Ch. 4
That evening, Bai Ningxue sat cross-legged on her bed, dressed in a pair of light blue pajamas, a notebook resting on her lap.
With a pen in hand, she carefully compiled a list of medicinal herbs and spiritual ingredients she would need to purchase over the weekend.
She hadn't lied to Zheng Yuan earlier.
She truly did have plans.
Her destination was Azure Pill Hall, the largest and most reputable supplier of pills, herbs, and cultivation materials in Xuan Civilization.
Just then, Bai Qingluo's gentle voice drifted up from downstairs.
"Xue'er, dinner's ready!"
"Ok mom!"
Bai Ningxue put down her notebook and quickly slipped off her bed.
She straightened the light blue pajamas she was wearing before making her way downstairs.
The rich aroma of freshly prepared food greeted her the moment she entered the dining room.
The dining table was already filled with an exquisite spread.
A whole steamed spirit fish rested at the center, its tender white flesh infused with fragrant ginger and scallions. There were stir-fried jade bok choy with garlic, lotus root simmered with pork rib soup, crystal shrimp with seasonal vegetables, and a steaming bowl of fragrant chicken and ginseng broth.
Every dish was carefully balanced, rich in nutrition while remaining light and healthy.
At the head of the table sat Bai Qingluo.
Time had treated her like the finest of wines. Although she was well into middle age, the years seemed to have done little more than add an air of mature elegance to her beauty. Her skin remained smooth and fair as polished jade, without even the faintest crow's-feet at the corners of her eyes.
Her long black hair was neatly gathered into an elegant bun, secured with a simple white jade hairpin.
Every movement she made was gentle and refined, carrying the natural dignity of someone born into nobility.
Seeing Bai Ningxue descend the stairs, Bai Qingluo smiled warmly.
"Xue'er, hurry over. The food will get cold."
"Xue'er, hurry over. The food will get cold."
Bai Ningxue's heart softened.
The cold, distant school goddess who kept everyone at arm's length seemed to vanish in an instant.
In front of her mother, she was simply a seventeen-year-old girl.
A faint smile curved her lips as she walked over and took her seat.
After they had finished eating and Bai Ningxue helped clear the table, Bai Qingluo suddenly seemed to remember something.
"Oh, right."
She looked toward her daughter with a smile.
"Remember Ziye is coming tomorrow."
"He'll be transferring into your high school to finish his senior year. I've already completed his enrollment procedures and had his room cleaned up."
Bai Ningxue blinked, a trace of confusion appearing on her usually composed face.
"Ziye...?"
Bai Qingluo couldn't help but laugh.
"Silly child, don't tell me you've already forgotten."
She reached out and gently flicked Bai Ningxue's forehead.
"You spend all day thinking about cultivation and your studies. Half the time, you don't even pay attention to what's happening around you."
"Didn't I tell you last week?"
"Your Aunt Shen has to leave the planet for a while because of work, so her son, Shen Ziye, will be staying with us."
"He's transferring to your high school to finish his senior year."
Bai Qingluo smiled helplessly.
"When I told you, you just hummed, said 'alright,' and went right back to reading your cultivation books."
"I thought you remembered."
Bai Ningxue paused.
Then the memories gradually surfaced.
Then, the memories gradually resurfaced.
It wasn't that Bai Ningxue had forgotten.
Rather, she had lived for more than a thousand years after leaving the Xuan Civilization.
She had traversed countless worlds, fought battles that shook the heavens, crossed swords with the greatest prodigies of her era, and climbed step by step to the pinnacle of the Martial Dao.
Compared to those thousand years...
The years she had spent in the Xuan Civilization were but a fleeting moment.
Many of her former classmates had long since faded into obscurity.
Even their names were difficult to recall.
It wasn't until her mother mentioned Aunt Shen that the forgotten memories gradually resurfaced.
She visited their home frequently and was her mother's closest friend.
Even looking back now, Bai Ningxue had to admit that Aunt Shen possessed a beauty capable of eclipsing the moon itself.
Standing beside Bai Qingluo, the two women resembled peerless sisters rather than ordinary friends, their bond so close that they treated each other as family.
Shen Ziye was different. In fact, they had only met once as children, when he stayed with their family for about a month.
Her only clear impression of him was that he spent most of his days sleeping.
She had always wondered how someone could sleep so much.
The reason Bai Ningxue had so few memories of Shen Ziye—even from her previous life—was simple.
He never made it here.
On the way to Xuan City, Shen Ziye died in an accident.
At the time, Bai Ningxue had only felt a slight sense of regret.
After all, they had met only once as children and spent little more than a month together. Her memories of him consisted mostly of a quiet boy who spent most of his time sleeping.
What she remembered more clearly was her mother's sorrow.
For several days, Bai Qingluo barely spoke.
The warm smile that was always present on her face disappeared, replaced by a sorrow Bai Ningxue had never seen before.
Throughout her entire senior year, her mother seemed noticeably quieter than usual.
Back then, Bai Ningxue hadn't thought much of it.
Death was an unfortunate but ordinary part of life.
She assumed her mother was simply grieving the loss of a child she had watched grow up.
Given enough time...
Only after returning to the Xuan Civilization fifty years later did she realize how terribly mistaken she had been.
Shen Ziye's death...
Had become the beginning of Bai Qingluo's downfall.
The grief lingered year after year, silently eroding her heart.
Her state of mind deteriorated. Her cultivation stagnated. Her Dao Heart gradually cracked. Whether Shen Ziye's death had directly led to Bai Qingluo's eventual demise could not be said.
But one thing was undeniable.
It had been the first step down that tragic path.
Bai Ningxue's eyes flickered with icy resolve.
Since her rebirth, she had sworn to change fate.
Her own fate. Her gaze slowly settled, and a thought surfaced in her mind.
Perhaps...
She could save Shen Ziye as well.
Bai Ningxue made up her mind.
Looking at her mother, she said,
"Mom... can we go pick him up tomorrow?"
Bai Qingluo blinked in surprise.
She looked at her daughter as though she had misheard.
No one knew Bai Ningxue better than she did.
Ever since she was little, her daughter had been unusually aloof. Aside from her studies and cultivation, she rarely took the initiative to concern herself with other people.
Yet now...
She was asking to personally pick someone up?
A teasing smile slowly spread across Bai Qingluo's face.
"Xue'er… What's this?"
"Did you only remember the cute little boy from your childhood after I mentioned him?"
Bai Ningxue froze.
"...Mom!"
A rare blush immediately crept onto her flawless face.
It had to be admitted… When they were ten years old, Shen Ziye had indeed been a Little Shota. With delicate features, bright peach-blossom eyes, and obsidian-black hair, he looked more like a porcelain doll than a little boy.
Combined with his sleepy, absent-minded expression, he had possessed the kind of appearance that made adults instinctively want to pinch his cheeks.
But that wasn't why she wanted to go.She simply wanted to make sure… This time, Shen Ziye arrived safely.
…
At the same time.
In a broken dimension, a voice had echoed through the darkness for countless eons.
[Searching for suitable candidates…]
[...Nine Yin Body… High-Grade Body… Rejected]
[Searching for suitable candidates…]
[...Lunar Jade Body… Medium-Grade Body… Rejected]
[...]
[...Three Yin Vien Body… Low-Grade Trash Body… Rejected]
[...True Dragon Body… Supreme-Grade Body… Rejected]
No one knew how long this voice had existed. The space it occupied in this broken dimension had never seen life.
The voice had never been heard because it did not belong to any known realm.
It was not recorded in history. It was not perceived by the Heavenly Dao. It simply existed.
[...Void Spirit Body… Immortal-Grade Body… Rejected]
[...Blocked Meridian Body… Waste Body… Rejected]
[... Acquired Impure Spirit Body… Medium-Grade Body… Rejected]
[...Chaos Sword Body… @#%$#$... Accepted]
…The voice suddenly opened its eyes, they were a mesmerizing shade of magenta-purple, beautiful beyond description. Yet...
The owner of those eyes could not be seen.
The darkness surrounding the figure was too profound, blending perfectly with its existence as if the void itself had become its body.
Those mesmerising eyes suddenly brightened.
"Wuwuwu..."
Its voice carried a hint of childish excitement and a girlish innocence, as though it had only just awakened to the world.
"How long have I waited..."
"Finally! An Innate Chaos Body. And it was even born with an Innate Sword Body!"
There was no trace of the indifferent majesty one would expect from an ancient existence that had witnessed the birth and death of countless realms.
The figure's voice softened.
"Let me see the fate of my master."