The Cunning Old Man

Though the youngster before him was sly and crafty, the words she had spoken after receiving the inheritance did not seem false.

She knew the treachery of human hearts, yet her conscience had not been extinguished.

Perhaps only someone like this was truly suited to survive in the world of cultivation.

But whether she could live until the very end was still uncertain... Heh heh.

"This old man has been dead for many years. I left behind this wisp of remnant soul only to pass down the final cultivation art of the Profound Yin Absolute Pulse to future generations, so that later descendants would not suffer any longer. Now that my wish has been fulfilled, I have no more attachments."

"You may take whatever remains in the bamboo house as well."

With a sigh, the old man's voice grew more and more distant, until it vanished into the depths of the secret realm, as though its last trace of life had finally faded away.

Bai Lan remained silent for a long while. Only after saving did she step forward, cross the threshold, and clearly see the scene inside the bamboo house.

The room was simple and spotless. At its center, atop a meditation cushion, sat a skeleton that had long since weathered away with age.

Was this the old man who had spoken just now?

"Host—Host—! Are you there—?" The system's cautious voice came from outside the bamboo house.

Seeing that Bai Lan had remained still for so long, the little system ultimately could not stay above any longer and decided to come down to check on her.

Bai Lan's expression shifted. She swept her gaze over the skeletal frame before her, and a flicker of amusement passed through her eyes.

She openly turned around, exposing the greatest weakness on her back. "I'm here, you—!"

Just as Bai Lan turned to look at the system, a faint ghostly blue light flashed within the skeleton's eye sockets behind her.

In an instant, an invisible pressure swept over Bai Lan's entire body. Even a Core Formation stage cultivator's soul, reduced to only a wisp of remnant soul, was enough to render Bai Lan unable to move.

Nameless ghostly blue flames tightly wrapped around her as the old man's divine sense invaded Bai Lan's sea of consciousness in an instant.

It was possession.

Tsk. That old ghost was truly old and cunning. He had feigned having his soul scattered to the winds in order to deceive her, while in truth, a trace of his soul still remained.

Bai Lan had anticipated it long ago, so she was not surprised in the slightest.

She gave a cold snort, yet did not rush to load a save. Instead, she silently observed the old man's soul movements and spoke leisurely.

"Old man, your soul is so weak that only a shadow remains, yet you still want to imitate others and play at possession? Wouldn't it be better to obediently go on your way?" Bai Lan spoke with a smile in her voice.

The old man had not expected Bai Lan to remain so calm, and his heart could not help sinking.

Could this little brat truly have some backup plan?

But... he had already died once. If possession succeeded today, he would be making a profit. If it failed, he would die either way, so it would not count as a loss.

"If a cultivator had come here, this old man would know I was no match for them and would not dare harbor such thoughts. I would only ask them to swear an oath and fulfill my final wish. But you are a mortal, little brat. A mortal's soul is as fragile as paper. With such a fine opportunity for possession, this old man naturally cannot let it pass."

Bai Lan laughed. "You really can cast aside your dignity. As an old man, you want to possess the body of a young girl like me. If you succeed, how will you conduct yourself in the future? Aren't you ashamed?"

"Hmph!" The old man snorted without answering. He merely plunged every last wisp of his remnant soul deep into Bai Lan's sea of consciousness, attempting one final life-and-death struggle with her.

Bai Lan knew her own limits. As the old man had said, a mortal's soul was as fragile as paper and could never contend against a cultivator.

Only then did the system drift over after following the sound. The moment it saw the scene before it, it shrieked in terror, its voice cracking. "Oh heavens, ahhh! Quick, quick, load the save, Host!"

A Core Formation stage soul was devouring its host's divine soul, yet its host stood there as if nothing had happened... like she was watching a show!???

The system was practically scared out of its wits.

"What are you panicking for?" Bai Lan chuckled. She exchanged a meaningful glance with the old man, then, beneath his soul's bewildered gaze, clicked load at the very moment before his divine sense collided with hers.

Time instantly rewound to one minute before Bai Lan entered the bamboo house. Everything was as tranquil as it had been a minute ago.

The skeletal frame inside the bamboo house still sat quietly, waiting for Bai Lan to step into its trap.

Bai Lan stopped before the bamboo house and smiled at the skeleton inside. "Senior, there is no need to play dumb with me. I know you are still there."

The skeletal frame paused, yet remained silent and continued pretending to be dead.

"Stay in the house for a few more days, then. Once you are thoroughly dead in three days, I'll come back and collect your corpse for you, old sir." Bai Lan smiled sweetly, waved at the skeleton, and turned to leave.

The ghostly blue flame in the skull's eye socket flickered. "Youngster! How did you know this old man was still here?!"

"I do not believe someone as sinister and cunning as you would refrain from preparing some little trick to harm others." It sounded like mockery, yet Bai Lan stated it as though it were an indisputable fact, making it all the more sarcastic.

The old man knew he was in the wrong, yet still clung to a thread of luck. "Little brat, all of this is merely your own speculation."

"Enough. I do not have much time, so I will not accompany you in this battle of wits and deceit. Farewell." Bai Lan did not bother arguing with him. After speaking calmly, she slowly stepped out of the bamboo house.

"Youngster, wait!" the old man called in a deep voice.

Bai Lan did not stop walking.

The old man had already said everything he needed to say before.

"Youngster! Youngster!!! Come forward! This old man still has treasures to give you! Don't go!" the skull cried anxiously.

Perhaps because he shouted too loudly, one of the ribs on the skeletal frame was shaken loose by his own voice.

That bone had already become brittle beyond measure after years of weathering.

The broken rib fell onto the wooden floor with a crisp, pleasant bang~.

Bai Lan left without a shred of sentiment, leaving only the old man shouting loudly behind her.

"Host, what were you doing just now?! You scared me to death, boohoohoo! If that old man had really swallowed you and you did not load the save in time, it would truly have been fatal." The system clutched Bai Lan's sleeve, still shaken.

"I was merely curious about how cultivators possess others, and the blue flames within his soul were somewhat strange. I was curious, so I watched for a few more seconds. Little system, you are far too timid. You need more practice in the future." Bai Lan sounded helpless.

"It is not that I am too timid! It is that you are far too bold!" the system retorted.

Bai Lan patted the system's head. "Come. Let us first inspect the other bamboo houses and see what good things they contain. I am very much looking forward to the inheritance that originally belonged to Long Aotian."

Of the remaining three bamboo houses, one was a library, one was an alchemy room, and the last was filled entirely with ashes and the skeletons of unknown things.

"You go to the Library Pavilion and find me a cultivation mnemonic for drawing qi into the body." Bai Lan assigned the system a task.

"I should have known better than to come down and check on you. Now I have to work at your beck and call, hmph." The gray-robed youth flicked his sleeves, but still drifted into the Library Pavilion to search through the books on the shelves.

Bai Lan went to investigate the other two bamboo houses.

After carefully examining them, she determined that one bamboo house was likely a storage room for things such as Monster Bone Material. However, after the passage of time and years without proper treatment, many of the materials had become unusable.

The old man must have died more than a thousand years ago. Otherwise, considering the toughness of monster bones and hides, these monster materials would not have decayed into this state after merely a hundred years.

There was not much inside the alchemy room. Only the pill furnace at its center and two Storage Bags were particularly eye-catching.

The pill furnace was blue-gray, covered in a thick layer of dust.

After she used a handkerchief to gently brush away the dust, rows upon rows of intricate runes carved into the pill furnace came into view, mysterious and profound.

Just as Bai Lan was studying the pill furnace...

"What is wrong with that old man? Such a huge library, yet there is not even a single mnemonic for drawing qi into the body." After Bai Lan had ordered him to search through the entire Library Pavilion, the system finally spoke in a huff.