Hammer in her left hand, sword in her right, the eldest sister is connected to both worlds.

Ling Yuanzi had a fondness for finding children in the snow, such as Xue Lan, whom he had picked up on a snowy night.

The young demon lord, whose body had just been possessed, was already critically ill as a mortal girl, and then suddenly bore the soul of this thousand-year-old demon. At that time, she was practically on the verge of death.

Just when Xue Lan thought she was going to die, Ling Yuanzi appeared.

An elderly man with a sage-like demeanor, white hair and beard, holding a whisk, with a kind and benevolent face.

Any child would have been fooled. Even though Xue Lan didn't have the soul of a child inside her, she still decided to go with Ling Yuanzi.

She gambled that Ling Yuanzi wouldn't find out. Now she's thinking it would have been better if she'd just frozen to death that day.

One act of not wanting to die resulted in years of hard work.

Xue Lan looked at Lian Chuan on the bed, his hair and eyebrows all turned silver-white. The young boy exuded a chilling aura. The system was making a lot of noise in Xue Lan's mind.

The bloodline of this Silver Moon Wolf is far too domineering.

"Whatever it is, let's cover it up for him first. At the very least, we need to change his hair color."

As Xue Lan spoke, she flicked her sleeve, and in the flow of magical light, Lian Chuan's hair and eyebrows returned to their previous color.

As Xue Lan got up to leave, she saw a tear slide down the corner of the person's eye on the bed.

Lian Chuan murmured softly, "Mother..."

Xue Lan gently opened the door and went out. The bright moon outside was already obscured by dark clouds. Xue Lan reached out her hand, and fine snowflakes fell on it.

Xue Lan glanced into the distance, then met Zhu He's clear, large eyes.

"Senior Sister, what are you doing in Xiao Si's room in the middle of the night?"

Zhu He carefully considered each word he asked, asking questions with great difficulty.

Xue Lan wanted to ask, "Are you sick? What are you doing outside in the middle of the night carrying a big sword?"

"I couldn't sleep, so I came out to practice my sword..." Zhu He looked at Xue Lan. Xue Lan wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she saw a hint of expectation in Zhu He's eyes.

It's like saying, "Senior Sister, I'll set an example for you; just copy what I've written."

Xue Lan: "I saw it was snowing outside, and I was worried he would kick off the blankets."

Zhu He thought to herself, "Senior Sister, what are you saying? We are cultivators. How could we catch a cold just from not covering ourselves with a blanket?"

But he still agreed verbally, and then picked up his greatsword and ran into his room.

The next day, Zhu He noticed that his junior brother was acting strangely. He wasn't smiling much anymore. Although Lian Chuan had seemed mature before, he was essentially a child. Spoiled and pampered by the people of Ji Yuan Peak, he was slowly starting to act like a child his age.

But overnight, Lian Chuan seemed to have stopped smiling.

He suspected that his senior sister had scolded Lian Chuan last night. So he glared at Xue Lan while serving food to Lian Chuan.

Xue Lan had to go to the Enforcement Hall for her shift today, and time was running out. She was shoveling rice into her mouth when she heard the system's voice.

[Zhu He is glaring at you, eleven eyes, twelve eyes...]

Xue Lan: "He's sick, let's ignore him."

Zhu He was Ling Yuanzi's only disciple who wasn't adopted. He once caused a sensation throughout the Ascension Assembly because he possessed innate sword bones, a rare find in the mortal realm, appearing only once every thousand years. At the time, the six sects and twelve factions fought fiercely for him. It wasn't until the spiritual root testing revealed that he had dual hidden roots.

Dual spiritual roots, also known as true spiritual roots, are rare in the Yuanming Lower Realm, where geniuses with heavenly spiritual roots like Ji Jinjin are few and far between. Most possess true spiritual roots. For example, Xue Lan has dual spiritual roots of metal and fire, making her suitable for weapon crafting.

Zhu He possessed a Metal-Water spiritual root, which was originally considered an excellent true spiritual root, given the mutual generation of Metal and Water. However, the problem lay in the fact that Zhu He's Metal spiritual root was a hidden spiritual root. Hidden spiritual roots are uncontrollable.

In other words, Zhu He's spiritual energy, concentrated in his dantian, is highly susceptible to loss of control due to the problem of his hidden spiritual root, potentially leading to a qi deviation. Even a peerless swordsman suffering a qi deviation—anyone with a brain in the cultivation world knows the consequences.

For a time, no sect dared to accept him, fearing that he would suffer a qi deviation after achieving mastery, thus endangering the sect's disciples.

At this moment, Ling Yuanzi made his move. He said that he and Xue Lan were the only two people on Jiyuan Peak. He suggested that Zhu He become his disciple, and even if he couldn't cultivate spiritual power, practicing swordsmanship would be good.

And so, Zhu He became Ling Yuanzi's disciple and Xue Lan's junior brother.

Ling Yuanzi didn't abide by the rules of the cultivation world, and naturally, Xue Lan didn't either. The master and disciple spent two or three years figuring things out and created a magical artifact for Zhu He that could control the spiritual power within his body.

The magical artifact called the Spirit Dividing Ring is currently worn on Zhu He's wrist, ensuring that his spiritual power will not go out of control before he reaches the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm.

Xue Lan started to worry again when she thought about this matter.

Because Zhu He has already reached the early stage of the Golden Core realm.

One has an uncontrollable hidden spiritual root, another has a Silver Moon Wolf that is difficult to cultivate, and yet another has a Thunder Spiritual Root that consumes rare and precious materials like water.

Ling Yuanzi spends all year wandering around, leaving his eldest disciple with a bunch of money-devouring beasts. Xue Lan feels that in another two years she will be forced to go out and sell her weapon-refining skills.

He has none of the integrity of a master weapon refiner.

Fortunately, everyone in the Xuanhuang Sect was a good person. Xu Qizhou chased after Xue Lan every day, but occasionally he would bring her some rare medicinal herbs when he returned from his training. Junior Sister Yin of Qingyu Peak looked down on him, but she turned a blind eye to him stealing herbs from the herb garden at night.

"Sooner or later, I, the eldest senior sister, will be forced to pack my bags and run away overnight." Xue Lan sighed for the thirty-fifth time in the Hall of Enforcement.

【That won't do, host. They were born to grow up safely and peacefully, the chosen ones of heaven.】

Xue Lan was about to say that the chosen one of heaven had drained her senior sister dry, but she was interrupted by a disciple who rushed in in a panic. The disciple had only recently joined the sect and was Elder Liu's new apprentice in the Enforcement Hall. He had a fair complexion but was very timid.

"Senior Sister Xue, something terrible has happened! The life lamp in the side hall has gone out."

Xue Lan stood up abruptly.

The Xuanhuang Sect's Enforcement Hall is responsible for enforcing sect laws and assigning sect missions. To ensure the safety of disciples, missions are conducted in teams of five. The mission lamps are lit in a side hall of the Enforcement Hall using the disciples' own blood essence.

The extinguishing of the life lamp signifies that the disciple on the mission is in grave danger.

"Which mission?" Xue Lan asked as she walked toward the side hall. The junior disciple followed behind Xue Lan, his voice trembling slightly. "It was a mission issued by Jiyue Mountain a month ago. It said that there were strange magical beasts appearing in Jiyue Mountain. Senior Brother Gong from Suandao Peak was leading the team."

Xue Lan walked up to the life lamp, took some lamp oil from the lamp with her fingertips, and did some calculations.

With the life-saving lamp extinguished and the entire army wiped out, Xue Lan attempted to divination to glean some clues—how they died, and who killed them. However, the divination yielded only vague results, filled with a dark aura that Xue Lan disliked, like a venomous snake living in a dark ditch.

"I have a bad feeling," the system whispered.

"You stay here and guard the other life lamps." Xue Lan turned around, her voice icy cold. She then took out a communication talisman and summoned her headmaster and the other peak masters.

In the council hall of Xuanling Peak, Xue Lan and Xu Qizhou stood behind Dao Xuanzi, listening to the elders of the sect discussing in hushed tones.

“Even that child Gong Yuan…” Zhu Yun Daojun of Yunhui Peak turned to look at the old man who was still constantly calculating with his hands.

"Calculate carefully, and there may be a result."

The Master Shensuan kept calculating the whereabouts of his disciples, but no matter how many times he calculated, he could only get a vague divination result that was neither good nor bad.

"Sect Leader, I'm afraid I'll have to go there myself this time." Shen Suan stood up and bowed to Dao Xuanzi.

"Senior brother, please go ahead. The situation is extremely strange right now." Dao Xuanzi glanced around, then his gaze fell on Xu Qizhou and Xue Lan.

"Set sail, Xue Lan."

The two quickly walked up to Dao Xuanzi.

"The disciple is here."

"You two, along with Xuanling and the disciples of Jiyuan Peak, head to Jiyue Mountain. Do not alert them." Dao Xuanzi stroked his beard and looked at Xue Lan. "Leave Chuan'er with me for now."

"Yes."

And so, Xue Lan, Xu Qizhou, Ji Jinjin, and the others set off for Jiyue Mountain.

The night was deep and still, and Mount Jiyue resembled a long spear thrust into the earth, its shadows partially obscured by the mountain's silhouette. A young girl, her clothes tattered, clutched a wound on her shoulder as she fled through the mountains.

A rustling sound came from behind, like some animal slowly moving forward, mixed with the sound of the wind blowing through the mountain grass and trees. In the darkness, the fear was amplified infinitely.

"Senior sister... Third senior sister... Please don't run away, okay? Be a good girl and go back to be my human pill, okay?" A sweet female voice came from behind, and the girl trembled. As she turned around, the long sword in her hand flashed, and something that was still twisting fell to the ground.

A twisted, gnarled thing slowly rose from the bushes. It looked like a large snake, but its body was covered in bumps. Upon closer inspection, however, those weren't bumps at all; they were clearly human faces contorted in pain.

Behind the giant snake stood a young girl in an apricot-colored dress, with almond-shaped eyes and peach-blossom cheeks, looking pitiful.

"Why are you running, senior sister?" the girl asked with a charming smile. She looked at the girl in front of her.

“Master clearly said that you are dull-witted, so you might as well give me the golden core.”

"Qi Yaoyao." The sword-wielding girl held her sword like a full moon. A carefree smile appeared on her beautiful and ethereal face.

"I thought they were blind to treat you, this beast who colluded with the demons, as a treasure."

"I, Cui Wu, am ready to risk my life today..."

A long sword pointed at the moon. The sword light flashed like water. The girl's voice was unwavering.

"I'll kill you too."