For several seconds, Lin Xue couldn’t breathe.
The communication talisman had gone silent.
Yet Elder Shen’s final words continued echoing in his mind.
The coffin has your name carved on it.
And inside that coffin—
A voice had called him brother.
Lin Xue slowly turned toward Mo Yuan.
“Take me to Qingyun Sect.”
Mo Yuan was already moving.
“We leave now.”
Ji Chen remained near the shattered Dragon Throne.
His expression was unreadable.
Lin Xue glanced at him.
“You knew.”
Ji Chen didn’t answer.
“You knew there was something beneath Qingyun Sect.”
Still nothing.
Lin Xue’s voice hardened.
“How long?”
Ji Chen finally looked at him.
“Since before you were born.”
Lin Xue’s heart sank.
“Then you’re coming with us.”
Ji Chen frowned.
“Why?”
“Because if you stay here, whatever is beneath this throne may awaken again.”
Mo Yuan looked at him coldly.
“And because we need answers.”
Ji Chen stared at both of them.
Then he looked toward the cracked throne.
“Very well.”
He turned away.
“But understand something.”
Lin Xue paused.
Ji Chen’s expression was grim.
“If the person inside that coffin is truly your brother…”
He glanced at Lin Xue.
“…then you may wish he had remained dead.”
The journey to Qingyun Sect was far faster than the journey south.
Mo Yuan summoned a spiritual flying vessel from his storage ring.
The enormous black ship appeared above the mountains, its sails glowing with silver runes.
Lin Xue stepped aboard.
Ji Chen followed.
Neither spoke to the other.
The vessel cut through the clouds.
Below them, mountains became shadows.
Above them, the sky darkened.
Lin Xue stood at the front of the deck.
He could feel the Soul Lotus.
It was restless.
Every few moments, the tenth petal flickered.
Mo Yuan approached.
“You haven’t rested.”
“I can’t.”
“You’ve barely slept since we left.”
Lin Xue looked at him.
“There’s someone in that coffin.”
Mo Yuan nodded.
“And he looks like me.”
“Yes.”
“And he called me brother.”
“Yes.”
Lin Xue sighed.
“You’re surprisingly calm.”
“I’m not.”
Lin Xue turned.
Mo Yuan’s expression was unusually serious.
“I’ve been thinking about what happens if he’s telling the truth.”
“What do you mean?”
“What if you really had a brother?”
Lin Xue went silent.
Mo Yuan continued.
“What if your family wasn’t protecting the Soul Lotus…”
“…but protecting him?”
Lin Xue stared at the clouds.
A strange feeling settled in his chest.
Not fear.
Recognition.
Somewhere deep within his soul, the word brother felt familiar.
Like a memory waiting behind a locked door.
Then—
The ship suddenly shook.
Mo Yuan drew his sword.
“Attack.”
Several black figures appeared among the clouds.
Imperial assassins.
Ji Chen immediately stepped forward.
“Stay back.”
Lin Xue raised an eyebrow.
“That’s my line.”
Ji Chen glanced at him.
Then, surprisingly, he smiled faintly.
“You really have changed.”
Lin Xue’s expression became cold.
“Maybe I finally learned.”
The assassins attacked.
Mo Yuan’s sword flashed.
Ji Chen summoned a golden barrier.
Lin Xue formed a formation beneath their feet.
The battle lasted only a few moments.
One assassin escaped.
Lin Xue immediately noticed something strange.
“Mo Yuan.”
“I know.”
The dead assassins weren’t carrying Imperial tokens.
Instead, each wore a tiny silver thread around their wrists.
Ji Chen crouched beside one.
His expression darkened.
“These aren’t my men.”
Lin Xue looked at him.
“Then whose?”
Ji Chen slowly lifted the thread.
“The Celestial Court.”
Silence.
Lin Xue looked toward the sky.
So Heaven itself had begun sending people after them.
The third seal was clearly more important than they had imagined.
By midnight, Qingyun Sect finally appeared.
The mountain was surrounded by a strange white mist.
No birds flew overhead.
No spiritual beasts moved through the forest.
The entire mountain seemed frozen.
Lin Xue’s heart tightened.
“This isn’t normal.”
Mo Yuan nodded.
“The spiritual energy is being suppressed.”
They landed near the main gate.
Elder Shen was waiting.
The old man’s face was pale.
The moment he saw Lin Xue, his eyes filled with emotion.
“Young Master…”
Lin Xue stepped forward.
“Elder Shen.”
The elder immediately bowed.
“You’ve returned.”
Lin Xue helped him stand.
“Tell me about the coffin.”
Elder Shen looked toward the inner mountain.
“It appeared three hours ago.”
“Who opened the chamber?”
“No one.”
“Then how did you find it?”
He swallowed.
“…called your name.”
Lin Xue’s blood ran cold.
“Take me there.”
Elder Shen hesitated.
“Young Master, you shouldn’t.”
“I need to see him.”
“Please.”
The elder looked at Mo Yuan.
Mo Yuan nodded.
“We’ll protect him.”
Elder Shen finally sighed.
“Very well.”
They descended beneath the sect.
Past ancient halls.
Past sealed spiritual formations.
Past a stone staircase that Lin Xue didn’t remember ever seeing.
At the bottom stood a massive door.
Across it was carved a single symbol.
The Soul Lotus.
Lin Xue touched it.
The door opened.
A cold wind swept past them.
Inside the chamber stood the coffin.
Black stone.
Ancient golden carvings.
And across its lid—
A name.
LIN XUE.
Lin Xue stared.
Then the coffin moved.
Slowly.
The lid opened by itself.
White mist poured from inside.
A hand emerged.
Then a young man sat upright.
Long black hair.
White robes.
The same face.
The same eyes.
The same crescent-shaped mark beneath the left eye.
Lin Xue couldn’t move.
The young man looked directly at him.
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then his eyes filled with tears.
“Brother.”
Lin Xue’s breath caught.
The young man smiled.
“I finally found you.”
Behind Lin Xue, Mo Yuan suddenly drew his sword.
Because the young man wasn’t looking at Lin Xue anymore.
He was looking at Mo Yuan.
And his expression had completely changed.
Hatred filled his eyes.
“You.”
Mo Yuan froze.
The young man’s voice became cold.
“You killed me.”
Lin Xue turned sharply toward Mo Yuan.
“What?”
Mo Yuan didn’t answer.
The young man slowly stepped out of the coffin.
His spiritual pressure filled the chamber.
“I remember everything.”
He looked at Lin Xue.
“I remember our childhood.”
“I remember our parents.”
“I remember the night they took you away.”
Then his eyes returned to Mo Yuan.
“And I remember who stood beside them.”
Lin Xue’s face went pale.
The young man pointed at Mo Yuan.
“Your beloved Ghost King…”
“…was the one who killed our family.”