Why do you always want to be my Taoist partner?

Jiang Li lowered his head hastily, as if afraid that she would notice something strange, and replied, "It's okay."

The atmosphere suddenly became silent, and it seemed that only the sound of rain outside the window remained in time and space. After a long time, Bai Sheng mustered up the courage to ask in a low voice, "Can't you... tell me?"

Jiang Li put down his chopsticks, suddenly losing his appetite. He looked at Bai Sheng in front of him and said softly, "I just... thought of someone."

"Who?"

"A woman that Junior Sister Bai Sheng doesn't know."

"Is she important to Senior Brother Jiang Li?"

"Well, it's very important."

Jiang Li lowered his head and slurped his noodles. "It's all in the past. There's no need to talk about it."

After finishing the noodles, he burped in an unpresentable manner, then quickly laughed. He tilted his head and looked at Bai Sheng who was hesitant to speak. He naturally changed the subject and asked, "Are the noodles delicious?"

"Ah."

"In fact, there are some techniques for cooking. As long as you put your heart into it, the food you make will definitely not be bad." Jiang Li smiled gently at Bai Sheng.

Bai Sheng nodded as if she understood. After finishing the bowl of noodles, Jiang Li stood up and came to the bedside. "I want to sleep a little longer. I won't see you off, Junior Sister Bai Sheng."

Bai Sheng stood up and said, "It's okay."

"Well, I'll come see you tomorrow. I happen to be feeling a bit bored staying in the house."

After Jiang Li finished speaking, he lay back on the bed and closed his eyes. It was not until he heard footsteps and Bai Sheng gently closed the door for him that he really turned sideways and closed his eyes seriously.

Dreams are scary things.

It always comes suddenly and unexpectedly reminds you of the person you tried so hard to forget.

..........................................

When Bai Sheng returned to the yard, he still hadn't come to his senses.

She didn't understand why Jiang Li suddenly became a different person after waking up. He always looked so lively and enthusiastic, but after waking up he became a little... fragile.

Was it because of who he dreamed about?

Bai Sheng felt vaguely that this was the case. Whenever she dreamed of her mother, she would always feel sad when she woke up. However, she didn't know how to comfort Jiang Li, and Jiang Li didn't want her comfort. Bai Sheng pushed open the door of the courtyard with disappointment, but found that Mu Bingning in a blue dress was sitting by the ancient well in the courtyard, quietly waiting for her.

Mu Bingning's beauty is a cold beauty. She always makes people's eyes bright, as if they were stabbed by that coldness. Although Bai Sheng knows that Mu Bingning has a good temper and gentle personality, many people subconsciously think that she should be a banished immortal who is high above and untainted by the mundane world when they look at Mu Bingning for the first time.

Mu Bingning also looked up at her. The two women stared at each other for a few seconds. Mu Bingning suddenly asked, "Did you just come back from Jiang Li?"

Bai Sheng was stunned. She didn't know how to defend herself or what to say. The next moment, she realized that she was not good at lying, so she nodded lightly, "Yeah."

"I have no ill intentions and I won't blame you... I'm just asking out of curiosity, why did you get involved with that scumbag?" Mu Bingning's voice was unconsciously cold.

If it were before, Bai Sheng would have nodded, not knowing how to refute.

She has never been good at arguing with others and has always been submissive. But when she heard the word "scumbag" from Mu Bingning's mouth, Bai Sheng suddenly found the courage, "The Senior Brother Jiang Li I see in my eyes... is not a scumbag."

Mu Bingning looked at Bai Sheng who was serious at the moment. She was surprised for a moment and answered softly, trying to soften her tone. "Okay, then I won't call him that in the future."

"Senior Brother Jiang Li has been teaching me swordsmanship these days." Bai Sheng came to sit next to Mu Bingning. There were only two chairs in the yard. Mu Bingning's eyes seemed to be thinking about something. "How much have you learned?"

"He taught me the sword technique of chasing light. I am now much stronger than before." Bai Sheng tried very hard to prove to Mu Bingning that Jiang Li treated her very well and had no ulterior motives, but Mu Bingning seemed to have known it for a long time and she nodded slightly.

"You can learn from him. His swordsmanship is very powerful." After hesitating for a moment, Mu Bingning added, "I'm not as good as him."

Bai Sheng was stunned. She raised her head and looked at Mu Bingning in front of her in surprise.

Mu Bingning and Yue Ji are known as the two great fairies in Xuantian Dao Ji Sect. Yue Ji is called the two great fairies because of her mysterious identity as the leader of Tianji Sect and Qiyue Pavilion, as well as her enchanting figure and particularly strong communication skills. But Mu Bingning is called Fairy Bingning, partly because of her appearance, and the other part... because of her strength.

In the Xuantian Dao Ji Zong's Dao Discussion Competition, she was either first or second and had never left these two places. What's more, she has now reached the late Nascent Soul stage and is only one step away from overcoming the minor tribulation. It should be easy for her to win the Xuantian Dao Ji Zong's Dao Discussion Competition this year. But at this moment, Mu Bingning said lightly, I'm not as good as him.

"Don't be surprised. The sword intent I have comprehended now may not be as good as the sword intent he had in the Zhongzhou secret realm four years ago."

Bai Sheng's eyes were full of astonishment.

"Four years ago, he was in the Zhongzhou secret realm... With his cultivation base at the early stage of foundation building, he killed five Jindan stage cultivators with two sword strikes."

"Eh?!"

Chapter 36: That Year

The levels of cultivation start from refining Qi, refining the body, then building the foundation, forming the elixir, and the Nascent Soul. After the Nascent Soul, it is time to go through the minor tribulation. One has to go through ten levels of minor thunder tribulations before one can make the next step in cultivation and enter the Spirit Transformation realm.

After the transformation of the spirit, it is the refining of the void, then the fusion, the Mahayana, and after the Mahayana, it is the supreme saint. After the saint, if one wants to leave this world, he will face the second tribulation. After the tribulation, he can ascend to the upper realm and leave this world.

Bai Sheng had read in various ancient texts that there were peerless geniuses who defeated the Nascent Soul stage in the Foundation Establishment stage. The most widely circulated of these stories was the Dark Moon Immortal who lived thousands of years ago. However, the Dark Moon Immortal fell into evil and wanted to destroy the entire Canglan Domain. He was suppressed by the lords of various domains and eventually died, leaving no trace in this world.

But the story that Bai Sheng heard at this moment was even more unbelievable. Five Jindan cultivators were killed with two swords in the early stage of foundation building. No one would be willing to believe this.

But Bai Sheng knew that Mu Bingning didn't like to joke. She stared at Mu Bingning's face. Mu Bingning's expression was very silent. Her eyes were like the water in a cold pond, but at this moment they seemed a little vague, as if she was recalling something from the past.

Mu Bingning's eyes seemed to be looking into the sky, but at this moment, scenes appeared one after another in her mind. She lowered her head slightly, "Do you still remember that when I was about to enter the Zhongzhou Secret Realm, the Sect Master inexplicably told everyone that I would not go that time?"

Bai Sheng nodded.

Of course she remembered that four years ago was the first time that Mu Bingning represented Xuantian Dao Ji Zong to explore the secret realm of Zhongzhou. At that time, they only got seven places in Zhongzhou, and these places were especially hard-won. However, the sect master at that time inexplicably and mysteriously announced to the sect that Mu Bingning would not participate in the exploration of the secret realm of Zhongzhou this time.

But in the end, Mu Bingning still convinced the sect leader and successfully entered the Zhongzhou secret realm, from which she obtained a ten-thousand-year-old Snow-Blooming Dark Flower, which enabled her to reshape her bones, and her cultivation talent successfully entered the top five in Zhongzhou.

"Over the years, Xuantian Daoji Sect has been inferior to the other two major sects in terms of both strength and foundation, and I am the only hope of Xuantian Daoji Sect. So even if I got the quota that time, the Sect Master didn't want me to go. She knew that the other two sects would definitely instruct their disciples to harm me in Zhongzhou Secret Realm. Zhongzhou Secret Realm is isolated from everything in the outside world, and even if I didn't make it out in the end, I would die without any evidence."

"But if I didn't go, the sect would only decline. I finally convinced the sect master, and he let me go. But everything turned out just as he had guessed. The people from the Fengling Yueying Sect and the Anyue Xuesha Sect were really searching for me in secret, wanting to kill me in the Zhongzhou secret realm."

Mu Bingning will never forget that day.

Even though she had tried her best to conceal her aura, she was eventually found on the fourth day in the secret realm. Five Jindan-stage cultivators surrounded her. Her cultivation was only at the Jindan stage at that time, and the secret treasures she had on her were all destroyed by the other party's secret treasures. She was covered in wounds and fled to the stream. The five Jindan cultivators behind her were still chasing her relentlessly, and she was like a trapped beast in a cage, with no chance of escape.

Thinking of this, she suddenly laughed.

..........................................

Just like in all cheesy and melodramatic plays, the young man in white suddenly appeared. If he didn't have a beehive in his hand and two big lumps on his face from bee stings, the scene that day would have been even more perfect.

"Senior sister seems... injured?" Jiang Li looked at the woman in front of him, came to her side, and generously took out the healing pills he had on him, but the first thing Mu Bingning said to him was, "Run away."

"Escape from what?"

"Don't ask so many questions, just run away!" There was a hint of anger in Mu Bingning's cold voice.

"Ah...Okay, I admit, this plot is really cliché."

Jiang Li handed the honeycomb in his hand to Mu Bingning, "Senior Sister, please keep it for me."

He turned around and saw five people opposite him approaching quickly with weapons in hand.

Jiang Li drew his sword from behind and looked at the five people in front of him. Without any solemn expression on his face, he smiled gently and said, "Are you the ones chasing after the Saintess of the Xuantian Dao Ji Sect?"

Unfortunately, no one responded to his words. Perhaps they all understood that villains die because of their talkativeness. Sword energy and knife light swarmed in in an instant. Mu Bingning's heart had become desperate, and there was also a bit of guilt. If she had not insisted on entering the Zhongzhou secret realm this time, perhaps there would not be such a situation, and she would not... implicate this completely unfamiliar junior brother.

But in just a moment, the flashes of swords and shadows all disappeared, and the young man in white in front of him seemed like a different person, holding a mediocre spiritual sword. He only swung the sword once, but this sword left three bloody marks.

With extremely weak spiritual energy and sword intent as vast as the ocean, he broke through the surface with a point, and after a flash of sword light, only a crimson blood rain was left.

That was the most stunning sword move Mu Bingning had ever seen in the past sixteen years.

Three of the five cultivators had a thin bloodstain on their chests in an instant. Their bodies trembled twice, and then they fell down. After a while, their bodies became paralyzed. Jiang Li turned his head to look at the remaining two people, and the next sword came out in an instant. The remaining two people were ultimately unable to dodge the sword light that was like a startling swallow. Deep bloodstains that could be seen to the bone were left on their chests. They fell to the ground, and their blood soaked the ground.

Mu Bingning stared at the figure in front of her in a daze, almost thinking that this was a dream, and in the dream she saw the god who came to save her.

But Jiang Li sighed softly at this moment, "I just tempered the sword with the poison of this poisonous bee. They will be unable to move for four hours. Soon the ferocious beasts will come over after smelling the blood... Get rid of them. Let's go quickly, Senior Sister."

"Why don't you... kill them?"

"They came here to kill me, not me. I have no reason to kill them. Of course, if you want to kill them now, I will not stop you." Jiang Li smiled at her, "Please do as you please."

Weird logic.

Mu Bingning was not merciful. Facing the five monks who had already escaped, she naturally chopped off five heads with a flying sword. She looked at the young man in front of her who had already turned around and walked forward, and hurriedly chased after him.

She handed the beehive in her hand to Jiang Li, who put it away silently and returned to his cave. Then Jiang Li began to enjoy the honey he had obtained with great difficulty. Of course, he was very generous and gave some to Mu Bingning.

"Although the bees that made this honeycomb are all poisonous bees, the honey they made is indeed sweet and has the effect of warming the body and moisturizing the meridians. Senior Sister, you can eat more. Oh, yes, it seems that if you eat too much, your saliva will become sweet. Isn't it magical?"

Jiang Li acted as if nothing had happened and did not mention anything about what happened before. Mu Bingning was silent for a long time before asking, "Are you Jiang Li?"

"It's down."

Mu Bingning certainly remembered Jiang Li. In the past, Jiang Li had narrowly defeated his opponents in every competition in the Zhongzhou competition. It could be said that he entered the Zhongzhou secret realm because of good luck. But who would have thought that he had the ability to kill all five Jindan cultivators with one sword?

"Have you been hiding your abilities all this time?" she couldn't help but ask.

"If I don't hide my shortcomings, wouldn't I be envied and hated just like Senior Sister Mu? Then wouldn't I be one more target they are hunting today?" Jiang Li looked at her with a smile.

"You... knew it a long time ago?"

"The other two major sects have always been checking and balancing each other. Of course, the sect master's cultivation level entered the tenth level of Mahayana a few days ago, so the other two major sects will naturally be wary. They can't take action against the sect master, so they will naturally take action against the sect's hopes. Senior Sister Mu knows that this Zhongzhou secret realm is like a wolf's den, but she still insists on going there. It can be said that... she is very courageous."

Although Jiang Li said this seriously, Mu Bingning always felt that there was a hint of mockery in his tone.

He was laughing at himself for overestimating his own abilities.

Mu Bingning still couldn't help but ask again, "So...you..."

"The earrings that Senior Sister wore had a formation carved by me, so I was always following her closely. But I was delayed by something earlier, which led to her being hunted down to this point. Sorry, I'm a little late."

When Jiang Li said "being delayed", his expression was a little complicated, but Mu Bingning didn't care. Her earrings were bought from Qiyue Pavilion and were custom-made by her. She herself didn't even realize that there was a formation on them.

Her hand subconsciously touched the earrings. After a moment of silence, she said softly, "Thank you."

"There's no need to thank me. My life was originally saved by Xuantian Dao Ji Zong. Now I can do something for Xuantian Dao Ji Zong, which is also my duty."

Jiang Li licked the honey on his fingers in a very unpresentable manner, "If you don't mind, Senior Sister, please come with me to explore the secret realm of Zhongzhou."

Mu Bingning looked into Jiang Li's eyes.

His eyes were pure, so pure that it made people doubt their authenticity, but his suggestion was certainly the best choice, so she nodded slightly.

This was her first meeting with Jiang Li.

..............................

Perhaps some things are fate, and some things are man-made. The story is not as coincidental as in the script. The person who came to save the beauty did not appear on the colorful cloud because of fate, but because he had already calculated that Mu Bingning would be hunted down, so he made arrangements early. Although he came a little late, the result was not bad after all.

Mu Bingning originally thought that the Zhongzhou Secret Realm would be extremely dangerous, but she never expected that the trip to the Zhongzhou Secret Realm would leave her with some interesting memories.

Because Jiang Li's purpose of entering the Zhongzhou Secret Realm was not to look for any rare treasures. He came only to protect Mu Bingning, so the two of them explored places with low resources. Jiang Li took her fishing by the Hantan Lake and went to a place with rich wood spiritual energy to pick flowers.

He could use many ingredients from the secret realm of Zhongzhou to make many delicious meals. Finally, she finally got rid of the temptation and bit her lip and said that she had her mission to explore the high-resource area and look for the blessing that could make her cultivation aptitude further improved. He sneered at her, but finally followed her secretly and accompanied her after being discovered. In order to prevent her from getting into danger, he personally picked the Snow-Blooming Dark Flower and handed it to her.

Mu Bingning thought that her path of cultivation would be like that of her master, where she would cut off all emotions with ice and snow. However, she never expected that there would be a person who would descend from the sky with light all over his body, and would easily break down all her psychological defenses without any explanation.

She was sixteen years old that year.

Chapter 37: Chapter The story afterward

Mu Bingning originally thought that she had long forgotten those memories, but the moment she recalled them, those scenes seemed vivid and clear.

..............................

The seventh day in the secret realm of Zhongzhou.

Jiang Li had been intentionally taking her to explore areas with low resources for the past four days. Although everything she saw and touched along the way was very interesting, she had recognized many flowers and eaten many delicious foods, but deep in her heart she always remembered her purpose of wanting to enter the secret realm of Zhongzhou.

Find something that can change her aptitude for cultivation, allowing her to reach a higher level of cultivation, so that she can win first place in the Zhongzhou competition in the future, and allow more people in the Xuantian Dao Ji Zong to enter the secret realm.

But at this moment, two people were sitting under the tree, and Jiang Li was eating barbecue strips happily in his hand.

"Let's say goodbye here." Mu Bingning bit off the last piece of barbecue, finally made up her mind, and tried hard to make her expression become cold again.

Perhaps because she had been asking for help from others during this period, she had not been able to remain her original cold self in front of Jiang Li. Instead, she was always hesitant and gradually became a little unlike herself.

Jiang Li glanced at her and said, "I suggest you don't go."

Mu Bingning stood up, as if she was deaf to Jiang Li's words.

"Sit down." Jiang Li said helplessly, "As long as the mountains are green, there will be no shortage of firewood. Your cultivation talent is not bad. Why are you making trouble? Even if you don't find anything in the Zhongzhou secret realm this time, there are still many blessed places at the foot of the mountain after you get out. Maybe there will be a chance."

"I must cherish this opportunity." Mu Bingning's voice was very soft, but it revealed a hint of stubbornness.