"Let go!" Ding Ling's expression changed slightly as she broke free from Ding Yan's right hand.
"I don't need you to act like a good person! Since the moment you made that decision, my brother has already died!" After saying that, Ding Ling's body gradually turned into a hazy mist in front of Ding Yan.
Reaching out, Ding Yan wanted to grab her, but what he touched was just a wisp of fog.
Suddenly, a blurry scene flashed in his mind...
In the image, a ragged child sat in front of a thatched house, holding half a stiff bun in his cold, small hands.
Under the setting sun, a lone raven cawed!
A middle-aged cultivator in a brocaded robe walked up to the child and asked, "Child, do you want to cultivate?"
The child, in confusion, asked, "What is cultivation?"
The middle-aged cultivator smiled and said, "Cultivation is seeking the path of immortality. For example, your country's master is a cultivator."
The child's eyes lit up. "The master? If I cultivate, can I become a master? If I become a master, then I won't have to go hungry anymore? My sister can wear new clothes and sleep in a warm bed, too."
"That's right. Once you cultivate, you can have as much of these things as you want," the middle-aged cultivator said.
"Okay, I'll cultivate with you!" the child exclaimed excitedly.
The middle-aged cultivator chuckled and said, "In that case, come with me."
"Wait... is Xiu Dao leaving here? What about little sister?"
The middle-aged monk ignored the child's question, picked the child up under the rib, and as the child raised its head, it faintly saw the little girl kneeling in front of the door, crying in sorrow.
"Brother, where are you going?"
...
Ding Yan didn't open his eyes, but felt a sharp pain in his head.
This memory was a forgotten part, belonging to a self-protection of one's own mind. Some particularly painful memories would be deliberately forgotten by the subconscious. And when these forgotten memories were recalled again, it would bring a sharp pain in the mind.
"So, it was me who abandoned her..." Watching the last wisp of black air seep into the ground, Ding Yan fell silent.
Although it was a reincarnation, there were some things that could never be abandoned. Because this was a cause, a continuation.
Retracting his right hand, after the last wisp of mist dissipated, Ding Yan sighed and pushed the door open, walking back inside the house.
Inside, Ding Chen sat blankly on the bed, lost in thought.
"Uncle, teach me the Tao," Ding Chen suddenly raised his head and spoke.
Ding Yan heard, but remained silent.
"Since you have already decided..."
Approaching, he extended his right hand, a faint green light appeared between his fingertips, and he pointed it at Ding Chen's forehead. Scenes flowed into Ding Chen's memory along with the touch of his fingertip.
A wealth of information surged into Ding Chen's mind, making him feel dizzy for a moment, and then he fainted.
"This set of boxing skills, you must practice with dedication... Nephew, I won't be able to accompany you in the future. As for your mother, although uncle doesn't understand why you hate her so much, it's best to see her if you can." Withdrawing his right hand, Ding Yan looked at the sleeping Ding Chen, leaving these words in his consciousness. When he woke up, he would hear them.
Ding Ling is still alive!
In order to dispel the obsession of the original owner of the body, for a new life, Ding Yan must find her and fulfill the wish of the original body's owner. As for Ding Chen, since he has chosen this path, he must learn to walk it on his own. A young eagle must leave the care of its elders in order to grow.
Closing the door, Ding Yan went downstairs, paid a piece of jade to the innkeeper, and after adding thirty days, he walked out of the inn again. He no longer had any mundane money on him, using jade as money, although somewhat wasteful, it was unavoidable. Fortunately, jade contained a small amount of elemental power within. With jade as the room rent for thirty days, the innkeeper naturally agreed.
After leaving the inn, Ding Yan gathered the air in his hand.
A semi-transparent breath emanated from the inn and merged into his palm. This breath was a spiritual imprint left in Ding Chen's body.
After collecting the spiritual imprint, Ding Yan turned and walked to a shady area next to the inn.
This was where Ding Ling first appeared.
After observing this place for a while, Ding Yan frowned as he couldn't sense any clues with his spiritual imprint. After pondering for a moment, Ding Yan swept his robe and sat down on the ground.
Passersby curiously watched Ding Yan, not understanding why this scholar suddenly sat there, and some even deliberately came over to ask if Ding Yan was an astrologer. Ignoring them, Ding Yan closed his eyes, extended his left hand, and formed a seal.
Derivation Technique!
The Derivation Technique was a method to deduce information about mortals, impossible for deducing information about cultivators. Ding Yan didn't know what state Ding Ling was in now, but he was sure of one thing, she was definitely not a cultivator. Because Ding Yan couldn't sense any elemental power fluctuations from her. In addition to the strange extreme yin power, Ding Ling also had a large amount of impure qi.
Impure qi was for the mundane. In other words, Ding Ling still belonged to the mundane level.
That was why the Derivation Technique could continue to deduce information about her. Otherwise, Ding Yan would need to seek other methods to find her.
As the seal deepened, a faint mist enveloped Ding Yan's body. At the same time, from the shadow on the ground, a barely noticeable breath was captured by him and injected into a semi-transparent seal.
"What is that person doing?"
"Could he be a fool?"
"He looks like a Taoist..."
Passersby curiously watched Ding Yan.
In their eyes, Ding Yan was just sitting there, motionless.
Suddenly, Ding Yan opened his eyes.
In his pupils, a picture was reflected.
In the picture, Ding Ling was sitting in a dark courtyard, surrounded by gloom. In front of her, a man in a white brocade robe was sitting cross-legged. Just when Ding Yan wanted to observe further, the white-robed man suddenly opened his eyes.
A dazzling light burst from his pitch-black eyes, as if he was gazing directly at Ding Yan through the void.
Click...
At that moment, the picture suddenly shattered.
Ding Yan's expression turned dark on the spot. Although it was only a brief glimpse, Ding Yan saw clearly where Ding Ling was. As for the white-clothed man, from Ding Yan's perception, his cultivation level should not be weaker than his.
"So, she went to that place... It turns out that the place is also part of the mundane world within the cycle of reincarnation... but who is that man in white? How could he sense my Derivation Technique..."
After pondering for a long time, Ding Yan finally gave up on thinking. He stood up, took a few steps, and disappeared into thin air.
"Good heavens, that person disappeared!"
"Monster!"
The sudden disappearance of a big man caused a brief commotion in the city.
Meanwhile, Ding Yan had already left the area of Jianjing, appearing in the Jiulong Mountain Range...