Bai Lan smiled without speaking.
"Hmph, as if you knew this old man had long perished here and came specifically to dig up my cave abode! Insolent, utterly insolent!"
The once ethereal, immortal-sounding voice no longer kept up its lofty airs. Its words had gained a few barbs and a touch more mortal warmth.
The old man's gritted voice came from within the bamboo hut, brimming with indignation.
Bai Lan sighed helplessly. "What are you saying, Senior? I'm merely an ignorant mortal. You are an expert with boundless divine abilities. If you don't believe me, you can come inspect me yourself and see whether I've been possessed."
The ethereal voice fell silent.
He had been dead for who knew how many years; even his bones had turned to ash. If his soul could leave the bamboo hut, why would he lower himself to bicker with this little girl?
That hateful little brat seemed to have known from the start that his soul was inside the bamboo hut. Afraid of being entangled by a spirit and suffering the calamity of possession, she only spoke to him from the doorway and refused to come even half a step closer.
"Your bone age is clearly young, and you're only a mortal brat, yet you're so familiar with the tricks of the cultivation world. You even know how sinister human hearts can be and guard against others." The old man paused, then seemed to uncover Bai Lan's secret. His tone turned teasing. "Oh~~~ This old man understands. You haven't been possessed. More likely, you have a shrewd master. Tell me, who is your master? Perhaps this old man even knows them."
"Tsk, you sound like an immortal old senior with the bearing of a Daoist sage. How are you such a gossip behind the scenes? You pry into everything—are you the intelligence bureau at the village entrance?" Bai Lan asked with a smile.
The old man snorted. "Hmph, you ill-mannered little brat. Even if you truly have a master, they can't be much better."
Assessment complete: he was a tsundere soul.
"Forgive my bluntness, but your soul cannot hold on much longer, can it? If you don't leave your final words now, you truly won't get another chance." Bai Lan chuckled.
The old man had originally been a Tribulation Crossing stage cultivator. Now, with only a wisp of remnant soul left, he could not last much longer.
"Brat, your words are truly unpleasant! How long this old man's soul can endure is not for you to decide!"
"Oh~ Senior used the word 'endure.' The meaning of endure is that your soul truly has only a single wisp left, isn't it?" Bai Lan said with narrowed, smiling eyes.
"To think that after living to this age, I was actually tricked by a little brat like you." The old man let out a long sigh. "Fine, fine. Since you came for an opportunity, you are certainly no ordinary mortal. You are one of our kind."
"Karmic cycles are ordained by Heaven. This old man wants you to swear to Heaven that when you achieve success in cultivation someday, you will find this old man's only bloodline. If they encounter a crisis concerning their life, you must help them three times and preserve their life."
It was a very fair exchange.
Without hesitation, Bai Lan swore, "I, Bai Lan, hereby make a Heart Demon Vow. If I find Senior's only bloodline, I will certainly help her three times at critical moments and aid her in escaping danger."
"Good. These three places were all once used by this old man. To you as you are now, they are already immense opportunities. Take them."
As soon as his words fell, several visible barriers around them vanished in an instant, revealing several other bamboo huts that had not existed before.
So this was where the true inheritance of this place lay.
"Wait, something's wrong. Why did you make that vow so readily, little brat? Aren't you afraid that this Heart Demon Vow will become a stumbling block on your future path of cultivation?" The old man suddenly came to his senses, his tone suspicious.
Ever since they had met, he had noticed that this girl acted cautiously. Yet she had sworn just now with such crisp decisiveness that it hardly seemed like her.
Bai Lan's eyes curved as she smiled craftily. "Senior, you truly are muddled. Heart Demon Vows are bound by the Heavenly Dao Rules, but they are only effective on cultivators. I'm still merely a mortal. Even if I make a vow, what use is it?"
Cultivators made vows within the service area of the rules of Heaven and Earth, but mortals were outside the service area. The vow she had just made was no different from no vow at all.
The vow Bai Lan had just made was outside the service area, so it had not been received by the Heavenly Dao Rules at all.
In the original plot, Long Aotian was already a Qi Refining level one cultivator, within the service area, which was why the old man had been able to force him to make a Heart Demon Vow.
But Bai Lan disliked restraints. It was precisely because she had spotted this loophole beyond the rules that she had come here without hesitation.
The old man fell silent. "..."
No wonder! No wonder this shrewd little brat had made the vow so readily.
"You hateful little brat! If this old man still had strength, I would certainly teach you properly what it means to respect the elderly!" the old man said through gritted teeth.
Bai Lan replied helplessly, "Unfortunately, you have already perished."
The old man said, "..."
"Still, this junior is a kindhearted person. I have remembered what Senior said just now, and within the limits of my ability, I will naturally do my utmost to help." Bai Lan added with a smile, her words sincere this time.
The old man gave a cold snort. "You truly have such a good heart?"
"Whether Senior believes it or not, you only have one answer now: believe me." Bai Lan chuckled. "Isn't that so?"
The old man let out a long sigh before slowly speaking. "In the Lan Family of Tiandu City, if you encounter someone with the Profound Yin Absolute Pulse, they will certainly be this old man's descendant. If you meet her, pass this old man's Ice Condensing Qi Refining Art to her, and the ailment of her severed pulse may be cured."
"Rest assured, Senior. If that person is still alive, I will certainly deliver the cultivation art."
As soon as Bai Lan finished speaking, a golden orb of light slowly drifted out from the bamboo hut.
"This is the inheritance of this old man's lifelong cultivation arts. Relax your mind, do not resist, and slowly approach it," the old man said slowly.
Bai Lan paused, cautiously made a save, and only then stepped forward.
"Little brat, aren't you afraid that this orb of light is this old man's soul, come to possess your body?" the old man suddenly asked in a sinister voice.
Bai Lan replied with a smiling squint, "Senior need not try to frighten me. Since I dare approach, I naturally have the confidence to leave safely and unharmed."
More accurately, she could safely reload back to the moment before.
"Hmph." The old man snorted and said no more.
Only then did Bai Lan take two steps forward and touch the orb of light.
The instant her finger touched the orb, memories that did not belong to her, along with vast stretches of text and images, surged into her mind. Bai Lan was like an oversized USB drive, frantically having an inheritance written into her sea of consciousness.
Cultivation arts, Mystical Techniques, a manual of spear techniques, and even two passages of Buddhist scripture...
A swelling ache and dizziness crashed into her mind together. She clutched her head in pain and grit her teeth with all her strength, barely stopping herself from crying out.
Yet her body remained under her control. The old man had no intention of possessing her.
Only then did Bai Lan let out a sigh of relief.
For the first time, she empathized so deeply with USB drives. Did every USB drive feel like this when it was being used?
Oh, USB drives had no consciousness. Never mind.
The chaotic thoughts in her mind drifted unconsciously while the pain continued to coil through her head in wave after wave.
"Hahaha, feeling awful, aren't you, little brat? If you want this old man's inheritance, you must suffer a little." Finally seeing Bai Lan at a disadvantage, the old man laughed heartily.
Bai Lan shook her head, forced herself upright, and cupped her hands toward the bamboo hut. "Thank you, Senior. Even if the vow is not governed by the Heavenly Dao Rules, I will still keep it in mind. I will certainly do my utmost to seek out the person with the Profound Yin Absolute Pulse."
Of course, that was only if no danger or conflict was involved. Only then would she fulfill the old man's final wish.
That person with the Profound Yin Absolute Pulse was one hundred percent a beautiful woman. Otherwise, this plotline would never have fallen to Long Aotian.
If it had been a beautiful man, then this golden finger should have belonged to Bai Ling, the Destined Female Lead.
She knew all these tropes.
She had not expected that by a strange twist of fate, she had completed part of a main quest and cut off one of Long Aotian's harem members.
"Hmph, at least you have a bit of conscience." The old man snorted.
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