The top floor of Ping An Tower.
A thrilling birthday banquet is about to commence.
Unlike the structure below, the top floor of Ping An Tower is a large, single-level space.
It is supported by only two thick pillars.
And on these pillars are carved depictions of the eighteen levels of hell.
Torches are stuck into them, emitting a faint blue light.
On this top floor, there is even a wide staircase.
At the top of the staircase, thousands of bead curtains block the view, but one can faintly make out figures moving behind them.
At the bottom of the staircase.
Bai Yusheng, with his hands in his pockets, directed his subordinates to carry the gifts for the Old Ancestor out of the elevator one by one.
He then arranged all the gifts in a line, for a more direct display.
After completing this, he had everyone split into two columns and stand guard on either side.
It had the air of an ancient imperial court during audience.
Bai Yusheng cleared his throat, stood in the center at the bottom of the stairs, and shouted:
"Your junior, Bai Yusheng, comes to celebrate the birthday of my great-great-great-great-grandfather! I wish my great-grandfather a life as long as the heavens, and eternal yin blessings!"
Bai Yusheng's subordinates also prostrated themselves:
"We wish the Old Ancestor a life as long as the heavens, and eternal yin blessings!!"
"We wish the Old Ancestor a life as long as the heavens, and eternal yin blessings!!"
"We wish the Old Ancestor a life as long as the heavens, and eternal yin blessings!!"
Amidst the celebratory cheers, two scantily clad, alluring female ghosts emerged from behind the bead curtains.
With pale faces and eerie smiles, the female ghosts slowly rolled up the bead curtains.
There, on a Luohan bed behind the bead curtains, lay an old man nearly three meters tall.
Although the old man had a white beard and a gaunt body, he showed no signs of senility.
On the contrary, he was merely wrapped in a white silk cloth, reclining amidst the tender affections of several alluring female ghosts.
Before him lay exquisite nectar and jade dew, along with fine delicacies on jade plates.
This old man was Bai Shixi, a being with cultivation approaching the level of a Ghost King!
Upon Bai Shixi's appearance, even Bai Yusheng and Fang Qiu lowered their heads, not daring to look directly at him.
Let alone Bai Yusheng's subordinates.
Bai Shixi seemed to pay no mind to these descendants who had come to celebrate his birthday.
He continued to amuse himself with his playthings.
Bai Yusheng dared not urge him, and could only keep his head bowed, even as his neck grew stiff.
After a long while, Bai Shixi let out a soft hum:
"You may all look up now."
The members of the Bai family raised their heads, only to see Bai Shixi already seated upright on the Luohan bed, with his alluring female ghosts sitting on either side of him.
Bai Yusheng smiled and said, "Great-grandfather, the Old Ancestor asked me to send his regards."
"I am well, very well!"
Bai Shixi scoffed, tilted his head back, and said:
"Having celebrated too many birthdays, they have lost their meaning. Blink, and another year has passed. Very well, since I am close to breaking through to become a Ghost King, I shall see what gifts you have brought me this time!"
Bai Yusheng quickly ordered his subordinates to open the gifts.
Gold, silver, jewels, silks, and elixirs.
There is no need to elaborate on these.
Among the opened chests, many were filled with neatly arranged black gourds.
Bai Shixi swept his gaze over them, indifferent to the precious treasures, but very interested in these black gourds.
Bai Yusheng picked up a black gourd. Upon removing the wooden stopper, dozens of incomplete souls floated out.
These souls had all been snatched from living people. Due to their incompleteness, they lacked self-awareness and were merely wandering spirits.
Now, they didn't even know how to escape, drifting foolishly in mid-air.
Bai Yusheng introduced, "Great-grandfather, each of these black gourds contains thirty-six remnant souls. This time, I have prepared twenty boxes for you, with ten black gourds in each box! That amounts to a total of seven thousand two hundred remnant souls!"
Seven thousand two hundred remnant souls meant that seven thousand two hundred people had been harmed by Bai Yusheng.
Among them, even Chen Dawei's remnant soul had originally been there.
Even Fang Qiu's brow furrowed upon hearing this immense number.
In the context of this era, seven thousand two hundred remnant souls were not easily obtained.
Feeding so many remnant souls to that old fellow Bai Shixi was truly a waste of heaven's bounty!
Fang Qiu felt both envy and jealousy.
Bai Shixi was indeed very pleased with this gift.
He laughed heartily and waved his hand. The alluring female ghosts beside him stepped forward and collected all the gifts.
After receiving the gifts, Bai Shixi was in a good mood.
Bai Yusheng seized the opportunity to say, "Great-grandfather, what are your thoughts on the matter we discussed earlier?"
Bai Shixi did not consider it for long: "Isn't it just about dealing with some insignificant individuals? I see you've brought plenty of manpower, so I shall grant your request!"
Saying this, Bai Shixi stood up and stretched languidly:
"Coincidentally, today is my birthday, and my breakthrough to Ghost King is imminent. I shall use the life of that so-called descendant of Lu Ban you mentioned to help me break through to the Ghost King realm!!"
With Bai Shixi's reply, Bai Yusheng's spirits lifted.
He knew that tonight's affair was already a sure thing.
Thus, Bai Yusheng bowed and said,
"In that case, I shall take everyone and withdraw first. When the time comes, Great-grandfather, please detain Yan Shouyi and his party. We will then reveal ourselves to assist you!"
Bai Shixi waved his hand dismissively, "Even if you don't return, they will be no match for me!"
"Great-grandfather, it is better to be cautious. Yan Shouyi has gathered the Ghost King Liu Jingkang of the Liu family, as well as the Grand Elder of the Lü Shan Sect, Lü Jing..."
"Liu Jingkang is already weak and poses no threat. As for Lü Jing... when I was still alive, Lü Jing wasn't even born!"
Bai Shixi was extremely confident in himself.
With that, Bai Yusheng dared not say more.
He turned around, waved his hand, and led everyone away.
At the same time, Yan Shouyi and his group had already laid an ambush on the 45th floor and above.
Hearing the commotion of Bai Yusheng and his group descending, Yan Shouyi and the others knew the time had come.
...
As the sun set, its light gradually disappeared, and darkness took over the land.
It also enveloped the Ink Bamboo Forest within the Lü Shan Sect's mountain gate, in the Wen Ru Fang of the Three Lanes and Seven Alleys.
Lin Zhitong had been waiting for a long time at the tea pavilion outside the Ink Bamboo Forest.
The chessboard placed in the tea pavilion had already seen her play over ten games against herself.
Just as Lin Zhitong was getting so bored she felt like she was going to mold, there was finally movement within the Ink Bamboo Forest.
There, Lü Jingsheng, short like a child, emerged slowly from the Ink Bamboo Forest, leaning on his cane.
Upon seeing Lü Jingsheng, Lin Zhitong immediately stood up and ran towards him:
"Master, why did you go into seclusion at this particular time? Why not earlier or later?!"
Lü Jingsheng laughed heartily, "What is it? Does my seclusion require application from my disciple?"
"Oh, Master, your disciple didn't mean it that way," Lin Zhitong said anxiously, "I've been waiting for you here all day, I just wanted to ask you..."
"You want to ask your master why he is making you marry Bai Yusheng?" Lü Jingsheng had already read Lin Zhitong's mind.
Lin Zhitong was startled: "You've divined it again?"
Lü Jingsheng shook his head slightly, "Zhitong, your fate is beyond my divination, but your question is written all over your face."
"Is it?"
Lin Zhitong quickly touched her face.
"Silly disciple."
Lü Jingsheng shook his head helplessly and walked into the tea pavilion himself.
Lin Zhitong hurried to catch up.
She frowned and said, "You know I've waited for him for ten years, and I'm determined to marry only him. Why are you making me engage to Bai Yusheng? You know what kind of person Bai Yusheng is – he's a scumbag, a brute! If I have to marry him, I might as well die!"
"Don't rush."
Lü Jingsheng said unhurriedly, "Zhitong, everyone has their destiny. Love is precious, but if you lose your life, what good is love?"
Lin Zhitong gritted her teeth and said, "Master, you are mistaken. If I cannot be with the person I love in this life, it is like a day is a year. It would be better to die sooner, reincarnate earlier, and continue our past life's destiny in the next!"
Hearing this, Lü Jingsheng was momentarily stunned.
He murmured to himself, "Perhaps my eldest senior brother thought the same way back then."
"Master, what time is it, and you're still mentioning the eldest senior brother!" Lin Zhitong said with a bitter face, "You say I will die if I don't marry Bai Yusheng. What exactly is going on?"
Lü Jingsheng snapped back to attention and slowly replied,
"This matter is true."
"How do you know? Didn't you just say you couldn't divine my fate?"
"This is not something I divined, but rather..."
Lü Jingsheng paused and said, "It was written in a letter I received the day after I took you as my disciple."
"A letter? What letter?" Lin Zhitong asked urgently, "This is about my lifelong happiness. How can you casually believe some letter of unknown origin! Master, you are not young anymore, you are not getting confused, are you!"
Lü Jingsheng felt a mix of amusement and exasperation. How could his own disciple scold him when she got anxious?
He explained, "You may not know this, but that letter predicted many future events. I didn't believe it at first, but when the predictions came true one by one, I had no choice but to believe it. Moreover, the letter was sent a month before I took you as my disciple. This indicates that even I was calculated into this. Tell me, can I not believe it?"
Lü Jingsheng's words were not unreasonable, but Lin Zhitong was still unwilling to resign herself to fate:
"Then please show me the letter from back then!"
If Lü Jingsheng couldn't produce the letter, Lin Zhitong would absolutely not believe him.
Who would have thought that Lü Jingsheng would directly pull an envelope from his clothes?
It was the letter he had received ten years ago!
Lin Zhitong was taken aback, not expecting her master to carry this letter with him.
Lü Jingsheng handed the letter directly to Lin Zhitong and said,
"The letter is right here. Read it yourself, and after you've finished, it won't be too late to discuss marrying or not marrying with me."
Lin Zhitong took the envelope and quickly opened it.
The moment she saw the letter paper, she couldn't help but be stunned.
How did this letter paper look so familiar?
With this question, she read the contents of the letter.
The more she read, the more solemn Lin Zhitong's expression became.
In the end, her hand unconsciously tightened, and she had already crumpled the letter paper into a ball.
Lü Jingsheng asked from the side, "Have you finished reading?"
"Your disciple has finished."
Lin Zhitong put down the letter paper and sat up straight.
"I kept this letter for ten years, carrying it with me all along, waiting for the day you would question me," Lü Jingsheng said.
Lü Jingsheng sighed as he spoke, "The predictions in the letter have all come true, and they are all related to you. I am very curious about who this person who wrote the letter is. Zhitong, do you know who wrote this letter?"
Lin Zhitong's eyes were distant.
After a pause of nearly ten seconds, she slowly nodded:
"I know."