Dao

"Senior, what happened here?"

Having been plagued by the thought of imminent death, Bai Ming thought to himself that first getting to understand this poison was his first priority.

He did not dare to ask this lord to heal him directly as he had already surmised that dealing with this poison would also be a part of this trial.

Shortly after asking this question, his mind went blank. This had happened without warning. Bai Ming was shocked and out of reflex tried to relay instructions to his muscles to enter a defensive state, but his arms and legs remained unresponsive.

Had the question angered the being?

Realising how pointless struggling was, he simply let the shadows swallow him.

In that darkness, the outside world was recreated, and he saw a figure strangely appearing in front of him. It staggered for a few steps, then stopped and stood upright.

His mind, which had calmed immediately, became turbulent.

What was this?

Why was he seeing another him?

The Bai Ming, which had strangely appeared out of nowhere, remained still. Its eyes were unfocused as it seemed to have yet to understand its predicament and environment.

Bai Ming started wondering what was going on and as he looked in the position that this other Bai Ming had appeared, a wild guess came to mind but he remained in place still looking a bit further ahead.

A moment passed, and other figures appeared behind this Bai Ming that had appeared. Zi Yan, Cui Rong, and the rest appeared.

Bai Ming was relieved to see all this.

It seems my guess is right.

He thought as he watched the figures that had appeared. But then another thought came to mind.

Wouldn't this take more time in the outside world?

Just as how the time had passed when he was pulled into that white space, it was likely that time would also move the same, so wouldn't he end up missing something again.

Even as these thoughts wandered in his mind, no answer came. Realising this, Bai Ming focused on the figures in front of him.

Just as he had surmised, this was likely a replay of what had happened when he was submerged in that white world.

Everything unfolded in front of him. He saw Mu Bai's body shaking violently. How Si Niang could only helpless watch. Eventually, Mu Bai passed away.

As the replay ended, a deep darkness returned once more.

Bai Ming showed a pensive look on his face.

Can this still be considered a trial???

This was the first time he had seen someone pass away right before his eyes. Even he had to admit that if he were in Si Niang's shoes, then he'd be just as helpless as he was.

A life had been lost just like that. Although this was not his first time learning of someone's passing, seeing and hearing it were two completely different things. The experience and various emotions one would feel would also be different.

If this were a silent passing in ones sleep, so be it, but what Mu Bai had experienced could only be described as heart wrecking. Bai Ming could clearly see the mask of pain on Mu Bai's face.

No one deserves this!

Just this thought appeared a sigh rang out.

Dao Gu had thought it tedious to explain everything so he had just decided to just show Bai Ming what he had missed but now looking at his current appearance he felt that this child's mental barriers were quite weak.

For someone would potentially walk the path. This was an extremely hidden danger. Bai Ming once again heard this voice again.

"The Dao is cruel and merciless, treating all life as ants"

Dao Gu did not intend to clear this danger completely, but he would leave a reminder.

Which cultivator had not experienced their fair share of trials and tribulations?

He felt that this experience would benefit this young one if he were to walk the path in the future. Not even those so-called geniuses would compare to him.

"The treacherous path has no favoured sons, myriad daos, and countless things would all find their fate decided by disorder"

"Thine heart Impermanence dao, Thine heart Demon dao"

With that said, it was now left up to Bai Ming and his own means. If he could comprehend this, then it can be regarded as lucky.

If not...

Dao Gu stopped his thoughts there as he didn't want to plague this lad with misfortune.

At this point, Bai Ming had already snapped out of his stupor. His head kept ringing when he tried to comprehend these cryptic words left by this senior.

Dao???

What is that?

 He could not understand what they meant but kept them in mind, feeling that they would be beneficial to him.

Not wanting to dwell on this, he waited in silence, and soon the darkness vanished, and he returned to reality.

After understanding what had happened before, Bai Ming composed himself and tried not to appear suspicious in front of the group, but he couldn't help but feel that it was useless as he thought to himself.

How could anyone not notice his abnormality?

As if to answer him, the voice appeared again.

"You do not need to worry about that."

Bai Ming felt confused by all this, but the voice appeared again to clear his doubts.

"What you perceive and what they perceive is entirely different. As for whether they can see through this lord's projection is a pointless discussion. Unless one's soul has sublimated, it is virtually impossible. Since none of you has a cultivation base, it's even more impossible, so you may act as per usual"

With that said, the voice became silent. Bai Ming had not understood anything, and his mind seemed to be covered by an even denser fog.

Each time this lord spoke, he didn't just get answers but also more questions.

He contemplated what this Honourable Dao Gu could possibly mean by all this.

Projection?

Had this lord actually appeared in his true form?