Lily watched as her sister departed, soon the image of her back faded away. The fox on her shoulder had long climbed down and lounged on the armrest of the chair, secretly despising the confused woman in its heart. Its blue eyes narrowed slightly as its tail squished languidly in the air. It secretly peeked at Little Four, who was now wearing a blindfold made of silk. After shuffling for a few seconds, Little Four's breathing became shallow and she fell asleep once again. At the sight, Lily laughed boisterously while the fox rolled its eyes. Don't wake up the baby! The fox seemed to scream in its heart. Unaware of the fox's disdain, Lily slightly smiled. The little thing seemed to love to sleep. Was she not hungry? She gently picked up Little Four and cradled her in her bosom. "Come out. Find a room for the baby. I'll leave you in charge of the preparations." At her words, a servant dressed in black appeared silently. The fox stared at the unknown person with its small mouth agape. It was confident of its ability to detect other living creatures, but it was unable to sense the servant. It was unusual. The fox could even sense Rank Fives, the so-called formidable existence in the Lands of the Immortals. Its eyes glimmered in awe. It seemed that that woman and her sister were more formidable than she initially thought. Maybe they came from a higher plane…really? If it was true, then their presence in the Land of the Immortals was quite worrying. It was unknown what kind of enemy could chase them to this barren and lackluster place. Maybe it was an omen of what was to come.
***
Little Four moaned weakly on the bed, her body felt as if it were doused in fire. The flames lapped at her arms and legs, but she could only limply shift at the unfathomable pain. Sweat began to pour down her cheeks and her little tan face was a deep shade of scarlet. It was almost too much for the recently borned baby to bear. Lily bit her lips anxiously. Shortly after Little Four had awoken for the second time, blisters had started to form on her body and she twitched erratically. She had called for countless medical practitioners, but since the majority of the inhabitants of the town were either cultivators or warriors who had a strong immune and recovery system, many of the medical practitioners were merely those who had dabbled in medicine for a short period of time. No one could surmise the exact reason for her reaction. The baby's tender skin was already covered in blisters and many had told her to leave the baby alone, certain that her life and death were up to fate. "Sister." Lian walked into the room calmly. She clasped a small opaque glass bottle in her right hand. Her eyes were calm as she glanced at the struggling baby on the bed, indifferent to its life and death. She silently placed the bottle in Lily's hand and left the room quietly. Lily nervously opened the bottle and the pungent stench of herbs wafted around the room. The higher ranked a pill, the stronger the concentration of herbs and the denser the stench. Lily's eyes widened. It was a Rank Five Pill. It had to be noted that in terms of cultivation and professions, the highest rank, or the pinnacle of this realm was Rank Five. Many experts were trapped at Rank Four and were unable to cross this chasm all their lives, so a Rank Five was especially rare in this plane. It could be gathered that Rank Five pills were almost priceless and highly sought after. Lily held the pill in her hand and could feel a cool air emanating from it, giving her an indescribable chill. Her eyes brightened. It truly wasn't bad for her sister to come across a Rank Five Pill in this place. Especially a pill as rare as the Rank Five frost pill. Prized for its ability to suppress the internal heat of those on the verge of a breakthrough, frost pills were an almost essential need for cultivators, and different from other pills that required a certain attainment in order to cultivate them, any leveled pill master was capable of concocting a frost pill. Depending on the rank of the pill master, the pill would be either higher or lower ranked. Rank One frost pills were widely distributed across the lands of the immortals, but who wouldn't seek a pill that had a better effect? Every breakthrough in a cultivator's path was a particularly sensitive time. The internal heat alone was enough to kill even the most seasoned of cultivators. While the Rank One frost pill was capable of suppressing internal heat, it was almost ineffective after Rank Three. Only the higher ranked frost pills were capable of suppressing the internal heat after one reached Rank Three and above.
Lily lightly patted Little Four's hand. At the touch, the baby squirmed on the bed uncomfortably; the light touch felt like ants gnawing on her skin and her little lips puckered in discomfort. Lily frowned in worry. Little Four's temperature was higher than before, she felt like a burning furnace; if it were another baby, they would have long perished from the scorching heat. Lily gently placed the pill in the baby's mouth. Unconsciously, the baby swallowed and a cooling sensation spread throughout her body. Her little red face lightened and was encased in a slight flush; the baby breathed quietly as the hot air was expelled. Lily undid the blindfold and used a damp cloth to wipe the baby's face. The baby laid bare on the bed, having rid herself of the swaddling clothes after the wave of unbearable heat. She was drenched in sweat that had dripped into a puddle on the sheets. Lily shook her head and sighed. Sensing that the baby was still sensitive to touch, she backed away and watched from a distance. After the heat was expelled, the rampant internal energy gradually calmed down and churned throughout the baby's eight major meridians. Lily was flabbergasted. The human body had a total of twenty major meridians; in order to be considered a full fledged cultivator, one must be able to cultivate throughout all twenty. The higher the rank of cultivation, the more meridians a person was capable of cultivating through. In this backwards place, where the highest rank one could attain was Rank Five; the highest number of meridians that a person could cultivate was merely ten. But the prerequisite for cultivating ten meridians was to become a Rank Five, the pinnacle of cultivation. For a newborn merely a few weeks old, to cultivate up to eight major meridians was unprecedented. This meant that she had already attained Rank Four, the rank of experts. It was terrifying. But what was even more terrifying was the fact that if she had been born in another plane…maybe her rank would have been higher. Reaching Rank Four shortly after birth was unheard of even in the higher realms. Even the most prodigious of talents would have needed at least a year to reach that rank. Little Four was a monster. If those old fogies from that place found out about her, Lily feared that they would do almost anything to obtain her. The Lower Realms haven't been graced with the presence of such a prodigy for a long long time. If the prowess of Little Four became known, it was certain that the Lower Realms would cultivate her to go against the higher realms, but in the process, their greed for her power would ultimately destroy her. Lily clenched her fists. Her and her sister were too weak to contend against the Lower Realms. Her eyes flashed with a peculiar glint. She would never reveal Little Four's abilities; let the people think that the little girl she picked up was a waste. She would not give the Lower Realms this advantage in the fight for power. She would never give that place a way to quench their insatiable greed.
***
Lian looked down, seemingly deep in thought. Her eyelashes drooped downwards and cast a shadow over her peerless face. She lounged on the chair lazily, in her right hand was a bottle of wine, half empty. She wore a slim white nightdress that hugged her curves and displayed her alluring body. The female servants swallowed as they stealthily peaked at her, in awe of her breathtaking beauty. Lily walked into the room and nodded towards the servants. Aware that they were unneeded, the servants slightly bowed before taking their leave. Lily looked at Lian who was in a daze. Her face was slightly drunken, but her eyes revealed clarity. Lian placed the bottle of wine on the table adjacent to the chair and sat up languidly. Her eyes were cold as she eyed Lily. She was slightly surprised by the anxiety in her sister's eyes; wasn't the child fine? "What's wrong?" Lily fumbled with the hem of her dress anxiously. In truth, she wasn't close with this blood-related sister of hers. It sufficed to say that sometimes Lily was disturbed by the look in her eyes. Lian scared her. If they didn't share the same set of parents, she feared that Lian would have long gotten rid of her. She was talented, but no matter how talented she was, she couldn't hold a candle to her elder sister. The clan had put all of their resources into Lian and groomed her as the future heir. If that calamity hadn't occurred, then Lian would have been the heir apparent of the clan. Lian would have been in a grand position while Lily would have been doomed to lurk in her sister's shadow for all of eternity. Even so, Lily had grown fond of Lian over time, but her sister was unreceptive to her advances and the distance between them had failed to decrease. "The child, she reached Rank Four." Lian leaned back in the chair, her face was placid and her eyes were calm. She leisurely took a sip of wine, and her cheeks flushed as the alcohol coursed through her veins. Her lips slightly quivered and she giggled. Lily's eyes widened. She had never heard her sister laugh before; the impression that she had of her sister was a taciturn woman who was as cold as an ice-cube. It seemed that she had seen more sides to her sister these past few days than she had seen all her life. Her giggles were soft and as light as a feather; she had never heard such a beautiful sound. Lian's face quickly went back to its cold expression, like the smile of before was all but a dream. Her eyes slightly darkened as she took another long sip. She placed the bottle down and lowered her eyes in contemplation while Lily watched on with bated breath. In what was left of their clan, Lian's word was the law; whatever choice Lian made, she had no choice but to comply. "Train the child well. Lend her to me occasionally; I'll teach her as well. As for the issue of her identity, you know what to do right? I'll lend you the Concealing Jade. As long as no one over Rank Ten probes her cultivation level, she'll appear as a waste." Lily bowed slightly with a look of elation. Her eyes sparkled as she left the room. As the former future head of the family, the cultivation techniques at Lian's disposal were of a very high level, even on par with some of the more rare techniques that hailed from the higher realms. In addition, the foundation of their family was deep and vast; it was rumored that their ancestors had been important figures from the upper realms. Lian surely had a few treasures from their ancestors. For Lian to take charge of the child's education was tantamount to saying that Little Four would inherit the legacy of their clan in the future. With the potential that the child showed, coupled with such a gifted and resourceful teacher, maybe it wasn't impossible for Little Four to take revenge for them in the future. Although the child was blind, she had the capability to shake up the Lower Realms one day. Lily sighed. She truly felt that it was a pity that the child was unable to see. How beautiful would it be if the child could gain clarity?