[A girl’s physical condition is far more severe than you imagined.]
[This is not an ordinary mortal disease or external injury but an internal collapse that causes her body to deteriorate. Her body is gradually reaching its limit.]
[You can’t understand why, nor can you comprehend the cause.]
[You try everything within your power to find a cure, but even the panaceas of immortal cultivators cannot eradicate the girl’s illness—they only delay the inevitable decline.]
[You work tirelessly, flapping your wings like a bird trapped in a jungle of thorns, desperately searching for hope.]
[But no matter how much effort you expend, no matter how bruised and battered you become, begging everyone for help—including your master—you cannot uncover the real cause of her condition.]
[All you can do is watch her grow weaker.]
[All you can do is witness her becoming increasingly haggard.]
[You can’t do anything. You can’t change anything.]
[In the face of true despair, human strength feels utterly insignificant—so small that it drives one to despair.]
[Every morning greeting, every nightly farewell, feels like a grim reminder that death is drawing closer.]
[For four years, you’ve carried this unbearable weight, trying and failing. At the age of 20, you remain helpless as the girl reaches 14.]
[The once-lively child who followed you everywhere, calling you brother, has grown into a beautiful young girl. Yet she spends her days confined to a bed, like a fragile porcelain doll ready to shatter at the slightest touch.]
[To some, her pale, sickly appearance might seem ethereally beautiful, but to you, it is the most despairing, helpless, and hateful sight.]
[For you, the seasons have frozen into an endless winter, devoid of warmth and joy.]
[The girl sees the toll this has taken on you. Guilt and self-blame are often reflected in her eyes as she frequently apologizes, caring more about your exhaustion than her suffering.]
“I’m sorry, brother…”
In the Forest Sword Peak cave, little had changed over the years. The furniture remained the same, as did the flowers and plants she had lovingly transplanted. Their faint fragrance lingered in the silence.
The girl lay quietly on the bed.
Her hair was long, straight, and black, cascading like a river.
Her once-vivid eyes were now dull.
Her lips were pale.
She seemed as fragile as glass, liable to break at the slightest touch.
“It’s okay. There’s no need to apologize between us,” Xu Xi said gently, shaking his head. He placed a pill into her mouth. “Here’s today’s Nine-leaf Pill. Take it and get some rest.”
The girl nodded obediently and swallowed the pill.
Afterward, she smiled at Xu Xi—a smile as radiant as the morning sun, as pure as a dream, and as unblemished as the sky. Like when she was younger, she requested a reward for taking her medicine.
“Brother, Mo Li has been good and taken her medicine~~”
Her voice was playful and lively, a stark contrast to her frail body. The juxtaposition was suffocating to behold, filling the air with a silent sorrow.
“Yes, Mo Li is a good girl.”
Xu Xi forced a smile, suppressing the ache in his chest. He took out a candy he had prepared and placed it in her mouth. She savored it slowly, as though it were the most precious treasure in the world.
Was candy truly so delicious?
Xu Xi reflected on how happy Mo Li always looked when he gave her candy.
This time, however, she did not fall asleep as usual after eating the candy. Instead, she made a request: she wanted to go outside.
Xu Xi agreed.
Flying with a sword wasn’t an option; the speed would be too much for her fragile body.
So, supporting her carefully, Xu Xi guided her outside.
They walked around Forest Sword Peak, now cloaked in the golden hues of autumn.
Their pace was slow—slower than the passing of the seasons, slower than the ticks of life’s clock.
The girl’s face lit up with a faint glow as they strolled along a path covered in fallen leaves.
But even this slow, short walk proved too much. At one point, she stopped, clutching her chest tightly. Her face turned pale as paper.
“If it’s too much, don’t push yourself,” Xu Xi said gently.
Like in her childhood, he picked her up, letting her rest on his back.
“I understand, brother,” she murmured softly.
Lying on his familiar, sturdy back, she closed her eyes, lulled by the sense of safety. Drowsiness overcame her, and just before she drifted off, she asked:
“Brother, will Mo Li die?”
“No, brother will save you,” Xu Xi replied firmly.
“Mm… Mo Li believes in brother… Brother wouldn’t lie to me…”
Her voice grew weaker. Blood trickled from the corners of her mouth, staining her lips. She buried her head against his shoulder, struggling to stay awake.
But the blood continued to flow, sapping her strength little by little.
By the time Xu Xi realized something was wrong, she had fallen unconscious.
[You have successfully joined the Heavenly Sword Sect and become a revered true disciple, admired for your unparalleled talent as a Heavenly Spirit Root. Your future is bright, your life extraordinary, and you are celebrated as a prodigy in the world of immortality.]
[But in contrast to your shining path, your sister’s condition worsens. At 14, her illness intensifies in the autumn.]
[Despite your relentless efforts, you cannot cure her. You take on sect missions, delve into alchemy, and study pharmacology. Precious elixirs, valued even by immortal cultivators, become her lifeline, merely delaying the inevitable.]
[In the fifteenth year of your time in this world, you are 21, and Xu Moli is 15. You’ve broken through to the late stage of Foundation Building Realm. Your strength has grown, and even ordinary Golden Core Realm cultivators no longer intimidate you. You collect elixirs faster, but her condition worsens. She can no longer walk and spends all her time in bed.]
[In the sixteenth year of time travel, you are 22, and Xu Moli is 16.]
[The pressure weighs heavily on you. You become obsessed with finding a cure, scouring every resource, desperate to save her.]
[Finally, before her life fades, you discover an ancient manual from overseas that describes her condition.]
[Disaster from Heaven.]
[The ancient manual explains that only those with spiritual roots can cultivate—a well-known truth in the world of immortality. Yet, among the countless mortals, there exist rare exceptions who can absorb spiritual energy without spiritual roots.]
[However, spiritual roots are the foundation of cultivation. Without them, the mortal body suffers from absorbing excessive spiritual energy.]
[This phenomenon, called Tianzhihe—Disaster from Heaven—is exactly what plagues Xu Moli.]
[The abundant spiritual energy in the Heavenly Sword Sect hastened her affliction. Upon learning this, your heart sank into despair.]