97: Chapter 97 Letter from Middle-earth

It was an extremely ancient, complex script, certainly not native to the Southern Region.

Liu Ruxu's pupils contracted sharply. In a voice barely audible, she read the line of text:

"The God-descendant Bloodline has awakened; the 'key' has appeared in the Southern Region. Seize it immediately..."

A key?

What key?

Liu Ruxu's heart tightened, and she subconsciously gripped the letter paper.

She was originally an important pawn planted by the Wantong Trading Firm in the Southern Region, responsible for gathering various intelligence. However, the bizarre content of this secret letter from the main branch in the Central Continent had already exceeded the scope of her understanding.

She checked again that there was no one around before taking a small fire starter from her Storage Pouch. With a gentle flick, a tiny flame ignited.

She did not burn the letter immediately. Instead, she held it flat, keeping it at a distance above the flame, and began to heat it slowly.

As the temperature rose, a second, completely different line of handwriting began to appear on the front of the letter, which had previously been blank.

This script was different from the ancient text on the back; it was the clerical script commonly used in the Central Continent. The strokes were sharp, carrying an air of condescension.

"The Heavenly Mystery Pavilion has issued a bounty to find the 'injured person who devoured the power of space.' Reward: one volume of Heaven Rank Cultivation Technique, three thousand Top-Grade Spirit Stone."

Seeing the words "devoured the power of space," Liu Ruxu's breath hitched sharply.

A scene flashed through her mind—three days ago, during the brutal battle at the Lin Family. Although she hadn't participated personally, there was a detail in the subsequent intelligence summary that she had specifically marked: the Lin Family Clan Chief, Lin Chen, had been able to directly devour the violent spatial turbulence with his arm during the final strike!

This thought struck like lightning, shattering all her other trains of thought.

"Snap!" With a crisp sound, the celadon teacup she was gripping tightly shattered.

Warm tea mixed with sharp porcelain shards sliced into her fair palm. Drops of blood slid down between her fingers and dripped onto the dark wooden table, but she was completely unaware.

So... the one the bounty was looking for was Lin Chen!

The forces of the Central Continent had already cast their gaze upon this barren Southern Region, upon the Lin Family that had just become the co-lord of the Southern Region!

An unprecedented chill shot from her spine straight to her crown.

How should she handle this intelligence?

Report it to the Wantong Trading Firm's main branch in the Central Continent?

That would be no different from pushing Lin Chen directly into an abyss of eternal doom.

But if she concealed it... her identity, her Family, they would all...

Liu Ruxu shuddered violently. She quickly used her Spiritual Qi to shatter the letter in her hand, turning it and the broken teacup into dust, then cleaned it up with a cleansing spell, as if nothing had ever happened.

Yet, in her beautiful eyes, there was no longer the composure of the past, only raging waves.

Meanwhile, in the temporary shipyard outside Qingxuan City, the lights were blazing.

Parked there was the half-hull of the damaged standard flying boat captured from the Shadow Moon Pavilion.

Even as a wreck, the hull, crafted entirely from "Void Wood," and the complex Formation patterns faintly visible on it, still emitted a heart-palpitating fluctuation of Spiritual Qi.

"It's no use. The energy circuit of this core Formation Plate has been forcibly severed, and I can't understand many of the runes."

Chu Yun paced around the dark gold core Formation Plate, which was the size of a human head, scratching his ears and cheeks, covered in sweat.

He was originally Lin Haoyu's close friend, and his talent for Formation was already top-tier among the younger generation in the Southern Region, yet at this moment, he was like a novice apprentice, completely at a loss.

Master Chiyang, standing to the side with his arms crossed, was observing the structure of the half-flying boat with great interest.

After witnessing the potential of the Lin Family, this Loose Cultivator at the Golden Core Stage had volunteered to stay and became a Guest Elder of the Lin Family.

He glanced at the Formation Plate that Chu Yun was agonizing over, not paying much attention at first, but when his gaze landed on an inconspicuous corner on the edge of the plate, his expression changed abruptly.

"Don't touch it!" Master Chiyang let out a low shout, his large, fan-like hand grabbing Chu Yun's shoulder and yanking him back several steps.

Chu Yun was startled, "Im... Immortal Master, what's wrong?"

Master Chiyang did not answer, but stared fixedly at a strange rune the size of a small fingernail in the corner of the Formation Plate, which consisted of three arcs and a dot.

In his eyes, there was actually a trace of rare... fear.

"This is... the Central Continent Imperial Family's 'Heavenly Star Attraction' tracking mark!" Master Chiyang's voice was dry and grave. "Any object marked with this, no matter where it ends up, can be sensed by the Imperial Family through their Astral Formation to determine its approximate location. The Shadow Moon Pavilion... to think they actually got involved with the Central Continent Imperial Family?"

Chu Yun gasped.

The Central Continent Imperial Family was a behemoth that legend said ruled the most fertile land in the Spirit Realm. Its reputation was renowned, even in a remote place like the Southern Region.

One wave had not yet subsided, and another was already rising.

The spark that the Lin Family had just ignited seemed to be coveted by gale-force winds from all directions.

In the Forbidden Ground of the Lin Family, in the secret chamber with the most concentrated Spiritual Qi.

"Boom!" A muffled, thunderous sound erupted from behind the stone door. The two guards standing at the entrance felt the ground beneath their feet tremble, and a thick layer of frost instantly covered the secret chamber's stone door, emitting a bone-chilling cold.

The stone door slowly opened, and Lin Chen walked out.

His face was pale, and a few unmelted ice shards still hung on his long hair. The cuff of the left sleeve hanging at his side was also stained with a patch of silver-white frost.

Attempting to reach the Golden Core Stage... had failed.

Just at the final moment when he was guiding all his Spiritual Qi, attempting to condense the liquid droplets in his Qi Sea into a Golden Core, the strange power of space hidden deep within the flesh of his right arm, which had already recovered to its original state, suddenly went berserk without warning.

It did not attack Lin Chen's Meridians, but rather, with an unreasonable attitude, forcibly devoured the Spiritual Qi vortex he had painstakingly condensed and instantly converted it into extremely cold energy of the Void Realm.

If he hadn't cut off the supply of Spiritual Qi in time and used the power of the stone ring to forcibly suppress it, what would have been frozen and shattered at this moment would not have been a stone door, but his entire right arm, or even half of his body.

He returned to the study and sat down wearily, his fingertips subconsciously stroking the coarse stone ring on his thumb.

The frustration of failure, the worry for the future, and the uncertainty brought about by the "ticking time bomb" inside his body pressed on his heart like three great mountains.

"Clan Chief." A crisp, gentle voice rang out at the doorway.

Zhu Waner was already standing there prettily, holding a thick, yellowed ancient book in her hands.

She had changed into a simple and elegant green dress and walked quietly to Lin Chen's desk, placing the book "Complete Collection of Ancient Runes" down gently.

"I saw that the Family is studying flying boat Formations. This is a rare book from my Zhu Family's collection; perhaps... it might be of some use." Her voice was very soft, as if afraid of disturbing Lin Chen's thoughts.

Lin Chen looked up and saw her clear eyes; the irritation in his heart miraculously calmed down a little.

"You are thoughtful."

Zhu Waner did not say much more, just pushed the book forward again and said softly: "Tucked inside the book is the contact information for an old friend of my father's in the Central Continent. He said that Senior specializes in researching strange phenomena; perhaps... he might recognize the exotic energy inside you."

After speaking, she seemed to feel she had said too much. She bowed slightly, then quickly stepped back three paces before turning and walking away quickly. From beginning to end, she did not let Lin Chen see the deep red that had already spread to the roots of her ears.

Lin Chen watched her retreating figure, then looked down at the heavy ancient book, remaining silent for a long time.

Behind the mountain, in front of the waterfall.

Lin Haoyu stood with his eyes closed, holding a tree branch he had snapped off at random.

The sound of water roared, and the mist was thick, but he seemed completely isolated from this noisy environment.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes, and the branch in his hand pointed forward, seemingly at random.

There was no Sword Intent, no fluctuation of Spiritual Qi, and not even a sound.

But that unstoppable waterfall, which was crashing down from a height of several dozen zhang, experienced an extremely brief, almost imperceptible stillness the moment the branch pointed out.

It was as if time had been frozen at that moment.

"Holy crap!" Chu Yun, who was observing from the side, nearly had his eyeballs pop out. "You just... compressed your Sword Intent into a single point?"

Lin Haoyu withdrew the branch, feeling the mysterious sensation of Sword Essence circulating within his body, and a trace of a smile appeared on his face.

"Father said, the sword does not lie in its sharpness, but in the heart. I think... I am beginning to understand."

That "Supplement to Basic Sword Techniques" that his father had branded onto the banner pole had opened a whole new door for him.

He was walking a path that no one had ever walked before.

The night deepened, and all was silent.

Lin Chen sat alone in the study, using the moonlight to carefully flip through the "Complete Collection of Ancient Runes" that Zhu Waner had brought.

Suddenly, the stone ring that his right fingertips were stroking transmitted an extremely subtle vibration, different from anything before.

This vibration did not come from the outside; it was transmitted directly from the inside of the stone ring to the depths of his Divine Soul.

Immediately after, a vague, hoarse voice, as if coming from across endless time and space, sounded intermittently in his mind:

"Go... to the Central Continent... the Zangtian Abyss..."

Lin Chen sat up straight suddenly, his eyes sharp as knives.

Ring Spirit?

This stone ring, which had accompanied him for two lifetimes and which he had always thought was just a passive skill trigger, actually had its own consciousness?

He tried to use his Divine Sense to probe the stone ring, but it was like a clay ox entering the sea—there was no response.

The voice also disappeared, as if everything just now was merely an illusion.

Lin Chen slowly lowered his head, his gaze falling on the coarse surface of the stone ring.

He recalled the changes that had occurred when the stone ring had devoured the spatial energy previously, and a bold idea sprouted in his heart.

This stone ring might not be just a simple storage or auxiliary tool.

It seemed to have an unusual "craving" for a certain type of energy.

He looked at the small piece of "Void Gazer Stone" fragment that had been sorted out from the captured supplies, then looked at his own finger.

If... he created an environment rich in spatial energy for it, would it speak again and reveal more secrets?