Gradually, the red hue in her eyes faded, and the violent aura surrounding her dissipated as well.

She exhaled deeply, lowering her gaze to the long sword in her hand. In the recent battle, she had come to realize one thing—her connection to this sword was far deeper than she had imagined.

Even if she were to destroy this sword, it seemed unlikely that she could shake off the so-called Hei Lian (黑莲, "Black Lotus") inheritance.

She wanted to return to find Bai Feng, but the woman’s earlier words reminded her that going back like this would likely bring trouble to him.

Now that Bai Feng had shown his talent for formations, he had finally gained the attention of both his family and sect. If she returned, she would surely drag him down.

“What… should I do?”

“Xiao Qi?”

At that moment, a voice she knew all too well, yet missed dearly, called out from a distance. She instinctively turned around to see Bai Feng rushing toward her, accompanied by Bai Yu Mo, whom she didn’t particularly like.

“Brother?” Xiao Qi instinctively hid the sword behind her, lowering her head like a child caught doing something wrong. “Why are you here? No, wait! How did you find me?”

“Of course, it was because the battle was too loud.”

Bai Feng reached out and ruffled her hair.

It was quite a coincidence; worried for Xiao Qi’s safety, he had not only asked other disciples to help search but had also brought Bai Yu Mo along. They happened to catch the overwhelming battle fluctuations from a distance.

Although the chances of Xiao Qi being there were slim, he still approached with Bai Yu Mo, hoping against hope to check it out.

In the end, Xiao Qi appeared in the least likely place.

“It seems you’ve gained quite a fortune, to unleash such strong power.”

Bai Feng smiled as he looked Xiao Qi over, then noticed her little movements and the sword hidden behind her back.

Hmm, that aura? It feels somewhat familiar.

Once Bai Feng discovered her, Xiao Qi stopped hiding and pulled out the sword, her expression downcast. “I’m sorry, Brother. I might not be able to go back with you.”

“What is this…” Bai Feng examined it closely. The aura emanating from it was far richer than that of Ye Tang and his companions’ weapons. Is this a pro max version?

He glanced at Bai Yu Mo, but she shook her head as well; she didn’t know what it was either.

“Xiao Qi, don’t worry. Can you tell me what happened?” Bai Feng gently stroked her silky white hair, trying to comfort her.

Feeling the warmth from the large hand above her head, Xiao Qi’s unease dissipated significantly. She nodded and spoke softly:

“When I was exploring, I accidentally fell into a cave and encountered a female ghost. She said I was very suitable for her inheritance and wouldn’t let me leave. She blocked my way back, so I had to keep going forward. After I finally defeated the beast blocking my path, that ghost appeared again, saying I had passed her test, and then she attached this thing to my sword.”

Bai Feng nodded thoughtfully and continued to ask, “Do you know what kind of inheritance it is?”

Xiao Qi shook her head at first, then nodded. “The ghost didn’t say, but when I was coming out, I met a very powerful woman. She said I had obtained the Hei Lian inheritance and wanted to take me away, but I—no, it was this sword that drove her off.”

“A powerful woman? Could it be the Hundred-Faced Saintess?” Bai Feng pondered, realizing that she was probably the only one who would know about such matters.

This girl really is persistent.

However, as a demonic genius who suppressed her own cultivation to enter, it was indeed a bit tragic to have faced setbacks twice in a row.

Hopefully, her mindset would falter a bit; it would be best if she fell into madness, so he wouldn’t have to worry about that demoness causing him trouble anymore!

---

Chapter 73: Or have you grown to dislike me, your brother?

“This will bring a lot of trouble, won’t it? If it’s too much, just let me go. I can’t be a burden to you.”

Xiao Qi lowered her head, staring at the black lotus on the sword. Though her tone was calm, her tightly grasped sword hilt revealed that her heart was not as tranquil as it seemed.

Bai Feng reached out and tapped her on the head. “What are you saying? Where would you go if you left? Just leave this matter to me.”

“But…”

Xiao Qi looked at the sword in her hand, feeling a wave of frustration. It seemed the world had never shown her a shred of kindness. Whenever she tried to live peacefully, it would tear her happy life apart.

Bai Feng didn’t press her further but took out a handkerchief from his storage bag, wiping the corner of his eye and pretending to be very sentimental. “Or have you grown to dislike me, your brother, and want to live on your own?”

“No, no! I could never dislike you, Brother!”

Xiao Qi panicked, but before she could explain, a warm hand rested on her head.

“Then, will you follow my arrangements? Let me handle the difficulties.”

Bai Feng ruffled her hair, his tone leaving no room for refusal.

Xiao Qi slightly raised her head, looking at Bai Feng’s serious expression, reminiscent of the day he found and took her in.

Her eyes reddened, and she nodded gently. “Mm.”

‘Great, finally calmed her down!’

Bai Feng sighed in relief. He didn’t want Xiao Qi to leave, partly because he truly cared for her, and partly because he could clearly see that she had received the villain’s script.

If he let her go, who knows when she might cross paths with the child of destiny? Given Xiao Qi’s relationship with him, wouldn’t the system then flood him with luck points?

Flooding him with luck points was one thing; what if Xiao Qi ended up being farmed by the child of destiny as a boss?

In short, he had to keep Xiao Qi with him!

At that moment, Bai Feng didn’t notice that Bai Yu Mo, who had been silent, was watching him and Xiao Qi with a somewhat disapproving gaze.

She couldn’t help but clench her fists; the title of “brother” should only belong to her.

But in the end, she released her fists. Perhaps this was her punishment for avoiding Bai Feng for the past few years. At least he still recognized her as his sister, and that was enough.

“By the way, Xiao Qi, let me take a look at your sword.”

Bai Feng suddenly remembered something—after defeating Ye Tang, the system had rewarded him with a celestial fire. It was thanks to that fire that he had burned away that strange weapon and the black energy within it.

Perhaps he could use the celestial fire to destroy the inheritance.

“Please be careful.”

Xiao Qi nodded, cautiously handing over the long sword adorned with the black lotus pattern. If the sword posed any danger to Bai Feng, she would snatch it back immediately.

Bai Feng didn’t act recklessly; he summoned the celestial fire and enveloped it around his hand as he took the sword.

The sword, which had been docile in Xiao Qi’s hands, began to tremble restlessly in his grip, as if it were trying to break free.

“Settle down.”

Bai Feng frowned and increased the intensity of the flames. Under the scorching heat, the sword emitted a piercing metallic screech, as if it were screaming in pain.

But after a while, he suddenly stopped, lost in thought.

First of all, the celestial fire could indeed burn this sword and the inheritance within it, but the problem was that this inheritance was different from the black energy in Ye Tang’s weapon; it would flee when it sensed danger.

And since he hadn’t learned fire control, he couldn’t precisely intercept it. If this inheritance managed to escape, he couldn’t guarantee what would happen.

Should he take a gamble and expand the range of the celestial fire, trying to burn both the weapon and the inheritance in one go?

But there was also the risk that it might escape too quickly, leaving things unburned.

Bai Feng turned to Xiao Qi. “I can’t guarantee I can destroy it completely, but I can help you seal it. Once we return, I’ll learn a few fire control techniques and help you destroy the Hei Lian inheritance.”

“Mm, let’s do it your way, Brother.”

Xiao Qi nodded, feeling much more at ease.

Since her brother said it could be done, then it surely could!

“Then we’ll have to keep it for a few days.”

Bai Feng planned to consult Lin Yan about the secrets of fire control once they returned. With his ability to mimic Yin-Yang patterns, mastering a few fire control techniques shouldn’t be too difficult.

As for now, while he couldn’t burn the inheritance, he could still seal it with celestial fire.

After all, this thing only had instincts; unless it involved its own safety, it would only avoid the celestial fire, rather than force its way through the flames.

However, to prevent any accidents, he made several layers of seals.

“Alright, the sealing is complete. Once we return, I’ll learn some fire control techniques and help you resolve this completely. For now, let me keep this sword.”

Bai Feng stored the long sword in his storage bag. At this point, the black lotus pattern on the sword had been covered by a red flame pattern. Upon closer inspection, one could only feel the rich fire attribute spiritual energy, without sensing anything unusual.

Moreover, Xiao Qi could feel that her connection to the long sword had weakened significantly. If she didn’t focus, she might not even notice the bond with the sword at all.