"How could this be…."

Bai Shijue stared at the masked man and said, "Your leader is no match for me, let alone an amateur kid like you."

The man fell on the river of blood, and his body slowly melted into water, mixing with the river, only leaving his mask that got washed away.

Bai Shijue floated down and grabbed the blood-red mask before getting washed too far into the river. It would be dangerous if someone else found this.

He observed the mask and scoffed, full of mockery, "This is the same mask worn by the leader of the blood art demonic sect. I killed him, but his disciples probably recovered his remains."

"That means you're not completely safe, even in the mortal realm," Pupa said.

"Yeah, there is a heavenly rule that cultivators cannot use their power to hurt anyone in the mortal realm. We're not supposed to change the fate happening in this realm unless there's an invasion from celestial beast or a demonic sect that is attacking the people in this realm," Bai Yunyu explained as he continued reading the background of this world.

"But those demonic cult disciples have no oath to the rules of the heaven. They can wreak havoc in the mortal world as much as they like. It's just the matter of how fast the immortal cultivator could kill them all, like stomping on bugs."

Bai Shijue burned the mask on his palm, and it turned into ashes soon after, making sure that nobody would be able to use that mask anymore.

"Well, we should check on Han Shun now," Yunyu said.

"Where did you hide him? Definitely not in residence, right?"

"He is not far from here, actually. I hid him inside a cave. Let's find him."

Pupa turned invisible, and Bai Yunyu returned to his role as Bai Shijue. He took out a similar talisman that he threw to Han Shun's forehead and then teleported to the cave.

**

Han Shun was screaming frantically. He was like a madman desperate to get out of this cave.

But he couldn't move, not even an inch, because the talisman on his forehead restricted his entire body. No matter how much strength he exerted, it was all vain.

"Bai Gege… Bai Gege…" Han Shun started calling his Bai Gege in a weak voice. He had lost his voice after screaming nonstop. He felt useless, and his worry for Bai Gege slowly ate him up.

Meanwhile, Chinchin, the chipmunk, watched Han Shun and pitied him. But Master Bai Shijue told Chinchin to stay with Han Shun no matter what because Master Bai Shijue was fighting a dangerous man.

"Squee, Squee…" Chinchin tried to calm Han Shun down because he was screaming, crying, and wailing like a madman.

"No, I can't wait like this. I need to find Bai Gege. I need to protect him…." Han Shun said weakly with his hoarse voice. "Chinchin, please help me. Pull the talisman off my forehead, so I can move again. We need to find Bai Gege. Aren't you worried that something bad might happen to Bai Gege?"

Chinchin was slowly persuaded by Han Shun. The chipmunk was also worried because the man with a blood-red mask looked intimidating.

After long consideration, Chinchin finally agreed and jumped, trying to pull the talisman sticking on Han Shun's forehead right now.

"Squeeeeee!!" Chinchin tried his best to pull the talisman, but it felt like the talisman was sticking with superglue on Han Shun's forehead.

"You can't pull the talisman, Chinchin. Only I can do it."

Han Shun and Chinchin stopped their activity and darted their eyes at the man standing in front of the cave. The man was wearing a blood-stained white robe.

"GEGE!"

"Squee!"

Chinchin, the Chipmunk, jumped from Han Shun's shoulder and rushed to Bai Shijue. It climbed Bai Shijue's robe and sat on his shoulder.

Bai Shijue didn't look happy when he saw Chinchin trying to pull the talisman, "Chinchin, didn't I tell you to keep him here? Why are you trying to help him escape?"

"Squee… Squeee…"

Bai Shijue sighed and patted Chinchin's head, "Han Shun is still too weak to help me. It would only result in his demise if he tried to help me."

Han Shun heard everything, and he felt humiliated beyond belief.

He was weak, way too weak to protect Bai Gege. Even Bai Gege wasn't sure that he could fend for himself on the battlefield against those powerful cultivators.

'Even Bai Gege doesn't believe in me. Why am I so weak?' Han Shun thought. 'If only… if only I could get strong faster. Bai Gege wouldn't need to fight anyone. I will be the one who protects him from any harm. If only I am strong enough….'

Bai Shijue realized the depressed Han Shun, and he could only sigh. He walked towards Han Shun and sat in front of him. They were facing each other, and Bai Shijue ordered, "Han Shun, raise your head."

Han Shun raised his head slowly. Bai Shijue saw that Han Shun's eyes were red. He must've been crying for so long.

"Do you have anything to tell me?" Bai SHijue asked.

…

Han Shun bit his lower lip for a second and then uttered, "Bai Gege, am I that weak to you?"

"… you're not weak. You have an amazing growth, but you're still no par to those people," Bai Shijue replied truthfully. "Why are you screaming so much? You sound so hoarse right now."

…

Han Shun looked even more depressed, "So I am still so weak…."

Bai Shijue sighed and pulled the paper talisman off Han Shun's forehead. Han Shun could move his body right now, but he decided not to do anything except stare at his Bai Gege with hurtful eyes.

"Han Shun, do you know who attacked us just now?" Bai Shijue asked, and Han Shun shook his head in response.

"He is a demonic cultivator. Demonic cultivators are ruthless and fearless. They cultivate solely to become strong in an instant but inhumane way. They can even do such cruel act of killing their own family, let alone someone else's family."

"See where I'm going? You're my disciple, my family. If you're there, they will target you first, not me."