Kill them all
Feeling the true energy within her body flowing peacefully and continuously through her meridians like a gentle stream, Yun Qian couldn't help but marvel at Bai Chuan's ever-improving medical skills. After only a few days of drinking the herbal soup he brought, her previously restless and unstable spiritual energy, aroused by the heavenly tribulation, had truly begun to settle and stabilize. However, this daily bowl of herbal soup was unbearably bitter.
She formed a hand seal in front of her body, slowly pressing down to guide the last trace of wandering true energy back to her dantian, and the surging spiritual light around her body also completely subsided.
Yun Qian lay calmly on the bed, carefully sensing the differences in her inner chambers compared to the past.
More than a month has passed since the Heavenly Tribulation, and only in the last two days has she truly realized that the difference between the Nascent Soul stage and the Spirit Transformation stage is indeed like heaven and earth.
In the past two days, she clearly sensed a qualitative change in her spiritual consciousness. Without any deliberate investigation, her mind naturally and spontaneously formed a mysterious connection with the entire Cangmin Mountain. The breath of every blade of grass and tree in the mountain, the traces of birds flying by, even the melting snow and the subtle movements deep in the soil, all unfolded slowly in her heart like a painting.
Just now, she had "seen" Bai Ji walking quickly up the mountain by the slight disturbance of the grass and trees at the foot of the mountain.
This sense of near-unity with heaven and earth was a realm she could never have imagined during her Nascent Soul stage. It was a leap in her level of life, a complete revolution in her understanding of the world.
Yun Qian had never left Cangmin Mountain since arriving in this world, and naturally, she had never fought with other cultivators. Her daily sparring with Bai Chuan and Bai Ji was usually brief and to the point. Therefore, she had never had a clear concept of whether she was truly "powerful." But the transformation of her divine consciousness these past two days made her realize for the first time that she might have truly entered the ranks of so-called "experts" in the cultivation world, becoming a Nascent Soul stage cultivator that some people could never reach in their entire lives.
Perhaps, her journey here, and her cultivation on Cangmin Mountain for over a decade, was destined in some mysterious way.
Her gaze drifted blankly as she looked out through the open window at the boundless blue expanse.
Based on the original book's trajectory, the true protagonist should be making his appearance around this time.
Just then, a strange fluctuation emanating from the grass and trees at the foot of the mountain caused Yun Qian to furrow her brows slightly.
"The smell of blood?"
The aura was extremely faint and fleeting, yet it carried an ominous, sticky feeling.
Yun Qian gently closed her eyes, and carefully spread her newly calmed divine sense out again like a spider web, tracing back to the direction from which the aura came.
Beneath Cangmin Mountain, beyond the boundaries of the array.
Bai Chuan steadily stepped into the range of the mountain-protecting spirit array, holding an ordinary wooden sword in his hand.
On the wooden sword, there were still a few dark, black bloodstains that had not been wiped clean.
His eyes were lowered, his gaze on the sword calm and unwavering. His face, which was becoming increasingly handsome and otherworldly, showed no emotion. Only his hand, which gripped the hilt tightly, had knuckles that were slightly white from excessive force and trembled almost imperceptibly.
He stopped, expressionless, and raised his other hand, using the clean corner of his robe to meticulously wipe away the remaining bloodstains from the sword. Then, he drew a line in the air with his fingertips, and a pure, radiant talisman instantly formed, landing lightly on himself, cleansing him from head to toe.
All the blood and dust that did not belong to Cangmin Mountain and came from outside were completely purified and hidden away as the talisman light flickered, as if they had never existed.
Inside the quiet courtyard, Yun Qian suddenly opened her eyes, a faint trace of worry flashing across them.
What happened to the blood on Baichuan Sword?
Bai Yan had never restricted Bai Chuan and Bai Ji from going down the mountain. To facilitate their research on poisonous insects and herbs requiring specific growing environments, several years ago, Bai Chuan found a secluded spot outside Cangmin Mountain and built a small courtyard there. Every day, he would go down the mountain to that courtyard to work on his elixirs. His master knew about this and tacitly approved… But did his master know that what Bai Chuan had experienced and done during his time down the mountain was not merely researching elixirs?
Yun Qian's divine sense had not been able to cover the entire mountain in the past, so she naturally could not detect whether Bai Chuan's body had been tainted with this kind of aura, nor did she know when this bloody smell started or what caused it.
Yun Qian's thoughts were slightly disordered, causing her recently calmed spiritual energy to surge again, probably because she had overused her divine sense earlier. Yun Qian supported herself on the edge of the bed with both hands and slowly sat up.
She walked to the window, gently stroking the cool, solid wooden window frame. Her gaze fell on the mountain path leading back to the river, and a thought inexplicably arose in her mind: her junior brothers were growing up too fast, which might not be entirely a gratifying thing.
Not long after, steady footsteps sounded outside. Baichuan carried a bowl of thick, dark medicine and walked in steadily.
His complexion was no different from usual, and when he saw Yun Qian, the corners of his mouth even curved into a just-right smile. His voice was gentle: "Senior Sister, it's time to take your medicine."
As he spoke, he walked closer and steadily handed the bowl of bitter-smelling medicine to Yun Qian.
As the medicine bowl drew closer, a bitter smell wafted over.
Yun Qian really hated the smell. Even though she had doubts in her heart, her body still instinctively resisted it. She couldn't help but frown and subconsciously tilt her head back, trying to avoid the bowl of medicine.
But Baichuan was unusually stubborn about this matter.
For every step she took back, he steadily moved the medicine bowl forward a little, his attitude gentle but his actions leaving no room for refusal, until Yun Qian had nowhere left to retreat and reached out to take the heavy medicine bowl.
"How can you be so disrespectful?" Yun Qian frowned, trying to put on airs as a senior sister. "I am your senior sister."
Bai Chuan looked at her, his tone calm, yet carrying a hint of barely perceptible insistence: "Senior Sister, do you expect your junior brother to beg you every day before you'll drink your medicine?"
Of course not.
Yun Qian resignedly pinched her nose, held her breath, and tilted her head back to drink the bowl of bitter medicine that made her tongue numb. After finishing, a flash of inspiration struck her, and she drew a cleansing talisman on the rim of the bowl to dispel the unpleasant smell.
Between strokes of her talisman, her gaze seemingly casually swept across Bai Chuan's face, trying to catch a glimpse of anything unusual. However, he remained calm and composed, his eyes clear, showing no other emotion beyond a hint of satisfaction at her obediently drinking the medicine.
It seems that Baichuan has no intention of bringing up what happened down the mountain today with his senior sister.
"Senior sister, take good care of yourself." He took the medicine bowl, which was now spotless.
"Mm," Yun Qian responded faintly.
Bai Chuan said no more, put away the medicine bowl, and turned to leave Jinghe Courtyard.
Watching his departing figure, Yun Qian still couldn't shake her worry. With a slight twitch of her fingertips, an extremely subtle, almost invisible wisp of divine consciousness silently separated and followed Bai Chuan like a shadow.
After leaving Jingheyuan, Baichuan did not return to his own residence, but went to the library.
Inside the library, Bai Ji was completely absorbed. He rolled up his sleeves and, with a brush dipped in specially made spiritual ink, began to draw intricate array patterns on his bare arm. As the last stroke was completed, the ink seemed to come alive, and a pale golden light flowed slowly upwards from his wrist along the drawn lines until it disappeared into his arm.
Bai Ji held his breath and stared intently at the flowing golden light until it completely disappeared beneath his skin. Only then did he let out a long sigh of relief, his face beaming with excitement, and exclaimed softly, "Formation complete!"
The body becomes the formation, and the formation moves with the person; wherever the person is, the formation is there!
This is one of the most profound and mysterious realms in the art of formations. However, his cultivation is still shallow, and he can only construct simple formations within the small area of his arm. When his cultivation improves in the future, he will be able to try to create formations with his mind, truly making the formations move with his heart, and the formations start when his mind moves!
Bai Ji, still basking in the joy of his success, keenly sensed Bai Chuan's approaching presence. Since entering the Dao, this library had been his most frequent haunt. To prevent occasional uncontrolled explosions while studying formations from damaging the precious ancient books within, he had specially set up a small spatial isolation formation in the central area of the library. This formation wasn't particularly complex, primarily serving a protective function, so Bai Chuan easily entered.
Looking at the still-wet ink stains on Baiji's arm, Baichuan's eyes flashed with disdain. He casually tossed a clean handkerchief over and said, "Wipe it off."
Bai Ji deftly dodged the flying handkerchief, carefully cradling his half-arm covered in array patterns like a precious treasure, exclaiming, "Don't wipe it! The array is newly formed, the ink hasn't settled yet, wiping it will ruin everything!" Only then did he look up at Bai Chuan, "Looking for me? Is something wrong?"
Bai Chuan nodded, his expression calm: "Something's up."
Bai Ji scrutinized his expression, his smile fading, and asked, "What's wrong? Why do you look like that?" His heart tightened, and he blurted out, "Could it be that Senior Sister's injuries have worsened again?" As he spoke, he disregarded the array on his arm and made as if to get up and rush out.
"No," Baichuan said, stopping him.
"You scared me to death!" Hearing that Yun Qian was alright, Bai Ji breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down, still carefully protecting his arm. "What happened?"
Bai Chuan raised his eyes and met Bai Ji's gaze. His originally calm tone turned somber, carrying a suppressed weight: "Today at the foot of the mountain, I encountered the deputy general who led the troops to hunt us down back then."
Bai Ji's gaze suddenly turned cold, and his aura instantly became sharp, even causing the golden light of the array patterns on his arm, which had just stabilized, to fluctuate slightly.
If the mind is not settled, the formation will be unstable.
Bai Chuan continued, his voice low: "On the day we went up the mountain with our master, he taught us that once we entered the immortal sect, we should sever all ties with the mortal world and forget all love, hate and grudges."
“I have always kept Master’s teachings in mind, and dared not forget them.” He paused, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly, as if he were suppressing something, “But today, when I saw that man, he was still indiscriminately killing innocent people, treating human life as worthless. I simply could not bear to watch those weak, innocent lives perish at his hands, so…”
"So you made your move?" Bai Ji's voice was as cold as ice.
“Yes.” Bai Chuan’s eyes uncontrollably reddened, not only with anger, but also with a complex emptiness and determination after killing his enemy. “I killed him, but killing only him is far from enough.”
"The source of all this tragedy, the culprit, is still in a high position, acting tyrannically, and even more so now." Bai Chuan's tone was filled with deep pain, as those deliberately buried memories surged back, as if he had returned to that night of raging fire and helplessness. "The monarch of Li Kingdom, having heard of some evil secret method from somewhere, actually believed that consuming the hearts of a hundred children could grant immortality. He sent men to capture all the children in the city, imprisoned them together, and killed one every day to take their hearts."
"The lieutenant I met today was on his orders to search for children everywhere. The parents of that family fought desperately to protect their child and refused to hand him over, so he was about to kill the child's entire family on the spot." Bai Chuan's hands were clenched into fists, his knuckles cracking slightly, and his voice trembled slightly as he tried to control himself. "I simply cannot stand idly by any longer."
When the lieutenant made his move, his eyes were numb and cruel, without the slightest hesitation. Even when an elderly man, well past sixty, knelt at his feet, tears streaming down his face, pleading desperately, he couldn't elicit a shred of pity from him.
Baichuan will never forget how his parents fell in a pool of blood. When a similar tragedy is about to repeat itself before his eyes, he cannot allow himself to be a bystander again.
He made his move.
They killed the lieutenant and several of his accomplices, saving the terrified family.
It was from this surviving family that Baichuan learned of the even more horrific atrocities currently taking place within the country.
Becoming a cultivator certainly doesn't mean one should easily interfere in the rise and fall of dynasties in the mortal realm. But when a ruler is tyrannical by nature, using evil magic to harm children, causing widespread suffering and devastation, how can someone with power simply turn a blind eye?
With a blood feud looming ahead, and the people of the nation suffering terribly behind, why can't that high-ranking, instigator of countless human tragedies be killed?!
The library was deathly silent, with only the two people's slightly heavy breathing breaking the silence.
After a long while, Bai Ji raised his head, his eyes filled with a cold killing intent. He spoke, his voice not loud, but with a resolute determination: "Then kill him."
"Kill that tyrant and eliminate future troubles."
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