After My Rebirth, I Ended Up Happily Ever After with the Saintess - Chapter 104

The mess at the entrance of the Icewind Gorge had been hastily cleared, yet the heavy scent of blood still permeated the biting cold air, testifying to the terrifying attack that had just taken place. Disciples of the Profound Cloud Sect and the Azure Water Pavilion wore expressions of grief and exhaustion as they silently tended to the injured and collected the remains of their comrades. The atmosphere was suffocating.

All eyes were involuntarily drawn to the temporary camp, sheltered from the wind in a corner of the valley and protected by layers of powerful restrictions. A race against death was currently underway inside.

Inside the tent, the atmosphere was so heavy it felt like it would condense into water. Qin Yixuan lay quietly on a makeshift bed thickly covered with animal furs. Her face was ashen, and her breath was so faint it was barely perceptible, as if the weak flame of her life could extinguish at any moment. The fatal blow from the Core Realm Shadow Devil General contained a sinister Shadow Devil power that, like a parasitic bone-marrow maggot, was aggressively eroding her internal organs, meridians, and even the core of her spirit. The best healing elixirs of the Azure Water Pavilion could only barely cling to her last thread of life, unable to dispel the clinging demonic energy.

The Azure Water Pavilion’s leading elder, the elderly woman surnamed Yun, was now red-eyed. She continuously channeled pure and gentle Profound Water spiritual power into Qin Yixuan’s body, trying to nourish her damaged foundation and resist the spread of the demonic energy, but the effect was minimal. Her face was etched with anxiety and helplessness. Qin Yixuan was not only a once-in-ten-thousand-years genius of the Azure Water Pavilion but also the hope for them to inherit the complete legacy, possessing the Profound Maiden’s spiritual source. Her death here would be an unbearable blow to the sect.

Hermit Muyun stood to the side, his brows tightly furrowed. He had attempted to use the Pill Fire power of Cloud Dan Peak to burn away the Shadow Devil energy but found that the energy was extremely cunning and nearly entangled with Qin Yixuan’s spiritual source. Forcibly driving it out could very likely damage her foundation and even accelerate her death.

“Elder Yun, Daoist Muyun, this cannot continue!” Elder Yun’s voice was hoarse and laced with despair. “This Shadow Devil power is too bizarre and vicious. Yixuan… I fear she won’t last much longer!”

Hermit Muyun sighed heavily. He knew this well. Core Realm power was utterly crushing to the Spirit Mansion Realm. The fact that Qin Yixuan had managed to withstand a blow without immediately dying was already due to the profundity of the Nine Heavens Profound Water Scripture and the resilience of that trace of divine essence within her.

Just then, Ye Li, who had been kneeling silently by the bedside, tightly gripping Qin Yixuan’s cold hand, suddenly raised her head. Her face was equally pale—a sign of excessive spiritual consumption and extreme inner torment—but her eyes were startlingly bright, filled with an unyielding determination.

“Let me try.”

Her voice was soft but exceptionally clear, carrying a tone of absolute certainty.

Elder Yun and Hermit Muyun both looked at her. A hint of doubt flickered in Elder Yun’s eyes. Although Ye Li was extraordinarily talented, her cultivation was shallow. If even they were powerless… Hermit Muyun, however, had an extraordinary confidence in his disciple. He saw the familiar glint in Ye Li’s eyes—the unwavering persistence of her former self, Revered Li, when facing desperate circumstances.

“Li’er, what method do you have? You must not be reckless!” Hermit Muyun said gravely.

Ye Li’s gaze fell upon Qin Yixuan’s bloodless face. The memory of her resolutely shielding her flashed in her mind, and a sharp pang shot through her chest. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, and analyzed:

“Ordinary spiritual power will only provoke the demonic energy and accelerate the erosion. Elixirs are insufficient to eradicate the source. But my power… is somewhat unique.”

She extended her other hand, and a wisp of extremely subtle energy condensed on her fingertip. It was a fusion of the extreme cold essence of the Nethereal Emperor Scripture, the sealing power of the Ice Emperor Heaven-Sealing Art, and a trace of… the Samsara Mirror’s essence. This wisp of energy appeared as a peculiar icy-blue color, within which tiny starlight swirls seemed to circulate, emitting a pure, cold, and eternal-like fluctuation.

“My extreme cold spiritual power might temporarily freeze and slow the spread of the demonic energy. And the other power…” She paused, not explicitly mentioning the Samsara Mirror, but Hermit Muyun understood, “might be able to attempt… purification, or perhaps… stripping.”

Elder Yun sensed the strange power contained within that wisp of energy, and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes. It was a high-level power attribute she had never encountered, and it seemed to genuinely possess a subtle restraint on the Shadow Devil energy.

“But this process will surely be extremely perilous and the consumption for the caster immense. The slightest mistake, and not only might you fail to save Yixuan, but you yourself could be severely injured by the backlash of the demonic energy!” Elder Yun worried.

“I know.” Ye Li’s reply was without hesitation. She looked back at Qin Yixuan, her eyes gentle and firm. “But she is like this because of me. No matter what, I must try. Even if it costs me my cultivation or damages my foundation, I will not hesitate!”

These words were decisive and forceful, bearing a quality almost like an oath. The tent instantly fell silent. Elder Yun looked at Ye Li’s genuine expression, filled with guilt and responsibility, and finally let out a long sigh. “Very well… I will guard you. If anything goes wrong, stop immediately!”

Hermit Muyun also nodded. “Go ahead. Your master is here.”

Having received permission from the two elders, Ye Li did not delay. She sat cross-legged, gently placing her hands over Qin Yixuan’s dantian and Sea of Qi (the core area most severely eroded by the demonic energy). She closed her eyes, completely calming her mind and blocking out all external distractions.

First, she activated the “Profound Ice Source-Sealing” technique from the Ice Emperor Heaven-Sealing Art. The extreme cold spiritual power, like the finest scalpel, meticulously probed into Qin Yixuan’s meridians. Where it passed, instead of rough freezing, it formed an extremely thin yet resilient layer of ice crystal membrane, temporarily isolating and confining the rampaging Shadow Devil energy, slowing its destructive pace. This process required extremely high control, and fine beads of sweat quickly began to form on Ye Li’s forehead.

Next came the most crucial and perilous step. She separated a wisp of her spiritual consciousness, communicating with the fragment of the Samsara Mirror in her Sea of Consciousness, guiding out a subtle wisp of pale-gold energy that contained the essence of time-space and purification. This energy was extremely weak but of an exceptionally high quality—it was one of the core powers of the Samsara Mirror, and the maximum Ye Li could safely guide out at present.

This wisp of pale-gold energy, following her spiritual power, quietly merged into the ice crystal membrane. Like the most patient cleaner, it began to attempt contact with and purify the confined Shadow Devil energy.

“Hiss…”

An extremely faint sound, like cold water dripping onto hot oil, echoed within Qin Yixuan’s body. The malevolent and stubborn Shadow Devil energy, upon contact with the pale-gold energy, reacted as if encountering its nemesis, beginning to struggle fiercely and dissipate! However, the process was incredibly slow, and the Shadow Devil energy resisted instinctively, violently impacting the ice crystal membrane and Ye Li’s spiritual power, sending waves of needle-like stinging pain back to Ye Li’s spirit.

Ye Li gritted her teeth, her face growing even paler, her body even starting to tremble slightly, but her hands placed on Qin Yixuan’s dantian were steady as a rock. Her spiritual consciousness was highly concentrated, precisely controlling every fraction of power, ensuring both the purification effect and preventing any damage to Qin Yixuan’s fragile meridians and foundation.

Time ticked by slowly. The tent was silent save for Ye Li’s increasingly labored breathing and the continuous drops of sweat rolling down her forehead, instantly freezing into ice beads, demonstrating the grueling nature of the process.

Hermit Muyun and Elder Yun nervously stood guard, ready to intervene at any moment.

One hour, two hours…

As night fell, the cold wind howled in the valley, but the tent grew slightly cold due to the continuous output of Ye Li’s extreme cold spiritual power.

Suddenly, Ye Li’s body jolted violently, a mouthful of blood surged to her throat, which she forcibly swallowed down. The prolonged consumption, especially the channeling of the Samsara Mirror’s core essence, was too much of a burden on her. Her Sea of Consciousness throbbed with a sharp, needle-like pain.

“Junior Niece Ye!” Elder Yun cried out in alarm, attempting to step forward.

“Don’t come over!” Ye Li hissed, her voice hoarse but absolute. “Crucial moment… cannot be interrupted!”

A fierce determination flashed in her eyes, and she actually began to burn her own Vital Essence! A purer surge of life force merged into her spiritual power, sustaining the purification process! To save Qin Yixuan, she truly spared no cost!

Seeing this, Hermit Muyun’s fists in his sleeves clenched tightly, his eyes filled with heartache, but also pride. This was his disciple—loyal, righteous, and resolute in her Dao heart!

After an unknown amount of time, as the first ray of dawn appeared in the sky, Ye Li finally slowly withdrew her hands. Her face was as pale as transparency, her aura extremely weak. She could barely sit up and almost collapsed. Hermit Muyun quickly stepped forward to support her, placing a high-grade elixir for nourishing the spirit and replenishing the source into her mouth.

On the bed, Qin Yixuan, though still unconscious, no longer bore that deathly, ashen pallor, and a faint hint of vitality emerged. Most notably, the frightening fluctuation of the Shadow Devil energy within her body had significantly weakened. While not completely purged, the most vicious part had been purified by Ye Li at great cost. The remainder would need to be slowly worn away by her own Nine Heavens Profound Water Scripture and the trace of divine essence.

“It’s done… The core of the demonic energy is removed… The rest is up to her…” Ye Li weakly uttered these words before she could no longer hold on and drifted into a deep sleep.

…

When Ye Li woke up again, it was three days later. She found herself lying on another bed, covered by warm fur. Her depleted spiritual power and spirit had recovered somewhat under the influence of elixirs, but she still felt a deep-seated weakness that reached into her bones.

Her first thought was to look beside her. Qin Yixuan was still lying peacefully, but her breathing was much steadier, and there was a touch of color on her face. A female disciple from the Azure Water Pavilion was carefully wiping her forehead with a damp cloth.

Seeing Ye Li wake up, the disciple immediately showed a look of joy and gratitude. “Senior Sister Ye, you’re awake! That’s wonderful! Senior Sister Qin’s condition is much more stable. Elder Yun said her life is no longer in danger, though she needs a long time to recover due to damage to her spiritual source.”

A wave of relief washed over Ye Li. The tightly strung chord in her heart finally loosened, and a massive sense of exhaustion returned, but more than that, there was an indescribable sense of peace.

In the days that followed, the group temporarily remained in the valley to rest. Ye Li disregarded her own incomplete recovery. As long as she could move, she would come to Qin Yixuan’s bedside to attend to her. She personally used spiritual power to gently nourish Qin Yixuan’s damaged meridians, helping her manage the residual medicinal power in her body. She even fed Qin Yixuan drop by drop a spiritual liquid for nourishing the spirit, obtained from the Profound Palace ruins, which she usually was reluctant to use even on herself.

This meticulous care far surpassed the scope of a typical ally or mere compensatory guilt. Even the female disciples of the Azure Water Pavilion looked at Ye Li with eyes full of gratitude and… a hint of ambiguous admiration. They had never seen the decisive, cold, and aloof Ye Li display such tenderness and patience.

Hermit Muyun observed all of this, understanding its implication but choosing not to comment, merely instructing the disciples not to disturb them.

Half a month later, on a clear, moonlit night, Qin Yixuan’s long eyelashes fluttered a few times, and she finally slowly opened her eyes.

The first things she felt were the peacefulness in her body, which was weak but no longer felt the tearing pain, and a familiar, cold yet inexplicably comforting spiritual power gently circulating in her meridians. She turned her head slightly and saw Ye Li sleeping soundly, slumped over the side of the bed.

The moonlight filtered through the tent’s seam, illuminating Ye Li’s slightly pale profile, outlining soft contours. She seemed to be sleeping restlessly, her brows slightly furrowed, as if worried about something. One hand was gently resting on Qin Yixuan’s wrist, continuously delivering a faint stream of spiritual power.

Looking at Ye Li like this, a stone seemed to have been cast into Qin Yixuan’s cold and clear heart, creating ripples. Even in her coma, she wasn’t completely without feeling. She had vaguely sensed that warm, firm power, used at all costs, pulling her back from the brink of death time and again. She had felt the icy touch of the hands that frequently held hers, beneath which lay an intensely passionate emotion.

A complex and subtle emotion, never before experienced, quietly sprouted in her heart. There was the relief of surviving a disaster, deep gratitude for Ye Li’s self-sacrificing rescue, and a lingering fear over her impulsive act of shielding her, but more than that… there was an inexplicable, indescribable flutter. Looking at Ye Li’s weary sleeping face, she felt an impulse to reach out and smooth the crease between her brows.

“You’re awake?” Ye Li’s sleep was extremely light. Sensing Qin Yixuan’s movement, she immediately woke up. Seeing Qin Yixuan open her eyes and gaze at her, she was stunned for a moment, then an uncontainable light of surprise burst forth in her eyes. She instinctively tightened her grip on Qin Yixuan’s hand. “How do you feel? Is there any discomfort anywhere?”

Her tone was urgent and full of concern, starkly different from her usual calm composure.

Qin Yixuan looked at the unconcealed worry and joy in her eyes. A faint but genuine smile appeared on her pale face. She shook her head lightly, her voice still somewhat weak. “I’m fine… Thank you, Ye Li.”

This address, “Ye Li,” was no longer the detached “Junior Sister Ye”; it carried an indescribable intimacy.

Their eyes met, and the tent fell silent for a moment. Moonlight streamed in like water, flowing between the two, and the air was filled with an unspoken warmth and ambiguity.

Something, through the crucible of life and death and careful tending, had quietly changed, taken root, and begun to sprout. Affection was blossoming in secret. Perhaps even they themselves did not fully understand it yet, but the slightly reddened ears and the accelerated heartbeats could not lie.