Rihai looked curiously at the items she had received while standing beside Aotian.

Bao Wuji, after handing over the materials a disciple receives along with the spells, turned forward and resumed “driving”, leaving the two alone.

Among the delivered items, there were robes that she could see were well-made, with light Founder-Tier fluctuations emanating from them.

“Aotian, are these resources for an outer disciple?” She asked softly, curious.

Her quiet voice wasn’t to prevent Bao Wuji from hearing—at his level, even a whisper would be audible. It was simply a gesture of courtesy.

“Yes. Surprised?” He asked, smiling.

“Well, it’s good treatment.” She nodded, but didn’t seem very surprised.

Aotian looked at her, confused, expecting her to show more astonishment.

Rihai cast a helpless glance at Aotian, who once again didn’t seem to understand certain things, but decided to save the explanation for when they were alone.

She wasn’t surprised because, given the apparent level of the sect’s ancestor, Founder-Tier resources couldn’t be considered rare, and using them to equip outer disciples wasn’t anything extraordinary.

It wasn’t about greater kindness from stronger sects toward their outer disciples. It was simply logic.

Powerful sects, in order to gain returns from outer disciples, needed to invest at least the minimum in them—just like smaller sects. However, the minimum of a powerful sect was often the maximum of a lesser one.

That’s why even outer disciples of these major sects could be extremely arrogant before smaller sects.

Rihai, therefore, didn’t pay much attention to the equipment, but neither did she look down on it. Her old armors had broken in the past, and that robe was still excellent for her current situation.

She then looked at the spells she received in the form of jade slips—a total of five—but didn’t think much of them. After all, her origin wasn’t simple.

She also intended to pass some of her own spells to Aotian after the attack they had suffered and blamed herself for not having done so earlier. He could have been in danger. Fortunately, he was strong enough.

During the journey after the attack, she thought about doing so, but since they were constantly on the move, Aotian wouldn’t have time to train the spells. Moreover, training along the way could leave traces, so she decided to wait until they reached Crystal Mine City to hand them over.

If Aotian knew what she was thinking, he might feel stunned for blaming himself so much for not doing the same.

He had forgotten that Rihai didn’t have other bodies to train like he did and needed to stop and focus if she wanted to improve her spell usage.

In the end, he wasn’t as guilty for not handing over the spells while walking as he thought, since she wouldn’t use them even if given, so as not to leave traces and endanger them.

Rihai didn’t intend to use the jade slip that Bao Wuji had given her.

First, it wasn’t wise to use jade slips from strangers. Second, she thought they wouldn’t be useful.

But then she saw Aotian’s hopeful and excited gaze toward her regarding the spells and felt helpless.

She then glanced at Elder Bao Wuji, who continued looking ahead, disinterested.

‘If he wanted to hurt me, he wouldn’t need to use such a low method.’ She pondered, turning her gaze back to Aotian.

‘Well, let’s not disappoint Tian’er. He’s doing this for me. Even if they’re not useful, I’ll smile and thank him…’ She thought, amused by Aotian’s shining eyes, who expected her surprise, and felt a bit guilty for not matching his expectations.

Then, delicately lifting the jade slip, she placed it against her forehead and activated it.

Information began to fill her mind, and as she processed it, her eyes widened.

Rihai realized, by comparing them with the spells she herself possessed of the same level, that the techniques she received were not inferior at all.

‘No, they’re not just not inferior, they even seem more refined in certain aspects. They’re still Refiner-Tier spells and don’t exceed what a Qi Refiner can do, but the small optimizations allow them to reach a normally unattainable power.’ Her eyes widened more and more as she assimilated the information.

‘And not just that… how do they have access to a heritage like this?! Even my Refiner-Tier spells were occasionally refined by powerful cultivators in my clan’s history! How is it possible that they have even better spells?!’

Doubts began to surface in her mind, and the veil of mystery surrounding Aotian and his sect grew thicker.

It wasn’t just a powerful sect like she previously thought, but apparently a power with a background not beneath that of her clan. And that was the most unbelievable part to her.

She looked at Aotian, who was smiling playfully at her surprise and incredulous expression.

Rihai’s heart was in turmoil, and it was hard to hide her shocked face.

Aotian, seeing her reaction, smiled and gently held her hand in his.

“I told you, our sect is incredible. Soon, we’ll heal your roots. Trust me.” He spoke warmly, caressing her hand with his thumb.

Rihai looked at him, stunned, and after a few more seconds processing everything, decided not to dwell too much on those mysteries for now, and let a smile form on her lips.

At the very least, as Aotian said, her hopes of being able to repair her roots had grown immensely.

Though she hid it, she had already been feeling helpless seeing Aotian grow so quickly in cultivation while she couldn’t keep up.

She didn’t want him to one day see her wither and rot while he was still young. Her family knew all too well the pain of losing loved ones to an insufficient lifespan, and she feared that one day Aotian might face that same pain.

“I believe in you.” She smiled sincerely and warmly at him and squeezed his hand more tightly.

Aotian smiled in relief upon seeing a bit of hope appear in her eyes and also squeezed her hand lovingly.

“Ahem!”

A sudden cough sounded, catching their attention.

It was Bao Wuji, who turned his face toward them.

“This must be the place you were talking about, correct? There are some ruins up ahead. Want to stop and take a look?” He asked in a casual tone, interrupting the atmosphere that had formed between the couple.

‘I hate ruining my own moment.’ Aotian thought helplessly.

He then looked at Rihai, who smiled playfully at him.

He let go of the hand he was holding, stood up, and walked to the edge to look down with his own eyes instead of through Bao Wuji’s vision.

Below, the ruins of a great city sprawled. Some debris was still stained with dried blood, and the overall scene was one of desolation.

“Let’s go down,” Aotian said with an unreadable expression.

Rihai approached and held his hand again, looking at him with concern.

He looked at her and gave a slight smile, nodding to indicate he was fine. Then, he turned his serious gaze back to the ruins growing closer as they descended.

When the wooden board they were flying on touched the ground, Aotian stepped forward and immediately recognized where they were.

This was the entrance of the city he had seen on the first day he arrived in this world.

The city gate, once magnificent, now lay in ruins, reduced to debris scattered across the ground.

In one corner of the rubble, Aotian saw the tip of a wooden sign.

Bao Wuji, pretending to notice Aotian’s gaze, pointed his index and middle fingers upward in that direction, then bent them, making a lifting motion.

The wooden sign, seemingly obeying his command, rose from the pile of rubble, knocking some pieces aside as it moved.

Thud! Thud!

The loud noise seemed to startle several rats from their hiding places, and they ran chaotically through the ruins of the city.

“Vermin!” Bao Wuji frowned darkly and said in disgust, voicing Aotian’s thoughts.

Those rats had likely thrived feeding on the remains of what was once the magnificent city and its population.

On the sign that rose from the debris, the faded characters on the cracked wood could still be partially recognized.

In fluid calligraphy, now stained with dirt, was written: Red Tiger City.

“Ironic, isn’t it. The name that once gave birth to this city is the same that brought about its ruin,” Aotian said in a low voice.

Rihai only nodded, saying nothing, watching him with concern in her eyes.

Walking ahead, to the place where he once stood alongside the old mortal Huang Bo and gave himself the name Long Aotian, the memories inevitably surged forth with force.

Passing through the rubble, he entered the city, but there was only debris.

As he walked, he passed some skeletons and couldn’t help but glance at gold, silver, and bronze coins, fallen and dusty near the bones.

‘The money that I and they once valued is now scattered all over the city. But here, it no longer has any value.’ He reflected.

He continued walking among ruins and bones, accompanied by Rihai and Bao Wuji.

He visited every place he had been to or passed by. Now, both the once rich and poor areas no longer differed much… they were just ruins.

Aotian was, in truth, saddened by the tragedy, but he no longer blamed himself as before, thinking it was the work of his protagonist’s bad luck.

In this world of cultivation, such tragedies happen from time to time—whether he is present or not.

Perhaps his protagonist’s misfortune simply made him be born in a doomed city, without him being the one to doom it.

Soon, after contemplating the entire scene of destruction, he turned silently and left.

“Let’s go,” He said softly.

When he arrived, he had spent two months there, but most of the time he had been hiding, training in a room. There was no real attachment to the city, only some vivid memories, as it was the first point of his journey and the place where he met Rihai.

His silence and sorrowful atmosphere came simply from the thousands of skeletons he had seen and for which he could do nothing.

As he stepped through the city gates, he looked back one last time at the crumbling, lifeless walls. He took a deep breath, then turned his gaze forward—toward the vast, lush forest stretching out before him. 

The contrast between the two places was striking, as if they belonged to entirely different worlds.

This was the forest that had witnessed his rebirth.

‘Red Tiger Forest. I’m back.’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep