"Xiu'er's problem is relatively easy to solve. I just need to remove the foreign energy from her soul. On the contrary, Lian'er's case is much more troublesome." Logically speaking, Li Xiu'er had been pulled into Nether City earlier than Chu Lian, so her level of assimilation should have been higher and more difficult to deal with.
But now the situation was the opposite. Li Xiu'er's issue was easy to resolve, while Chu Lian's had become far more complicated.
Hearing Li Mingxue's words, Chu Chu fell silent. After a while, she finally asked, "What happened to Big Sis? Hers should be easier to handle than Xiu'er's. Why is it so troublesome?"
Yes, she couldn't accept this result. Big Sis was clearly so powerful—how could she be in such a miserable state now? Big Sis would definitely be fine... otherwise, how could she lead Chu Chu all the way to the end? She would be fine... she had to be...
"Because Lian'er's soul has been severely overdrawn, and she was also struck by an energy far beyond what she could withstand. If her soul strength hadn't been abnormally high, she wouldn't be in this condition now—she would already be dead."
What kind of person was Li Mingxue? She immediately determined the cause of Chu Lian's injuries, even pointing out some of the finer details.
"Overdrawn... why would it be overdrawn? With Big Sis' soul strength, she shouldn't need to overdraw herself to accomplish most things, right?" Chu Chu was stunned. She hadn't expected such a reason.
To be honest, she knew her own spiritual sense was stronger than Chu Lian's, and her energy recovery and reserves were also superior. But she had never thought that meant she was stronger than Chu Lian.
She understood clearly that while Big Sis' attributes might not be exceptionally high, her soul, along with her various strange states and abilities, were far beyond what Chu Chu could match.
With such soul strength, Big Sis could hold her own even among Heaven-rank experts. Injuring her should have been incredibly difficult. Just what kind of attack could have left her in such a state?
"Nether Ancestor..." Closing her eyes and sensing the decaying aura lingering around Chu Lian's soul, Li Mingxue suddenly gritted her teeth and spoke a title.
"Nether Ancestor?" This time, Chu Chu truly didn't understand. Why would her mother say that name? Was that the one who injured Big Sis?
"A being who broke through the boundary between Heaven and Man three thousand years ago, reaching the Transcendence Realm, and left this world. He was once a very famous expert in the Otherside." Li Mingxue hesitated briefly before explaining.
"Three thousand years..." Just hearing that number told Chu Chu this was no ordinary existence. Even a tree that lived three thousand years could become a spirit—let alone someone like that.
"More importantly, he is one of the most renowned ghost cultivators, and the master of the ghost cultivator inside the subspace entrance guarded by the Li family..." Li Mingxue was born into the Li family—how could she not know their duty?
She knew even more clearly that the Li family's decline in recent years was not only because of her, but also because the Nether Ancestor had been manipulating things from the shadows, trying to release his extraordinarily talented disciple.
Previously, she would return every half month to reinforce the seal and prevent him from escaping. But ever since Chu Lian's grandparents and she herself met with that incident a year ago, she had reduced it to once a month.
In truth, she bore some responsibility for this. If she hadn't relaxed her reinforcement of the seal, the ghost cultivator wouldn't have found the opportunity to tempt members of the Li family, and none of this would have happened.
But at that time, in Li Mingxue's heart, her daughter and her family came first. As for the clan—after she had contributed so much only to receive criticism and even be forced to marry her own brother—those feelings had long since disappeared.
If she hadn't known that releasing the ghost cultivator would cause great trouble, she wouldn't have even bothered to return and reinforce the seal, let alone care about the fate of the Li family.
These emotions, these choices, had led to Chu Lian's current state. She suddenly felt at a loss—the feeling was truly unbearable.
"I'll first help Xiu'er remove the foreign energy from her soul. As for Lian'er... we can only leave it to fate." As she spoke, she stood up. A white phantom appeared behind her, lifting Li Xiu'er's body into the air.
Closing her eyes, without making any visible movement, streams of white spiritual power flowed into Li Xiu'er's body, causing it to emit a faint glow.
"Awooo—!" A high-pitched howl rang out as a wolf formed from black mist was gradually forced out by the energy she had infused.
The wolf's ghostly blue eyes stared fixedly at Li Mingxue, as if ready to leap forward and tear her throat apart.
Unfortunately, the moment it met Li Mingxue's gaze, everything was decided. Its body was completely immobilized. Despite being a high Earth-rank Nether Wolf, it had no way to resist, and was instantly dissolved into wisps of black smoke that scattered into the air.
With its disappearance, Li Xiu'er's condition improved rapidly. Her breathing became steady and strong, no longer weak and intermittent as before.
Although her recovery eased Chu Chu's heart, the appearance of that Nether Wolf placed even greater pressure on her. If even the less severe Xiu'er had enough death energy to condense into a high Earth-rank wolf, then what about Big Sis, who was in a worse state?
"Alright, Chu Chu. Take Xiu'er to another room to rest. As for Lian'er—until I come out, do not come near." The white phantom behind Li Mingxue gently placed Xiu'er onto the bed. After catching her breath, she spoke to Chu Chu.
"Okay, Mother..." Normally, Chu Chu would call her Mom, but at times like this, she dropped her playful tone and became serious.
Holding the girl who felt as soft as boneless silk, Chu Chu turned back repeatedly as she walked, looking at Chu Lian lying on the bed. All she could do now was pray that she would recover. She had to recover... she definitely would...
"Lian'er... I'm sorry..." Li Mingxue realized that much of this had been caused by her own mistakes. She bore an undeniable responsibility for the harm done to Chu Lian.
Moreover, when the Wang family had set up the Hundred Demons Night Parade formation, she had clearly promised she would never let Chu Lian take such risks again. Yet not long after, she had suffered such injuries.
Although she hadn't expected the Li family to go to such extremes, nor that Xiu'er would have her soul taken by the ghost cultivator, it was still her fault, wasn't it?
"I won't make any more promises. But today, right before my eyes, you absolutely cannot come to harm." As she spoke, she slowly removed her clothes, standing naked before the bed.
How long had it been since she had been this close to you, skin against skin? It seemed that ever since you turned five, you had stopped bathing with your mother. She missed those days... but now, she would use her own body to warm you.
Barefoot, she walked to the bedside. She lifted Chu Lian, whose eyes were tightly shut, and gently removed all her clothing, exposing her snow-white body to the air as well.
Then, holding her like this, she closed her eyes and calmed all her emotions.
The moonlight seemed to be drawn in, gathering around her, wrapping around both her and the girl, enveloping them, cleansing the impurities within their souls.
If she were able to unleash power beyond the Heaven rank in this world, then Chu Lian's condition would have been something she could resolve with a mere wave of her hand.
However, the existence of the world's energy barrier meant she did not dare act recklessly. She could only use her peak power to nourish Chu Lian's soul and repair its damage.
"Mom..." In her unconscious state, Chu Lian suddenly let out a soft murmur, causing Li Mingxue to pause, looking at her with surprise and joy.
But upon seeing that her eyes remained tightly closed, she realized she had been overthinking—it was merely Chu Lian reacting instinctively to external influence, speaking unconsciously.
"Lian'er..." Her body, Chu Lian's body—their bodies pressed together, skin touching skin. The sensation made her feel as though she had returned to that time when she held the tiny child in her arms, bathing together, watching her play in the water.
Now, eight years later, being this close to Lian'er once again felt like returning to that moment. It was... a wonderful feeling.
"If I could go back to that time, I would never regret having you..." That memory was distant, yet so vividly clear.
Because for the past thirteen years, it had been a dream she relived almost every single day—about her, about herself, about this family, and about the future.
As long as Chu Lian could recover, could get better, she would definitely, definitely never allow her to act so recklessly again.
The upheaval of the world was approaching rapidly. If they did not make changes and prepare before that, the dangers of the future would be countless.
What she needed to do now was ensure her family had the most basic ability to protect themselves. They didn't need to be extraordinarily strong—reaching the Heaven rank within five years would be enough.
In chaotic times, those below the Heaven rank were nothing more than ants. And ants could only become cannon fodder—the first to die.
Ke'er and Chu Ren had already gone out to train. Though their talents did not match those of her two younger sisters, they were still among the ranks of peerless geniuses.
The Chu family had always produced outstanding individuals. In this generation, almost all of them possessed the potential to change the world's balance.
She was proud—and she wanted to carry that glory forward, to make the Chu family shine brighter than anyone, brighter than anyone at all.
But all of this was built upon a complete family. And the core of that family was not her, nor Chu Xiao—it was Chu Lian.
So she absolutely could not let anything happen to her. If something did, the Chu family would collapse, she would collapse, and Chu Xiao, who had held on all this time, would collapse as well. Such an outcome was something no one could easily accept.
"Lian'er, you must wake up. Consider it your mother begging you. I can only help you remove the unnecessary foreign energy and curses. Whether you can successfully awaken depends entirely on your own will."
"Mom believes you can do it, don't you? The prophecy has helped me so much, and many things have already come true. It said that you would achieve more than anyone in the Chu family's history—and it must be so."
"You won't disappoint Mom, right? Your will is strong. Mom believes in you—believes in your will."
"Ayase, Xiu'er, Chu Chu, Inori, Xiaoya, Yanran, Anna, Nana, Lux, me, Ke'er, Chu Ren, your father, Tina... all of us, all of us are supporting you. You will definitely wake up."
Holding the girl tightly, tears fell onto her body. Ever since half a month ago, when Chu Lian had once again called her 'Mom,' she had cried again.
It seemed that for more than ten years, she had only ever shed tears for Chu Lian. How could such feelings be clearly expressed? And how could Chu Lian ever repay them so easily?