inspire-indiana Chapter 178 What does Master want me to do?
Chapter 178 What does Master want me to do?
Xue Lan arranged everything in her sea of consciousness before returning to her body to fill the void left by the extraction of the inner demon.
However, the girl did not stand up immediately. Instead, she lay on the ground and began to use her powerful divine sense to explore her surroundings.
Ling Yuanzi was now truly enraged. He thrust his longsword forward, unleashing dozens of sword strikes in succession before the ferocious beast. The sword light was initially an exceptionally clear blue, resembling the color of the Water Lotus, a secret technique of the Jiangyun Sect that Xue Lan had previously witnessed.
Upon reaching the black demonic beast, the sword light slowly unfolded, its translucent blue surface adorned with starlight, making it appear dazzling.
This exquisitely beautiful move, like the graceful flowing sleeves of a female lead in traditional Chinese opera, wrapped around the beast's neck before anyone could even react.
The demonic beast let out a shrill scream, and the mountains and rivers of the Garan Secret Realm trembled once more. Xue Lan felt a little guilty.
It's truly a shame for the immortal who built this secret realm. First, it was used by the demons as a lair to set up evil spells, and then it became teetering on the brink of collapse due to the immortals' reckless fighting.
Dozens of sword lights, transformed into blue flowing sleeves, shattered the enormous demonic beast into fragments, leaving not a trace behind.
Xue Lan realized that she was no longer suited to pretend.
The girl clutched her chest and stood up from the ground, her gray eyes revealing a look of astonishment mixed with confusion.
"Master! This is..." the girl began, her voice filled with disbelief.
Ling Yuanzi was about to be made a fool of himself by Xue Lan's antics. The young man ended the battle, but the longsword in his hand did not fly back behind him; instead, it hovered and flew towards Xue Lan.
Xue Lan clenched her fists tightly, feeling the sword tip pointing at her brow.
The young man's voice was full of sarcasm: "You still call me Master? I think I should be calling you Master!"
Xue Lan's body trembled violently, and then she knelt on the ground without any backbone.
The girl kowtowed directly in the direction of Ling Yuanzi, saying, "Master, I was wrong!"
Ling Yuanzi was clearly not as easy to talk to as Xue Tong. He had seen Xue Lan's methods many times over the years and had long since become accustomed to them. The young man placed the immortal sword on Xue Lan's shoulder:
"Kneel if you want, but if the sword falls..."
“Absolutely not!” the girl interrupted Ling Yuanzi, saying firmly.
The girl knelt upright on the dilapidated walkway, feeling the gentle spiritual energy flowing from the immortal sword on her shoulder.
The spiritual energy flowed like gentle streams, repairing Xue Lan's injured spiritual meridians.
As time passed, Ling Yuanzi's expression grew increasingly solemn.
After a long silence, the young man spoke again: "You're not Xue Lan, are you?"
Xue Lan looked up at him, a hint of doubt on her face: "What do you mean by that, Master?"
“My disciple values his life far more than you, you imposter!” Ling Yuanzi said lightly.
Xue Lan chuckled and lowered her head to examine her injuries with her divine sense.
When did she start to disregard her own life?
Did it begin with seeing Zhang Mingqiu self-immolate at Jiyue Mountain, or with his overestimation of his abilities to fight Xuan Shuo at Luoxia Mountain?
It started when she began to regain her memories of her past life!
The memories of her past life brought her the Wolf King, who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, not Xue Lan as Ling Yuanzi saw her.
Ling Yuanzi had been observing Xue Lan's expression, and when he saw the girl's slightly bewildered and thoughtful look, he knew something was wrong. He released his divine sense to probe Xue Lan's sea of consciousness.
The presence of a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator's consciousness was far too strong for Xue Lan. While Xue Lan was lost in thought, she retaliated by creating a virtual sea of consciousness for herself.
So when Ling Yuanzi's divine sense quietly entered Xue Lan's sea of consciousness, he only saw a void, like a blank sheet of Xuan paper, pure and flawless.
The young man was somewhat puzzled, unaware that he had just exchanged blows with the apprentice in front of him.
Xue Lan slowly spoke: "I'm sorry to disappoint you, Master. The fearless fellow in front of you is Xue Lan!"
The girl's voice was somewhat hoarse, and her grayish-white eyes were dull and lifeless. She knelt silently on the ground, exuding an aura of death that was inconsistent with her age.
"Master, Senior Brother Gong is dead, and Junior Sister Zhang is dead..."
Ling Yuanzi looked at the girl, unsure of what to say.
When Xue Lan first arrived at the Xuanhuang Sect, her personality was quite eccentric, and she was not liked by her peers. Ling Yuanzi couldn't always stay by her side, so he often left Xue Lan on Suandao Peak.
Gong Yuan and Zhang Mingqiu were a few years older than Xue Lan. The disciples of Master Shen Suan followed his temperament, and were all gentle and polite. They were very tolerant of Xue Lan.
As the long, silent night passed, Ling Yuanzi saw the first light of dawn appearing on the horizon not far away.
"Plop!" A tear fell onto the boardwalk.
Ling Yuanzi looked down in surprise and saw a tear hanging on Xue Lan's chin.
The young man sighed helplessly and patted Xue Lan's head: "You only dare to do this now that you're in front of Master..."
Xue Lan raised her hand to wipe away her tears: "Master, I asked a friend to check your whereabouts before, but that child seems to be wary of me. Until now, he has not given me a definite answer."
"I saw Master here today. At the break of dawn, Xue Lan wants to ask Master a question."
Ling Yuanzi nodded, and then he heard Xue Lan's firm voice, like a sharp sword piercing through the clouds:
"What does Master want from Xue Lan after going to such lengths to set up this scheme?"
"Or to put it another way... what should Xue Lan do?"
From what you want to what I should do.
The girl seemed to accept Ling Yuanzi's plan in an instant. Without weighing the pros and cons, without shrinking back.
Ling Yuanzi looked at Xue Lan's wounds, which were beginning to heal: "Mid-stage Golden Core cultivators are useless!"
“Then continue your cultivation! Within fourteen years, Xue Lan will definitely reach the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm!” The girl stubbornly raised her head, her gray-white eyes without pupils, but Ling Yuanzi felt a strong gaze.
That gaze was fiery and unwavering, as if it could burn through the heavens and earth.
This extreme level of confidence even made Ling Yuanzi waver!
The young man looked at Xue Lan, his tone becoming serious: "If you choose this path, you will never be able to turn back!"
Xue Lan smiled sweetly: "Master, there is no turning back for anything Xue Lan is doing now."
Ling Yuanzi continued, "You are destined to walk this path alone!"
The girl was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then slowly shook her head: "Master, since it's all for the future of Yuanming Realm, it doesn't matter if I'm alone!"
As the morning light gradually broke through the clouds, the shadow of the girl kneeling on the ground was stretched very long.
"Xue Lan has the world in her heart, and so do you all. It doesn't matter if we travel together. We only believe that though the world changes, we will eventually meet again, and though our paths may differ, we will all arrive at the same destination!"