"My Lord, I know becoming a cultivator is difficult, so I never dread of it for myself." Bai Niao crawled forward, clutching the elder's robes. "But I also know how much this ans for us common folk. I don't want my sister to suffer any longer."
The elder flicked his sleeve, casting Bai Niao aside. "Since you understand that, then why won't you let go? Why won't you allow your sister to leave with ?"
"I heard that thirty li south of the village, deep in the forest, there's a tiger's den. My lord, is that true?"
The elder brushed off his sleeves with a cold laugh. "A tiger's den? Even if it were true, what difference does it make? Forget a tiger's den; even a single wild beast could end your life. This is how powerless mortals truly are. Encounter a re beast, and death can co at any mont. But for cultivators, such beasts are nothing more than playthings."
"So it's true!" Struggling back to his feet, Bai Niao knelt before the table and said softly. "Master, I will leave tonight. I only beg you to delay a little before seeking out my sister, so you can tell her I've gone."
The elder, well-seasoned in worldly matters, imdiately caught his intent. "That place is a tiger's den. The mont you step inside, your life will be forfeit."
"My lord, you need not concern yourself. I have my own plan to deal with it. I'll see to it my sister follows you, but you must promise to hold off and tell her only later."
Bai Niao kowtowed three tis. "Please, my lord."
Then, without looking back, he slipped into the night toward the village outskirts.
"Ah... to make such a choice..." The elder's eyes glimred faintly with spell light as he watched the boy's back. A pure child's heart... untouched, untainted. If he ever stepped onto the cultivation path, he would surely be heaven's chosen. Yet burdened with all five elents at birth, he has no path forward. Fate truly likes playing cruel jokes on us.
The elder sighed as he watched the boy walk toward his death. With a flick of his hand, he sent out his own sword, quietly setting it behind Bai Niao, hoping it might bring him the faintest chance of survival, though that chance was nearly nonexistent.”
Lu Chen and the others followed Bai Niao, watching him as he charged straight into the tiger's den.
From within ca the boy's furious roars, mingled with the bellowing of the Tiger King.
"No, I have to save him," spirit qi surged in Lu Chen's hands as he rushed toward the den. "I carry all five elents, too, and I can still cultivate. That ans he must be able to as well!"
As Lu Chen rushed in, the tiger's den dissolved before him, while Bai Niao's desperate cries continued to echo in the air.
Lu Chen stared at the scene fading like ink bleeding through paper. "How can this be? Why can't I save him? I was so close."
"All of this is nothing more than an illusion Bai Ze constructed with spirit qi," Wind Dragon reminded him as he sighed softly. "None of it is real. Of course you cannot save him."
"Let's continue." Bai Ze twisted his hands, and the scene condensed once more."Each life has its own fate already inscribed. He bears a heart of innocence. Sooner or later, he will encounter an unimaginable opportunity."
Lu Chen exhaled heavily as the image condensed again. "I hope so..."
The illusion shifted, carrying them deeper into the den. The ground was littered with the corpses of tigers.
"Heh... who says mortals are only prey? Today I've proven otherwise. Mortals too can defy the heavens."
"But... from this day forward, my sister will be all alone."
Bai Niao leaned weakly against the wall, his body torn open by the Tiger King's claws, blood flowing freely to stain the sword in his hand. Tears stread down his cheeks as he gazed toward the village.
"Sister... you are a cultivator now. The path of cultivation is filled with danger. You must take care of yourself..."
At last, his blood ran dry. His eyes closed, and he slumped lifeless against the wall.
"Alas..." Wind Dragon sighed above Lu Chen's head. "A boy so pure and kind... and yet, in the end, still t his death."
The illusion dissolved. Bai Niao had perished in the tiger's den. Even with the elder's sword protecting him, he had only managed to preserve his body in one piece.
***
The next day, the elder brought Bai Hong, the future Empress, to the den. Bai Niao's body lay at the entrance, still clutching his sword. Bai Hong wept for three days and three nights before the elder forcibly led her away.
Back at the sect, Bai Hong displayed astonishing talent. In just a hundred years, she reached the Core Breakthrough Realm, becoming the sect's foremost disciple.
However, when she approached the final step toward immortality, the mory of her brother's tragic death awakened her deepest inner demon. Her cultivation collapsed at the Core Breakthrough Realm, and she could no longer advance any further.
From that day on, Bai Hong was tornted daily by her inner demon. She drowned herself in wine, aimless and broken, losing all will to cultivate.
The elder sat cross-legged on his cushion, his gaze fixed on her. "Ah... was it truly my mistake back then?"
Taking her in had elevated his status within the sect, but since her failure at ascension, even his own cultivation and state of mind had stagnated. Bai Niao's death, indirectly caused by him, had beco the elder's greatest tornt.
He sighed again, voice heavy. "Was I truly wrong? If I had stopped him from seeking death back then, perhaps that boy could have lived safely under his sister's protection... and Bai Hong... she wouldn't have beco what she is today."
Bai Hong sprawled across the stairs, surrounded by nearly a hundred empty jars. "Master, is there more wine? Bring another jar."
"Master, bring another! I saw my brother..." She tumbled down the steps toward him, laughing wildly. "Ah... I have broken through to the Earth Core Realm!"
The elder swept his sleeve, shattering the jar in her hand. "Bai Hong, look at yourself. Crushed by a re inner demon... how can you face the brother who died for you?"
The mont Empress Bai Hong heard the elder's words, her mind snapped clear. She scrambled forward, rolling and crawling until she reached his side, clutching the corner of his robe. "My brother died because of ? Master, what are you saying? What do you an, Master? Please, tell ."
The elder realized that, in a fit of rage, he had spoken words he shouldn't have. With a long sigh, he said, "After all these years, I still ended up saying it."
Grief and rage surged through Bai Hong. She tightened her grip on him, spitting out a mouthful of blood. "What happened exactly? Master, talk!"
She collapsed in her own blood, her eyes fixed on him with desperate sincerity, begging for the truth. "Master... my brother... what happened to him?"
"Ah... so many years have passed. It is ti you knew."
The elder sighed deeply. "The day you left, your brother ca to . He told himself that he would walk into the tiger's den, knowing he would not return. But I... sigh..."
When the truth struck, Bai Hong erupted, screaming like a madwoman. "Why? Why didn't you tell back then? Why didn't you say it earlier? If only you had told even a mont sooner, I could have stopped him!"
The elder let out another sigh and endured her fury in silence. At last, the secret he had carried so long was spoken aloud.
Half an hour later, Bai Hong gradually cald down. She crouched on the steps, burying her head between her knees, weeping.
"It has been so many years. You should go back and see him." The elder patted her shoulder. "If you can find even a trace of your brother's true spirit, there may be a way to bring him back with a secret art."
"True spirit?" Bai Hong raised her tear-streaked face. "If I find his true spirit, can I save him?"
The elder explained, "I only heard of it recently. It's a rumor of an ancient art. In the prival age, so speculated that if soone cultivated all five elents at once, they could forge a new body for the dead. But this thod could only work on those born with an affinity for all five elents."
"Affinity for all five elents?" Bai Hong rose to her feet, excitent flooding her. "My brother was born with all five. That ans if I can find his true spirit, this secret art will definitely save him!"
The elder shook his head. "It is only a rumor. No one knows if it truly exists. And your brother has been dead for over a hundred years. Even if the art is real, it would be nearly impossible to find his true spirit now."
Hope reignited in Bai Hong's eyes, her spirit suddenly blazing. "No. I will find it. I will return at once. I'll find his true spirit first, then search for this secret art."
The elder tossed her a bottle and looked at her aningfully. "This is a treasure I once forged. It can contain a single strand of true spirit. Take it, and use it to search for your brother. Also, keep yourself together. If you truly find him, he would not want to see you reeking of wine."
"Yes, Master. I will."
For the first ti in years, Bai Hong smiled. Her spirit qi stirred, and in that instant she beca radiant once more.
Lu Chen watched Bai Hong's departing figure and wondered, "Could the secret art be this scroll in my hand? But with this kind of material, it shouldn't have survived from the prival tis."
"Not necessarily." Wind Dragon turned his head toward the weary elder sitting on the ground. "With the reinforcent of a great cultivator's spirit qi, even the most fragile material can endure the testant of ages."
Bai Ze's eyes glead with spirit qi, shifting the scene directly to a small village. "Let's keep watching. Perhaps we'll uncover the truth."
***
Empress Bai Hong stood at the entrance of her village. For the first ti in a hundred years, she had returned. What was once a thriving settlent was now desolate and choked with weeds.
"Brother, your sister is ho." Summoning her courage, she flew toward the heart of the village. "Wait for . I will find a way to save you."
She pushed open the gate. To her surprise, the spot she stepped into was untouched. Not a single weed marred the ground; this small area seed completely isolated from the desolation outside.
From the main hall ca a rustling sound.
"Who's sneaking around in there?" Bai Hong shouted.
She shoved the doors open, charged inside, and imdiately froze. A slender youth sat cross-legged on a sword, his back facing her.
Bai Hong recognized that figure instantly. His clothes were the very ones she had once nded with her own hands. "Brother... is that you? I am your sister, and I have co back! Look at !"
She dropped everything she carried and rushed forward, only to pass straight through the phantom image.
"Sister? What is that?" The youth turned slowly, floating toward her, his hollow eyes fixed on her. "It has been so long since I've seen anyone. Are you... human?"
"Brother, how did you end up like this?"
Tears stread down Bai Hong's face as she poured her spirit qi into his body, desperately trying to awaken his mories.
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