Assassination

"Ling Xi Sister, take out the Array Plate."

Just as Ling Xi was still silent, Bai Ye's voice suddenly came from beside her.

She froze slightly, then raised her head.

In her line of sight, Bai Ye was looking up at the sky. Following his gaze, she discovered that at some point, a black figure had appeared in midair above them.

"Little one, you're quite alert."

The speaker was a man. He stood in the sky, his face radiating an air of righteous dignity.

But Bai Ye had seen such a temperament before. He still remembered his first kidnapping, when one of the Black-Clothed Men had given off the same feeling.

A sanctimonious hypocrite.

"Uncle, what do you need from us?"

Bai Ye quietly shifted his body, instinctively shielding Ling Xi behind him. He raised his head and looked at the man in the sky.

At the same time, he asked Bing Yu in his mind.

"No. His strength is no weaker than mine. He's at least an Earth Supreme who has just entered the realm. I can't stop him."

Bing Yu replied swiftly.

Nirvana had its benefits, but when those who had once been weak stood before you, and you could do nothing to them, that truly felt awful.

At her current level of recovery, she was only at the level of a Third Grade Supreme.

Even if that fool standing in the air with his hands behind his back had only just entered the Earth Supreme realm, in her current state, she simply could not take these two children away from him.

How suffocating.

If this could have been delayed by another year or two, perhaps the situation would have been entirely different.

"Me? I'm here to help you leave this place."

The man's smile was gentle, like that of an elegant scholar well-read in poetry and books.

As he spoke, he did not descend from the sky.

With one hand behind his back, Bai Ye gestured to Ling Xi.

He did not want to listen to a single word this man said.

What they needed to do now was quickly take out the Array Plate Qing Yanjing had prepared for them and activate it to leave this place.

But that depended on not letting this man notice.

"Uncle, did Aunt Jing send you?"

Bai Ye asked innocently. Combined with his nine-year-old appearance, the question was rather deceptive.

Ling Xi understood Bai Ye's intention. Hidden behind him, she quietly opened the bracelet Qing Yanjing had left behind.

Inside were several things Qing Yanjing had prepared for them.

Among them was an Array Plate. Qing Yanjing had expended immense effort to design this Teleportation Spirit Array, which could be activated without spiritual energy.

However, because it did not use spiritual energy, the Array Plate could only be directed north and could not be set to a specific location.

Presumably, there was someone in that direction whom Qing Yanjing trusted.

"That's right. The Saintess sent me."

The man said with a smile.

For some reason, he stood calmly in the air, showing no intention of coming down.

But Bai Ye had no time to worry about that. He only tried to stall for as long as possible.

"Did Aunt Jing send you to take us to see her?"

Within him, Bing Yu's gaze turned cold. Even if she could not take the two of them away, she could still block one attack from this man.

She had to ensure that they entered the spirit array successfully.

"Take you to see her?"

The man seemed to have heard something amusing and suddenly laughed.

"No, no. What I want is to make sure you never see her."

"What do you mean? I don't understand."

Bai Ye clenched his fists, doing his best to keep his heart from panicking.

But at that moment, the man began walking down step by step.

"Little friend, I don't want to play with you anymore."

"Didn't you know my purpose the moment you first saw me?"

The man smiled, still wearing that refined and elegant expression.

"I don't know what you mean, Uncle."

The man shook his head and said helplessly, "Not obedient, little fellow. Really not obedient. Your body's reactions can't lie. Your young body has already told me—you're afraid, and you're nervous."

At those words, the smile on Bai Ye's face vanished instantly. He stared straight at the man drawing ever closer.

"You want to kill us? Aren't you afraid Aunt Jing will be furious?"

Yes, just as this man had said, Bai Ye had known his purpose from the first moment he saw him.

Unlike Aunt Jing's prediction, the Grand Elder of the Ancient Buddha Clan had not chosen a gentler method to erase their memories. He wanted to leave the two of them here forever.

"I'm hoping she'll be furious."

The man shook his head, recalling what he had seen earlier.

That woman's strength was indeed terrifying beyond measure. But precisely because of that, they had to snuff out the danger now.

Hearing the man's words, understanding flashed through Bai Ye's eyes. Aunt Jing had told him and Ling Xi about the situation within the Ancient Buddha Clan when telling them stories.

Three branches contended, with two dominant.

According to Aunt Jing, the Grand Elder would not necessarily cause turmoil within the clan over two children like him and Ling Xi.

Killing him and Ling Xi would only cause Aunt Jing, who had willingly accepted imprisonment, to erupt once more.

And the benefits of doing so would belong only to...

"Mo, Xuan."

"Very clever."

Surprise flashed through the man's eyes, but the next moment, a bloodthirsty smile appeared on his face.

The smarter this little boy was, the greater his interest in hunting him became.

The stupid were not worth dirtying his hands for, but every clever person deserved to die.

Especially geniuses...

At that moment, Ling Xi's finger lightly touched Bai Ye's palm from behind. Bai Ye understood at once—Ling Xi was ready.

That meant they would be leaving this place very soon.

Looking at the man ahead, still lost in self-satisfaction, Bai Ye smiled.

So what if he was powerful? Wasn't he still about to be outwitted by two children?

Aunt Jing, wait for me. I'll definitely get you out.

"I told you, don't let all your thoughts show through your body."

But in the next instant, Bai Ye's eyes widened. The man had appeared directly in front of them, looking down at them from above.

"Did you really think I hadn't noticed your little movements? What do you take an Earth Supreme for?!"

The man's voice was like thunder rolling through the heavens, exploding directly beside Bai Ye and Ling Xi's ears.

The two children were sent flying by the sound waves and crashed heavily to the ground.

As Bai Ye had just climbed up, he saw the man slowly walking toward them.

"Don't hesitate, activate the array now!"

Bai Ye roared at Ling Xi behind him without hesitation.

He knew that this man was only toying with them for his own amusement. Once he lost patience, everything would become impossible.

"I told you to be obedient."

The man's voice seemed to possess some kind of force. The moment Bai Ye rose, his body was slammed violently back onto the ground. He could not stand, as though he bore the weight of ten thousand Mountain Peaks.

He struggled to raise his head. Blood was already streaming from his battered right eye socket.

He stared fixedly at the man before him, the man treating them like toys. Bai Ye would never know how terrifying his expression was at that moment.

He was unhappy. Very unhappy.

But what could he do even if he was unhappy? He was only weak.

"I hate that look in your eyes."

The man slowly approached, frowning.

"Do you know? Outside the Ancient Buddha Clan, I have an estate. Sixteen little fellows called 'geniuses' are locked up there. Every one of them once had that same look in their eyes."

The man crouched down. Even that movement was performed with every effort to maintain elegance.

He brought his face close to Bai Ye, who was looking up at him. The expression on his face gradually twisted.

"But after I whipped them with fire-tempered lashes for forty-nine days, they all gave up. They cried at my feet like dogs, begging for mercy, like dogs. They were all geniuses, all of them! I wasn't! But now they're the ones being trampled beneath my feet, not me!"

The man grabbed Bai Ye by the hair and dragged him up from the ground.

"Bai Ye!"

Ling Xi, pinned to the ground by spiritual energy pressure, cried out at the sight.

She stared at the man before her without relaxing for even a moment.

The next instant, a jade pendant resembling a necklace at her neck began to glow faintly.

Drawing in energy from the outside world, a weak formation slowly began to take shape.

But just as the formation was about to form, a burst of spiritual energy appeared and struck Ling Xi directly.

The formation shattered, and Ling Xi spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Something left behind by the Saintess?"

With a wave of his hand, several fragments flew toward the man.

"What a pity. You can't activate it at all."

After glancing at the fragments a few times, he threw them at his feet.

He did not understand spirit arrays, so what was the point of looking at such things? Compared to them, Bai Ye before him suited his interests far better.

"What a perfect pair of golden boy and jade girl."

The man smiled. "How about this? I can give you a chance. One of you may leave alive. Isn't that exciting? Aren't you happy?"

"Idiot..."

Bai Ye's head was held up as he looked at the man with a mocking smile.

"Ahhh! Don't you dare say that word! Don't!"

The man suddenly lost control. Grabbing Bai Ye's head, he smashed it viciously into the ground.

Blood splattered everywhere.

Yet Bai Ye still did not close his eyes. A mocking smile remained on his face, his gaze burning.

"Idiot."

He struggled to spit out the word, his voice weak.

The man's body convulsed. His eyes bulged as he released Bai Ye's hair and clawed at his own face.

Bloody scratches appeared one after another across his face.

"I'm not an idiot. I'm not worthless. I, Xuan Lu, am not an idiot, not worthless! Die! Die! Die!"

Xuan Lu grabbed Bai Ye from the ground, intending to tear him apart and destroy him right there.

"Wait. Let him live."

At that moment, Ling Xi's trembling voice came from beside them.

Without Xuan Lu's spiritual energy suppressing her, the little girl shakily rose from the ground, her body trembling.

"I can die. Let him live."

She did not know why she said it, but as she watched the boy about to vanish before her eyes, her heart began to ache uncontrollably.

She did not know what force had driven her to stand up from the ground.

She was not fearless. She was terrified, but she was even more terrified of the boy disappearing.

Bai Ye raised his head with his one remaining left eye.

At that moment, the girl's figure shone brilliantly in his eyes.

"Idiot."

Xuan Lu's emotions, which had only just calmed, flared up once again at that word.

He revealed a bloodthirsty smile and tilted his head toward Ling Xi.

"As if. What are you? The one who deserves to die is him."

Xuan Lu gathered spiritual energy and struck down with his palm before Ling Xi's horrified eyes.

"Screech—"

An ice-blue Light Shadow appeared in the next instant, spreading its wings to block the attack.

Xuan Lu took several steps back before finally slowing his momentum.

Bing Yu could no longer endure it. At that moment, all the fury in her heart erupted.

A massive pillar of light burst from her mouth, crashing toward Xuan Lu ahead.

Xuan Lu formed a seal with one hand and blocked the attack single-handedly.

"A Supreme dares come before an Earth Supreme?"

Xuan Lu tilted his head and looked at her.

She was an ice-blue Phoenix. Ice crystals coated her wings, and every beat scattered gorgeous snow and frost. Her Gilded Gold eyes glared furiously at the man before her.

He had abused the child she had watched grow up like this. Did he really think she had no spirit at all?

"Go."

Bai Ye sat on the ground and looked at Bing Yu, who had suddenly appeared, speaking weakly.

Bing Yu was no match for him. Coming out would only add another life to the count. It was not worth it.

"One final method."

At that moment, Bing Yu's voice echoed in Bai Ye's mind.

Bai Ye was slightly stunned.

"Using the ring your mother left behind, along with the spirit energy produced by my eighth Nirvana, to stir the Ancestral Vein within your body... there may be a sliver of hope."

That sliver of hope did not refer to Bai Ye, but to Ling Xi behind him.

As for Bai Ye...

Bai Ye understood what Bing Yu meant. There was no need to think about it at all. If he chose this, his ending seemed to have been destined from this very moment.

He struggled up from the ground and staggered to Bing Yu's side, facing Xuan Lu head-on.

"You really are the most lovable toy I've ever seen. Don't worry, I won't kill you. I'll hide you away, then whip you with the Fire Whip day and night..."

Xuan Lu screamed madly, but Bai Ye turned his gaze toward Ling Xi behind him.

"Live on. I'll come find you."

Ling Xi froze. The boy's smile was like countless arrows piercing her heart, carving itself deep into it.

She staggered a few steps forward.

But Bing Yu, on the other side, flapped her wings, and the spirit energy within her poured into the Array Plate from before in an instant.

She respected every choice Bai Ye made.

"You're too arrogant, too arrogant! I'm still here!!!"

Xuan Lu's spirit energy erupted completely in an instant. Boundless fury drove him to crush the two people and one bird before him into pieces.

Bai Ye swayed where he stood, his right eye open as he smiled.

But this time, that smile no longer held the warmth it had when facing Ling Xi. Instead, it was utterly, completely mad.

"Come on, Desperate Struggle!!"

The white ring shattered in an instant, and one array seal after another lit up on the finger wearing the broken ring.

Bing Yu's gaze turned icy as the frost covering her body accumulated bit by bit.

The next moment, Xuan Lu's Spirit Energy Tide came crashing toward them head-on.