"The young lady left after being rescued~"
"Of course, she left~"
"Left~"
Jian Sheng's eyes snapped open, her chest heaving as she gasped for fresh air.
Lou Jusheng looked at the little girl, his aged eyes filled with tenderness.
"Another nightmare?"
He skillfully opened his phone, and gentle melodies flowed from it.
"Don't be afraid, go back to sleep." His aged, kind voice resonated.
Lou Jusheng had become accustomed to the little girl waking up from nightmares these past two days.
No matter how many bedtime stories he told her, they offered no relief.
Jian Sheng nodded and closed her eyes again.
Her heart was still pounding.
This wasn't the first time she'd heard Lou Jusheng tell similar stories. In his tales, he was the hero who saved girls in danger.
When she finally asked where these girls had gone, she always received the same answer.
"Of course, they left~"
Left?
Left from where?
Jian Sheng already knew the answer to that question.
In this current world where spiritual energy was scarce, how did Lou Jusheng, without any inheritance or resources, defy heaven and cultivate to the Foundation Establishment stage?
By absorbing the spiritual energy within her, she could tell he practiced a technique that absorbed others' power for his own use.
Cultivation methods were neither good nor evil; it all depended on the wielder.
But a technique that relied solely on plundering the energy of others, if the user became lost to the method, they would most likely become an evil cultivator.
Growing stronger by harming and plundering others' lives!
Jian Sheng had spiritual energy within her, and Lou Jusheng mistakenly believed she had a special constitution that allowed him to plunder it.
What about others then?
If they had no spiritual energy, what could be plundered?
The answer: Qi and blood!
And what did Qi and blood affect?
The answer: Vitality!
These were all powers that could be plundered and used through evil methods!
This was why evil cultivators were despised and hunted in the cultivation world!
For Lou Jusheng to cultivate to his current level in such a harsh environment, with his lingering malevolent aura, he must have already taken countless lives.
Thus, the earlier question had its answer.
Left from where?
Naturally, they had left this world.
Lou Jusheng believed Jian Sheng knew nothing, so he spoke these stories without any reservations.
He never even thought Jian Sheng would take these stories seriously.
Even if she learned the truth after cultivating with him, he would still be the good guy in his stories.
She, however, did not know that the young girl had been raised by elders from the cultivation world, her knowledge and insight were boundless!
He thought he was telling touching heroic tales, but to the little girl, they were utterly terrifying stories!
Behind each story lay countless innocent souls!
Jian Sheng tried to empty her mind, to stop the whispers that constantly echoed in her brain like chanting. Her breathing gradually evened out.
Lou Jusheng gently patted the little girl's back, already planning her future cultivation path.
Such a rare, innate spiritual body should not be wasted.
-
The capital city.
Gu Jiangyan and Jian Junruo, who had escaped safely with the protection of the jade talisman, returned.
However, unlike the usual eerie atmosphere of familiar strangers, a subtle, indescribable tension now existed between them.
Another gathering of the highest echelons of several major families.
This time, it was led by Qi Suibai.
Qi Suibai was the only representative from the Qi family, but what he hadn't told the others was that the entire Qi family was in a state of highest alert for this incident!
The Qi family's little ancestor had been kidnapped on their turf! How could they tolerate this?!
Even for their safety, they had willingly allowed the culprit to take the little ancestor out of the country.
But the Qi family's overseas forces had already been mobilized!
Lou Jusheng and Xu Shao's actions and routes were constantly within the Qi family's surveillance range!
And through their movements, the Qi family had already deduced their next destination!
"Sister! That scoundrel Jian Juntan didn't even include you in something this big, and you're still trying to speak up for him?"
"Don't say he forgot; I think he's just hooked up with the Gu and Qi families and doesn't care about you anymore!"
"Yu Ling, if you continue like this, you'll be infinitely marginalized by Jian Juntan, do you know that!"
"Think about ten years ago, why did we marry you into the Jian family? They promised so well back then, but what happened in the end?"
"Not only did they not help us, but they even let Jian Junruo leave when a single marriage alliance could have resolved the trouble. They allowed us, along with the Jian family, to be ostracized by other families!"
"Now Jian Juntan is already guarding against you, and you represent the Chen family. Do you know what that means?"
"The more he disregards our Chen family, the lower your influence in the Jian family will be!"
Chen Yuling's initial hesitation gradually turned into resolve.
"Brother, you're right. Influence needs to be fought for! I won't be soft-hearted like before!"
Chen Yulou looked at his sister, who had come to understand, with a look of relief.
He then turned to his eldest brother—the current head of the Chen family, Chen Yucheng!
Chen Yucheng's stern face showed satisfaction. With a wave of his hand, he signaled his bodyguards to charge in directly!