantity, in addition to my efforts, also requires everyone’s efforts!

Beg you!

On the day it’s put on the shelves, I will update over ten thousand words consecutively to thank everyone, a total of five chapters will be updated. From noon at twelve o’clock to evening at ten o’clock, one chapter will be updated every two hours! After it’s put on the shelves, I will try to maintain two chapters updated every day.

Keep it up! Wish me luck!