345: Hidden dangers of destiny

[At the same time,]

[An illusory figure about an inch tall appeared beside you—it was Qing Ming.]

[Xuan Tian pointed a finger at Qing Ming, his voice trembling:]

["You... you... you! You bastard, let me out of here right now... or else... or else I'll..."]

[Qing Ming said indifferently, "Or else what? Kill me?"]

["I wouldn't dare..." Xuan Tian quickly lowered his voice.]

[This was also your first time meeting Xuan Tian, and his personality was completely beyond your imagination.]

[You had originally thought there would be a fierce battle or a lot of persuasion required.]

[It seems you were overthinking it!]

[You smiled and spread your palm, using the Law Power to wrap around and take away his main body, then said indifferently:]

["Little Xuan Tian, I won't waste any more words with you!"]

["Submit, or die!"]

["Choose one!"]

[Seeing you take away his main body, Xuan Tian's mouth fell open, and he shouted in panic:]

["Who... who are you? How can you cut off the connection between me and my main body?"]

[You spoke indifferently, "My patience is limited."]

["I... I understand. Don't be impulsive; we can talk this out," Xuan Tian said nervously.]

["And look... if you want to nurture a new artifact spirit, you'd need to set up a grand array, consume a vast amount of Heaven And Earth Treasures, and spend countless years... it's just not worth it..."]

[He was incoherent, saying whatever came to mind.]

[Finally, he started sobbing, "Wuu... please, I beg you, don't erase me. Please."]

[You shook your head helplessly, "When did I say I was going to erase you?"]

[Xuan Tian's voice was filled with both fear and surprise, "You... you're really not going to erase me?"]

["Nonsense, I won't erase you," you laughed, "but you have to be obedient."]

["I'll be obedient, I'll definitely be obedient," Xuan Tian said loudly, "I swear, I'm very obedient."]

[He suddenly lowered his voice, "And... you have to protect me."]

[You were truly speechless at this chatterbox.]

[You took a deep breath, "I promise to protect you, cherish you, and definitely not erase you, alright?"]

["Then can you swear it?!" Xuan Tian's voice got lower and lower.]

["I swear, I won't erase you, as long as you are obedient," you laughed.]

["Good, good, good," Xuan Tian cheered, "Oh yeah! I don't have to die, oh yeah!"]

[He cheered while floating around happily.]

[After cheering, he hurriedly asked cautiously, "Then... can you put me back into my main body? It feels chilly here, I'm scared!"]

[You smiled and raised your hand, putting him into the xuantian treasure mirror.]

[The next second,]

[Qing Ming disappeared, and after you transformed into the appearance of an old man, you were moved out of this space.]

[When you reappeared, you had returned to your original Immortal Cave.]

[The Gu Siblings, who were originally flustered and uneasy, saw your face and images of you saving them all those years ago flashed through their minds.]

[The two of them were originally very terrified, but after seeing it was you, a sense of peace inexplicably filled their hearts.]

["Senior... is it you, Senior?" Gu Yuetang asked nervously, her tone carrying a hint of anticipation.]

["Senior, it's us! Back when you flattened the Black Eagle Gang, you saved the two of us siblings," Gu Rihai said quickly.]

[The two were nervous, expectant, and a bit afraid.]

[Listening to Gu Rihai's reminder, you looked at the siblings and frowned slightly as a momentary memory flashed through your mind.]

["No wonder I thought you looked familiar, it's actually you two!" You nodded in sudden realization.]

[More than twenty years had passed, and the siblings' appearances had changed. Furthermore, you hadn't intentionally memorized their auras back then, so it wasn't strange that you didn't recognize them immediately.]

[After confirming that you were indeed their savior, the two of them became less nervous.]

[You said solemnly, "Doing this... will only lead you astray. However, considering that no great mistake has been made yet and you were deceived by Xuan Tian, you should handle the subsequent matters properly."]

["Remember, in the future, you must cultivate diligently and never step into the Evil Path again."]

[Gu Yuetang nodded repeatedly, "Understood, understod! Thank you for your forgiveness, Senior. This Junior will definitely cultivate diligently from now on."]

["Mm," you nodded, "if you want to leave the Secret Realm, just go and tell Chen Yuanyuan."]

["However, the outside world is not as safe as you imagine. Unless it's necessary, with your current strength, it's better to focus on cultivating peacefully."]

[Gu Rihai chimed in, "This Junior understands. We were misled by that fellow Xuan Tian before."]

[You nodded, expressing your understanding of their behavior.]

[If it were you, you would probably also try every possible way to escape the Secret Realm.]

[But excessive killing is ultimately not a good thing.]

[The Gu Siblings immediately promised that they were willing to turn over a new leaf.]

[They also hoped to join the Fengyun Pavilion, but you refused them.]

[You felt that immortal cultivation forces should naturally be diverse, with a hundred schools of thought contending. Only through competition can they improve each other and grow continuously.]

[After handling the matters here, you returned to the Great Yan Imperial Capital.]

[That night,]

[You sat on the balcony of the top-floor room of the Wangyue Tower, looking at the night sky, feeling a faint sense of unease in your heart.]

["I wonder if the Venerable Tianming will let me go?" you calculated in your mind.]

[You had previously performed a divination for Qin Han, and nowhere in the Immortal Realm was safe.]

[You didn't know if hiding in this Tianhuang Secret Realm would cause you to be forgotten by the Venerable Tianming.]

[With the Venerable Tianming's abilities, were you really safe hiding here?]

[If it were any other Mahayana Cultivator, it might be easier to say.]

[But what the Venerable Tianming excelled at most was finding people, searching for items, and divining heavenly mandates!]

[Finding you shouldn't be difficult for him.]

[Now you only hoped that he didn't take you seriously at all.]

[Unless there was something the Venerable Tianming needed you to accomplish.]

[But what could you possibly have that would help the Venerable Tianming?]

["Sigh," you sighed heavily, "I finally managed to hide the hidden threat of the immortal slaying sword, and now there's another hidden threat from the Venerable Tianming."]

["I don't even know when he started targeting me!" Your face was full of worry.]

[Thinking of this, your eyes suddenly lit up—]

[The timing of your "Heavenly Fate Dao Embryo" appearing was actually a reminder that you were being targeted by the Venerable Tianming.]

[It seems you were targeted by the Venerable Tianming when you came out of the Immortal Palace Ruins on the Tianyang Star.]

[But you couldn't worry about that much right now.]

[You didn't dare to leave this Tianhuang Secret Realm.]

[Just like if you were targeting a small Qi Refining Cultivator—you really couldn't imagine what kind of ability a Qi Refining Cultivator would have to escape from under your nose.]

[Moreover, now that you had the unexpected surprise of "Xuan Tian," there was no need to leave the Tianhuang Continent. You could also focus on closed-door cultivation in the Tianhuang Secret Realm.]

[If it were still the previous situation, you would really worry that you'd never be able to Breakthrough to the Void Refining Realm in your entire life.]