Inside the Welcoming Immortals Pavilion, the fragrance of tea wafted gently.
Enlightenment Tea.
Qin Tianheng sat in the host’s seat, not touching that priceless cup of tea.
His patience had long been worn thin by the alternating cycle of hope and disappointment.
As the ruler of the Big Dipper Star Field, and more importantly, as the father of that sickly young girl, he had no time for superfluous pleasantries or roundabout probing.
Qin Tianheng spoke: “Fairy Han, let’s speak plainly. Since you came in response to the bounty notice, I, Qin, will be direct. My daughter’s illness cannot be delayed any longer. As long as you can act for the Qin Family… that thing, whether it’s divine weapons, peerless techniques, or any price my Qin Family must pay—”
He paused, his gaze sharp as a torch.
“If you truly have the skill to cure her, or even just suppress the illness… as long as I, Qin, can afford it, I will not bargain. Any request, you may state it freely.”
This promise carried the weight of a thousand jun.
If word got out, it would be enough to drive all the cultivators of the Big Dipper Star Field into a frenzy.
The Grand Elder listened from the side.
Although he felt the Family Head’s promise was too extravagant, thinking of the Third Young Lady’s current condition, he only sighed inwardly and did not voice any objection.
The Family Head’s favoritism towards the Third Young Lady was something even a three-year-old child in the Qin Family knew.
Lin Qingyue sat in a lower seat, her hands slightly clenched.
She could feel the weight behind this promise.
If it were her from before, she might have felt fear, might have retreated.
But the current her had no way back.
Involuntarily, the figure of that young man surfaced in her mind—that fool who always smiled gently, yet to avoid burdening her, had cruelly used lies to drive her away…
That idiot with a naturally crippled physique, who was still desperately cultivating.
“Gu Qing…”
Lin Qingyue silently recited this name in her heart, a look of resolve flashing in her eyes.
She had promised she must return within ten years.
Ten years, for a cultivator, was but the snap of a finger.
To defy fate and reshape Gu Qing’s foundational Dao within such a short time, to allow him to step onto the path of cultivation—relying solely on her own step-by-step cultivation was simply not enough.
She needed medicine.
She needed that legendary herb said to grow atop the Jianmu Tree, bathed in ten thousand years of starlight—the Nine Revolutions Heaven-Mending Lotus.
Her master had said it was the only divine object she could realistically obtain that could ignore innate talent and rebuild a mortal’s foundation.
And this thing, only the Qin Family had it.
However, she also knew that wanting the whole thing was simply impossible.
She only needed a single petal.
For Gu Qing’s sake, even if it meant traversing mountains of blades and seas of fire, even if it meant facing a titan like Qin Tianheng, she had to take this gamble.
Gu Qing had saved her once back then.
She too wanted…
To save him once.
To make him never forget her again, to make it impossible for him to push her away again, to leave him with no reason to push her away anymore…
But, if she knew that the person she longed for had long since left Canglan Star and was now on the very same planet as her…
One wonders what she would think.
“Family Head Qin is straightforward.”
Lin Qingyue took a deep breath, her tone firm.
“This junior only desires one medicinal ingredient from the Qin Family’s treasury.”
“Oh?” Qin Tianheng raised an eyebrow slightly. “What ingredient?”
“In that case, this junior will not be coy.”
Lin Qingyue looked directly at him.
“If I can cure your daughter, this junior does not want divine weapons or techniques. I only want one thing—the Nine Revolutions Heaven-Mending Lotus.”
The hall fell silent for a moment.
The Grand Elder was inwardly shocked.
This girl, her appetite is truly huge!
That’s the Qin Family’s treasure, their foundation!
Qin Tianheng was also slightly taken aback.
Although he was the Qin Family Head, in such matters, he was powerless.
Even if he agreed, the Elder Council would never permit it.
Without the Elder Council’s approval, he couldn’t touch the family’s foundational treasure.
Just as he frowned, pondering how to handle this—
“…Just a single petal will suffice.”
“Agreed.”
This time, Qin Tianheng agreed crisply and decisively.
Three thousand petals, taking just one, was not a problem.
“As long as Yan’er recovers completely, I, Qin, will personally retrieve that lotus petal for you.”
Hearing this promise, the huge stone hanging in Lin Qingyue’s heart finally settled halfway.
But immediately after, even greater pressure followed.
The premise of this transaction was: curing the Qin Family’s Third Young Lady.
And she…
Knew nothing about medicine.
All her confidence came from the one residing in her sea of consciousness.
‘Little Qingyue, you’ve truly gone mad.’
Deep within her sea of consciousness, a lazy yet helpless female voice sounded.
It was a wisp of a phantom soul, attached to a broken sword, radiating a terrifying sword intent that made one’s heart palpitate.
The Lord of Han Yuan, a generation’s Sword Immortal.
A peerless existence who once roamed freely across the heavens, now reduced to being Lin Qingyue’s “portable old grandpa,” and also her greatest reliance while venturing outside.
‘That’s the Qin Family, and this Celestial Authority Star is the location of the Jianmu Tree. If I were at my peak, I could naturally come and go as I pleased. But now…’
The Sword Immortal sighed.
‘If we are exposed, or if that Qin Tianheng develops murderous intent, I can only risk burning my origin to escape with you. For that boy named Gu Qing, is it worth it?’
Lin Qingyue responded in her sea of consciousness, her tone gentle yet stubborn:
‘Master, it’s worth it.’
‘He is my life. If not for him, what use is cultivating this path of immortality?’
‘And besides…’
Lin Qingyue began to act coquettishly.
‘I have Master here. Master dotes on Qingyue the most, and definitely won’t watch Qingyue come to harm, right?’
In the sea of consciousness, the Sword Immortal was rendered speechless by this direct hit.
‘You… really… sigh.’
The Sword Immortal could only shake her head helplessly.
‘Fine, what does it matter to accompany you in this madness once? Who told me I only took on such a foolish disciple? Listen carefully, don’t say the next words wrong by a single character.’
In reality.
Lin Qingyue slowly raised her head, a subtle change occurring in her eyes.
In that instant, she imagined herself as an old monster who had lived countless eons.
She looked at Qin Tianheng and spoke slowly:
“Family Head Qin, regarding the ailment your daughter suffers from, I presume the Qin Family has invited many famous physicians to examine her over the years.”
The corner of her mouth lifted in a faint, mocking smile.
“Some called it innate cold poison, some said it was meridian blockage, and there were even those who claimed it was demonic possession.”
“Incompetent physicians harm people.”
Qin Tianheng’s eyes focused.
He did not get angry, only asked in a deep voice, “Then, in the esteemed immortal’s opinion, what is this ailment?”
Lin Qingyue did not answer directly.
She stood up, took two steps within the hall, her gaze seeming to pierce through the void, looking towards the distant past.
“That is not an illness.”
“Nor is it poison.”
“It is… Divine Punishment.”
As those two words left her mouth, Qin Tianheng’s heart shook.
Over the years, the bounty the Qin Family had issued to the outside world had always used the term “peculiar cold poison.”
This was both to protect Qin Xiyan’s privacy and served as a screening threshold.
Those who came with prescriptions to cure cold poison were all turned away by the Qin Family.
Because Qin Tianheng knew clearly in his heart—it wasn’t cold poison at all!
It was the conclusion he and Medicine Elder had barely reached after combing through ancient texts and countless secret manuals—it was a Bloodline Curse from ancient times, a punishment descended by the gods.
And now, this little girl, only at the Tongyou Realm, had actually hit the mark with a single sentence!
“It seems Family Head Qin already had a conclusion in mind.”
Lin Qingyue said with an air of nonchalance.
“The so-called cold energy is merely the manifestation produced when that Divine Punishment power erodes the life origin. Mundane fire cannot dispel it, mundane medicine cannot cure it.”
“If treated as cold poison, it will only worsen with treatment, ultimately… resulting in the destruction of both soul and spirit.”
These words spoke to Qin Tianheng’s deepest fear.
Back then, his wife had been treated as a case of cold poison for several decades, ultimately beyond saving.
Qin Tianheng took a deep breath, calming his agitated emotions.
The look he directed at Lin Qingyue unconsciously carried a trace of respect.
“Esteemed Immortal… no, Venerable Master, is indeed profound!”
His daughter seemed to have a chance at being saved.
How could he, as a father, not be excited?
“Since you know it is Divine Punishment, does Venerable Master have a method to break it?”
This was the most crucial point.
Lin Qingyue sat back down in her chair, picked up the teacup, and took a small sip.
She was waiting.
Waiting for the Sword Immortal’s instructions.
‘Tell him, the aura of this Divine Punishment is very familiar.’
In her sea of consciousness, the Sword Immortal’s voice carried a hint of coldness.
‘It’s from an existence I fought against in the past, an Ancient God of Old. I never thought after all these years, it would still be harming living beings in this world.’
Lin Qingyue’s heart skipped a beat.
An Ancient God of Old?!
She forcefully suppressed the shock in her heart, slightly polished her master’s words, and relayed them:
“Naturally, there is a method to break it.”
She looked at Qin Tianheng, her tone becoming meaningful.
“However… when my master sensed that wisp of aura on the bounty notice, she remarked—this aura is quite familiar. It seems to be an old… defeated foe of hers.”
The Grand Elder’s eyes widened, his beard almost standing on end.
Defeated foe?!
That was a curse from the Legendary Realm!
That was a god from ancient times!
This girl’s master actually called such an existence her defeated foe?
Wasn’t this boast a bit too big?
But Qin Tianheng did not find it absurd.
On the contrary, the light in his eyes grew brighter.
At his level of cultivation, he clearly understood that there were some old monsters in this world who had lived longer than history itself.
If there truly was such an existence standing behind Lin Qingyue…
Then perhaps Xiyan really had a chance at being saved!
“If Venerable Master can truly resolve this calamity—”
Qin Tianheng’s voice trembled slightly, “the Qin Family is willing to spare no expense!”
“Spare no expense is unnecessary.”
Lin Qingyue waved her hand, beginning to reel in the net according to her master’s instructions.
“However, Divine Punishment is, after all, no child’s play. Based solely on that wisp of aura on the bounty notice, my master cannot fully determine the curse’s origin and variant.”
“Therefore—”
Lin Qingyue stood up, her gaze resolute.
“My master needs to borrow my eyes to personally see that Third Young Lady.”
“A face-to-face diagnosis is a must.”
“Moreover, when performing the spell, a specific environment and spiritual materials are required. The Qin Family must cooperate in providing these.”
Qin Tianheng nodded repeatedly without any hesitation.
“That is only natural! As long as the esteemed immortal is willing, we can set off now!”
He was already growing impatient.
Lin Qingyue nodded.
“Then I’ll trouble the Family Head to lead the way.”
She shouldered her longsword and followed behind Qin Tianheng.
Her heart, however, was a tumult of mixed emotions.
She had finally taken this step.
For that Nine Revolutions Heaven-Mending Lotus, she was placing herself at the center of the Qin Family’s massive whirlpool.
But as soon as she thought of Gu Qing, of that ten-year promise, her footsteps held no hesitation.
‘Once I get the medicine, I’ll go back to save you. Gu Qing, wait for me.’
No matter where you are, no matter what you’ve become.
She had no idea.
The person she longed to return and save was currently sitting on the Guanxing Tower of the Moon-Dwelling Courtyard, drinking that bowl of bitter medicinal soup, waiting for his fiancée to come home for dinner.
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