Volume 4, Chapter 9 – Return

In the Longchuan mountain range, after Bai Xiang took Bai Zhuqing through the village to investigate, they didn’t discover anything more. The calamity here had happened too long ago; most traces had already been erased by nature. What she cultivated was, in the end, only Taishang Perception, not time reversal, so she simply could not see what had happened in the past.

“Since we didn’t find anything, is Aunt planning to go to Luohou as planned?”

On the way down the mountain, Bai Zhuqing walked at her side and glanced over at Bai Xiang.

She asked very carefully, because she knew that whenever Bai Xiang chose to walk instead of just grabbing her and flying away, it meant she was thinking about something in her head, and in those moments she did not like people bothering her.

But honestly… the direction they were taking down the mountain was to the north, while Bai Xiang’s original plan had been to head south, toward Luohou, so her curiosity finally got the better of her and she spoke up.

“That was the original plan, but not anymore.” After hearing her, Bai Xiang shook her head.

She hung Feixiang Heaven at the sash on her belt. As she walked, her long sleeves drifted, and together with her hair, gathered up white and pinned with a dark-gold Buddha-hand hairpin, she really carried a seductive beauty with a trace of dignified grace.

Bai Zhuqing stared blankly at Bai Xiang’s face, thinking that with the way her older sister walked with her chin practically not moving at all, a pair of earrings would look even better on her.

She had watched some period dramas. There was an actress who was very good at using the tilt of her head to sway her earrings, creating that gracefully swaying, enchanting effect that no one else could quite copy.

But other people were other people. If it was Sis Xiang’er, she definitely could pull it off, and it would absolutely look even better.

She stared for a bit too long, and Bai Xiang narrowed her eyes and gave her a sidelong look. “What crooked ideas are you scheming now?”

“Nothing!” Bai Zhuqing shook her head, letting her gaze only flick briefly over that dark-gold Buddha-hand hairpin before quickly pulling it back. She argued glibly, “It’s just that Aunt is too pretty, I can’t help wanting to sneak a few more looks.”

She had no intention of letting Bai Xiang know what she’d just been thinking.

After all… well, things like gifts lose their sense of surprise if you let the person know in advance.

“Is that so.” That answer was very much in line with her little sister’s usual style, so Bai Xiang didn’t think too deeply about it. Instead, she explained the route down the mountain that differed from their plan. “I’m thinking of going back to Zhen’nan early.”

“Huh?” Bai Zhuqing was taken aback. Why was that?

If you asked why, the reason was naturally the phone call from just now.

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Once one’s cultivation advanced to the Origin Aperture realm, guarding a whole province was no longer a difficulty. But without a teleportation method similar to the blood abyss spring, it was very hard to extend that range to cover a second provincial seat.

It had already been more than two months, almost three, since she suppressed the Shenwu Immortal Dynasty’s invasion. All this time, Bai Xiang had been waiting for them to strike back, because from the memories of Wu Qing and the others she knew clearly that they still had an Immortal Venerable expert, none other than Wu Qing’s father, Wu Huang.

Wu Huang was gravely ill, and the border of Shenwu Heaven was also suffering from loss of order. It was on the verge of being devoured by the void in the near future. These were the reasons the Shenwu Immortal Dynasty had been forced to increase their troops into the main world and test the waters first.

Yet up to now there had been no movement. By Bai Xiang’s estimation, it was very likely that Wu Huang had chickened out.

He had weighed the pros and cons and decided that opposing her, this newly advanced Venerable, would bring him no benefits. But because of his hatred over his son’s death, he was unwilling to reconcile, so he simply buried his head in the sand and waited for other forces to make a move against Bai Xiang.

There was another possibility: Wu Huang was already dead.

He might have died of illness, or some other force might have learned that Shenwu Heaven’s expedition had gone badly and suffered heavy losses, and taken advantage of the situation to kill him.

She did not, after all, know the exact goings-on in the upper realm, so all of these were possible.

It was still inconvenient.

As she walked, Bai Xiang felt a slight sense of complaint in her heart.

In recent years, technology in the main world had advanced at a rapid pace. Even if it had not yet developed methods capable of threatening a Venerable, there were still many convenient inventions worth learning from.

Things like the internet, and communication.

Those people all prided themselves on being from the upper realm, and in recent years they had started to pay attention to developments in the main world. How could they not think to study the main world’s strengths a little more and take these methods back with them?

If only they were willing to learn, then in the future she could sit within her Dao and connect to the upper realm’s network, directly searching for all kinds of information online.

She wouldn’t claim the efficiency would be unbelievable, but it would certainly be better than groping around in the dark like now.

“That phone call just now… is Aunt worried that after you refused Blood-Soul Heaven’s recruitment, they’ll send people over to retaliate?”

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After hearing the explanation, Bai Zhuqing suddenly understood.

If that was the case, then they really did have to focus their attention on Maozhou’s territory. They couldn’t possibly let their home base get snatched because they were lax in their precautions.

“It’s not necessarily Blood-Soul Heaven.” Bai Xiang shook her head. “The Illusory Realm of the upper realm is far too tangled. Quite a few people have surely already slipped down here; they just haven’t made a move yet.”

“What are they even trying to do?” Bai Zhuqing didn’t understand. “Back then it was the great powers of the demon race who betrayed them. If they want to stir up trouble, they should be going to Yujing City, right? Why are they still refusing to leave the surrounding circuits alone?”

“Maybe they’re just trying to grab territory.” Bai Xiang didn’t know much more about it and planned to let the topic drop.

But for some reason, just as that thought flickered through her mind, she suddenly recalled those few skeletons she had just examined.

It wasn’t Aberrations at work, yet something had managed to lead them into killing each other.

Could bizarre events like that really be manufactured by forces from the upper realm?

“Then after we go back, will Aunt still be cultivating with me?”

Bai Zhuqing looked at Bai Xiang with bright, expectant eyes.

Bai Xiang slanted a narrow-eyed glance her way, but didn’t answer right away.

In truth, she would.

The reason she had brought along this little tagalong Bai Zhuqing on this trip wasn’t just for her little sister’s sake. It was also because Bai Zhuqing actually benefited her own cultivation progress.

On that subject, she had to bring up their current process of dual cultivation. First Bai Zhuqing spat out a tiny sword-orb, then directly sent it into Bai Xiang’s body, letting the orb absorb the violent Qi-Origin within her, bit by bit transforming its nature, then sending it back into Bai Zhuqing.

Most people could never use a method like this, because Bai Xiang’s Qi-Origin was far too violent. Apart from Feixiang Heaven, this external incarnation of hers, no other vessel could hold it steadily.

But it had to be remembered that Bai Zhuqing’s entire process of entering the Dao had been fully under Bai Xiang’s control. She had once had the opportunity to be refined into a clone by Bai Xiang, which showed just how well Bai Xiang understood her body.

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Her heart-flow route map and inner body-scape circulation map had all been built under Bai Xiang’s direction.

Perhaps for that reason, Bai Xiang’s Qi-Origin refused to acknowledge any other vessel, yet grudgingly accepted Bai Zhuqing. Through her body, they could build a bridge and carry out this exchange of qi with Bai Xiang.

This exchange brought Bai Zhuqing enormous benefits. Her cultivation was rising at a rapid pace, and she was already not far from the eighth layer of Refining Qi.

As for Bai Xiang, this dual cultivation also had advantages. It allowed the total amount of Qi-Origin that couldn’t be bothered to budge after her breakthrough to the Origin Aperture realm to grow just a little more.

As for the principle behind it, it was probably because Bai Zhuqing’s qi-force attribute was “microscopic control.”

Every time that little sword-orb entered Bai Xiang’s body, the qi-force from her little sister attached to it would help her rearrange the qi sea of her inner body-scape.

Even though each session of dual cultivation only increased it a tiny bit, at her realm, the fact that it could increase at all was already astonishing.

What a pity.

Bai Xiang stared at her little sister’s face, at her cute braids done up in twin loops.

This was already the effect during the Refining Qi phase. If Qing’er were also in the Origin Aperture realm like her, the boost to her would surely be far greater.

Bai Xiang had indeed accepted this feeling, but for the time being she still thought more about matters of cultivation.

That made her subconsciously ignore the stimulation when the little sword-orb entered her body, especially when it passed through the qi sea in her lower abdomen, and also ignore the possibility that if Bai Zhuqing reached the Origin Aperture realm, that stimulation might very well increase by a geometric degree.

“We’ll see how things go.” Bai Xiang didn’t really want to lay her thoughts out clearly, because she felt this behavior smacked a bit of “using her little sister as a cultivation furnace.”

“If you perform well, then we’ll continue.”

“Then just you wait, Aunt!” Bai Zhuqing’s spirits lifted at once. She clenched her little fist and held it against her chest. “I’ll definitely show Aunt how amazing I am!”

Her courage was admirable.

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The corners of Bai Xiang’s lips lifted slightly.

Daring to say that kind of thing in front of someone who had comprehended Taishang Perception… and yet every time, who was the one who turned into a puddle of mush, melting in my arms?

Bzzz, bzzz.

Suddenly, her phone vibrated again.

“This is Bai Xiang.”

“Is that so? Something like this actually happened…”

“If it checks out, then he’s indeed earned another merit.”

“Start the investigation work first. I can definitely make it back today.”

After she hung up, the girl sidled up again. “Dao business?”

“Someone’s been watching for a chance to plant a Demon Pool in Zhen’nan,” Bai Xiang said with a nod.

“It’s those people, isn’t it?” Bai Zhuqing narrowed her eyes. “They’re awful.”

“They probably just saw I wasn’t around.” Bai Xiang, however, remained very calm.

She laid her left hand over Feixiang Heaven, fingers lightly stroking the sword hilt jutting from the scabbard.

As if sensing her intent, the blade quivered faintly within its sheath in response.