The illusory and ethereal whispers vanished instantly, and the fire before him resumed its lively dance.
Everything returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.
"Third Ring Level secret."
Lin Yue revealed a hint of delight, "It's actually Baili Fengzhi's secret?"
For ordinary Martial Cultivators and the high-ranking practitioners of the Three Religions, the secrets involved were generally of the Second Ring Level.
Yet both Baili Fengzhi's and the old Daoist Tu's secrets were of the Third Ring Level, indicating that these two individuals' cultivation realms were evidently at a higher level.
"Baili Fengzhi has half of her bloodline not belonging to the Human Clan?"
Lin Yue slightly narrowed his eyes, beginning to ponder over the information contained within this secret.
"So, she's not purely human. No wonder a Martial General who has fought on battlefields is so pretty and delicate..."
"Originally having great prospects, but too afraid to make a breakthrough? Because the various powers in the Three Religions court won't tolerate her?"
"This might be used to threaten her in the future, but without enough means for self-preservation, it should not be revealed for now."
One could easily imagine,
If he were to rely on this small leverage on Baili Fengzhi and approach her saying, "Commander Baili, you wouldn't want others to know your secret, would you?"
The outcome was obvious; Baili Fengzhi would probably smack him to death with a backhand.
Moreover, his life story was too clean. Growing up in this border town, a slight investigation would reveal everything clearly.
Even if he tried to pose as a bigshot to deceive Baili Fengzhi, attempting to let her self-interpret the situation, Baili Fengzhi likely wouldn't believe him.
If negotiations failed, she'd turn him into minced meat.
Even if there was a slim hope of success, it entailed enormous risks.
Therefore, unless he had absolute certainty, he would not use this method.
"The main problem still lies with Xia Lie."
Lin Yue stared at the charcoal fire in the stove, agitatedly poking it a few times with a fire stick.
"This Prince Xia Lie is simply a timed bomb, can't be killed nor sent away. How on earth should I handle him..."
The last sentence of the secret just received—
"Xia Lie is a prince living among the commoners," he had known this for a while.
It was a Fourth Ring Level secret received just three days after Su Ziqiu had died.
"Do you know? Xia Lie's real surname is 'Xiahong,' a direct descendant of the God Emperor. His mother carried him for three years and six months before giving birth. As the most noble bloodline in the world, upon his death, his bloodline divinity would resonate with the heavens and earth within the Yong Realm. Moreover, his soul's resentment would follow causality, cursing the one responsible for his death."
—This was the secret concerning Xia Lie.
Or rather... Xiahong Lie.
Lin Yue had also heard about the 'Xiahong' of the Great Yong Royal Family.
It's said, from the beginning of time, an eternal god emerged, and throughout antiquity, history has witnessed their rise and fall in an instant.
The Great Yong proclaimed itself as a Divine Dynasty, the first ever to do so.
Great Yong indeed was worthy of the name of a Divine Dynasty.
Not only had the kingdom's fate persisted through a thousand-year span, but all lands under the sun and moon were its territories, except for 'Eternal Night' outside its borders.
Most importantly—
For the past millennium, the ruling lord of Great Yong's dynasty had never been replaced.
The supreme God Emperor, a thousand years ago, swept across the Eight Directions, toppled mountains and temples, subdued demons and spirits, forced Daoism and Buddhism into retreat, single-handedly buried the chaotic mythic era, and finally unified the world, establishing this vast empire.
His name had long become the sole existing myth.
Although it's rumored that the God Emperor rarely intervened in court affairs, he still existed like a divine presence in the hearts of Great Yong citizens.
One could say that Great Yong operated under a 'monarch offline system.'
Yet even so, Great Yong never experienced major rebellions or upheavals, let alone dividing territories.
The unequivocal authority of the 'Xiahong' royal clan was evident.
And Xia Lie, being a direct descendant of the God Emperor, undoubtedly possessed the noblest bloodline in the world.
—This was why Lin Yue dared not kill him.
Even if he hired someone else to kill Xia Lie, Xia Lie's animosity would still be directed towards him, and the soul's resentment would curse him after death.
Moreover, the death of Xia Lie, this scion of the God Emperor, would surely attract those legendary, high-ranking practitioners. Under the inquiry of unimaginable divine passage techniques, he wouldn't stand a chance of escaping.
Hence, Xia Lie was essentially a timed bomb that couldn't be touched or sent away.
Like this, Lin Yue couldn't foresee how long he could continue to conceal.
"If I could practice cultivation, maybe I'd find some solutions. The secrets I received might become more useful too."
Lin Yue sighed helplessly, standing by the stove, silently cooking porridge, "Unfortunately, I have no aptitude for cultivation. At this age, practicing martial arts is challenging, and being devoid of a Spirit Vein means I can't become a Martial Cultivator... Moreover, even the best aptitude wouldn't suffice in such a short time."
But what could he do?
He could only take one day at a time and keep waiting.
Releasing Xia Lie would be his death,
And killing Xia Lie would be no different.
Hence, he had no choice but to wait.
At least...
In time, his Innate Divine Power would harvest more secrets.
Perhaps one day, he'd find a way to turn things around?
"Moreover, my Innate Divine Power seems to follow a pattern."
Lin Yue slightly narrowed his eyes.
The first pattern was that the more chimes he heard, the more 'advanced' the secret he would know.
Now, he vaguely perceived a second pattern.
Two months ago, after Xia Lie killed Su Ziqiu, he was filled with rage. Using a rare exotic treasure obtained via a Five Rings Level secret, along with Bone-dissolving Powder and Soul-binding Pills, he orchestrated the demise of Xia Lie's Martial Cultivator guard, then obliterated the evidence.
His original plan was to interrogate Xia Lie's background, make necessary preparations, and then kill him.
Luckily, the secret regarding Xia Lie was received soon after.
Otherwise, once Xia Lie was dead, there was no chance for him.
Now, after interacting with Baili Fengzhi, he received Baili Fengzhi's secret.
This implied that the secrets gained through his Innate Divine Power were not entirely random.
At the very least, it involved people, matters, or places he knew, making it more likely to receive secrets related to him.
"Moreover, the secrets I received were almost always ones I could understand."
Lin Yue slightly narrowed his eyes, "I understand the Breathing Skill, and I have received secrets regarding it, yet I've never received any secrets about cultivation because I know nothing about it..."
In other words—
If it was something entirely unfamiliar to him, he couldn't receive related secrets.
"In any case, beyond waiting for death, there's nothing else to do."
Lin Yue made up his mind, "Starting today, I'll stop pretending to earn money, and head to the Daoist library to focus on reading and learning more."
If he so wished, he wouldn't lack money.
At most, he'd go to the old locust tree in the north of the city and dig up the one hundred and fifty taels of silver buried by Xiao Yue from the Drunken Spring Tower.
...
Time flowed like water, passing day by day.
Lin Yue spent his days going back and forth between his home and the Daoist library, living a two-point-one-line life.
Returning home, he ate and slept, fed medicine and meals to 'Su Ziqiu' to prevent starving her, and when venturing out, he perused the various books with unknown uses in the library.
The majority were Daoist books, encompassing knowledge on things like the Yin Yang Eight Diagrams Nine Palaces or Daoist cultural and geographic records.
Understanding whatever he could was all he could do.
Baili Fengzhi seemed to understand the futility of looking for him and hadn't sought him out since, leaving him unaware of the old Daoist Tu's situation in prison.
Life appeared calm and undisturbed.
Yet Lin Yue knew very well that this tranquility was merely a facade before the impending storm.
As time passed day by day, his own growing anxiety painted the future in a large looming shadow, destined to crumble one day.
In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.
It was now early September.
On the second day of September, change finally occurred.