One person: Starting with the Snow Drinking Blade

The high-ranking master from Longhu Mountain stood before Lu Lin, his expression solemn and his posture upright. His hand rested on Lu Lin's shoulder, his fingers applying slight pressure, as if to pin her to the spot. His tone was calm yet carried undeniable weight: "Benefactor Lu, please calm down."

"But..." Lu Lin tried to break free, but Zhang Lingyu's hand seemed to be rooted to the spot and wouldn't budge.

"Benefactor Nie's blood holds immense fortune." Zhang Lingyu looked at him, his gaze profound. There were unspoken words in that gaze—many words—but he only uttered this one. "This single drop of blood, if released outside, would drive the entire world of supernatural beings mad. Countless people would beg for it, yet you insist on stopping it?"

Lu Lin was stunned.

Although he had only known Zhang Lingyu for a short time, he knew that this high-ranking master of Longhu Mountain never lied, much less speak without reason. He was upright, disliked jokes, and every word he spoke was carefully considered. Since he said this, it meant that what Nie Lingfeng gave Linglong to eat was indeed not something harmful.

"But..." Lu Lin still hesitated, his brows furrowed and his lips pursed. He glanced at Zhang Lingyu, then at Nie Lingfeng's back, and then at his sister on the bed—the drop of golden-red blood had already disappeared into her lips.

"What exactly is that?"

Zhang Lingyu did not answer directly.

His gaze shifted from Lu Lin and slowly swept over everyone present—Zhang Chulan leaned against the door frame, Wang Zhenqiu stood by the window, Chen Duo sat on a chair in the corner holding Xiao Yun, Feng Baobao stood by the bed, and Lu Linglong lay on the bed.

His gaze lingered on each person's face for a moment.

Then he spoke.

He spoke with unprecedented seriousness, enunciating each word clearly:

"Gentlemen, today's events are of utmost importance. If anyone were to leak even a fraction of what we just saw and heard—"

He paused.

During that brief pause, there was no sound in the room. Not even a breath could be heard.

Then, a cold glint flashed in his eyes. It was fleeting, like a blade flashing in the sunlight; before you could even see it clearly, it was gone. But the chill lingered.

"That would mean becoming an enemy of my Longhu Mountain."

These words shocked everyone in the room.

Zhang Chulan nearly tripped over the doorframe, swaying before regaining his balance by grabbing the frame. Wang Zhenqiu turned around from the window, facing the room, and pulled his hand out of his pocket. Chen Duo's fingers paused on Xiao Yun's back for a moment, then continued patting. Feng Baobao tilted her head, glanced at Zhang Lingyu, and then turned her gaze back to Lu Linglong.

Everyone present was well aware of Zhang Lingyu's position at Longhu Mountain. Although he wasn't a Celestial Master, as a high-ranking official in the Celestial Master's Mansion, his words and actions largely represented the stance of Longhu Mountain. His statement was tantamount to bringing up the entire Longhu Mountain to endorse this matter.

In other words, the fact that Nie Lingfeng fed Lu Linglong blood today must not be known to the outside world.

"Rest assured, Daoist Lingyu."

Wang Zhenqiu was the first to speak. He abandoned his usual joking demeanor, stood up straight, and stood with his hands at his sides, his posture as upright as if he were being inspected.

"Although I, Wang Zhenqiu, am not exactly a gentleman, I do know what is important. What happened today is known only to heaven, earth, you, and me, and will never be revealed from my mouth."

He spoke slowly, each word seeming to roll out slowly from his throat, carrying a rare, solemn weight.

"Me too." Zhang Chulan raised his hand. His hand wasn't raised very high, just above his head, but it was held straight. He was used to joking around, but he knew he couldn't joke like that at a time like this. "Me too what? Me too. Zhang Chulan isn't a blabbermouth."

"Me too," Chen Duo nodded. Her nod was very light and small, but very earnest. Her eyes were fixed on Zhang Lingyu, without hesitation or evasion.

Feng Baobao looked at everyone and nodded, "Oh, me too." Her answer was a beat late, as if she had been thinking about something else and was only now catching up.

Lu Lin looked at everyone's reactions, then glanced at her younger sister lying on the bed.

The cocoon of light on the bed had grown larger, from the size of a fist to the size of a basketball, and a golden halo enveloped Lu Linglong's entire body. Through the cocoon of light, he could see his sister's face—her brows were no longer furrowed, her breathing was much more even, and the corners of her mouth were even slightly upturned, as if she were having a sweet dream.

He took a deep breath. It was a long breath, as if he were inhaling all his worries, anxieties, and doubts into his lungs, and then slowly, slowly exhaling.

He cupped his hands in thanks to Zhang Lingyu: "Thank you for the reminder, Daoist Lingyu. I was rash just now."

His movements were very standard; the etiquette of the Lu family members was never ambiguous.

He turned to look at Nie Lingfeng and bowed deeply. His waist was bent so low that his forehead was almost level with his knees. He held this position for three seconds before straightening up.

"Brother Nie, I apologize for my rudeness earlier."

Nie Lingfeng waved his hand. He flicked his fingers lightly in the air, as if to say, "It's nothing."

It's fine to indicate.

His gaze remained fixed on Lu Linglong.

The drop of golden-red Qilin essence blood seemed to come alive the moment it touched Lu Linglong's lips, transforming into a wisp of golden light that slid down her throat and into her body.

He "saw" the journey of that drop of blood—it entered through the throat, traveled down the esophagus, reached the stomach, and then dissolved—not melted, but exploded, like a golden-red firework blooming inside her body, turning into countless tiny golden specks of light that spread in all directions.

The light flowed along her meridians like golden streams, converging into a river within her body. Wherever they flowed, the dark red patterns faded a little. Not suppressed, but tamed—the dark red patterns seemed to have received some kind of call, no longer struggling frantically, but obediently curling up, lying dormant, and sleeping peacefully.

next moment--

boom!

A vast surge of primordial energy, as if summoned by some unseen force, rushed forth from all directions.

Wang Zhenqiu stood by the window, facing it directly. The first thing he saw was the distorted air outside—not the kind of distortion that occurs when hot air rises, but a more intense, more obvious distortion, as if something were moving within it. Dust swirled in the air, not blown by the wind, but whipped up by the primordial energy.

The invisible primordial energy scattered in the air became visible at this moment—it took on a faint golden hue, flowing in from the cracks in the windows, the cracks in the doors, and every fissure in the walls, gathering around Lu Linglong's body.

A pale golden vortex of primordial energy, visible to the naked eye, was formed!

At the center of the vortex was Lu Linglong's chest, where a fist-sized golden spot of light was converging towards it. The vortex was slowly rotating, shrinking with each rotation, as if compressing, absorbing, and digesting the primordial energy.

The air in the room became thick and heavy, as if an invisible hand was gripping the entire space tightly.

The curtains move automatically without wind—not because they are blown by the wind, but because they are propelled by primordial energy. The light-colored curtains, like two flags, flutter gently at the window.

The teacup on the table trembled slightly, and tiny ripples spread across the surface of the water. The cup clinked against the saucer, making a soft "tinkling" sound, like someone ringing a bell in the distance.

"This is..." Lu Lin's eyes widened. His eyes were so wide that the skin around his eye sockets was taut.

He could clearly feel the surrounding primordial energy surging into Lu Linglong's body at an incredible speed. That speed wasn't just "fast," it was "frenzied"—as if something inside her had opened its mouth, voraciously devouring everything around it. And the originally violent and chaotic demonic blood, under the cleansing force of this immense primordial energy, actually began to gradually calm down!

It's not that they were suppressed, it's that they were tamed.

It's not that they're locked up, it's that they're being guided.

The force hadn't disappeared; it was still there, still within her, still surging—but its direction had changed. Before, it was disordered, chaotic, and surging in all directions; now it was gathered, condensed, and flowing along a fixed path. Like a raging river being channeled, the current was still rapid, but it no longer overflowed.

Lu Linglong's tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly, and her rapid breathing gradually calmed down. Her chest stopped heaving violently and instead rose and fell evenly and rhythmically—inhale for three seconds, exhale for three seconds, inhale for three seconds, exhale for three seconds.

The dark red lines under her skin began to fade and recede slowly under the golden light.

The patterns changed from a vibrant dark red to a pale red, then to a light pink, and finally to an almost invisible color. It was as if someone was erasing a pencil line with an eraser, once, twice, three times—the line was still there, but very faint. The power hadn't disappeared; it had simply become quiet, obedient, and dormant.

The primordial energy of heaven and earth that surged into her body condensed into a pale golden cocoon around her, enveloping her entirely.

The surface of the cocoon of light was not smooth, but rather flowed with mysterious runes and patterns. These runes did not resemble any known script, but rather an ancient, lost system of symbols. The patterns were constantly changing, like a book that automatically turned pages; with each page turned, a new pattern appeared on the surface of the cocoon of light, exuding an ancient and sacred aura.

"Is this... reshaping her meridians?"

Wang Zhenqiu stared in disbelief, his mouth agape, forgetting to close it. He blinked twice, then twice more—each blink bringing new changes to the cocoon of light, as if it had completed several steps of evolution in the blink of an eye.

"Brother Nie, what on earth is this blood? It's incredibly potent!"

"Don't ask yet."