That's really interesting!
Qin Wu accepted the heavy sect leader token, and the first thing Bai Yan entrusted to him before his death was thus settled.
The second thing Bai Yan cared about was the fate of Cangmin Mountain itself. His lifelong wish was simply for the Cangmin Mountain lineage to be passed down from generation to generation, hoping that the sect's fate, which was originally pointing to extinction, could have a glimmer of hope for reversal.
Deducing the fate of Cangmin Mountain always consumed Bai Yan's own life essence. Yet, even so, he spent his entire life casting divinations, each one concerning the rise and fall, the very survival of Cangmin Mountain. He devoted his entire life to the well-being of this mountain.
Bai Chuan, Bai Ji, and Qin Wu—weren't they the same? In the original story, all three of them, without exception, fought to the very end to protect Cangmin Mountain, shedding their last drop of blood.
Bai Yan consistently refused to let Yun Qian touch the art of divination. Did he glimpse some kind of heavenly secret because of this? Whether the trajectory of the future has been altered, Yun Qian has no way of knowing. But she has already made a vow in her heart to do everything in her power to protect everyone on Cangmin Mountain, even if it means paying the price with her life.
Her gaze slowly swept over her three junior brothers, her tone unusually calm after experiencing immense grief, yet carrying immense power: "From this day forward, the future of Cangmin Mountain rests on the shoulders of the four of us."
She rarely took things so seriously. In the past, she was more like a close family member who could joke and play around with her junior brothers without any airs. But in critical moments of life and death, she was always the most trustworthy and capable pillar of support.
Whether it was Yun Qian descending from the sky in front of the Golden Palace, or Yun Qian resolutely standing in front of her junior brothers during the heavenly tribulation, she had already unknowingly grown into a true adult capable of supporting them.
The three had no objections to Yun Qian's words. They had long since become one with Cangmin Mountain and were ready to shoulder this heavy yet glorious mission.
Even after leaving the empty and solemn Mingli Hall, the four of them remained in low spirits, as if shrouded in dark clouds.
Yun Qian walked at the back, looking at Bai Ji's slightly thin but upright back, and suddenly called out, "Bai Ji."
Bai Ji stopped in her tracks upon hearing the sound, turned around, and asked, her eyes still bearing the lingering red marks, "What's wrong, Senior Sister?"
“Remember,” Yun Qian walked up to him, her tone unusually serious, “In your future cultivation, you must never get stuck on a rut. Do everything within your capabilities, proceed step by step, and don’t be impatient for quick success.”
In the original story, Bai Ji went to extremes in his cultivation, which led to his demonic possession. Shortly after, Bai Yan passed away. Although the order has changed, the shadow of the tragedy still lingers in Yun Qian's heart, preventing her from finding peace.
The cost of losing someone is far too heavy. She never wants to, and must never, experience it a second time.
Baiji, you must take good care of yourself and stay by her side forever.
"Hmm." Bai Ji nodded heavily, his lips pressed into a pale line, and said nothing more.
That night, as usual, Bai Ji studied formations in the library until late into the night. He carefully put the exquisite pagoda, which contained spiritual light, into his arms, and returned to his Songyan Hall under the cool moonlight.
Inside and outside Songyan Hall, he had already laid down hundreds of arrays of varying sizes and functions, layered upon each other, their spiritual light flickering, resembling an independent array fortress. Normally, even Qin Wu and Bai Chuan were unwilling to step into it. It wasn't that these arrays were malicious, but no one liked the feeling of being trapped and helpless with the slightest carelessness.
Bai Ji slammed the door shut, shutting out the outside world. The calm on his face crumbled instantly, replaced by an undisguised weariness and heaviness.
He rummaged through his storage pouch for a moment and took out several antique-looking copper coins with smooth, worn edges. Without hesitation, he focused his mind and calmed himself, mixing his pure spiritual power with a crucial wisp of primordial divine consciousness, and slowly infused the coins with it.
Then, he released his grip, letting the copper coins float in mid-air, as if being manipulated by invisible fingers, spinning and colliding rapidly, emitting crisp and rapid sounds, their trajectories mysterious and difficult to discern.
The copper coin swung wildly in the air for a long time before it seemed to have exhausted all its strength and suddenly stopped, freezing into a strange and metaphorical pattern.
The divination result indicates completion!
"puff--!"
Almost at the same moment the divination appeared, Bai Ji's body trembled violently, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, his face instantly turning ashen. With his current cultivation level, forcibly deducing a grand divination concerning the entire fortune of Cangmin Mountain brought back consequences far exceeding his capacity.
He raised his hand and fiercely wiped the glaring blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, but his gaze was fixed on the hexagram made of copper coins in the air, as if he wanted to engrave every detail into his soul.
“Desperate situation… a chance for survival…” He murmured the four words indicated by the divination, his lips twitching upwards with difficulty, forming a smile more bitter than tears.
He raised his hand to cover his chest, which was still throbbing with pain, as a surge of emotion, a mixture of understanding and sorrow, welled up inside him.
I see.
No wonder Master only taught him the art of divination, while strictly forbidding his senior sister from even touching it. It turns out, it was all for this day. Master had already foreseen this day. He taught him divination not to peek into the secrets of heaven, but to… give him a chance to see the path ahead clearly and make his own choices.
This divination, which foretells a miraculous escape for Cangmin Mountain, conceals crucial turning points at every turn, where a single misstep can have far-reaching consequences. The slightest misstep, a single wrong step, could send Cangmin Mountain plummeting from that glimmer of hope into utter destruction!
And this first and most dangerous turning point, which was crucial to the overall situation, happened to him!
Bai Ji's body trembled slightly from weakness and the turmoil in his heart. He reached out and, extremely slowly, retrieved the few copper coins that had exhausted much of his mental and spiritual energy, clutching them tightly in his palm, the cold metal edges digging painfully into his hand.
“Master…” he whispered hoarsely to the empty room, his voice filled with endless bitterness and understanding, “You know what I will choose… right?”
"If it weren't for your help back then, bringing me back to the mountains, how could I have had these carefree and happy years?"
Without Cangmin Mountain, how could Baiji be here today?
So what if I become a demon?
As long as he can gain a glimmer of hope and protect everything he cares about, even if he falls into the demonic path, is despised by the world, and is regarded as a traitor by his sect, he must continue on this path!
But deep down, there was a thousand regrets in my heart.
I'm reluctant to leave this little house where I've lived for decades, reluctant to leave the caring eyes of my senior brothers and sisters, reluctant to leave every blade of grass and every tree on this mountain, reluctant to leave that noisy yet warm daily life that I can never go back to.
He solemnly put the few copper coins, which carried the weight of fate, back into his Qiankun bag. His gaze, filled with deep longing, slowly swept over the small courtyard, which was filled with the arrays he had painstakingly created and held countless memories for him.
At the same time, the originally gentle and peaceful spiritual energy in his body began to become restless and agitated, like a wild horse that had broken free of its reins, rampaging through his meridians and surging without any order. This was undoubtedly the clearest sign of going into qi deviation!
Intense pain shot through his limbs and bones, as if countless red-hot steel needles were piercing his body. Fine beads of cold sweat appeared on Bai Ji's forehead, and his face turned from white to green, but he clenched his teeth and did not use his inner energy to guide or suppress this power that was about to go out of control. Instead, it was as if he was actively guiding, or even embracing, this loss of control.
"I have been waiting for you for a long time, Baiji."
A cold, hoarse voice, as if from the deepest hell, suddenly rang out from the depths of his inner being, carrying a chilling greed and smugness.
Bai Ji kept his eyes tightly closed, his brows furrowed with an instinctive rejection and disgust for the voice. His body convulsed slightly in resistance, but he eventually relaxed in defeat, responding coldly with a resigned tone: "Is that so?"
He twitched the corners of his mouth, letting out a cold laugh filled with self-mockery and sorrow: "But I... loathe you to the extreme."
The voice from within the inner palace paid no heed to Bai Ji's hateful and resentful response. Instead, it let out an even more delighted chuckle, like a viper flicking its tongue: "Utterly disgusted? Yet you still have to rely on my power, willingly being driven by me. How amusing, little fellow."
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