What do you like about her?

Qin Ximo, despite being the sect master, did not dress too grandly in private.

She wore a long cyan dress, adorned with the signature cloud patterns of the Qingyun Sword Sect.

When she smiled, she looked like a gentle Jiangnan woman, her brows and eyes full of tender softness, just like her name.

But if anyone thought Qin Ximo was a soft-tempered person, they would be gravely mistaken.

Across the entire cultivation world, there was a saying: better to be a demon cultivator for life than to provoke a sword cultivator even once.

Qin Ximo was a trueborn sword cultivator, blessed with the supreme single water spiritual root, and naturally gifted with both sword heart and sword bones.

It was said that before she entered the sect, she had wasted thirty years in the mortal world.

She had been found half-dead on a battlefield by a Qingyun Sword Sect senior who happened to pass by.

At that time, Qin Ximo was nothing more than a lowly war captive, shackled by enemy generals and thrown onto the battlefield as a human shield and expendable fodder.

Perhaps the heavens pitied her, for she miraculously survived that brutal war.

Clad in armor stripped from corpses, wielding weapons scavenged from the dead, she endured until the immortal master of Qingyun Sword Sect arrived.

From then on, she began her astonishing path of cultivation, rising like a legend.

After her rise, Qin Ximo once suppressed thousands of demon cultivators with just a single sword.

In front of her, they were like docile pets, not daring to act presumptuously in the slightest.

But that was the past.

Now, the demonic path was not what it once was.

The emergence of Changshengtian, a great demonic powerhouse, changed everything.

Within their ranks were many Golden Core stage demons, and their sect master was rumored to be a half-step Nascent Soul cultivator, a false-infant cultivator.

A false infant was like a false core — one who avoided heavenly tribulation through underhanded methods.

Afraid their body and soul would be annihilated by divine thunder, they sought every possible way to escape it.

Lacking that sliver of heavenly Dao resonance, they could not be called true Dao Lords.

Yet even so, the power of a Nascent Soul was enough to strike terror into hearts.

For the past century, Qin Ximo had been stuck at the ninth turn of the Golden Core stage.

If she wished, she could attempt to condense her Nascent Soul at any time.

But doing so would summon heavenly tribulation.

And the tribulation for Nascent Soul far surpassed that of Golden Core — a single misstep meant utter annihilation.

The so-called phrase “to hear the Dao at dawn and die at dusk” did not frighten Qin Ximo.

She was willing to test the heavens.

But if she were to perish, what would become of this vast Qingyun Sword Sect?

More than once, she had considered resorting to demonic methods — to avoid tribulation and condense a false infant.

False or not, it was still a Nascent Soul.

That way, she could safeguard the sect for another thousand years, until a suitable successor appeared.

Now, facing her beloved junior sister, Qin Ximo allowed herself a gentle smile.

“Ever since you told me about your disciple that day, I’ve wanted to come see for myself.

What kind of disciple could make you so invested?”

Indeed.

Not just invested — even your body is invested.

Xiao Menglan’s expression turned slightly awkward.

She knew Qin Ximo cared for her, but that only made her feel more troubled.

If she and her disciple were clear and innocent, there would be nothing to worry about.

But Cao Xueyan’s body and heart had already been taken by her.

If Qin Ximo noticed even the slightest trace, she would want nothing more than to tear open a bottomless rift with her powers and hide in it for centuries!

“Hmm?” Qin Ximo’s delicate nose twitched as she stepped closer.

“Junior sister, there’s a strong pill fragrance on you. Did you just visit Pill Peak? Did you meet Peak Master Zhao?”

“I did not meet her. I only went to fetch some pills.”

“Did you run into difficulties in cultivation, that you needed pills to regulate your state?”

“These pills are not for me, but for my newly accepted disciple.”

A trace of fondness appeared on Xiao Menglan’s face.

“My disciple is exceptionally gifted, with a special constitution.

She was unknown before, wasting much time.

Now that she has a chance, I naturally wish to nourish her back with pills.

Though acquired cannot match innate, it is still better than nothing.”

Qin Ximo looked at her junior sister — whom she had watched grow up — wearing such an expression, and could not help but feel envious.

To entrust all one’s legacy to a disciple before death, to rest in peace even in the underworld — what a blessing that would be.

All the more curious now, Qin Ximo asked:

“And where is this beloved disciple of yours?

May I see her?

Meeting once would allow me to prepare a gift in advance.”

Cold sweat trickled down Xiao Menglan’s back.

“She cultivated too hard last night and is still asleep.”

“I see.” Qin Ximo sighed in regret.

“But since I’ve already come, won’t you invite me inside to sit a while?”

“This…”

“Hmm? Junior sister, why are you covered in cold sweat?”

“N-nothing!” Xiao Menglan said quickly.

“Lately, heart demons disturb me at night. I’ve been plagued by nightmares, hence the cold sweat.”

Qin Ximo’s expression turned solemn.

“This is no small matter. Why didn’t you mention this last time we met?

You’ve been stuck at sixth-turn Golden Core for a long time, haven’t you?

Every three turns is a barrier — you must not let heart demons take advantage.

The Dao is merciless. Be cautious.”

“Thank you, senior sister, I’ll pay more attention.”

“As long as you’re mindful, that’s good.

Such matters, outsiders cannot help with — it’s all up to you.”

Qin Ximo, being both senior and sect master, naturally spoke with heartfelt concern.

At that moment, a young woman’s voice suddenly rang out behind them:

“Master? And… this senior? Why are you standing here chatting, instead of going inside?”

Who else could it be but Cao Xueyan?

By coincidence, Xiao Menglan had only just left when Cao Xueyan awoke.

Unaware that her master had gone to Pill Peak, she was about to seek her out when she happened upon them talking with a stranger.

The woman in cyan had a beautiful face, tall stature, and her cultivation was unfathomable.

Her entire being was like a sword sheathed — sharpness concealed, aura ethereal.

Clearly, her cultivation and status were extraordinary.

In fact, Cao Xueyan already had some guesses, though not yet confirmed.

“Yanyan?” Xiao Menglan called out.

“Your body is still weak. Why did you come out of bed?”

“Master,” Cao Xueyan replied speechlessly, “my body isn’t so frail that a breeze would topple me.

I am a cultivator, after all. Surely I can withstand at least this much hardship.”

Hearing this, Qin Ximo turned and teased Xiao Menglan.

“You’ve cultivated for hundreds of years in vain.

How is it your heart is still weaker than your disciple’s?”

“Your lesson is right, sect master.” Xiao Menglan bowed her head.

Out of the corner of her eye, she stole a glance at Cao Xueyan.

Hearing her words, Cao Xueyan finally confirmed it.

This cyan-clad woman was indeed the sect master of Qingyun Sword Sect.

The very same one who, in the simulator, spent her days picking spirit herbs in the wilderness and never came back to join team fights!

Ah — what to do?

Her first time meeting the sect master, she felt neither excitement nor awe.

Only relief.

As if she had been trapped in jail for ages online, and finally saw the jungler rushing over from the river path.

Qin Ximo, however, suddenly felt a strange unease.

This so-called beloved disciple of her junior sister…

Wasn’t she just a four-root mixed spiritual constitution?

No special physique.

Completely ordinary.

So what exactly did her junior sister see in her, to take her as a disciple and shower her with such affection?

Truly puzzling.