Jian Lin looked at the Demon Lord, while Bai Xian stared at Jian Lin. He was confident in his formations and even more so in his divination; he could not be wrong.
As things stood, it could only mean one thing: he was not the one who made a mistake. He dared not dwell on who it might be. Perhaps it was another matter of prying into heavenly secrets.
The Demon Lord sensed Jian Lin's gaze. He looked up at the formation above and, after a long silence, concluded, "If what he says is true, then it proves your senior brother and sister are fine. Their names are lit up."
"That's certainly good," Jian Lin's smile was more strained than a cry. "But the formation shows I am already dead. Lord Chong Yuan, aren't you afraid I'm a ghost?"
The Demon Lord chuckled lightly, his gaze falling on Jian Lin's face, and he teased in a relaxed tone, "You know some of your behaviors are rather frightening, and it has nothing to do with whether you're a ghost."
If one were to ask what the Demon Lord feared most from Jian Lin, it would be her shameless advances. He truly couldn't handle it.
Jian Lin couldn't help but curl her lips, revealing a genuine smile. She thought the man was sensible for not doubting her existence because of the formation.
At the same time, the system confirmed its response to Jian Lin again, indicating no system bug. The reason behind this matter required her to investigate it herself.
Hearing the system say this, Jian Lin felt relieved. To be honest, she was quite afraid of being a ghost. As long as this point was settled, other matters were negotiable. Did she not have enough things to investigate?
With this thought, Jian Lin withdrew her gaze and turned to press Bai Xian, "You definitely know what I want to do now. Be sensible and tell me yourself, lest I have to force it out of you."
"You want to break the formation," Bai Xian said with certainty, then added with some helplessness, "But it's useless to pressure me. I am not the master of this formation. If you break it, you will only attract True Master Yuan Shuo, and then it will be a confrontation between you two. It has nothing to do with me."
"You're quite good at shirking responsibility, but you've got one thing wrong," Jian Lin declared domineeringly, hands on her hips. "It's not that I want to break the formation, it's that *you* want to break it. You made your bed, now lie in it. This is all on you."
"I can't," Bai Xian deliberately put on a more frail expression on his usually pale and weak face. "My body is so weak, how could I be anyone's match? I can't even beat you."
"Stop pretending!" Jian Lin mercilessly exposed him. "Bai Xian, the most powerful Forbidden Spell Master in this world. Someone like you is best at playing the pig to eat the tiger. Unfortunately, you can fool others, but you can't fool me."
Bai Xian clutched his chest, a flicker of surprise flashing in his eyes. Those who practiced Forbidden Spells always concealed their cultivation and never sought out peers for sparring. He didn't even know who the most powerful Forbidden Spell Master in the world was. How could Jian Lin be so certain?
"Also, although you're patient enough not to ask, I'd like to tell you some important information," Jian Lin stared at Bai Xian, not missing any of his expressions, and said clearly, word by word, "Your dearest Demon Emperor, in that great battle, forcefully broke through without control, and he also obtained the Dragon Pill."
It was not Jian Lin's imagination. Upon hearing the words "Dragon Pill," Bai Xian's already weak and pale face turned even paler.
She adopted a condescending posture and walked up to Bai Xian, speaking in the tone of a great villain, "He is about to undergo tribulation and ascend, and he now possesses the Dragon Pill. It's a pity you weren't there; he dares not act rashly. Without the Great Priest, the Demon Emperor is like a mindless behemoth, possessing great strength but unable to unleash it. Alas, isn't it pitiful?"
"Miss A Pei," Bai Xian couldn't stand it any longer and interrupted Jian Lin, resignedly saying, "What do you want me to do for you to be satisfied?"
"Break this formation and rescue my senior brother and sister," Jian Lin said with a wicked smile. "The more diligently you work, the more satisfied I will be. Then, I will naturally let you go."
"Fine, I will break the formation for you, but I want him to help me," Bai Xian raised his hand and pointed at the Demon Lord. "Breaking the formation will surely alert the formation master. I can't defeat Yuan Shuo, so I want him to act on my behalf."
"No!" Jian Lin blocked in front of the Demon Lord, flatly refusing. "It has nothing to do with him. Handle your own affairs. Cast a Forbidden Spell, and won't that solve everything?"
"Although Forbidden Spells are powerful, they have many limitations. Things don't happen just because you want them to," Bai Xian sighed, seemingly tired. "If it were about covert planning, I would surely win. In a one-on-one challenge, I am bound to lose."
Jian Lin was stunned. Looking at Bai Xian's sickly appearance, he didn't seem to be lying. Moreover, in Jian Lin's memory, she had never seen him fight. Even at the most critical moments of the great battle, he was always the one setting up formations.
So, what now?
Jian Lin fell into a dilemma. She believed Bai Xian, yet she didn't want to trouble the Demon Lord.
Just then, the Demon Lord suddenly spoke, "Alright, I will guard you."
Upon hearing this, Jian Lin turned her head sharply to look at the Demon Lord. Complex emotions flooded her heart, and for a moment, she didn't know what to say.
Bai Xian, however, seemed satisfied and nodded slightly to express his gratitude. "In that case, thank you, Lord Demon Lord."
"No, no, no, let me think about it again," Jian Lin interrupted them both, pulling the Demon Lord aside to discuss in a low voice. "Is this really okay? Bai Xian is not someone easy to deal with. He has a lot of schemes and tricks, and it's within a formation we're unfamiliar with. Be careful not to be tricked by him."
"I know, but this is the most effortless way," the Demon Lord asked slyly. "If he schemes against me, I can scheme against him too. In your eyes, am I inferior to him?"
"No, I absolutely didn't mean that," Jian Lin explained anxiously, feeling uneasy. "Don't play games with me. You know very well that you are my biggest concern."
"Alright, alright, your words are enough," the Demon Lord patted Jian Lin's shoulder and said confidently, "Leave the rest to me to resolve."
Jian Lin wanted to persuade him further, but the Demon Lord had already left her and walked over to Bai Xian, asking how they should cooperate.
Jian Lin was incredibly nervous. While she listened intently to their plan, she frantically browsed the exchange store for good items, wanting to prepare more useful things.
Soon, Bai Xian began his actions. He picked up a pebble from the ground and drew a simple formation on the hard stone floor. He then sat in the center and closed his eyes, circulating his energy.
After a while, the formation began to flash with light. When it pulsed in sync with the formation at the top, Bai Xian's figure suddenly became ethereal.
"Now is the time, Lord Demon Lord, let's go!" Bai Xian suddenly opened his eyes and said.
As his words fell, Bai Xian disappeared into the formation. The Demon Lord did not hesitate either, stepping forward and leaping into the formation, disappearing into the void together.
Jian Lin's heart was in her throat. She suddenly felt the noise in the cave increase, like the sound of wind or whispers, like curses or wails.
Immediately after, the formation on the cave ceiling began to flash faster. Various unclear bulges started to appear on the giant seed, resembling festering sores, looking exceptionally disgusting and eerie.
Jian Lin grinned as she watched, feeling a great visual impact and beginning to wonder if the Demon Lord and Bai Xian had gone inside the seed.
What was inside? Would it be very disgusting!
As she was lost in thought, she suddenly heard a sharp whistling sound. The feeling was very familiar. Jian Lin immediately crouched down and covered her ears. This was exactly the sweep of spiritual energy she and the Demon Lord had felt before.
A tremendous force tore through the cave, and then repaired itself at an extremely rapid pace.
Having experienced this wave, Jian Lin slowly opened her eyes and suddenly found a young girl in front of her.
The girl was around fourteen or fifteen years old, dressed in a white Taoist robe. She looked normal, but Jian Lin, upon seeing her for the first time, was so scared that she took two steps back.
Firstly, it was because of her sudden appearance, and secondly, and most importantly, Jian Lin saw many of her fellow disciples' resemblances on her face.
Who was she?
With a little deduction, she knew. She was the formation spirit, a monster nurtured by devouring the spiritual energy of thirteen fellow disciples.
The girl tilted her head innocently, a childlike innocence and cruelty on her face. "Who are you? Why did you bring someone into my home? I don't welcome you at all. Please leave."
"I am no one, I am you," Jian Lin said calmly, extending her palm to her. "Why did you let me in? Because you discovered that there was a similar power outside."
Jian Lin had wondered before why the Demon Lord couldn't open the treasure room door even at the cost of his life, and why she, with her meager spiritual energy, could open it.
The truth was, she hadn't opened it; it was the formation spirit that had opened the door for her.
The formation spirit hesitated for a moment, then silently floated to the front and reached out to touch Jian Lin. They did indeed share one-thirteenth similarity, which puzzled her greatly.
"Why?" The formation spirit withdrew her hand and stared intently into Jian Lin's eyes. "There should only be one me. You shouldn't exist."
"That's right," Jian Lin agreed with the formation spirit, while also trying to glean information. "Besides me, have you seen anyone else here?"
"Never," the formation spirit replied. "When others are present, I feel very uncomfortable."
That made sense. It seemed her senior brother and sister had not entered the formation; they must be hidden somewhere else.
Then she could rest assured. She could directly destroy this formation and then go find them.
"Haven't you seen Yuan Shuo?" Jian Lin asked curiously.
"Who is Yuan Shuo?" the formation spirit asked.
Jian Lin pointed at the seed and said to her, "He is the master of the seed. The power you protect is all used for him."
The formation spirit suddenly understood. "Oh, you mean my father."
Jian Lin's heart skipped a beat, and she almost died.
May it all be destroyed! How dare the formation spirit use the faces and spiritual energy of their thirteen people to call Yuan Shuo 'father'! It was enough to make her unable to eat for several days!
Just as she was about to get angry, the seed suddenly expanded at a visible speed. Jian Lin gasped and started running towards the exit.
Suddenly, with a rumbling sound, the seed exploded. A huge surge of air and spiritual energy erupted. Jian Lin lunged forward, prostrating herself on the ground, covering her head with her hands, waiting for the aftermath to pass.
After an unknown period, Jian Lin heard a soft thud, as if something had fallen beside her.
She opened her eyes and saw a small wooden tablet with the name "Jian Lin" carved on it.
If she wasn't mistaken, was this her memorial tablet?
The kind used for the deceased?