Journey to the West: Please Call Me the White Bone Demon

Yun Zhao stood with his hands behind his back, quietly watching Bai Ling bathe in the golden light after the calamity.

The golden light fell like a drizzle, carrying the purest cleansing power of the Heavenly Dao, gradually dispelling the residual poison of the tribulation lightning around her and slowly stabilizing her newly broken-through realm.

Bai Ling closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her long hair shimmered with a faint halo in the golden light. She looked pure and fragile, like a newly blooming white lotus, untouched by the mortal world.

The more Yun Zhao looked, the deeper her doubts became.

He saw the White Bone Demon two hundred years later.

At that time, she was still breathtakingly beautiful, with every smile and frown captivating, but that beauty was completely distorted by the thick, irresistible aura of bloodlust.

His eyes and brows were filled with resentment and malice, and the smile on his lips carried a bloodthirsty cruelty. Every gesture he made seemed to exude the scent of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Even when she transforms into a stunningly beautiful woman, she still sends chills down one's spine at first glance, as if a skeleton is hidden beneath her face.

But Bai Ling now...

Her facial features are exactly the same as the future one, but her temperament is completely different.

Gentle, considerate, and even with a touch of naivety.

She lowered her head and bowed respectfully and naturally, without any deliberate affectation or the seductive charm often associated with later generations of enchantresses.

Although the demonic aura was strong, it was so clean that it was almost pure, without a trace of the filth and deathly aura left by those who had eaten people.

How could this be the White Bone Demon from two hundred years later?

It's like another demon.

"Two hundred years...can it really turn one demon into another?"

Yun Zhao frowned slightly, his gaze shifting over Bai Ling before finally settling on a small, dark red flower not far from her feet.

The flower was extremely inconspicuous.

With only three palm-sized leaves, dark red petals that are almost blackish-purple, and a cluster of tiny stamens trembling slightly in the center, it looks like a wildflower that can be found anywhere.

If it weren't for Yun Zhao's Taiyi Golden Immortal's keen eyesight, he probably wouldn't have even glanced at it twice.

But at this moment, he stared intently at that little flower.

This flower is definitely not simple.

On the surface, it appears ordinary, but there are faint Dao runes flowing between the petals, and the spiritual energy is so rich that it is almost solidified.

Even from dozens of feet away, Yun Zhao could feel that powerful yet gentle vitality, like a living spring that could nourish all things at any time.

Even more peculiar is—

When Yun Zhao gently probed the flower with his divine sense, he was surprised to find that the flower's spiritual power was extremely pure and its conversion efficiency was very high.

If he were to exhaust his magical power at this moment and swallow one of these flowers, he would be able to recover to 70-80% of his peak condition in a short time!

You must know that he is now at the peak of Taiyi Golden Immortal, with the first five stages of the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique for his physical body, and his magical power is as vast as the sea. Ordinary spiritual medicines are already like chewing wax to him.

Yet this little flower could make him feel "useful".

Not to mention Bai Ling, who was at the peak of the Refining Emptiness and Merging with the Dao at that time.

When I first saw her, I almost failed my tribulation.

The power of that thunderbolt was definitely beyond what the White Bone Demon could withstand.

If she hadn't arrived in time, she would have been reduced to ashes by that lightning strike.

but.

If that's the case, then the timeline doesn't match up.

The White Bone Demon two hundred years later is the same person as she is now. Even if appearances can deceive, the aura surrounding her cannot deceive Yun Zhao.

They've spent so much time together, there's absolutely no way they could admit they're wrong.

In other words, in another timeline, even without his help, the White Bone Demon would still have successfully overcome her tribulation.

Perhaps that's where the problem lies.

Yun Zhao's pupils contracted slightly.

"Could it be... because of this flower?"

His mind raced as he recalled the various strange aspects of the White Bone Demon from previous simulations.

Logically speaking, she was just a demon with the cultivation level of a terrestrial immortal. How could she have repeatedly succeeded in front of the pilgrimage team and even forced Tang Sanzang to drive away Wukong?

You should know that I had a deep understanding of the monkey's strength in the last two simulations.

Let alone a mere Earth Immortal, even if he were already at the Golden Immortal realm, possessing spiritual treasures and divine powers to fight against him, he would only be able to barely parry.

How could the White Bone Demon deceive everyone?

He hadn't investigated further before and believed her so-called "corpse-dissolving technique." Now that he thought about it, her talent was average, and coupled with the evil aura surrounding her, the White Bone Demon seemed to be not very bright. How could she possibly create a spell that could deceive even a monkey?

This cannot be as simple as just relying on "the art of change".

Looking at this small, dark red flower again, Yun Zhao suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment.

The root of everything lies in this inconspicuous little flower.

He flashed and appeared beside Bai Ling.

Bai Ling was immersed in the golden light and was unaware of it.

Yun Zhao raised his hand and made a gesture from a distance, uprooting the dark red flower, which then slowly floated into his palm.

Upon closer inspection, the runes on the petals become even clearer.

Those runes were not carved later, but were naturally formed, faintly carrying the charm of the beginning of chaos.

"Acquired spiritual root?"

Yun Zhao's heart skipped a beat.

In the primordial world, spiritual roots are divided into innate and acquired. There are only a handful of innate spiritual roots, such as the peach tree and the ginseng fruit tree, which existed since the creation of the world.

Although acquired spiritual roots are not as good as innate ones, they are still extremely rare, mostly formed by changes in the heavens and earth or by the guidance of powerful beings.

The small flower in front of us, though of low grade, is clearly an acquired spiritual root with extremely high spirituality and mild medicinal properties. It is specifically designed to replenish the foundation and stabilize one's realm, making it most suitable for cultivators who have just broken through.

More importantly—

Yun Zhao carefully sensed it and discovered that the flower contained a very faint trace of "karma".

It is not the karma of killing, nor is it a sinful act, but rather a very special kind of "food karma".

It's as if the flower itself possesses the instinct to "devour living beings and strengthen itself."

"I see……"

Yun Zhao murmured.

Everything connected.

The reason why the White Bone Demon, two hundred years later, is covered in blood and filled with resentment is because she has been feeding on flesh and blood for a long time, especially humans who are full of karma and cause and effect. Eating them can increase her cultivation and strengthen her demon body.

And the source of all this is very likely this flower.

She happened to discover this spiritual flower when she was undergoing her tribulation.

To stabilize her realm, she swallowed it.

From then on, the flower's "food-producing" instinct subtly influenced her.

At first, it might have just been an increased appetite, but it gradually turned into a craving for human flesh, and then... it completely distorted his mind.

The originally pure and gentle Bai Ling transformed into the gloomy, vicious, and obsessed White Bone Demon of later generations, who was obsessed with Tang Sanzang's flesh.

"What goes around comes around..."

Yun Zhao chuckled softly and tapped his fingertip lightly.

The small, dark red flower trembled slightly, and all the runes on its petals lit up at the same time before slowly fading away.

He did not destroy it, but used the power of a Taiyi Golden Immortal to forcibly remove the trace of "food karma" instinct within it.

From now on, this flower will remain a top-grade spiritual medicine, capable of strengthening one's foundation and enhancing cultivation, but it will no longer affect the mind of the user.

Yun Zhao casually handed the small flower to Bai Ling.

Open your mouth.

Bai Ling opened her eyes, saw that it was her master, and obediently opened her cherry lips.

Yun Zhao gently placed the small flower into her mouth.

Bai Ling felt a warm current surge through her entire body in an instant, and the realm she had just broken through stabilized at a visible speed, even showing faint signs of advancing to the mid-stage of Earth Immortal.

Her beautiful eyes widened in surprise, and she exclaimed, "My lord, this is...!"

"Your opportunity."

Yun Zhao smiled faintly, "From now on, use it well, and don't let it affect your Dao heart anymore."

Although Bai Ling didn't understand why, she knew this flower must be extraordinary, and quickly bowed respectfully in gratitude: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for bestowing this treasure!"

Yun Zhao waved his hand and turned to look at the White Tiger Ridge mountains. Unlike two hundred years ago, when the monsters in the mountains were either eaten by Bai Ling or scared away, there are now monsters of all sizes on White Tiger Ridge.

"Two hundred years...that's a long time."

"Bai Ling".

"Yes, my lord."

"Go and gather all the large and small monsters within a thousand miles of White Tiger Ridge."

Tell them that from this day forward, this land has a new master.

A glint of light flashed in Bai Ling's eyes, and she respectfully replied, "Yes!"

She transformed into a beam of white light and flew towards the mountains.

Yun Zhao stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze piercing through the layers of mountains, looking towards the distant east.

That's the direction of Huangfeng Ridge.

Further west lies Pingdingshan.

Now, his interception area has encompassed these three important monster strongholds in the original work, as well as the Wanzishan Wave Moon Cave in Baoxiang Kingdom.

Previously, their solo efforts had managed to keep Tang Sanzang at bay for nearly seven months. Perhaps this time they could build up their own forces and have some fun?

Let's try again to calculate the obstruction period in years!