Qi Induction

Elderly Grandfather was startled.

As a Divinity Transformation Stage powerhouse, how could he not recognize that this was a possession attempt?

If Long Aotian had truly been possessed, what was he supposed to do? Who would help him rebuild his body in the future!!!?

Elderly Grandfather's heart lurched. Yet he had no time to deal with Bai Lan, the culprit, and instead focused all his attention on the skeletal old man inside the bamboo hut.

"Host, Long Aotian and that old man's souls are fighting!" The system watched from the sidelines.

"Host, Host, that old man seems to have gained the upper hand! Heavens, could the Child of Destiny truly fall here!?" the system cried.

"No, that's not right. Long Aotian's Elderly Grandfather has made a move. That old man has fallen into a disadvantage." The system spoke with some regret.

Bai Lan remained seated in meditation with her eyes closed, her expression solemn. She seemed utterly unaware of the commotion in the distance and merely said, "Watch the battle. If anything happens, wake me."

No matter who won or lost in the possession battle between Long Aotian and the skeletal Elderly Grandfather, neither could threaten Bai Lan.

After all, Long Aotian's body was currently gravely injured and unconscious. Whether Long Aotian held onto his body or Elderly Grandfather gained the upper hand—

What they would ultimately obtain was a heavily injured shell incapable of moving.

Bai Lan only wanted to draw Qi into her body now.

Cultivate immortality!

She sat cross-legged in the posture of five hearts facing heaven, calming her mind and focusing her spirit as she sank her Qi into her dantian.

As she quieted her mind and pondered, every tiny sound around her seemed to be amplified without limit—the chirping of insects, the calls of birds, the rustling of leaves in the breeze.

Amid the tranquil peace, a faint glimmer seemed to emerge within her originally pitch-black field of vision.

Flowers, birds, grasses, trees, bamboo reeds, mountains, stones, motes of dust, sand, rivers.

One thing, one number; within one world, within one instant.

In that fleeting instant, she seemed to vaguely sense several unusual colors.

Yellow was the most abundant, followed by green, then black.

The earth beneath her feet was filled with earth spiritual energy, and so it was yellow.

The trees standing around her were wood spiritual energy, and so they were green.

The pond in the distance was water spiritual energy, and so it was black.

So this was the world of cultivation.

Joy rose in Bai Lan's heart.

She had been born in the Age of Dharma's Decline. At that time, all things withered, spiritual energy dried up, and ancient texts and scriptures had long been lost in the river of history.

This land truly was rich in spiritual energy. She had merely meditated for a short while, yet she had already sensed where spiritual energy lay.

Possessing five spiritual roots meant that she could absorb all five types of spiritual energy between heaven and earth for her own use.

The system had originally been tensely observing the battle in the distance. When it happened to glance back, its jaw nearly dropped.

"W-w-w-what!!! Y-you drew Qi into your body!!!?" The system froze.

That mysterious and profound state was interrupted by the cry. Bai Lan opened her eyes helplessly. "Why are you making such a fuss?"

"Heavens, heavens!" the system exclaimed.

"Oh heavens! My little system, keep your voice down. This is simply terrible. If you interrupt my cultivation like this again, I will certainly teach you properly what silence is." Bai Lan stepped forward, pinched the system's cheek, and ground out the sentence through clenched teeth in a fluent translated accent.

The system gave an awkward laugh. "Ah, ahaha, sorry, Host. I was too, too excited."

"How is Long Aotian?" Bai Lan looked toward the bamboo hut.

"As expected, after the cheat Elderly Grandfather acted, he successfully turned the tide." The system sighed. "Host, don't waste your effort. The Child of Destiny cannot be killed."

"Tsk." Bai Lan did not care. She merely retrieved the three Storage Bags from her sleeve.

Two had been left behind by the old man, while the other belonged to Long Aotian.

She closed her eyes and attempted to send spiritual energy into the Storage Bags.

Bai Lan's consciousness was bounced away by an invisible force. They were Storage Bags belonging to Core Formation stage cultivators, after all. Even after a thousand years, the seals upon them still remained.

At the very least, she would have to reach Qi Refining level one and become proficient in using spiritual energy before she could try to undo the seals on those two Storage Bags.

Bai Lan shook her head helplessly, then sent her divine sense into Long Aotian's Storage Bag instead.

Several glittering stones, a long spear, two short swords, and... a red Mandarin Duck Underwear?

Tsk. What a lecher.

Bai Lan's gaze moved away from the underwear and finally settled on the Spirit Stones.

"Wow, is this glittering thing a Spirit Stone?" Bai Lan took a small, jade-warm stone from the Storage Bag. The spiritual energy contained within it was faintly visible.

The system floated over. "That's right! This is the currency of the cultivation world—a low-grade Spirit Stone."

"What a poor Long Aotian. The dignified Child of Destiny only had seven Spirit Stones in his Storage Bag. Tsk." Bai Lan shook her head.

The system said helplessly, "Long Aotian originally had seven. Now he has none."

"Not only does he not have a single Spirit Stone left, he has even lost a Storage Bag and... a red Mandarin Duck Underwear."

And that long spear was probably Long Aotian's exclusive weapon, the Soul Severing Spear.

It was a magic treasure that could evolve by drinking blood. Judging from the spear's dull and lusterless appearance...

Very good. Long Aotian probably had not yet recognized it as his master.

The other two short swords seemed to be ordinary objects and could temporarily be used for self-defense.

Watching her Host rummage through Long Aotian's Storage Bag with an expression of delighted profit, the system was utterly baffled.

Why had the plot developed into such a bizarre situation?

According to the mission guide, the Host should be thinking of ways to raise Long Aotian and Bai Ling's favorability!

But now, the Host had robbed the stranded Long Aotian in the beginner village and thoroughly emptied his Storage Bag.

"Host, are you really not going to reconsider doing this mission?" Life was not easy, and the system sighed.

Bai Lan smiled as she patted the young man's head and began to talk nonsense. "Little system, listen to a word of advice from your Host. When it comes to work, slack off whenever you can. Don't be so dedicated."

The system continued to sigh.

Bai Lan ignored him and instead carried the Mandarin Duck Underwear over to Long Aotian, tossing it onto his face.

"I'll gladly accept the Spirit Stones and weapons. As for this Mandarin Duck Underwear, I'll return it to its rightful owner." After speaking, Bai Lan glanced again at the skeletal old man on the meditation cushion, who had long since turned to ashes, and sighed helplessly.

The cultivation world was full of deception and scheming. The novel truly had not deceived her.

If Bai Lan had not possessed the cheat of reverting to a previous save, she would have been possessed by that old man earlier and died here.

Perhaps that was the fate of most cultivators. Bai Lan understood it, but only to that extent.

By that reasoning, she had also given that skeletal old man a way to live.

Unfortunately, he had failed to possess the Child of Destiny. That could not be blamed on her.

Turning around, Bai Lan stuffed everything from the other three bamboo huts into Long Aotian's Storage Bag. She also dug up the two remaining unknown spirit herbs in the distant spirit field and placed them into a jade box.

She left Long Aotian with only three empty bamboo huts.

"When Host passes through, you truly are like locusts crossing a field—not a blade of grass remains," the system remarked.

Bai Lan raised a brow. "What, should I leave it behind and wait for Long Aotian to pick up the leftovers?"

"Host is right! We can't leave anything for Long Aotian! Not even a little!" the system agreed.

Since the Host did not intend to take the easy route of winning people over, it could only risk its life and accompany the Host down the path where the strong reigned supreme.

As the saying went, marry a chicken and follow the chicken; marry a dog and follow the dog.

It had chosen this Host itself. Even crying, it had to follow her to the end.