Chapter 104: The Little Girl's Name... Lotus...

Jiang Lin felt as though he had suddenly grasped a profound truth. There was only one ultimate reality.

Based on the system’s hints and the various information Aunt Wang had shared, Jiang Lin deduced that the Dugu Demon Sect was searching for someone.

The Yin-Yang practitioners were masters of formations. Once, at the Sun and Moon Sect’s library, when Jiang Lin had set up a stall selling fan-made books, he casually picked up a volume titled *The Must-See Compendium of Formations* to pass the time.

(The *Must-See Compendium of Formations* — Author: Master Tai Er.)

Within its pages, there was a formation that used a cultivator’s blood as a guiding beacon for a sacrificial ritual, known as the Blood Name Formation.

No matter where the target was, or how many lifetimes they had passed through, as long as they were still alive in this world, this formation could locate them.

The formation required the life essence of a cultivator’s blood as a beacon, and at the critical moment of activation, it demanded the sacrifice of millions of ordinary lives.

This formation was dangerously sinister, entangling vast webs of cause and effect. As soon as the formation was initiated, the caster began to suffer the backlash of the heavenly dao.

The more cultivators sacrificed, the greater the backlash. In the end, whether the Blood Name Formation succeeded or not, the caster would be utterly annihilated, even barred from reincarnation forever.

No wonder Master Tai Er had scribbled a sarcastic note after the description of the Blood Name Formation:

“Which fool came up with this? Is he mad or what?”

Now, Jiang Lin thought, it wasn’t just the creator who was insane—anyone who dared to use this formation was equally mad.

To sacrifice so many lives merely to find someone, risking one’s own eternal cycle of rebirth—what else could one call it but madness?

“Oh, and one more thing...” Aunt Wang interrupted as Jiang Lin was still deep in thought.

“In the past month, quite a few disciples from some of the closer orthodox sects in western Wutong Continent have come here, and a few have always ended up missing. I thought their sects would send elders to investigate in Donglin City, but strangely, these sects seem utterly unconcerned about their missing juniors...”

“Hmm???”

Hearing this, Jiang Lin suddenly thought of the spies the Dugu Demon Sect had infiltrated into various sects in western Wutong Continent.

If he wasn’t mistaken, the lord of Donglin City must have absorbed all the small sects and minor forces nearby and was now aiming to catch bigger prey by reaching out to some larger orthodox sects around the city.

The spies embedded in these sects went on missions with the disciples, and once they arrived in Donglin City, the sects were betrayed...

Then, the spies would send messages back via flying sword: “Nothing dangerous here, all is well, still sunny skies. The elder brothers and sisters here enjoy the local customs so much that they’re taking an impromptu trip and will be late returning to the sect.”

Normally, the sects wouldn’t suspect anything; after all, who doesn’t take some leisure time or learn a foreign language after completing a mission?

Jiang Lin guessed that if he was right, all the small sects around Donglin City had been wiped out, and even some orthodox sects with Nascent Soul cultivators had been bled dry a few times.

But then the question remained: whom exactly was the Dugu Demon Sect searching for, and who was using this Blood Name Formation?

Could it be their sect leader, Assassin?

But that seemed unlikely. Assassin was renowned for his assassination skills; could he also have some knowledge of magic?

Jiang Lin couldn’t quite figure it out, but it didn’t matter. After all, he would be teaching Qian Xiaopang’s third wife the Confucian classics tomorrow night. Maybe he could glean some information then.

Even if not, it wasn’t a problem. Since the enemy was using a blood-refining formation, they would definitely come looking for him sooner or later.

Still, why did he feel so strange...?

Was he the villain here? And yet, the villain was the one threatening to kill him?

“Master Jiang, do you have any other questions?”

“Is Aunt Wang the only cultivator at Spring Breeze Pavilion?”

“Yes, Master Jiang. I’m the only cultivator here at Spring Breeze Pavilion, and I’ve sealed off my spiritual senses for many years now. I almost forget I’m even a cultivator.”

“I see... Thank you, Aunt Wang. But please, don’t try to gather any more intelligence these days. It would be bad if anything happened.”

“Thank you for your concern, Master Jiang.” Aunt Wang nodded and bowed slightly.

“Since you have no other questions, Master Jiang, shall I call some of the young ladies to help you brush up on the Donglin City dialect?”

Jiang Lin jumped to his feet. “Aunt Wang! That’s not a very flattering suggestion! I’m still on a mission; how could I possibly have time to learn dialects now?”

“Please forgive me, Master Jiang. I was presumptuous.”

“Hmm, good that you understand.” Jiang Lin nodded and sat down slowly, sipping his tea. “However, as a senior consultant of Spring Breeze Pavilion, it’s necessary for me to periodically inspect the quality of service here.”

Aunt Wang was momentarily taken aback, then rose with a slight smile. “One of our girls can sing and dance. She may not be as skilled as the Dancing Butterfly from headquarters, but she’s quite good. Please, Master Jiang, do judge for yourself.”

“Ha ha ha... Gladly.”

“Please wait a moment, Master Jiang.”

Aunt Wang bowed and left the room.

Once the door closed, Jiang Lin gathered his thoughts again and pulled out a flying sword messenger from his storage pouch.

“Aunt Lin... I met with Aunt Wang. Things are a bit complicated, but I might just make it out alive. If my master asks, say everything is fine. Also, please have Master Tai Er send me all the information he has on the Blood Name Formation as soon as possible. It’s urgent. If he dares to delay, tell him he won’t see the next volume of *Chuunibyou Wants to Love* ever again!”

After finishing the letter, Jiang Lin gave a short run and sent the flying sword messenger soaring like a paper plane.

As the flying sword disappeared, Jiang Lin recalled the characteristics of the Blood Name Formation from back then...

“The Blood Name Formation has a central suppression, which must be the tall tower in the center. The central formation requires eight subordinate formations carved onto the surrounding buildings... What directions were those eight buildings in again?”

Like struggling to recite an ancient text during an exam, Jiang Lin scratched his head in frustration.

“Forget it! Whatever the details, I’ll just plant some ‘spiritual power C4’ first! What if Spring Breeze Pavilion has been remodeled into an auxiliary building?”

Better safe than sorry.

From his storage pouch, Jiang Lin took out the spiritual power C4 that Little Black had made for him, planning to place it in several concealed spots.

This C4 was linked by spiritual power and could be remotely detonated “Bluetooth-style.” It would only destroy spiritual power and could shatter any formation. As soon as Jiang Lin pressed the button, it would obliterate the auxiliary formations attached to Spring Breeze Pavilion.

Just as Jiang Lin was placing the C4 under the bed, the door knocked again.

He opened it to find a delicate, clean-looking young woman standing there.

She must be the girl Aunt Wang mentioned.

“Master Jiang...”

“Hello, miss. What’s your name?”

“My name is... Lianhua...”