“Go back,” Xuan Qinghong said, stroking his white beard, looking at the person before him. “Tell them goodbye.”
Bai Ran nodded. Her cultivation had already reached the peak of Void Refinement stage nine, and she would ascend to the upper realm soon. It was indeed time to bid them farewell.
The barrier around the bamboo forest vanished. Bai Ran walked out along the winding stone path.
“You are Bai Ran?” A woman with a fiery figure looked her up and down with disdain.
Her build was nothing special, like a sprout. Her cultivation was also weak, less than a tenth of the Venerable’s. From head to toe, only her face was somewhat presentable.
She truly didn’t understand why the Venerable liked her, Tang Yi glared at Bai Ran.
“Who are you?” Bai Ran asked coldly.
“My name is Tang Yi, a direct demonic general under the Venerable,” Tang Yi emphasized the word ‘direct.’
It seemed trouble was indeed brewing. Bai Ran looked straight at her. “Where has Jing Feng gone?”
“Jing Feng has returned to the Demon Realm and will not be back for a while. I will be protecting you from now on.”
With a somewhat sarcastic tone, Tang Yi summed Bai Ran up as a weakling who needed her protection.
Bai Ran lowered her gaze and chuckled. “Then I shall ask you to protect me well.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she vanished into the bamboo forest. Tang Yi was startled and quickly followed her.
Such speed! Tang Yi frowned tightly. Even with the laws of the middle realm suppressing her cultivation, she shouldn’t be unable to keep up with this woman!
Not long after, Bai Ran arrived at the entrance of Que Tian Sect.
“Bai! Goddess Bai!” A disciple exclaimed upon seeing her. “Goddess Bai is back!”
“What! Goddess Bai is back?!”
In just a breath, Bai Ran was surrounded by countless disciples at the entrance of Que Tian Sect, unable to move.
Just as Bai Ran was getting a headache, Elder Lin’s familiar voice rang out.
“What are you all doing, crowding here?” Elder Lin approached curiously but widened his eyes when he saw Bai Ran in the crowd.
“Bai! Little Bai!” He looked at Bai Ran in disbelief. “Why are you back?”
“Disciple has returned this time to bid farewell. May I know where Sect Master Xiong is?”
Farewell… Elder Lin’s heart felt a little empty. “Alas, come with me.”
The onlookers parted, and after a few turns, Bai Ran followed Elder Lin to a pavilion.
“Little girl!” Sect Master Xiong blinked his eyes. “Why are you back?”
At that moment, he was playing chess with Dongfang Wuji in the pavilion.
“I will be departing for the upper realm in a few days. I’ve come this time to bid farewell,” Bai Ran said, sitting on a nearby stone stool.
Upon hearing the word ‘farewell,’ the atmosphere became somber.
Dongfang Wuji looked surprised. “You haven’t reached the peak of Void Refinement stage nine, have you?”
Bai Ran smiled and nodded. “So, I’m not sure when I’ll be ascending to the upper realm.”
Sect Master Xiong clenched his fists silently. Despite his reluctance, a dragon could not be confined to a small pond…
“I will notify the sect disciples after I have left,” she lowered her gaze.
This farewell… who knew how long it would be until they met again. Five years, ten years, fifteen years… perhaps never again in this lifetime…
She didn’t want to make things too sad…
Sect Master Xiong sighed. “Then, as you say, I will notify the sect disciples after you have left.”
“I am also leaving,” Dongfang Wuji placed a chess piece and smiled. “After I leave, Zi Yun Sect will have a new sect master. Xiao Ming, you all know him.”
Bai Ran chuckled. She hadn’t expected Xiao Ming to become the sect master. He truly had some of Dongfang Wuji’s flair.
Sect Master Xiong pursed his lips and put down his chess piece. “I lost.”
Hearing this, Dongfang Wuji shook his head. “She was about to leave, and you were distracted.”
Sect Master Xiong bowed his head. He hadn’t expected it to come so soon… this moment of parting would arrive so quickly…
While he rejoiced in his little girl’s growth, he also felt reluctant about her departure.
After packing her belongings and bidding farewell to the five elders, Sect Master Xiong personally escorted Bai Ran to the entrance of Que Tian Sect.
“Little girl, don’t push yourself too hard in your cultivation,” Despite it being a joyous occasion, Sect Master Xiong couldn’t manage a smile.
Dongfang Wuji stood beside Bai Ran and teased Sect Master Xiong. “You’re already reluctant before she’s even left?”
He glared at Dongfang Wuji angrily.
“I’m leaving,” Bai Ran said with a light chuckle, turning away.
“What, not even saying goodbye?” Qin Mubai’s voice rang out.
Bai Ran froze and turned her head. Qin Mubai, Fang Tianhui, Qiao Mu, Liang Wenjing, Chu Hua, Ran Shuang…
They were all standing before her, not a single one missing.
“How did you all…?” Bai Ran looked at them, a little dazed.
“If someone hadn’t come to inform us, we would have been kept in the dark by you,” Qin Mubai said with an infuriating grin.
Informed… was it those disciples she met upon entering the sect…
“Sister Bai, have a safe journey,” Fang Tianhui said with a calm smile, her hands clenched tightly behind her back.
“Miss Bai, we will work hard to cultivate.”
“Yes, Captain Bai, we will not disappoint your expectations.”
…
Everyone wore smiles on their faces.
A warmth, a ripple, spread through Bai Ran’s heart, growing larger and larger. “You all really are…”
She lowered her gaze, smiling, her throat feeling a little sore.
“Take care.” A thousand words condensed into these two.
Under everyone’s gaze, Bai Ran and Dongfang Wuji walked out of Que Tian Sect.
“Wuwuwu…” As soon as Bai Ran’s figure disappeared, Fang Tianhui was the first to break down, sobbing into Qin Mubai’s arms.
“Will… will it be very difficult to see Sister Bai again in the future?”
They weren’t fools. They knew they didn’t have Bai Ran’s talent. Perhaps this middle realm was their limit, and they would never see Bai Ran again in their lifetimes.
Liang Wenjing’s eyes reddened. “Really… I already miss her as soon as she’s gone…”
A somber atmosphere lingered in the air for a long time.
Sect Master Xiong gazed at the sky, tears slowly trickling from his eyes. Little girl… be safe…
…
“Did you hear that?” Dongfang Wuji looked at Bai Ran.
Honestly… their crying was so loud… it was hard not to hear…
Bai Ran slowly clenched her fist. “Gathering is by chance, separation is the norm of life.”
Dongfang Wuji smiled at her. But with a turn of his head, his smile vanished from his face. “So, why did you come?”
Tang Yi’s figure appeared behind them, a smirk on her lips. “Naturally, I’m here to protect the Madam.”