Family Management Game In Immortal Continent

Chapter 428: He Is Still Alive

”Are you still not moving?! GO!!”

Xiu hesitated for a long moment. Venerable Elder Baimei let out a cold shout. This Low Growl seemed to stun Xiu further. He stared at his Masterʼs iconic, fluttering white eyebrows; for centuries, he had cultivated by his Masterʼs side. In all his existence, his Master had always been the calmest individual in the face of crisis Xiu had ever known, calm no matter the crisis. But now, he was so incandescently furious that Xiu found him almost unrecognizable. And beneath the rage, Ah Xiu could even sense... could it be... fear?!!

”Yes, Master!” Xiu dared not utter another word, merely bowing his head in acquiescence.

Only Venerable Elder Baimei was left, gazing skyward with a profound sigh. ”I hope,” he murmured to the heavens, ”that this is not some new test orchestrated by Tian Xing... And yet, perhaps I also hope that it is.”

But a moment later, the Venerable Elderʼs expression contorted.

He saw his disciple, Xiu, returning – not only had Xiu failed to kill Bai Rourou, but he had actually... brought her up the mountain with him! At this, Venerable Elder Baimei could no longer contain his fury. In a heartbeat, he materialized beside Xiu, startling the disciple so profoundly that a cold sweat instantly drenched his entire body!

Catching sight of Bai Rourou nearby, her own brow knitted in a questioning gaze, Elder Baimeiʼs fury reached its peak, his hair practically bristling. He seized Xiu by the collar.

”What in the blazes have you DONE?!!” he roared. ”You damned fool! Who gave you permission to bring her onto this mountain?! I told you to KILL her! You defiant pup! Did my instructions not penetrate that thick skull of yours?!”

”You... you want to kill me???” Bai Rourou stammered, finally understanding.

Hearing this, Bai Rourou only knitted her brows slightly; when she first came to Azure Mist Mountain seeking an audience with the Venerable Elder Baimei, she had already steeled herself for the possibility of death.

However, neither Baimei nor Xiu spared Bai Rourou a thought just then. Ah Xiu was shaking like a leaf; never had he witnessed his Master consumed by such fury. He was utterly flustered. ”Master,” he stammered, ”I... I cannot bring myself to slaughter the innocent! If... if she must die... then youʼll have to do it yourself!”

”You...”

Elder Baimei, with his flowing white beard and hair contrasting his youthful immortalʼs visage, now had a crimson flush spreading across his somewhat rounded features – a clear sign of his immense fury. Yet, he seemed to master it, letting the urge to lash out pass.

His breathing grew deep and even. ”Very well. Very well then,” he sighed. ”Your disposition, Xiu, is ultimately too soft. You do not grasp the necessity that sometimes, to save a thousand, one must be willing to strike down one.”

”Senior,” Bai Rourou interjected, ”What do you mean by that?”

Bai Rourou was utterly bewildered, and Li Wei, observing from his screen, felt much the same. When heʼd heard Elder Baimei order Bai Rourouʼs death, Li Wei had instantly focused his will, ready to intervene and save her, no matter the price. Yet now... this Venerable Elder displayed absolutely no killing intent; on the contrary, he seemed almost... disheartened?

Simultaneously, however, Li Wei felt a growing sense of unease. He couldnʼt shake the feeling that by entering the Tian Xing Abode, his family had inadvertently stumbled upon some profound taboo. What else could explain Elder Baimeiʼs peculiar behavior?

While Li Wei was still lost in these thoughts, Elder Baimei suddenly moved. He had already immobilized Bai Rourou and now placed a hand upon the top of her head. Instantly, Bai Rourouʼs eyes rolled upwards, showing only the whites. A vast surge of cosmic power then erupted from Elder Baimei, flowing into Bai Rourou as if he were probing her very essence for something specific!

It all happened so fast that Li Wei had no time to intervene, even if he had wanted to. Yet, he also found himself sighing in relief. The power of a Void Refining expert... how could one even begin to fathom its depths? He knew he couldnʼt have prevented it. But from the looks of it now, Bai Rourou, at least, was not in any immediate mortal danger.

A short while later, Elder Baimei removed his hand from the top of Bai Rourouʼs head. Instantly, she seemed to recover completely, as though absolutely nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred.

Glancing at his disciple, Xiu, who still wore a deeply troubled and bewildered expression as he looked upon his master, Elder Baimei, then turned to Bai Rourou, making an inviting gesture.

”Young woman,” he said, ”You wished to inquire about the Tian Xing Abode, about Tian Xing himself, and also, I believe, why I intended to have you killed?”

Without any sign of fear, Bai Rourou walked towards Elder Baimeiʼs humble thatched cottage.

He busied himself: burning incense, boiling water, preparing tea. In these simple actions, Elder Baimei bore no resemblance whatsoever to the legendary Void Refining master he was reputed to be; rather, he seemed just a perfectly ordinary, unassuming old man.

”I am unaware how you came to know of the master-disciple bond between Tian Xing and me,” he said, his voice calm, ”but in your ignorance, you have all committed a most grievous error.”

”Grievous error?” Bai Rourouʼs expression grew focused.

Elder Baimei stated, his expression unreadable, ”In truth, your familyʼs strategy was quite astute. Knowing of the master-disciple relationship between Tian Xing and me, and knowing I possess the means to open the Tian Xing Abode, coming to me with your plea meant success was almost guaranteed. Had I opened the Abode for you, it would have been an act of considerable merit on my part as well. Such an outcome would have benefited us both, and your Li family might even have forged a valuable connection with me through it.”

Hearing his words, Bai Rourouʼs brow furrowed once more in concentration; his assessment was spot on.

”When you perceived my reluctance to intervene,” Elder Baimei continued, ”your Li family then orchestrated the arrival of these other factions to exert collective pressure, simultaneously disseminating those rumors. A clever move – that way, were I to eventually yield, I could hardly lay the blame at any one groupʼs feet. And in the end, bowing to that combined pressure, I would inevitably have had no alternative but to open the Tian Xing Abode for everyone.”

”You people donʼt even seem to fear me,” Elder Baimei continued his assessment. ”Iʼve heard the tales – even the Wu Clanʼs revered Divine Bird Totem hesitates to dispatch its top masters against your Li family. So you came here, unafraid, calculating that I wouldnʼt dare lay a hand on Li kin.”

At this, Bai Rourouʼs brow visibly relaxed. The intricate plotting he described wasnʼt her handiwork; her own thoughts hadnʼt delved nearly so deep. Her sole aim had been to rescue those ʼchildrenʼ of her family.

”However,” Elder Baimei stated, ”you were wrong in your calculations.” A wry smile touched Elder Baimeiʼs lips. ”My disciple, Ah Xiu... he really ought to have killed you. With you dead, the entanglements would have been far fewer. But that disciple of mine, he is of an inherently suspicious disposition.”

Ah Xiu, who was in the midst of pouring tea, faltered for an instant.

Seemingly noticing Ah Xiuʼs slight falter, Elder Baimei snorted dismissively. ”I wasnʼt referring to you.”

Seeing his Master revert to his customary composure, Xiu asked cautiously, ”Master, apart from myself... have you taken other disciples?”

”I have.” Elder Baimeiʼs face turned solemn.

”In all my long years,” he said slowly, ”I once took in a disciple with the poorest innate aptitude I had ever encountered. And yet... he was also the most exceptional of them all. Tian Xing. And now,” Elder Baimei continued, looking at Bai Rourou, ”youʼve been brought here to me by Xiu. Knowing his cautious and questioning nature in not killing you outright, I can see the current situation has become greatly complicated... Then again... truth be told, ever since I took Tian Xing under my tutelage, complications involving him have always been substantial.”

”What?!!” Bai Rourou gasped, her eyes wide. ”Venerable Tian Xing... heʼs still alive?!!”

At Elder Baimeiʼs words, the faces of both Bai Rourou and Li Wei contorted in shock.

Though they might not have caught every nuance of his veiled pronouncements, certain core facts struck them with undeniable clarity! The good-natured Xiu, startled, gave such a violent tremor that he nearly spilled the tea he was serving.

Venerable Tian Xing – the one they all assumed had achieved his final transformation ages ago – was, incredibly, still alive!

Furthermore, for reasons unknown, even this ancient figure, a man who stood at the apex of power in Eternal Sun Prefecture, capable of summoning storms across the entire Azure Dynasty, was profoundly wary of this supposedly ʼdeparted disciple,ʼ Venerable Tian Xing!

Elder Baimei sighed. ”Correct,” he affirmed. ”He is still alive. If you had died as instructed, then so be it; my only wish was to avoid raking over the embers of the past, nothing more. Tian Xing has always been of an intensely suspicious disposition. If you were to come here ...”

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