Chapter 282: Chapter 280: Who Will Pity My Weakness and Solitude?
A beam of moonlight, chasing the wind, swift as lightning.
Bai Zichen’s face was ashen as he carried the siblings, Bai Ziying and Bai Ziyu, and shot straight toward Hanxiu Peak.
This extreme speed, far surpassing the sound barrier, caused the two junior Qi Refining cultivators to fall unconscious.
Had he not been carefully protecting them with his True Essence, the flight would have surely caused them serious physical harm.
He crossed the three thousand li in less than half an hour.
When his Sword Light touched down on Hanxiu Peak, funeral banners were already lining the mountain path, and numerous clan members were rushing about.
Upon seeing him arrive, they fell to their knees in droves, all chanting, "Ancestor."
The Bai Family had grown increasingly prosperous over the years. Whenever they were out and revealed their identity, any Cultivator who learned they were from the Ink Bamboo Bai Family would look upon them with high regard.
Every clan member knew the reason for this reverence. Even if they had never met him, the portrait hanging high in the great hall had made them intimately familiar with the most brilliant Cultivator in their Clan’s history.
"Take care of this brother and sister!"
Bai Zichen’s figure flickered, and in an instant, he was at the entrance to the Clan’s great hall. Seeing the funeral couplets strung up on either side and the mourning canopy that had been erected, he found himself hesitating to take a step.
"Ancestor, you’ve arrived so quickly..."
A timid voice from behind snapped him out of his daze, and he strode into the great hall.
A hundred clan members were gathered in the great hall, a low buzz of sound filling the air. In the very center lay a coffin, before which knelt several close descendants dressed in mourning clothes.
The moment Bai Zichen appeared, the entire hall fell silent—so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Only the soft sobs of children could be heard.
Immediately after, heart-wrenching wails erupted, and more people fell to their knees before the coffin.
Some Cultivators even fainted from the overwhelming grief as they wept.
"Master Bai, Jiu’an fell into a coma yesterday... Medical treatment was ineffective. He passed away peacefully in his sleep, without any pain."
Among all the members of the Bai Family, only Bai Xianzhong, being both the Clan Leader and of a senior generation to Master Bai, dared to step forward and speak at such a moment.
The disparity in status was too great for the other clan members.
When the Core Formation True Man of their own Clan actually appeared before them, their hearts pounded and their mouths went dry, rendering them unable to speak a complete sentence.
According to Bai Family custom, only Clan Leaders and Foundation Establishment Cultivators could have their bodies lie in state in the Clan’s great hall, allowing the clan members to pay their respects for seven days before burial.
Based on his own contributions, Bai Jiu’an was certainly not qualified to receive such a posthumous honor.
But he had a good nephew—a nephew he had personally guided onto the Immortal Path and raised with great care, one with whom he shared a bond as close as any parent and child.
In recent years, Ancestor Bai of the Qingfeng Sect had suddenly begun to greatly favor the Clan, bringing members to Celestial Thunder Cliff and frequently bestowing Cultivation Resources.
As Bai Xianzhong understood it, this was all because the siblings Bai Ziying and Bai Ziyu had been brought into the Qingfeng Sect; these actions were meant to prevent them from being isolated and alone within the Sect.
Never mind letting Bai Jiu’an lie in state in the great hall; if Bai Jiu’an had wanted the position of Clan Leader while he was still alive, Bai Xianzhong would not have hesitated for a second to hand it over.
Hearing this, Bai Zichen’s vision swam. His heart filled with desolation, he walked toward the coffin and looked down at the old man lying within.
His skin was slack, his face dotted with age spots. With a smile on his lips, he had fallen into an eternal sleep.
Even with the Life-Extending Spirit Pills Zichen had purchased for him, and despite having practiced the first level of the Desolate God Stealing Sun Technique, Bai Jiu’an had finally reached the end of his life after living to be more than one hundred and twenty.
In the prime of his life, he had overcome countless obstacles and poured his heart and soul into earning contributions for the Clan.
Later, starting with the development of the Five Mountains Temple, he received Elixirs as rewards from the Clan and steadily raised his Cultivation.
Perhaps because he had pushed himself too hard in his youth and exhausted his Primordial Qi, he still failed to reach his theoretical maximum lifespan, even after enjoying wealth and honor for the latter half of his life.
’You must be Zichen? Three Spiritual Roots Talent, not bad... Come back with me to the clan lands tomorrow. Become a Cultivator and seek the path of long life.’
’Chenn’er, your talent is far greater than mine. From now on, your uncle will focus on accumulating Clan contributions. With our combined efforts, we can redeem a Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object. Who knows, you might succeed in your Foundation Establishment in one go!’
’The Qingfeng Sect is nothing like the Clan. The competition is fierce, and everyone there would be considered a genius in our family... Chenn’er, after you go, don’t be impatient. Even if you fall behind for a while, your uncle believes you’ll be able to catch up!’
...
As these memories surfaced one by one, Bai Zichen was overcome with grief and knelt before the coffin.
With a Core Formation Ancestor on his knees, how could any other clan member dare to remain standing? The entire hall knelt in unison.
"Uncle, Zichen has come too late..."
Birth, age, and parting—these things were unavoidable, even for Cultivators.
Even as a Core Formation True Man, Bai Zichen couldn’t drastically extend the life of a Qi Refining Cultivator.
The death of his uncle, Bai Jiu’an, left his heart empty and desolate. He suddenly felt that Hanxiu Peak itself had become a much more distant place.
’From this day on, who will care that I am weak and alone...’
Bai Zichen kowtowed heavily, his voice choked with grief.
Whether in the Sect or within the Clan, countless Cultivators hung on his every word, not daring to disobey in the slightest, treating his wishes as heavenly decrees.
But the one person who had genuinely cared for him from the bottom of his heart, without any ulterior motive—the person who still saw him as a boy and worried that he was weak and lonely—was now gone forever.
He removed his Daoist Crown and changed into simple mourning clothes.
Bai Zichen put on a robe of coarse white linen and knelt motionless before the coffin. The other clan members standing vigil had already rotated through two shifts.
For six whole days, he remained silent and motionless, like a stone statue.
"Master Bai, the burial is tomorrow."
As Clan Leader, Bai Xianzhong had been swamped with work for days, personally inspecting every detail.
The funeral arrangements, the chosen burial plot, the memorial Token...
He reckoned he wouldn’t even put this much meticulous effort into his own funeral.
"It’s tomorrow already?"
Bai Zichen rose to his feet and mentally calculated the time. "I am going to fetch something. An extra offering for my uncle."
A beam of Sword Light shot into the sky, swiftly leaving the Black Mountain Range behind. He crossed several cities before entering Hejian County.
Along the way, he grabbed a random Demon Cultivator and tortured the location of the Ghost Spirit Sect’s headquarters out of him.
Years ago, to avenge the Ghost Spirit Sect’s invasion of Black Mountain and the death of Ancestor Yang, who had self-detonated, Master Ge Cang had single-handedly blockaded their Mountain Gate, forcing the Ghost Spirit Sect’s Cultivators to cower inside their Grand Array for months.
Today, Bai Zichen wasn’t just here to blockade their gate. He was going to make the Ghost Spirit Sect pay a much more terrible price.
"Bai Zichen, you dare trespass into the range of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Fierce Soul Formation? You’re courting death!"
An aged voice rang out, dripping with hatred.
Throughout the Cultivation Realm of Liang Country, Bai Zichen’s name was already legendary.
What’s more, an enemy Sect like the Ghost Spirit Sect had countless spies watching Qingfeng Sect. They had long since studied its few Core Formation True Men with extreme clarity.
Granny Ghost flew into the sky. With the Grand Array at her back, she didn’t dare to leave its protection to fight.
She was mainly worried that other Core Formation True Men from the Qingfeng Sect were lying in ambush nearby. That, combined with Bai Zichen’s fearsome reputation from when he slew Daoist He, made her afraid.
"Spineless rats!"
Bai Zichen’s heart was a storm of grief and rage. Wanting nothing more than to vent the turmoil within, he unleashed his Sword Light, hammering against the Grand Array with a series of deafening booms.
This Ten Thousand Ghosts Fierce Soul Formation was primarily powered by nine Tier Three Ghost Kings. After a millennium of collecting Souls, the array now contained millions of Ghost Souls.
If fully unleashed, it would turn hundreds of li in every direction into a Ghostly Realm.
The nine Tier Three Ghost Kings had severe restrictions on how far they could move. Facing the torrential assault of Sword Light, only one Ghost King was able to engage, and it was being relentlessly beaten back.
"Brat, do you really think you’re Ge Cang, coming to blockade our gate whenever you please? Today, you will fall here, and I will sever a wing from the Qingfeng Sect!"
Seeing Fairy Taohua rapidly approaching, Granny Ghost let out two sharp laughs, her confidence returning.
Within the range of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Fierce Soul Formation, all Ghost Spirit Sect Cultivators were greatly empowered. An Early-Stage Core Formation Cultivator could even fight a Mid-Stage one.
She used the Grand Array to scan the surroundings. Finding only a single Cultivator and no trace of other Core Formation True Men, her confidence surged.
After Bai Zichen reached Core Formation, he had been praised to the heavens, but his only true accomplishment was his battle against Daoist He.
Within the Ghost Spirit Sect, some even believed Bai Zichen was just a figurehead being deified by the Qingfeng Sect.
They believed the story of that battle had likely been embellished. Otherwise, how could there be so many combat geniuses in the Cultivation Realm?
The next moment, streams of pure Yin Qi erupted from the ground, driving the Ghost Kings into a violent frenzy. Breaking free of their restraints, they circled in the air several times before pouncing on the only living creature within the array.
"Senior Sister, you’ve fully activated the Ten Thousand Ghosts Fierce Soul Formation?"
Fairy Taohua was slightly taken aback, but she didn’t hesitate to press the Jade Pendant in her hand into the Array Plate.
"Once the array is activated, a hundred-li radius will become a Ghostly Realm with no chance of reversal... Plus, it requires a constant supply of Top-Grade Spirit Stones, or the Tier Three Ghost Kings might even turn on their masters. We didn’t even use this when Ge Cang came last time. Why pay such a heavy price?"
"We could have just defended the gate and waited for him to leave on his own..."
"It is precisely because we face Bai Zichen that I activated the array. I intend to settle this in one decisive stroke. Do you think Ge Cang couldn’t escape a fully powered Ten Thousand Ghosts Fierce Soul Formation? Of course he could... but a greenhorn like this, who thinks he’s all-powerful, won’t take our Sect’s grand array seriously."
A vicious look appeared on Granny Ghost’s face. As she watched the Tier Three Ghost Kings roaring at the sky and beginning to merge, the pent-up frustrations of the past several years seemed to vanish.
"Since Senior Sister has so decided, then as your junior sister, I will naturally offer my full support."
Fairy Taohua gestured with a delicate hand, and clouds of miasma coalesced into a barrier, sealing Bai Zichen within.
’Why isn’t White Bone True Man here... In that case, the offering for my uncle is going to be a bit less presentable.’
He looked at the Tier Three Ghost Kings swarming around him, then at the two Ghost Spirit Sect Core Formation Cultivators. They had stepped out from the protection of the Mountain Gate’s Grand Array, confident that with their combined strength and the power of the array, they could not possibly lose.
Bai Zichen let out a long, soul-shaking cry—a sound filled with loneliness, sorrow, and unbridled fury. His Moonlight Sword Light instantly dispersed the Five Poison Peach Blossom Miasma, shattering it to pieces.
Moonlight Crystal Burst! A wave of Moonlight Sword Light, infused with Taiyin Star Power, swept across the battlefield, freezing one’s very Divine Soul.
He had intentionally been holding back, not expecting it would be so easy to lure out Granny Ghost and Fairy Taohua.
It could only be said that his youth was a deceptive advantage.
Furthermore, he had suppressed his aura, maintaining only the appearance of an Early-Stage Core Formation Cultivation.
Like a bright moon crashing to earth, the concentrated Taiyin Star Power stunned both Granny Ghost and Fairy Taohua, leaving them frozen in place.
Fairy Taohua reacted a fraction faster. Before her Divine Soul could be completely frozen, she frantically threw out one Defense Treasure after another, attempting to escape her doom.
His body merged with his sword, becoming a singular streak of Sword Light that tore across the sky.
It was as if a blade had descended from the Nine Heavens, from the Taiyin Star itself. The several Defensive Magical Treasures before Granny Ghost shattered into dust. Only the Dragon Head Walking Stick in her hand remained. Fed a mouthful of her Essence Blood, it flashed with red light and transformed into a Qiu Dragon, attempting to block the Moonlight.
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