I was born a god, the son of the Demon Lord.

the next day.

"Father?"

Xu Nanyi was awakened by the cold.

The campfire was still burning, and the barrier was intact, but one person was missing from the cave. She transformed back into human form, rubbed her eyes, and looked around, her heart skipping a beat.

"Father!"

no respond.

"Xiaozhou! Wake up!" She nudged Xiaolong, who was still snoring. "Daddy's gone!"

Shen Xizhou groggily raised his head, his vertical pupils still unfocused: "...Huh? They ran away?"

Xu Nanyi hesitated for a moment before rushing towards the cave entrance.

"Sister! Outside—"

The blizzard nearly knocked her over; her six-year-old body swayed precariously in the extreme cold. She gritted her teeth and took a few steps forward, her vision fragmented by the swirling snowflakes.

I can't see anything.

She took a few more steps forward, and at the end of the white expanse, a dark red figure was moving.

A boy staggered toward them, his body looking as if he had been pulled from a pool of blood. His right leg dragged on the ground, leaving a shocking red mark on the snow with each step.

Behind him were more than a dozen snow wolf corpses, which were quickly buried by the blizzard.

Xu Nanyi's tears were scattered in mid-air by the wind.

"Father—!"

She ran over as fast as she could, and Shen Xizhou chased after her from the cave, transforming back into human form, and ran after her as well.

Shen Jiuyuan could no longer see clearly; his vision was blurred, and only one thought remained in his mind: those two little brats, were they frozen to death?

He forced his eyes open and saw two small figures rushing towards him.

Oh, you didn't freeze to death.

After that thought crossed his mind, his knees finally gave way, and he fell straight into the snow.

Xu Nanyi rushed to his side, her little hands reaching for his shoulders, her hands covered in blood. Shen Xizhou transformed back into a little dragon, desperately using his tail to hook his arm and pull him back.

It took the two cubs an unknown amount of time to drag the blood-covered boy back into the cave.

Xu Nanyi turned him over, placed her palm on his chest, and her face turned pale.

Shen Jiuyuan's internal energy surged wildly through his meridians, and his malevolent energy rampaged through his dantian, causing several meridians to crack. If this continued, his dantian would shatter.

"What should we do—"

Shen Xizhou's eyes reddened with anxiety, and the little dragon kept slapping Shen Jiuyuan's face with its claws. "Hey... don't die! I... I won't call you Big Bug anymore, I'll call you Big Centipede, okay? Don't die..."

Xu Nanyi's mind went blank. No matter how high her cultivation level was, she was still just a child. She didn't know how to heal, she didn't know...

[Abnormal emotional fluctuations detected in the host, emergency activation initiated—]

[Sister Tongzi is now online.]

[…Long time no see, Da Bao!]

Xu Nanyi raised her blood-covered hand, tears streaming down her face.

[Sister Tongzi! You've finally shown up! Please save my dad! He's dying!]

【Don't rush, don't rush, let me see...】

[Wow. This concentration of malevolent energy within him... Xiao Yi, are you sure this isn't a ticking time bomb?]

【But don't panic, let me check the in-game store...】

[Bad news: There are no finished cleansing pills for expelling evil spirits in the shop. This stuff is too obscure; what respectable cultivator would intentionally infuse themselves with evil spirit energy?]

[Xu Nanyi: I know my father isn't some respectable cultivator.]

[Good news! I just found a formula in the "Compendium of All Spirits." It's the Purifying and Restoring Essence Pill, Grade Seven, specifically designed to counteract this symptom of rampant internal evil energy. I've already sent the formula into your consciousness.]

Xu Nanyi closed her eyes and sensed it; sure enough, a golden pill formula appeared in her mind.

Eleven medicinal herbs were listed.

She could roughly recognize the first nine flavors; although rare, they were still within the normal range.

The last two ingredients—

"Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Marrow Grass? Nine-Turn Red Lotus Seed?"

Xu Nanyi gasped, "Where are you going to get this, Sister Tongzi?"

Just tell me if you want it or not.

"want!"

"That's settled then. I've already taken care of it. I borrowed it from a few other systems next door..."

Xu Nanyi felt that there was a lot more to this than met the eye, but she didn't have time to ask questions right now. Shen Jiuyuan's breathing was getting weaker and weaker, and the cracks in his meridians were widening.

[There's only one set of medicinal herbs. They've used up all their resources on this, so you have to succeed on the first try, Yiyi.]

Xu Nanyi's palms were sweating. "I've never refined pills before."

[I know, but you are a phoenix. The control over flames is innate to the Phoenix bloodline. I believe in you.]

Xu Nanyi sniffed and raised her hand to wipe away the tears on her face.

"OK"

Here's something else good for you.

With a "ding" sound in her mind, a palm-sized alchemy cauldron appeared out of thin air in front of her.

The entire vessel is dark gold, with three phoenixes spreading their wings carved on its body, and steam rising from its mouth.

[A ninth-grade Hun Tian Cauldron—an ordinary, broken furnace couldn't withstand your natal fire; it would explode after only a couple of burns.]

Xu Nanyi reached out and caught the cauldron. It felt heavy in her hand, but not hot. Instead, a sense of familiarity came from her palm.

"Xiaozhou!" she called out, turning her head.

Little Dragon was squatting next to Shen Jiuyuan's head, pressing his paw against his forehead, looking like he was about to cry.

"Sister! What's wrong? Is there any way?"

"Protect me."

Xu Nanyi placed the pill cauldron on the ground, sat down cross-legged, and began to arrange the medicinal herbs according to the pill formula in her mind. The eleven herbs were neatly packaged by the system, and one set was taken out from her storage bag [System Space].

Shen Xizhou was stunned.

"Sister, when...when did you learn alchemy?" Xiaolong's mouth formed an "O" shape.

Xu Nanyi didn't even look up: "I learned it on the spot."

"...?"

Shen Xizhou wanted to say something, but after glancing at the half-dead man lying on the ground, he shut his mouth again.

Okay then. If my sister says she'll learn on the spot, then she'll learn on the spot. When has my sister ever lied to him!

Xu Nanyi flipped her palm, and a cluster of golden flames shot out.

The flames licked the bottom of the cauldron, and the patterns on the cauldron wall instantly lit up, as if they had come to life.

[First, add the Cold Marrow Grass and refine it at a low temperature; don't rush to add fire.]

Xu Nanyi nodded and put the silvery-white herb into the cauldron.

The refining of the first three medicinal herbs did not go smoothly. She was still too unfamiliar with controlling the heat, and the temperature fluctuated. The first herb almost burned the edges, and the second herb almost did not dissolve.

Press down a little with your left hand, then press down again... Yes, hold steady.

The system's voice was like a patient teacher, guiding her step by step.

Xu Nanyi bit her lip, her brows furrowed tightly, and fine beads of sweat seeped from her forehead.

By the fourth flavor, she suddenly seemed to have a breakthrough. She no longer needed to consciously control the temperature changes of the flames. The phoenix bloodline itself was guiding her, telling her when to be fierce and when to be gentle.

The fifth ingredient. The sixth ingredient. The seventh ingredient.

Things are getting smoother and smoother.

The medicinal liquid churned and blended in the cauldron, emitting a slightly bitter medicinal aroma.