The sage was determined to die.

the day of departure.

Ji Bai got up very early and was squatting in front of Senior Sister Chen, staring intently at her as if he were thinking about something. He then took out a porcelain bottle from his pocket.

The senior sister had been sitting there blankly, staring at the stone without moving, not paying attention to Ji Bai's gaze, until he put something cold in her hand.

She then turned her head very slowly, staring blankly at Ji Bai.

Ji Bai scratched the back of his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "Senior sister, this bottle contains nutritional pills with different flavors. I've noticed you've been eating the original flavor all along, so I don't know if you like these different flavors."

To prevent them from getting food poisoning while studying, the Imperial Academy distributed many bottles of nutritional pills to each of the successful candidates, in different flavors.

Ji Bai has been coming over regularly these past few days to feed his senior sister nutritional pills, and he noticed that she's been mostly taking the original flavor. So, when he got his, he naturally opened a bottle of the original flavor to try it out. How to describe the taste...

He almost thought he had chewed on a piece of rubber.

He then tried other flavors, such as fruit and spicy. Although the taste was still not good, at least it was edible.

At that time, he felt that his senior sister was truly extraordinary in her perseverance.

What exactly was supporting her, allowing her to persist in chewing raw rubber for ten years?

Even if you've lost most of your sense of taste, you should be tired of eating this by now, right?

"But can you open the bottle yourself?"

Remembering how Ji Bai used to put nutritional pills in her hand before feeding her, Ji Bai now thought, "If I give her a whole bottle now, will she just start chewing on the bottle?"

Just as Ji Bai was hesitating whether to take the bottle back, he saw his senior sister slowly take out the bottle, and then, as if she had used all her strength, she pulled out the stopper, poured out two light blue nutritional pills, and slowly put them into her mouth while looking at him with her clear black and white eyes.

She showed through her actions that she could still eat.

Ji Bai left with peace of mind.

However, what Ji Bai didn't know was that the moment he turned to leave, his senior sister's unfocused gaze gradually fixed on him. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she didn't utter a single word.

Then she slowly closed her eyes.

.

The group of scholars were led to the Kui Xing Pavilion blindfolded.

The moment the blindfold was pulled down, everyone couldn't help but gasp.

The group of scholars about to enter the mountain of books looked at the enormous locust tree that could reach the sky. This tree had a history of a thousand years, but now its trunk seemed to have been hollowed out, leaving an entrance that could accommodate three people walking side by side. This entrance was dark and had a strange suction force.

Clearly, this is a teleportation array.

Looking at the teleportation array in front of him, which resembled a black hole, Ji Bai became even more certain of one thing.

This world was indeed not the ancient world he knew.

His Majesty was not present in person, so the ceremony was presided over by Xu Tangyi, the chief priest. He looked up at the sun, nodded to everyone, and said, "It's about time. You may all set off now."

Everyone present clenched their fists, their expressions filled with barely concealed excitement. The moment that would change their lives was right before their eyes. If they hadn't retained a shred of rationality, they probably would have already rushed into the portal.

Before entering, Yan Ming reluctantly leaned against Ji Bai, staring at the compass in the other's hand. Although he wanted to snatch it, he knew that even if he did, it wouldn't be of much use, as no one but the person in charge could open it.

"Ji Bai, don't forget our agreement," Yan Ming said. "Don't forget what Master Xu said; getting separated in the mountain of books will do you no good."

Ji Bai glanced at him and said, "Of course."

For others, entering the mountain of books is a perilous journey with a slim chance of survival, but for Ji Bai, entering the mountain of books is tantamount to courting death.

In order to go home, he could only die at the hands of others.

Ji Bai walked in front, and the moment he stepped into the tree hole, a strong sense of weightlessness rushed over him. The next second, he lost consciousness.

In his last moments before losing consciousness, he was still thinking that once he entered the mountain of books, he must not get separated from his teammates.

.

Before entering the mountain of books, Ji Bai set two goals: to become famous and to be killed by someone else.

The moment he opened his eyes at the mountain of books, he had almost completed half of his goal.

He was dying.

The mountain before him was unlike any he had ever seen before. The ground was scorched earth, the dark brown soil looking as if it had been burned by a raging fire, emitting a deep smell of blood and rust.

The hoarse cawing of crows echoed from the sky.

Ji Bai was currently being held in the mouth of a man-eating flower, hanging upside down. There was no one around him, not even the Qi people who had entered with him.

Ji Bai pulled out a dagger hidden in his clothes and stabbed the man-eating flower, silently thinking to himself, "If I'm killed by the flower, would that count as murder?"

Just as Ji Bai was about to pierce the petals, the carnivorous flower extended a branch to bind his hand, and the sharp thorns on the vine instantly pierced the skin of Ji Bai's wrist.

The moment the wound appeared, the intense smell of blood made it tremble violently, and countless vines tried to burrow into Ji Bai's skin along the wound.

Ji Bai gritted his teeth. He wanted to die, but he couldn't die here in this way.

He gripped the dagger tightly, the sharpened blade slicing through the verdant branches without leaving a trace on his opponent, instead causing him to bleed even more.

Ji Bai suddenly understood why the ground here was so red.

This guy is drinking his own blood.

The hollow branches resembled straws, and Ji Bai was its drink. The carnivorous plant happily sucked his blood, turning the light green branches red.

Just when Ji Bai thought he would be drained dry.

It vomited.

The man-eating flower's core drank Ji Bai's blood and instantly spat Ji Bai onto the ground. Just like a person vomiting due to food poisoning, the man-eating flower trembled, and its two-person-sized flower head uncontrollably shed leaves. Then, its bright red mouthparts continuously spit out flower juice.

Then I poured water over Ji Bai to let it air out and cool.

The man-eating flower's sap, carrying a strong bloody smell, was all sprayed onto Ji Bai. Ji Bai felt as if he were deep under a waterfall, barely able to breathe.

Five minutes later, the man-eating flower stopped moving. Its once vibrant stamens were now noticeably paler. It had no eyes, yet Ji Bai still felt a hateful gaze upon it.

Ji Bai struggled to his feet and saw the huge flower gradually leave its original position.

When Ji Bai entered, he was dressed in a white robe, but now he had completely turned red, becoming a red-clad figure.

Watching the carnivorous plant's departing figure.

He wondered to himself, "Am I really that bad?"