Tianlan Sect, Inner Mountain.
Everything was no different from usual. The Sect Leader True Person had been in seclusion for half a month, and sect affairs were temporarily managed by several Elders. Disciples cultivated on their own, living a peaceful and dull life.
Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps came from the direction of the main hall.
“Something terrible! Master! Something terrible!”
The disciple stumbled and rushed into the side hall for discussions. In the side hall, a white-haired elder was sitting in a Taishi chair holding a teacup. A stick of calming incense burned in the incense burner beside him.
He glanced at the disciple, unhurriedly blew on the foam floating on the tea, took a sip, and then slowly spoke.
“What is it? Why are you panicking like this?”
“Big Senior Brother… Big Senior Brother he…”
The disciple prostrated on the ground, panting heavily, unable to utter the following words.
A trace of impatience flashed in the elder’s eyes.
“Found him fooling around somewhere?”
“No… not that…”
The disciple raised his head, his lips trembling several times. His voice suddenly lowered.
“Big Senior Brother’s soul lamp… shattered.”
The side hall fell silent for a moment. The elder placed his teacup on the table, producing a slight sound.
“Nonsense.”
He scolded.
“How can you make such a joke? Han Hanyuan is at the Late Core Formation stage and carries a protective magic artifact personally refined by me. Even if a Nascent Soul cultivator attacked, he could block it for a while. How could his soul lamp shatter?”
His voice was very calm, but the hand resting on the table was slightly tense.
“It’s true… the soul lamp really shattered.”
The disciple was almost lying on the ground.
“And… Zhou Shijie’s soul lamp… also…”
The elder slowly stood up from the Taishi chair. He didn’t speak, just turned and walked towards the outside of the hall, his steps a bit faster than usual.
The Soul Lamp Hall on the back mountain was the quietest place in Tianlan Sect. Dozens of soul lamps were densely arranged on wooden racks. Each one was a strand of soul imprint left in the sect by an inner disciple.
Lamp on, person alive. Lamp out, person dead.
The elder’s gaze fell on the two soul lamps on the high shelf at the back. They had gone out, and a faint wisp of green smoke still lingered on the lamp stands.
The elder’s face gradually darkened. That wrinkled face, under the faint light of the soul lamps, looked particularly unpleasant.
The old servant guarding the hall stood far away in a corner, not even daring to breathe loudly. The disciple following behind him hardly dared to exhale, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
“Who did it?”
The elder’s voice was extremely low.
“Rep… reporting to Master, we don’t know yet… but the last place Senior Brother was should be Yunze Market.”
The disciple buried his head almost to the ground.
“Before Senior Brother left, he mentioned to me that he was going to accompany Zhou Shijie to Yunze Market to purchase a batch of alchemy equipment, and also scout a few spiritual herbs for Master…”
“Yunze Market.”
The elder repeated the three words, his eyes full of coldness.
Although Tianlan Sect was not among the top forces in the Cangwu Realm, having their personally taught Core Formation great disciple killed was no longer a personal vendetta—it was a provocation.
He was silent for a long time, then slowly turned around.
“You may withdraw. This matter must not be spread. Do you understand?”
“Disciple understands!”
The disciple scrambled and retreated out of the Soul Lamp Hall. The dull sound of the wooden door closing echoed in the empty hall for a few breaths, then everything returned to silence.
Only the elder remained in the hall. He stood with his hands behind his back, quietly looking at the two shattered soul lamps, his gaze icy and cold.
“No matter who you are… you’d better not let me find any trace.”
A faint, indifferent murmur sounded, devoid of any warmth.
***
At this moment, Lai Li’an was running through the streets holding Su Wan’er, trying to find someone who could heal Wan’er.
Su Wan’er lay in his arms, her body as light as a withered flower, each breath growing weaker.
“Senior, come this way.”
Lai Li’an abruptly stopped and looked up.
At the entrance of an alley ahead stood a person, wrapped in a dark gray cloak, face completely hidden in shadow, unrecognizable.
The System panel popped up:
[Ruan Se, Early Foundation Establishment Stage, Ultimate Wood Spiritual Root]
It was her, the woman in blue who had been standing beside Su Wan’er.
Lai Li’an had no time to think about why she was here or why she had changed clothes.
He looked at Su Wan’er, whose life force was ebbing away, and now desperate, he ran towards Ruan Se.
Without saying a word, Ruan Se turned and walked deeper into the alley. Lai Li’an followed closely behind her. After three or four turns, they passed through an inconspicuous courtyard gate, and suddenly the view opened up.
Before them was a fairly spacious courtyard, paved with Qingshi. In the center of the courtyard stood a white crane. The crane was pure white, with a long neck, bowing its head to drink from a stone trough.
Lai Li’an’s gaze paused on it for a moment. He felt he had seen it somewhere before, but now was not the time to think about that.
Ruan Se pushed open the door of the main room. A faint medicinal fragrance wafted out. The room was extremely tidy, with a low couch by the window.
“Senior, put her on the couch.”
Ruan Se untied her cloak and casually draped it over the back of a chair, then pointed at the low couch.
Lai Li’an carefully placed Su Wan’er on the low couch. The girl’s lips were deathly pale, her breath weak.
‘Damn, this girl is actually this beautiful.’
His gaze paused on Ruan Se’s face for a moment. After she shed her cloak, her face was particularly clear in the light.
Her beauty was different from Su Wan’er’s youthful freshness, and different from any kind of gaudy beauty he had seen on screens before transmigrating.
But now was not the time to appreciate beauty. He fiercely pinched himself and pulled his thoughts back.
Ruan Se slowly walked to the couch and sat down. Her slender, fair fingers gently touched Su Wan’er’s wrist pulse. She closed her eyes and concentrated, letting pure and gentle Spiritual Power slowly probe into the girl’s body to examine the injuries.
After a moment, she slowly opened her eyes, her delicate brows tightly furrowed, and a very soft sigh escaped.
“Sigh.”
That soft sigh fell on Lai Li’an’s ears like a heavy hammer, instantly tightening his heart. A healer’s sigh—never a good omen.
“How is it?”
Lai Li’an summoned the courage to ask, no longer able to maintain his calm composure.
Ruan Se turned around, a rare hint of hesitation in her eyes. She seemed to be choosing her words.
“Based on my judgment, Fellow Daoist Su probably won’t make it through tonight.”
Lai Li’an’s whole body suddenly went cold, his heart sinking into an abyss of ice.
A surge of anger and unwillingness violently rushed up, trapped in his chest with no outlet.
He had transmigrated here alone, trudging through difficulties step by step, experiencing all kinds of hardship. He had finally met Su Wan’er, finally found a trace of warmth in this cruel cultivation world, finally stumbled upon a way to stand safely.
But now, someone had forcibly taken away his only tenderness.
He would never accept it. He would never allow it.