The biggest Demonic Energy Rift was located in the Nanmeng River area where Wang Chongyu was.

When Bai Fanlu arrived, dozens of disciples of Tianshu Sect were already guarding the rift and were struggling to maintain the barrier. Demonic energy could still gush out despite this.

Wang Chongyu did not expect that his Shizun would send Bai Fanlu, but when he saw Ice Pick in the man’s hand, he realised something.

Bai Fanlu learned that the villages and towns a hundred miles around Nanmeng River were not spared. Innocents were all killed by the crazed demons. After much effort, they finally managed to suppress the demonic energy but they still couldn’t get close to the rift to seal it up.

This time, Bai Fanlu was going to bring Ice Pick to the centre of the Demonic Energy Rift. The weapon would enable him to enter deeper into the Rift to investigate more.

Wang Chongyu was still worried but because he must stand guard outside the barrier, it meant that Bai Fanlu had to enter by himself.

"Don't worry, Shizun said nothing will go wrong with Ice Pick by my side.”

 This sentence may sound like reassurance, but even if Bai Fanlu may not be clear about the meaning of Shizun’s words, Wang Chongyu was well aware.

Bai Fanlu was also fully prepared. Nanmeng River was the third spot where the Demonic Energy Rift was found as written in the book after the one appeared in Ling City.

Yun Zhan didn't manage to seal this fissure at first, and only succeeded after borrowing Ice Pick from Ling Qingzi.

But right now, his Shizun handed Ice Pick over to him before Bai Fanlu could even ask to borrow it.

Ling Qingzi also mentioned that he couldn't leave Tianshu Sect, so Ice Pick was to replace him to help Bai Fanlu.

Although he had no protagonist's halo, Bai Fanlu felt that this special care from his Shizun was much more reassuring than that halo.  

With the Ice Pick’s protection, it was as though he had his Shizun by his side. Bai Fanlu was no longer afraid.  He easily entered and got nearer to the centre of the Rift, pushing away the layers of heavy fog, and passing by an abandoned village, until Nanmeng River appeared before him.

The river was contaminated by the concentrated demonic energy around it and had turned black. When he approached, something in the water swam towards him quickly, and red waves were stirred up, breaking out from the black water surface.

Soon, the thing came out. It was a massive purple snake, hissing, with scales stacked upside down, appearing like barbed hooks, looking very shocking.

It was another demonic beast, Water Snake.

Bai Fanlu held Ice Pick in his hand, stepped on his sword and flew into the air. He immediately attempted to find the weak spot of the beast and found his target on one different, purple patterned scale.

The snake's tail was curled up, and its body was coiled, concealing and protecting its vital points. At the same time, the snake's head quickly swung around and it opened its mouth, which looked like a bloody basin, towards Bai Fanlu.

Bai Fanlu wanted to stab the weapon in between its jaws but thought it would be a terrible idea. If the beast were injured, its blood would spill out and pollute the waters of Nanmeng River further.

And the most important thing he needed to do was to seal the Rift by using this snake as a shortcut.  

He decided to seal the Rift first and then kill the enemy after.

Bai Fanlu ducked to avoid the attack of the huge snake. He deliberately led it to chase him in mid-air. The Water Snake was extremely flexible and soon coiled into a ball. Bai Fanlu stopped and raised one hand.

The beast hissed as it was suddenly pinched by an invisible force when it was ten feet away from him. In the next moment, the snake's body twisted and turned in the air like a spiral.

Bai Fanlu secretly exerted strength, and the spiritual energy in his body was continuously poured into his palm. The snake was gradually stretched and deformed under this strike and finally turned into a giant bow.

He quickly manipulated Ice Pick with his other hand, turning it into a sharp arrow. He used both hands to hold up the bow and arrow and slowly took aim.

"Hmmm…"

The snake was heavier than expected, and Bai Fanlu quickly became exhausted.

He had to control both the Water Snake and Ice Pick at the same time. Moreover, the beast was still violently struggling to break free.

As it did, the beast’s demonic energy was constantly taken up by Ice Pick, causing the weapon to oscillate fiercely.

But at this moment, Bai Fanlu could only persist.

He gritted his teeth, and suddenly felt a strange movement in his spiritual sense. Then, the hand holding the snake bow and ice arrow suddenly felt an infinite force filling it.

Bai Fanlu exerted himself using the fierce force, then heard a swoosh. Ice Pick shot from the snake bow, engulfed by the demonic energy and its own immortal energy. The two forces intertwined, broke through the Nanmeng River, and instantly disappeared.

With a shattering sound, tens of thousands of bright spots of light appeared on the surface of the waters, centred around where Ice Pick had entered. They drifted around and wherever they scattered, the demonic energy was annihilated little by little, until the lush mountains and clear water returned once again.

The Water Snake that was twisted into a knot in the hands of Bai Fanlu was suddenly let go. With a quick slash of a sword, he decisively pierced its vitals.

The beast whimpered, fell on the ground, struggled for a while, then died. Its huge body shrank instantly, reduced to the length of a small whip.

Bai Fanlu recalled Ice Pick and intended to clean up the snake’s body, but it dissipated on its own.

Just when he was wondering why, he suddenly felt a slight warmth in his wrists, and when he inspected them, he realised that Cang Jin now had an additional spiritual vein. There were now five strands of the weapon in total.

That was an unexpected gain.

But when did this one appear?

Why was he completely unaware... Could it have emerged now because his demonic blood was awakened?

Bai Fanlu deliberated, the final form of the original owner’s Cang Jin in the novel seemed to comprise seven strands. He recalled because there was a scene where Cang Jin’s seven spiritual veins were spread out like a lyre to manipulate the dark spirits and release a killing move.

So, there were still two left. Why did he feel like he was gathering seven dragon balls to summon the dragon?

Bai Fanlu thought it was amusing. He didn't want a divine dragon. His encounter with Xun Huang was not fun at all.

He turned to head outside, as the demonic energy quickly dissipated, Wang Chongyu and the others were retracting the enchanted barrier. When they saw Bai Fanlu coming out, one of the shidis was delighted and cried, "Shixiong, you are really amazing!”

"Not at all! It’s all thanks to Shizun for helping me.”

After they were done, Wang Chongyu asked Bai Fanlu when they were alone, "You said it was Shizun who helped you?”

Bai Fanlu thought of the situation just now, and felt that he could only complete the task because Shizun lent his power through Ice Pick.

After describing it to Wang Chongyu, the other party seemed to ponder for a while but didn't say anything.

Now that he had left the mountain, Ling Qingzi got him to assist Wang Chongyu again, and Bai Fanlu planned to go along with him.

Nanmeng River had an urgent assembly of many disciples. Now that the crisis was resolved, Wang Chongyu asked the disciples to return to their respective patrol areas according to the initial arrangement. He was meticulous by nature and made sure to dish out advice and words of caution to everyone before they went off.

Wang Chongyu originally had a team with him, but after Bai Fanlu joined, they became even more powerful. It became child’s play to get rid of any demonic creatures they came across.

And the most embarrassing thing was, that after Bai Fanlu came, the opponents seemed to be aware, and attempted to conceal their whereabouts.

This seemed too much of a coincidence.

Without waiting for Wang Chongyu to bring it up, Bai Fanlu suggested returning to the Tianshu Sect and left the team temporarily.

And the reason why he acted alone was actually inconvenient to explain. After he was separated from Wang Chongyu, Ting Nu, his Demon Guardian, finally made contact.

It just so happened that Bai Fanlu actually had something to ask him, "Where is the elder now?”

Ting Nu replied, "The elder is now in the Demon Capital. Young Master, do you want this subordinate to pass a message?”

Bai Fanlu thought for a while, "It's not necessary. I killed the River Snake the day before yesterday. I followed my Shidis around to slay the demons the past few days. Does he know? Did you tell him anything?”

"The elder knows, and he said..." Ting Nu paused, "He said to just go along with the Young Master.”

"Go along with me?”

Ah yes, those people were just cannon fodder, but isn’t this Bai Junming’s attempt to increase his strength?

Seeing the Demonic Energy Rift sealed off, why isn’t he worried at all?

The novel had reached this point where the original owner's demonic blood had awakened, his identity had been exposed, and the boundary with the immortal world had been established, and the immortal realm had even dispatched members to annihilate the demonic creatures.

Bai Junming should be leading the demon army to take on the immortal world at this time. Then, taking advantage of the chaos between both sides, Yun Zhan would push the original owner into the abyss and give him the most deadly blow to seal his fate.

But now... He was successfully awakened as a demon, but not only did Yun Zhan send him back to the immortal world, Bai Junming also did not drag him back to the demon world. The two men even had an entire scene arguing over it and now both had retreated behind the scenes?

It was certainly an interesting development, but he just didn’t understand it one bit.

Bai Fanlu was truly troubled and asked Ting Nu, "What is the task that the elder has entrusted to you?”

"To secretly protect the young master.”

"Oh?”

Protect?

Bai Fanlu's eyes went cold, "Did you know about Baihua Pavilion?”

"..." Ting Nu was silent for a while.

But this was tantamount answering. He knew that the man was acting under the orders of Bai Junming and could not step in.

And along the way, Bai Fanlu encountered a lot of crises. If Ting Nu was supposed to protect him secretly, then…

"Protect? You meant surveillance, don’t you.” Bai Fanlu said coldly.

Ting Nu suddenly knelt, "This subordinate deserves to die!” 

Bai Fanlu didn't want to intimidate him either, because it was meaningless to. He just wanted the man to know he was not stupid.

But this time he didn't let Ting Nu get up. He just added, "You must know why the elder is doing this.  I won't ask you to do anything. Just take care of yourself.”

After all, he still hoped that Ting Nu would not be too deeply involved in Bai Junming's conspiracy, so as not to be affected in the end, and take the path of a cannon fodder.

As for Bai Junming… He would continue to let that bastard spy on himself… What did he have to be afraid of?

Bai Fanlu happened to be interested too and wanted to let him see how he kept up his act as an immortal cultivator.

Thinking of what Bai Junming had done to him in Baihua Pavilion when he disguised as Yun Zhan, Bai Fanlu's current evaluation of this villain boss could be summed up in a word:  Pervert.

The original owner was his nephew but still has to disguise as a woman and what not.

Thinking of all the things the original owner had to do, Bai Fanlu had goosebumps all over.

Even if was to force Yun Zhan to surface, Bai Fanlu still can't accept this approach. He was very upset and annoyed and wanted to slaughter this villain boss.

But now, Yun Zhan’s whereabouts were unknown, so Bai Fanlu couldn't kill Bai Junming and had to put up with everything.

Now that someone was sent to monitor him, he should just go ahead to slay more demonic creatures to vent his anger!

Originally, he intended to return to Tianshu Sect right away. But now, Bai Fanlu didn’t want to go back, so he wandered around. Whenever he encountered evil demonic creatures, he slayed them. When he encountered demonic creatures who did not commit evil acts or were sincerely repentant, he sent them away with Ting Nu to settle down in the Demon Capital.

Didn’t the elder say he could do as he pleased?

Then he shall do just that and attempt to change the Demon Realm, one demon at a time, to make it increasingly harmonious.

As a result, just a few days later, wherever Bai Fanlu went, demonic creatures took a detour when they saw him. In the end, he was reduced to the idler he was back when he was in the mountains.

But he knew that the mortal world was massive. Although he couldn’t feel it when he was on sword flight carrying out a sweeping-style search, he knew this was not detailed enough.

As such, Bai Fanlu expanded his search area and arrived at a place called Gonghua Town. When he saw the name, he recalled something.

The young man who asked him to bring him Snow Lingzhi, lived in Lushui Village next to Gonghua Town. At that time, the ghost of the young man was afraid that the village was too small and that Bai Fanlu could not find it, so he told him about the more famous Gonghua Town.

Bai Fanlu decided to go to Lushui Village. Now that demonic creatures are rampant, he wanted to know if the young man’s mother was safe and well.

He was so deep in thought that only when he reached the entrance of Lushui Village, he realised that he wasn’t prompted to complete his side mission. This must mean that the Snow Lingzhi probably hadn't been delivered yet.

So Yun Zhan didn't come? Well, he must have overestimated him.

Whenever Bai Fanlu thought about this person now, he would think even more about him, and would have to constantly remind himself to stop.

He had done everything he could for Xiang Wanyi. It is only fair that this matter shouldn't be left hanging too. What's more, it concerned the health of an elderly. He ought to help all the way as an upright immortal cultivator…

"In order to clear the meridians for Da Shixiong...Yun Zhan Shidi seems to have sustained serious injuries..."

The words of his Shidi suddenly rang in his ears, and Bai Fanlu's heart trembled, as an ominous feeling welled up.

Could something really have happened to him?

...This isn’t right! Why was he worried about that liar?

Bai Fanlu's chest felt stifled, but he lifted his feet and stepped into Lushui Village.

The small village was sparsely populated, with only a handful of houses, but it looked peaceful and untouched by any creatures.

Bai Fanlu successfully found the most dilapidated cottage under the big tree.

A grey-haired old woman was sitting on the edge of the field with a few old yellow corn cobs piled up in front of her. She was twisting the corn kernels, and there were still corn dregs that had fallen on the ground out of a small stone mill next to her.

The old woman was very old, she had to twist the corn kernels with a lot of effort. It took a long time to twist off the next row and every few lines, she would accidentally drop a few corn kernels out of the container. With that, she would squat down to pick it up with her trembling waist.

Bai Fanlu strode forward, and helped pick them up at once. But right then, a thin black dog sprang out from somewhere beside him, and bit his leg while making a hostile whine.

The old woman hurriedly shouted, "Hei Zi! Go inside! Now!”

While she said that, the woman reached out for a broom but because of her rising anger, she stopped and coughed.

The little black dog was frightened and scooted off to the side. Yet, it still stared at Bai Fanlu vigilantly, for fear of what he would do to its master.

Bai Fanlu stood there so as not to arouse the animal’s hostility again.

When the old woman regained her breath, he passed the two corn kernels to her. Those two hands were as thin as firewood, and placed the corn in the container. The pile of corn couldn’t even fill up the bottom…

"Thank...thank you...You are?”

Bai Fanlu just wanted to speak, but didn't know how to introduce himself, so he tried, "Madam, has anyone brought you a Snow Lingzhi recently?”

"What!”

The old woman's glazed eyes lit up, "Yes! Yes...cough cough..."

She coughed after a few words just like what her son described. She really seemed to be ill.

But since she said yes, had Yun Zhan been here?

Bai Fanlu waited patiently, secretly channelling some spiritual energy to provide some relief to the old woman.

The old woman felt more comfortable and continued, "The young man said... his brother wanted to give it to me. Are you his brother?”

Bai Fanlu hesitated, but still answered, "Yes, have you received it? Then, why are you..."

The old woman shook her head, "Thank you, young lad, but I don't need that good medicine.”

"Why so?”

The old woman waved her hand and wanted to sit back on her small bamboo stool, so Bai Fanlu helped by supporting her.

The little black dog next to him whimpered twice, but this time it didn't rush to bite him. However, it still stared at him closely.

The old woman sat down and placed her hand on the stone mill to grind the corn dregs. Bai Fanlu wanted to help, but was stopped.

"I'm just killing time. Don't worry, I have enough to survive.”

The old woman probably didn't have a sound mind or perhaps it was because she had no one listening to her in a long time. When she spoke to Bai Fanlu, she alternated oddly between her son and her little black dog.

In the end, she seemed to have suddenly remembered something, and talked about the boy who came to give her the Lingzhi.

"That kid is the same as you, very willing to accompany this old lady... just a lot noisier than you, and always talking non-stop... Oh dear, he spoke so much, it made me dizzy!”

Bai Fanlu found it hilarious but figured that he shouldn’t laugh. Yet when he thought of how the old lady described this chatterbox, he found it funny.  

"He kept telling me... oh yes, he told me about you!" 

"Me?”

Bai Fanlu's heart jumped uncontrollably, trying to stop the old woman from talking about it, but yet wanting to hear it subconsciously. With just a moment of hesitation, she had already begun to share more.

"He said, ‘My brother is the best person in the world,' and he said, ‘If one day he hates me'... erm… What was it?”

The old woman was trying to mimic the tone of that young man, but forgot the most critical parts of his words.

Bai Fanlu listened with bated breath, for fear of interrupting her thoughts.

"Oh yes yes!” The old woman patted the container, and finally remembered. Her grey eyebrows stretched out, and she smiled, "The lad talked weirdly, he said he hoped you will forget him before he forgets you. Then, you may... erm…"

It was interrupted again, and the part she paused at made it even more worrying.

Bai Fanlu didn't realise it but he also stopped breathing. He couldn't inhale. After waiting for a long time, he couldn't help but ask, "Then what?”

The old woman shook her head, "Nothing.” 

Bai Fanlu, "..."

It was impossible to tell if the old woman couldn’t recall or that the young man had nothing else to say. Bai Fanlu was all prepared to listen but it turned out to be just that inexplicable sentence.

But with just these few words, Bai Fanlu pondered and became more irritable and restless for some reason.

He thought that maybe it was because he hadn't got to the main topic after so long! He should be concerned about the Snow Lingzhi.

Yes, Snow Lingzhi!

Bai Fanlu was finally able to regain his composure, and asked the old woman about the Snow Lingzhi again. It was then that he finally got to hear what he wanted to and found out why the side mission was not completed.

It turned out that the Snow Lingzhi was indeed delivered to the old woman, but she was not willing to take it. Later, she sold it to a passing medicine dealer. The reason for selling it was that she wanted to buy a good coffin for her son and invited family and friends to hold a proper funeral.

With the mindset of a modern person, Bai Fanlu could not understand her decision. Why would she give up an opportunity to live in exchange for a formality for the deceased.

But the old woman had already done this, it was her wish, at least now it seemed that the old woman would live the rest of her life at ease.

But this mission should be considered a failure, Bai Fanlu just thought about it, and a reminder sounded in his mind.

Didi: "Mission Cheats: A parent sends off a child. A mother’s heart is not understood. With the coming and going of time, the wanderer will eventually return.”

Bai Fanlu had forgotten this sentence a long time ago because he couldn't understand it at the time. Looking at it now, he immediately noticed the ‘coming and going of time’.

What did this mean?

While thinking about it, the sound of a carriage suddenly came not far away. A coachman rode over and stopped at the door of the house. The little black dog heard it and rushed forward first and barked.

The coachman finally stabilised his frightened horse, but did not dare to loosen the reins. He saw Bai Fanlu, and shouted at him, "Young man! Can you come over?” 

When Bai Fanlu walked over, the little black dog retreated a little, and the coachman turned around and pulled aside the curtain behind him.

Someone in there handed something out, and the coachman took it carefully. It was a delicate brocade box.

He handed the brocade box to Bai Fanlu, "This is what my master wants to return to Madam Xu. Young Master, please help to hand this over to her. I shall not enter to bother her. “

Although he was puzzled, Bai Fanlu thought it was a private matter, so he didn't ask much. He went in and gave the brocade box to the old woman directly.

The old woman also thought it was very strange, she asked about the coachman, but saw that the carriage had gone.

So she opened the brocade box, and Bai Fanlu saw it at a glance. It turned out to be a Snow Lingzhi!

He was surprised and hurriedly pursued and caught up with the carriage. "Hey, may I ask who your master is?”

"My master is the shopkeeper of the Renxin Medicine Shop in Gonghua Town.” 

Bai Fanlu was even more surprised. The old woman said just now that she had sold the Snow Lingzhi to him. How could he send it back? This medicine was extremely rare and very well be the same piece.

What about the money? Didn’t he want it back? 

At this time, the old woman was also chasing from behind, staggering, shouting while waving.

The coachman hurriedly jumped down and greeted the old woman, "Madam, you..."

The old woman was panting and couldn't speak her words clearly. She gasped and made gestures and only managed to fully explain herself after several times. It turned out that she was going to return the brocade box. She had already used up the money she made from the transaction and couldn’t back out in good faith.

Unexpectedly, the coachman said, "A young man has redeemed it for you, and he instructed that we must return it to you. My master’s business was established based on trust. If he promises to send it back, he must do so. Please accept it, if not, I can’t explain it to my master!”

"...Young Master?”

Bai Fanlu asked, “What did he look like?"

"Probably a little taller than you, a young man.”

 "Did he say what his name was?

"Erm..." The coachman looked embarrassed, "I’m not sure, but my master may know. I can ask if you wish to know..."

"Oh, forget it, it's okay.” 

Bai Fanlu didn't know what he was thinking, or what kind of answers he wanted to hear.

When the carriage was moving again, the old woman gazed gratefully as it left while Bai Fanlu noticed the shadow of a figure sitting inside.

On the rocky mountain road, the carriage was moving crookedly, and the curtain lifted and fell with each bump. When it was almost at its end of the path, the carriage leaned to the right, and a narrow slit was opened in the curtain.

It vaguely revealed the passenger but he didn't look back, just staring ahead with his hand on the edge for balance.

After the carriage turned completely, the hand was slightly raised, and the curtain was pulled.

At this moment, Bai Fanlu, who was supporting the old woman, seemed to notice something, and turned around to look.