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

68: Chapter 68: The Mysterious White Shadow and the Whispers of the Star CoreThat raised finger was slender and pale. The faint light gathered at its tip was not an aggressive, violent energy, but a more peculiar and intricate pale golden radiance. It seemed to contain the birth and death of countless dust-fine runes, exuding an aura that calmed the mind yet felt unfathomably profound.

The White Mask’s gaze, passing through the flawless mask, fell upon Su Muxue’s paper-pale, deathly still face and paused slightly. That gaze seemed to hold an appraisal, an inquiry, and even a trace of... an indescribable, complex emotion.

The faint light at the fingertip grew more concentrated.

Just as that light was about to touch the space between Su Muxue’s brows—

Hum!

A sudden anomaly occurred!

It did not come from Su Muxue, nor from the dormant light sphere of Lin Mo beside her, but from the zhenyuan remnant sword that had fallen to the ground, its spirit greatly diminished!

As if stimulated by the aura of the pale golden light, or sensing its master’s ultimate crisis, the zhenyuan remnant sword let out an extremely faint yet stubbornly persistent sword hum! On the sword hilt, the black-green radiance flashed intensely for a moment like a final resurgence. A subtle yet incredibly pure Sword Qi, carrying the last shred of will and righteous intent of the Lingxiao Sword Cultivator, spontaneously slashed towards that finger!

This sword strike was insignificant, incapable of even harming a Mortal.

Yet the will it represented was solemn and inviolable!

The White Mask’s finger halted mid-air.

He tilted his head slightly, seeming somewhat surprised as he ’looked’ at the struggling remnant sword. The pale golden light at his fingertip rippled gently, silently dispersing that strand of Sword Qi.

But he did not continue his action.

Silence.

In the ancient forest, only the rustle of wind through leaves and Su Muxue’s barely audible, faint breathing could be heard.

The White Mask slowly withdrew his finger. The unfathomable aura surrounding him quietly receded. He simply stood there silently, like a mute white ghost, incongruous with the vibrant life around him.

His gaze returned to Su Muxue, this time seemingly carrying a different nuance. He appeared to be confirming something, perceiving something.

After a long while, an extremely soft, almost imperceptible sigh seemed to escape from beneath the mask.

He raised his hand again. This time, what gathered at his fingertip was no longer the pale golden runic light, but a crystal-clear droplet of water, brimming with vast vitality and pure lunar power. The moment the droplet appeared, the surrounding vegetation seemed to turn a lusher green, and a refreshingly sweet fragrance filled the air.

”Taiyin Origin...” A low, slightly magnetic voice softly broke the silence. The voice was calm and even, betraying no emotion, yet it was utterly different from the arrogance and viciousness of the previous Golden Core Cultivator. It carried the aloofness of one long accustomed to a lofty position and... a trace of imperceptible weariness.

Without the slightest hesitation, he flicked his fingertip lightly.

That droplet of Taiyin Origin water landed precisely between Su Muxue’s slightly parted, bloodless lips.

Vast yet gentle vitality instantly dissolved, flowing like moonlight, rapidly seeping into her parched Meridians, damaged organs, and her Sea of Consciousness on the verge of extinguishing. The ice moon imprint between her brows suddenly brightened, greedily absorbing this power of the same origin yet far more refined and potent. The dim sword pattern also became a fraction clearer.

The painful furrow of Su Muxue’s brow relaxed slightly. Though still unconscious, her previously flickering, candle-in-the-wind aura finally stabilized and began an extremely slow recovery.

Having done all this, the White Mask did not even glance at Lin Mo beside them. His figure retreated slightly backward, then vanished soundlessly into the shadows of the ancient trees as if merging with a reflection in water, as though he had never appeared.

The forest returned to tranquility.

Only the gradually strengthening sound of breathing proved that what had just transpired was not an illusion... An unknown amount of time passed.

Lin Mo’s consciousness slowly surfaced from deep dormancy.

The first thing he sensed was the much more stable vitality of Su Muxue in his arms. Though still weak, it was no longer on the verge of extinguishing at any moment like before.

”What happened?” He was filled with astonishment and doubt. His last memory was of carrying Mu Xue through the spatial rift, exhausting his power and falling into dormancy.

Who had saved them?

Friend or foe?

He immediately attempted to spread out his faint Perception.

After a brief dormancy, the nirvana star core seemed to have undergone subtle changes. Its Perception of vitality had grown sharper, and its intuition for danger had intensified. He ’saw’ that external, refined and vast Taiyin Power within Su Muxue’s body gently repairing her injuries.

This was not something an ordinary Cultivator could accomplish! At the very least, it was the work of a Nascent Soul Stage expert proficient in Taiyin Power!

His Perception swept through the surroundings.

Ancient trees towered, vines hung down, a distant stream babbled, birds sang in the serene mountains. All was peaceful, as if devoid of any danger.

But just as his Perception swept past the shadow beneath a certain massive ancient tree, the nirvana star core suddenly transmitted an extremely faint tremor!

There... lingered an exceedingly subtle aura that instinctively put him on guard! Cold, aloof, lofty, yet carrying a trace of... an indescribable familiarity?

Was it that White Mask?!

He had been here?!

Lin Mo’s heart instantly tightened. Did he save Mu Xue? Why would he save her? What exactly was his purpose?

Countless questions swirled in his mind.

But at this moment, the most important thing was not to seek the truth, but to recover strength and leave this place of trouble as soon as possible!

Though that Golden Core Cultivator was frozen, the forces behind him would certainly not let the matter rest. And the appearance of the White Mask made the situation even more murky and unpredictable.

Lin Mo focused his mind, fully activating the chaos dao seed. He began frantically absorbing the abundant Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and the vitality of the vegetation in the surrounding ancient forest, while carefully guiding the nirvana star core to digest the Star Miasma Power and that trace of Guixu Origin it had previously devoured.

Every crisis was a tempering. He felt his control over the nirvana star core had become slightly more adept.

And just as he immersed himself in recovery, he did not notice that deep within the Core of his light sphere, on the surface of the nirvana star core—which had fused with star core fragments and was tainted with Guixu aura—an extremely fine dark pattern, almost blending with the darkness, wriggled gently like a living thing.

As if something was quietly gestating within this extreme stillness and Stellar Power... The setting sun dyed the ancient forest in warm hues.

Su Muxue’s long eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.

Her ice-blue eyes first flashed with confusion, soon replaced by wariness and weakness. She tried to sit up abruptly but aggravated her injuries, letting out a low groan of pain.

”Don’t move. Your injuries are severe,” Lin Mo’s thought immediately transmitted, carrying concern. ”We are temporarily safe. First, stabilize your injuries.”

Su Muxue complied and did not act rashly. She quickly performed an internal inspection and immediately discovered the external, refined and gentle Taiyin Power within her body, repairing her injuries, even more efficiently than her own Profound Yin Power.

”This is...” Shock flashed in her eyes.

”It was the White Mask,” Lin Mo said gravely. ”He was here just now and left this power.”

Su Muxue’s pupils constricted sharply. ”Him?! Why would he...”

”I don’t know,” Lin Mo interrupted her. ”But his purpose is certainly not as simple as goodwill. Recover first. We must leave this place quickly.”

Suppressing the storm of shock in her heart, Su Muxue nodded. Without another word, she immediately began fully operating her Cultivation Technique, guiding the vast Taiyin Origin within her body to repair herself.

The zhenyuan remnant sword lay quietly beside her hand. The black-green radiance on its blade seemed to have regained a barely perceptible trace of its spirit.

Nightfall slowly descended.

From deep within the ancient forest, a long, desolate wolf howl faintly echoed.

New dangers might be brewing in the darkness.