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CBGC - ch138.1
🕑 Added 2023-11-09 07:03:40 +0000 UTCT/N: goodness, this chapter made up for the short one last week!
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Chapter 138: That Is Not Real
True Immortal Realm.
The Bai family, with it's long history, is situated in the spiritually abundant Wangxian Valley in the True Immortal Realm.
At the bottom of the Wangxian Valley, there's an underground river. This river used to be a branch of the Tianhe River in the True Immortal Realm. As it is rich in spiritual energy, it also serves as a place for peaceful cultivation, as well as alchemical and talisman refinement. However, nowadays, even the Tianhe River has almost dried up, and this underground river has long ceased to flow. For the Bai family, it's not a small loss. Yet, what truly strikes at their core is the disappearance of their guardian spirit, the Word Spirit.
The Word Spirit has been missing for over ten thousand years. While the Bai family hasn't crumbled because of this, their standing in the True Immortal Realm has certainly diminished. They are a reclusive clan, not involved in the conflicts of this realm, but there are always some who seek to drag them into the maelstrom of strife.
Inside Wanxian Valley, there is a circular tower, and each floor is round, making it look like a skewer of candied hawthorn fruits. This tower has a total of ninety-nine and eighty-one floors, soaring into the clouds. Standing on the topmost level, one can oversee the entirety of the True Immortal Realm, and it used to be the residence of the guardian Word Spirit.
(I'm not sure if counting 99+81 is the same sort of practice where you can say "six score" to meanโฆ 120)
Now that the Word Spirt is missing, the tower is still cleaned daily by the clan's patriarchs and elders, who silently wish, a wish held by everyone in the clan, to find the Word Spirit as soon as possible.
Bai Changge is the ninth elder of the Bai family. He's in his middle age, dressed in a simple and elegant robe, his long hair tied back with a plain wooden stick. When he smiles, he appears refined and graceful, like someone easy to approach. In his youth, he must have been a remarkably handsome man.
He is in the process of cleaning the place where the Word Spirit used to reside, holding a feather duster in his hand, carefully sweeping over every item in the room. His expression is solemn, as if he were on a pilgrimage.
Although he could instantly tidy up the room using a dust-removal spell, he prefers this most primitive method.
Of course, this feather duster is no ordinary chicken feather. It's made from the feathers of the ninth-rank spirit beast, the Wind Feather Bird, that's rarely found in the cultivation world. In the past, the Word Spirit's favorite dish was the breast meat of the Wind Feather Bird, and its tail feathers were used to make a small brush. It used to allow the clan leader to brush its belly.
Only the clan leader can approach the Word Spirit, and for Bai Changge, he attaches great importance to the position of the family head. Back in the day, he lost and never defeated Bai Su's father. Now, even though he has gained everyone's recognition and become the head of the Bai family, due to the lack of a token, his position remains unstable, and everyone still calls him the Ninth Elder.
The Word Spirit's disappearance is one thing, but even the birth companion Orchid Tongue Grass chose Bai Su. Bai Changge's feather duster sweeps heavily onto a porcelain vase on the table. There are fresh flowers inside the vase. As the vase teeters on the edge, he lightly touches it with his fingertip, and the vase is lifted back to its original position without so much as a shake on even a single red petal inside.
After tidying up the surroundings, he walks to a white jade wall in the corner of the room. The white jade wall is as reflective as a mirror, smooth as glass.
The wall is engraved with rows of tiny characters that are so small that, with his current cultivation level, even he would get dizzy if he stared at them for too long. Only the clan leader would remain unaffected by this.
All these signs indicate that even though he can freely enter and leave this place now, he is not truly the clan leader. To validate this position, he needs to reclaim the Orchid Tongue Grass and find the Word Spirit.
"Bai Su..."
He slowly closes his eyes and gently sweeps the clear Mirror Tablet with the feather duster, thinking, "Why didn't you die out there?"
Not only was he brought back alive, but he's even tamed the Orchid Tongue Grass. If they don't find a way to take back the Orchid Tongue Grass, which is connected to his soul, he can't be allowed to die. Even though he was expelled from the Bai family, they had to go to great lengths to heal him and ensure he doesn't die. It's truly...
Thinking of all this, Bai Changge's expression darkens a bit. He opens his eyes and sees a reflection in the Mirror, showing a self that looks both affectionate and fierce.
Btai Changge takes a deep breath, making his facial expression appear gentler. Just at that moment, the corner of his eye catches something unusual on the Mirror Tablet.
There is an additional line of text on the clear Mirror.
"Granny, he shall not die!"
The Word Spirt is the spokesperson of the Heavenly Dao, and it rarely speaks. Once it does, it moves the power of the Heavenly Dao. It is revered as an oracle, and its words are recorded on the Mirror Tablet.
The Bai family has served the Word Spirit for millions of years, and there were only six sentences on the clear mirror stand. Now, suddenly, an extra sentence has appeared, and the sentence is so strange that it leaves Bai Changge dumbfounded. He stands still for a long time and then directly sends a message, "Release Bai Su from the restricted area and have him come to the top floor of the Word Spirit Pagoda to see me, immediately!"
