Upon suddenly encountering Bai Qin, Tao Qian indeed harbored a great deal of doubts in his heart.
Especially since Bai Qin had revealed the secret that "Tang Xianzong is colluding with the Taiping Army," something the Infant Sect Master Li Shantong had long been aware of.
This led Tao Qian to immediately speculate: The current situation in Southern Yue is not only being schemed by Ji Xianxian, Qin Wuxiang, and Tang Xianzong among others, but even the seemingly passive and slow-reacting Southern Yue's number one Great Sect, at least its Sect Master Li Shantong, also had plans of his own.
With this thought, the complexities multiplied by who knows how much.
This aroused many curiosities in Tao Qian, who was eager to know if the schemes of Li Shantong and Bai Qin could ensure the tens of millions of common people in Southern Yue remained unharmed through the disaster.
After thinking it over, Tao Qian revealed a bitter smile and said,
"Master, I too wish to converse with you, but my true body is currently being threatened by the Daughter of Devil God."
"In half an hour, I fear I shall no longer be pure, how bitter indeed."
As Tao Qian said these words, he was actually seeking advice from the high-ranking monk of Great Freedom Temple on whether there might be a method of rescue.
However, while his avatar was speaking, his actual body shivered uncontrollably three times in a row.
Subsequently, three Records emerged:
[Suffering from "Taiyin Pond Water" entering the body... Irremediable!]
[Suffering from "Little Reincarnation Formless Summoning Secret Method"... Irremediable!]
[Suffering from "Little Freedom Heart Secret Method"... Remissible!]
This sudden change left Tao Qian momentarily stunned.
A moment ago, Tao Qian had been wondering if it was because Bai Qin's summoning secret method was too profound that his abnormal soul couldn't be exempted.
Now, it seemed obvious that he had been subjected to too many high-level secret techniques at the same time and hadn't been able to react.
Previously, he had even had his thoughts heard by Bao Yin Bodhisattva, but that was because Tao Qian had actively mentioned Bao Yin, prompting the nun to respond once before immediately leaving.
As these Records came flooding in, not only Tao Qian was taken aback, but Bai Qin also paused for a moment.
Clearly, he had also realized that he could no longer peer into Tao Qian's thoughts.
Then the old monk smiled even more and directly said,
"Benefactor, you truly are extraordinary. Although my cultivation of the Little Freedom Heart Secret Method is lacking, it is still quite competent among my fellow brothers. Even the brother of mine who is likely to achieve the Great Freedom Arhat Dharma Form is often subject to my telepathy."
"Yet unexpectedly, it ceased to work after just a few breaths with you."
"This makes me even more certain that the benefactor is a person of destiny, the one to resolve the disaster."
"As for the matter you're concerned about, it isn't troublesome."
"Shortly, I will transmit to you a method known as 'Little Desire Heaven Joyful Zen Embodiment Secret Method,' a technique I won in my younger days from a high monk at Da Zhao Temple. This method takes a detour, is easy to learn but hard to master, and is precisely what you need right now."
Hearing these words, Tao Qian couldn't help but criticize in his mind.
This old monk is not serious—disparaging his own abilities, likes to gamble and win secret techniques from others, and has everything including the Joyful Zen Secret Method—everything from yellow to gambling is accounted for.
Just after his silent criticism, Tao Qian was worried that the fearsome old monk would notice, but soon remembered that the monk's telepathy had failed.
A hint of relief appeared in his eyes, and after pondering for a moment, Tao Qian did not take the bait regarding destiny or solving disasters.
Instead, he directly countered with a question:
"Master, you have yet to answer me, if you intended to enlighten the Beautiful Corpse, why didn't you directly kill her in the first place?"
"And what does the Infant Sect Master hope to do? If he knew early on about the collusion between Tang Xianzong and the Taiping Army, why didn't he control Ji Xianxian sooner to resolve the chaos in Southern Yue earlier?"
Tao Qian seemed completely unconcerned about how terrifying Bai Qin's Cultivation Realm might be.
He spoke both questions with a tone that was quite harsh, even carrying a bit of interrogation.
However, the old monk in front of him didn't get angry but sighed and replied:
"Benefactor, what do you think of my cultivation?"
"Unparalleled strength!"
As Tao Qian answered, his mind inevitably recalled the scene he had witnessed among the mountains, where Bai Qin became a demon, easily overturning the Heavenly Demon Buddha Mother Dharma Form of the Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva.
That day's revelation was not only for him but also shocked countless Demon Cultivators present.
Including Tao Qian, everyone believed that if Bai Qin wished, he could easily kill the Beautiful Corpse, yet for some reason, he did not do so, instead submitting himself to her belly.
The next moment, Tao Qian heard the answer.
"Benefactor, your words are both right and wrong."
"I have two identities. One is an old monk from the Great Freedom Temple, and as I am now, I can be said to have no combat power. Even though I have cultivated many Divine Power Skills, none are of the killing sort, and at most, I have the Heart Light Escape Technique—a convenient Buddhist method for fleeing, but most of which are poorly cultivated."
"On the other hand, I am Bai Qin Elder, a Fallen Demon Practitioner. In that state, if I truly wanted to kill the Beautiful Corpse, I indeed could. The Beautiful Corpse was also a naturally gifted talent in Buddha, Demon, and Devil cultivation, especially after she obtained the Heavenly Demon Skill, making her harder to kill... But for me, having fully embraced demonhood, it wouldn't be that difficult, I could simply sacrifice half of the Bird Demons to dismantle her barely cultivated Buddha Mother Dharma Form."
"But if I really did that, by now, Southern Yue territory would probably be covered in Corpse Mountains and seas of blood. After fully becoming a Fallen Demon, if I can kill the Beautiful Corpse, naturally I can also kill Mortals; regardless of good and evil, Bai Qin can kill them all."
When the old monk finished speaking, Tao Qian could feel a surge of extremely domineering and vicious Demonic Qi suddenly appear.
Although it was fleeting, at that moment of trance, Tao Qian could envision the horrific scene of Southern Yue's entire territory being ravaged by those terrifying Bird Demons.