Chao Lun Hui had a theory.
Whenever something strange happened, there were usually three possibilities.
The first was that an enemy had planned it.
The second was that an ancient cultivation force had awakened and decided to make its unfinished problems everyone else’s responsibility.
The third was that Luo Yanhe was somehow involved.
Unfortunately, after arriving in this world, Chao Lun Hui had discovered a painful truth.
The third possibility was almost always correct.
That was why Luo Yanhe now stood inside Azure Cloud Sect’s forbidden archive at midnight, staring at an ancient stone that looked completely ordinary.
The stone rested upon a raised platform at the centre of the chamber.
Its surface was rough, grey and entirely without light.
Nothing about it suggested that it had awakened after thousands of years or responded to two spiritual signatures.
Luo Yanhe : “This is the legendary artefact?”
He tilted his head.
The elder guarding the archive frowned as though Luo Yanhe had insulted several generations of sect history in a single sentence.
Elder Guard : “Disciple Luo, do not underestimate it.”
Luo Yanhe : “This disciple is not underestimating it.”
He walked slowly around the stone.
Luo Yanhe : “This disciple is simply questioning whether Heaven has poor taste.”
The elder nearly choked.
Elder Guard : “Heaven?”
Luo Yanhe : “Yes.”
Luo Yanhe pointed towards the stone with the solemnity of a scholar presenting an important discovery.
Luo Yanhe : “An artefact that supposedly contains the secrets of truth looks like something a fisherman picked up from a river.”
The elder’s expression became complicated.
He clearly wanted to defend the dignity of the Truth Stone.
Unfortunately, the Truth Stone provided him with very little support.
It was grey, rough and completely unimpressive.
If someone placed it among ordinary river rocks, nobody would notice it unless they happened to trip over it.
Yet the entire cultivation world feared it.
According to the original novel, the Truth Stone could reveal false identities, hidden memories and truths that even Heaven could not completely erase.
It should not have awakened for many years.
It certainly should not have summoned Luo Yanhe immediately after every sect record had declared his survival both genuine and impossible.
Chao Lun Hui found the timing personally offensive.
Shen Yan Ting : “A powerful artefact does not need to appear beautiful.”
A familiar voice came from the entrance.
Luo Yanhe turned.
Shen Yan Ting stood beneath the archive doorway, white sleeves catching the dim archive light as his pure-gold gaze moved from Luo Yanhe to the stone.
Of course he had come.
Apparently, Luo Yanhe could not spend one peaceful night with a suspicious ancient object without his master appearing.
Luo Yanhe : “Master.”
Shen Yan Ting approached the platform.
Luo Yanhe : “Why are you here?”
Shen Yan Ting : “I should ask you that.”
Luo Yanhe smiled.
Luo Yanhe : “This disciple was invited.”
Shen Yan Ting : “By whom?”
The elder immediately pointed towards the Truth Stone.
Luo Yanhe looked at the stone.
Then he looked at Shen Yan Ting.
Then he looked back at the stone.
Luo Yanhe : “This disciple was invited by a rock.”
A pause followed.
Shen Yan Ting : “That is a new experience.”
The elder looked deeply offended.
Elder Guard : “It is not merely a rock.”
Luo Yanhe : “This disciple apologises.”
He bowed politely towards the Truth Stone.
Luo Yanhe : “This disciple will remember to show greater respect towards mysterious objects that summon people in the middle of the night.”
Shen Yan Ting regarded him.
Shen Yan Ting : “You are mocking the artefact.”
Luo Yanhe : “This disciple is not.”
Shen Yan Ting : “You are.”
Luo Yanhe : “This disciple is appreciating its personality.”
Shen Yan Ting : “Rocks do not have personalities.”
Luo Yanhe studied the stone with renewed suspicion.
Luo Yanhe : “That is exactly what a suspicious rock would want people to believe.”
The elder turned away.
There were limits to what a cultivator could witness while preserving his respect for the sect.
Shen Yan Ting closed his eyes for a moment.
A quiet sigh escaped him.
Luo Yanhe noticed.
That tiny reaction had never appeared in the novel.
The book had shown Shen Yan Ting through battles, decisions and consequences, but rarely through moments small enough to reveal the man beneath the title.
The living Shen Yan Ting was still controlled and difficult to read.
He was also capable of regretting his decision to accept one particular disciple.
Shen Yan Ting : “Place your hand on it.”
Luo Yanhe’s expression became serious.
This was the reason he had come.
Every official record, spiritual instrument and cultivation test had recognised him as the genuine Luo Yanhe.
There had been no foreign soul contamination, no possession residue and no rejection from the body.
Only Chao Lun Hui remembered being Chao Lun Hui.
If the Truth Stone could expose false identities, perhaps it could explain why this world accepted him more easily than he accepted himself.
Luo Yanhe slowly placed his palm against the rough surface.
Nothing happened.
He waited.
The stone remained silent.
Luo Yanhe blinked.
Luo Yanhe : “That is all?”
The elder stepped closer, his irritation giving way to confusion.
Luo Yanhe : “No reaction?”
He turned towards Shen Yan Ting.
Luo Yanhe : “Master.”
Shen Yan Ting : “Hm?”
Luo Yanhe : “Are we certain this artefact is not broken?”
Suddenly, the entire archive shook.
A violent wave of spiritual energy burst from the Truth Stone.
Ancient seals across the shelves flared to life, and blinding white light flooded the chamber.
Luo Yanhe stepped backwards.
He was too late.
A band of spiritual force wrapped around his wrist and dragged his hand firmly against the stone.
Shen Yan Ting moved at once.
His hand closed around Luo Yanhe’s forearm while his other hand formed a seal aimed at the artefact.
Shen Yan Ting : “Release him.”
The Truth Stone ignored the command.
Naturally, ancient artefacts had apparently survived for thousands of years without developing manners.
Pain travelled from Luo Yanhe’s wrist into his damaged meridians.
His body reacted before Chao Lun Hui understood what was happening.
Spiritual energy redirected itself around the injured pathways, protecting his core while his free hand caught Shen Yan Ting’s sleeve.
Luo Yanhe : “Master.”
Shen Yan Ting reinforced the barrier surrounding them.
Shen Yan Ting : “Stay calm.”
Luo Yanhe : “Master.”
Shen Yan Ting : “I said stay calm.”
Luo Yanhe : “Master.”
Shen Yan Ting looked at him.
Shen Yan Ting : “What?”
Luo Yanhe : “This disciple believes the artefact has terrible communication skills.”
Shen Yan Ting stared at him.
Even while being restrained by a forbidden artefact, Luo Yanhe had found time to complain.
Whether this represented courage or a medical concern remained unclear.
The white light Intensified.
Then the Truth Stone reacted to Shen Yan Ting.
The moment his spiritual energy entered Luo Yanhe’s arm, gold spread through the chamber.
The ancient markings across the stone shifted, separating into two interlocking patterns.
One recognised Luo Yanhe.
The other recognised Shen Yan Ting.
The elder’s face lost colour.
His unease deepened rather than fading.
An ancient artefact responding to Luo Yanhe did not prove that the disciple was innocent, trustworthy or harmless.
It only proved that he was connected to a forgotten truth powerful enough to awaken the stone.
The archive disappeared.
Luo Yanhe no longer felt the platform beneath his feet.
He stood upon a ruined battlefield.
Fire moved across broken earth while snow fell through smoke without melting.
The sky had been torn apart by violent streams of spiritual energy.
Broken swords and shattered formations covered the ground, but there were no armies left to explain what had happened.
A younger boy, who looked like Shen Yan Ting stood among the ruins.
His face was unmistakable, though his white robes were torn and his long black hair had escaped its crown.
Pain filled his golden eyes, deep enough that Luo Yanhe could not understand how he remained standing.
Beside him stood a child.
The boy had long black hair and dark clothing.
His face remained unclear, blurring whenever Luo Yanhe tried to focus upon it.
Chao Lun Hui did not recognise him.
Luo Yanhe’s body did.
Grief struck without warning.
His chest tightened, and his hand lifted towards the child before Chao Lun Hui decided to move.
The need to reach him felt immediate, protective and painfully familiar.
Yet there was no memory behind it.
No name or explanation.
The Truth Stone recognised Luo Yanhe and Shen Yan Ting, but Chao Lun Hui understood nothing it showed him.
The child turned towards them.
The vision collapsed before his face became clear.
The forbidden archive returned.
Luo Yanhe stumbled as the spiritual force released him.
Shen Yan Ting kept hold of his arm, preventing him from striking the stone platform.
The Truth Stone lost its light and became ordinary again, as though it had not just opened a piece of forgotten history.
The elder remained near the doorway, pale and silent.
Shen Yan Ting released Luo Yanhe slowly.
His usual control had not vanished, but one hand remained rigid at his side.
His gaze stayed fixed on the Truth Stone, and his expression carried a disturbance too sharp to conceal completely.
Luo Yanhe : “Master?”
Shen Yan Ting did not answer.
Luo Yanhe studied him.
Luo Yanhe : “Shen Yan Ting.”
Hearing his own name instead of his title pulled Shen Yan Ting’s attention away from the stone.
His golden eyes met Luo Yanhe’s.
Recognition seemed to pass through them, followed by pain without any memory to explain its source.
Shen Yan Ting : “You should rest.”
He turned away.
Luo Yanhe frowned.
Luo Yanhe : “Master saw the vision too.”
Shen Yan Ting stopped.
Luo Yanhe : “Who was the child?”
Shen Yan Ting’s fingers tightened once against his sleeve.
Shen Yan Ting : “I do not know.”
The answer sounded genuine.
That was more troubling than a refusal.
Later that night, Luo Yanhe sat beside the window of his room, watching moonlight settle across the courtyard.
He had expected the Truth Stone to expose Chao Lun Hui as an intruder.
Instead, it had recognised him as Luo Yanhe and shown him a memory his mind had never possessed.
Why did Luo Yanhe’s body, history and artefacts respond to him?
Why had grief reached him before understanding?
When sleep finally came, it brought snow.
A black-haired child stood beyond the falling white, too distant for Luo Yanhe to see his face.
A voice called through the dream with aching familiarity.
Unknown Beautiful Boy : “Yanhe…”
Luo Yanhe woke with one hand extended towards the empty room.
Nobody in his modern life had called him that.
Chao Lun Hui should have heard a stranger’s name.
His body had heard someone it had been waiting for.
Far across Azure Cloud Sect, Shen Yan Ting stood alone before the dormant Truth Stone.
His fingers rested against its rough surface, but the artefact offered him no second vision.
His lips moved before he consciously formed the name.
Shen Yan Ting : “Luo Yanhe…”
The stone remained silent.
The feeling it had awakened did not.
The chapter has now been updated to the latest revised version.
I truly appreciate everyone who waited and continued supporting this story while I worked on improving it.
I hope this updated version gives you a smoother and more enjoyable reading experience.
Thank you for staying with me.
Happy reading!