Chapter 591: That Clear Eye Contact Is Impossible To Fake
“Ugh, ugh, I thought I’d never see you again.”
Little Jiu launched herself straight at Bai Feng, burying her face in his clothes like a puppy with a new toy.
Bai Feng smirked and gently ruffled her hair. “You know my strength, right? How could anything really happen to me?”
Then he turned to Little Qi, who was standing in front of him, and gave her a big thumbs-up. “Little Qi, you did a great job.”
Apparently, Little Qi had kept her cool and didn’t lose it because of his sudden disappearance—props for that.
“If you’d come out any later, we’d really be in trouble,” Tian Yan said, her expression still as deadpan as ever, but with a hint of annoyance. “By the way, what about the Demon Woman?”
“Already dead,” Shui Miao Miao chimed in, “But she left me with quite a few questions.”
“Good riddance then…”
Tian Yan twirled the copper coin in her hand, her brow furrowed. She thought this was her mistake—she hadn’t expected the Demon Woman’s appearance, which caused Bai Feng to vanish right before her eyes.
“Junior Brother…” Yu Yao approached him, her usually cheerful face clouded with worry. She sniffled and quietly said, “You really scared me to d*ath.”
Bai Feng reached out, ruffling her hair again. This time, she didn’t resist but instead gently embraced him.
“I told you Bai Feng’s fine,” Shui Miao Miao sighed in relief, a faint smile appearing on her face.
Water Xi Yu shot her a glance. “Then who was crying and throwing a fit just now?”
“Uh…” Shui Miao Miao’s cheeks flushed red. She mumbled under her breath, “You’re not exactly looking great either.”
“Master… Cough, Young Master, this was my mistake. Please punish me.” Left Qiu bowed respectfully.
Bai Feng gave her a playful smack on the head—punishment? Or maybe a reward?
“Did the Demon Woman do anything to you? Did she force you to have a little demon girl of your own?” Hu Yiyi asked, eyeing him skeptically.
Bai Feng was about to give her another playful hit on the head—what was this girl even thinking?
Meanwhile, Su Lan Qian remained the calmest among them all, trusting that Bai Feng could handle everything and return—just like he helped her resolve her own Heart Demon and save her.
“Alright, let’s head back.”
…
“So you mean the Demon Woman’s memories aren’t complete?” Bai Feng frowned slightly as he confirmed with the incarnation of the Tao in front of him. “Is it because Qian Mian didn’t fully merge with her?”
The incarnation shook his head. “That’s impossible. I accessed only the Demon Woman’s memories—no damage from the reading. And most likely, she deleted them herself.”
“Troublesome. Why would she erase her own memories?”
Bai Feng rubbed his head, deep in thought. He didn’t think her memory loss was accidental, but the question remained: why did she choose to delete her memories and then d*e?
“First, it’s certain she wasn’t guarding against us,” the incarnation said. “Most likely, she was protecting herself from Qian Mian.”
Bai Feng nodded slightly. After a few seconds, he asked, “Which part did she delete?”
“Memories after the Saint Heart Sect was taken over by the Divine Monarch. But not everything—she deleted multiple segments, ranging from two or three months to only a few days. She also erased much of her pre-Saint Heart Sect memories.”
“Hmm…”
Bai Feng stroked his chin, realizing it matched his guess—she was probably trying to hide something that happened during this period, which led to her change of heart. She no longer solely aimed to bring him back as the Holy Son.
He speculated she tried to break free from Qian Mian’s control during that time. From the ending, it seemed she failed, but why erase memories? Why wipe even her pre-Saint Heart Sect past?
“Besides that, I found something else,” the incarnation raised a hand, projecting an image—an indistinct portrait.
“This is from Qian Mian’s memories. Qian Mian’s law code marks all cultivators practicing it. That way, all practitioners could potentially become a vessel for Its resurrection—this is what I learned from the mark on her.”
Bai Feng examined the blurry face, asking, “According to the Demon Woman, Qian Mian isn’t a single person but a collective. How can she grow back then? And what’s the resurrected Qian Mian?”
“This is the brilliance of the Qian Mian Immortal,” the incarnation explained. “Before becoming an immortal, Qian Mian wasn’t an ordinary cultivator; she was a ghost cultivator. In her practice, she devoured too many ghosts, causing her memories to become chaotic and her sense of self to fragment. She was quite ruthless—she abandoned her ‘self,’ leaving only her Dao ideals as an anchor. So no matter how many ghosts she devoured or memories she fused, she wouldn’t truly disappear.”
Bai Feng nodded slightly. “And if someone doesn’t agree with her ideals?”
“It’s simple. Cultivators practicing this technique, when they devour too many people and their memories clash before the inheritance of Qian Mian is activated, will develop a sub-personality to bear the burden. Initially, these sub-personalities are obedient helpers, but if the main personality rejects Qian Mian’s ideals, then Qian Mian will choose to acknowledge a sub-personality that aligns with her ideology to devour the main one. So, what the Demon Woman said is correct—if you practice the Qian Mian method, your ending is basically sealed. If you don’t want to be Qian Mian, you can be replaced by a sub-personality. The Demon Woman falls into this category.”
“Whoa, that’s pretty sneaky.”
No wonder the Immortals weren’t straightforward.
Suddenly, a thought struck him. “If there are others practicing the Qian Mian technique, wouldn’t Qian Mian return someday?”
“Exactly. But the Demon Woman has already cleaned up some. If there are leftovers, I can track them using Qian Mian’s divine sense.”
Bai Feng exhaled in relief. It’s clear the Demon Woman hates Qian Mian intensely.
“By the way, just looking at the portrait, I can’t tell much.” He stared at the blurry image, finding nothing useful.
“Don’t look with your eyes—use your divine sense. This isn’t just a portrait; it carries information.”
After hearing the explanation, Bai Feng unleashed his divine consciousness. Suddenly, the portrait ‘before’ him changed.
He felt as if he entered a filthy cave, where a little girl curled in a corner. Tears from crying still streaked her face, clutching a book tightly. But her eyes weren’t filled with sadness—they looked numb, as if she had already accepted her fate.
” Luo Qian Qian?”
Looking at the girl, Bai Feng was inexplicably reminded of that genius disciple from Formation Peak.
The two didn’t look alike exactly, but from other details, he thought this girl bore some resemblance to Luo Qian Qian.
Interestingly, the days when Luo Qian Qian was out and about coincided with the time the Demon Woman erased her memories. Maybe just a coincidence, but he felt it was worth investigating.
If Luo Qian Qian really was the Demon Woman, it would explain her behavior. Her attempt to seek d*ath was because she believed she couldn’t truly d*e—she could use d*ath to free herself from Qian Mian’s control.
However, from his observation, Luo Qian Qian seemed worlds apart from the Demon Woman. Her crystal-clear eyes and naive, inexperienced demeanor were impossible to fake.
‘Strengthen observation on Luo Qian Qian, and gather more info about the Demon Woman’s background. Or better yet, enter her dreams to find clues.’
Bai Feng quickly made up his mind. He wasn’t too worried about Luo Qian Qian—if his intuition was right and she was indeed the Demon Woman, then her ultimate goal was probably to escape the control of Qian Mian. Her obsession with d*ath and deleting her memories indicated she knew she wasn’t accepted by the righteous path, so she wouldn’t do extreme things. Instead, she might just pose as a righteous disciple obediently.
“Looks like you guessed something. Let’s go. I still have to organize the information on Qian Mian and those stone statues. Don’t bother me if it’s not urgent.”
“Okay, thank you.” Bai Feng smiled and ruffled the incarnation’s small head. “Since you’ve been helping me so diligently these past few days, I won’t force you to study every day anymore. I’ll give you a few days off.”
“Scram!”
