Fairy, please don't do this!

A gentle voice suddenly rang in her ears, pulling her back from the brink of death.

The little girl struggled to open her eyes and looked around blankly.

The house was empty.

"Who is speaking?"

"The sword in your arms."

Gu Jinzhao responded softly.

After he lost consciousness, he woke up here again.

They saw the little girl tormented by the cold poison, and the semi-divine artifact in her arms.

To be precise, that is the other half of [Chixiao], [Xuanming].

In the game, Gu Jinzhao traveled all over the land, searching for any trace of this sword, but to no avail.

Unexpectedly, after witnessing the Sword Ancestor open the Heavenly Gate, his consciousness was unexpectedly drawn into this sword.

What does that even mean?

Blade & Soul?

That's quite interesting!

The little girl stared blankly at the rusty iron sword in her arms, and timidly asked, "Was...was it you talking to me?"

This sword was the only keepsake her mother left her, and the only thing that was never taken away.

Gu Jinchao smiled slightly: "It's me."

Only then did he see the little girl's face clearly.

His short, black hair was disheveled and covered his forehead; his eyes were dull and lifeless; and his youthful face showed a hint of numbness.

The left side of her cheek was almost entirely covered by a white birthmark, with faint white lines extending inwards from the edges, reaching the corner of her eye and ear.

This birthmark seems to share the same origin as the rampant cold poison within her body.

The little girl looked puzzled: "Who...are you?"

Gu Jinzhao pondered for a moment before replying, "The sword spirit of this sword."

A hint of disappointment flashed across the little girl's eyes; she had thought it was her mother.

Gu Jinchao took in the disappointment in her eyes but did not point it out. She simply said gently, "I have told you who I am, but you have not told me who you are."

The little girl felt the warmth emanating from the rusty sword, which gradually dispelled the chill lingering deep within her meridians. Involuntarily, she hugged the sword even tighter: "My name is... Luo Ling'er."

"Where is this place?"

Why is this sword in your possession?

The little girl lowered her eyes: "This is the Luo family home..."

"This sword... was left to me by my mother."

After a long while, Gu Jinchao finally pieced together the cause and effect.

This place is located roughly outside Yunzhou, in the far east of the Cangyue Dynasty, within the Yunyan Mountains and Seas.

The clouds, smoke, mountains, and seas do not belong to the Cangyue Dynasty, nor to the Nanzhao Kingdom, much less to the Demon Court.

That was a small world created by the Sword Ancestor with his supreme swordsmanship, and it was the place where he sought enlightenment and lived in seclusion.

Gu Jinzhao visited this place in the game.

But that was after he had already reached the second rank.

After all, tearing through the void to enter the Cloud and Mist Mountains and Seas is by no means an easy task.

The Luo family, to which Luo Ling'er belongs, is one of the three major cultivation families in the Yunyan Mountain and Sea region.

At this moment, a faint voice interrupted Gu Jinzhao's thoughts: "Just now...did you save me?"

Gu Jinzhao gave a soft hum: "The cold poison in your body is somewhat special. If we don't find a way to eradicate it, I'm afraid you won't be able to hold on for long."

Luo Ling'er lowered her eyes: "My mother said that the reason I have cold poison in my body is because I possess the Xuan Yin Cha Body."

"People with this condition don't live past ten years old."

Gu Jinchao asked, "So how did you get through all that before?"

He was naturally aware of this constitution.

Those born in a yin year, yin month, yin day, and yin hour have extremely rich yin energy in their bodies, which transforms into yin evil that resides in their internal organs and meridians, thus forming the Xuan Yin Cha body.

He is no different from ordinary people in normal times, but every time the moon is full, the cold poison will break out.

Elixirs can suppress the symptoms, but they cannot cure the disease.

And each attack will be more severe than the last.

Luo Ling'er's eyes gradually reddened, and tears welled up in her eyes: "My father is the head of the Luo family, and my mother is a maid in the mansion. After an accident, I was born."

"After discovering my constitution, my mother begged my father to give me a Crimson Fire Pill every month."

"But the cold poison got worse and worse, and one Crimson Fire Pill couldn't suppress it anymore, so my mother used her spiritual power to warm me up."

At this point, his tone was filled with resentment: "A month ago, Mother begged and pleaded, and Father finally agreed to give us two Crimson Fire Pills every month."

"But that wicked woman in charge, taking advantage of being the mistress's personal maid, withheld one."

“My mother was furious and went to argue with her. She got angry and took the last one away.”

"On the night of the full moon, the cold poison flared up, and my mother, to save me... to save me..."

She didn't say anything more.

Gu Jinzhao already had a general understanding.

Luo Ling'er's mother exhausted all her spiritual power in order to help her daughter suppress the cold poison.

However, the cold poison was too potent, and her meager cultivation level was simply insufficient to withstand it.

In the end, he chose to burn his life essence, exchanging his life for hers, to help his daughter survive that ordeal.

But she herself was already at the end of her rope...

Chapter 166, "Sleep well, your master will watch over you!" (3K)

Luo Ling'er's background is similar to Mu Yiren's.

It also has a cold-blooded and heartless father, and a jealous and ruthless mistress.

The maid dared to withhold the pills; it was most likely at the behest of the Luo family matriarch.

Otherwise, even the most audacious maidservant of a mistress would not dare to touch this life-saving elixir.

Luo Ling'er hugged the rusty sword in her arms even tighter: "Thank you for saving me!"

“Ling’er is Xuanming’s master, and as a sword spirit, I naturally cannot stand aside.”

Gu Jinzhao smiled, channeling her divine soul power to condense true yang fire, dispelling the bone-chilling cold that clung to her internal organs.

"Besides, it was you who woke me up."

Luo Ling'er blinked her eyes: "I...awakened you?"

Gu Jinzhao nodded gently and said softly, "I was still asleep when I heard your voice, which woke me up."

He will help Luo Ling'er not only because of the connection between [Chixiao] and [Xuanming], but also because her background is somewhat similar to that of Mu Yiren.

As for why consciousness appeared here in Xuanming, it may be due to the karma left behind by the Sword Ancestor, or it may be due to the resonance of the two semi-immortal artifacts.

Luo Ling'er was silent for a moment, then couldn't help but ask, "Then can you teach me cultivation?"

Gu Jinzhao neither agreed nor refused, but simply asked, "Why do you cultivate?"

Luo Ling'er answered decisively: "To live, and to take revenge."

Upon hearing this, Gu Jinzhao smiled and said, "From this day forward, you will be my disciple."

Luo Ling'er suddenly widened her eyes: "You agreed?"

Gu Jinzhao countered, "Why not agree?"

Luo Ling'er lowered her eyelids, pursed her lips, and said in a voice barely above a whisper: "I am a Xuan Yin Cha Ti (a body type), and I will not live past ten years old."

Although she was young, she understood that the sword spirit must be extraordinary to be able to suppress such terrifying cold poison so easily.

How could such a person recognize a child with no cultivation and who is even nearing death as his master?

The suggestion to become an apprentice was like a drowning person desperately grasping at the last piece of driftwood.

Unexpectedly, the other person actually took her hand.

Gu Jinchao manifested his divine soul and gently sat down beside the bed: "The Xuan Yin Cha Body is not without a solution."

Although Luo Ling'er couldn't see his face clearly, even his voice seemed to be muffled and hoarse, as if through a thick veil.

But you can feel his aura, warm and cozy, like a winter fireplace or a ray of sunshine shining through the eaves.

Gu Jinzhao noticed his blurry figure, as if his outline had been erased by some force.

He guessed that the strange phenomenon was caused by the great distance between [Chixiao] and [Xuanming].

Suppressing his chaotic thoughts, he said in a deep voice, "I know a technique that can transform the cold energy dissipated from the Xuan Yin Cha Body into spiritual power to nourish oneself."

"What kind of cultivation technique?"

Luo Ling'er blurted out the question.

Gu Jinzhao narrowed his eyes slightly: "This technique is called the Taiyin Sword Nourishing Chapter."

It was created in ancient times by a female sword cultivator who also possessed the Xuan Yin Cha Body.

With the chilling aura emanating from her body, she nurtured her innate sword intent, forging a sword path unprecedented in history.

For this reason, later generations revered her as the Taiyin Sword Emperor.

And this Taiyin Sword Emperor was none other than Xiao Renhuang's first wife.

The cultivation techniques she left behind are now sealed away in the Xiao family, one of the four great families.

Gu Jinzhao's gaze fell on Luo Ling'er's thin, malnourished, petite body: "However, before you start cultivating, Ling'er needs to take care of her health first."

"Otherwise, they won't be able to withstand the corrosive effect of that cold."

Luo Ling'er's eyes suddenly dimmed: "But I have no money."

Gu Jinzhao didn't seem to care, and simply asked in a low voice, "What place is next door?"

Luo Ling'er thought for a moment and replied, "It's the Luo family's breeding farm, which raises many poultry, specifically for the main courtyard."

Although she was the daughter of the head of the household, she was born to a concubine. Her birth mother was of lowly status, and the mistress made things difficult for her in every way. From the moment she was born, she was driven to this side room where servants lived.

Although they never stopped eating, it was all leftovers and cold scraps, with hardly any meat in sight.

This is why she has become so thin.

Gu Jinchao then asked, "How do the people guarding the farm treat you?"

Luo Ling'er pursed her lips and remained silent for a moment: "In the past, my mother saw that I was weak, so she saved her monthly allowance to exchange for some chickens and ducks to help me get better."

"They took the money but refused to acknowledge it."

“When Mother went to argue with them, she was ridiculed instead. They said that we, mother and daughter, were living in the Luo family’s house and eating the Luo family’s food, and were still greedy. They really thought we were proper masters.”

"After we came back, my mother cried for a long time."

She spoke calmly, as if she were telling someone else's story.

Upon hearing this, Gu Jinzhao narrowed his eyes slightly: "That's perfect then, wait for me a moment."

Before he finished speaking, he stood up straight and silently passed through the wall.

Before long, they passed through the wall and returned.

In his hand now lay a plump hen that could barely move.

The hen clearly hadn't realized what was happening; her round, black eyes rolled around blankly.

Gu Jinzhao condensed an extremely fine and bright sword intent at his fingertips, and in no time, the fluffy chicken feathers fell like snowflakes, gathered into a pile, and were burned directly.