"I don't understand what you're saying. My surname isn't Bai, and I don't know you. Just let me go."
The disfigured man struggled desperately to break free, yet he didn't dare look Chu Feng in the eye.
Chu Feng wasted no more words. He grabbed the man and soared through the sky, landing in a spot he deemed safe before setting up a concealment formation.
He then produced a medicinal pill, pried open the man's mouth, and forcibly stuffed it in.
Only after helping the man refine the pill did he begin examining his injuries.
But upon doing so, Chu Feng's heart lurched — the situation was far worse than he had anticipated.
Bai Yunqing's Spirit Bloodline was gone, forcibly stripped away.
The only reason he still possessed any cultivation at all was due to residual bloodline traces and special medicinal pills.
Though those pills were potent, they were actually poison pills. Continuing down this path would inevitably lead to his death, and he likely didn't have much time left.
"Brother Bai, if something were to happen to me, would you just stand by and do nothing?" Chu Feng asked.
The sudden question caught the man off guard.
"I know — you wouldn't stand by and do nothing."
"So if it were me, I'd do the same."
"Tell me, what exactly happened."
"I can help you. If not now, then in the future, I definitely will."
"You don't want to just die like this, do you? Letting the one who committed such crimes against you live freely and without consequence?" Chu Feng asked.
Hearing this, the man's body began to tremble faintly — he was wavering.
"Brother Chu Feng, I'm sorry..." The man lowered his head. His voice was barely a whisper, yet it was filled with remorse.
Though his voice was still exceptionally hoarse, he finally acknowledged his identity.
He was Bai Yunqing.
"Brother Bai, tell me — what exactly happened?" Chu Feng asked.
"It's my own fault. Back then, I didn't heed your warning and blindly trusted that bastard."
"I brought this upon myself." Bai Yunqing's entire body shook violently — it was rage, and it was self-blame.
"Was it Taishi Xingzhong after all?"
"What exactly happened?" Chu Feng asked.
He had long sensed something was off about Taishi Xingzhong, but without evidence, he had only warned Bai Yunqing back then.
Then, Bai Yunqing recounted the whole ordeal.
It was indeed Taishi Xingzhong's doing.
It turned out Taishi Xingzhong had a son who was originally a genius Spirit World Master.
Relying on his father's backing, the son committed all manner of wicked deeds without restraint.
But the vast cultivation world was full of formidable experts, and there were those he could not afford to offend.
One day, Taishi Xingzhong's son provoked a deranged woman.
That woman had a vicious temper and ruthless methods.
She not only crippled the son's cultivation but also subjected him to the agony of being burned alive.
Her methods were extraordinarily powerful — for an ordinary person, there would have been nothing but a slow, agonizing death.
But Taishi Xingzhong was no ordinary person.
Through his efforts, he managed to keep his son alive. But the method was cruel.
He would periodically have Bai Yunqing use his bloodline to extend his son's life.
At first, Bai Yunqing felt that his master had shown him tremendous kindness, so helping his son survive — even if it was painful, even if it affected him — was simply repaying a debt of gratitude. He harbored no suspicions and did his utmost to comply.
But who could have imagined the truth ran so much deeper.
The life-extending process had merely been a tempering phase. Once the time was right, Taishi Xingzhong intended to trade Bai Yunqing's life for his son's.
"That bastard had been biding his time for the right moment. The Totem Dragon Clan possesses a treasure, and once obtained, it could complete the life-exchange ritual."
"A while back, he participated in the rebellion within the Totem Dragon Clan. The rebellion succeeded, and he got what he wanted."
"And before the ritual began, he told me the full truth. My parents... they never abandoned me."
"What I saw were illusions — illusions he fabricated. My parents were actually already killed by him."
"He destroyed my family. He's my enemy, yet I served him devotedly for all these years, filled with gratitude."
"I... I... I've failed my father. I've failed my mother."
At this point, Bai Yunqing grew increasingly agitated. Recalling how many years he had spent working for his enemy — how he had hated the parents who truly loved him — the more he thought about it, the more consumed by hatred he became. He began frantically pounding himself.
It was clear he intended to beat himself to death.
Seeing this, Chu Feng immediately intervened to stop him, but he didn't offer many words of comfort. While this world held no identical experiences and true empathy was impossible, Chu Feng could imagine how Bai Yunqing felt.
The first time Chu Feng's impression of Bai Yunqing had truly changed was when Bai Yunqing had been trapped inside an illusion formation, lying on the ground, begging his parents not to leave.
In that moment, Bai Yunqing's emotions had been genuine. It was clear that deep down, he had always loved his parents dearly.