Three-quarters of an hour before Chen time, Bai Ligelin pushed open her door. Her eyes met a world blanketed in snow, the view consisting only of black and white. She couldn’t help but sigh softly, a wisp of white mist escaping her lips, quickly dissipating in the blizzard.
A few days ago, after the fierce beast Qiongqi caused havoc, the weather in the East Sea became increasingly erratic. Yesterday afternoon had still been the scorching sun of midsummer, but overnight, it had transformed into a thousand miles of ice and snow.
Summoning her centipede spirit, Bai Ligelin stood atop its head, flying low. The outer towns of the Ten Thousand Immortals Conference were now surrounded by dense networks of spiritual energy. What was once a bustling area teeming with people had, in just a few short days, seemingly become a ghost town. Natural disasters struck without warning, swift and unexpected.
Suddenly, a letter bearing the clear yellow immortal spell mark appeared before her eyes. Bai Ligelin hastily opened it. It turned out her elder sister and Ye Ye had already arrived at Lu Gong Town. Su Wan was also with them. This girl rarely ventured out, and her heart had grown wild with excitement. Adding to that, she and Bai Ligelin had hit it off immediately, making her reluctant to leave, so she continued to follow along.
Ye Ye mentioned in the letter that many disciples of Long Ming Zuo were lingering in Lu Gong Town, and the situation seemed very strange. Given their long-standing friction with Long Ming Zuo, they didn’t dare to stay long and changed the meeting place to Duantu, the capital of the Yue Kingdom. They would also check if Ji Tongzhou was still at the royal palace.
Had Long Ming Zuo’s people gone to provoke the Yue Kingdom again? With the Sea Extinction approaching, the mountain and sea factions should be united in facing the enemy together, yet Long Ming Zuo was taking advantage of the chaos to further their petty schemes. It was truly shameful.
Bai Ligelin frowned as she put away the letter. Suddenly, she noticed many mounts flying ahead in a hustle and bustle. She couldn’t help but stop to observe. She saw that a path formed by spiritual energy nets extended abruptly in midair, layered countless times, glittering with golden light. Due to the narrow path, only two people could enter at a time, causing many disciples to head to their sects to wait there.
“Senior Sister Gelin!” a young man ahead waved cheerfully. Bai Ligelin smiled and guided her centipede spirit to fly over, saying with a grin, “How rare! You arrived earlier than me today.”
The youth sat cross-legged atop a toad spirit, his skin fair and features handsome. He appeared to be about fifteen or sixteen years old. This was An Jiming, the third disciple from the Central Plains to be chosen by the Ten Thousand Immortals Conference from the academy after Bai Ligelin. Due to his lively personality and their shared origin from the Central Plains, Gelin had always treated him like a younger brother, inevitably giving him extra care and maintaining a closer relationship compared to others.
“I was hoping to find some time in these three days to go to the seaside again,” An Jiming shook his head and sighed. “But look, it’s all sealed off now. Who knows how many years it’ll be before we can see the East Sea again.”
Due to the fierce beasts appearing near the sea, the immortals had long since sealed off the surrounding areas with spiritual energy nets. However, as the Ten Thousand Immortals Conference was located at the bottom of the sea, the only way to gather at Lu Xin Hall was to follow the narrow path laid out by the spiritual energy nets. As Chen Time(7:00 AM to 9:00 AM) approached, more and more disciples crowded the path’s entrance. Not knowing how long it would take to pass through, Bai Ligelin took the opportunity to chat and joke with An Jiming while waiting in line.
“When did you catch this toad spirit?” Bai Ligelin asked with a smile, examining the young man. “Oh? You’ve broken through the first bottleneck? Why didn’t you tell me?”
An Jiming scratched his head, his face reddening: “I wanted to tell you! I wanted to find you as soon as I returned from the trial grounds with Master but with all these disasters… Besides, I don’t feel very comfortable always seeking you out to talk. I always feel like Senior Brother Lu becomes ice-cold whenever I do.”
At the mention of Lu Li, her expression cooled: “What does it have to do with him?”
An Jiming asked curiously: “How is it not related? Aren’t you two a couple? That’s what everyone says!”
Bai Ligelin said coldly: “Who says I’m with him? Don’t listen to others gossiping nonsense. How could I possibly be involved with him!”
The young boy across from her was at a loss, caught off guard by her sudden anger. He looked around and suddenly said softly: “Ah, Senior Brother Lu is up ahead… He’s looking at you!”
Bai Ligelin instinctively turned to look. Indeed, Lu Li was watching her from not far away, his expression and gaze inscrutable. She felt irritated and turned her head back with a frown, saying indifferently: “Ignore him. Tell me about your cultivation. Why catch a toad spirit of all things?”
Toad spirits were never the first choice for disciples’ mounts. Other mounts flew, but toads just hopped up and down, slowly at that, with sticky skin that was quite disgusting. Only an oddball like Lu Li would raise one. Who would have thought that for An Jiming’s first time taming a mount, he’d choose this?
An Jiming laughed heartily: “You figured it out! I admire Senior Brother Lu, so I wanted to be like him.”
Bai Ligelin was at a loss for words: “You… you want to be like him…”
An Jiming continued laughing: “I also want to be as steady and calm as him, and also… also because he can be with you, Senior Sister Gelin, I also…”
“I already told you it’s not like that,” Bai Ligelin shook her head, looking at him with an amused smile. “You also what? You’re still young, focus on your cultivation first! Don’t let your imagination run wild.”
An Jiming said urgently: “I’m not young, I’m fifteen! Besides, I’m not distracted. I still cultivate diligently. But I don’t like the girls from the East Sea, they’re too dark… I… I still prefer someone like you, Senior Sister Gelin…”
“Pfft…” Bai Ligelin couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Too dark? Well, that was blatant discrimination. The aesthetic preferences of men from the Central Plains differed greatly from those of the East Sea. Here in the East Sea, the darker the skin, the more beautiful it was considered. It was no wonder that a young boy from the Central Plains couldn’t accept the enthusiasm and dark complexion of the East Sea girls.
“This evacuation to the Central Plains will give you plenty of snow-white Central Plains girls to look at,” Bai Ligelin patted his shoulder. “Don’t fixate on me, I don’t like little brothers.”
An Jiming mumbled dejectedly: “You reject so directly, and it’s not just because of looks… Senior Sister Gelin doesn’t understand a man’s heart at all.”
Not understanding a man’s heart – this sulky comment made her fall silent for a moment. She indeed didn’t understand, but there was no need to understand anymore.
Bai Ligelin smiled and said, “It’s a pity that you’ve been in the sect for less than five years and aren’t allowed to wander around. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be bad to take you to meet my sister and the others this time. If you want to learn, don’t learn from Lu Li. Let me tell you, my brother-in-law is called Ye Ye, you’d be better off learning his smooth ways…”
As she was speaking, An Jiming suddenly called out, “Senior Brother Lu!”
Before Bai Ligelin could turn around, she felt her arm being grabbed. She was involuntarily pulled from the centipede spirit’s head onto the back of a crab spirit. Without looking back, she knew who it was. She struggled once but couldn’t break free, so she could only say coldly, “Let go of me.”
Lu Li glanced at An Jiming, who looked at him with a mixture of admiration and fear. He said in a low voice, “I’m borrowing your senior sister for a moment.”
An Jiming nodded hurriedly, betraying his Gelin world without hesitation, watching as the two flew far ahead.
Bai Ligelin felt her arm being squeezed painfully. She struggled hard again and said angrily, “It hurts! Let go!”
Lu Li loosened his grip slightly but didn’t release her. His voice sounded unexpectedly calm and steady: “This is the disciples’ evacuation, not a sightseeing trip for you.”
Bai Ligelin said coldly, “I’m going to see my sister. Even Master hasn’t said anything, why are you meddling?”
Lu Li said indifferently, “I told you, don’t wander off.”
Bai Ligelin looked up at him with a frown. Were An Jiming and the other junior brothers and sisters blind? Where exactly was this guy calm and steady? He was suspicious and awkward to the extreme!
She used all her strength to shake off his hand and said fiercely, “What right do you have to control me?”
Lu Li seemed to let out a faint sigh. This barely audible sigh, for some reason, made her stop in her tracks as she was about to turn and leave. Bai Ligelin turned her head to meet his pitch-black eyes, which seemed to hold endless fatigue and hesitation. He had never shown such an expression before.
She hesitated for a moment, and the next moment, he gently held her hand again. His voice became very soft: “Don’t wander off.”
She didn’t understand what was in his heart. Did he hate her? Then why did he want to tie her down? Did he like her? Then why did he humiliate her?
“…I have a family,” Bai Ligelin said suddenly after a long pause. “I care about them more than anything in the world, and they care about me just as much. Do you understand this kind of feeling?”
Lu Li didn’t speak, he just slowly squeezed her hand.
Bai Ligelin said calmly, “You’ve already done something unforgivable to me. This past year, you’ve prevented me from contacting my family, even causing them to nearly lose their lives. Fortunately, they’re all right. If something had happened, there’s nothing you could do to make it up to me. I would only die harboring resentment. I can’t forgive you now. If you could understand my feelings for them, you shouldn’t have done such a thing.”
Lu Li still didn’t speak. Bai Ligelin gently pulled her hand away and said softly, “Let me be alone for a while.”
She summoned her centipede spirit back and lightly jumped onto it. Lu Li didn’t chase after her. The queue had just reached her turn, so she guided her centipede spirit along the path laid out by the spiritual energy nets. This path indeed led to the underwater Ten Thousand Immortals Conference.
The underwater scene was vastly different from before. Countless whirlpools and bubbles filled the once clear seawater, now turbid and black. Even with the spiritual energy nets as a barrier, one could still feel the terrifying might of heaven and earth.
Bai Ligelin flew to Lu Xin Hall, where many disciples had already gathered. As soon as Senior Sister A Jiao saw her, she waved: “Gelin, come here.”
Numerous elders stood at the front of the hall, each with piles of ribbons as high as small mountains at their feet. A-Jiao pulled out a light green ribbon from among them and personally tied it around Bai Ligelin’s waist. It was then that she noticed the ribbon was covered in dense, complex incantations she had never seen before.
A Jiao also handed her a sealed envelope, quickly instructing: “You are a disciple who has broken through the third bottleneck. This is your access belt and Ten Thousand Immortals Conference disciple credential. No matter when these two items must be kept on you at all times. Never lose them.”
Bai Ligelin touched the ribbon curiously, asking, “Access belt? Access to where?”
A Jiao smiled slightly: “We have 356 disciples in the Ten Thousand Immortals Conference who have broken through the third bottleneck. Ten elders will lead you to Wu Yue Yan. With so many disciples from the sea faction, we can’t let you run around with mixed cultivation levels. It’s also not convenient for mobilization. Our Ten Thousand Immortals Conference disciples who have broken through the third bottleneck will go to Wu Yue Yan for refuge. Once the belt absorbs your spiritual energy, it will allow you to freely enter and exit the main barrier of Wu Yue Yan. This item can only be used by you, so don’t lose it, or it will be very troublesome. Don’t just focus on having fun in Wu Yue Yan, the elders will supervise your cultivation daily. When the Sea Extinction is over, we’ll all return together.”