Transmigrating Into a Fantasy World: Signing in During Pregnancy, Reaching the Summit with My Childhood Sweetheart

11: Chapter 11: The Mystery of the Ice Soul”Profound Yin Qi?!”

Shopkeeper Sun’s cry, filled with shock and horror, exploded like thunder within the narrow Woodshed! His turbid eyes were fixed intently on the shivering little girl in Liu Qingxuan’s arms—her small face deathly pale—and the broken clay bowl in her hand, its rim frosted over and the rice porridge covered in ice. His withered fingers trembled slightly! On his face, etched with the ravines of time, shock, horror, disbelief, and a deep sense of inquiry interwove, completely replacing his usual calm and gentleness.

Liu Qingxuan was also stunned by the sudden turn of events and Shopkeeper Sun’s reaction! Clutching the little girl in her arms, who was as cold as ice and whose consciousness seemed to be fading from the extreme chill, her voice choked with tears: ”Shopkeeper Sun! What... what is happening? What is Profound Yin Qi? Will... will the child be alright?!”

A bone-piercing chill radiated from the little girl, causing the temperature in the Woodshed to plummet sharply. Even their breath turned to white mist. On the haystack, Lin Mo’s small body instinctively curled up. The seed of his Chaos Dao Body instinctively activated, emitting a faint warmth to protect itself, yet his consciousness was firmly locked onto the erupting, icy, and bizarre power within Su Muxue (he had already settled on this name in his heart)!

Cold! A pure, Soul-freezing cold! This power was filled with violence and chaos, like a forcibly restrained glacier suddenly bursting its banks! It madly scoured the little girl’s fragile Meridians and internal organs, freezing and obliterating vitality wherever it passed! This was no ordinary cold energy! This power... carried an ancient, sinister, primal aura, as if originating from the deepest depths of the Nine Netherworlds!

”Quick! Put her down! Lay her flat!” Shopkeeper Sun snapped back to reality, his voice carrying an unprecedented urgency and gravity! His withered yet surprisingly strong hands pulled Liu Qingxuan aside, almost roughly placing the curled-up, shivering little girl flat on the straw mat!

The little girl’s body was stiff and icy. Her pale green eyes were half-open, but her pupils had lost focus, leaving only boundless pain and coldness. Her small lips had taken on an eerie bluish-purple hue. Her breathing was so faint it was almost imperceptible, each weak inhalation expelling tiny shards of ice crystals!

A sharp glint erupted in Shopkeeper Sun’s turbid eyes! His withered hands moved like lightning, his ten fingers flying like butterflies through flowers, tapping and pressing on several major Acupoints on the little girl’s body! Each time his fingertips landed, they brought forth an extremely faint yet pure and condensed warm yellow halo, like a weak spark thrown into an icy river, attempting to block and guide the rampaging Profound Yin Cold Qi!

However, the Profound Yin Qi was overwhelmingly domineering! The warm yellow halo at Shopkeeper Sun’s fingertips dimmed and dissipated rapidly upon contact, as if melting snow! Not only was the cold energy not suppressed, it seemed enraged like a Vicious Beast, colliding even more violently within the little girl’s body!

”Pfft!” The little girl’s body suddenly arched, and she spat out a small mouthful of dark red, stagnant blood mixed with ice shards! Her life force instantly grew even weaker, like a candle flickering in the wind!

”It’s no use! This Profound Yin Qi is too domineering! It cannot be resisted by mortal means!” Shopkeeper Sun’s expression changed drastically, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead! He abruptly withdrew his hands, his withered fingers spasming slightly from forcibly resisting the terrifying cold energy! Watching the little girl’s rapidly declining life force, his eyes filled with helplessness and immense shock and doubt!

”This child... actually has such a terrifying Profound Yin Origin within her body?! This is definitely not innate! It seems more like... a mere remnant of power leaking from some ancient Seal that was forcibly torn apart!” Shopkeeper Sun muttered to himself, his voice filled with unbelievable shock. ”So pure... so ancient... what exactly is her Origin? What has she experienced? To actually trigger such forbidden power?!”

Seal? Torn apart? Lin Mo’s heart shook violently! He instantly thought of Nangong Xuan’s inscrutable gaze and those words, ’Causes arise and cease, all is predetermined’! Could it be... this little girl’s Origin is connected to Nangong Xuan? Or perhaps, she herself is a great secret?

”Shopkeeper! I beg you! Think of a way! Save her!” Liu Qingxuan’s heart felt as if it were being sliced by knives as she watched the little girl, barely breathing, her body covered in a faint layer of frost. She fell to her knees with a thud before Shopkeeper Sun, weeping uncontrollably.

Shopkeeper Sun looked at the kneeling, pleading Liu Qingxuan, then at the little girl on the straw mat whose vitality was rapidly fading. His brow furrowed tightly into a deep crease. His withered fingers unconsciously twisted the sparse beard on his chin, his turbid gaze flickering rapidly, as if weighing an extremely difficult decision.

After a few breaths, he suddenly gritted his teeth, a flash of pained reluctance and resolve in his eyes! ”Enough! Saving a life is paramount!” He turned abruptly and strode to the outer room, to the bottom drawer of the peeling old medicine cabinet. Carefully, he opened a palm-sized jade box, wrapped in layers of oiled paper and locked in a hidden compartment!

The moment the jade box opened, an intensely rich, scorching, and Yang-imbued medicinal fragrance instantly filled the air, even briefly overpowering the bone-chilling cold in the Woodshed! In the center of the jade box lay a fruit the size of a longan, its body fiery red as flame, with natural cloud-like patterns on its surface! The fruit emitted waves of heat, making the surrounding air shimmer slightly!

”Fi... fire cloud fruit?!” Liu Qingxuan exclaimed in shock. Though fallen from grace, the Liu Family was, after all, a marginal Cultivation Family. She vaguely recognized this extremely precious Spirit Medicine, which contained pure fire-attribute spiritual power! How could such a treasure appear in a medicine shop in this remote town?

”Consider it this girl’s fate not to end here! I’ve treasured this for years, originally intending to save it for...” The look of painful reluctance in Shopkeeper Sun’s eyes grew stronger, but his actions did not hesitate! He carefully used a jade knife to cut off a nail-sized piece of the innermost, most core crimson flesh. The flesh glowed like burning embers, radiating astonishing heat!

”Hold her down!” Shopkeeper Sun barked at Liu Qingxuan.

Liu Qingxuan hurriedly threw herself forward, pressing down firmly on the little girl’s body, which was twitching slightly in pain.

Shopkeeper Sun precisely inserted that small piece of blazing fire cloud fruit flesh into the little girl’s slightly open, ice-speckled mouth! Simultaneously, he brought together the index and middle fingers of his withered right hand. Their tips once again glowed with that faint warm yellow halo, and he struck with lightning speed, pointing at the little girl’s chest (the Shanzhong acupoint) and her abdomen (the Qi Sea Acupoint)!

”Use fire to guide fire! Yang charges the Yin pivot! Settle for me!” Shopkeeper Sun’s beard and hair seemed to bristle as he let out a low, forceful shout!

*Hum!* The small piece of fire cloud fruit flesh melted instantly upon entering her mouth, transforming into an overwhelmingly domineering, magma-like torrent of scorching heat that surged violently into the little girl’s icy body! This scorching power and the rampaging Profound Yin Cold Qi met like fire and water, instantly erupting into a fierce conflict within the little girl’s body!

”Ahhh—!!!” The unconscious little girl let out a shrill, almost inhuman scream! Her small body arched violently like a shrimp thrown into a furnace! Her skin instantly displayed a terrifying spectacle of ice and fire interwoven! One half of her body condensed with fine frost, while the other half turned crimson red and scalding hot, as if magma flowed beneath her skin! Two utterly opposite, equally destructive, terrifying forces clashed and tore madly against each other within her fragile Meridians!

Liu Qingxuan held her down tightly, tears streaming down like rain, her fingernails digging deep into her palms! Lin Mo’s heart also leapt to his throat! He could clearly ’perceive’ the hellish energy storm raging within Su Muxue’s body! The seed of the Chaos Dao Body instinctively grew restless; if he hadn’t suppressed it with all his might, it would have almost burst forth from his body!

Elder Sun’s expression was extremely grave! His withered fingers, like iron pincers, pressed firmly on the little girl’s Acupoints. The warm yellow glow at his fingertips, like a candle flame in a gale, tenaciously guided the overbearing medicinal power of the fire cloud fruit, attempting to transform it into a large net to bind and suppress the rampaging Profound Yin Cold Qi! The veins on his forehead bulged, and sweat rolled down like small streams, clearly indicating immense exertion!

Time seemed to freeze. Every breath felt endlessly long. Frost and crimson repeatedly wrestled and contended for dominance on the little girl’s body. Her agonized cries gradually weakened, yet her body still convulsed and trembled violently.

Finally! At the cost of Elder Sun’s muffled grunt and a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, the overbearing medicinal power of the fire cloud fruit seemed to temporarily gain the upper hand! The frost on the little girl’s skin rapidly melted, and the scalding crimson hue slowly faded, leaving behind only a weak, sickly pallor. The violently clashing forces of ice and fire within her, as if exhausted, temporarily ceased their struggle and were forcibly suppressed back into some unknowable corner deep within her body. The rampaging Profound Yin Cold Qi, though still entrenched, no longer raged and leaked out violently, like a Vicious Beast temporarily caged.

The little girl’s body went limp, sinking back into deep unconsciousness. Her breathing, though faint, no longer carried shards of ice, and her body temperature returned to a coolness close to normal, rather than the previous bone-piercing cold.

”Huff... huff...” Elder Sun staggered back a few steps as if drained, leaning against the cold wooden plank wall, panting heavily. His face was as pale as paper, his eyes filled with exhaustion and lingering fear. He looked down at his slightly trembling hands, the fingertips still tinged with a lingering interwoven aura of scorching heat and icy cold, and shook his head with a bitter smile.

”Temporarily... suppressed,” Elder Sun’s voice was hoarse and thick with weariness. ”The yang-harmonizing power of the fire cloud fruit temporarily neutralized the erupting Profound Yin Cold Qi, forcing it back deep within her body... But it’s only a stopgap measure, treating the symptom, not the root cause. The Profound Yin Origin within this girl is too powerful and strange, like a living thing. Once stimulated or if she herself becomes extremely weak, it could erupt again at any moment... Next time... I’m afraid this bit of fire cloud fruit won’t be enough to suppress it...”

Liu Qingxuan looked at the little girl on the straw mat, unconscious but with finally stabilized breathing, then at Elder Sun, whose pale face clearly showed great depletion. Immense gratitude and heavy worry pressed simultaneously on her heart. She kowtowed heavily to Elder Sun, her forehead touching the cold ground. ”Shopkeeper’s life-saving grace... Qingxuan... can never repay it! In the future, I will serve you like an ox or a horse...”

”Enough, enough...” Elder Sun waved his hand wearily, interrupting her. His gaze was complex as he looked at the unconscious little girl. ”This girl... her Origins are absolutely not simple. Such pure, ancient Profound Yin Qi... In my lifetime of practicing medicine, I’ve only seen scattered records in extremely ancient, Incomplete Manuals and rare texts... It’s said to be a power... belonging to certain forbidden Bloodlines or lost Legacies...” His voice dropped very low, carrying a deep sense of apprehension and warning. ”A common man’s only crime is possessing a treasure. What happened today must never be revealed to outsiders! Otherwise... it may invite a fatal disaster! For you, for her, it would be utter destruction!”

Liu Qingxuan shuddered, her face instantly turning deathly pale! Forbidden Bloodline? Lost Legacy? Fatal disaster? Looking at the pale, delicate, and unconscious little face on the straw mat, immense fear instantly seized her! She was just an ordinary woman trying to survive with her child; why had she been dragged into such a terrifying vortex?!

”Then... what should we do?” Liu Qingxuan’s voice trembled with despair.

”What should we do?” Elder Sun let out a bitter laugh, his eyes filled with exhaustion and helplessness. ”I don’t know either. We can only take one step at a time. Her injuries... the external wounds require restful recuperation. As for that Profound Yin Qi... she can only rely on herself to slowly resolve it, or... find a truly yang-extreme object or Cultivation Technique that can suppress it... But such things...” He shook his head and didn’t continue.

Silence enveloped the narrow Woodshed, the atmosphere so oppressive it was suffocating. The fire cloud fruit, with a small piece cut off, lay quietly in the jade box, its crimson glow significantly dimmed, as if it too had exhausted its power.

Just then. ”Eee... yah...” A faint, muddled, and curious infant sound broke the dead silence.

Liu Qingxuan and Elder Sun turned their heads simultaneously. In the corner of the haystack, Lin Mo, wrapped in swaddling clothes, had unknowingly opened his eyes. Those pure, untainted eyes were staring unblinkingly at the unconscious Su Muxue on the straw mat. His tiny hand struggled to extend from the swaddling clothes, waving clumsily and gently towards Su Muxue’s direction, making indistinct babbling sounds. He looked exactly like a muddled infant calling out to a companion.

A pang of sorrow struck Liu Qingxuan’s heart. Mo’er... is he concerned about this little sister who shares his fate of many disasters?

Elder Sun’s turbid gaze fell upon Lin Mo. Looking at those pure eyes and the clumsily waving little hand, an extremely subtle, indescribably complex glint flashed in his eyes. After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke, his voice carrying a strange weariness and desolation: ”This child (referring to Su Muxue)... since she has forgotten her past, and fate has brought her together with you and your son, she needs a name. While she was unconscious, I observed her features were exquisite, her temperament pure and cool... How about... we call her ’Mu Xue’. Su Muxue. May she be as if bathed in wind and snow, yet remain resilient as ever, enduring through this harsh winter.”

Su Muxue. Meeting in wind and snow, with profound ice as her bones. Liu Qingxuan silently repeated the name. Looking at the pale little face on the straw mat, then at Lin Mo waving his little hand in her arms, a heavy sense of responsibility and a strange feeling of connection welled up within her.

”Su... Mu Xue...” Liu Qingxuan softly repeated, her eyes filled with pity and a desperate resolve. ”Good... from now on... your name is Su Muxue... you are Auntie’s child... just like Mo’er...”

She walked over, carefully picked up the still unconscious Su Muxue, and placed her on the ground covered with thick hay, right next to Lin Mo. Two small figures lay side by side, one pale and fragile, the other quiet and seemingly muddled (pretending).

Lin Mo tilted his little head, ’looking’ at Su Muxue’s nearly transparent, pale face so close beside him. He could clearly ’perceive’ deep within her body, the terrifying Profound Yin Power temporarily suppressed by the fire cloud fruit’s medicinal power, yet still lurking like a slumbering icy river. The coldness, antiquity, and power of that force caused the seed of his Chaos Dao Body to tremble with instinctive agitation.

Su Muxue... Profound Yin Body? Forbidden Bloodline? Lin Mo’s tiny fist clenched quietly within the swaddling clothes. Whoever you are, wherever you come from, whatever you carry... since fate has thrown you to the side of me and Mother... ”From now on... I’ve got your back.” He silently declared to the unconscious girl in the depths of his consciousness.