At this age, he should have long since retired from public life. But the Bai Family Stronghold had been in a difficult situation these past years. As the patriarch's uncle and an Elder serving as a key minister, he had dedicated himself tirelessly, fulfilling his duties to the utmost, unable to step away. At this critical moment when the family's survival hung in the balance, he had accepted orders to venture out, and during the march, he had unexpectedly detected the auras of two Gu Masters.
Could they be Demonic Path Gu Masters?
This operation was of tremendous significance to the Bai family — there could be no failures. He immediately led his team over.
"They're actually just two youngsters?" Upon seeing Fang Yuan and Bai Ningbing, he couldn't help but feel surprised.
His gaze swept over them, and first came to rest on Bai Ningbing.
Bai Ningbing's face was covered in frost, her eyes radiating cold intent, her blue eyes staring fearlessly at Bai Moxing — her Third Transformation aura unmistakable.
"So young, and already at the Third Transformation — a genius!" Not just Bai Moxing, but the other three as well all had this thought as they looked at Bai Ningbing.
In that moment, all four pairs of eyes were focused on Bai Ningbing.
Having transformed into a female body, Bai Ningbing's appearance was elegant and refined, carrying an aura of cold detachment that made her resemble an ice fairy. Even though she was somewhat disheveled, it did nothing to diminish her pearl-like radiance. If anything, it further highlighted her unyielding nature, inspiring both admiration and tender affection.
Compared to her, Fang Yuan standing behind her seemed all the more unremarkable.
Fang Yuan had an ordinary appearance and was only at the First Transformation. Many people's gazes swept past him before turning back to Bai Ningbing.
Fang Yuan was happy to see this — he wished these people would pay even less attention to him.
But Bai Moxing was different.
Before long, his gaze shifted toward Fang Yuan.
Bai Ningbing shielded Fang Yuan, striking a posture that said she would fight to the death and never yield. And though Fang Yuan hid behind Bai Ningbing, his eyes were calm and composed.
"For this genius girl to protect him so fiercely, it seems this young man might be the leader of the two. What sort of person could he be?" Bai Moxing, after all, was an old fox sharpened by experience, his eye for people absolutely razor-sharp.
Originally, he had assumed they were two Demonic Path Gu Masters, but now his certainty wavered.
Judging by the way Bai Ningbing and Fang Yuan carried themselves, along with their proper Gu Master attire, they looked more like young masters from a noble clan who had fallen on hard times.
"If they were Demonic Path Gu Masters, killing them would be the end of it. But if they're young masters from some great clan, I need to be careful. If I provoke the forces backing them and bring trouble upon the Bai Family Village, then I, Bai Moxing, would be the sinner of the clan! Fortunately, I am strong and they are weak, so the situation remains firmly under my control."
Bai Moxing was still weighing his options when Fang Yuan took a step forward and abruptly stepped out.
He cupped his fists and said, "This humble youth is Gu Yue Fang Zheng, young master of the Gu Yue clan of Qing Mao Mountain. I pay my respects to my senior."
"Qing Mao Mountain?"
"The young master of the Gu Yue clan?"
The crowd murmured in astonishment.
Bai Ningbing was equally surprised, but she lowered her eyelids slightly, concealing the flaws in her gaze.
She knew Fang Yuan had begun his charade. With the enemy strong and them weak, only wit could get them out of this predicament.
She saw the situation with perfect clarity, and the threads of tacit understanding built up over these past days prompted her to take a small step back of her own accord. She moved to stand at Fang Yuan's side, still glaring with righteous fury, the very picture of a bodyguard ready to die for her charge.
"Young man, you lie! Qing Mao Mountain was destroyed long ago. You think this old man doesn't know?" Bai Moxing's face turned cold as he barked out the words.
Fang Yuan offered a bitter smile and spread his hands. "It is precisely because Qing Mao Mountain was destroyed that I have ended up here. May I boldly ask for my senior's name?"
Bai Moxing was still debating whether to reveal his name, but a young man beside him had already spoken up: "Then listen carefully — we are the elite of the Bai Family Stronghold. This is the First Elder of our Bai Family Stronghold, and also my uncle — Lord Bai Moxing!"
In that moment, Bai Moxing wished he could kick his nephew to death.
The Bai Family's current operation was conducted with great fanfare. But the true objective was known only to the clan's higher-ups — these people had all been kept completely in the dark.
On the surface, they had set out to hunt and temper the Young Master's courage. But their real purpose was to scout the location of the Origin Spring at White Bone Mountain and carry out preliminary clearing work.
"But there's no way they could guess." Bai Moxing glanced at Fang Yuan and Bai Ningbing, then quickly calmed himself down.
"So it really is the Bai Family." Fang Yuan sneered inwardly.
From the moment these four Gu Masters had appeared, he had already formed a rough guess.
The Bai Family's Origin Spring was on the verge of drying up, which meant they needed to find a new one and then relocate the entire clan.
Relocating a clan was an enormously significant undertaking with a great deal of preparatory work. It also had to be kept strictly secret.
Otherwise, if hostile forces were to learn of it and move to sabotage the effort, the Bai Family would face the danger of complete annihilation.
Fang Yuan hadn't expected that the Bai Family leader would have calculated this far in advance, beginning preparations a full decade ago. Sending these clansmen to White Bone Mountain periodically for investigation.
The Bai Family's future prosperity was indeed for a reason.
The appearance of the Bai family Gu Masters was somewhat surprising to Fang Yuan. This would undoubtedly have a massive impact on his subsequent actions.
However, on his face, Fang Yuan wore a perfectly measured smile. He cupped his fists and said, "So it's fellow Daoists from the Bai Family Stronghold. A pleasure to meet you!"
He then turned his head to Bai Ningbing and said, "Ningbing, fall back. It's fine, the Bai Family Stronghold isn't a Demonic Path Gu Master nest."
Hearing Fang Yuan speak to her in such a gentle tone, Bai Ningbing nearly broke out in goosebumps.