Chapter 42 - Is It Funny That the Reincarnated Senior Sister Is Also Being Pursued?

"Tang Gongzi's father is the lord of the Gusu City, and with connections to the court, he may not be without means to deal with ordinary cultivators. But in my past life, even after my master led us to eradicate the Huanxi Temple, the Tang family was still wiped out. This is definitely not something that remnants of the Huanxi Temple alone could accomplish." "So even if the Tai Xu Villa is not the hidden hand behind the scenes, it definitely cannot be completely unrelated." Bai Lian contemplated for a while before saying, "Regardless of the veracity of Tang Gongzi's description of the killing formation at Tai Xu Villa, we need to be cautious." "How about this, tonight we split up. I will investigate the reality of the formation, and you can secretly investigate the situation at Tai Xu Villa." "There's no need to force this. Being cautious is the top priority." Upon hearing this, Mu Jianli silently nodded. She knew very well that Bai Lian's proposal undoubtedly entrusted the most dangerous task to her. Even if she encountered danger, she wouldn't have time for rescue. But she tacitly refrained from voicing objections because she understood Bai Lian too well. Whether it was in her previous life or this one, Bai Lian would absolutely not assign dangerous tasks to her. Instead, she would stand in front of her, shielding her from the raging storms. But Senior Brother... Have you ever thought that in this life, you're just a girl who needs to be protected? In the past life, Jianli was protected by you for so long. Now, in this life, it's time for Jianli to protect you. Mu Jianli silently watched Bai Lian, who was fiddling with her ring, her eyes filled with a sense of defiance at her own lack of strength. She had to quickly rely on the memories and experiences from her past life to improve her strength in order to protect the most important person in her heart in this chaotic world. She was Mu Jianli, the most outstanding sword genius of the Taihua Sword Sect, not just a vase that followed behind men. Moreover, the man who used to protect her had now turned into a delicate and lovely young girl. "Disguise paste... Night walking attire... Cleanse talisman..." Bai Lian rummaged through her belongings, scratching her head involuntarily. How could she forget that she had stashed so many treasured items for killing and escaping in her storage ring? It seemed that when she was first brought into the Taihua Sword Sect by Gu Qingqing, she was so frightened that she constantly thought about running away, hence she prepared these things in secret. However, as time passed, she realized that Gu Qingqing and Ling Ningshuang had no intention of harming her, so she gradually relaxed and forgot about these things. She never expected that they would come in handy at a time like this. But now, thinking back, she was quite naive when she was reborn. To believe that using these things would allow her to escape the Taihua Sword Sect without her master noticing. Fortunately, she never acted on that thought at that time. Otherwise, doing such a thing under the nose of a Qianyuan cultivator would have been no different from voluntarily revealing herself. "Here, Jianli." She handed some of the items she had taken out to Mu Jianli. "These night walking attires were obtained from the sect's market and soaked in a special potion to conceal your aura, to avoid detection by the guards here." "And this teleportation talisman. If you're ever discovered, don't hesitate, just leave Tai Xu Villa immediately." "And... " She rambled on, looking just like the scenes in games where the MC equips the main character with buffs and potions before the final boss battle. "Senior Sister." Suddenly, Mu Jianli spoke. "Hmm?" Bai Lian raised her head, slightly puzzled, but met with the deep gaze of Mu Jianli's eyes. "You are a girl now, so you must be extremely careful in this dangerous place." "Otherwise, I'll be mad at you." Looking at Mu Jianli's serious expression, Bai Lian blinked and couldn't help but smile. "Silly girl, don't worry. Do you really think that I would be so reckless in your impression?" "Even in my past life, when I was merely at the mid-stage of Qinxin realm, I could stir up a storm in Gusu City. Now that I have reached the ninth stage, why worry?" She said, tiptoeing to tousle Mu Jianli's hair, murmuring softly, "In my past life, Senior Brother did so many things that hurt you, and now, after finally having the chance to make amends, he will certainly not die that easily." At her words, Mu Jianli's eyes dimmed, and she gently bit her lip. "Alright." ... Clad in night walking attire, Bai Lian drifted past the blind spots of the guards at Tai Xu Villa. Actually, despite all the talk, Tai Xu Villa's apparent strength wasn't particularly formidable, and it barely had the aura of cultivators. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to breeze through it in the game when she was only at the mid-stage of Qinxin realm. But unlike the game, she was now in the heart of Tai Xu Villa with minimal intelligence, which made her feel very uneasy. Concealing her own aura deliberately would make her less noticeable than a mosquito in the eyes of ordinary people. Soon, she bypassed the vigilance of all the guards and arrived at the heart of the formation. The center of a formation does not necessarily represent the focal point of the formation, as the focal point, known as the formation’s eye, is often concealed in unpredicted locations, further enhanced by the illusion of a false formation eye to confuse intruders. Once a cultivator attempts to touch the false formation eye, they would immediately be subjected to the attacks of the formation, ultimately leading to their demise. Thus, ordinary cultivators only have two methods to break a formation when trapped inside: either unwinding the formation through their knowledge of formations, or using overwhelming force to smash the formation’s core, essentially destroying it. Bai Lian understood that as a subsidiary task of the Gusu City's main quest, Tai Xu Villa would definitely not present any challenges insurmountable for players. This was her greatest reliance and the main reason she chose to investigate Tai Xu Villa in-depth. So, her purpose in coming to the center of the formation was to find a way to handle the large formation. However, when she arrived in the airspace of the formation’s center, she was somewhat surprised to find that the center of the formation of Tai Xu Villa was, in fact, Xie Cai’s residence. All the channels of the formation converged in the magnificent hall, where spiritual power rose and fell like human breath. Bai Lian furrowed her brows and landed on the rooftop of the hall. Evidently, there was something about this formation that didn't conform to common sense. The core of a formation usually comprised spirit stones, magical treasures, or certain artifacts, none of which would exhibit a breathing appearance. Suddenly, she seemed to recall something. No, that was indeed the standard logic of formation arrangement she had learned, but Tai Xu Villa was an authentic cult. In the system of formations belonging to a cult, there was another very common type of formation core—people. In reality, two hundred years ago, the cult often constructed formations through blood sacrifices, and there were even instances of offering an entire city or a whole country in order to advance one’s realm. It was precisely because those cults had gone too far that they forced the originally opposing sides of righteousness and demons to unite. Bai Lian took a deep breath, her eyes filled with fury. She thought of those missing girls in Binhe Town. This Tai Xu Villa truly deserves no mercy!