Because of the word "fate," she had been adopted by an old Daoist when she was young, and from then on, she had embarked on the path of cultivation.
Her master had been a very interesting old man. He had raised her, taught her reason, and taught her to distinguish good from evil.
To her, he had been both master and father, so she could not be considered an orphan.
Empathize with Bai Ling? Not a chance.
"Little System, you're wrong. I have a master. As the ancients said, a master is a teacher, and also a father. How can you call me an orphan?" Bai Lan raised a hand and tapped the screen, refuting the system's wording with righteous severity for the first time.
"Fine. I thought the host could use this to analyze the Destined Female Lead's emotional journey." The system sighed from the other side of the screen.
Bai Lan closed her eyes and shook her head slightly. "I sympathize with what she went through in the first half of her life, but that doesn't mean what she did was right. Besides, I should be sympathizing with myself right now."
On one side, she had to deal with Long Aotian. On the other, she had to handle Bai Ling.
Two Children of Destiny favored by the heavens. She could not kill them no matter how hard she tried, and they were like lizards that could keep shedding their tails and regenerating. They were even more troublesome to deal with.
Forget it. She would just treat them as two endlessly respawning experience-book instances, where she could grind combat experience forever. Bai Lan thought optimistically.
"I think the host should sympathize with me more. If you don't do missions, I'll never get promoted." The system spoke mournfully.
Bai Lan selectively went deaf and continued enjoying her bath.
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the cliff—
Long Aotian had stolen the limelight at the spirit-root testing assembly, only to attract enemies who wanted to cut the grass and dig out the roots. After fighting his way out of a deadly situation, he had jumped off the cliff under the Elderly Grandfather's instructions.
The moment he opened his eyes, he felt as though something had been draped over his face.
He reached up and grabbed it. Focusing his eyes, Long Aotian realized it was a red Mandarin Duck Underwear covering his face.
It looked so familiar. It seemed to be something from his Storage Bag...
His heart jolted, and he instinctively reached for the Storage Bag at his waist.
It was empty.
??? Where was his Storage Bag?
His mind went blank. Long Aotian wanted to call the Elderly Grandfather in his mind, only to discover that the Elderly Grandfather had fallen asleep as well.
After looking around, Long Aotian abruptly rose and rushed outside. He circled the area once, then fell into deep thought.
Apart from a few bamboo huts, there was nothing at all around him.
There was not even a bed, meditation cushion, table, chair, or bench left inside the bamboo huts, as though someone had cleared the place out.
Everything left behind was useless junk.
???
Hadn't the Elderly Grandfather said there was an Ancient Cultivator's Cave Mansion beneath this place, with an inheritance waiting inside?
Where was the inheritance? Where had his huge inheritance gone?
Long Aotian fell into deep thought.
The sky gradually brightened, and a ray of morning light shone through the paper window into the room.
Bai Lan, who had meditated through the night, slowly opened her eyes and let out a long breath.
Her progress had been minuscule.
She had Five Spirit Roots. That meant she had to pay five times the price of a Heavenly Spiritual Root cultivator to cultivate. Only after all five kinds of spiritual qi filled her dantian could she break through the bottleneck and enter Qi Refining level one.
She had not noticed it while meditating and cultivating at the bottom of that cliff yesterday. Only after changing locations today did she understand what sparse spiritual qi truly meant.
Wait, could there be something strange about the bottom of that cliff?
No wonder the old man's cave mansion had been set up at the bottom of the cliff. That place was probably one of the few areas in the Human Realm with abundant spiritual qi. That was precisely why Bai Lan's Qi Induction had gone so smoothly yesterday.
"Miss, Madam asks that you go to the front courtyard." A young maid stood in the outer room and reported softly.
"Understood."
Bai Lan answered, then slowly stood up.
"The plot is starting, the plot is starting!" The system suddenly popped out. "One of the plot points is that the Destined Female Lead, Bai Ling, severed ties with the Bai Family at this very moment!"
Bai Lan sat back down after rising, then called back the maid who was about to leave. "Wait. Go tell Mother that I'm feeling unwell and can't go."
System: "..."
The maid froze. "Miss is ill? Should I summon the residence physician..."
"No need." Bai Lan shook her head, crossed her legs again, and closed her eyes to meditate.
"Host!!! You're trying to hide from the plot again!!!" The system's fur stood on end.
Bai Lan kept her eyes closed. "This is called emergency risk avoidance."
But before Bai Lan could enjoy even half a moment of peace this time, another problem arose.
The maid who had left and returned came back panting. "Miss, this is bad! An immortal elder from the Azure Origin Sect suddenly came to the front courtyard. He said—he said he wanted to seek justice for Third Miss and force Master and Madam to kneel and apologize! If they don't apologize, he'll—he'll kill them!"
Bai Lan's eyes snapped open.
What was with all this nonsense every single day? She had only just entered meditation for three seconds.
It was reasonable enough to demand that Minister Bai kneel and apologize. This chief culprit had visited brothels and slept with dancing girls, and those improper actions had resulted in Bai Ling's birth. It had also been Minister Bai who had ignored Bai Ling completely. It was perfectly reasonable for Bai Ling to hate him.
But what did that have to do with Mother Bai? It was not Mother Bai who had told Minister Bai to visit brothels, nor was it Mother Bai who had told him to ignore Bai Ling.
What normal wife could put on a pleasant face toward a child her husband had with another woman? Bai Ling's range of hatred was far too broad.
Bai Lan frowned, stood up, lifted the curtain, and strode outside.
"Host! According to the plot, this Azure Origin Sect immortal elder is most likely one of the Destined Female Lead's Romantic Interests. He fell in love with the female lead at first sight. He's a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator, and also the first supporting character to curry favor with the female lead."
The system gave a few malicious chuckles. "It must be because of the host's atrocious behavior of avoiding the plot that the plot has developed in an even worse direction~~~"
Bai Lan's expression darkened. "A cultivator with no sense of boundaries, using his status to meddle in someone else's family affairs just because he fell in love at first sight? Does he have nothing better to do?"
"Exactly, exactly!" the system agreed.
Following her memories to the front courtyard, she immediately saw a blue-robed cultivator standing arrogantly in the courtyard. A fireball glowed brilliantly in his palm. "All the suffering my Little Junior Sister endured in the past was caused by you husband and wife, wasn't it? Hah."
The minister and his wife were mortals after all. Under the cultivator's pressure, they were already trembling like leaves.
Bai Ling stood behind the blue-robed cultivator, her eyes filled with the exhilaration of avenging a great wrong.
The two people she hated and had once been unable to reach were now trembling before her, their lives and deaths held in her hands.
This scene clearly pleased Bai Ling immensely.
"Suffering?" Bai Lan walked into the courtyard, looked at the scene before her, and laughed softly. "Senior Brother, have you forgotten that Bai Residence has more than one mortal who tested positive for spirit roots?"
The blue-robed cultivator froze and slowly withdrew the fireball in his hand. "You are..."
"Senior Brother Le, there's no need to mind her. The spirit roots she tested are merely Five Spirit Roots. Even if she enters the cultivation world, she'll find it hard to become anything worthwhile." Seeing Bai Lan appear, Bai Ling narrowed her eyes and spoke first, belittling Bai Lan.
Once the blue-robed cultivator heard the words Five Spirit Roots, his expression eased. He sneered and shook his head.
"Even so, I am a disciple of the Azure Origin Sect. Senior Brother, isn't it inappropriate for you to attack my parents in public?" As Bai Lan spoke, she waved the Identity Jade Token in her hand.
"Hah, Junior Sister, you jest. I'm merely speaking up for Junior Sister Ling'er. How could that be called attacking anyone?" The blue-robed cultivator remained unmoved.
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