104: Chapter 104 The Game Beneath the Ice Silkworm Silk

The moment the white jade hairpin touched the soil, it did not break as one might expect; instead, it emitted a soft sound like tearing silk, and a thick, almost tangible scent of rust surged up from the depths of the soil.

As the hairpin moved, the originally loose, dark red soil curled to the sides as if it had a life of its own, revealing a cold, pitch-black, and sticky-textured stone corner.

It was half of a broken monument.

Qin Ruowei did not stop; her porcelain-white fingertips picked up a moon-shadow silk cloth she carried, her movements as gentle as caressing a lover's cheek, wiping away the stubborn, bloody mud from the monument bit by bit.

As the dirt peeled away, two ancient, vigorous, and faintly blood-red Seal characters were revealed under the moonlight, showing a ferocious appearance: "Spiritual Vein".

These two characters seemed to possess some kind of magic; the moment they took shape, the thin Spiritual Qi around them produced a faint resonance, like the first muffled sound of water coming from the depths of a dry well after a long drought.

"Stop." The voice of Lin Chen sounded abruptly from above the earthen slope, stopping the Young Master who was about to step forward.

Where was the Young Master's poised, noble demeanor from the daytime now?

He stared fixedly at the broken monument, his breathing as heavy as a drowning man just pulled from the water, the jade cicada in his right hand creaking as he squeezed it, with traces of uncontrolled Spiritual Qi leaking from between his fingers.

"Clan Head Lin, that is... that is the Foundation of my Cui Clan!" The Young Master's voice was hoarse, his gaze frantically darting between the silk cloth in Qin Ruowei's hand and the monument.

For a noble Family in the Central Continent, without a Spiritual Vein to inherit, they are like water without a source.

The Cui Clan has been declining for nearly five hundred years, and the Spiritual Roots of the direct lineage have become increasingly impure; there has long been a rumor within the clan that the founding Old Ancestor once lost the "fuse" of the main Spiritual Vein.

Who could have imagined that this "fuse" was actually buried under the soil in the western suburbs, which the Zhao Family regarded as abandoned wasteland!

"Whether it belongs to the Cui Family or not, we will only know after verifying it." Lin Chen rubbed the stone ring on his thumb, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

Just then, the stone ring in his Sea of Consciousness vibrated violently, and a powerful suction force emerged, pulling a pinch of dark red soil from beside Qin Ruowei's feet into the ring's inner space.

Almost at the same second, a three-dimensional topological map that only Lin Chen could see, emitting a faint golden light, unfolded on his retina.

It was a perspective view of the underground.

Thirty zhang underground, a shuttle-shaped energy body flickering with dim blue light was in a dormant state.

The energy body was wrapped in countless fine black chains, and the source of every chain pointed directly to the broken monument on the ground.

[System alert: Discovered a Sealed micro Spiritual Vein, energy level determined as 'Mystic-rank Initial Stage'.]

[Resonance frequency detected, the broken monument is the third Seal key.]

Lin Chen's heart skipped a beat.

He knew what this represented; this Spiritual Vein was enough for the Lin Family to truly gain a firm foothold in Jieyin City, and even... allow his broken body, ravaged by spatial power, to gain a chance at survival.

"Lin Chen! How dare you hide our clan's sacred object!" Seeing Lin Chen silent, the greed in the Young Master's eyes finally broke through the shackles of etiquette; he stepped forward, Spiritual light flickering at his fingertips, the pressure of a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator ready to erupt.

"Young Master, you must speak with evidence." Lin Chen sneered, his right hand hidden in his sleeve, protected by the night, his fingertips already gripping a Law-breaking Cone, "This land was personally granted to the Lin Family by Director Mo. Every inch of soil underground belongs to the Lin Family now."

Just as both sides were at daggers drawn, an old voice accompanied by violent coughing came from the shadows nearby.

"Since it is the Lin Family's land, this old man... cough cough... would like to ask to be a neighbor."

Deputy Director Mo Huairen, supported by two black-clad death soldiers, walked slowly out of the darkness.

His complexion was even paler than during the day, even tinged with the greenish-gray of a dead man, but his eyes were terrifyingly bright.

He stared fixedly at Su Qingyao behind Lin Chen.

Su Qingyao was currently kneeling beside a simple wooden table, her slender fingers gripping a cold jade pestle, unhurriedly dropping a dried seven-heart begonia into a mortar.

"Director Mo, visiting so late at night, has the Alchemy poison reached your marrow?" Su Qingyao did not look up, her voice cold as a freezing spring.

"Madam... save me." Deputy Director Mo Huairen pushed away the death soldiers and stumbled to the table, his eyes full of the desire to survive.

Su Qingyao exerted strength in her wrist, and the cold jade pestle collided with the mortar, making a dull thumping sound.

As the seven-heart begonia was crushed into a fine purple powder, a slightly sweet yet extremely pungent scent quickly dispersed.

Just then, a green Jade Slip in Deputy Director Mo Huairen's sleeve, which had been completely still, suddenly burst into a brilliant green light without any warning!

The green light was so intense that it instantly outshone the moonlight in the sky.

Deputy Director Mo Huairen shook violently, staring fixedly at the Jade Slip.

Three years, three full years; no matter how many Alchemy masters he had invited, this induction Jade Slip, specifically designed to detect the residual poison of the seven-heart begonia, had never shown any reaction, which meant the poison in his body had long taken root in his Soul.

But now, it was lit.

"This... this is..." Deputy Director Mo Huairen reached out with trembling hands, trying to catch the wisp of medicinal powder floating in the air.

"This is medicine, and also a catalyst." Su Qingyao looked up, her gaze calmly terrifying, "Director Mo, is the Lin Family's land deed still secure?"

"Secure! Whoever dares to touch the Lin Family's land is touching my life!" Deputy Director Mo Huairen turned his head sharply, his sinister gaze sweeping towards the Young Master, "Young Master, in the middle of the night, bringing weapons to break into the residence of a newly appointed 'special talent' in my Jieyin City, do you want to go sit in the dungeon of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs?"

The Young Master's expression changed several times, and finally, he forcibly suppressed the Spiritual Qi in his body, cupped his hands at Lin Chen, and said with a stiff tone: "Since Director Mo is here, I would naturally not dare to be presumptuous. However, Clan Head Lin, this broken monument... your Lin Family cannot swallow it."

"I won't see you out." Lin Chen spat out the two words indifferently.

The Young Master took his people into the darkness, but Lin Chen knew that this hungry wolf was just waiting for a more suitable opportunity.

Just as Deputy Director Mo Huairen was trying to ask further about the detoxification, a burst of noisy footsteps and the cold sound of armor rubbing came from the entrance of the western suburbs.

The light of dozens of torches illuminated the outline of the wasteland brightly.

Deacon Zhao rode on a red-scaled horse covered in flames, his face as gloomy as iron.

Behind him followed hundreds of private soldiers in the Zhao Family's black armor, each with a heavy crossbow at their waist, their Aura overbearing.

"Received a report that someone is building illegally in the Forbidden Ground on the outskirts of the city, attempting to destroy the balance of the Jieyin City Spiritual Vein!" Deacon Zhao dismounted, his whip lashing hard against a protruding rock, "Lin Chen, Deputy Director Mo Huairen! You have some nerve!"

He strode to the broken monument, a flash of greed in his eyes, immediately replaced by a grimace: "This is not just an illegal building, it is stolen goods! Come, Seal this place for me, and take all the Lin Family members back to the Zhao Family for interrogation!"

"Deacon Zhao, you have quite the official authority." Lin Chen stood on the earthen slope, the wind blowing his black robe, his injured right arm sinking slightly in his sleeve.

He slowly took out a withered yellow parchment from his bosom; it was the land deed that Deputy Director Mo Huairen had given him previously, but in the very corner of the deed, there was an extremely inconspicuous, dark red vermilion Seal in the shape of a three-petaled plum blossom.

"Look closely." Lin Chen unfolded the land deed, his fingertip pointing at the vermilion Seal, "The Great Qian Imperial Dynasty, three hundred years ago 'Mining Exploration Permit'. According to the old Laws of the Central Continent, any land holding this permit Seal, regardless of the buildings on it, its owner enjoys the 'Ancestral Exploration Right'. And... this right takes precedence over all Sect and Family mining rights."

Deacon Zhao sneered: "A piece of waste paper! A three-hundred-year-old permit Seal, and you want to run wild in Jieyin City?"

"If you think it is waste paper, then the 'Mystic Gold Mine' that the Zhao Family currently occupies will probably also become waste paper." Lin Chen's tone was calm, "Because that mine happens to be within the coverage of this permit Seal. If you deny the legality of this permit Seal, then all the Spirit Stones mined by the Zhao Family over the past three hundred years must be returned to the City Lord's Mansion and the Cui Family according to the Law."

Deacon Zhao's smile froze on his face, and a layer of cold sweat gradually seeped out on his forehead.

He stared fixedly at the plum blossom Seal, his pupils shrinking to the size of needle points.

Of course he recognized this Seal.

That was an Imperial special permit, and it was also the only bargaining chip recognized by the major Families that could leverage land rights.

The Zhao Family's mine was indeed obtained by their ancestors exploiting a loophole in land rights; if he tore up this paper of Lin Chen's today, it would be equivalent to destroying the Foundation of the Zhao Family.

The scene fell into a deathly stalemate.

Deputy Director Mo Huairen saw this and sneered, adding a knife: "Deacon Zhao, it seems you haven't studied the Law deeply enough. Do you want this old man to go back to the office and help you dig out the files that have been piled up for three hundred years?"

Deacon Zhao gritted his teeth, making a creaking sound, and finally, he waved his hand sharply and left with his people in resentment.

As the Zhao Family's troops retreated, the wasteland returned to an eerie silence.

Deputy Director Mo Huairen also took his leave tactfully.

After everyone had left, Lin Chen returned to the secret room of the Geng No. 9 Courtyard.

He dismissed everyone and slowly unwound the layers of heavy ice silk bandages on his right arm.

As the bandages were removed, a heart-stopping spatial chill instantly filled the room, and a layer of fine frost bloomed on the floor tiles.

However, Lin Chen did not show a painful expression as usual; instead, he stared at the bandages with some confusion.

He saw that those ice silk threads, which were originally as white as snow, now faintly revealed a faint, starlight-like pattern.

That was the trace of spatial power being forcibly crushed and transformed.

"Ring Spirit..." Lin Chen called out in a low voice.

The stone ring on his thumb lit up with a faint light: [Hidden function activated: Ice silk can act as a 'Law filter' under extremely high pressure, with a conversion rate of 0.01%.]

Lin Chen reached out his left hand, his fingertips touching the tiny Spiritual Qi that had been transformed.

That Spiritual Qi was tiny but extremely pure, even carrying a mysterious Aura capable of repairing Meridian damage.

This was originally an instrument of torture he used to suppress his injuries; now, it had become his tonic?

Just then, a slight sound of footsteps stopped outside the door.

"Father, that monument... is calling me."

Lin Haoyu's voice held a calmness that did not belong to his age, even with a faint, elusive sound of a sword ringing.

Lin Chen put on his outer coat and pushed open the door.

Under the moonlight, Lin Haoyu carried the heavy sword wrapped in coarse cloth on his back, his gaze fixed on the direction of the western suburbs.

There, the half-broken monument buried under the dark red soil was emitting an obscure vibration that only a Sword Cultivator could perceive.

That vibration, at this moment, achieved a kind of resonance spanning thousands of years with the Sword Seed in Lin Haoyu's Sea of Consciousness.

Lin Chen looked at his son's back and touched the stone ring.

"Since it is calling you," Lin Chen said softly, "then go and tell it, who is the master of Jieyin City now."

Lin Haoyu looked up sharply, and deep in his eyes, a sliver of silver-white sword light flashed like a meteor, and in the surrounding air, a harsh, metal-grinding Dragon's roar sounded out of thin air.