​​Following the collapse of the layers of snow, a huge city was revealed beneath the ruins of Ling City.

When Bai Fanlu's feet touched the ground, Xiao Liu held onto him. He tried to break free, but the youth was too stubborn, and the two secretly contended with each other for a while until Bai Fanlu got annoyed.

"You left those people by themselves just like that? Did you forget what I said?"

He wanted to cast blame on the other party to make him back off, but Xiao Liu would never fall for such tricks, "I know you will blame me, but my plan is absolutely foolproof. If you don't believe it, I will prove it to you when we get out."

"What's your foolproof plan?"

"I cast a barrier around them, and got Lil' Snow to..." Xiao Liu suddenly didn't know how to explain to him.

Bai Fanlu stared at him for two seconds, then smiled coldly, "Indeed...you've been concealing your strength."

"I did not!" Xiao Liu hurriedly denied it.

But Bai Fanlu continued to grill him with a doubtful stare that carried grim emotions seemingly suppressed after being deceived.

Xiao Liu's heart trembled at this, and he muttered in a low voice, "I didn't know either...I was in Yingzhou that day. After the night I found you, I suddenly felt that I was different."

Bai Fanlu was still patient enough to listen to his explanation, "Let go of me first."

"What if you run off when I let go..."

It turned out that the youth was struggling with the thought. Was that why he refused to let go of his arms from around him?

Bai Fanlu burst into laughter and glanced around the surroundings again. Then, he said helplessly, "I will not. Besides, where can I go now? Let me go."

Xiao Liu hesitated for a moment before reluctantly letting go. But as soon as he did, Bai Fanlu grabbed his hand.

He examined his spiritual energy openly this time. Sure enough, he detected a divine light on Xiao Liu's body. This was exactly the same as the one that had disappeared inexplicably from Zhizhi's body back then.

"Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?"

Bai Fanlu released Xiao Liu's hand but maintained his suspicions.

Even if what Xiao Liu said was true and that the divine power had been transferred to him, why did he hide it for so long? Was he not afraid at all of a new and inexplicable power within him?

Xiao Liu lowered his head and remained silent.

Bai Fanlu sighed and decided not to press on. As he turned to leave, Xiao Liu held his hand.

He turned and saw that the youth's head was still lowered, but he finally said something, "If I told you earlier, you wouldn't let me follow you."

Bai Fanlu deliberated and was convinced that this could indeed be the reason. He only decided to bring the youth along on the journey after seeing that he was all alone and persuaded himself to teach him some self-defence spells at the very least before they parted ways.

If he had known that Xiao Liu had accidentally gained a divine power and became so powerful, why should he bother with him?

Bai Fanlu didn't answer Xiao Liu, but instead, he asked, "Then why do you have to follow me?"

"I…"

"In the beginning, you wanted to learn skills as a disciple. After Yingzhou, did you still have to?"

"..." Xiao Liu was choked up and unable to answer and simply stared at Bai Fanlu without blinking.

Bai Fanlu was slightly annoyed that he had guessed correctly. He was not one who liked to deceive others, and now that he was at the receiving end, it was not pleasant. It was a hundred times worse than he thought.

It felt as if a blunt knife was cutting him. This little brat! He had trusted him so much!

Bai Fanlu was inexplicably irritable and forcefully broke away from Xiao Liu's grasp, "Forget it, it's not the time to talk about this..."

"I like you!"

Bai Fanlu froze in place. What did he say?

The rest of the words he intended to say were interrupted at once. He could no longer recall them. Bai Fanlu could only watch as the young man made a big stride, closing the distance between them. Once again, he was embraced in his arms and held tightly against his body. Bai Fanlu tried to wiggle his way out, but there was no room to do so.

"I like you, so I want to follow you. I know that it is wrong to hide from you, but I would rather do this than be abandoned by you. Even if you are angry with me, I can still rely on you. It is far better than being apart, where I can't see or touch you."

The youth spoke extremely fluently as he confessed his rationale.

Because he spoke close to Bai Fanlu's ear, the man could hear every word clearly, but was stunned into a daze as if a question mark had been etched onto his face.

In the end, Bai Fanlu's thoughts were muddled, the only thing that reverberated repeatedly were the first and most monumental words, ‘I like you’.

As a modern-age person encountering this sort of situation for the first time, Bai Fanlu blushed, his ears grew hot, his heartbeat raced, and his mouth became dry.

But at the same time, he was still playing the role of a man from a historical age with due diligence. So, after a brief moment of his brain crashing, he suddenly caught onto a life-saving thought.

When the ancient people used these few words, did they mean it as a confession?

It shouldn't be.

Then that's great! Bai Fanlu applauded his own comprehension skills for being top notch. He thought it was fortunate for him to interpret these words precisely and quickly. If not, he would have made a fool of himself.

"Xiao Liu, I know you see me as your gege." Although Bai Fanlu's voice is still quavering, his mentality was becoming calmer and calmer.

"..." Xiaoliu frowned as his words seemed to have left the man's right ear after entering from the left.

"I don't just think of you as my gege..."

Bai Fanlu ignored the words 'don't just' and hurriedly nodded and acknowledged, "I also think of you as my didi."

Xiao Liu's hand that was holding onto Bai Fanlu stiffened up.

The two fell silent at the same time. After a while, Bai Fanlu felt awkward. At this moment, he had forgotten to doubt Xiao Liu's true identity and just wanted to get rid of this abnormal atmosphere as soon as possible.

So, he tried to change the topic and asked, "Where's Zhizhi?"

"I sent it away together with the others."

That's right. It would be a hassle if the monkey tagged along.

Bai Fanlu wanted to say something else when Xiao Liu interrupted, "Do you think I'm particularly immature?"

Bai Fanlu was speechless. He didn't think of the youth like that and wondered how Xiao Liu came to that conclusion.

"If I become mature to the point you can rely on me, would you still choose to ignore what I just said?"

Bai Fanlu wanted to say that he did not ignore his words, but he could not bring himself to retort because it was partially true. Bai Fanlu was struggling internally, but Xiao Liu somehow figured it out on his own and suddenly let go of him.

"I will change."

Xiao Liu walked forward by himself, and Bai Fanlu was left feeling absurd while watching his back.

Then, he turned around, and the heartbeat he had been suppressing began to pound excessively. Bai Fanlu couldn't help but raise his hand to touch his cheek. It was warm! How embarrassing!

He secretly steadied the chaotic heartbeat, took a deep breath, and slowly followed the youth. He did his best not to appear too flustered and inexperienced.

But when he raised his head inadvertently, he found that the youth merely took a few steps and turned back to look at him instead.

Those crescent eyes beamed slightly, carrying with it a hint of a smile.

Bai Fanlu's breathe froze, and he glared back at him. That little brat didn't witness all his reactions just now, did he?

Just look at that conceited expression!

"Ahem..." Bai Fanlu covered his mouth, not knowing that his actions revealed his efforts to cover up his reaction.

When he drew near, Xiao Liu asked, "If I become mature immediately, will you be used to it?"

But how can one make such drastic changes at will?

Bai Fanlu retorted in annoyance, "When you learn not to lie to me, I will consider you scarcely mature."

He didn't want to answer him casually, but this response caused Xiao Liu to change his expression slightly. He smiled bitterly, stopped speaking, and followed Bai Fanlu in small steps.

On the surface, the city buried under Ling City was not much out of the ordinary. It was just that the streets and houses on both sides were empty. The crunching sounds they made with each step on the snowy ground echoed within the vast, dead space. This type of odd silence could easily make anyone feel scared.

But since Bai Fanlu had been forced to enter, even if Yun Zhan didn't respond to his call, he still had to bite the bullet and go through the plot. After all, it was impossible to sit back and remain trapped in this empty city with Xiao Liu.

The crux was that Bai Fanlu knew that the barrier enclosing this space was an enchantment set up by the ancient celestials. In this space, outsiders cannot enter, and those within had no way of getting out. If one did not move along with the story, it would be a dead end.

Fortunately, Xiao Liu had accidentally acquired some decent powers. Thinking about this, Bai Fanlu thought that perhaps it was better that Yun Zhan was not around. At least Xiao Liu would obey him and act accordingly. He did not have to explain anything to him. Both manpower and tools were available.

Bai Fanlu finally felt better at this.

He was relieved that the young man seemed earnest and sincere in learning to become mature in particular. He didn't ask anything along the way and focused on being an obedient disciple.

According to the original plot, after Yun Zhan and he arrived in Ling City, they uncovered an ancient city hidden in the crater below Ling City. This place was just like a shadow of the former, and it was where they were at currently.

The two cities' layout was identical, except that the temple for worshipping the heavens located at the heart of the city was different. The statue on the roof of the temple underground was in the form of a dragon, while the one above ground was a phoenix.

If one traversed through the main street that runs from the north to the south, one would arrive at the Temple of Heaven.

Bai Fanlu's current goal was the Investiture of Gods Platform located in the temple's lower levels. That was where the demonic energy rift was.

The wooden door of the temple was weathered, and sawdust was scattered in the snow when it was pushed open.

The main hall was spacious, and the roof was extremely high. The sculpture of the blue dragon erected upright in the centre appeared lifelike, and the creature's pupils were like glowing torches overlooking visitors.

Bai Fanlu drew in a cold breath. If he hadn't known in advance that this was a sculpture, he would have been shocked upon entering through the door. Looking back at Xiao Liu, he noticed that the young man was rather bold and looked calm as usual.

Was he truly becoming mature just by mentioning it a while ago?

The two walked in and made their way to the JingxinMeditation Hall at the back. The space was furnished with a long table exquisitely carved from a willow tree, an incense table, and an altar.

Three residual incense sticks that seemed to have been prematurely extinguished by external force remained. They were only halfway burnt through. There was also a thick layer of ash in the incense pot, adding to the decrepit atmosphere.

This place had an inexplicable animosity to visitors.

Bai Fanlu thought to himself, It's not just this place. It was also the gloomy atmosphere that enshrouded the solemn surroundings. There was also that and the fine bronze statue of a deity on the altar...

The being was dressed in a general's armour, which reflected cold light, but the gaze given off by the pair of engraved divine eyes were eerie. The more Bai Fanlu looked at it, the more a strange sense of repulsion surged from his heart.

He turned away and found that Xiao Liu was also staring at the same godly statue.

"Who is this?" Xiao Liu asked.

"This is the Ancient Dragon God, Xun Huang." After a brief explanation, Bai Fanlu circled the incense pot and examined the way by stroking it with his right hand.

The stone walls were made of polished square stones and were covered with mottled cracks. However, one of them had a colour faintly different from the others.

Bai Fanlu positioned his index and middle finger together and tapped on the stone thrice. A blue light converged in the centre of the stone at once, forming a small seal formation.

This array specialised in time-space traction, and the temple was merely the outline of the formation, and what was truly the crux was space behind the heart of the formation.

Bai Fanlu had first-hand experience of the aura fluctuations caused by the formation, which was much unlike the description in the book. Bai Fanlu felt an odd sense of familiarity with this sensation. After careful deliberation, he recalled that it was somewhat similar to a grand technique that Ling Qingzi once used against Bai Junming. But it was not exactly the same.

Xiao Liu was now focused on observing how Bai Fanlu attempted to break the formation. With a few strokes of his fingers against the seal, Bai Fanlu drew out a dark array that complemented the bright array. When the two arrays overlapped, the stone wall in front of him slowly moved back, and an entrance enveloped in darkness was exposed, along with a puff of dust.

From the depths of the opening, a faintly moist and cold vapour rushed out and swept away the residual dust. With that, a series of top-grade cyan stone steps became visible.

Before stepping in, Bai Fanlu intentionally instructed, "Follow me closely. No matter what happens, protect yourself, and I will handle the rest. Also, the Dragon God Xun Huang has a long tail. Be careful not to be hurt by it. Bear this in mind!"

Seeing that Xiao Liu wanted to retort, Bai Fanlu added solemnly, "You promised to be mature and sensible! Don't make me worry about you."

Xiao Liu was taken back. What did Bai Fanlu just say? That he was worried about him? Was this worry and concern the same as he understood it to be?

Unfortunately, before he had a chance to confirm it, Bai Fanlu had already stepped into the entrance, and Xiao Liu hurriedly followed.

Bai Fanlu wielded his sword in his hand and sacrificed by using up two amulets simultaneously. When Xiao Liu saw this, he also channelled his aura in his palm and was on full alert.

This passage was not considered long, and there was a faint glow along the wall. After walking for a while, the space ahead seemed brightly lit.

Bai Fanlu had already known that he would meet his opponent here, but didn't expect it to be so fast. In a blink of an eye, as the space ahead opened up, he heard a violent cry, "Trespassers shall die!"