After leaving Pillow Stream Mountain, Chen Shuangbai settled down in a market town in the Xi Kingdom.
For a Nascent Soul Cultivator like him, half a month is nothing more than a blink of an eye.
This place is a bit quieter.
Chen Shuangbai merely revealed a slight Nascent Soul aura, and the shopkeeper was very sensible, daring not to disturb him easily. Instead, he made offerings from time to time, presumably because he was extremely afraid of the wrath of a Nascent Soul.
Chen Shuangbai had a comfortable two weeks.
The only thing that bothered me was the pale golden ribbon that floated silently three feet above my head.
This silk ribbon was unaffected by the mountain winds, water, fire, or formations. Ever since Chen Shuangbai left Pillow Stream Mountain, it had been hanging above his head without making any movement.
Despite the lack of outward appearance on Chen Shuangbai's face, she was genuinely uneasy about having this item.
"With this thing watching you, you can't cultivate properly, and you can't speak of anything that involves secrets..."
Chen Shuangbai silently pondered a solution to this problem.
During this period, True Lord Yandan frequently visited Chen Shuangbai.
This Nascent Soul True Lord from Pillow Stream Mountain must have held the Heavenly River Dao Lineage in extremely high esteem, as his words often hinted at it. However, Chen Shuangbai could not reveal too much, so he always changed the subject.
Yan Dan wasn't stupid, and over time she began to notice something was amiss.
She once asked Chen Shuangbai directly if he had any unspeakable difficulties, and that Pillow Stream Mountain could certainly provide him with protection.
However, Chen Shuangbai declined the matter again, saying that he was just experiencing some difficulties in his cultivation and needed to go into seclusion for a short period of time to sort out his cultivation insights and heal his injuries, so as not to affect his own Dao Path.
Yan Dan was naturally very worried, so he sent someone to deliver a lot of spiritual resources.
Chen Shuangbai was moved and was about to decline, but a plan suddenly came to mind. So she accepted all the spiritual resources and even hinted that she needed a fifth-grade precious pill.
Although Yan Dan was somewhat reluctant, she thought that Chen Shuangbai was a descendant of [ Vast Source ] and had wandered here, so she naturally needed to take care of him.
After thinking for a moment, the Kunxiu True Lord gritted his teeth and said, "Junior Brother, please wait a while. I will return to the mountain and ask the Mountain Lord to bestow upon me the precious pill."
"Thank you for your trouble."
Chen Shuangbai stood before the window, watching Yan Dan break through the void and return to Pillow Stream Mountain, his eyes filled with a dark, gloomy light.
"My lord."
Feiguang couldn't see the existence of that mysterious eye, but he could tell that his master's behavior had been somewhat problematic in recent days.
Since Chen Shuangbai didn't say anything, he naturally didn't want to ask any further questions.
That mysterious eye was left by Mahayana Celestial Person. Even Chen Shuangbai was able to see it only because of his [ Great Yin Dao Fruit ] status. Feiguang has no Dao Fruit, so his thoughts would probably be easily captured by that mysterious eye.
Therefore, he decided to keep it a secret.
A gentle breeze blew in from outside the window, ruffling his clothes.
The man in the rosy robe stood with his hands behind his back by the window, gazing at the distant Pillow Stream Mountain hidden in the clouds. His expression was calm, but his mind was racing.
"Calculations over the past few days have confirmed that this is merely a Divine Ability, and one that requires certain conditions to be met to Divine Ability..."
His wisdom was astonishing. These days, he pretended to be in disguise, but in reality, he was constantly observing that mysterious eye.
Based on this, he deduced some of the truth.
last night.
In [ Truth-Honoring Purple Haoming Mystery-Bearing Heavenly Gate ], Chen Shuangbai and his two incarnations discussed for a long time. In the end, Changming, who was in the form of a toad, put forward a new direction and insight.
"Since this Mysterious Eye is Mahayana Divine Ability, and has been quietly hovering on Pillow Stream Mountain for countless years, performing such secretive deeds... can it possibly escape the notice of the overlord of this place, the one in White Emperor City?"
Changming naturally refers to the contemporary White Emperor, who is also Mahayana Celestial Person.
The eight kingdoms of the Eastern Domain all belong to White Emperor City and rely on this figure's power to resist the ambitious Great Chu Dynasty.
Pillow Stream Mountain naturally also paid homage to this person.
As a fellow Mahayana Celestial Person Being, the White Emperor could certainly not have failed to see this mysterious eye floating above Pillow Stream Mountain... But why did the White Emperor City show no reaction?
Changming's words were like a bolt of lightning, cleaving through the fog in Chen Shuangbai's mind.
After some discussion, the three of them came to two conclusions.
Either the White Emperor and that mysterious Mahayana Celestial Person being have some kind of tacit understanding, or even a cooperative relationship.
The Mahayana Celestial Person being had the tacit approval of the White Emperor to set up the Mysterious Eye to monitor the area above Pillow Stream Mountain.
Or... it could be that the Mahayana Celestial Person who set up this Mysterious Eye, or the force behind him, was too powerful, forcing the White Emperor, who was also Mahayana Celestial Person, to bow his head and tolerate the other party using this Divine Ability to monitor Pillow Stream Mountain.
In addition, there is a third conclusion--
It is also the worst-case scenario— the White Emperor himself was one of the participants in the destruction of the Heavenly River.
His tacit approval of this mysterious eye monitoring Pillow Stream Mountain was in cooperation with that Mahayana Celestial Person to clean up the remnants of the Heavenly River.
"We are surrounded by enemies on all sides."
Chen Shuangbai's expression remained unchanged, but she sighed deeply in her heart.
He originally thought that once he arrived at Pillow Stream Mountain, he would find allies and a place to stay.
But who could have imagined that the place they found to stay would be under the watchful gaze of an unknown Mahayana Celestial Person?
What's the difference between this and sending someone to their death?
"I originally thought the ancestral court's destruction was due to internal and external troubles... but now this apprehension suggests that there are many more untold secrets hidden within!"
The more the people around her acted this way, the more frightened Chen Shuangbai became. On the contrary, her mind became more active, and she had already thought of how to test the relationship between the White Emperor and this unknown Mahayana Celestial Person.
"It all depends on whether that True Lord Zhaoguang will come knocking on our door tomorrow."
What Chen Shuangbai didn't expect was that this True Lord Zhaoguang didn't even wait until the next day. He rushed over in the dead of night, broke down Chen Shuangbai's doorway, and kicked his way in.
There was a loud bang.
The door to the room was kicked open from the inside, and a beam of light rushed in from the outside, carrying with it a violent gust of wind that soaked the entire dwelling.
When the man barged in, Chen Shuangbai was cultivating. He was about to draw his sword, but after seeing who it was, he was taken aback and said, " Zhaoguang... why are you visiting so late at night and banging on my door?"
Zhaoguang Chen Shuangbai's "innocent" appearance, Zhao Guang's anger intensified. The dark water around him grew even more violent, and the sounds of wind and thunder could be faintly heard outside. He said coldly:
"Let's not beat around the bush, Fellow Xuhong!"
"The Mountain Lord and Alchemist are mindful of their past relationship and have treated you kindly, even sending you extra spiritual resources these days... Let's just leave it at that, consider it repayment for that unfounded favor."
"But what you shouldn't have done, what you shouldn't have done... was to be so greedy and push your luck, tricking Alchemist into getting you a fifth-grade precious pill—did you really think that the resources of my Pillow Stream Mountain were for someone like you with unknown origins to squander at will?"
Chen Shuangbai slowly stood up, calmly straightening his robes that had been ruffled by the strong wind. He then cupped his hands in a respectful but not arrogant manner. " True Lord Zhaoguang, you are mistaken. I have never lied to Alchemist. It was she who, upon hearing that I was injured, offered to return to the mountain to fetch medicine."
"I did try to decline, but I couldn't refuse your kind offer, so I reluctantly accepted it..."
"If you find this inappropriate, then I will return all the spiritual resources in full today, I only beg you not to..."
"Damn it!"
Enraged, Zhaoguang's eyes blazed with fury. He raised his hand and unleashed a burst of water-based true energy, aiming straight for Chen Shuangbai's chest.
"Fellow Daoist?!"