After the Spirit Root Assessment, those with the aptitude and spiritual roots to enter the Azure Origin Sect would leave the mortal world and head for the cultivation world.
By then, Bai Lan would also leave the Minister's Estate and embark on the path of immortality from then on.
"System, give me a copy of the Qi Induction chant." Bai Lan looked at the system, whose face was full of despair.
The gray-robed youth was still emo, and he answered dejectedly, "No."
"You've become disobedient, little system. Slacking off?" Bai Lan narrowed her eyes.
The gray-robed youth shrank his neck. "You're the one slacking off! I've never seen a host who runs circles around the mission plot. How can you be like this!"
Seeing Bai Lan remain silent, the gray-robed youth added, "Besides, the system's reward applications are based on the host's mission progress. If you don't do missions, forget cultivation techniques—I can't even apply for a bottle of purified water."
"Then forget it."
Bai Lan was not discouraged. Instead, she pulled up the plot text from the system interface and began reading.
When the system saw Bai Lan looking at the plot text, his spirits rose again. "Could it be that the host wants to do missions?"
"You're overthinking it. I just want to see whether there are any Golden Fingers that the Destined Female Lead and Destined Male Lead haven't obtained yet, so I can get there first."
System: "..."
He would rather believe that sows could climb trees than think his host would actually do missions.
The plot text did describe why the two Children of Destiny eventually destroyed the world.
The reason Long Aotian destroyed the world in the end was that, after ascending and becoming an immortal, he could not bring his harem with him when he ascended, so he fell to darkness.
The reason Bai Ling destroyed the world was that the master she loved most died saving her. She suffered greatly, so she eventually fell to darkness.
The mission objective was for her to gain Long Aotian's love and Bai Ling's love.
What was this, was she some kind of split personality? Eating men and women alike.
Bai Lan's verdict was: absurd—and a world where everyone got hurt had been achieved.
She decisively dragged those two pieces of information to the very bottom, then began focusing on the early plot information.
The plot text in her hands was actually very broad and official. It only revolved around the experiences of the two Children of Destiny, meant to help mission-takers better understand their targets.
For example:
In such-and-such year, Long Aotian obtained some treasure in some place.
When the Destined Female Lead happened to encounter her male lead.
When Long Aotian met harem member number one, and so on.
Such things were all recorded in great detail, which likewise made things convenient for Bai Lan.
After highlighting and pinning information such as Golden Fingers and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures as top-priority matters, she stared at the topmost entry and gave a soft laugh.
"Ancient Cultivator's Cave Mansion... Just as expected. Since ancient times, protagonists who jump off cliffs never die, and if they don't die, they're bound to find treasure."
Bai Lan muttered twice before abruptly rising to her feet. "Come on, let's go jump off a cliff."
The system was startled. "Host, don't do anything rash!!! You don't have a shred of spiritual energy on you. Going to a secret realm where cultivators lived is most likely a death sentence!"
"'Most likely' means there's still a tiny chance of survival, right?" Bai Lan curled her lips into a smile. "As long as there's a sliver of life, I can save and reload a few hundred times. Once I avoid every danger, I'll eventually make it out alive."
One could not catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger's den; high risk also meant high reward.
Besides, she could reload and start over. Put another way, that meant she had an immortal body.
Give her one chance to save, and as long as the boss had a health bar, she would definitely win.
"But! Has it occurred to you that the save-and-reload function is meant for you to pursue the Children of Destiny?!" The system froze.
But Bai Lan had already strode toward the city outskirts.
System: "..."
Three years ago, Long Aotian's family had fallen into ruin after committing a grave crime, and the emperor exiled them three thousand li away. It was then that Bai Lan, the eldest daughter of the Minister's Estate, broke off her engagement to him.
One was the son of an exiled criminal minister, while the other was the eldest daughter of the Minister's Estate.
It was only natural for the Bai Family to break off the engagement. They could hardly let their perfectly fine, lovely eldest daughter follow the son of a criminal minister to dig wild vegetables, could they?
Leaving aside whether she would suffer or not, any minister with a functioning brain and a sharp political nose would know not to have anything more to do with a criminal minister's family.
But Long Aotian bore a thorough grudge against Bai Lan because of the broken engagement.
Perhaps in his eyes, once there was an engagement, the other party had already become his wife and should share sweetness and hardship with him.
Bai Lan breaking off the engagement because the Long Family had lost power was disloyal and unrighteous.
Thus, after Long Aotian obtained the Elderly Grandfather's Golden Finger, the first oath he made was to avenge the broken engagement.
First, he would wipe out the Bai Residence; then, he would make Bai Lan pay the price.
So Bai Lan decided!
Before he could wipe out the Bai Residence, she would dig up his first bucket of gold.
"In front of a crooked old tree—yes, this is the place." Bai Lan stared at the bottomless abyss before her and took a deep breath.
Better make a save first.
"H-Host, it's so, so high..." The gray-robed youth hid behind Bai Lan and spoke in a trembling voice.
Bai Lan fell silent. "Aren't you a soul body? What are you afraid of?"
"I-I'm afraid of heights." The system covered his eyes.
"Fine. Then keep watch up here. I'll jump by myself." As soon as Bai Lan finished speaking, she turned and leaped straight into the bottomless abyss.
Biting cold wind surged upward through Bai Lan's body, lashing her face until it hurt.
Those who often jumped off cliffs all knew this.
After jumping off a cliff in free fall, one could not control one's body. Thus, as she fell, the dead grass and vines along the cliff walls, as well as protruding rocks, scraped and battered her from time to time.
Bai Lan gritted her teeth against the dull pain in her arm, focusing all her awareness on the reload interface.
The instant anything went wrong, she would reload...
On her first cliff jump, she reloaded just before her head smashed into a massive boulder.
On her second cliff jump, she reloaded just before an unknown giant snake could coil around and devour her.
By her third cliff jump, Bai Lan was already thoroughly familiar with the basic operations of cliff jumping.
Take a big stride, rush forward, then relax her body and leave her fate to heaven.
As she plummeted rapidly toward the bottom of the cliff, Bai Lan vaguely saw a misty barrier.
Bang!
The pain she had imagined did not arrive.
As her body fell into the water, the splash jolted Bai Lan's consciousness awake.
Success!
Bai Lan lifted her eyes in delight, then quickly steadied herself in the water.
All around her was a tranquil little courtyard, with cultivated fields, a bamboo house, and a separated training ground to one side.
Yet the barren fields and the buildings draped in spiderwebs showed that no one had lived here for a long time.
At the very top of this space, a crescent-shaped array covered in golden runes slowly rotated overhead.
Exactly as described in the plot text, this was the Ancient Cultivator's Cave Mansion.
The original plot outlined in the text went like this: Long Aotian was pursued into a desperate corner by his enemies and, under the Elderly Grandfather's guidance, jumped into the abyss.
This cliff looked bottomless, but it was actually merely an Illusion Array set up by that ancient cultivator. Below was the ancient cultivator's dwelling.
Long Aotian turned disaster into fortune, obtaining the secret treasures left behind by the ancient cultivator, along with quite a few cultivation technique inheritances.
And now...
Bai Lan smiled brightly at the Ancient Cultivator's Cave Mansion before her.
Sorry, but these inheritances were hers now.
She slowly stepped into the bamboo house.
If she remembered correctly, the owner of the house was still here, though only as a wisp of divine soul after death.
"Who are you? State your name." An ethereal voice rang out.
Just as expected.
Bai Lan smiled faintly.
"Senior, this junior is a mortal who entered this place by mistake and had no intention of disturbing you." Bai Lan cupped her hands in salute, her tone sincere. "As long as Senior entrusts this place's inheritance to me, this junior will do her utmost to fulfill any unfulfilled wish Senior had in life."
The ethereal voice paused. "..."
Wasn't that supposed to be his line?!
He had only said one sentence! How did this little mortal before him know that he had an unfulfilled wish?
And she kept claiming that she had entered by mistake. Would a mortal who entered by mistake know there was an inheritance here?
She did not look as though she had stumbled in by accident. Rather, it looked as though she had jumped straight into his cave mansion.
"Clever little brat, could you be a mortal whose body has been seized and occupied by some old monster?"
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