Chapter 31

Xiao Mo looked at the people below from the tree and asked the system: "Has Su Baimo also been to the Black Forest?"

After Chu Jinglan was deposed, because a lot of perspective shifted to Su Baimo, Xiao Mo skipped the rest of the story and didn't have the time to appreciate Su Baimo's every bit of love, hate, and vengeance.

System: "The original novel didn't mention it. It was probably because there wasn't much emotional development in the Black Forest trip, so it was skipped."

This and that are skipped, but the melodrama must be overwhelming, which is good and very original.

Xiao Mo's eyes moved slightly: "Has the storyline of Mu Jian's growth node come to an end?"

The system knew everything: "There is still one more to go. When his master, who has been in seclusion for many years, fails in his breakthrough and dies, and Mu Jian takes over the position of peak master, the node will be complete."

Mu Jian and Dai Zisheng are both direct disciples, but they have different masters. Dai Zisheng is the young master, and his master is his sect master's biological father. Mu Jian's master is the leader of a peak in the Huanjian Sect, and he and the sect master are fellow disciples.

Xiao Mo hummed and realized something: "Interesting, the original novel describes a lot of Su Baimo's perspective, but the important nodes of the two cornerstone characters Chu Jinglan and Mu Jian have nothing to do with Su Baimo. I'm reading this bloody novel, and there's no character change, right?"

"Novels can be mindless and melodramatic, but when extended into a world, they must follow logic," the system argued, "All things and living beings in the world are subject to cause and effect. Regardless of whether one thing rises while another declines or whether they are mutually reinforcing or mutually restraining, they must form a stable flow of destiny between heaven and earth. Otherwise, what is the meaning of the existence of this world? Wouldn't it be a mess?"

So, because Xiao Mo was too repulsive to Su Baimo and wanted to avoid him, he had never cared about him before. As the conversation got to this point, he asked, "What is Su Baimo's growth node?"

System: "There are two left. Their cultivation has been promoted to the Spiritual Severing Stage, and they have joined the Upper Realm Immortal Alliance Master's Mansion."

Surprisingly, each important character's growth node has nothing to do with love. It involves spiritual training, advancement of cultivation, changes in status, etc., which truly shape complete and real people.

Oh, no, except Su Baimo.

Because his cultivation and status all depend on the help of others, the node seems to have nothing to do with love, but the path he chooses cannot be separated from these two words.

As Xiao Mo's thoughts drifted away, Chu Jinglan's voice rang out in his mind: "Why did you stop?"

Chu Jinglan couldn't hear the conversation between Xiao Mo and the system. Even though their consciousnesses were each occupying half and almost stuck together, they couldn't hear it. It was like three people in five groups, each chatting about their own things.

The five groups are: Xiao Mo, Chu Jinglan, and the system. First, each of them forms a single group; then there are small groups of Xiao Mo and Chu Jinglan, and Xiao Mo and the system.

There are always people who are not in the group.

Xiao Mo exited the group chat with the system and replied to Chu Jinglan half-jokingly: "Seeing an old friend, don't you have any thoughts?"

Chu Jinglan's expression was also cold: "No."

Xiao Mo: There is no best.

No matter if there will be another situation in the future where they cannot avoid Su Baimo, as long as Xiao Mo is around, there will be no chance of sparks, especially now that Chu Jinglan's body is in Xiao Mo's hands.

Flirting? Don't even think about it.

Dai Zisheng down below was very depressed by the disputes among his fellow disciples.

Although he is the young master, he is not the kind of person who seeks protection from others. Disciples from the same sect will also fight among themselves, and it is a favor for others to help you, but he has a very good relationship with Mu Jian and several other fellow disciples. They are all as close as a nest of birds, and they help each other on a daily basis.

With so many golden elixirs, there would be absolutely no problem taking Su Baimo to the second level to broaden his horizons.

Su Baimo was his savior after all, and he didn't understand why Mu Jian insisted on opposing Su Baimo's following.

Mu Jian looked at Su Baimo with a stern face, and said to Dai Zisheng: "I believe you can protect him, but what about your own experience? You can only enter the Lin'an Academy to practice if you have formed a pill recently. We mainly want to help you this time. If you encounter other situations, we may not be able to take care of him."

The best medical practitioner at Lin'an Academy has a conflict with a certain peak master of the Huanjian Sect, but as long as he can meet the requirements of the academy, it would be of great benefit for Dai Zisheng to learn from other teachers.

Senior Brother Mu has a bit of chicken-like potential: "If you don't focus on the real thing, how long are you going to delay it?"

These words made Dai Zisheng choke, unable to refute.

Indeed, he turned twenty a few days ago and was planning to form a pill on his birthday, but it was delayed. His cultivation and perception were already in place. If he delayed it any further, he would probably not achieve his goal but instead suffer from a lack of momentum.

Dai Zisheng was somewhat convinced and looked embarrassed. At this time, Su Baimo finally spoke, and he was very sensible when he opened his mouth: "It doesn't matter, I have enough experience, I will wait for you outside the black forest."

Xiao Mo's sharp comment: If you didn't want to embarrass Dai Zisheng, why didn't you do it earlier? Why are you speaking up now?

After Su Baimo finished speaking, he took two steps back and looked at Dai Zisheng reluctantly. After walking two or three steps away, he seemed to remember that he had forgotten something, and turned back to wave to Dai Zisheng: "I'm leaving. See you later."

Dai Zisheng's tangled heart had not yet completely calmed down when he noticed the expectation in Su Baimo's eyes slowly dimming, and a hint of loss inadvertently revealed. His figure also became lonely, standing a few steps away from them, as if being excluded, and he looked very pitiful.

Dai Zisheng: “…”

Is it really repaying his savior if he makes him suffer so much?

Dai Zisheng just took a step towards Su Baimo and moved his lips. Unfortunately, before he could stop her, a strange voice sounded above his head: "If you want to leave, just leave. Are you acting out a play by being so clingy?"

The disciples of the Illusion Sword Sect were startled and drew their swords in alert: "Who is it?"

Only then did they notice a person standing on a tree not far away.

Mu Jian’s expression was tense: They didn’t notice anything at all!

The other party was either very good at hiding his aura, or his cultivation was far higher than theirs, but he had been hiding for so long, why did he suddenly interrupt? If he didn't say anything, the disciples of the Illusion Sword Sect would not know that someone was eavesdropping.

Xiao Mo gracefully fell from the tree. He suppressed his voice and changed the tone of his voice. It no longer had the clear sound of a young boy, but was now the voice of an adult man. Facing the people from the Illusion Sword Gate, he had a leisurely attitude.

"I was just passing by and didn't mean to eavesdrop, but you guys blocked my way."

Based on the formation on the ground, the black forest was divided into three layers, with only a few entrances and exits between each layer. The one Xiao Mo chose was the closest to him, and he could also go straight to the last layer.

The disciple of the Illusion Sword Sect immediately blushed, and Mu Jian stepped aside hesitantly: "Sorry, please."

Xiao Mo nodded dignifiedly, took two steps forward, and suddenly turned back.

Mu Jian and the others were still on guard and were staring at Xiao Mo's every move. When they saw him suddenly turn around, they immediately tightened their sword-holding hands.

But Xiao Mo looked at Su Baimo from a distance: "Why are you staring at me?"

Su Baimo was stunned. He didn't expect to be called out: "I'm not... I'm sorry."

Aren't people around you looking at you? Why am I the only one who is special? He thought aggrievedly.

And he was staring at the masked man in a daze just now because he felt that his back looked like an old friend, like... Chu Jinglan.

Because he had seen Chu Jinglan's back many times.

The golden mask covered most of the face. Just looking at the lips and jaw, it looked somewhat similar, but I wasn't sure.

However, when Su Baimo looked into the eyes beneath the mask, he realized that he was overthinking.

Chu Jinglan's eyes were always as calm as snow, even if they were cold, they were still clear and frosty. Unlike this masked man, whose eyes were light and casual, carrying an unspeakable sense of danger and casualness.

He apologized, but the masked man said lazily: "If you had been more decisive, you wouldn't have wasted everyone's time. I really don't want to listen to the weird arguments between you young people."

He pretends to be a senior very well.

As he spoke, his voice suddenly became clear: "You keep looking back every few steps. Are you waiting for someone to take you there?"

Su Baimo's face flushed red when his trick was exposed. He argued, "That's not true. Please don't talk nonsense!"

Everyone in the first layer of the forest was busy catching monsters. It would take some effort for the foundation builders to deal with the second-level monsters, but at this time, those who could run fast were running for their lives, and those who were easy to catch would be chased as soon as they appeared, so there was no danger.

Xiao Mo glanced at Su Baimo jokingly, meaning: So why are you still standing here?

Su Baimo had already said what he wanted to say, and it would be too embarrassing to let Dai Zisheng escort him. He bit his lip and turned away in shame. Dai Zisheng could only catch up with him and said hurriedly, "Just wait for us outside the woods, and we'll come out to find you later!"

Xiao Mo snorted and chuckled, then stepped onto the second floor.

He could actually choose to take a detour and go to another entrance, staying far away from Su Baimo, but if fate insisted that they meet each other often, he could avoid it once but not twice.

Instead of hiding from it, it is better to run over it directly, smash the stubborn fate into pieces, and weave a new path for yourself.

Young people are full of vigor and vitality, so there is nothing wrong with being a little reckless.

Xiao Mo was in a good mood. Chu Jinglan could feel a smile on the corner of his mouth. That was Xiao Mo's smile.

He watched the whole thing happen and didn't think there was anything to be happy about, but this was also the difference between him and Xiao Mo, who could always get pleasure from small things.

If he were an ordinary person, he would probably enjoy the world.

But Chu Jinglan was a little confused. He thought Xiao Mo would not pay much attention to Su Baimo, but he turned around at the entrance and said a few more words to Su Baimo.

When they were still in the Chu family, Chu Jinglan had tentatively asked: Do you care about Su Baimo?

At that time, the inner demon Tuanzi was furious and briefly put the matter aside.

Now Chu Jinglan couldn't help but doubt again: Is Xiao Mo really paying attention to Su Baimo?

*

Xiao Mo quickly passed through the second floor, collected two third-level monsters, and went directly to the third floor. He found that there were fewer people competing for his business than he had imagined:

A peak Jindan cultivator can fight against a fourth-tier monster, but for a lone cultivator, it is too dangerous to hunt and kill a fourth-tier monster alone in a place where there are too many of them. If they are besieged, they can only try to escape.

Not all the members of the small and medium sects are Jindan. They are wary of their fellow disciples, so the number of people and teams that can come to the third level will be greatly reduced.

As for the powerful Yuan Ying, he didn't take the beast pills of the fourth-level monster seriously at all. One beast pill was only ten medium-grade spirit stones, and he wanted them to work for him?

Who do you look down on?

I'll give you a hundred and it's almost like you'll work for me.

It is rare to see people in the Yuan Infant stage who are as poor as Xiao Mo and the others, worrying about a few low-grade spirit stones.

Therefore, the third level is mainly populated by the Immortal Alliance's own cultivators, who curse and swear while chasing monsters. After all, no one likes to work overtime, especially overtime that does not pay them much.

Only Xiao Mo came here actively for the huge sum of money.

He hadn't walked far when he encountered a fourth-order monster. On the other side, a disciple from the Immortal Alliance was about to chase him, but when he saw someone coming, he waved at Xiao Mo and turned around and left, with no intention of competing for the monster.

Xiao Mo sighed: "Fortunately, they are all wealthy people."

Affected by the fluctuations in their spiritual veins, these monsters became very agitated. Perhaps because the fourth-level monsters could understand human language, Xiao Mo actually smelled the fragrance of desire turning into obsession from the monsters.

Is this edible?

The fourth-order white tiger with hanging eyes had been driven into an extremely rage by the monks. It could not accurately judge Xiao Mo's aura, so it opened its bloody mouth and leaped up from a height of at least five meters. Its huge body swooped down from mid-air, intending to tear the head of the human in front of it into pieces in one bite.

Its sharp teeth are getting very close to humans, and it seems that in the next second we will see blood flowing and our prey falling to the ground.

The human calmly raised his eyes - and the white tiger froze in mid-air.

The white tiger was frozen in a strange posture in the air. It struggled desperately, but something invisible clamped around it, getting tighter and tighter.

Xiao Mo walked towards it leisurely. The white tiger finally felt afraid and began to tremble.

But it was too late.

Xiao Mo controlled the black mist and tied the white tiger in the air without even moving a finger.

If you want to eat them as a delicious meal, don't you consider whether your claws are sharp enough?

The fourth-level monster that only the peak Jindan level can deal with with all its strength is nothing compared to Yuan Ying.

Xiao Mo also tried to devour the white tiger's restless "thoughts".

Normally, if Xiao Mo devoured the "thoughts" from humans, Chu Jinglan would not be able to see it. But now that he was possessed by Xiao Mo, he could see it very clearly. Something as black as a thread floated out from the white tiger and was hooked over by Xiao Mo.

That thing had never passed through his body, so it should have been directly accepted by Xiao Mo's consciousness.

Chu Jinglan was shocked: "What is this?"

"Thoughts." Xiao Mo explained to Chu Jinglan that any emotion, as long as it exceeds the critical value, can become food for the inner demon.

"I've only eaten humans before, but I didn't expect that monsters also eat it. That's right, after all, everything has a soul, and if it has a heart, it can have thoughts." Xiao Mo tasted it, "The taste is a bit bland, maybe its intelligence is not high yet."

Chu Jinglan: "...It smells?"

Xiao Mo: "Yes, for example, the fish I just cooked was boiled in plain water. It smelled fresh, but without any other seasoning, it tasted bland."

Chu Jinglan suspected that Xiao Mo was hungry because he had not eaten for a long time, but he had no evidence.

The white tiger that had been sucked was still struggling in the air. Just as Xiao Mo was about to give it a quick death, he met its eyes.

Xiao Mo suddenly came up with a different idea.

...Well, since they all have intelligence, can they be controlled?

As Xiao Mo thought about it, a red light flashed in his eyes as he met the white tiger's beastly eyes.

The pupils of the struggling white tiger dilated, its twisting body gradually calmed down, and its eyes became dull.

Xiao Mo tried to instill ideas into it.

【Take me to find another monster】

After repeating it silently several times, Baihu's body just trembled, but did not give any further response. Xiao Mo took out the flute, put it to his lips and blew a whistle.

The sound of the flute carried spiritual power, and the white tiger's body was stimulated to tremble violently. There seemed to be light in its dull eyes that wanted to struggle to break out, but in the end it was suppressed.

After a moment, the violent white tiger turned into an obedient big cat. It raised its head and gave a low cry to Xiao Mo.

Xiao Mo put it down, and Baihu slowly took two steps forward, motioning him to follow and take him to find other monsters.

Xiao Mo tapped the flute in his palm: "Success."

Some fourth-tier monsters are good at hiding, and the white tiger can follow their scent to find them and help catch them. It's a good idea to have more helpers.

Xiao Mo was very satisfied and set out to catch up with Bai Hu. He talked to Chu Jinglan in his mind, "I can even control monsters. You seemed to be stiff just now. Were you surprised?"

Chu Jinglan: "...No, I was just distracted, it's okay."

Xiao Mo laughed in surprise: "You can actually be distracted."

Of course he would, but he couldn't explain why he was distracted just now.

The moment the bamboo flute touched his lips, Chu Jinglan realized with extreme clarity that this was the flute that Xiao Mo played every day.

The warm and slightly cool touch reminded him of Xiao Mo's equally cool fingertips, which were now pressed against his lips.

Chu Jinglan was so shocked that his mind froze.

Xiao Mo seemed completely unaware of this. He played the flute without any hesitation, and his movements and expressions were so natural. If Chu Jinglan had said it out loud, it would have seemed even stranger.

...Forget it, this is inevitable when using Xiao Mo's magic on your own body. After all, Xiao Mo is not a sword practitioner. This kind of situation will happen many times in the future, and he needs to get used to it.

The feeling of the flute pressing on my lips still lingered for a long time. When the wind blew while I moved, I felt a slight tingling and numbness, as if it was seared into my consciousness.

Chu Jinglan was shocked: "..."

For the first time, he found that it was difficult to get used to a harmless little thing.