“Drip.”

A drop of water fell.

It landed on the woman’s face.

The woman closed the book in her hand, slowly raised her head, and looked at the ginkgo tree in the courtyard. The annual ancestor worship day was approaching, and more and more people were coming and going in the clan hall, and the sounds became more and more noisy.

One year.

For most people, a year is three hundred and sixty-five days.

But for Bai Lu, this year was just a year.

She only did one thing, and that was to read the ancient books collected in the clan hall, word by word, sentence by sentence.

After closing the book, Bai Lu could hear the voices of those people in the distance of the clan hall… those people were discussing her.

Many people found it incredible.

The most troublemaking woman in the Bai family had actually changed her personality drastically. For a whole year, she had only stayed in the clan hall and had not gone anywhere.

She didn’t know where these people had heard it from.

Some people said that the successor of the Qingzhong divination technique had made a divination for her, and that misfortune would befall her soon. It was best not to leave the clan hall, so she stayed under the ginkgo tree every day, reading books and drinking tea, living a life of abstinence.

In fact, it was to avoid misfortune.

Others said that Bai Lu had reached the "age" where she could no longer continue to be crazy, which would disgrace the Bai family's image. Therefore, the head of the family ordered her to practice quietly, and this year she would focus on self-cultivation.

Bai Lu heard these discussions.

She shook her head.

After reading books for a year, she could always hear these voices.

She originally thought it would only be like this at the beginning.

But later she realized… people in this world are always so bored.

There were so many complex reasons why Bai Lu stayed at home and read books for a whole year?

Just like the troubles she had caused in Snow Forbidden City before.

She wanted to do it.

So she did it.

Of course, there is always some pattern to be found in the things of this world, no matter how unreasonable they are.

If we really want to trace the origin.

The reason why Bai Lu secluded herself for a year was very simple… because Xiao Xiu Zi was also in Snow Forbidden City meditating and secluded for a year.

She closed the book, took the last sip of tea, and left the clan hall.

There were many alleys in Snow Forbidden City, and it was easy to get lost.

But Bai Lu was very familiar with this road.

She came to the place where Xiao Xiu Zi was, which was the quietest courtyard that the Bai clan had deliberately chosen for him.

No one would disturb him.

Bai Lu stood at the entrance of the alley, she didn't even dare to approach the courtyard, she just looked at it from a distance.

"Xiao Xiu Zi has been in seclusion for a year."

A deep voice sounded beside her.

Bai Lu was slightly startled, and turned her head to see a familiar, kind face.

"Second Elder."

Bai Lu quickly saluted, but the latter stopped her.

"Xiao Lu..."

Bai Ze Sheng smiled and said, "You have a good heart."

He knew.

Of course, Bai Lu didn't stay under the ginkgo tree in the clan hall every day this year. She would walk around Snow Forbidden City every day… and every time, she would come to this alley as if by a ghost, stop from a distance, and look at the courtyard where Xiao Xiu Zi was.

One year ago.

Xiao Xiu Zi completely locked himself in the courtyard.

The news the Bai clan received was.

He was attacking the fourth stage… once successful, it was almost certain that Bai Xiu would become the youngest "titled" expert in Eastern Continent, because he was only twenty years old so far.

According to the big data analysis of the Five Continents Council.

Being able to become a fourth-stage transcendent before the age of thirty was already a rare genius, after all, this was a realm that most transcendents could "look up to but not reach."

The fourth stage meant the maturity and cohesion of the domain. Such transcendents could be regarded as drawing a clear line between themselves and "mortals," and a real qualitative change had taken place.

They could control their abilities at will, and even develop advanced powers.

They were the "high-end combat power" and "backbone" in the transcendent world!

The Five Continents Council would maintain a respectful attitude towards such transcendents, their opinions would be taken into consideration, and such people, no matter where they were placed, would be "big figures" who attracted much attention, even in Changye or Da Du, they were top combat power reserves.

The three schools and five families of Eastern Continent had established such a complete set of combat power training system over the years.

In fact, their goal was never to cultivate "titled" experts who could walk to the end of the road, but to cultivate enough controllable "fourth-stage transcendents."

……

……

"Many people care about Xiao Xiu Zi's cultivation, but the only one who cares as much as you do… in the entire Bai clan, there should only be one person."

Bai Ze Sheng reached out and patted the shoulder of his junior, and said gently.

"Xiao Xiu Zi and I grew up together…"

Bai Lu looked a little complicated, "It can be seen that the assassination in Tundra had a great impact on him."

In fact, every time she came to the alley, she was not concerned about Bai Xiu's cultivation.

What kind of person was Bai Xiu?

A monster who overwhelmed the entire Changye!

He was amazingly talented, swept away all enemies, and his path of cultivation had never had any failures! Such a genius was destined to become a titled figure!

How could she worry about Bai Xiu encountering difficulties when breaking through the fourth stage?

What she was worried about… was the wisp of "evil thought" that Bai Xiu had in his heart because of the Tundra assassination.

One year ago, on the day when the whole city welcomed Xiao Xiu Zi's return, Bai Xiu silently came to the clan hall.

Everyone had left.

But only Bai Lu was reading in the courtyard, so she ran into Xiao Xiu Zi, who was covered in blood.

Reunion after parting.

It shouldn't be like this.

In the days that followed, Bai Lu would always think of the scene of Xiao Xiu Zi in white clothes stained with blood that day, and the words he asked her.

The Bai clan wanted him to cultivate.

They wanted him to break through.

In the end, he fulfilled the Bai clan's wish, and lived in this courtyard, starting a long period of cultivation.

No one was allowed to enter or leave this courtyard. The Bai clan got the "seclusion breakthrough" they wanted, and Bai Xiu got the "peace" he wanted.

But, was it really like that?

Bai Lu had tried to investigate the files of the "Tundra Assassination" case this year, and she always felt that things were not that simple… but the results of the case had come to light, and everything was exposed to the light, with evidence, executions, clear and clear.

Second Elder Bai Ze Sheng, was also severely injured because of Inta's hunting activities.

It was just a breakthrough.

Bai Xiu had been in seclusion for a whole year. Did he really not break through? Or… was he just hiding from the Bai family?

"I want to go in and see Xiao Xiu Zi…"

Bai Lu opened her mouth very softly.

"It's better not to disturb him."

Bai Ze Sheng shook his head. He sighed softly and said, "I understand your feelings, you are worried about his mental state… I am also very worried, so I specially asked the transcendents of the Federal Security Committee to pay close attention to the mental fluctuations in the courtyard. However, Bai Xiu's mental state has been very stable this year. If there is anything unusual, we will know as soon as possible."

"Not long ago, I myself wanted to go into the courtyard to offer my condolences…"

Bai Ze Sheng smiled bitterly, "After the head of the family knew about it, he severely scolded me and told me not to disturb Xiao Xiu Zi's quiet cultivation. However, the head of the family also said that he would conduct a mental link with Xiao Xiu Zi every once in a while to ensure basic communication. Xiao Xiu Zi is in good condition, and now is the most critical moment for breaking through."

The alley was an ordinary alley.

But outside Bai Xiu's courtyard gate, there were powerful sealed objects guarding it, as well as the "transcendent array patterns" personally carved by the head of the family, Bai Xiao Chi. Because of the last assassination incident, the Bai clan greatly increased the protection for Bai Xiu.

Before he successfully broke through, no mistakes were allowed.

Bai Lu felt a little relieved after hearing this.

Xiao Xiu Zi, wasn't completely locking himself up.

At least he was willing to communicate with the head of the family…

The stone hanging in her heart was half-dropped.

Bai Lu looked at Bai Ze Sheng and said softly, "Second Elder, how is your injury?"

Inta's blizzard made Bai Ze Sheng once again become a hero of the family.

In order to hunt down the Tundra assassin.

He paid a huge price… Bai Lu heard that the Second Elder had gone around the gate of hell, which showed how serious the injury was.

However, the Second Elder seemed to have recovered after resting for half a year.

"The knife wound left a scar, and it occasionally hurts."

Bai Ze Sheng smiled with lowered eyebrows. He said softly, "Thanks to the head of the family's 'Nether Reflection', I got my life back."

Bai Lu said with emotion, "You still need to take care of your body and rest more… to avoid recurrence of old injuries."

If she wanted to investigate the Tundra assassination case a year ago, she would inevitably have to check the final files.

Inta blizzard.

The assassin was executed.

Finally, everything was settled, Bai Ze Sheng was severely injured and sent to the hospital for rescue. Originally, the condition had been out of danger, but at a critical moment, the penetrating knife wound left by the assassin caused massive bleeding throughout his body.

In a remote place like Inta, there was no time to transfer him for treatment.

Fortunately, Bai Xiao Chi arrived at the critical moment.

The head of the family used the power of [Shadow Reflection] to block the disintegration of the blood.

Bai Ze Sheng… survived.

Using "got his life back" was quite appropriate.

If the head of the family hadn't appeared, perhaps he would have died.

The only regret was that the assassin was burned to ashes in Inta… almost no useful information was left at the scene, and everything was burned away.

The only useful thing was the testimony of the eyewitness.

Bai Ze Sheng personally watched his opponent being burned to death by him.

The final investigation also came to an end.

……

……

Bai Lu left the alley.

But Bai Ze Sheng didn't move.

He stood quietly at the entrance of the alley, his eyes calm and deep… no one knew what he was thinking.

Bai Lu wasn't the only one who came to this alley every day.

There was also him.

He paid more attention to Bai Xiu than anyone else.

Because he knew… the files of the case a year ago were not over at all. It was not a coincidence that Bai Xiao Chi was able to rush to Inta.

Just like his "massive bleeding" at the last moment, it was just acting.

It was precisely because he knew the head of the family's ability.

Bai Ze Sheng dared to "bleed heavily."

He had to make himself miserable enough to win the last bit of sympathy in the head of the family's heart, so as to dispel the suspicion that the assassin's information in the Inta case files was exhausted.

Bai Ze Sheng only found out afterwards that Bai Xiao Chi had found a trace of blood from Tundra, and desperately searched for the information of the owner of the blood through the [Deep Sea] database… and he rushed to Inta in the first place, perhaps just to see if his blood matched that trace of blood.

It was a fluke that he survived.

Fortunately, he didn't take action in Tundra.

Fortunately, Mr. Jin's blood was not entered into the [Deep Sea] database.

However, what made him uneasy was.

From that day on, Bai Xiu directly secluded himself in Snow Forbidden City. The Bai clan seemingly casually gave him a courtyard, but in fact… this entire alley was inhabited by transcendents from the Bai clan who were responsible for the protection plan.

There was no possibility of carrying out an assassination in Snow Forbidden City.

Obviously.

After the failure in Tundra… Bai Xiu completely distrusted the "Elder Council."

He directly locked himself up.

With the cultivation speed of this genius, what would happen if he continued to cultivate like this?

Who else could kill him!

……

……

After watching for a while, Bai Ze Sheng left the alley.

He went all the way forward, walking towards the depths of the alley in Snow Forbidden City.

His tracks didn't avoid [Wind Eye] at all.

In theory, [Wind Eye] should be able to see all of this clearly.

However… at this moment, [Wind Eye] had undergone a subtle change. With extremely high authority, it helped Bai Ze Sheng erase his figure after leaving the alley.

The so-called erasure wasn't to erase the entire video.

But… to erase only one person.

He seemed to have become a ghost, and wouldn't be recorded no matter where he appeared in Snow Forbidden City.

Half an hour later.

Bai Ze Sheng arrived at his destination, an extremely remote old house. He pushed open the courtyard door. The facilities inside were simple, with only a wooden house built on the foundation. There was a cloth curtain swaying in the breeze in the hall.

If someone tried to connect to [Deep Sea] here, they would find that there was no signal in the house.

This was a "pitch-black land."

"Pitch-black" in every sense.

In addition to the lack of [Deep Sea] connection signal… there was also no light here.

Bai Ze Sheng stood in front of the house. He bowed and restrained all his thoughts, and said slowly.

"It's still the same… there's no movement in the alley, and I can't find a good opportunity."

There was no immediate response from the wooden house.

Bai Ze Sheng maintained his bowing posture, preparing to leave the courtyard according to his usual habits… outside the cloth curtain, a familiar thin and tall figure slowly appeared.

"The Lord invites you in for a chat."

Bai Ze Sheng frowned.

He raised his head and looked at Mr. Jin, who lifted the cloth curtain. It had been almost a year since they parted in Tundra… until now, he couldn't believe that what he was seeing was real.

Because it was too crazy.

That guy who escaped Inta under his cover… actually swaggered back to Eastern Continent half a year later, and chose to settle in Changye.

That wasn't all.

After all, there was no successfully compared blood sample in the [Deep Sea] database, so there was no need to worry about being discovered for the time being.

The craziest thing was…

Bai Ze Sheng took a deep breath.

He walked in.

The wooden house was pitch-black, and his vision was a little unaccustomed, but after entering the curtain, a sweet and mellow fragrance immediately floated over. There were several wooden frames in the wooden house, and clusters of grapes that defied the seasons were crawling on them.

A young man wearing ordinary black cloth clothes, as if he had merged with the darkness around him, was sitting cross-legged on the floor of the wooden house. In this already dark enough environment… he chose to close his eyes tightly.

He was willingly becoming blind.

Bai Ze Sheng couldn't understand this behavior, and even more didn't dare to look directly at the young man in the darkness, because just by getting a few steps closer… he could feel great pressure. This was a feeling of oppression that made it difficult to breathe.

This was… divine might!

"Lord Jiu…" (Jiu - Wine)

Bai Ze Sheng managed to complete his obeisance, and opened his mouth hoarsely.

Who would have thought that the "Wine God Seat" of the Origin Tower would actually arrive in Eastern Continent in person?

And… settled in Snow Forbidden City!

When Bai Ze Sheng first saw this young man, he simply couldn't believe his eyes… The last time a [Apostle] was dispatched, it caused a great controversy within the Five Continents.

Because of Da Du's angry protests, the Five Continents Council redefined the walking boundary of the [Apostles] and the treaties that must be followed when using [Relics].

And this time.

The God Seat arrived in person.

The irony was… even if this matter was exposed, the Five Continents Council would not issue any rebuttals, because no one had the right to interfere with the actions of the [God Seat]. They could go wherever they wanted.

It was just that out of tacit understanding between the highest seats.

The God Seats of the major continents usually wouldn't overstep the boundaries of the continents to reach another neighboring continent.

Unless there was a special mission.

For example, a super-large disaster situation that occurred every few years, and the God Seat of the continent where it was located happened to be busy and couldn't get away, so someone else needed to help clean it up… In this case, a God Seat from another continent would come forward.

Some people said that Snow Forbidden City this year was the most peaceful year in the past twenty years.

After Gong Zi摘xia (zhai xia - plucked) Huo Zhong Zhi Meng (Huo Zhong Zhi Meng - Fire Seed Dream).

Snow Forbidden City suddenly became quiet… Bai Xiu didn't go out, Gu Shen secluded himself, and the disciples of the three schools and five families fought back and forth, but there were few amazing people.

But Bai Ze Sheng knew.

The reason why Snow Forbidden City was peaceful this year… was because it was about to usher in the biggest "wave" in history.

The Wine God Seat had been living in Snow Forbidden City for nearly half a year.

During these six months.

Bai Ze Sheng's every "audience" was inevitably a bit apprehensive.

This place wasn't very far from "Qingzhong."

What if that man who was rumored to be "asleep" woke up someday?

A character like the Wine God Seat could retreat completely wherever he went… It was just that at that time, he would die without a burial place.

In the darkness, the young man's voice came.

"You are afraid…"

"You are afraid of Gu Chang Zhi."

The young man spoke softly. Although he didn't open his eyes, he seemed to see through everything of the world, every soul, every thought.

"Since you choose to follow me… you must be prepared to dedicate everything."

There was a hint of blame in his voice.

A small wisp of spirit falling on mortals.

Was a mountain.

Bai Ze Sheng looked pale. He quickly moved all the distracting thoughts out of his mind.

"Don't worry… with me here, there is no need to fear anyone."

The voice of the Wine God Seat was the greatest encouragement in this world!

Bai Ze Sheng felt the pressure suddenly disappear.

He knelt on one knee on the floor of the wooden house, mustered his courage, and looked up in the darkness.

At this moment, beside the young God Seat, there also stood another thin "young man." Judging from his posture, he seemed to be a waiter serving the God Seat, just like Mr. Jin, one on the left and one on the right.

"There is one thing… that requires you to take a trip."