When Ye Ling asked, Wu Shuyi did not dare to hide anything and quickly said, "The first time I met Bai Xiaosheng was sixty years ago. Although I have known him for a long time, I haven't had much contact with him in these sixty years, and I don't know him very well."
"At first, I was in secluded cultivation in the Greater Khingan Range. Bai Xiaosheng was traveling the world and trespassed into my territory. In the end, we fought, and we became acquainted through our fight."
"Sixty years ago, Bai Xiaosheng was at the peak of the eighth rank. However, his swordsmanship was divine, and his movement techniques were bizarre. When I fought him back then, I suffered a lot before I could barely subdue him."
"Your cultivation of half-step Red Dust Immortal couldn't suppress that Bai Xiaosheng?" Ye Ling raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised by Wu Shuyi's words.
He had encountered both eighth-rank异士 (Yi Shi) and Red Dust Immortals, and he knew the vast difference between them.
An eighth-rank Yi Shi, even at their peak cultivation and with divine martial arts, could not escape the mortal body and still belonged to the mortal realm.
Although a Red Dust Immortal was still in the mortal world, they already had the word "Immortal" attached to them, making them qualitatively different from an eighth-rank Yi Shi.
Wu Shuyi, with one foot already in the realm of "Immortals," had transcended the mundane. It was likely that he could single-handedly defeat ten peak eighth-rank cultivators.
And yet, with such strength, he had suffered hardship at Bai Xiaosheng's hands?
For a moment, Ye Ling became curious about that Bai Xiaosheng.
Wu Shuyi quickly cupped his hands and said, "I am also very puzzled about this. His cultivation is indeed only at the peak of the eighth rank, but his martial arts, divine abilities, and spiritual energy quality are all superior to mine..."
"What he used did not seem like mortal martial arts. The reason I won in the end was entirely due to suppressing him with my higher realm, a victory I achieved by chance."
"If we were to fight to the death, our chances would probably be fifty-fifty."
"What he used wasn't mortal martial arts... Interesting..." Ye Ling murmured softly, his gaze distant, then looked at Wu Shuyi, "Continue."
Wu Shuyi did not dare to delay and immediately said, "After that battle, he proactively befriended me and informed me about the outside world."
"The world has changed too quickly now. If it weren't for Bai Xiaosheng, I wouldn't even be able to understand why those ordinary people without any spiritual power could fly and burrow through the ground using tools, transmit sound over a thousand miles, and even create weapons that could threaten us."
"At Bai Xiaosheng's persuasion, I also began to leave the Greater Khingan Range, travel the world, and witness various scenes."
"From this perspective, Bai Xiaosheng can be considered my guide into modern society."
"However, in these sixty years, I have met Bai Xiaosheng no more than ten times. But every time, he would bring me news of heavenly treasures, and I have benefited a lot from him."
"A few days ago, Bai Xiaosheng found me again and told me about the Dragon Saliva Fruit, saying that today was the day the Snow Hidden Valley opened and asked me to enter the valley to search for treasures."
Hearing Wu Shuyi's words, Ye Ling also confirmed that Bai Xiaosheng had deliberately arranged for Wu Shuyi to come to Fulong Town today.
The Snow Hidden Valley was set to open two days later, and today was the day Ji Xue would break her seal.
No matter which direction Wu Shuyi traveled to the Snow Hidden Valley, he would immediately sense the changes in Fulong Mountain and divert his course here to hunt down Ji Xue.
It was likely that Bai Xiaosheng had intended for Wu Shuyi to kill Ji Xue from the very beginning.
Ye Ling and Feng Ke's arrival in Fulong Town was purely coincidental. If Ye Ling had not accidentally learned from Feng Ke that Su Xue'er and Ye You looked alike, and if the Snow Hidden Valley did not contain information about ancient ruins from Su Xue'er, he would not have come to Fulong Town.
In other words, while Ye Feng had complete confidence in killing Ji Xue, just to guard against the extremely small chance of failure, he had Bai Xiaosheng instigate Wu Shuyi to come to Fulong Town to kill Ji Xue by proxy.
He was unwilling to take even the slightest risk.
Ye Feng's almost pathological caution made Ye Ling even more suspicious of his identity.
A person with connections to the immortal realm and whose strength almost surpassed the mortal world on Earth, did he really need to be so cautious about everything?
What was he guarding against?
Ye Ling cast his thoughts aside and asked Wu Shuyi, "Do you have a way to contact Bai Xiaosheng?"
Wu Shuyi shook his head, "Bai Xiaosheng's whereabouts are strange and unpredictable. Although I have tried to ask him for his contact methods, he always avoids the topic. He always contacts me proactively."
"He contacted you proactively?"
Ye Ling frowned slightly and asked sternly, "Are you sure?"
Wu Shuyi gave a wry smile, "I am also very puzzled. I consider my counter-tracking ability to be not weak, and I don't leave any traces when I travel the world. Logically, no one should be able to find me, but Bai Xiaosheng can always appear before me precisely."
"The first few times, I was also wary of his ability and wanted to figure out his methods. But after experiencing this a few times, Bai Xiaosheng posed no threat to me, so I didn't dwell on this matter too much."
"You, a half-step Red Dust Immortal, can be easily located by an eighth-rank Yi Shi, and you can still come to search for treasures unharmed..."
"You are truly a genius."
Ye Ling's mockery was merciless in response to Wu Shuyi's answer.
It was obvious that Bai Xiaosheng had placed some kind of mark on Wu Shuyi.
If he were Wu Shuyi, Bai Xiaosheng's first contact could be considered an accident, a chance encounter.
But as soon as Bai Xiaosheng appeared before him a second time, he would definitely kill Bai Xiaosheng at all costs!
It was likely that Wu Shuyi had become a pawn that Bai Xiaosheng could use sixty years ago.
How many things Wu Shuyi had done for Bai Xiaosheng over the years, he probably didn't even know himself.
Wu Shuyi: "..."
Although Wu Shuyi felt wronged by Ye Ling's mockery, he did not dare to retort and could only remain silent.
It wasn't that he hadn't fought back, but Bai Xiaosheng's methods were too bizarre, and he could only accept reality.
Anyway, it didn't harm him.
Seeing Wu Shuyi's expression, Ye Ling knew that he didn't take the matter seriously at all, so he was too lazy to bother. He said, "Don't resist. I'll search you one last time and then let you go."
"Search, search you?"
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Wu Shuyi trembled instantly, staring blankly at Ye Ling, his face full of resistance, "Didn't you say that if I cooperate, you..."
"Why so much nonsense?"
Ye Ling didn't waste any more words. He directly enveloped Wu Shuyi with his demonic energy, penetrating his entire body.
Feeling an endless coldness pierce his bones, Wu Shuyi instinctively wanted to use his power to resist.
"If you don't want to suffer unnecessary pain, then obediently withdraw your spiritual power."
Ye Ling's indifferent voice sounded in Wu Shuyi's ears, making him tremble. He quickly held his breath and concentrated, suppressing his cultivation, and allowed Ye Ling's demonic energy to invade his body.
Amidst Wu Shuyi's nervous and apprehensive mood, Ye Ling's demonic energy quickly searched his entire body, even probing his soul!
"As expected, there's a mark!"
Ye Ling found Bai Xiaosheng's mark, withdrew his demonic energy, and a hint of playfulness flashed in his eyes as he looked at Wu Shuyi. This made Wu Shuyi's heart creep with fear!