The burial chamber gradually fell silent once more.
The strange eruption of Yin Qi had already withdrawn into Gu Qing's soul, leaving behind only the faint fragrance of incense and the solemn atmosphere that had accumulated through generations of the Qian Family. She remained kneeling upon the cold jade floor, one hand clutching her forehead as her breathing slowly steadied, while beads of sweat continued rolling down her delicate face.
The pain gradually faded.
So did the countless chaotic images that had flooded her consciousness.
When she finally opened her eyes...
There was clarity.
Not the clarity of recovering every memory.
Rather...
She finally understood why she had been instinctively drawn toward the Qian Family ever since leaving the secret realm.
The feeling had never been an illusion.
Something here...
Had resonated with whatever existed within her soul.
She slowly stood up, her beautiful eyes sweeping across the burial chamber once again.
Unlike before, the confusion had disappeared, replaced by calm determination.
"If I was brought here..."
"...then there must be a reason."
She no longer laughed.
Nor did she celebrate.
Instead, she began carefully examining the chamber once more.
This time, every movement was deliberate.
Her divine sense spread through the surroundings as she inspected the ancient jade walls, the ancestral tablets, the incense altar and every supporting pillar one after another. Whenever she encountered a hidden restriction, she patiently dismantled it before continuing her investigation.
Several concealed compartments soon revealed themselves.
Ancient jade boxes emerged from within the walls.
Old family records, cultivation manuals and even ancestral scriptures.
Nothing unusual.
Gu Qing frowned slightly before continuing deeper into the chamber.
She refused to believe her instincts had led her here for no reason.
Every few steps, she would pause before carefully examining another section of the burial chamber. Occasionally, she would close her eyes, allowing the strange sensation within her soul to guide her.
Yet every attempt ended in disappointment.
Nothing.
There wasn't the slightest indication that this place concealed anything beyond an ordinary ancestral resting place.
"...Strange."
She softly murmured.
"Why does it feel so familiar..."
"...yet so empty?"
Her brows gradually knitted together.
She searched once.
Then twice.
Even after dismantling every restriction she could discover, the result remained exactly the same.
Nothing.
The strange certainty within her heart slowly transformed into doubt.
Had she misunderstood?
Or...
Was there something she still couldn't remember?
She stood quietly before the central ancestral tablets, allowing her gaze to drift across each name engraved upon them.
Silence once again descended upon the burial chamber.
Several breaths later...
She slowly exhaled.
"It seems..."
"...I'm still missing something."
Just as she turned to leave—
A calm voice suddenly echoed through the chamber.
"You're right."
"You are missing something."
Gu Qing's pupils violently contracted.
Before she could even react, an overwhelming pressure instantly descended upon the burial chamber.
Boom!
Her divine sense was forcibly suppressed.
A terrifying Martial Intent filled every corner of the chamber, causing the surrounding air itself to become incomparably heavy.
Gu Qing instinctively turned around.
A figure slowly emerged from behind one of the enormous stone pillars.
Plain black robes.
Calm expression.
Silver eyes that showed not the slightest ripple of emotion.
"...it's you!"
Her voice trembled ever so slightly.
For the first time since leaving the secret realm...
Her composure completely disappeared.
Disbelief filled her eyes.
"Impossible..."
"I saw..."
She abruptly stopped speaking.
Her master's shattered Life Plaque.
His disappearance.
Everything had convinced her that both he and Lin Sheng had died together.
Yet...
The man standing before her was undoubtedly alive.
Lin Sheng quietly looked at her.
There wasn't the slightest trace of killing intent upon his face.
Only calm.
"So..."
"You've remembered something."
Gu Qing immediately stepped backwards.
Her Spiritual Qi erupted instinctively as she prepared to flee.
Unfortunately...
She was too slow.
The moment her cultivation began circulating, Lin Sheng disappeared from where he stood.
The next instant...
He was already standing before her.
Bang!
His palm landed directly against her forehead.
A powerful current of Gang Qi instantly sealed her meridians while his immense Mental Perception crashed into her consciousness like a mountain.
Gu Qing's eyes widened.
She wanted to resist.
Wanted to retreat.
Wanted to call upon the mysterious Yin power within her soul.
Yet before she could do any of those things...
Darkness overwhelmed her vision.
Her body immediately lost all strength.
Lin Sheng calmly supported her collapsing figure before gently lowering her onto the jade floor.
Crystal immediately completed its assessment.
•[Target successfully suppressed. Estimated unconscious duration: 41 minutes]•
Lin Sheng silently looked down at Gu Qing.
"Now..."
"...let's find out exactly what you've remembered"
The burial chamber became silent once more.
Apart from the faint flickering of the incense flames before the ancestral tablets, nothing disturbed the ancient hall. Lin Sheng remained standing beside the unconscious Gu Qing, his gaze lingering on her peaceful expression for a few moments before he slowly crouched beside her.
His expression carried neither hatred nor sympathy.
Only caution.
Gu Qing had already proven herself capable of quietly manipulating events from the shadows. Even after recovering only fragments of her memories, she had nearly pieced together the truth behind the Qian Family. Allowing such a person to continue living without understanding what she knew would only create greater uncertainty in the future.
Lin Sheng slowly extended his right hand.
Unlike before, he made no immediate attempt to invade her Sea of Consciousness. Instead, he quietly closed his eyes as his Mental Perception spread through her body, carefully observing every fluctuation of Spiritual Qi.
Crystal simultaneously began analysing her condition.
•[Host detected abnormal soul fluctuation.
Residual Yin-attributed energy remains active.
Estimated risk of direct memory search: Moderate]•
Lin Sheng wasn't surprised.
When Gu Qing's master had fallen unconscious, forcefully searching his memories had encountered resistance because of the natural strength of a Purple Palace cultivator's soul.
Gu Qing was different.
Her cultivation wasn't high enough to resist him.
The true obstacle...
Was whatever existed inside her soul.
He recalled the brief eruption of Yin Qi only moments ago. Although it had disappeared almost instantly, the pressure it emitted had been unlike anything ordinary cultivators could possess.
It wasn't a cultivation technique.
Nor was it an ordinary treasure.
It was almost...
Alive.
After pondering for several breaths, Lin Sheng decided against immediately using the forceful method.
Instead, he slowly gathered his Mental Perception before allowing it to enter Gu Qing's consciousness as gently as flowing water.
The surroundings instantly changed.
He found himself standing within an endless grey world.
Everything appeared blurred, as though countless fragments of memories floated within a dense fog. Broken conversations, unfamiliar faces and scattered scenes occasionally surfaced before disappearing once more, making it impossible to piece together a coherent picture.
Lin Sheng calmly walked forward.
Unlike the violent method, the illusion-based memory search relied on gradually guiding the target's subconscious to reveal memories voluntarily. It was considerably slower, but it caused far less damage to the soul.
As he proceeded deeper into the Sea of Consciousness, Crystal continuously analysed the surrounding fluctuations.
•[Mental environment highly unstable.
Multiple memory fragments remain incomplete.
Recommendation: Continue low-intensity exploration]•
Lin Sheng nodded inwardly.
It seemed Gu Qing truly hadn't recovered all her memories.
Many of the fragments drifting around him appeared incomplete, as though large portions had simply been erased.
He continued walking until one particular memory fragment slowly stabilised before him.
The grey mist dispersed.
The surrounding scenery transformed into the secret realm.
Gu Qing stood within an ancient cave, her clothes stained with blood while her breathing remained hurried. It was obvious she had just escaped a fierce battle.
Before her rested an ordinary-looking jade slip.
No...
Calling it ordinary wasn't entirely accurate.
Half of the jade slip was covered in intricate Yin-coloured patterns, while the other half appeared as though it had been violently broken away countless years ago.
Gu Qing cautiously reached out.
The instant her fingers touched the jade slip...
An overwhelming Yin aura erupted.
The memory suddenly shook violently.
Lin Sheng frowned.
Something inside the fragment seemed to notice his presence.
Without hesitation, he immediately withdrew several steps, preventing the memory from completely collapsing.
"It really is connected to that jade..."
He quietly muttered.
The brief glimpse had already confirmed one important fact.
Whatever opportunity Gu Qing had obtained inside the secret realm originated from that mysterious Yin jade.
It hadn't only strengthened her soul.
It had also begun restoring memories that didn't originally belong to her.
Unfortunately, before Lin Sheng could investigate further, the surrounding grey mist suddenly churned violently.
A cold pressure spread throughout the Sea of Consciousness.
Crystal immediately issued another warning.
•[Unknown soul-defence mechanism activating.
Recommendation: Withdraw immediately to avoid unnecessary mental damage]•
Lin Sheng didn't hesitate.
His consciousness instantly retreated from the unstable mental world.
The moment he opened his eyes, the faint Yin aura surrounding Gu Qing's body gradually calmed once more, as though whatever had attempted to awaken had once again fallen dormant.
Looking down at the unconscious woman before him, Lin Sheng's expression gradually became solemn.
Although he hadn't yet obtained the answers he wanted, one thing had become increasingly certain.