Sorry, The Oath You Sent Is Out of Service

Bai Lan smiled without speaking.

"Hmph, it's as if you knew I had already perished here and came specifically to dig up my cave dwelling! How presumptuous, truly presumptuous!"

The voice, which had previously sounded ethereal and detached, lost its pretense. It became more cutting, with a touch more worldly grit.

The old man's voice, grinding his teeth, came from inside the bamboo house, filled with indignant rage.

Bai Lan sighed helplessly, "What are you saying, senior? I am merely an ignorant mortal. You are a powerful expert with vast divine abilities. If you don't believe me, you can come and check for yourself. Then you'll know if I've been body snatched."

The ethereal voice paused.

How many years had he been dead? His bones had long turned to dust. If his soul could leave the bamboo house, why would he lower himself to bicker with this little girl?

Damn brat. It was as if she knew his soul was inside the bamboo house from the start. Fearing to be haunted by a soul and facing the calamity of body snatching, she only stood at the entrance to speak with him, not daring to approach the bamboo house even half a step.

"You're clearly not old, just a mortal brat, yet you're so familiar with the ways of the cultivation world and know the wickedness of people's hearts, guarding yourself." The old man's voice paused, and then, as if discovering Bai Lan's secret, his tone turned playful, "Oh~~~ I understand now. You haven't been body snatched. You most likely have a clever master. Tell me, who is your master? Perhaps I might even know them."

"Tsk, you sound like an ancient senior with a refined demeanor, but why are you so gossipy behind people's backs? You inquire about everything. Are you perhaps from the village's information department?" Bai Lan asked with a smile.

The old man snorted, "Hmph, you ill-mannered brat. Even if you had a master, they wouldn't be much better."

Assessment complete. A tsundere soul.

"Forgive my bluntness, but your soul can't last much longer, can it? If you don't leave any last words, you really won't have the chance," Bai Lan said with a light laugh.

The old man was originally a cultivator in the Tribulation stage. Now, only a wisp of his remnant soul remained, and it wouldn't hold on for much longer.

"Do you speak so rudely? How long my soul can last is not for you to say!"

"Oh~ you used the word 'last,' senior. Does that 'last' imply that your soul is indeed just a wisp?" Bai Lan asked with a smile.

"To think I'd be tricked by a mere child in my old age." The old man sighed, "Fine, fine. Since you came for an opportunity, you are no ordinary mortal, but one of us."

"Cause and effect, reincarnation, all are determined by Heaven. I want you to swear to Heaven that when you achieve cultivation in the future, you will find my only blood descendant and, if they encounter a life-threatening crisis, you will help them three times to save their life."

A very fair exchange.

Bai Lan swore without hesitation, "I, Bai Lan, hereby make a heart demon oath. If I find the senior's only blood descendant, I will definitely help her three times in times of crisis to escape danger."

"Good. These three locations are all places I used to frequent. For you now, they are already great opportunities. Take them."

As soon as the voice fell, several visible barriers around them instantly disappeared, revealing several other bamboo houses that hadn't been there before.

So this is the true inheritance of this place.

"Wait, something's not right. Why was the brat so quick to swear? Aren't you afraid that this heart demon oath will become a stumbling block on your future cultivation path?" The old man suddenly realized, his tone suspicious.

From the moment they met, he had sensed that this girl was cautious in her actions. Her swift and decisive oath just now was somewhat unlike her.

Bai Lan's eyes curved, her smile sly, "Senior, you must be confused. Heart demon oaths are bound by the rules of the Heavenly Dao, but they are only effective on cultivators. I am still just a mortal now, so even if I make an oath, what's the point?"

Cultivators' oaths are within the service area of heaven and earth's rules. Mortals are not in the service area. Her oath just now was as if she hadn't made one at all.

Bai Lan's oath was outside the service area, so it was not received by the Heavenly Dao's rules at all.

In the original plot, Long Aotian was already a Qi Refining level one cultivator. He was within the service area, which is why the old man forced him to make a heart demon oath.

But Bai Lan did not like being bound. It was precisely because she saw a loophole outside the rules that she came here without hesitation.

The old man fell silent: "..."

No wonder! No wonder this clever brat swore so readily just now.

"Damn brat, if I still had the strength, I would teach you what respect for elders means!" the old man gritted out.

Bai Lan sighed, "Unfortunately, you have already perished."

The old man: "..."

"However, I am a kind-hearted person. I have noted what you said, senior, and within my capabilities, I will naturally do my best to help." Bai Lan added with a smile, her words sincere this time.

The old man snorted, "Are you really that kind?"

"Whether you believe me or not, you only have the answer of believing me now," Bai Lan chuckled. "Don't you think so?"

The old man sighed deeply, then slowly spoke, "In the Lan clan of Tiandu City, if they encounter someone with the Profound Yin Absolute Pulse, it will be my descendant. If you see her, pass on my Art of Condensing Ice and Transforming Qi to her, and it will resolve the pulse's affliction."

"Don't worry, senior. If that person is still alive, I will definitely bring the cultivation method."

As soon as Bai Lan finished speaking, a golden light cluster slowly floated out from the bamboo house.

"This is my life's cultivation inheritance. Relax your mind, don't resist, and slowly approach it," the old man said slowly.

Bai Lan paused, cautiously saved her progress, and then slowly stepped forward.

"Brat, aren't you afraid this light cluster is my soul, coming to snatch your body?" the old man suddenly said grimly.

Bai Lan smiled, "Senior, there's no need to scare me. Since I dare to step forward, I am confident I can disengage safely."

To be precise, it was to safely reload to the previous moment.

"Hmph," the old man snorted and said no more.

Bai Lan took two more steps to touch the light cluster.

The moment her fingers touched the light cluster, memories that did not belong to her and large chunks of text and images flooded into her mind. Bai Lan was like a large USB drive, being frantically written into her sea of consciousness with inheritance.

There were cultivation methods, techniques, a spear art, and even two Buddhist scriptures...

A throbbing pain and dizziness simultaneously assaulted her mind. She clutched her head, trying her best to grit her teeth and endure, preventing herself from crying out in pain.

However, her body remained under her own control. The old man had no intention of body snatching her.

Bai Lan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

This is the first time I've been a USB drive. Is this how every USB drive feels when it's being used?

Oh, USB drives don't have consciousness. Never mind.

Her chaotic thoughts drifted unconsciously in her mind, the pain still swirling intermittently.

"Hahaha, feeling uncomfortable, little brat? You can't receive my inheritance without enduring some hardship," the old man finally laughed heartily upon seeing Bai Lan in distress.

Bai Lan shook her head, forcing herself to stand up. She cupped her hands in a gesture of respect towards the bamboo house, "Thank you, senior. Even if the oath is not bound by the rules of the Heavenly Dao, I will still keep it in mind. I will do my best to find someone with the Profound Yin Absolute Pulse."

Of course, this was only on the premise that there were no conflicts or dangers; only then would she fulfill the old man's dying wish.

That person with the Profound Yin Absolute Pulse was definitely a beautiful woman. Otherwise, this plot wouldn't have fallen to Long Aotian.

If it were a handsome man, then this cheat should have belonged to the destined female lead, Bai Ling.

She understood the tropes.

She hadn't expected to accidentally complete a main quest and cut off one of Long Aotian's harem members.

"Hmph, at least you have some conscience," the old man grunted.