Bai Lian spent her days cultivating and growing her roots. She would stop cultivating as spirit beasts or spirit masters came close. They would not be able to detect her root growth, but it was possible for them to notice disturbances to the qi in the air even if Bai Lian concealed herself. On such occurrences where she would have to halt her cultivation, Bai Lian directed her attention to the plant information network of the Obsidian Forest and her database of past signals.
The automatic signals sent by other plants would usually be processed in her mind for a second before it went hidden deep within her mind if she did not take any interest in the signal. Bai Lian would spend her spare time analyzing her past database for information she had once overlooked. Before she had regained her past life memories, she did not have interest in many things. Such information was hidden away in her mind, so resurfacing such information was quite time consuming.
Information was of significant importance for Bai Lian. She was still unaware of how long ago her death had been. After all, it would be unnatural for those wandering in the forest to identify the date out loud. She needed to unearth what had occured after her death, but such gossip would not occur so many years after her death had taken place. From the information she gathered in the forest, she could not ascertain the state her family was in.
Although Bai Lian could not uncover information that was of direct importance to herself, she worked to familiarize herself with all the information gathered. As long as the possibility existed that such information will be of importance in the future, her efforts would not be wasted.
While cultivating, a particular signal caught Bai Lian's attention. A young girl without any cultivation had entered the Obsidian Forest. It was rare for those without cultivation to enter the forest because a single encounter with a spirit beast would be enough to ensure their death. Despite the rarity, Bai Lian held a slight hope that such a person would enter the forest and now her hopes had beared fruit.
After absorbing the four human corpse, Bai Lian had gained a higher affinity towards the human race. A feeling in her mind told her she would be able to send signals to humans due to her increased affinity. Such a feeling was similar to the new information she had gained when she first evolved. It felt natural to her that she would be able to send signals to humans. However, she still had not tested her ability.
The ability of plants to send signals to each other is an innate ability that does not rely on cultivation. Signals cannot be directly traced to the original sender. However, plants can recognize which signals came from the same source, so through the automatic signals, a plant can determine the location and identity of the original sender of a signal.
Bai Lian still had not tested her ability to send signals to humans due to the possible risks that could come. The signals sent to humans could potentially be different than those sent to plants. There was a possibility that qi would be utilized in the signals sent to humans. If this were to be the case, then sending a signal to a spirit master could be fatal. Qi can be traced, so the spirit master would be able to locate her white lotus body. With her identity as a cultivating plant discovered, her fate would be sealed as long as she could not kill the spirit master.
With her attention focused on the young girl, Bai Lian prayed she would come closer to the lake. The lake Bai Lian grew in was located within the outer regions of the Obsidian Forest. From her database of past signals, Bai Lian was able to uncover the name of the lake as the Floral Lake. Out of all the lakes of the Obsidian Forest, the Floral Lake had the most flowers growing within and around it. It was also the safest lake in the forest.
The young girl slowly traveled near the edge of the forest, observing her surroundings for herbs. "I have no choice, but to go deeper if I want to find it," muttered the girl beneath her breath. To Bai Lian's disappointment, the girl went the direction away from the Floral Lake, getting farther away with each passing step.
Bai Lian continued to cultivate, paying slight attention to the young girl. She did not feel concern for the girl, she merely felt curiosity. It was already rare for someone without cultivation to enter the Obsidian Forest and the person's identity as a young girl only made the occurrence stranger. Despite her lack of cultivation, she did not meet any disastrous endings. She had encountered one spirit beast that had the power of a rank 2 spirit warrior. With surprising haste, she slashed her dagger through the spirit beast's neck.
As the night drew nearer and the sky became darker, the girl began heading out the forest. Upon reaching the edge of the forest, the girl swiftly dodged a fist heading towards her head. "Tao, a proper gentleman doesn't hit young ladies. You'll be forever alone if you keep this up." She reprimanded the boy who appeared to be of a similar age to herself. Her tone of self righteousness only served to further infuriate Lin Tao.
"That only applies to young ladies, not impulsive brats. If you don't properly scold such brats, they will never learn."
"You're only a couple months older than me," pouted Ji Yun. Lin Tao narrowed his eyes as a cold glint flashed in his eyes, vanishing as soon as it came.
Ji Yun shivered, knowing very well what kinds of harsh punishments would follow that familiar cold glint. "I'm sorry, I was wrong. I won't sneak off into the forest again, so forgive me just this once." Forcing numerous words of defense back inside her mouth, she quickly apologized, attempting to fill her words with her utmost sincerity. Her round, watery eyes pulled at Lin Tao's heartstrings, urging him to forgive the adorable girl.
Unfortunately, Lin Tao was all too familiar to the insincerity of her apologies and promises. "How many times have you told me to forgive you 'just this once'?" Despite trying to imply he was not planning on forgiving Ji Yun, his softened tone betrayed his message. "We'll talk about this when we get back. Come on, Yun." With a sigh, he dragged the girl away with him.