Bai Ranmo: Attending His Own Funeral [Bonus chapter, thanks to Zhu Zhengsong and Chaos Mage for their tips]
Bai Ranmo had no idea that his bargain-bin master thought Bibi Dong had killed him and was beating Er Bidong like a man possessed.
Bai Cangyue, who possessed the Dark Shadow martial soul, had brought him to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. He had already figured out how to explain everything afterward.
He would just say Bai Cangyue worshipped a god, and that god had taken a fancy to his talent. Why didn't he have divine power? Don't ask. If anyone did, he was simply too young.
Surely a Titled Douluo like Bai Cangyue wouldn't go out of her way to play along with a child's act, right?
Bai Ranmo also planned to bring back a few immortal herbs. He had to get at least one for that brat Chuantao, as well as Tianyue and Zhao Yunxiao. They were among the few friends he actually got along with.
Then there was his poor, put-upon martial niece, Qian Renxue. Innate level-twenty soul power, all wasted on being that blasted Crown Prince. He could give her an immortal herb too. After all, the stronger Qian Renxue became, the easier his future plans would be.
Bai Ranmo grinned. That was right—he had already come up with the next script!
With so many emotion points in hand, it would be a waste not to stir up more trouble!
Before long, all of Bai Ranmo's clones had arrived in the Sunset Forest, except Hei Ranbai and the clone specifically assigned to mock Gangzi.
Getting Li Bai out of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was easy enough. He usually liked staying alone on the back mountain, and hardly anyone came by.
He left a letter saying he was off to roam the world, then successfully made his escape with Bai Cangyue's help.
Everyone absorbed the immortal herbs best suited to them.
After absorbing the octagonal mysterious ice grass and infernal delicate apricot, Li Bai tempered his body until it was impervious to ice and fire. As the saying went, bite off more than you can chew—so he ate a nine-grade purple ganoderma too, raising his cultivation from level fifteen to level twenty.
Bai Ranmo's original body was even more absurd. After eating the autumn water dew and narcissus jade muscle bone, he had Bai Cangyue take him straight out to hunt a thousand-year soul beast with the ability to seal space. His cultivation shot up to level twenty-nine on the spot, and he wasn't even seven yet!
Toji also smoothly reached level ninety-three and wasn't far from level ninety-four.
Bai Cangyue, meanwhile, successfully reached level ninety-six.
No wonder so many fanfics insisted on coming to the Ice and Fire Mandarin Duck Pot to loot the place. Leveling up this fast without side effects, and even improving your talent in the process, felt amazing!
Sitting on a mountain of treasure without realizing it, only to be swindled out of everything in the end.
A moment of sympathy for Dugu Bo... Oh, wait, hadn't Toji already hacked him to death? Never mind, then. May Buddha Tang bless you. Amen!
Kindhearted as Bai Ranmo was, how could he bear to let Dugu Bo walk the road to the underworld alone?
Naturally, he had to send Dugu Bo's granddaughter over to keep him company!
Dugu Bo: Thanks a lot!
Spirit Hall.
Inside the Worship Hall.
The atmosphere inside the Worship Hall was solemn and grave that day. No one spoke.
The seven enshrined elders had brought their juniors before the Angel God Statue.
Beneath the statue, Qian Daoliu stood with his eyes closed and his palms pressed together, praying with utmost devotion.
Below him, there was utter silence.
Tianyue bared her teeth in resentment, her face full of regret. How could Bai Ranmo have died?
That hateful Pope! If she weren't so weak right now, Tianyue would have marched into the Pope Hall and given Bibi Dong a beating. Come to think of it, Bibi Dong had refused to see anyone lately. She was probably afraid of their Worship Hall.
Then Tianyue thought of that stinking fox Hu Liena's nasty face and clenched her fists! I can't beat your teacher, but you think I can't beat you? Damn it, one of these days I'll drag you into the woods after class and beat you up.
Beside her, Sun Chuantao was sobbing so hard he could barely breathe. Why was he so unlucky?
He had gone out to hunt for a soul ring, eagerly looking forward to his first one. Yet in an ordinary Soul Hunting Forest, he had somehow encountered a ten-thousand-year soul beast and accidentally become separated from the soul master accompanying him.
In the end, the badly injured Sun Chuantao had fallen into a pit by accident. After eating a strange herb, he felt his body recover instantly.
After absorbing his first soul ring, his level had even jumped to eighteen. He had wanted to share the good news with Big Brother, but how could Big Brother have... how could he have...
Qian Daoliu finished his devout prayers and turned his head slightly. His calm voice carried a trace of grief he could not conceal. "Everyone, I, Qian Daoliu, spent more than a hundred and forty years in solitude. In my twilight years, fate brought me my disciple, Bai Ranmo. He was born with extraordinary talent, yet was so irrepressible that he finally stirred ripples in my still heart. Though our time as master and disciple was brief, I already regarded him as my own son. People have their joys and sorrows, their partings and reunions; the moon waxes and wanes, shines and hides behind clouds. Though an accident took his life, he will surely return to the embrace of our Divine Ancestor, the Angel God."
"Now, let us worship our Divine Ancestor together. May Ranmo's soul return at this moment to bid us one final farewell!"
With that, Qian Daoliu pressed his palms together again and bowed sincerely and respectfully to the golden, gleaming statue of the Six-Winged Angel.
Everyone present followed suit, their faces showing varying degrees of emotion.
Ever since the previous Pope and Xiao Xue had passed away, the Great Enshrined had often stood alone beneath the Angel God Statue in prayer, like a cold machine devoid of family or feeling. No one in the Worship Hall, including the enshrined elders, knew that Qian Renxue had gone undercover. It wasn't a matter of distrust. Some things simply carried a greater risk of exposure once others knew about them.
Now, he had finally gained a disciple, only for that disciple to be killed by the Pope... Fate truly toyed with people.
Just then, the doors of the Worship Hall were suddenly kicked open.
A jaunty voice rang out. "I was wondering where you'd all gone! Couldn't find anyone anywhere. Why are you all here worshipping the Angel God Statue? Is today some special occasion?"
Everyone turned, their expressions a mixture of shock and disbelief.
What they saw was a child wearing round black sunglasses, holding a can of drink, and carrying himself with lazy nonchalance.
Beside the child stood an expressionless, black-haired woman who radiated a dark aura. When the enshrined elders sensed the fluctuations of her soul power, they discovered she was a level-ninety-six Super Douluo.
Clearly, this woman had pushed open the Worship Hall's doors. She had also slipped in without a sound while all their attention was focused on their prayers.
Bai Ranmo glanced at the screen full of emotion points and grinned, sauntering over with a swagger. "Chuantao, you got your first soul ring, right? What's your soul skill?"
Sun Chuantao stared blankly at Big Brother before him. After a long moment, he burst into loud sobs. "Waaah... Big Brother, you died so horribly! Even in death, you didn't forget to ask about my soul skill. You came back as a spirit to find me! Thank you, Big Brother!"
"Huh? A ghost?" Bai Ranmo was bewildered.
Zhao Yunxiao swallowed too, cautiously edging closer before whispering, "Ranmo, everyone gets reincarnated after they die. You can just join Spirit Hall again after you're reborn, so you'd better move on. If you have any lingering wishes from before you died, tell us. We'll do our best to fulfill them!"
"Huh?" Still looking utterly confused, Bai Ranmo raised his head. Only then did he notice his own memorial photograph and cenotaph.