Time rewound to not long ago.
Thanks for the invite. I was just in the Southern Border, seeking enlightenment, drinking tea by the river, composing poetry—now I’ve been seized by a Nascent Soul True Lord and dragged to some unknown place. If there’s a next life, Bai Changsheng swears she’ll never plagiarize poetry again.
Inside a pure white space, isolated from the outside world, all divine senses sealed, there was nothing but Wu Ji and the Nascent Soul True Lord who had captured her—Gu Wanqing. In an instant, several illusory projections appeared one after another!
One, two, three, four, five—each figure different, some male, some female, some old, some young.
Including Wu Ji and Gu Wanqing, there were seven in all. Every one of them was a Nascent Soul cultivator—exalted True Lords!
Seven pairs of eyes fixed on Bai Changsheng at once, the weight like a thousand jun pressing down, nearly suffocating her. Especially Gu Wanqing—her presence made Bai Changsheng truly sense the threat of death.
“‘How could there be no robes? Let us share the same cloak. How could there be no robes? Let us share the same fate.’” A woman dressed in imperial robes, bearing a cold and noble air, softly murmured those lines, crystal tears flickering in her beautiful eyes.
Yet in the next moment, her willow brows sharply arched, and her piercing gaze shot toward Bai Changsheng like a cold star, her tone icy as frost: “These verses don’t even exist in this era! They shouldn’t have come from your mouth!!”
“Who taught you this!!”
Seven sets of eyes blazed like torches, as sharp and real as steel needles, as if to peel away her disguise and pierce her very soul.
Bai Changsheng’s breath caught; bean-sized beads of sweat rolled down her forehead. She knew that if she couldn’t explain herself today, she’d never walk out of here alive.
Resolute, she gritted her teeth.
“It was my elder brother.”
“He taught me…”
“You all know him.” Bai Changsheng took a deep breath, shifting from passive to active, her eyes sweeping over everyone present as she spoke in a low, steady voice.
“He is the founder of [Sun Extinguishing]—”
“Mr. Bai!”
The few words landed like thunder, shaking the heavens. Even as noble Nascent Soul True Lords who’d weathered countless storms for centuries, all of them simultaneously widened their eyes and gasped in disbelief.
Bai Changsheng knew this was her chance and pressed her advantage. Her slender finger pointed straight at the cold and regal woman in palace dress, “You, Liu Rushuang!”
Then she pointed at an elderly man with graying hair, “You, Shang Tianji!”
After that, her finger swept past the others in turn, calling out their true names one by one—each name striking their hearts like a heavy hammer.
Under the incredulous, utterly shocked gazes of the Nascent Soul True Lords, the white-robed maiden cast down another earth-shattering revelation, a thousand-jin sledgehammer pounding down on their hearts.
“I know you are from the future. I am too. Like you, I was sent back by him.”
“My surname is Bai. My name is Changsheng.”
“My elder brother is the one you call Mr. Bai.”
Silence—deathly silence.
Not a single sound came forth, only the tangled, chaotic sounds of breathing, which in this dead stillness seemed especially clear.
After a long while, Gu Wanqing finally spoke, her voice oddly hoarse despite her Nascent Soul True Lord’s body, which should be immune to all ailments:
“Evidence. We need evidence. Words alone mean nothing—this is what he once taught us.”
Bai Changsheng said nothing. Instead, countless lights and shadows wove and gathered behind her, gradually forming a vividly clear projection of her memories.
Everything she’d personally experienced in the past unfolded as living images:
The sky was crystal blue, not a cloud in sight.
Two figures in white stood side by side. One was a handsome, upright young man—Bai Changsheng before her transformation. The other wore simple, pristine robes, wrapped in a gentle white glow, his face indistinct, but exuding a unique warmth and presence.
When the group glimpsed that figure, their hearts pounded violently, as if some formless, mighty power had struck them. Their eyes grew wet, and tears nearly fell.
Within the memory, voices rang out:
“I’ve lost, but I’ve sent those children—the seeds of hope—back to the past. They’ll be the new hope.”
“Brother, your wounds…”
“It’s nothing. Let me send you back as well.”
Mr. Bai opened his palm; a seed, gleaming with ghostly light, hovered within. Wisps of time’s aura streamed from it, as if bearing fragments of endless years.
“Brother, this journey… I’m not confident.”
“Do your best; leave the rest to fate.”
“Mm. Since you said so, I’ll give it my all!”
“Enough. Off you go. Who knows if this will be fortune or disaster.”
As the vision faded, the seven once again looked at Bai Changsheng. All the previous suspicion and scrutiny in their eyes had vanished, replaced by a gentler acceptance.
Memories could perhaps be altered, but that sense of warmth and the presence in the scene could not be faked. Without truly meeting Mr. Bai, no one could conjure such real images.
And to have met Mr. Bai and appear at this moment meant recognition from him, which naturally made her one of their own.
“How could there be no robes? Let us share the same cloak. How could there be no robes? Let us share the same fate!”
The prickly, scrutinizing stares softened, and Bai Changsheng secretly sighed in relief.
Thank goodness—she really had met “Mr. Bai.” After all, they were the same person. Naturally, she was familiar with his presence and appearance. Combined with that old ghost’s [Book of Deceit], she’d managed to pull the wool over their eyes.
“I believe you now, but I still have a question.”
Wu Ji broke the silence, stepping forward to stand before Bai Changsheng.
“Where is Mr. Bai now? He said he’d wait for us in the future, and he never breaks his word.”
At this, the other six again turned their eyes to Bai Changsheng. This wasn’t just Wu Ji’s question—it was the doubt clouding all their minds for ages.
Bai Changsheng:
Are you all a hundred thousand whys or what!!
Do you really need me to spell it out!
Of course she was there!
Except now, she’d been reduced to a “fluffy furball,” meowing under the hands of that monstrous Xuán Tiān Devil every day!
Naturally, she couldn’t say any of this out loud.
“My brother, ah~” Bai Changsheng pointed mysteriously at the sky.
“There’s a path ahead Changsheng cannot tread… He has a greater foe—he cannot leave.”
These words set the others thinking deeply. Gu Wanqing seemed to realize something and was the first to speak: “Could it be the incident from hundreds of years ago, when the Five Domains and Two Heavens’ Dao Integration Immortals and Divine Transformation Lords mysteriously vanished?”
“These centuries, we in [Sun Extinguishing] have been investigating quietly, but clues are few and far between. Only two things are certain.”
“One, hundreds of years ago, many secret realms in the Five Domains and Two Heavens disappeared without a trace; two, for these centuries, fate itself has grown chaotic, heaven’s will is hard to divine, even faintly repelling cultivators.”
Wow! Thank you, wild speculation squad!
But the more it went on, the less Bai Changsheng dared to nod or shake her head, lest she give herself away. She could only maintain her air of inscrutability and spoke slowly, “My brother only told me one thing.”
She looked at the seven around her and simply spoke four words.
“It’s not the end.”
“Uh… Is this your path to promotion?”
“The forebears plant the trees, the descendants enjoy the shade. Thanks to my true self, thanks to Mr. Bai, Blood Princess! Thanks to your hard work, I’ve suddenly become the top figure in [Sun Extinguishing] after the seven Nascent Soul True Lords!!”
Bai Changsheng couldn’t hide her excitement and downed her wine in one gulp.
“No matter which world you’re in, connections are everything—ancestral wisdom never lies!!”
“Then shouldn’t you hurry up and rally the troops to rescue me!!”
“Can’t do it. A Divine Transformation Lord who controls the [Heavenly Emperor Spirit-Locking Formation]—what could we use to save you?” Bai Changsheng shrugged.
“But don’t worry, you’ll be rescued eventually. [Sun Extinguishing] has cards that can stand against a Divine Transformation Lord—it’ll just take time.”
“Right, true self, what other trump cards do you have? Tell me, who’s our agent in the Qing Emperor Divine Palace? Give me some confidence.”
“Hey hey hey! Why did you cut off communications? That’s so dishonorable!!”
Cut off from the call, Bai Changsheng pursed her lips. Ever since the incident with “Blood Princess” and the lesson of being soul-bewitched and turned female, Su Bai had started playing riddles too, afraid she’d be captured by Zhou Xuan and dragged back to the Qing Emperor Divine Palace for some soul-bewitching and PUA, causing everything to fail at the last moment.
Now, useful intel only came out bit by bit. Even if she really was caught, she wouldn’t have to worry about implicating any other plans.
Suddenly, Bai Changsheng thought of Blood Princess, who, according to her true self, had been soul-bewitched and turned female by that fiend. The two were of the same lineage, she still considered her an elder brother—and both of them had even swapped genders.
The girl froze for a second, then her entire being shuddered violently!
Hiss! They’ve really become a pair of sister flowers!!