Within the Dark Ice Cave Dwelling, time seemed to lose meaning, only eternal cold and silence accompanying. Tang Xiaoqi almost entirely delegated Technique Transmission Hall affairs to several senior deacons, guarding beside Aunt Su day and night, pouring all his spirit into this difficult journey of awakening his loved one.
He no longer relied solely on spiritual sense communication, but adopted a more direct, more self-consuming method.
Each dawn, he would sit cross-legged on a cushion beside Aunt Su, adjusting his breath, elevating his condition to its best. Then, with fingers like a sword, he lightly pressed near his chest's shan-zhong point. That was where Xu family blood and Azure Lotus Origin merged most essentially.
Drops of golden-glowing, incredibly pure life force and purification-power-laden, were carefully expelled from his fingertip. This was not ordinary blood; each drop contained his cultivation essence and the purest Xu family bloodline power, crystallized life under Azure Lotus Origin nourishment. Expelling this blood caused no small damage to himself.
That golden droplet did not fall but floated before his fingertip, emanating warm and sacred aura. Tang Xiaoqi's focused gaze guided this drop of life-bound blood, slowly transferring into Aunt Su's brow consciousness.
Upon entering her body, no rejection occurred. Same-origin bloodline power, like the gentlest key, naturally merged into that shattered, icy soul world. The golden glow spread in the chaotic consciousness, its path not forcibly repairing but like spring sunlight, silently nourishing every parched . soil,. attempting to awaken dormant life.
Simultaneously, Tang Xiaoqi's purification origin fused with Four Symbols Soul Crystals, containing endless life force, also transformed into streams, flowing with the life-bound blood into Aunt Su's consciousness. This power was no longer pure purification and expulsion, but carried . creation. and . revival. imagery, gently smoothing soul cracks and dispelling demonic energy residue's gloom.
During this spirit-consuming blood nourishment, Tang Xiaoqi always spoke softly, his voice calm and clear, like telling an ancient, warm story, flowing slowly in the silent cave dwelling.
. Aunt Su, I am Xiao Qi,. he always began.
. Mother... actually, in my memories, she is quite blurry now. But the old servants of the manor said her nature was most gentle and serene, her smiling eyes like crescent moons. She liked planting the courtyard full of orchids, saying orchid character was pure and tranquil, best for nurturing one's nature..
He narrated fragments of Mother Su Wan's life gathered from surviving Xu Lan Mountain Manor servants. Those trivial, warm daily details outlined a vivid, beautiful image.
. Father... he was a man who stood between heaven and earth. Old Steward Xu said Father was somewhat impatient in youth, but most valued loyalty and righteousness, treated Mother especially well. On their wedding day, Xu Lan Mountain Manor held flowing banquets for three days and nights. Father got so drunk with happiness, held Mother's hand, saying he would protect her peace this entire life..
He narrated Xu Zhan's past. That father remembered only as a blood-stained figure became flesh and blood with joys and sorrows in these descriptions.
. I know they both loved you very much, Aunt Su. Mother certainly hoped you would be safe and happy. Father, had he known all you did for him and for me, would not have blamed you in the slightest..
He repeatedly emphasized this kinship spanning life and death, attempting to use the resonance of blood connection to shake the fortress that Aunt Su's heart had built.
. The plum blossoms at Xu Lan Mountain Manor are said to bloom beautifully, especially on the back mountain. Once you wake up, I will take you to see them, okay? Though the manor is gone, the plum blossoms... should still be there....
He painted visions of the future, offering hope.
This process was extremely slow, with minimal results. Often, after an entire day, Tang Xiaoqi's face would be pale, his breath shallow. Extracting his life-bound blood and continuously outputting purification origin exhausted even him. On Aunt Su's side, other than the . Soul-Warming Jade's. glow seeming slightly brighter and flowing more smoothly than before, there was still no sign of awakening.
But Tang Xiaoqi showed not the slightest impatience or discouragement. He was like the most patient craftsman, repeating this seemingly futile act day after day. Because he could sense that in the depths of that lifeless sea of consciousness, that thread of same-origin bloodline power was, like the finest roots, gradually permeating inward, establishing a faint connection with Aunt Su's remaining origin. His words, those stories about their parents and kinship, were like water dripping through stone, extremely slowly softening that frozen heart knot.
One day, night had deepened. Tang Xiaoqi had just finished a blood nourishment session lasting a full six hours, his forehead covered with cold sweat, when he was about to meditate and recover. Hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the cave dwelling. A law enforcement disciple knelt at the cave entrance to report: . Elder Tang, the mountain patrol guards at the mountain gate discovered suspicious traces, seemingly demonic energy residue. Elder San has asked you to come quickly!.
Tang Xiaoqi's brow furrowed. Demonic energy residue? This was no small matter. He glanced at Aunt Su, still sleeping soundly on the ice platform, his eyes flickering with resolve. He quickly took out a jade pendant he had been nurturing daily, filled with a large amount of purification origin, and gently placed it beside Aunt Su's pillow, to replace his temporary absence during nourishment.
. Aunt Su, I need to leave for a moment. Please... wait for me to return.. He said softly, then his form flashed, transforming into a streak of light as he rushed out of the cave dwelling.
The cave dwelling returned to silence, with only the Soul-Warming Jade and that temporary jade pendant emitting soft, gentle light.
After an unknown time passed - perhaps a quarter hour, perhaps half an hour -
On the ice platform, Aunt Su's long eyelashes, delicate as butterfly wings, extremely faintly, almost imperceptible to the naked eye... trembled.
At the same time, her fingers that had been motionless at her side - the fingertips slightly curled inward, as if wanting to grasp something, yet slackening helplessly.
A crystalline tear, without warning, silently slipped from her tightly closed eye corner, trailing down her pale cheek, silently disappearing into the white frost at her temples.
That tear was cold, yet seemed to contain decades of accumulated pain, struggle, guilt, and... a trace of the tiniest bit of relief and longing, touched by the continuous bloodline call.
The Dark Ice Cave Dwelling remained cold, but that tear was like a stone dropped into an icy lake. Though small, it signaled that beneath the seemingly impenetrable ice, something was quietly changing. The bloodline's call, like the dawn light piercing through the endless night, had finally touched the deepest part of that dormant soul.