Reversing the Milky Way

That evening, Bai Cheng went to the back mountain and dug out the half-bottle of poison that he had hidden earlier.

Bai Cheng: "Although I promised Du Mingchun, I don't need to give him the rest. I just need to give him a little bit."

The night sky was empty and cloudless. Bai Cheng stood on the hillside, gazing at the bright moon on the horizon.

Bai Cheng: "Unknowingly, three years have passed since I came here. I don't know if I will ever be able to return to my original world in this lifetime."

A moment later, Bai Cheng took out the weapon he had obtained earlier from his storage bag.

Once activated, the weapon is enveloped in a fluorescent light.

He put on his goggles, raised his gun, and aimed at a rock a kilometer away from him.

As the trigger was pulled, a beam of light suddenly shot out from the muzzle, the energy of the spirit stone transforming into a beam that instantly struck the target a kilometer away.

The energy did not dissipate after piercing through the rocks, but continued to travel another two thousand meters before gradually dissipating.

Bai Cheng put away his gun and walked to the rock. The rock didn't look too deformed overall, except for a hole in the middle that emitted a scorching red light. The red light was a substance left on the rock after it had been subjected to high temperatures.

Bai Cheng: "Is this weapon a laser gun?"

Bai Cheng glanced at the gun and noticed that the indicator representing the energy bar had decreased by one-tenth. He marveled that a weapon he had only ever seen in movies was now in his hands. However, the gun seemed out of place in this world. If he wanted to find out the reason, he would have to go to Shi Tie City to ask Mo Qiling. However, he had already heard Mo Yue mention that this thing was probably obtained by her great-grandfather in the Illusionary Sea Secret Realm.

Bai Cheng: "It seems that this spirit stone can only support the weapon to fire ten times. However, its power is undeniable. I just don't know if it can penetrate a cultivator's spiritual energy shield. We can only wait for another opportunity to test it."

The next day arrived quickly, and all the members of the Bai family gathered in the open space in the front yard. Bai Cheng was among them. He looked around and noticed that there were significantly fewer Bai family disciples this time than before. It seemed that the information he had heard from the Xue family guards was indeed true.

Bai Zhentian: "The reason I've gathered everyone here today is to announce the start of the Baifeng City Grand Competition. The competition is scheduled for next year, and each faction can only send six people to participate. They will compete in the beginner and advanced arenas, with a maximum of three people from the same faction participating in each arena. As for the special arenas, five people will be selected. Therefore, I will be conducting preliminary selections within the clans. Anyone who wants to participate can register directly with me. The selection of clan members will take place two months later."

As soon as he finished speaking, Bai Fengze came to the crowd with a stack of names.

Bai Fengze: "My Bai family disciples should not be afraid to back down. If anyone can achieve a ranking in the competition, my Bai family will also provide a separate reward."

Afterwards, Bai Zhentian talked about some topics related to the competition, and the explanation didn't end until noon.

After listening to the explanation, Bai Cheng's thoughts raced through his mind.

"The White Maple City Grand Competition is held every thirty years, with over a hundred large and small forces participating each time. However, there are strict limits on the number of participants. Even those who don't place receive a consolation prize, somewhat similar to the Wuling Town Grand Competition. The top ten in both competitions receive a low-grade spiritual weapon, while the top three receive a mid-grade spiritual weapon. Specific rewards are still under discussion, but the top three will also qualify for the World Sect Grand Competition, though the conditions are extremely stringent! This means only six people will be selected from the entire White Maple City. What I'm most concerned about is the group under twenty-four years old next year—they don't receive any rewards whatsoever! Why is that? Could it be to select participants for the Illusionary Sea Secret Realm? And those in this special group cannot participate in the beginner group (under thirty years old), meaning they receive no rewards. Conversely, those in the beginner group cannot participate in this special group's competition. Why is that?"

After the Bai family meeting ended, the disciples stepped forward to register. Not long after, Bai Cheng also stepped forward to register, but after seeing the number of people on the registration list, Bai Cheng was a little puzzled.

There were many people signing up for the beginner and advanced levels, but very few signing up for the special level. If you include him, the entire Bai family only had three people.

After some thought, Bai Cheng still chose to sign up for this special event, and his actions were persuaded by Bai Fengze.

Bai Fengze: "Bai Cheng, with your abilities, I suggest you sign up for the beginner level."

Bai Cheng hesitated.

Bai Cheng: "Why are there no rewards for the special arena? And why didn't the patriarch mention the rules of this special arena much? Wasn't this special arena for competing for the right to participate in the Illusionary Sea Secret Realm?"

Upon hearing Bai Cheng's question, Bai Fengze hesitated for a moment before revealing news that shocked Bai Cheng.

Bai Fengze: "Do you know about the last time the Illusionary Sea Secret Realm happened? It was the one that Uncle participated in."

Bai Cheng: "Hmm? What's wrong?"

Bai Fengze: "In the last Illusionary Sea Secret Realm, a total of 6,721 people entered the secret realm, but only 41 people came back alive!"

Upon hearing this news, Bai Cheng was stunned.

Bai Fengze: "Not only the last time in the Illusionary Sea Secret Realm, but also the previous ones, once you enter the secret realm, it is almost certain that you will die."

Bai Cheng: "That dangerous? Isn't it said that people who come out of the secret realm will experience a qualitative leap in their cultivation level?!"

Bai Fengze: "That's indeed true. Those who didn't improve their cultivation level all died inside. Therefore, the participants in this special group won't receive any rewards. If they could obtain an opportunity in the secret realm, no matter how big the reward, it would be insignificant. But life and death are in the hands of fate, and only a tiny minority can come out alive. In previous years, those who entered the Illusionary Sea Secret Realm were basically death servants selected by various families, entering with strong purposes and clear goals. Or, like my uncle, they disregarded life and death. However, the restriction mechanism at the entrance of the Illusionary Sea Secret Realm is extremely powerful. As long as your bone age is over thirty, even if you have extraordinary cultivation and are a peerless expert who has broken through to the World King realm, you cannot enter. So, Bai Cheng, I don't want you to participate. I've seen your talent, and there's really no need for you to take the risk. Given time, your cultivation level will definitely improve naturally."

Bai Cheng remained silent for a moment. He knew that all opportunities were accompanied by dangers. Moreover, Bai Chuanhai had also participated in the secret realm back then, but he still didn't know much about it. Even if he were to go, he would have to make full preparations. So for now, he could only hope that Bai Chuanhai would come out of seclusion soon.

Bai Cheng: "I know my own situation. Don't forget, my physique is special. It's still unknown whether I can break through to the next realm, let alone achieve it naturally. Let's leave it at that for now. If I change my mind later, it won't be too late to come back to you."

Upon hearing this, Bai Fengze sighed.

Bai Fengze: "Alright then. There are still two months left in the family selection. If you change your mind, feel free to come find me anytime."

Next, Bai Cheng left the Bai residence. He hadn't gone back to check on his shop since leaving the Earth Spirit Tower, and more than two months had passed, so he didn't know how the shop was doing now.

But before that, he wanted to go and take a look at Du Mingchun's clinic.

Bai Cheng arrived at the location of Du Mingchun's clinic and found that nothing had changed from usual.

Upon entering, one finds Du Mingchun treating a patient.

Upon seeing Bai Cheng arrive, Du Mingchun immediately stood up and said to the man in front of him, "You have excessive stomach heat, so eat less oily food recently. I'll prescribe two doses of medicine for you. Take them and leave."

After sending the man away, Du Mingchun immediately closed the clinic door and dragged Bai Cheng to the table.

Du Mingchun: "My goodness! Young friend Bai Cheng, you're finally back!"

Bai Cheng: "What's wrong? Could it be that the Shangguan family suspects something that happened back then?"

Du Mingchun: "Sigh, don't mention this. After leaving the Xue family banquet, Shangguan Yu brought people to arrest me personally. They suspect that the problem lies with the medicine I gave him."

Bai Cheng: "What? Isn't this Bai family territory? How dare they?"

Du Mingchun: "Sigh, you know what the Bai family's situation is like now. Besides, this place isn't important. They come quickly and they leave quickly."

After listening to this, Bai Cheng looked Du Mingchun up and down.

Bai Cheng: "Weren't you perfectly fine? What happened after that?"

Du Mingchun: "At the time, I was tied up and taken to the Shangguan family mansion. Luckily, I was quick-witted. When I went with Shangguan Zhi to his cultivation chamber, we happened to run into Shangguan Lan coming out of his chamber. So I deliberately steered the conversation towards Shangguan Lan, which cleared me of suspicion. Otherwise, I probably would have been dead long ago. In addition, the Shangguan family was not on good terms. Although Shangguan Xiaoyun and Shangguan Yu were brothers, they secretly disliked each other. I guess this was related to their struggle for the position of head of the Shangguan family."

Bai Cheng: "The position of family head? Isn't the eldest son usually the one who inherits the family headship?"

Du Mingchun rolled her eyes at Bai Cheng's question.

Du Mingchun: "Who told you that? The position of family head has always been awarded to the most capable! This includes your cultivation level and strength. For example, if you are born into a powerful family and you are the eldest son, but your cultivation level is low, while your younger brother or sister has far greater talent than you, then you will definitely not be able to become the family head later! But what I am saying is all after the old family head has passed away, because as long as the old family head is alive, who becomes the family head is just a matter of his word, unless you can defeat your ancestor."

Upon hearing these words, a sudden flash of light appeared in Bai Cheng's mind, and all the things that had puzzled him became clear.

Bai Cheng: "No wonder, so that's how it is. I was wondering why..."

Du Mingchun: "Hehe, now you understand, right? You think these families have so many offspring? It's because they want their families to continue, so they must choose a powerful descendant. The simplest example is the current royal Xia family. Let me tell you, even though they all entered the royal mausoleum secret realm together, only one person can come out. Even if that person is a woman, she can become the emperor!"

Upon hearing this, Bai Cheng finally understood why he had been targeted by others in the Bai family. It turned out that they regarded him as a descendant of Bai Chuanhai, which was why they were so wary.

"So, that's why Bai Tianhao and Bai Jiang hired someone to get rid of me—no, I should say Bai Zhirong. As for why they didn't continue hiring assassins later, it's probably because they knew there was no relationship between me and Bai Chuanhai."

After thinking about this, Bai Cheng sighed to himself and continued to ask questions.

Bai Cheng: "And then what did the Shangguan family do to you?"

Du Mingchun: "After that, nothing much happened. Because of this incident, the relationship between Shangguan Yu and Shangguan Xiaoyun dropped to a freezing point. Especially after learning that Shangguan Lan had caused dissatisfaction in the Xue family due to the behavior of Shangguan Yu's son, Shangguan Ba ​​directly hung up Shangguan Zhi and beat him for three days and three nights. When I was invited to the Shangguan family a month and a half ago to treat Shangguan Zhi, I found that his whole body was torn and bloody. It was a terrible sight! I couldn't bear to see it."

At this point, Du Mingchun turned his head away, his face full of sorrow.

Upon seeing this, Bai Cheng couldn't help but complain in his heart.

'Although I was the one who started this, I didn't expect Du Mingchun to manage to shift the blame to Shangguan Lan. But it's fine this way, since that woman sent her men to assassinate me before.'

After thinking about this, Bai Cheng silently took out a small bottle from his storage bag.

Bai Cheng: "This is what I promised you before, but there aren't many left. Remember to keep at least fifty meters away from yourself when you open it, otherwise there may be danger."

Upon seeing the small bottle, Du Mingchun's sorrowful expression vanished instantly. He picked up the bottle, examined it closely, and then used his divine sense to probe its contents.

Du Mingchun: "Did you configure this all by yourself, young friend?"

Bai Cheng: "That's right. Every time I obtain a new poison, I mix the two together and keep collecting until the end. Then I mix all the poisons together and keep experimenting. But what I admire most is you, Doctor Du. These poisons are from dozens of kinds of demon beasts, spirit beasts, and even different spiritual plants that I have searched all over Baifeng City. I never thought that you, Doctor, could be able to neutralize them."

Du Mingchun: "Hehe, you underestimate me. As the saying goes, to detoxify, you must first be poisoned. I have been practicing medicine for over seventy years. Not to mention the entire Huoyun Kingdom, even within a three-thousand-mile radius of Duancai Town, I know about most of the poisons. I have tried mixing different poisons together before, but I never succeeded. Now that I have someone like you, young friend, I believe my research on poisons will be even better, which will also help me delve deeper into the art of medicine."

After another argument with Du Mingchun, Bai Cheng returned to his shop.

When he returned to his shop, it was already dark. There were no pedestrians on the streets at night. Since Bai Cheng's shop was located in a deserted area, only a few shops had lights on outside.

The shop's doors were tightly shut. Bai Cheng extended his divine sense and found that Lü Qiuyue was cultivating alone in the backyard at night, while Cui Yuanfang and Lü Liang were fast asleep inside.

To avoid alerting the others, Bai Cheng climbed over the wall and entered the courtyard. Before he even landed, a fierce attack came at him.

"You little thief! Where do you think you're going?"

As the sound rang out, the lush leaves in the courtyard transformed into countless cold, flying knives.

Bai Cheng: "Huh??!"

Surprised, Bai Cheng quickly dodged, the leaves embedding themselves in the ground, some even penetrating the walls.

Bai Cheng: "Who is it?!"

A figure quickly appeared in front of Bai Cheng. After seeing who it was, Bai Cheng realized that it was Mi Hua.

Mi Hua: "Hey kid, it's been over two months, and your cultivation level has broken through again!"

Bai Cheng: "So it was you? You scared me!"

Bai Cheng abandoned his fighting stance. After hearing the commotion, Lü Qiuyue quickly came over. Upon discovering that Bai Cheng's cultivation level had improved again, a bitter feeling welled up in her heart.

Bai Cheng looked up at the two of them.

Bai Cheng: "How have things been? Nothing much happened at the shop these past few months, right?"

Mi Hua: "Sigh, it's a long story. Ever since that guy named Bu Qian left, the shop has run out of talismans. I can only barely draw some low-level talismans to keep going. Plus, the foot traffic here is unusually low, so the shop's revenue is pitifully low. But we can still manage to stay afloat. During this time, Manager Cui has brought in some cloth and other business, and it looks more and more like a general store."

Bai Cheng smiled helplessly.

Meanwhile, inside the Xue family's mansion.

Xue Tianmu sat alone on the high platform, his eyes looking down.

Xue Tianmu: "Yesterday, the young man who was with Jing Yezhou was Bai Cheng?"