I have Taoism and can understand other worlds

Chapter 708 What Bai Jing Encounters

Deep within Jade Cold Mountain, the wind and snow were blocked by an invisible force, revealing a secluded mountain valley. Bai Jing led Jiang Wen to her cave dwelling.

The entrance to the cave was not luxuriously decorated; it was simply a porch built of natural bluestone, with the words "Quiet Snow" engraved above it in slender, elegant handwriting, conveying a sense of otherworldly refinement.

"I didn't realize you had such a poetic side," Jiang Wenchao said with a smile.

The woman smiled without saying a word, but simply pointed into the cave.

Without further ado, the two walked inside together.

Stepping inside, the scenery before your eyes is even more serene and elegant.

The cave is quite spacious, with naturally formed ice crystals on the dome that refract the faint light coming in from the outside, making it twinkle like starlight.

The walls are all rough mountain rocks, uncarved, yet possessing a rustic charm.

In the center was a futon, a low table, and on the table a plain ceramic vase containing several sprigs of plum blossoms still covered in snow. In the corner was a stone bed covered with clean white animal hide.

If it weren't for the faint, elegant scent of fox in the air, this place would resemble the simple and tranquil dwelling of a hermit Taoist.

"My benefactor, my humble abode is simple and unadorned, please do not take offense," Bai Jing said softly. She had already regained her usual demeanor, but her azure eyes still occasionally fell on Jiang Wen, and in the flow of her gaze, there was still a faint trace of water and an undisguised closeness.

Jiang Wen felt a little uncomfortable with her behavior. He wondered if it was because they hadn't seen each other for a long time, but this enchantress had become increasingly clingy. She used to be somewhat reserved, behaving like a great demon.

"It's alright, peace and quiet is just right." Jiang Wen coughed lightly and nodded.

Her gaze swept across the cave dwelling, noticing some similarities to the Jingxu Temple. She couldn't help but sigh; even under the influence of the malevolent energy, she remained conscious.

The two sat down at the low table. Only then did Jiang Wen notice that there were actually quite a few hidden presences within this seemingly deserted cave.

Some lesser demons, who had not yet fully transformed or who deliberately retained some characteristics of the fox clan, timidly peeked out from behind the stone pillars and curtains, curiously and with infinite awe watching Jiang Wen.

Sensing Bai Jing's attitude towards Jiang Wen, they looked at Jiang Wen with curiosity and fear in their eyes. When Jiang Wen's gaze swept over them, they hurriedly shrank back and dared not look directly at him.

Seeing this, Bai Jing smiled slightly and explained, "They are all little creatures from Jade Cold Mountain who have developed intelligence, or little demons who escaped after the chaos in the capital. They are not bad-hearted and usually cultivate here, and also help me with some trivial matters."

She paused, a hint of lingering fear flashing in her eyes, "If my benefactor hadn't appeared in time and used his supreme divine power to expel the blood evil from my soul, I'm afraid I... I would have made a grave mistake, and they would not have escaped their doom."

Mentioning Blood Fiend naturally leads to the experiences after their separation.

Jiang Wen did not rush to ask further questions. Instead, he stood up and walked slowly to the ceramic vase with the plum blossoms in it. He gently brushed the icicles off the petals with his fingertips and said in a calm voice, "It has been more than a year since we parted in the capital. I left you and Yu Shi in the capital and have always kept you in my heart. Now that I see that you have gone through hardships but your foundation is still intact, I can finally rest easy."

He turned around, his gaze calm as he looked at Bai Jing. "But that wisp of malevolent energy in your soul is sinister and filthy, no small matter. What exactly did you and Yu Shiqie encounter in the capital?"

Upon hearing Jiang Wen mention the capital, Bai Jing's delicate body trembled slightly, and a shadow of fear instantly appeared in her eyes.

She subconsciously brought her legs together, her slender fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her snow-white dress, as if recalling the events of that day in the capital.

"After my benefactor went to find Miss Li Yunshang," Bai Jing's voice was calm as she began to recount her experiences. "I then secretly investigated the movements of the God Worship Ceremony with my sister, the Rain Master, as previously agreed, to see what their spirit-summoning ceremony was all about. However, the capital was already on the verge of a storm, and the demonic atmosphere was growing stronger every day. When the God Worship Ceremony began its spirit-summoning ceremony, we felt we could not wait any longer."

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself: "Yu Shi Qie and I originally intended to stop them before their grand ceremony was completed and destroy their altar. With the help of our benefactor's magic weapon and the cultivators of the Taiping Dao, it wouldn't be difficult for Yu Shi Qie and me to break this spirit-summoning ceremony. But who knew that on the very night we were about to act, demons from the God-Worshipping Society attacked us, holding Yu Shi Qie and me back and leaving us unable to spare any attention."

A hint of helplessness flickered in Bai Jing's eyes. The situation that day was too complicated, and she couldn't say what the right thing to do was.

"Because of this brief delay, the worship ceremony was already completed. We later learned that the muddle-headed emperor was truly cold-blooded and ruthless. He used the lives and souls of 13,600 people from the main and branch branches of the Li imperial family as sacrifices to hold the spirit-summoning ceremony. He vainly hoped to use this heinous crime and the imperial fortune of the Great Qian emperor as a foundation to forcibly break through to the realm of sainthood, in order to seek eternal damnation."

Even with Jiang Wen's composure, his brows furrowed deeply upon hearing these words. To sacrifice tens of thousands of blood relatives was an act utterly inhuman and a descent into demonic ways. He had initially thought the Emperor would show some consideration for blood ties, but now it seemed that was not the case.

Jiang Wen didn't speak, but listened quietly as Bai Jing continued.

"Since Yu Shi and I failed to stop the Summoning Ceremony, we turned our attention to destroying the Four Absolute Formations." Bai Jing's voice grew increasingly low, carrying a chilling lingering fear. "However, we never expected that our whereabouts would be known, and even our plan to destroy the Four Absolute Formations was discovered. On that day, a Dao Palace Realm cultivator attacked us, but fortunately, we had the help of the Tai Shen Palace, so we didn't encounter too many problems. However, they still managed to refine the Four Absolute Formations, which somewhat betrayed our benefactor's trust."

The affairs of the capital were far too complicated; even Jiang Wen hadn't anticipated such deep turmoil. He had thought their movements would remain largely unknown, but it now seemed that even before entering the capital, their every action was known to others.

"The situation was extremely critical at the time," Bai Jing continued, a hint of relief in his voice. "The Four Absolutes Formation was about to be fully activated, and billions of lives were about to be wiped out in an instant. Fortunately, the senior in the ring left by our benefactor awakened in time. The senior seemed to be extremely familiar with the formation, and he spared no effort to expend his own essence and use his astonishing divine power to forcibly tear apart the formation's eye at the last moment. In addition, the Human-shaped Flags we possessed prevented the Four Absolutes Formation from being activated."

When she mentioned the senior monk Jie Zhong, her tone was full of gratitude and awe.

"At the time, Yu Shi and I both thought the matter was over, and that we should stop the Emperor from transforming into a dragon." Bai Jing's voice held a hint of indignation and lingering fear. "But just as we relaxed slightly, a mysterious person, from who-knows-where, broke through the capital's numerous restrictions and appeared directly above the palace."

She seemed to see that horrific scene again, her face turning pale: "I couldn't see the man's face, but the power of his aura was something I had never seen before in my life. More than ten Dao Palace Realm True Persons who were left to guard the capital tried to stop him, but he killed them all with a wave of his hand, annihilating them body and soul!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wen's gaze sharpened.

With a wave of his hand, he killed more than ten Dao Palace cultivators. Such strength is beyond the reach of ordinary Immortal Platform Realm cultivators.

"That mysterious man seemed extremely angry that the sacrificial array was blocked," Bai Jing said. "He actually used great magic power to forcibly activate the Four Absolutes Array. Not only did he resume the sacrifice that the predecessor had blocked, but he also used some kind of evil method that we cannot understand to directly transform the emperor, who was already mentally deranged due to the blood sacrifice, into a monstrous dragon."

At this point, Bai Jing subconsciously raised her hand and pressed it tightly against her left shoulder, as if the excruciating pain and chill still lingered there. Her delicate body trembled slightly, and her eyes held a hint of panic. The person from that day was far too powerful, far beyond the reach of ordinary cultivators.

"To stop him and to give the people of the capital a chance to escape, the senior chose to burn the last vestiges of his divine soul essence to fight that person. Although he finally defeated him, the senior perished." Bai Jing's voice was sorrowful, showing even a demon a touch of emotion.

The cave was completely silent, except for Jiang Wen's sigh.

"Don't blame yourself for what happened to Senior Zhenyangzi. That was his wish, and he might have been willing to do it. The Li family is also his descendant. How could this senior watch his descendant die a tragic death?"

What happened to you afterwards?

Bai Jing nodded upon hearing this, calmed himself down, and continued, "Although the mysterious man has retreated, the capital has undergone such a tremendous change that the dragon energy has collapsed, the earth's veins have been disturbed, and the Four Absolutes Formation still has residual power. Most of the living beings have been refined."

"These were originally powerful alien beings suppressed beneath the capital, but their seals have loosened and they have escaped. Among them are many who possess extraordinary abilities."

"The capital city today is a true hell, with demons and monsters running rampant. Yu Shi Qie and I were also affected and separated in that explosion. I was seriously injured and my soul was invaded by the blood evil energy emanating from that mysterious person. In my dazed state, I could only rely on instinct to escape north. Finally, I came to this Jade Cold Mountain and used the extreme cold here to temporarily suppress the evil energy in my body until today."

As Bai Jing spoke, she couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. She looked at Jiang Wen with tender eyes, expressing her deep gratitude.

"If it weren't for my benefactor today, I'm afraid I would have been completely devoured by that evil aura sooner or later, and turned into a monster that only knows how to kill."

Jiang Wen listened quietly, his face showing little emotion, but deep in his eyes was a profound sense of gravity.

The emperor's folly, the evil of the worship of gods, the power of the mysterious figure, and the tragedy of the capital—all these point to a far larger conspiracy.

The figure of the True God Path could be seen appearing and disappearing among them.

He walked to Bai Jing's side, but did not offer any words of comfort. Instead, he gently placed a hand on her still slightly trembling shoulder, and a gentle and mellow magical power slowly flowed in, soothing her turbulent emotions and the hidden pain in her old wounds.

Feeling that familiar, reassuring aura and power, Bai Jing's tense mind finally relaxed completely. She gently closed her eyes and nestled her cheek against Jiang Wen's palm.

"My benefactor, you have saved me again."

(End of this chapter)