His smile was incredibly kind, but to Chu Lingwei, it felt utterly insincere.
"Fellow Daoist, I am Bai He of the Renyan Sect."
Bai He took a step back and bowed slightly to Chu Lingwei.
"Senior, what guidance do you have for me?"
Bai He's cultivation was profound; Chu Lingwei could not discern his level. He was likely beyond the Supreme Realm.
"Fellow Daoist, the small beast that just left, is it your spirit beast?" Bai He got straight to the point. "I am very fond of your spirit beast. Would you be willing to part with it?"
"Of course not."
Chu Lingwei chuckled lightly, glancing at a white spirit snake on his shoulder. "I'm quite fond of the spirit snake on your shoulder. How many spirit stones are you selling it for?"
Bai He's expression faltered. He felt his shoulder's little spirit snake stirring with agitation. He reached out and gently patted its body. "Little friend, my spirit snake is my intrinsic spirit beast; it cannot be sold."
"Since you know your spirit beast cannot be sold, why are you so certain mine can be sold?" Chu Lingwei countered. It seemed he intended to pressure her with his cultivation.
"I observed carefully just now. They are not your intrinsic spirit beasts." Bai He replied very earnestly. He was certain that the two small beasts did not have a very close connection with Chu Lingwei.
As long as it wasn't a life-bound contract, severing it would not harm the cultivator.
"They are indeed my life-bound spirit beasts." Chu Lingwei turned, about to leave.
Just as she turned, a barrier was suddenly erected around them, plunging her into complete darkness, where not even a finger could be seen.
"Senior, is this truly appropriate?" Chu Lingwei remained calm. Killing someone on the street, or being killed herself – either way, this was a first for Chu Lingwei.
"Little friend, I only want your spirit beast. If you are willing to part with it, you may name your price."
Bai He, clad in white, appeared before Chu Lingwei, his smile still gentle. "I do not wish to harm you, but I must obtain that spirit beast today."
"Oh, which one have you taken a liking to?"
Chu Lingwei's fingers subtly twitched. Spending all her time with cats had made her an expert at breaking formations.
"The fire-element spirit beast."
He had his sights set on Feng Ming.
"If I refuse, I imagine you won't let me leave here, will you?" Chu Lingwei's spiritual energy had already enveloped the formation's core. With a mere flick of her finger, this formation would be destroyed at any moment.
"If you are foolish and don't know what's good for you, then that is your own choice."
Bai He's voice turned cold. There was no one he wanted to kill that he couldn't.
"Unfortunately, you don't have the ability today."
Chu Lingwei flipped her right hand. The darkness before her was rapidly engulfed by white light. Bai He felt a blinding flash and found himself lost in a vast expanse of white.
"Where is this place?"
"Since Senior enjoys setting up formations, you can enjoy setting them up here to your heart's content."
Chu Lingwei chuckled and stepped out of the formation, watching Bai He stand in the middle of the street, wildly brandishing his spiritual sword, like a madman.
"Weiwei, this person is too detestable," Huanmao said with a cold expression, leaping to the front of the formation and reinforcing it with several more barriers. This way, even if he were a Supreme Realm expert, he wouldn't be able to break through easily.
"Let him stay here."
A crowd had gathered around Bai He, watching him with amusement. They used recording stones to capture his comical antics and send them to their fellow Daoists.
Chu Lingwei watched the Daoist's actions, marveling that she hadn't considered the recording stone's function for this purpose.
She took out a recording stone, captured Bai He's image, and found a mission hall to send it to the Renyan Sect, so that the disciples of Renyan Sect could see their ancestor's splendid performance.
After finishing this, Chu Lingwei went to the Leng family's inn.
"Fairy Chu, your room has been tidied."
Before Chu Lingwei could speak, the innkeeper hurried out to greet her, showing great respect.
"No need. I'll sit upstairs."
Chu Lingwei wasn't tired. She gestured towards the second floor and sat by the window, looking down at the cultivators passing by on the street.
The current Song City was very different from its past. Previously, there were no cultivators below the Third Realm in Song City. But now, everywhere one looked, there were disciples in the Spiritual Movement Realm and Spiritual Wheel Realm.
"Weiwei, what are these people doing here?"
Feng Ming peered over the window. There was nowhere to train here, and it was far from the mainland, making it pointless.
"There are water spirit beasts everywhere here. As long as they are willing, there are inexhaustible resources." She guessed that some of the cultivators coming to Song City were hoping to get lucky and find some of the scattered magical artifacts from the Meng family, while others were interested in the water spirit beasts here.
The water spirit beasts near Song City had already been tamed by the Meng family, making them easy to deal with.
"Weiwei, why don't we also take on some missions and hunt a few water spirit beasts?" Huanmao really wanted to witness powerful water spirit beasts, which would also help improve its cultivation.
"Let's wait another two days before deciding." Song City had only just been built. Various forces were vying to carve up the resources here. They, as minor cultivators, could easily be sacrificed.
Chu Lingwei was constantly worried about her father. She wondered if her senior brother bringing her here had anything to do with her father.
Thinking of this, Chu Lingwei's mind stirred.
"Mao Mao, Feng Ming, let's go out and look around."
Chu Lingwei did not return to her room. She took Huanmao and the others out of the inn, searching for any clues her father might have left behind.
"Mao Mao, take Feng Ming and look for places where Father might have appeared." Chu Lingwei took out her tracking talisman, hoping to find any trace of her father.
"Alright, we're going now."
Huanmao nodded and led Feng Ming forward.
Meanwhile.
Bai He, using all his strength, was unable to break free from the barrier that encased him.
"Who exactly is she?"
Thinking of Chu Lingwei, a mere female cultivator in the ordinary Spiritual Wheel Realm, how could she possess such powerful formation and barrier skills? Bai He was utterly frustrated to the point of dying.
Leng Xingzhi watched Bai He, who was trying to break the barrier with sheer force, and a hint of killing intent flashed in his eyes.
Since he liked trapping others with barriers so much, he should never be let out again.
From then on, Song City had another famous attraction: on the main street of Song City, a Supreme Realm mighty figure was trapped within a barrier, unable to escape despite trying every method.
This was all a story for another time.
On that day, Chu Lingwei, along with Huanmao and the others, searched the entire Song City but found no trace of her father.
"Weiwei, could it be that Uncle Chu doesn't want us to find him?"
Every time they tracked Chu Ze's whereabouts, they were unable to find any trace.
"That's certain."
Regardless of the reason, her father did not want his whereabouts known. Thinking of someone who had removed half of the spiritual message he had given her, Chu Lingwei's expression grew solemn.