Chapter One Hundred: White Lotus

Her protests were, as always, useless, and Ning Xianyu was hauled inside at once.

She truly could not understand why that great demon, no matter what he did, insisted on bringing her along.

She was plainly a burden, unable to do anything, timid, lazy, greedy, and afraid of death. Carrying her was nothing but trouble.

[You can even recognize so many of your own flaws. That counts as progress.]

[Get lost!]

Ning Xianyu wanted to slow her pace, but Xuanyuan Tunhan activated the great ring again. If she so much as lagged behind a little, she would be drawn automatically back to his side.

Since resistance was impossible, she might as well enjoy it.

The formation was actually rather pleasant. Unlike the barren wilderness outside, this place was full of trees, birdsong, and flowers, with scenery that was quite lovely.

The system said this was only the early stage of the array, so of course it would seem peaceful.

Later on, all kinds of harsh and unsolvable conditions would emerge. Otherwise, there would not be so many people trapped within it.

Ning Xianyu trotted up in a hurry and drew near to the demon king, asking in a low voice, “Ancestor, Senior Weinian said there might still be other living people in the formation, and told us to be careful. Do you think we’ll run into anyone?”

It was said that many people had entered the formation to challenge it before, and never came out again.

Some of them might still be alive inside, to be encountered by those who came after.

Xuanyuan Tunhan turned his head and gave a strange smile. “You hope to meet them?”

His smile was unsettling. Ning Xianyu lowered her voice. “Not exactly hope. I’m just curious.”

Xuanyuan Tunhan said, “If a person is trapped in one place for too long, what do you think they become?”

Ning Xianyu thought about it. If she were trapped in a formation for too long, trying every possible way and still unable to get out, she would probably become very irritated. If it went on long enough, she would surely go mad.

At that thought, she began to pray fervently that they would never meet anyone. Who knew what sort of ghosts and monsters they might encounter?

“Excuse me...”

Just as she was thinking this, a woman suddenly emerged from behind a tree and asked in a soft, fragile voice, “Excuse me, are you here to challenge the formation?”

The woman was beautiful, dressed in white, with long flowing hair and an antique hairpin in her coiffure. She looked refined and gentle.

But Ning Xianyu reacted as if she had seen a ghost, leaping straight behind Xuanyuan Tunhan.

In broad daylight, she really had seen a ghost.

Xuanyuan Tunhan glanced back at her in disgust. Hearing her screaming the word ghost at the system, he only found her noisy.

Yet he did not shake off her arm. Instead, he lifted it slightly, just enough to shield her completely.

“Who are you?”

The woman suddenly rushed over and knelt, bursting into tears. “Senior, this humble woman is merely a minor rogue cultivator from Cangyun Continent on the eastern shore. I came here many years ago to challenge the formation, hoping to discover the whereabouts of my parents. Who could have guessed that once I came in, I would never be able to leave?”

“Senior, I only wish to ask what year it is outside now. How long have I been trapped here?”

Xuanyuan Tunhan said coldly, “It is now the seventy-nine thousand eighty-third year of the Heavenly Radiance Era.”

The woman did the math and stared in blank shock. “So... it has already been fifty years?”

She laughed and cried at once. “I thought I had only spent a few years here, but I never imagined fifty years have passed outside?”

Covering her face, she said in agony, “My parents had little cultivation. I fear they must have long since passed away.”

She cried so miserably, and yet so beautifully, that even Ning Xianyu could not help but crane her neck to look.

[This is too tragic. Trapped in a formation for fifty years, just for a stone tablet? What is there so worth seeing?]

She felt that wasting decades of one’s life inside a formation just to understand the cause of something was simply far too uneconomical.

To even lose one’s life over it was even harder to comprehend.

The system said, [Some people may risk themselves to find family, close friends, or lovers. That is only natural.]

[Maybe.]

Ning Xianyu thought that for someone of the demon king’s level, a trip here would be easy enough. A mere formation like this could not trap him.

The woman was crying so hard the pear blossoms seemed to fall in rain, but Xuanyuan Tunhan did not even spare her a second glance. He simply took his people and walked on.

Ning Xianyu hurried after him, carefully avoiding the woman.

But the woman quickly followed, pleading through her tears, “Senior, please allow this humble woman to accompany you. I truly cannot bear wandering alone in this formation any longer.”

For all the long years, she had been roaming by herself, without even a single person to speak to. It was truly terrifying.

Thinking back to their arrival, to how Weinian had smiled and said that Yi Tianling had been trapped in the formation for nearly a month because he had long since grown used to such things, Ning Xianyu saw another kind of cruelty in that indifference.

The system said she was overthinking it: [For cultivators, solitude is the norm. When they seclude themselves for cultivation, it is often for decades or even centuries. That is perfectly normal.]

Ning Xianyu thought that perhaps she really was just too much of a country bumpkin and was not used to it.

Xuanyuan Tunhan did not agree, but neither did he drive the woman away. So she truly kept following them.

She trailed behind very carefully, never coming too close, but never falling behind either.

When they rested, she rested as well, and even asked which immortal sect they belonged to.

At first Ning Xianyu was terribly afraid of her, thinking she was a female ghost. But seeing her like this, she began to suspect she might not be a ghost after all, and her courage grew by quite a bit.

“You’ve been here alone. Have you encountered anyone else?”

The woman shook her head, then nodded. “I did meet someone before. He wanted to rob me of my things, so I ran. After that, I met you.”

The chances of meeting anyone were so low, yet they had run into someone as soon as they entered. What fate this was.

The woman smiled at her. “What is your name, little sister? My name is Bai Yuhua. My parents liked to call me Lotus...”

“Pfft!”

Ning Xianyu happened to be drinking juice, and upon hearing that, she sprayed it out at once.

Bai... Lotus?

“Lotus, miss?”

She blinked, thinking she must have heard wrong.

Bai Lotus smiled. “Yes. You can just call me Lotus. It sounds亲切... warm and familiar.”

Ning Xianyu lowered her head and thought for a moment. “I think calling you Miss Bai is just fine.”

She really could not bring herself to call her White Lotus.

The system was also laughing uproariously. [You actually ran into a White Lotus, hahahaha. Congratulations.]

Xuanyuan Tunhan was checking the surroundings and heard this with confusion.

The name White Lotus was fresh and elegant. What was so funny about it?

Bai Lotus complied without complaint, saying whatever they wished was fine. Her attitude could only be described as exceedingly humble.

She even took out a jade bottle and offered it respectfully. “Senior, this is the sweet dew I collected here. It can relieve fatigue and clear the mind. If one is ever lost, drinking a little often helps one see more clearly.”

She held the bottle out to Xuanyuan Tunhan, her head still bowed, not daring to look at him.

Ning Xianyu wondered whether the demon king had ever eaten or drunk anything at all. Would he accept it?

In the end, the demon king merely glanced at Bai Lotus, then actually reached out, took the bottle, and tucked it into his storage pouch.

Good heavens, he actually accepted it?

And not only that, he did not even roll his eyes or curse her out?