Yun Qianxue remained silent for a while. She stood up and said to Yun Lintian, "Follow me."
Yun Lintian calmly followed her to the main hall, which had the ice throne at the center. Standing before the ice throne, a deep blue light glowed between Yun Qianxue's eyebrows and gradually formed into an exquisite droplet of water. Instantly, the ice throne trembled, with a hazy mist of ice constantly emanating from it. In the next moment, the throne moved backwards, revealing an entrance to a hidden underground passage.
Yun Lintian was amazed by the simple yet enigmatic scene in front of him. He never thought there would be a secret entrance beneath the ice throne. With a signal from Yun Qianxue, Yun Lintian immediately followed her into the passage.
The passage was quite narrow and could only accommodate one person at a time. On both sides, there was a shiny crystal ice wall that constantly emitted a bluish luminescence. Yun Qianxue and Yun Lintian slowly walked along a long, tapering ice staircase until they reached an open area filled with ice mist. There were several ice lanterns on the wall, illuminating the entire area. At the center, Yun Lintian found a small ice altar covered with a golden light, making it difficult for him to see it clearly.
The droplet pattern on Yun Qianxue's forehead shone brightly as the surrounding mist quickly dispersed. She took a step forward towards the front of the ice altar. When she stretched her slender hands out, the golden light surrounding the altar immediately scattered, revealing a silhouette of a crown atop the altar.
The crown's body was half black and half white in color. It was circular in shape and had eight tassels. Each tassel was adorned with thumb-sized marquise jewels in various colors: red, blue, yellow, green, dark green, gold, purple, and gray, respectively. When Yun Lintian's gaze landed on it, the silver necklace around his neck suddenly vibrated for a second before coming to a halt.
"What's going on?" Yun Lintian subconsciously touched the necklace, feeling puzzled. He was certain it wasn't a hallucination. His eyes kept shifting between the crown and the necklace as his brain worked intensively.
Yun Qianxue touched the crown as she explained, "This is the inheritance of our sect that has been passed down from the founder. We call it the Crown." She turned back to Yun Lintian and continued, "The reason they are willing to become our enemies is because of this... A thousand years ago, the ancestor of the Sacred Flame Sect discovered an ancient record that is connected to this crown. Since then, they have been trying their best to plunder it from us. Naturally, they wouldn't dare to act impetuously until our Grand Sect Master passed away twenty years ago."
Yun Lintian was busy trying to figure out what had happened earlier. At the same time, he continued to listen to Yun Qianxue. He understood everything clearly. The departure of the previous Grand Sect Master had left the Misty Cloud Sect without their only overseer in the Ruler Profound Realm. This allowed the Sacred Flame Sect to launch their operation without fear. The reason they had to wait for decades was likely to ensure a significant outcome.
Yun Lintian hesitated briefly before he asked, "Mom, may I touch it?"
Yun Qianxue was slightly confused. She nodded, granting him permission.
Yun Lintian moved towards the altar. He took a deep breath and touched the Crown. As soon as his fingers touched it, a twisted black and white light promptly burst out, causing Yun Lintian and Yun Qianxue to freeze in place. The light lasted for five seconds before it completely vanished. During this period, Yun Lintian could perceive a faint connection between himself, the silver necklace, and the Crown. However, he was ultimately unable to comprehend the situation.
Yun Qianxue was momentarily shocked when she saw Yun Lintian producing the black and white light. "W... What happened?" She uttered in astonishment. As the sect master, she had never heard of anyone in the sect's history being able to resonate with the Crown before, not even the sect's founder. How could Yun Lintian do it?
Yun Lintian didn't reply immediately. He closed his eyes, recalling the sensation that had occurred earlier. He had a suspicion that the Crown might actually belong to him all along, and it seemed that this was the mysterious woman's intention in leaving him in this place. She should be aware of it — there was something related to him hidden within the sect. What was the relationship between him, her, the sect, and these two mysterious objects?
"I'm not sure what was going on earlier... I can sense a faint connection between myself and this crown." Yun Lintian responded uncertainly.
Yun Qianxue had a profound gaze. She suggested, "Why don't you try dropping your blood on it?"
Yun Lintian's eyes lit up as he quickly pricked his finger and let a drop of blood fall onto the Crown. However, there was no feedback in the end, even after waiting for ten minutes.
Yun Qianxue was puzzled. "Strange... What exactly is going on?"
Yun Lintian was disappointed. "Is there any information about this crown?"
Yun Qianxue shook her head and said, "No. The only information we have is that this crown existed shortly before the disappearance of the Sect's Founder. The founder has entrusted the Second Generation's Sect Master to keep it safe no matter what. Generation after generation, we have attempted to unravel the secret of the Crown, but ultimately, no one has been able to produce any results."
Yun Lintian fell into deep thought for a while before he let out a helpless sigh. "I have no clue either. Those feelings never appeared again. They are gone completely."
Yun Qianxue stared at the Crown for a long time. She said, "Let's go back."
Yun Lintian hummed softly in response and left the area with Yun Qianxue. The room returned to its original calm and silence once again. The hazy mist slowly enveloped the entire area, giving the impression that this place had never been visited before.
Buzzz—
However, half an hour later, after Yun Lintian and Yun Qianxue departed from this place, a burst of black and white light suddenly emanated from the Crown once again. This time, it was more vigorous than before, as it transformed the entire space into a world that was half black and half white. The jewel on each tassel instantly shone brightly, transforming into pillars of multi-colored light amidst the black and white radiance. This phenomenon lasted for several minutes before it completely disappeared, as if nothing had happened before.
***
While Yun Lintian and Yun Qianxue were experiencing the bizarre event, the Yang manor was also going through a significant occurrence. After Yun Mengli returned to the manor, she went straight to Yang Gouming's chamber.
"My dear niece, why are you here so late?" Said a middle-aged man in luxurious blue robes, standing in front of Yang Gouming's room.
Yang Mengli smiled faintly and said, "I'm here to see my father. I haven't seen him in a while. What about you, third uncle? Why are you here?"
The middle-aged man was Yang Goumu, Yang Mengli's third uncle. He gave a light chuckle as he spread his arms and said, "Why else? I'm here to check on my big brother in case his condition has improved. As you know, our current situation is not ideal. We need to find a way to treat him as soon as possible. Otherwise, I'm afraid we will have to appoint a new patriarch... By the way, I heard there is a genius doctor who has recently emerged on the market street. Have you invited him yet?"
Yang Mengli politely responded, "I have spoken to him before, but he mentioned that he was unable to handle it... I am going to see father now. Let's talk another day, third uncle."
"Alright, go ahead." Yang Goumu stepped aside, allowing Yang Mengli to enter the room. He gazed intently at Yang Mengli's receding figure for a moment before he turned around and departed.
In the room, there was nothing else besides a plain wooden table and a luxurious bed positioned in the center. On the bed laid a motionless middle-aged man. His complexion was pale. His messy hair turned completely white, making him appear as if he was in his eighties despite being in his sixties this year. He was the current patriarch of the Yang clan, Yang Gouming.
"Father, I'm here to see you." Yang Mengli moved closer to the bedside and whispered softly. Her heart filled with sorrow when she saw her father's current state.
She knelt beside the bed and carefully took out the jade bottle given by Yun Lintian. She said, "Father, I met a kindhearted Senior yesterday. He is an miraculous doctor. Not only did he help me and Chen'er, but he also gave me this pill to save you. I'll give it to you now." She then took a pellet of the Soul Return Pill out of the jade bottle and fed it to Yang Gouming.
Yang Mengli released her profound energy to help Yang Gouming digest the pill. Shortly afterward, Yang Gouming's body trembled slightly. His eyelids were moving as if he was about to wake up at any moment.
Yang Mengli was overjoyed when she made this discovery. "It's working! Her heart filled with immense gratitude towards Yun Lintian.
"Ugh..." Yang Gouming groaned weakly as he slowly opened his eyes.
"Father!" Yang Mengli cried out joyfully.
Yang Gouming tilted his head slightly and said gently, "You've worked hard, Li'er. Father owed you." Although he was in a coma, he had been aware of everything that had been happening around him all this time.
Yang Mengli shook her head while wiping tears from the corners of her eyes and said, "It's not me, father. We have to thank Senior... Oh, right, Father. I think we need to hide this matter first. I don't have a way to deal with the culprit at the moment."
Yang Gouming was completely sober. His cloudy eyes became clearer, regaining their previous luster. A flame of fury ignited within his heart as he thought of the culprit. He said solemnly, "We don't need to do that. I can deal with him now." A strong aura emanated from his body. It was a sign indicating that a respected patriarch had returned.
Yang Mengli took a deep breath. Her eyes turned cold. Now, with her father's return, it was the perfect time to settle this grudge.
"You said earlier that you met a miraculous doctor who gave you this pill?" Asked Yang Gouming after calmed down.
An admiring expression appeared on Yang Mengli's face. She replied, "Yes, father. I am lucky to have met him. He is a nobleman, a true doctor. Before that, he set up a stall to provide free treatment for everyone, and he even gave money to the poor. When he discovered that I had poison in my body, he didn't hesitate to help me at all. As for the pill, I exchanged Heavenly Yin Iron with him." She didn't tell her father that Yun Lintian had approached her because of the Heavenly Yin Iron.
Perhaps she didn't notice that she was becoming more excited as she continued talking. Seeing his usually cold and indifferent daughter become like this, Yang Gouming smiled and said, "Once we finish dealing with the culprit, we should invite him here. I want to personally thank him for saving us."
Yang Mengli suddenly became sad. She said softly, "It's not working, father. Senior has already left the city."
"Oh? What a pity. We owed him." Yang Gouming sighed with regret.
"Ah, I forgot about it. Father, you need to take two more pellets every hour until you can completely eliminate the poison." Yang Mengli hurriedly handed the jade bottle to her father.