After the Four Mountains Alliance Meet, more than half of the disciples of the immortal sects formed into teams of three to five according to their cultivation bases to hunt down demonic energy rifts and clear out demonic creatures everywhere. Tianshu Sect was no exception.

But because most of the disciples have left the Immortal Sect and it might present the demons with an opportunity to invade, Ling Qingzi wanted to stay behind to maintain the enchanted barrier. He stayed on Lingjue Peak all day long, and Bai Fanlu had not seen him since they had a game of chess.

He finally got what he wanted in the past few days since he first transmigrated. Bai Fanlu was enjoying some carefree days as an immortal cultivator, that is if he was still considered one now.

Even Wang Chongyu went to the front line, but Ling Qingzi forbade him to go down the mountain. The ostensible reason was that he had just gone off the rails with his cultivation and he was prone to problems physically. But the actual reason, as Wang Chongyu explained, was that Shizun feared that he would be put in a difficult position.

In fact, Bai Fanlu didn’t feel he would be put on the spot. He was not at all like the original owner. Even if the original owner didn’t want to oppose his Shizun at first, he would eventually want to avenge his mother. Vengeance for his parents would be the foremost priority to the original owner, but to Bai Fanlu, he never had parents, so this was an unnecessary move. Whether he was an immortal cultivator or a demonic one, it didn't matter.

But thinking of the parents of the original owner, Bai Fanlu inevitably remembered one thing—and that was the name that he heard from Wu Yueshuang—Bai Chuyu.

It was also written in the novel that the mother of the original owner was the former Demon King, the present Demon Elder Bai Junming’s sister.

Bai Fanlu already knew from Wang Chongyu that the person who pretended to be Yun Zhan that day was Bai Junming. He fainted briefly, and when he woke, Bai Junming had disappeared, so he was clueless about this segment.

According to Wang Chongyu, he suddenly ‘went off the rails’ after fainting, and Bai Junming fled.

Bai Fanlu vaguely felt that Bai Junming had run off too simply, so he thought about what was written in the novel carefully. In the so-called plot twist later, Bai Junming instigated the original owner to be a mole in the Immortal Realm. The main purpose was to uncover the truth behind Bai Chuyu's death. The secondary goal was to find the ‘Key of Balance’ that was last seen in the Immortal Realm.

But in the end, these two goals were never attained. The original owner had never completed these two things in the novel before his demonic side was awakened.

Compared with the original plot, Bai Fanlu's awakening was much smaller in scale, and unlike in the novel, Yun Zhan did not announce that he was a demon. Instead, that man sent him back, and he was now under the protection of his Shizun. From then, the plot development diverged vastly.

But Bai Fanlu couldn't figure it out. For what purpose did Bai Junming want to pretend to be Yun Zhan to agitate him?

At first, Bai Fanlu didn't have the headspace to think about these things, but now that he had calmed down and was lounging in the Immortal Sect with nothing to do, he was able to deliberate on these intricacies carefully.

First of all, if Yun Zhan was in the Yingzhou City Governor’s Mansion and suffered a backlash from the Bu Shi Chen mirror, then it was likely that he had a fight with He Sang. From the residual demonic energy discovered after contacting him, it was very also likely that Bai Junming had somehow witnessed the conversion of Yun Zhan into the mirror image ‘Xiao Liu’.

That was why he knew that Xiao Liu was Yun Zhan, and it shouldn't have been accidental that Bai Junming happened to appear nearby. Maybe he had been worried about his chess piece and spied on him in secret.

But why he wanted to pretend to be Yun Zhan was still unclear. Judging from recent incidents, that man forced him to awaken his demon blood and almost caused him to lose his foothold in the immortal world. But how was this advantageous to him?

On the surface, not only was there no benefit at all, it would also directly affect Bai Fanlu’s intended position as a mole in the Immortal Realm.

What's more, Bai Fanlu noticed something strange. It was Yun Zhan who had communicated with him via the Blue Bird. Then, how did Bai Junming know to wait for him at the Baihua Pavilion?

Since Yun Zhan made the appointment with him to meet at the Baihua Pavilion. It wouldn’t be hard to realise that an imposter had taken his place. But perhaps because he was Xiao Liu at the time and didn’t want to expose himself? Then why not use the Blue Bird to inform him?

Instead, he chose to use a note and only dared to write one sentence, ‘Beware of Yun Zhan’. Instead of directly writing ‘Yun Zhan is an imposter’.

If he used the Blue Bird to send another message and directly said, ‘Yun Zhan is an imposter’, with the Blue Bird as proof, they would not have entered Baihua Pavilion to investigate, and wouldn’t have been trapped by Bai Junming.

Bai Fanlu paced back and forth, but still couldn't think of any reason. Only Yun Zhan himself could explain this.

The plotline of Bai Junming was too chaotic to follow, so he had to return to Bai Chuyu for clues. The woman was the biological mother of the original owner, but the biological father was not mentioned in the novel.

Bai Fanlu thought about the ‘Ling Jue Shixiong’ that Wu Yueshuang could not forget. He seemed to have a close relationship with Bai Chuyu, which made Wu Yueshuang jealous.

In addition, Wu Yueshuang recognised him as ‘Ling Jue Shixiong’, which gave Bai Fanlu a clue that man could perhaps be

Bai Fanlu was so excited that he felt as if he had discovered some incredible secret of the immortal realm.

He immediately thought of going to Three Twilight Residence, where there were many ancient books kept. If it was a person with a name in the immortal world, it should be recorded in historical materials, so was this man named ‘Ling Jue’.

The original owner had the privilege of entering and leaving the Three Twilight Residence at any time, and he was able to sneak in with the young Yun Zhan back then. This was convenient for Bai Fanlu indeed!

He took out the ancient books volume by volume, they were mostly Mind Secret Techniques, and some were records of the immortal world’s culture and artefacts.

It was hard to find historical records. When he found and opened them, they were all in ancient statements of aspiration and one memoir. The handwriting on it was illegible. Bai Fanlu saw that this wasn’t what he was looking for, so he put them all back.

Finally, he finally found a small blue booklet with many names recorded in it. Upon closer inspection, it resembled a record of family trees within the immortal realm!

He was overjoyed! Carefully holding the booklet and sitting down in front of the desk, he started scanning through the names, and found Ling Qingzi’s in it.

Sure enough!

Ling Qingzi's Shizun was a man named Cang Wu Immortal MasterShen Jun, and his apprentice was Ling Qingzi...Huh? Why was there only Ling Qingzi?

Looking further down, it turned out that Wu Yueshuang was not a direct shimei of Ling Qingzi. She was originally a disciple of the outer sect. Later, because of her outstanding aptitude, Cang Wu broke the rules for her entry. Bai Fanlu could tell because there were comments written by the side.

Then he continued down and already saw the names of himself and Wang Chongyu, that is, the people of his generation, but couldn’t find the name ‘Ling Jue’.

Bai Fanlu didn't believe it for fear that he might have missed it. He held his finger on the paper and looked back up one by one from back to front, but when he returned to the name of Ling Qingzi, his finger felt a surge of spiritual energy.

He was startled, and touched the paper's surface twice in uncertainty.

The paper's surface seemed to be rippling, and the ripples spread out in circles, revealing the three characters traced by ink beside Ling Qingzi.

"Lu, Ling, Jue..."

Bai Fanlu read these three words, and an incredible voice rang in his mind.

"Xiao Liu, why did you come out again? Go back with me quickly. If you want to play, I’ll accompany you tomorrow, don't be angry anymore.”

Bai Fanlu turned his head abruptly, but the room was empty, and there was no second person except him.

Why did that voice resemble...the voice of Ling Qingzi? And it was a voice coming out of his consciousness.

Did Ling Qingzi ever say such a sentence in a novel? Has he ever called the original owner by ‘Xiao Liu’?

Hmmm...It shouldn’t be… Bai Fanlu hurriedly put the book back in its original position and left Three Twilight Residence as fast as possible. It was not a guilty conscience bugging him, but that voice made him feel something was wrong.

Then he went to a quiet corner where he deliberated carefully, but couldn’t recall when Ling Qingzi ever said those words to the original owner.

He shook his head. Could it be the aftereffects of demonising?

If it wasn’t written in the novel, and it appeared directly in his mind… If it wasn’t auditory hallucinations or spells, then was it possible that he had actually heard it in person?

Bullshit. It must be written in the novel. He must have forgotten about it in confusion.

Bai Fanlu nodded. That must be it.

It was a pity that he got too anxious back then. He only saw the name ‘Lu Lingjue’ and ran out before finding out more.

He also wanted to take a closer look at the sapphire incense burner but didn’t manage to this time.

Forget it, he’d started looking into this ‘Ling Jue shixiong’ because it was related to the original owner, and so it was reasonably justified. But being overly curious about his Shizun’s personal belongings was clearly him overstepping his boundaries.

Bai Fanlu's attention shifted to the only three characters found, ‘Lu Ling Jue’, so this ‘Ling Jue shixiong’ had the surname Lu, and his full name was Lu Ling Jue. This man was Ling Qingzi's junior, both of whom were the Immortal Sovereign Cang Wu’s closed door disciples.

The original owner's name happened to have the word ‘Lu’. Ling Qingzi changed this name. In addition, Wu Yueshuang said that Lu Ling Jue preferred Bai Chuyu, so it basically explained that the original owner's biological father was likely to be ‘Lu Ling Jue’.

But the strange thing was, why was the name ‘Lu Ling Jue’ hidden? Could it be that he was expelled because of some serious mistake?

Oh!

Combining the experience of reading novels in the past, Bai Fanlu suddenly realised that he understood that this big mistake was to have relations with demons!

No wonder Wang Chongyu and Bai Junming, who pretended to be Yun Zhan, had strange expressions when they heard this name.

"I see.”

If the original owner's father was an immortal cultivator, that would better explain why he had outstanding aptitude, and be adept at cultivating both the immortal or demonic path.

However, Bai Fanlu still had doubts. Judging from Wu Yueshuang's behaviour, he might somewhat resemble Lu Ling Jue in appearance.

But why in the past in this vast Immortal Realm did no one ever doubt the relationship between the original owner and Lu Ling Jue?

Hadn't they met Lu Ling Jue?

And Wu Yueshuang, she never failed to recognise the original owner for who he was in the novel. And doesn't she like Lu Ling Jue?

How was it possible for her to mistake the original owner for the man she loves?

Could it be the Emotionless Path she was practising?

However, she went crazy in Baihua Pavilion, and now she had gone missing. Bai Fanlu guessed that Bai Junming was probably the one behind this mess. Perhaps he controlled Wu Yueshuang's heart demonXing Mo. It was quite likely since he was an expert at it.

Bai Fanlu was pondering about these things, when suddenly two beeps sounded in his head. It was the system prompt that he hadn't heard for a long time.

At first, Bai Fanlu felt a sense of familiarity in his heart. If not for the system, he would have sunk into the plot and forgotten his identity as a transmigator.

Fortunately, he was pulled back.

Bai Fanlu inexplicably heaved a sigh of relief, and for the first time, he looked forward to the sound of the system, hoping that it could brainwash him away from those confusing thoughts.

Didi: "Congratulations on completing the side quest ‘The Good Shall Be Rewarded’, you will be rewarded with Reader's Brain Fragment x 3, and also activate the hidden event 1 ‘Grass, smoke and lightly falling rain’ and the hidden event 2 ‘Ashes like jasper silk’.”

Bai Fanlu initially believed that perhaps his thoughts had somehow triggered the new branch line prompt, but it turned out that it wasn’t the case, which disappointed him. Then, he realised what the branch line meant. So, did Xiang Wanyi successfully enter the cycle of reincarnation?

His surprise was not over, for the system prompted yet again.

Didi: "Congratulations, the hidden event ‘Grass, smoke and lightly falling rain’ has been completed. You will be rewarded with ‘Soul Guiding Divine Lamp’.”

Didi: "Attention, since the completion rate is only at eighty percent, the remaining rewards will be issued after the remaining twenty percent is completed.”

Bai Fanlu wondered, How could this hidden event be completed in parts?

Moreover, the ‘Grass, smoke and lightly falling rain’ sounded too literary and completely incomprehensible to him.

And, what does eighty percent completion mean?

"What is the purpose of the Divine Lamp?” Bai Fanlu asked the system.

Didi: “The Soul Guiding Divine Lamp, draws the wandering souls, helping them to enter the intersecting realm and overcome the calamity of rebirth, giving them life after death.”

Bai Fanlu pondered silently for two seconds, then another two seconds.

This system was outrageous. It started to sprout something ‘not forgetting one’s original intention’ that was straightforward, then it sprouted stuff that was more and more difficult to understand as it progressed.

Didi: "You’ll need this item, keep it well. A gentle reminder, you also have a ‘Shen DanDivine Pill—Voidless’, which will be used soon. I wish you good luck with it. The only thing left to say in the mechanical tone and with enthusiasm is, Dear Client, please give me a five-star rating.”

Bai Fanlu: "..."

However, the timely prompts given by the system made it much easier to understand. In other words, Bai Fanlu was now far off at the Tianshu Sect, yet Xiang Wanyi's affairs have been settled.

Who could have done that?

There could be no else, right?

"He still..." Bai Fanlu murmured, realising that he tended to be soft-hearted, he immediately raised his eyebrows and gave a, “Humph”.

That dog was nosy indeed! But doing that one good deed doesn’t really mean anything.

Bai Fanlu found that he was becoming more and more eloquent now, and he had a variety of sarcastic comments at his fingertips. But he realised that after those nasty words, the one it was meant for couldn’t hear him, so he made himself upset instead.

Probably because of being idle, Bai Fanlu got irritated, so that he ended up pacing around in Tianshu Sect.

Even though it was kind for them to have him stay behind, they should at least let him help out with menial tasks, such as patrolling to see if there were any suspicious entities breaking in.

As he got up the mountain path, he saw two disciples flying in on their swords. They also saw Bai Fanlu, stopped abruptly and jumped off their swords, "Shixiong, where is Shixun? We have something to report!”

Bai Fanlu replied, "Shizun is still on Lingjue Peak. He hadn’t returned in a few days.”

The two disciples looked at each other. Lingjue Peak was somewhere they couldn't go either.

"What's the matter?” Bai Fanlu asked, "I'll go report it for you."

Upon hearing this, the two of them got embarrassed.

Bai Fanlu understood in his heart, and rephrased his words, "I’ll invite Shizun to come down. You two wait at the Daguan Hall first.”

"Alright! Thank you Dashixiong!” The two let out a long sigh of relief.

Lingjue Peak was the highest point in the entire immortal world, and there were special barriers around it. It was difficult for ordinary people to reach the top. Ling Qingzi had already passed this secret method to ascend to Bai Fanlu.

However, he didn't even reach the highest point, and when he got to the second peak where the Four Mountains Alliance was located, Ling Qingzi noticed him and came down first.

After Bai Fanlu relayed the words of the two shidis, he knew that he should return and did not follow him to the Daguan Hall.

It was way past the time for the disciples to gather for their cultivation practice, so Bai Fanlu was the only one at the training grounds, practising his techniques and swordsmanship there. Opposite where he stood was a sea of clouds and the mortal world below. He stopped to take a look, but unfortunately, he couldn't see anything.

When Ling Qingzi came, he saw Bai Fanlu staring into the vast distance in a daze.
"You must have been bored these few days.”

When Bai Fanlu heard this, he turned around to see Ling Qingzi approaching, and hurriedly greeted, "Shizun.”

He felt that Ling Qingzi's words seemed to be deliberately teasing him a little, but his Shizun’s cold-looking expression remained unwavering.

Bai Fanlu lamented about himself in his heart. He was an idler and it’s enough that he couldn’t be of help, now he even made his Shizun worry about whether he was bored or not.

"This is a critical juncture. Yet, this disciple can only stay behind and enjoy the peace. I am truly worried..."

Bai Fanlu added, "However, this disciple understands Shizun’s intentions and they are all for the sake of this disciple, so how can I feel discomfort? After all, staying here is also my way of easing Shizun’s worries and not adding on to the Sect’s troubles. I will do what Shizun asks, and will never embarrass you or my shidis and shimeis.”

Ling Qingzi's pupils flickered with a flash of light, and he nodded, "Your two shidis pleaded to me for you earlier. Do you want to know what they said?”

"Huh?” Bai Fanlu didn't understand it. Pleaded to Shizun for him?

"It is I who relayed the order forbidding all disciples to mention any news outside of the Sect to you. Because you ‘went off the rails’, they are also worried that your body will not recover.”

Worried about...him?

Bai Fanlu was stunned. He thought it was just an official statement, but it was actually to help him avoid suspicion...

Ling Qingzi continued, "That's why they told me that if they concealed everything from you, you can tell, and you might overthink and believe that you are being shunned by the Sect, which is not the case.”

Bai Fanlu did consider that those rumours would affect the perception of him in the hearts of his shidis and shimeis. So, he deliberately pretended not to understand, ignored, and behaved as per normal despite being vaguely aware. It was truly unexpected that his fellow disciples thought this way instead.

Suddenly, his heart was filled with a soreness. Bai Fanlu lowered his eyes slightly, and gently squeezed his five fingers together.

Ling Qingzi stared at him, “I was thinking, if you are willing, would you like to go down the mountain today to assist Chong Yu?”

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