12dz Chapter 273 Frost's Past
Chapter 273 Frost's Past
The wind, carrying the stench of blood, swept across the ruins of the Lingxu Sect.
Ning Shuang stood on the edge of the broken training platform, her feet on the blood-stained bluestone. The icy touch spread from the soles of her shoes to her whole body.
Everything before her eyes was like a dull knife, repeatedly cutting into her already battered heart.
Broken walls and ruins, a scene of utter devastation.
Familiar fellow disciples lay on the cold ground, some lifeless, others with severed limbs, groaning weakly. Blood stained every inch of the sect's land, and even the air was filled with the pungent smell of blood and the atmosphere of despair.
Not far away, Senior Brother Yu Huai lay unconscious on the ground, covered in wounds. Blood was still seeping from the wound on his chest, and his breath was as weak as a candle in the wind, as if it could be extinguished at any moment.
Second Senior Sister Jingming leaned against a broken stone pillar, her face as pale as paper, blood constantly spilling from the corner of her mouth. Her arm was twisted at an odd angle, clearly indicating that she was seriously injured. She was struggling to circulate her spiritual energy to barely maintain her consciousness, her eyes filled with exhaustion and grief.
Senior Brother Xuanqing, Junior Sister Han Xuanxuan, and all the fellow disciples who had smiled at her and lent her a helping hand were either critically injured or died here forever.
Tears streamed down her frosty cheeks without warning, their scalding heat unable to warm her icy heart.
She raised her hand, trembling as she wiped away the tears on her face; all her fingertips touched was icy despair.
Who could have imagined that the girl who once loved life and whose eyes shone with light would now live such a wretched, cautious, and... miserable life?
Her thoughts drifted uncontrollably back to Earth, back to the place where her nightmares began.
At that time, she was a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl. Her parents were alive and well, and her family was harmonious. She loved sunshine, flowers and plants, and all beautiful things. She thought that her life would be like most people's, plain and happy.
But she never imagined that the person who pushed her into hell was the very person she trusted and was closest to.
Her own uncle, for a sum of money, took advantage of her parents' absence, tricked her away, and sold her to a terminally ill old man in a remote mountain village to be his maidservant in a marriage to bring him good fortune.
Deep in the mountains, in a remote and isolated place, there is no sunlight, no flowers or grass, only dilapidated mud houses, only the old man's murky and greedy eyes, and only the villagers' indifferent and disdainful gazes.
She was imprisoned in that dark and damp mud-brick house, where she was beaten, scolded, and tortured every day. She couldn't even get a full meal, let alone freedom.
She tried to escape, but each time she was caught and brought back to suffer even more brutal torture. Her wounds kept healing, with new ones appearing before the old ones had even healed. Eventually, she lost the strength to resist.
Looking out at the small patch of gray sky, she felt only despair. She thought that such a life was worse than death.
That night, while everyone was asleep, she secretly picked up a pair of old scissors, pointed them at her wrist, closed her eyes, and only hoped that she could be freed from this endless pain after death.
Just as the scissors were about to cut her skin, a powerful force suddenly came and pulled her violently. The scene in front of her instantly distorted and blurred. When she opened her eyes again, she was already in a vast snow-covered mountain range—Kunlun Ruins.
She believed that this was God's salvation for her, her hope of escaping hell.
But she never expected that this was just falling from one purgatory into an even deeper one.
She had barely established herself in Kunlun Market when she was captured by a heretical cultivator.
The evil cultivator appeared gentle and refined, treating her extremely well. He gave her delicious food, dressed her in beautiful clothes, and was gentle and considerate towards her. He would even talk to her and listen to her pour out her heart's pain.
In all her life, no one, except her parents, has ever been this kind to her.
She thought she had finally found happiness and had someone to rely on. She let down her guard and carefully accepted this "warmth," even beginning to dream that her future days would continue to be peaceful like this.
But this false warmth did not last long.
It wasn't until one day, when she was forcibly tied to the altar by that evil cultivator, that she realized his kindness towards her had never been genuine.
What he valued was her physique, her natural suitability to be a medicine cauldron!
His gentleness and tenderness towards her were merely to fatten her up, making her physique stronger so that he could drain her spiritual power and life force during his cultivation, thus helping him break through his cultivation realm!
On the altar, the cold runes burned her skin, and the evil cultivator's sinister smile, like a demon, was etched into her mind.
"Little beauty, don't be afraid. Once I absorb your spiritual power, you will be free."
At that moment, Ning Shuang's world completely collapsed.
What she thought was salvation turned out to be another trap; what she thought was happiness turned out to be a stairway to hell.
In despair, she unleashed unprecedented power, taking advantage of the evil cultivator's unpreparedness, she picked up the dagger on the altar and plunged it fiercely into his heart.
The evil cultivator stared at her in disbelief as she collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
Covered in blood, Ning Shuang scrambled away from the altar and the evil cultivator's cave, beginning her arduous struggle for survival in Kunlun Ruins.
Kunlun Ruins is fraught with danger, teeming with demonic beasts and countless cultivators with ill intentions.
She was like a pawn plagued by bad luck, unable to escape being schemed against and coveted no matter where she went.
She was beautiful; even in her disheveled state, her stunning looks couldn't be concealed.
Some people saw her appearance and harbored evil thoughts, wanting to possess her; others noticed the special constitution within her and wanted to capture her and use her as a medicine cauldron to drain her spiritual power.
Most of those who traveled to Kunlun Ruins encountered opportunities, either obtaining unparalleled martial arts techniques or powerful treasures, and rose step by step. But she could only survive in the cracks, living in constant fear, afraid that her secret would be discovered, afraid that she would be imprisoned again, and tortured as a medicine cauldron again.
She cried, made a scene, and resisted, but each time she was beaten black and blue. If she hadn't been lucky, she would have died somewhere in Kunlunxu long ago.
She began to close herself off, no longer trusting anyone or having any hope for anything. She learned to pretend, to be indifferent, and to fight her way out of desperate situations.
Until that day, Senior Sister Whale's Cry appeared.
At that time, she was being chased by a group of cultivators, covered in wounds, and forced to the edge of a cliff. With nowhere else to go, she could only close her eyes and prepare to jump off the cliff to find complete relief.
Just then, Second Senior Sister Whale Cry descended from the sky like a fairy, wielding a long whip. She quickly dispatched the cultivators chasing her and then gently extended her hand, saying, "Come with me, I'll protect you."
Whale's eyes were clean and gentle, without the slightest greed or malice. It was the first time since she transmigrated that she had felt kindness without any ulterior motives.
She hesitated for a long time, but in the end, she took Jingming's hand and followed her back to Lingxu Sect.
The Lingxu Sect was not what she had imagined.
There is no deceit or scheming here; everyone is kind and warm.
Senior Brother Yu Huai, though seemingly serious, personally brings her medicine when she is sick and patiently guides her when she encounters bottlenecks in her cultivation; Second Senior Sister Jing Ming always takes care of her gently, tolerates her indifference and aloofness, talks to her, and tells her that she is not alone; Junior Brother Xia Gui, innocent and cute, always calls her "Senior Sister Ning Shuang," holds her hand, shares delicious food with her, and chatters about interesting things in the sect; there are also Senior Brother Xuan Qing, Junior Sister Han Xuan Xuan, and other fellow disciples, who all take the initiative to greet her, smile at her, and lend a helping hand when she encounters difficulties.
They warmed her little by little, melting her frozen heart.
She began to waver, wanting to let down her guard, to accept this warmth, to try to trust them, and to find a true home of her own in the Lingxu Sect.
She even began to fantasize that in the future, she could cultivate with them, grow together, and protect the Lingxu Sect together, never having to live that kind of anxious and wandering life again.
Just when she was about to open her heart and accept Yu Huai, Jingming, and the others, the nightmare returned.
That night, under a dark and windy sky, she was cultivating in her room when suddenly, a powerful force erupted from her body, causing her excruciating pain all over her body, as if countless needles were piercing her meridians, or as if a raging fire was burning her body.
She convulsed and collapsed to the ground, drenched in cold sweat and her consciousness blurred. She could only feel her body rapidly awakening, a strange and powerful force constantly washing over her limbs and bones.
She didn't know how much time had passed before the excruciating pain gradually subsided. She lay weakly on the ground, panting heavily. Suddenly, a piece of information appeared in her mind—about her constitution and her destiny.
Sacrifice constitution.
A special constitution that seems to be able to rewrite the rules.
As long as she is willing to sacrifice herself, the person she sacrifices will never encounter any cultivation bottlenecks again and will advance rapidly all the way to the Shattered Realm!
Shatter the Realm!
These three words, like a thunderclap, echoed repeatedly in her mind, making her tremble and her eyes filled with disbelief.
She had seen the oldest book in the sect's scripture pavilion, which recorded that the Shattered Realm was a legendary realm, a realm that surpassed all other realms. Throughout history, no one had ever reached it, nor had anyone even seen it.
That kind of temptation is enough to drive any cultivator mad!
But Ning Shuang only felt endless fear and despair.
She knew all too well what this special constitution meant to her.
What would others do if they knew she had a sacrificial constitution?
They will imprison her like the evil cultivators before them, force her to make sacrifices, and drain her of everything. Even if she is destroyed as a result, they will not care. All they care about is the temptation of the Shattered Realm!
She had finally found a glimmer of warmth, and had finally begun to let her guard down, but fate dealt her another heavy blow.
That night, she sat on the cold ground and cried for a very long time.
Tears blurred her vision, her sobs were suppressed and desperate. She didn't understand why the world had to treat her this way.
What did she do wrong?
Why is it so hard for her to have a simple happiness and a stable home?
Why was her life never filled with light, only endless darkness and purgatory?
From being betrayed by her closest relatives on Earth, to being used as a talisman for good luck, to being used as a cauldron by evil cultivators, and now, awakening this damned sacrificial constitution, her life has been one of walking on thin ice. The slightest mistake could lead to utter ruin and endless torment.
She cried until she was completely exhausted, until her voice was hoarse, until her consciousness blurred, until the sky began to lighten, until the first rays of sunlight shone through the window onto her.
The sunlight was warm, but it brought her no warmth whatsoever; instead, it brought a chill that penetrated to her very bones and froze her to the core.
That kind of coldness didn't come from physical coldness, but from the despair in one's heart—despair for the world and despair for one's own fate.
She slowly stood up, walked to the window, looked at the sunlight outside, her eyes were empty and cold, and her face was devoid of any emotion, as if she had returned to the cold and numb Ning Shuang who was struggling to survive in Kunlun Ruins.
She knew she couldn't accept the warmth from the people of Lingxu Sect, and she couldn't trust them, even if they were genuinely kind to her.
Once her sacrificial constitution is discovered, not only will she fall into purgatory again, but it will also bring annihilation to the Lingxu Sect and those who are good to her.
After all, the allure of the Shattered Realm is too great, so great that anyone would be willing to pay any price, even destroying a sect, to obtain her sacrificial physique.
So she chose to back down, to close herself off again, and to become cold and aloof.
When Senior Sister Jingming brought breakfast and came to see her gently, she only said coldly, "No need," and turned away, no longer looking at her, letting the disappointment and worry in Jingming's eyes spread.
When Junior Brother Xia Gui and Junior Sister Xuan Xuan came skipping and hopping to find her, wanting to pull her to see the flowers and plants in the sect, she simply pushed their hands away indifferently, her tone icy: "Don't bother me." Seeing the grievance and confusion in Xia Gui and Han Xuan Xuan's eyes, her heart ached slightly, but she remained unmoved.
When her senior brothers Yu Huai and Xuan Qing tried to guide her cultivation, she coldly refused, deliberately distancing herself from them and wrapping herself in a thick shell of ice, not letting anyone get close.
She knew that doing this was cruel and hurtful, but she had no other choice. This was the only way she could protect herself and those who were kind to her.