Chapter 636
The Spirit Vulture is Actually a Cave Heaven Expert
Next, Lin Zhong took Jiang Xuan to the Pill Repository, the Beast Taming Pool, and the Spirit Medicine Garden—all former core resource sites of the Lin family.
The result was, without exception.
The alchemy furnace in the Danzang Building had overturned, the medicine cabinet had collapsed, and the jade bottle was shattered on the ground. All the alchemical energy had long since vanished, leaving only dust.
The beast-taming pool has dried up, the railings are broken, and the place where once spirit beasts roared is now only overgrown with weeds and withered bones.
The Spirit Medicine Garden was desolate, with its spiritual soil hardened, its restrictions broken, and its rare flowers and herbs uprooted.
Everything of value was swept away, leaving only empty houses that couldn't be moved or dismantled, and some dilapidated decorations, which slowly decayed over time.
When Jiang Xuan and Lin Zhong returned to the Hall of Cleansing Hearts, it was nearly dawn, and the darkness outside the hall was slowly fading away.
Jiang Xuan did not sit on the rosewood chair, but walked to the window of the main hall, with his back to Lin Zhong, and looked at the sky gradually turning white outside the window, as well as the ever-burning brilliant lights of the Forbidden City in the distance.
He stood there quietly, like a lifeless sculpture.
The hall was deathly silent. Only Lin Zhong's heavy, suppressed breathing and his own cold, seemingly still heartbeat could be heard.
Lin Zhong stood not far behind him, looking at the boy's slightly thin but straight back, his heart filled with anxiety and tenderness.
He regretted it; he regretted taking the young master to see those places.
Those scenes were a devastating blow to a young boy who was determined to rebuild his family's fortunes! He was only fifteen years old! He had to bear such a heavy reality and despair!
"Young...Young Master..."
Lin Zhong finally couldn't hold back any longer and spoke in a hoarse voice, filled with deep apology and comfort.
"You...you shouldn't take it to heart. Those...are all things of the past. This old servant...this old servant shouldn't have brought you there. Let's...let's not fight anymore, okay? We'll guard this Cleansing Heart Peak, for as long as we can. You're still young, cultivate diligently, and you'll definitely have a bright future. Living...is more important than anything else!"
He would rather his young master give up his unrealistic desire for revenge and revival and live a peaceful life.
Time passed slowly, and the sky outside the window grew brighter and brighter.
Jiang Xuan neither turned around nor spoke.
Just as Lin Zhong thought that the young master had suffered too much shock and his mind was damaged, Jiang Xuan finally slowly turned around.
The morning light streamed in through the window, illuminating half of his face.
His face still showed no intense expression, but his deep eyes were even more unfathomable than before, like two whirlpools that could suck in one's soul.
He raised his hand and gently rubbed his brow with his fingertips. Then, a subtle, enigmatic smile slowly curved his lips.
That smile contained coldness, self-mockery, and determination, but not the collapse or despair that Lin Zhong had anticipated.
"Uncle Lin."
Jiang Xuan spoke, his voice low and hoarse from the long silence, yet exceptionally clear.
"You know what? Asking me to give up now... is more painful than killing me."
He walked to the center of the main hall, looked around at the empty, dilapidated, yet still magnificent palace, and his gaze seemed to penetrate the walls, seeing the entire looted Xixin Peak.
"When I entered the Forbidden City, someone told me that I could do whatever I wanted, and that it would be fine even if I caused a huge upheaval."
Jiang Xuan's voice was calm, yet it carried a chilling undertone that made Lin Zhong's heart tremble.
"I didn't quite understand it then. Now... I think I understand it a little better."
He turned his head and looked out the window at the rising sun that had finally broken through the clouds and was casting its golden rays upon the earth, his eyes sharp as knives.
"This Forbidden City, this Lin family, this Xixin Peak... have been silent for too long, so long that everyone thought they were dead, rotten, and could be trampled and divided at will."
Jiang Xuan spoke each word carefully, each word seemingly carrying immense weight.
"If I don't make a scene, if I don't stir up this stagnant water, if I don't drag out all those parasites hiding in the shadows, sucking blood from the corpses... the Lin family will truly have no chance of survival."
Lin Zhong trembled violently, staring blankly at the young man bathed in the morning light. At that moment, he seemed to see in Jiang Xuan the same young master Wen Jing who had decided to marry a woman of mysterious origin.
When faced with the potential trouble of Young Mistress Luo Qingxun, her unwavering and resolute determination was even more striking than that of Young Master Wenjing, displaying a coldness and ruthlessness born from hardship!
"Young Master..."
Lin Zhong's voice choked up, but this time it was from excitement and a rekindled hope.
"Alright, Uncle Lin, I'm fine."
Jiang Xuan waved his hand, his expression returning to calm.
"The Hall of Cleansing Hearts has three floors, right? Take me up there to have a look."
"Yes Yes!"
Lin Zhong quickly led the way.
The Hall of Cleansing Hearts has three floors.
The first floor is their clan council hall.
The second floor served as the study and private office of the successive heads of the family.
The third floor is a meditation room exclusively for the head of the family or the young master, where the spiritual energy is most concentrated and the space is most private.
Climb the stairs on the inside to the second floor.
The condition here is much better than on the first floor. Although it is also dusty, the furniture and furnishings are mostly intact with few signs of damage. Clearly, those people who looted back then focused on the resource warehouse and had little interest in this study, which was more symbolic than practically valuable.
The study was large, with floor-to-ceiling empty bookshelves against one wall. In the center was a large rosewood desk, which was completely empty except for a bronze lampstand that had been extinguished for who knows how many years. On the wall behind the desk hung a huge, yellowed and damaged map of the empire.
Jiang Xuan walked behind the desk and sat down in the large chair. His fingers unconsciously traced the smooth surface of the desk, feeling its cool touch.
Lin Zhong carefully took out something wrapped in gray cloth from his bosom, held it with both hands, and respectfully placed it on the desk.
“Young Master, this is… the secondary seal of the core of the Xixin Peak array used by Master Zhenshan when he was in charge of the family. The main seal should have been lost back then. This secondary seal was something I desperately hid in the chaos. Only with it in hand can we fully control the entrance and exit of Xixin Peak and part of the core defensive array.”
Jiang Xuan unwrapped the gray cloth, revealing a purple jade seal, roughly the size of a palm, its surface translucent and imbued with a purple glow. At the base of the seal were two characters, "洗心" (Xi Xin, meaning "Cleanse the Heart"), carved in ancient seal script, exuding a profound Daoist charm. It felt warm and smooth to the touch, and one could faintly sense a mysterious connection to the entire mountain peak.
Holding this jade seal means having the power to open and close the gates of Xixin Peak. From now on, without his permission, outsiders will no longer be able to enter Xixin Peak through normal channels.
This is the first, and currently the only, "token of power" he has obtained since taking over Xixin Peak.
But Jiang Xuan understood that while this jade seal could keep out outsiders, it couldn't stop internal troubles. True power ultimately comes from within.
He placed the imperial seal beside him and then took out something else from his bosom.
It was a simple yet exquisitely crafted silver hairpin. The hairpin was elegantly plain, with only a few delicate, cloud-like patterns carved at the end, shimmering with a soft, restrained silver light in the morning glow. It was given to him privately by Chief Instructor Xu Sanqi when he left the Bloodthirsty Camp. Xu Sanqi's words from that time still echoed in his ears.
"Kid, when you get to the Forbidden City, that place is too complicated. If you encounter any trouble you can't handle, take this to 'Lingjiu Residence' in the west of the city and find a girl named 'Xiao Ke.' Just tell her that Xu Sanqi sent you."
She...maybe she can help you this once.
Instructor Xiao Ke... that aloof woman in the Bloodthirsty Camp who always had a cold face and was so strict during training that she was almost inhuman, yet would secretly leave him an extra portion of medicine and food when no one was around.
Has she come to the Forbidden City too? At Lingjiu Residence?
Jiang Xuan gently stroked the cool hairpin, his gaze drifting into the distance.
This might be another possible escape route or source of assistance for him in this unfamiliar and dangerous Forbidden City, besides the vague connection with the Obsidian Sanctuary. But now is not the time to use it.
He carefully put the hairpin away, along with the purple jade seal, and stored them away.
Jiang Xuan did not close his eyes that night.
He sat behind that empty desk, watching the sky outside the window turn from dark to bright, the stars disappear, and the sun rise in the east. His thoughts were churning as he went through the known clues, the predicament he was facing, and the possible breakthroughs over and over again.
As the first rays of golden sunlight fully illuminated the summit of Xixin Peak and shone through the window onto the desk, Jiang Xuan took a deep breath and abruptly stood up.
He went down to the second floor and arrived at the main hall on the first floor. Lin Zhong was already waiting there, his eyes bloodshot, clearly having also been up all night.
"Uncle Lin, I'm going down the mountain for a bit."
Jiang Xuan said in a calm tone.
"Young master, where are you going? This old servant will accompany you..."
Lin Zhong hurriedly said.
"No need, I'll go alone. You take care of the house."
Jiang Xuan interrupted him, his gaze sweeping across the empty hall.
"Also, find some people to tidy up this place and the places we visited yesterday. It doesn't need to be fancy, but at least... it should look like a place where people can live."
"Yes, young master!"
Lin Zhong bowed and accepted the order.
Jiang Xuan said no more and stepped out of the Cleansing Heart Hall.
Outside the palace, the rising sun casts a rosy glow across the sky, bathing the entire Xixin Peak in a magnificent golden-red hue. A sea of clouds churns beneath our feet, and the distant silhouette of the Forbidden City appears exceptionally majestic and awe-inspiring in the morning light.
Standing atop this mountain of powerful clans, overlooking the landscape, one truly feels a sense of grandeur, as if "all mountains are small in comparison." Of the seventy-two mountains of powerful clans, only the most elite families in the empire are qualified to occupy them; they are symbols of power and status.
Jiang Xuan walked down the bluestone path, step by step. Originally, there was a beautifully crafted palanquin pulled by specially trained, docile yet incredibly fast "Snowmane Deer" from the summit to the teleportation array at the foot of the mountain. Unfortunately, after the massacre, even those precious spirit deer were stolen.
This plundering, leaving no stone unturned and even taking the mounts, deepened Jiang Xuan's hatred and coldness.
Reaching the bottom of the mountain, we stood before the enormous teleportation array diagram.
With a slight thought, Jiang Xuan connected with the purple jade seal in his arms. The jade seal warmed slightly, and the array diagram was immediately activated. Light flowed, and a white jade staircase constructed of pure spiritual energy extended from the array diagram, descending downwards to the fixed teleportation node leading to the ground of the Forbidden City.
Jiang Xuan descended the white jade steps one by one.
When his feet truly touched the solid ground of the Forbidden City, and the light from the white jade steps and array behind him slowly faded and disappeared, he raised his head and looked ahead.
Not far away, at the edge of the relatively secluded square where the teleportation node was located, a group of people were already waiting.
There were about seventeen or eighteen of them, all young people dressed in fine clothes, both men and women, ranging in age from fifteen or sixteen to their early twenties.
They gathered together, each with a different expression. Some paced impatiently, some crossed their arms and sneered, while others whispered among themselves, their eyes occasionally glancing toward the teleportation node.
When they saw that only Jiang Xuan, a lone young man, had walked out, several undisguised sneers and whispers immediately rose from the crowd.
"Ha, I thought it would be something big, is that all?"
"A little brat? Sister Yu Jiao was beaten by him? You must be kidding me?"
"He doesn't look anything special. He has fair and delicate skin. Is Lin Zhong, that old senile man, mistaken for someone else?"
"Hey! Kid! Was it you who caused trouble on Xixin Peak last night and beat up Yu Jiao?"
A young man wearing a brocade blue robe, with slightly dark circles under his eyes, stepped forward, pointed at Jiang Xuan, and shouted in a nonchalant manner.
"If you know what's good for you, come over here, kowtow and admit your mistake, and chop off the hand that hit you. Then I might consider letting you suffer less!"
The crowd burst into laughter, the atmosphere filled with disdain.
Jiang Xuan calmly swept his gaze over the group of people.
Their cultivation levels varied, but were generally not high, mostly in the early to mid-stages of the Spirit Stream Realm, with a few reaching the late stage. The loudest ones had shifty eyes and unsteady steps, clearly spoiled brats whose bodies had been weakened by wine and women.
Lin Yujiao, whom he had taught a lesson last night, was also standing in the crowd. Half of her face was still swollen. She was staring at him with extremely resentful eyes, but she seemed to be somewhat afraid and was hiding behind others.
Jiang Xuan noticed that despite their loud shouting, not a single person actually dared to rush up and make a move.
Their gazes would occasionally drift toward a man standing at the very front of the crowd.
He was a young man of about twenty years old, dressed in a light yellow outfit. He was tall and straight, with sword-like eyebrows, a high nose, and thin lips that were pressed into a straight line.
His eyes were bright and sharp, like those of a hawk. Standing there quietly, he naturally exuded a calm aura unlike the other纨绔 (wán kù, spoiled young men) around him. His cultivation had reached the early stage of the Heavenly Gang Realm! Among this group of people, he stood out like a crane among chickens.
"The Heavenly Gang Realm... among the Lin family's collateral branches, not all of them are useless."
Jiang Xuan thought to himself.
Seemingly sensing Jiang Xuan's gaze, the man in yellow also met his gaze. Their eyes met in mid-air, as if invisible sparks were flying.
"Brother Yingzhen! It was him! He's the one who hit me last night! He even spouted nonsense, saying he wanted to take over Xixin Peak!"
Upon seeing the man in yellow, Lin Yujiao seemed to have found her pillar of support. She immediately shrieked, pointing at Jiang Xuan with a face full of grievance and hatred.
The man in yellow, Lin Yingzhen, raised his hand, signaling Lin Yujiao to shut up.
He took two steps forward, stopped about ten feet in front of Jiang Xuan, and looked Jiang Xuan up and down with sharp eyes, as if he wanted to see through him inside and out.
"You are Jiang Xuan?"
Lin Yingzhen spoke, his voice not loud, but carrying an undeniable authority. (End of Chapter)