Chu Lingxiao left Qingyun Sect and came to a remote town, temporarily staying in a small inn.
He sat on the bed, his expression slightly solemn, and silently called out in his heart: "Old man, stop pretending to be dead."
Ever since he exposed the old man's purpose hidden in his sea of consciousness, the old man has remained silent, no longer communicating with him, and no longer interfering in any of his actions.
He seemed to be "playing dead" in Chu Lingxiao's sea of consciousness, trying to reduce his presence as much as possible to avoid being discovered.
Chu Lingxiao raised the corners of his lips slightly, revealing an impatient expression, with a warning glint in his eyes:
"My patience is limited. Don't make me call you again and again, otherwise..."
Before he could finish his words, the old man in his sea of consciousness slowly emerged.
The old man's residual soul was floating in the air, looking somewhat unreal, as if it would disappear at any time.
Seeing the old man appear, Chu Lingxiao's expression gradually changed from impatience to calmness.
He curled his lips slightly, revealing a meaningful smile: "Now that everyone is here, let's get started and complete each task one by one."
........
Five months ago——
Chu Lingxiao was in seclusion practicing. He was wholeheartedly absorbing the medicinal power of the Purple Gold Pill. The speed at which he was refining it was simply astonishing, as if all the spiritual energy in the world was moved by him and rushed into his body.
He completed the breakthrough early and his cultivation reached a higher level.
However, when he opened his eyes, he noticed that Gu Qingze's breath next to him was not stable yet, and he obviously had not completed the breakthrough yet.
Therefore, he decided to continue to consolidate his cultivation in the retreat room, while at the same time gaining a deeper understanding of the mysteries of swordsmanship.
He wanted to wait until Gu Qingze finished his retreat before coming out together.
However, just as he was about to continue to deduce the sword technique, a shadow suddenly appeared in front of his eyes. The shadow was so abrupt and mysterious, as if it did not belong to this world.
He was a man with exquisite appearance, like a porcelain doll, and every detail revealed a sense of perfect carving.
However, there was no emotion in his eyes, as if he was just a programmed AI program, without emotions or thoughts of his own, just mechanically executing a certain code.
The appearance of this phantom suddenly interrupted Chu Lingxiao's deduction of swordsmanship. An inexplicable throbbing surged in his heart, as if something important was about to happen.
He stared at the shadow, trying to see something from it, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not get a glimpse of the secret behind the shadow.
"Who are you? Why are you here?" Chu Lingxiao asked in a deep voice, his tone full of vigilance and doubt, as if he was facing an unknown enemy.
However, the shadow did not answer his question, but just hovered quietly in the air, as if observing something, with an indescribable depth revealed in its lifeless eyes.
Chu Lingxiao frowned. He didn't like this feeling of the unknown. What made him even more unhappy was that his special abilities were completely useless in front of the phantom. He was unable to detect any information from the other side, as if this phantom was an existence beyond his cognition.
Just when Chu Lingxiao felt helpless, the shadowy figure suddenly spoke: "Son of Heaven, we finally meet."
The tone of his voice was neither high nor low, but it had a chilling air that could not be ignored, like a spring on the top of a snowy mountain, clear but chilling to the heart, making people involuntarily feel an inexplicable chill.
"Son of Heaven?" Chu Lingxiao felt puzzled and pointed at himself in confusion, as if asking if this was a joke.
However, the shadowy figure nodded seriously, "That's right. You can call yourself the protagonist."
"The protagonist?" Chu Lingxiao tried to understand what he meant. "The central character in the storybook?"
There was a hint of uncertainty in his words, as if he was exploring a completely new concept.
"Well, as expected of the protagonist, his comprehension is pretty good."
The shadow's words seemed to contain some praise, but the tone was very flat, as if he was just being polite.
"Formally, let me introduce myself. My name is Feng Ying, and my incarnation in this world is the head of the Tianji Pavilion. But to be more precise, I am a world maintainer."
Feng Ying's words revealed an aura of transcendence, as if he did not belong to this world, but came from a higher level of existence.
The master of Tianji Pavilion?
Chu Lingxiao keenly caught the key words in his words. In his memory, Qingze once showed an indescribable persistence, eager to meet the legendary leader of Tianji Pavilion, and seemed to have some questions that needed to be asked urgently.
However, although Qingze was fortunate enough to obtain the token symbolizing authority later, he was still stopped by the mysterious saying "it depends on fate" and was never able to uncover the mystery of Tianji Pavilion and step into the forbidden area.
He never thought that the head of Tianji Pavilion would take the initiative to look for him. This situation was really unexpected.
After all, Qingze's desire to meet the Pavilion Master is undoubtedly stronger than his own.
Feng Ying said slowly, "Every time we step into a small world, as its protector, we will have the most unique and noble status in that world. This is to better fulfill our responsibility to protect the small world."
Although Chu Lingxiao hadn't fully confirmed his identity, his intuition told him that it was best not to question him at this point and to continue following his lead.
"So, Mr. Protector... why have you come to see me this time?"
Feng Ying's shadow raised his hand slightly, extended a finger, and before Chu Lingxiao could react, he had already tapped his forehead.
In an instant, a large number of images and words flooded into Chu Lingxiao's mind like a tide, complex and confusing.
Chu Lingxiao frowned slightly, clearly still trying to adapt to this sudden new information that didn't belong to him: "What are these?"
Feng Ying explained, "This is the plot of this world as it was originally supposed to unfold. To reduce the communication costs between us, I've also specifically input some basic terms into your mind so you can better understand it all."
"What was supposed to happen in this world?" Chu Lingxiao's doubts grew even more intense. "Humans aren't puppets. How can they be controlled by strings and follow a predetermined trajectory?"
Feng Ying nodded in agreement: "That's why every world needs protectors."
"Once the Son of Heaven, the protagonist of the story, deviates from the original plot, we will need to intervene and correct it to ensure that the plot can return to the right track."
"This is our inherent mission as maintainers."
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