Jian Lin was not surprised. The most powerful forbidden spell master was Bai Xian. Combined with the previous events and what happened in Guanlan Sect, it was all more or less related to him.
Those seemingly coincidental events, upon closer inspection, were all intricately linked.
However, Jian Lin was not in the mood to ponder those matters now. After hearing Bai Xian’s confession, she stepped forward excitedly, poked him in the face, and urged him anxiously, "Since you cast the forbidden spell, please undo it quickly. We’ve known each other, you won’t just watch me die, will you?"
Bai Xian stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze cold, practically having the words "will not help" written all over his face. After a long pause, he spoke in a deep voice, "Miss Apei, in your eyes, what am I?"
Bai Xian remembered the great battle and how Jian Lin had sealed him. After being sealed, his consciousness had not completely vanished. In a state of flux, he could feel the passage of time.
This was a cruel thing. Bai Xian did not want to and could not leave the demon realm or the Demon Emperor. Why did Jian Lin believe that Bai Xian would still want to save her after what she had done?
Jian Lin looked directly into his eyes, waved her burnt fingers, and retorted through gritted teeth, "Bai Xian, in your eyes, what am I? You think highly of yourself, believing your star-gazing and divination are invincible. You calculated that I am your destined person, so why didn't you calculate my earlier identity?"
Jian Lin withdrew her fingers and stared at him coldly, answering Bai Xian's question, "My real name is Jian Musheng. Oh, you might not know, this trivial matter doesn't require the Grand Priest's concern. So, let me put it another way: of the thirteen people sacrificed to Yuan Shuo, one of them was me. Bai Xian, when you were strategizing for Yuan Shuo, what were those thirteen sacrificial victims in your eyes?"
Bai Xian's gaze shifted from cold to shocked, and finally to a sense of dejected mockery. "Are you telling the truth?"
"Of course, it's true," Jian Lin extended her fingers to Bai Xian again, using all her strength to maintain her composure. "I'll ask you one last time, will you save me or not? If you don't, I'll seal you back, and you won't see the Demon Emperor again in this lifetime."
Under the barrage of questions and threats, Bai Xian's resolve wavered. He stared at Jian Lin, then suddenly reached out and swept his hand across Jian Lin's fingers. The pain vanished instantly.
Jian Lin looked closely and saw her fingers healing at a visible speed. This was the absolute control a forbidden spell master had over their spells. What others struggled for with all their might, a forbidden spell master could resolve with a flick of their finger.
The Demon Lord had been observing coldly. Seeing that the matter was resolved, he asked coldly, "Did I just hear someone mention a destined person? Jian Musheng, do you have anything to say to me?"
Jian Lin's body stiffened. She had been too focused on arguing with Bai Xian and hadn't noticed that some things shouldn't have been said.
She turned back and smiled at the Demon Lord, covering her finger and feigning helplessness. "This is a long story. I'll explain it to you slowly later."
"We've been away from the demon realm for so long, why have you never mentioned it?" the Demon Lord questioned in a cold voice. "I think you deliberately hid it from me."
Bai Xian chuckled softly. He interjected at the opportune moment, his voice light yet carrying a deadly sting, "That's right, this is a secret between me and Miss Apei. It has nothing to do with outsiders."
Jian Lin turned back abruptly and glared at Bai Xian, saying sternly, "Shut up!"
This cunning Grand Priest knew how to attack the heart. She absolutely could not give him a chance to cause trouble.
Jian Lin grabbed the Demon Lord's arm and pulled him to another corner, whispering persuasively, "Lord Chongyuan, calm down. Getting angry with me at this moment will only make us a laughingstock for outsiders, won't it?"
The Demon Lord's gaze flickered, showing signs of wavering, as if Jian Lin had somewhat persuaded him.
Jian Lin seized the opportunity and pressed on. "Furthermore, my attitude towards Bai Xian is evident in my actions. I sealed him, doesn't that explain everything? Lord Chongyuan, isn't that the case?"
The Demon Lord was persuaded but still felt resentful. He lowered his gaze, glanced at her, and snorted, accusingly saying, "You used what I gave you to seal him. You really are… very capable."
It was all out of necessity, but Jian Lin offered no explanation. She admitted that what she had done was indeed improper.
"It's my fault," Jian Lin clasped her hands together. "How about this, after this matter is resolved, you can punish me however you wish. For now, we need to pretend to be on very good terms. Please, can you do this for me?"
While the two were whispering, Bai Xian was examining his surroundings. Distant memories slowly surfaced, and he recalled details about the forbidden spells in this place.
Back then, he was in the demon realm. Although he provided all the formation manuals, the sacrificial methods, and the forbidden spells set up to protect the formation, he had never personally visited this place.
He had originally thought he would never have the chance to come here, but by a twist of fate, he arrived in an unexpected way.
At this moment, he had to believe in fate and the cycle of karma.
He had created a great formation that committed heinous acts and absorbed spiritual energy, so being sealed was not unjust. Thinking about it carefully, it was a cruel mockery of fate. He had tried to pry into heavenly secrets, but ultimately, he could not escape destiny's arrangement.
After Bai Xian finished his introspection, the Demon Lord and Jian Lin had also reached a temporary peace. They decided to unite and resolve the most pressing matter at hand.
Jian Lin walked directly to Bai Xian and explained the situation of her senior sister and senior brother, demanding that Bai Xian take her to find them directly.
"This is your formation. Don't tell me you don't know," Jian Lin said, crossing her arms and threatening fiercely, "If you don't tell me, I'll seal you back. You know what that feels like, don't I need to say it? Do you want to experience it again?"
Bai Xian pondered for a moment and asked, "Miss Apei, if I agree to help you, will you not seal me back?"
"Yes, it's a trade-off," Jian Lin said with a smile. "Am I quite fair? As long as you obey me obediently, I won't seal you back."
Bai Xian gave a wry smile. This was hardly fair. However, one had to bow their head when under someone else's roof. He finally agreed. As long as he wasn't sealed, he could always find a way back to the demon realm.
The matter was settled, and Bai Xian quickly got to work, feeling along the walls of the secret chamber, searching for a way to break it.
"Although this formation was created by me, it wasn't built by me," Bai Xian explained as he searched. "Furthermore, with the passage of time, the formation will gradually misalign and self-repair. The originally set mechanisms and checkpoints might not be in their original positions. Give me some time."
Jian Lin had witnessed the self-repairing ability of formations and did not doubt it. She asked curiously, "As far as I know, this formation was created at least ten years ago. Did your demon realm and Guanlan Sect start colluding ten years ago?"
Bai Xian looked back at Jian Lin and said earnestly, "Guanlan Sect is the foremost immortal sect. It's not easy to corrupt. What is ten years? In fact, long before that, I had planted the seeds I needed. Greed, arrogance, and obsession. Sooner or later, someone would emerge who was suitable for me to use."
Jian Lin looked incredulous. According to Bai Xian, his secret plans and schemes had been in motion for decades. His depth of cunning was chilling.
She tilted her head and secretly glanced at the Demon Lord, signaling with her eyes, "Did you hear that? Don't underestimate him. He might have planted some seeds in the Demon Sect as well."
The Demon Lord let out a soft scoff, signaling her not to overthink it, that it was absolutely impossible.
The foundation of the Demon Sect was the forbidden spell established by his father, which prohibited those who cultivated demonic energy from killing each other. No matter how powerful Bai Xian was, even if he planted those seeds, they would not find suitable soil to survive.
Jian Lin didn't understand these matters and thought the Demon Lord was being jealous and irrational. Just as she was about to persuade him further, she suddenly heard a swishing sound. Bai Xian had touched some mechanism and disappeared in front of the wall.
Jian Lin was stunned, dumbfounded.
She had been too careless. She should have kept a closer eye on him. If Bai Xian used this formation to escape and called Yuan Shuo and the others to capture them, wouldn't that be like catching a turtle in a jar?
Just as Jian Lin was about to tell the Demon Lord to go first, she suddenly heard a swishing sound, and Bai Xian reappeared.
"I found the way, follow me," Bai Xian said, leaning against the wall. "I'll take you to the formation's core. You should find what you're looking for there."
Jian Lin and the Demon Lord exchanged glances. The Demon Lord quietly grasped Jian Lin's wrist, and together they walked towards Bai Xian, standing firmly against the wall, waiting for him to trigger the mechanism.
Neither of them trusted Bai Xian, but they had no better option. At this point, they might as well take a gamble, dancing on the edge of a knife.
The scene changed before their eyes, and they arrived at a long passage. In the distance, there was a small point of light, seemingly endless. However, led by Bai Xian, it felt like they had only walked five or six steps before reaching the end.
This was the benefit of having someone who understood formations.
After passing through five or six mechanisms in this manner, the scene suddenly opened up. A huge cave appeared before them. In the center, a purplish-red seed was rotating at a slow, steady pace.
This bizarre scene sent a tremor through Jian Lin.
She stared at the heart-like seed, her gaze moving from the green veins inserted around the seed. Trembling, she counted them: one, two, three… thirteen.
The other end of the green veins was connected to the cave ceiling, where a large formation was located. The runes on it flickered. Jian Lin carefully recognized her own name!
Jian Lin, Wen Mingyuan, Lin Zhi… and the names of ten fellow disciples she didn't recognize.
"This…" She couldn't breathe. Anger burned within her. "Is this where we were sacrificed?"
"Yes," Bai Xian paced back and forth, examining the surroundings. He suddenly stopped and looked at Jian Lin with a strange expression. "There's something I think Miss Apei should know."
"What?" Jian Lin asked irritably. She couldn't help but vent her anger.
Bai Xian pointed to the formation on the cave ceiling. "The formation shows that Miss Apei… you are already deceased."
Jian Lin then noticed that a large portion of the names on the formation had turned gray, including her own.
Well, it was normal. The original body had indeed died. Could it be that the system had forgotten to fix the bug?
Jian Lin's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly looked at the Demon Lord. At this moment, she only wanted to know his thoughts.