Mo Ze's nature was pure and kind, like a blank piece of paper. However, as more and more darkness from the outside world encroached, he could never return to his former state.
"Alas—this child is also a pitiable soul," the Second Elder sighed, feeling sorry for Mo Ze.
"Oh right, old man, I heard something else too." He seemed to recall something and looked at Bai Li Xiao with confusion.
"Your destined person is going to marry the Demon Lord, are you aware of this?"
"Marry...?"
Bai Li Xiao's sapphire eyes trembled. For some reason, upon hearing the word "marry," his heart felt as if it were clenched by a large hand, becoming extremely heavy.
The Second Elder nodded and continued, "Yes, but because Mo Ze has died, it might be postponed for three years."
"Speaking of which, shouldn't that little girl's husband be you?"
Destined person, they were a match made by heaven. Why wasn't it them getting married?
Should it be him... Bai Li Xiao lowered his gaze, complex emotions churning in his eyes. "No... we have no connection."
No connection? The Second Elder stared at the person before him suspiciously, always feeling a sense of incongruity about Bai Li Xiao, yet unable to pinpoint where it was.
"You are a strange one. You were the one who went to find her, yet you say you have no connection?"
To this, Bai Li Xiao offered no reply, merely lowering his eyelids, lost in thought.
The Second Elder glanced at him and shook his head with a hint of helplessness. "Oh well, forget it, forget it."
"That girl has already engaged, so this old man won't say any more, as if I were instigating you to snatch her away..."
Saying this, he finished the last sip of wine in his cup and slowly stood up. "In short, figure it out yourself. I need to return to the Divine Realm."
Bai Li Xiao was startled, somewhat surprised. "You are returning to the Divine Realm?"
The Second Elder nodded. "Mo Ze is dead, and all the elders and the Holy Lord perished on the battlefield. The Divine Realm is in a state of panic."
If no one stepped forward to take charge at such a juncture, wouldn't the entire Divine Realm fall into chaos?
Hearing this, Bai Li Xiao frowned slightly, his mind weighing the situation. "Second Elder, please wait."
The Second Elder turned to look, only to see Bai Li Xiao also standing up, looking directly at him.
"I will return with you."
...
The night was tender and warm, the dark sky dotted with stars. A night breeze rustled through the leaves, making them sway.
As the sky on the horizon just began to show the pale white of dawn, a figure pushed open the door and arrived before Mo Ze's gravestone.
Bai Ran slowly crouched down and placed a bouquet of white chrysanthemums on the gravestone, her expression serene and calm.
"Ze'er, you don't need to worry about your mother and father..."
"Sister promises, they will be safe and sound, and will come to see you with me..."
The surroundings were utterly silent, save for the occasional chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves in the wind.
After speaking, Bai Ran stood up and walked away, step by step.
After a night of contemplation and sleeplessness, amidst the swaying moonlight, she had found a measure of release.
Perhaps some people and things, no matter how hard one tried, could not be kept, and even became the most indelible scars in one's heart.
But she would still rally her spirits, not because of what or whom she had lost, but for everything around her.
For her father, whose soul had been swapped, for her mother who had endured so much suffering, and for Long Jin Han, Zhu Que, Jing Feng, and the others who had always stood by her side, she could not descend into the abyss because of this.
Loss was not terrifying; what was terrifying was to have eyes only for what was lost and to neglect what one possessed.
...
"Dong—!"
"Bang—!"
Zhu Que, rubbing her sleepy eyes, emerged from her room only to hear a cacophony of noises coming from Bai Ran's room.
"What is Master doing?" she asked curiously, looking at the tightly shut door.
Jing Feng also stood in front of Bai Ran's room, scratching his cheek in confusion. "I don't know either, but from the sound of it, Miss Bai seems to be talking to someone."
Inside the room, Bai Ran clutched a jade-green flute in her hand, her spiritual energy emanating a chilling and terrifying aura.
"If you don't speak up, I'll destroy you."
Not long ago, Bai Ran had tossed and turned, contemplating how to remove Mo Cheng Ze's soul.
Her cultivation was already sufficient to suppress Mo Cheng Ze, but she still didn't know how to separate their souls without harming her father.
After all, having two souls in one body for so long had caused their souls to intertwine. If Mo Cheng Ze's soul were to be removed carelessly, it might affect her father.
After much thought, Shi Tian, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke. Bai Ran's cultivation had been rapidly increasing during this period.
Even Shi Tian had fallen into a deep sleep to adapt to the sudden surge of spiritual energy in the space.
"Master, you can use the Soul Controlling Flute."
Hearing this, Bai Ran was instantly enlightened and devised the safest countermeasure: to make the Soul Controlling Flute contract with Mo Cheng Ze, and then destroy the flute.
When the Soul Controlling Flute contracted with a person, it would bind itself and the contractor's soul together.
If the flute remained intact, the soul would be safe; if the flute was destroyed, the soul would perish.
Using the Soul Controlling Flute was unlike forcibly separating souls. If a human forcibly separated souls, even a slight mistake could lead to the person being mentally incapacitated, or worse, their soul dissipating.
As a supreme treasure of the Nine Heavens, the Soul Controlling Flute could control the souls of all living beings in the world. Safely separating a single contracted soul was naturally within its capabilities.
"Bang—!" Another violent surge of spiritual energy attacked. The Soul Controlling Flute was smashed into the wall, its body seemingly showing cracks.
"Still not speaking?" Bai Ran narrowed her eyes, a terrifying crimson glow churning within them. "As expected of the legendary supreme treasure of the Nine Heavens, truly stingy with words."
"It's just a pity that I'm not very patient."
Saying this, Bai Ran raised her hand to gather spiritual energy to attack again. But at this moment, an old voice rang out, filled with urgency.
"Little娃娃, stop quickly—!"
It truly possessed a spirit... Bai Ran lowered her hand, and the spiritual energy gradually dissipated.
Earlier, when she had almost contracted with the Soul Controlling Flute, she had heard an old man's voice. At that time, she had suspected it might be the spirit within the treasure.
"Two choices," Bai Ran said, looking at the Soul Controlling Flute that had fallen to the ground, holding up two fingers.
"The Soul Controlling Flute is destroyed, and you will dissipate along with it, or you will obey my command and contract with someone."
"Sigh—" The spirit sighed deeply, hesitating for a long time.
He didn't know how he had offended this little娃娃 to make her treat him, a priceless treasure, so roughly and even threaten to destroy him.
After all, a thousand years ago, humans used to revere and treasure him.
"If you still don't make a choice, I will assume you have chosen the first."
Bai Ran's words came again. The spirit was completely overwhelmed. Two choices, this was clearly forcing him to contract with someone else!
"The latter..." The spirit's voice became much softer and unclear.