The elder's words were like a thunderbolt from the blue.

"They agreed too?" The Second Elder abruptly stood up, his eyes wide with disbelief as he stared intently at the First Elder. His gaze seemed to say, he must have misheard; this couldn't possibly be true. Biological parents actually agreeing to dig out their own daughter's spiritual root and give it to their adopted daughter? This was utterly unbelievable!

The Second Elder, having lived most of his life and boasted of witnessing all sorts of bizarre events, had never heard of anything so absurd and unbelievable. "How could they possibly agree? No matter how much they love Bai Di, Bai Ying is still their own flesh and blood! She's the daughter Zhou Ying carried for ten months, enduring countless hardships to give birth to! What were they thinking? How could they make such a decision?"

The other elders also shook their heads, their faces filled with shock and disapproval. One elder frowned, his tone full of doubt: "Bai Ying and Zhou Ying aren't fools, are they? When they adopted Bai Di, they swore that even if they had a new daughter, they would do everything they could to find Bai Ying."

Another elder snorted and mocked, "They probably forgot all about what they said a long time ago. They did search for a few years at first, but as Bai Di grew up and her health deteriorated, she needed careful care, so they stopped searching, didn't they?"

"Even so, we can't agree to such an absurd request! Isn't this pushing Bai Ying to the brink of despair? If Bai Ying finds out, she'll definitely hate them to death."

These people were talking amongst themselves, one after another.

The elder sighed heavily, looking tired and helpless, and slowly said, "That's because Bai Di threatened to kill himself."

The elders found it even more absurd. "That spiritual root originally belonged to Bai Ying. What does it have to do with Bai Di? What reason does she have to threaten to kill herself? Her parents are also confused! Instead of educating Bai Di, they actually agreed to it."

"Does Bai Di really think that she'll become as strong as Bai Ying just because she's swapped her spiritual roots with Bai Ying?"

These elders were all seasoned veterans of the martial world, with incredibly sharp eyes. They all knew that Bai Ying's ability to kill a Nascent Soul stage expert was not solely due to her spiritual root.

"Her skills, talent, and comprehension are all exceptional! Otherwise, how could she have achieved so much at such a young age?"

I wonder how many hardships and obstacles she went through along the way, without the protection of her parents and family, to become like this.

"Brother, you're really confused!"

The Grand Elder himself was filled with regret; who knows how much he wanted to go back in time and slap himself twice.

He had noticed Bai Ying's abilities early on, but he hadn't expected her to be this powerful!

If he had known this would happen, why would he have made this choice?

But now it's all too late. The moment he agreed to dig out Bai Ying's spiritual root, the relationship between the Bai family and Bai Ying had already come to an end.

At this moment, Bai Ying's mother, Zhou Ying, was already heartbroken. She staggered to Bai Ying's side, knelt down with a thud, and clutched Bai Ying's skirt tightly, tears streaming down her face like a burst dam: "Xiao Ying, please let your sister go, I beg you. It's all my fault, I'm so sorry… Xiao Di is still young, she doesn't understand, I haven't raised her well. If you want to blame someone, blame me. If you want revenge, take it out on me, okay? Please let Xiao Di go!" Her voice trembled with sobs, and she seemed to have aged ten years in an instant.

Seeing that Bai Ying's expression remained unchanged, Zhou Ying was determined to kill Bai Di. Zhou Ying became even more terrified. She knew that she was no match for Bai Ying in terms of martial arts, and now, the only way to save Bai Di was through this humble plea.

So she leaned forward slightly, her forehead hitting the cold ground hard with a dull thud, again and again.

“Xiaoying, I know you harbor resentment towards us, after all, we made that choice.” Zhou Ying raised her head, her face streaked with tears, her voice trembling violently with sobs. “But I truly love you. Do you know how long we’ve searched for you all these years? Those days, I waited day and night for news of you. Can you understand that torment? We adopted Xiaodi and cared for her so much, all because of you! You were so adorable and sensible as a child, and then suddenly you disappeared. My heart was broken. When I saw Xiaodi, she looked so much like you, and I thought I should give her all the love I had for you, as a way to make up for not being able to be by your side. I’ve always treated her as you. Please forgive her, okay? She is, after all, your sister…”

Bai Ying quietly looked at her mother kneeling in front of her, her eyes calm and without a ripple.

Her thoughts drifted back to what had just happened; Hua Mujian's mother had done the same. She had given everything to protect her child.

And last time, when he wanted to kill Bai Di, this woman in front of him did the same thing, protecting Bai Di at all costs.

Thinking of this, Bai Ying's lips suddenly curled up slightly, revealing a smile that was not quite a smile, but full of self-mockery and sorrow.

“Look,” Bai Ying finally spoke, her voice cold and devoid of any warmth.

"You knelt down before me for her sake, earnestly begging me to let her go, and kept saying that you loved me."

But just now, when she painstakingly trapped me in this dangerous magic array, determined to take away my spiritual root and kill me, what did you do? Did you say even a single word for me?

Have you ever knelt before her without hesitation, begging her in a humble voice to protect me, as you are doing now?

Every word Bai Ying uttered was like a sharp dagger, piercing straight into the depths of Zhou Ying's heart.

Zhou Ying's body trembled violently, her lips quivered slightly, and she hurriedly opened her mouth to explain to Bai Ying, "That's because..."

However, the words caught in her throat. Her mind was in chaos, and the image of Bai Di threatening suicide kept flashing through her mind. At that time, she was only concerned about Bai Di's safety, so how could she have cared about Bai Ying?

Her hands instinctively gripped the hem of her clothes, her eyes filled with panic and helplessness. Her lips moved for a long time, but she couldn't utter a complete sentence.

Bai Ying coldly watched the scene before her, a mocking smile curving her lips, a smile that concealed endless disappointment and sorrow.

“You didn’t! Not only did you not speak up for me, you even agreed to her without thinking, to dig out my spiritual root and hand it over to her.”

A cold glint flashed in Bai Ying's eyes. She took a step forward, her aura growing increasingly imposing. "Using a carefully arranged formation by a Nascent Soul cultivator to trap me, and then going to great lengths to summon Nascent Soul experts to deal with me. What a grand scheme! You keep telling me to treat her like a younger sister, so I'd like to ask, has she ever treated me like an older sister?"