Bai Lan was not surprised. She tossed aside the handkerchief in her hand, picked up the two Storage Bags beside her, and said with a light laugh, "Naturally. That old man was a Core Formation stage cultivator before his death. A mantra like Qi Induction is already useless to him."
Just as an academician's home would most likely not keep a first-grade elementary school textbook, it was perfectly reasonable.
But she could simply ask him directly.
That old bastard would not die for the time being. Wouldn't it be a pity not to squeeze out every last scrap of his value?
Bai Lan rose to her feet and headed outside the bamboo house.
"Where are you going?" The system floated after her.
"Isn't there a ready-made senior here for us to consult?" Bai Lan walked up to the bamboo house and, from a safe distance, smiled at the skeleton sitting upright on the meditation cushion.
The system was startled. "That old man just tried to possess you! How could he possibly teach you the Qi Induction mantra? Be careful!"
"Senior, how about you and I make another deal?" Bai Lan asked with a beaming smile.
The skeleton shifted. "Come closer, and I will make a deal with you."
The big gray wolf told the little white rabbit, "Come into my den, and I'll give you carrots to eat."
The little white rabbit would definitely turn around and run.
Yet Bai Lan remained where she was. "Senior, tell me the Qi Induction mantra. Though I cannot offer myself in return, I can give Senior a great gift."
"A great gift?"
"One Qi Induction mantra in exchange for the body of a Qi Refining level one cultivator. That is quite a bargain, isn't it? His name is Long Aotian, and his talent defies the heavens. I'll send him down here, and Senior can possess him." Bai Lan smiled sweetly.
The old man asked suspiciously, "How will you send him down here?"
Bai Lan did not need to send him. The enemies hunting Long Aotian would personally send him down.
In the original plot, the old man had been unable to possess Long Aotian because his soul could not remain too far from his body for long. He could only stay confined within that tiny patch of space around the bamboo house.
When Long Aotian fell, he was severely injured and remained unconscious in the pond for three days.
The old skeleton in the bamboo house had stared greedily at the body of a Qi Refining level one cultivator for so long, yet he simply could not leave. He lost his final chance.
Three days was enough for Long Aotian to recover his vitality, and it also happened to exhaust the last wisp of the old man's soul.
Unfortunately for him, Bai Lan was here now. There was no need for three days. She would directly toss the heavily injured and unconscious Long Aotian into the bamboo house for the old man to possess.
Bai Lan would sit back and watch, to see whether the old man or Long Aotian emerged victorious in the end.
She wanted to see whether the legendary Child of Destiny was truly so uncanny that he could not be killed no matter what.
In any case, neither of them was a good person. She was more than happy to watch a fine show of two tigers fighting.
No sooner had Bai Lan settled on her plan than a spray of water suddenly burst from the pond behind her.
A figure fell straight through the barrier overhead and into the pond, causing a loud splash. The newcomer was none other than Long Aotian.
"See? I, Bai Lan, never lie. Isn't he here already?" Bai Lan snapped her fingers, straightened up, and looked at the old man. "Well, Senior? This deal is quite worthwhile, isn't it? You teach me the Qi Induction mantra, and I'll deliver that man right before you for possession."
The old man fell silent for a long while before suddenly laughing. "Little brat, could you be a disciple of the Yi Family? A mere mortal, yet you seem to know everything, carrying yourself with such effortless ease."
If you had a save-and-load cheat too, you would be just as at ease.
"Junior, listen carefully." The old man's tone was steady as he began reciting the mantras one word at a time.
Bai Lan's spirits lifted, and she decisively saved.
After the old man recited it once, Bai Lan loaded and listened again. She repeated this dozens of times. Only after she had memorized the Qi Induction mantra did she finally let out a long breath.
Bai Lan had saved and loaded dozens of times, but in the old man's eyes, he had only recited it once.
If you can't find it by searching the book title, try searching for the author. It may simply have been renamed!
"Well? Did you understand it?" the old man asked unhurriedly.
Bai Lan nodded. "I have memorized it."
"Hmm? You memorized it?" The old man was taken aback. "Do you possess an eidetic memory? It seems you are a junior with rather good comprehension. Hmph."
Bai Lan said nothing. She merely stood and walked toward Long Aotian in the pond.
Although Long Aotian was unconscious, his Pocket Grandpa was clearly not. However...
No matter how powerful that Pocket Grandpa was, he was currently only a remnant soul, surviving by dwelling within Long Aotian's body.
Unless Long Aotian faced a threat to his life, Pocket Grandpa would never expend his strength to intervene.
Therefore...
Bai Lan scrutinized Long Aotian from head to toe for a long while. At last, she smilingly removed the Storage Bag from his waist and tucked it into her robes.
She did not kill Long Aotian because the rules of the Heavenly Dao prevented her from doing so. But while Long Aotian could keep his life, the Storage Bag was hers.
The Elderly Grandfather dwelling within Long Aotian widened his eyes. He stared at the woman who had suddenly appeared, yet did not act for a long time.
He had thought this little girl intended to kill his boy. He had not mistaken the killing intent in her eyes.
But why? Why had she not struck in the end? Why had she merely taken the Storage Bag?
The Elderly Grandfather racked his brains without finding an answer, but ultimately restrained himself.
Just as Bai Lan had guessed, the minor matter of losing some possessions was not enough to make the Elderly Grandfather expend his strength.
"System, move him." Bai Lan stood and pointed at Long Aotian on the ground, looking at the system.
The young man took a step back, displeasure written across his face. "Why me?!"
"I can't enter the bamboo house. You know that. What if that old man takes the chance to possess me..." Bai Lan spread her hands, looking helpless, though her eyes were full of the sly mischief of someone trying to slack off.
The system gritted his teeth. In the end, he rolled up his sleeves and went to drag Long Aotian from the ground.
"You don't do the tasks, yet you still make me work! Despicable, despicable! Evil plantation owner! Capitalist!" the system grumbled furiously as he dragged him.
Bai Lan spread her hands. "You were the one who came looking for me in the first place. Don't blame me, Little Black Slave."
The system gritted his teeth.
Fine. I chose this host myself, so even if I have to follow her in tears, I must keep going.
"Besides, this can be considered completing the task. Though it happened by a twist of fate and was not my original intention, I merely wanted to obtain a cheat."
After speaking, Bai Lan found a spot, sat cross-legged, and began attempting Qi Induction.
The skeletal old man and the Elderly Grandfather within Long Aotian, both of whom had witnessed everything, fell into deep thought.
Neither could see the system's existence. Thus, from their perspectives, Bai Lan appeared to be talking to thin air.
And they could not understand a single word she said!
But...
If that little girl was talking to thin air, then how were they supposed to explain Long Aotian, who was being moved bit by bit across the ground?
Was there really another person?
Could there truly be an existence in this world that even they could not sense? Terrifying indeed!
That was what the Elderly Grandfather inside Long Aotian thought.
But before the Elderly Grandfather could react, another powerful sense of oppression descended. A wisp of divine sense shot out from the skeleton in the bamboo house and lunged straight at Long Aotian.
Before you continue