For several heartbeats, Lin Xue could not speak.
The underground chamber seemed to have fallen into complete silence.
Even the faint dripping of water from the cavern ceiling had stopped.
His eyes remained fixed upon the man standing before him.
Lin Yue.
The face was unmistakably his.
The same delicate features.
The same dark eyes.
The same straight nose and pale complexion.
Even the small crescent-shaped mark beneath his left eye was identical.
Yet Lin Xue knew with absolute certainty that this man was not him.
Because Lin Xue had never had an older brother.
He had never had a twin.
And most importantly…
Lin Yue should have been dead for a thousand years.
Mo Yuan stepped in front of Lin Xue.
His sword remained raised.
“Don’t come any closer.”
Lin Yue glanced at the blade.
Then at Mo Yuan.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
“You still protect him.”
Mo Yuan’s expression hardened.
“You know me?”
“I knew you long before you knew yourself.”
Lin Yue’s gaze shifted toward Lin Xue.
“And I have been waiting for him much longer.”
Lin Xue stepped around Mo Yuan.
“Who are you?”
Lin Yue’s smile faded.
“I already told you.”
“Lin Yue.”
“But that isn’t enough.”
He looked toward the shattered pieces of the Heavenly Mirror floating above the altar.
“I was once the first bearer of the Soul Lotus.”
Lin Xue’s eyes widened.
“The first?”
Lin Yue nodded.
“Before the cultivation sects were divided.”
“Before the empire existed.”
“Before the Heavenly Oracle became what it is now.”
He walked slowly toward the altar.
“The Soul Lotus was created to connect mortal souls with the Heavenly Dao.”
“It was never meant to control destiny.”
Lin Xue frowned.
“Then who changed it?”
Lin Yue’s eyes darkened.
“The first Emperor.”
“The founder of this empire.”
Lin Xue felt a chill run down his spine.
“The Imperial bloodline?”
“Yes.”
Lin Yue looked at him.
“The first emperor discovered that the Heavenly Oracle could predict the future.”
“And he wanted more.”
“He wanted to control it.”
“So he created the Crimson Seal.”
Lin Xue looked at the mark on his wrist.
“The same seal…” Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
“Exactly.”
Lin Yue’s voice became quieter.
“Every generation of emperors has inherited the Crimson Seal.”
“They use it to manipulate the Oracle.”
“To erase certain possibilities.”
“To strengthen others.”
Lin Xue’s mind raced.
That meant the Oracle had never truly been absolute.
The marriages.
The wars.
The succession.
Perhaps even the rise of Ji Chen…
Could have been manipulated.
“But why me?”
Lin Yue looked at him for a long moment.
“Because the Soul Lotus eventually rejected its master.”
“Rejected?”
“It began searching for someone capable of breaking the cycle.”
His gaze softened.
“And it chose you.”
Lin Xue stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because you were the first person in centuries who was willing to sacrifice everything for someone else.”
Lin Xue’s expression changed.
He remembered his first life.
Everything he had done for Ji Chen.
The campaigns.
The alliances.
The political battles.
The sacrifices.
He had believed they were acts of love.
Lin Yue continued.
“But you misunderstood something.”
“What?”
“You thought you sacrificed yourself for Ji Chen.”
Lin Xue’s breathing stopped.
“You didn’t.”
Lin Yue pointed toward the Soul Lotus.
“You sacrificed yourself to awaken it.”
The cavern trembled.
A faint crimson glow spread beneath Lin Xue’s feet.
The Soul Lotus suddenly opened fully.
Nine petals.
Each glowing like burning embers.
Lin Xue gasped as an unfamiliar memory entered his mind.
A mountain.
A blood-red moon.
A man standing beside him.
Mo Yuan.
But not the Mo Yuan he knew.
This Mo Yuan wore ancient armor and held a sword covered in golden runes.
Lin Xue reached toward him.
Then the memory shattered.
He stumbled.
Mo Yuan caught him.
“Lin Xue.”
Lin Xue looked up.
“I saw you.”
Mo Yuan froze.
“In the past.”
A strange expression crossed his face.
“I know.”
Lin Xue stared at him.
“You remember more than you told me.”
Mo Yuan was silent.
Lin Yue watched them quietly.
Then he spoke.
“Both of you have forgotten.”
“Forgotten what?”
“That this isn’t your first life.”
Lin Xue’s heart stopped.
Lin Yue’s gaze moved between them.
“You have met before.”
“Many times.”
“In every life…”
“…you find each other.”
Mo Yuan’s fingers tightened around Lin Xue’s arm.
Lin Xue whispered,
“Then why don’t I remember?”
“Because someone always separates you before you awaken.”
“Who?”
Lin Yue looked toward the ceiling.
Toward the distant Imperial Palace.
“The Emperor.”
A terrible silence followed.
Lin Xue suddenly understood.
The strange familiarity he felt around Mo Yuan.
The way Mo Yuan remembered his death.
The Soul Lotus reacting to them.
None of it was coincidence.
They had been connected long before this life.
And someone had been trying to keep them apart.
Suddenly—
A loud explosion shook the chamber.
Lin Yue’s expression changed.
“They found us.”
Mo Yuan turned toward the passage.
“Minister Zhao?”
“No.”
Lin Yue’s eyes narrowed.
“Something worse.”
A wave of terrifying spiritual pressure descended through the mountain.
Lin Xue felt his knees weaken.
The Soul Lotus burned violently.
Then a voice echoed from the darkness.
Calm.
Familiar.
And terrifying.
“Lin Xue.”
“Come back to me.”
Lin Xue’s blood turned cold.
He knew that voice.
Ji Chen.
The Crown Prince was standing somewhere beneath Qingyun Mountain.
And he was not alone.
End of Chapter 13