Chapter 515 - 525: Sect Leader’s Ring

The people in these portraits were, without exception, ancestors of the Celestial Profound Sect. Their life stories were recorded beside each painting. Clearly, these individuals had been peerless masters of their generations, standing at the very pinnacle of their era—a fact made obvious by their recorded deeds.

Among them, the forty-fourth Sect Leader of the Celestial Profound Sect, Yaoyun, was particularly remarkable. He had dueled with the Pavilion Master of the Taiyi Pavilion of his time atop Ten Thousand Peaks for three days and three nights. In the end, with both sides exhausted and no clear winner, they called a truce.

’What’s this?’

Suddenly, Wen Qingye noticed the ring on Yaoyun’s finger seemed somewhat familiar. It wasn’t just Yaoyun; Yin Mo also wore one. This ring was identical to the one in Yaoyun’s portrait, which struck Wen Qingye as strangely familiar.

Wen Qingye quickly took out the ring he had obtained from the Four-Eyebrow Mountain Mine Cave from his Sumeru Mustard Seed and held it up to the portrait for comparison.

It was a perfect match!

The ring in the portrait and the one in Wen Qingye’s hand were identical. Both had the same Seven Stars, which in turn represented the Big Dipper Seven Stars Array Map.

Wen Qingye gazed at the ring in his hand, his brow furrowed as he murmured, "A ring worn by both Yin Mo and Yaoyun... Could this be the Sect Leader’s Ring of the Celestial Profound Sect?"

’A ring worn by both Yin Mo and Yaoyun. One was the twenty-third Sect Leader of the Celestial Profound Sect, and the other was the forty-fourth. If I’m not mistaken, there’s an eighty percent chance this is the Sect Leader’s Ring—a symbol of the sect’s legacy and faith.’

Qing Ruo’ai materialized as an illusion and asked curiously, "Hey, you’ve been staring at that ring forever. Is it that interesting?"

"Not at all," Wen Qingye said, putting the ring away. He looked at the empty space beside the two Sword Stones. "I need to stabilize my cultivation and see if I can break through again. You can be my Protector."

With that, he returned to the spot beside the two Sword Stones, sat down cross-legged, took out a True Essence Pill, and swallowed it.

Qing Ruo’ai rolled her eyes and mumbled, "You’ve pretty much absorbed all the remnant Primordial Spirits here already. What do you need a Protector for?"

Then she suddenly felt she had misspoken. "No, wait. Actually, it seems there are still quite a few left."

...

「Three days passed in the blink of an eye.」

Xia Qianhe had been back at the Three Realms Sect for a day. Cai Tianyuan was still recuperating from his severe injuries, while Wu Shuangying’s condition was improving rapidly.

Meanwhile, in the Three Realms Hall of the Three Realms Sect, white silk ribbons were tied all around, decorating the entire hall. The hall itself felt extremely cold, desolate, and lonely.

A red coffin rested silently in the center. Xia Qianhe gazed at it quietly, a trace of grief in his eyes.

Wu Shuangying, who had already recovered from some of her injuries, stood nearby, her lips moving as if she wanted to speak but didn’t know what to say.

"Sect Leader! Sect Leader! The White Deer Pill Monarch has arrived! He’s here!"

A loud voice came from outside the entrance, and an Elder of the Three Realms Sect, Chen Baili, rushed in.

Wu Shuangying quickly fell silent and stood aside.

As if he hadn’t heard Chen Baili, Xia Qianhe continued to stare at the coffin. He sighed heavily and said, "What’s the use? The boy is already dead."

"Sect Leader, I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something strange about the body. If he’s truly dead, even with Xia Liu’s profound cultivation, why are there no signs of decay? Furthermore, I’ve investigated this Wen Qingye, and I feel..."

TAP... TAP...

Before Chen Baili could finish, the sound of several footsteps came from outside.

Chen Baili trailed off. Xia Qianhe also raised his head slightly, looking toward the entrance of the hall.

An old man with white hair but a youthful face, dressed in white Daoist robes, slowly walked in. At his side, two handsome children of about eight or nine years old followed closely behind him.

Xia Qianhe slowly rose to his feet. He looked nervously at the man before him and said, "A-Are you... Senior White Deer Pill Monarch?"

The White Deer Pill Monarch was a legendary figure in the Eastern Profound Domain. He was exceptionally skilled in the Alchemy Dao and was a famous Pill Master throughout the entire Domain. His fame in alchemy rivaled that of Chu Qi, the Peak Master of the Celestial Profound Sect’s Danxuan Peak. However, he had been famous for much longer and his medical skills were far more profound than Chu Qi’s.

The old man’s expression was indifferent. He nodded and said, "That is correct. I am Wei Bailu. Where is this son of yours?"

"Over here, over here!" Xia Qianhe said, quickly pointing to the coffin.

"I am willing to come out of seclusion to help your Three Realms Sect this one time to repay a favor I owed you from forty years ago," the White Deer Pill Monarch said as he walked up to Xia Liu’s coffin.

BANG!

The White Deer Pill Monarch shoved the coffin lid open with a single palm strike.

Immediately after, the White Deer Pill Monarch’s eyes flashed with a sharp light as he looked at Xia Liu lying in the coffin. The next moment, he flew into a rage. "You fools! This man is already dead! Did you bring me all the way here just to make a fool of me?"

In the next instant!

A terrifying pressure, an aura like a mountain, filled the entire Three Realms Hall, pressing down on Xia Qianhe, Chen Baili, and Wu Shuangying.

Wu Shuangying, who was already severely injured, was trembling and didn’t even dare to breathe.

Chen Baili quickly said, "Your Excellency Pill Monarch, please take a closer look! Although he is dead, his body has not decayed. I feel there is something very strange about this."

The White Deer Pill Monarch frowned. He glanced at Chen Baili, then turned his gaze back to Xia Liu in the coffin.

"The body truly shows no signs of decay. Let me check his pulse."

The White Deer Pill Monarch walked up to Xia Liu and scanned his body. Then, he placed the index and middle fingers of his right hand directly on the Celestial Yang Acupoint on Xia Liu’s neck.

"No signs of life," the White Deer Pill Monarch said, shaking his head.

Xia Qianhe’s face was tense. Hearing the Pill Monarch’s words, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment.

"Wait!"

Just as the White Deer Pill Monarch was about to remove his fingers, he suddenly detected an incredibly faint, almost imperceptible wisp of airflow from the neck. His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly said to one of the children beside him, "Bring me my Nine Vein Silver Needle."

The child on the left quickly replied, "Yes, Master!"

The child took out a case of silver needles and handed it to the White Deer Pill Monarch. After taking them, the Pill Monarch immediately pulled out two needles and inserted them directly into Xia Liu’s acupoints.

HISS! HISS!

The moment the two silver needles were inserted, the skin around them immediately became bruised and swollen. Then, a large amount of blood began to seep out.

Within the blood was a faint cyan glow.

The White Deer Pill Monarch carefully examined the blood that seeped out and murmured to himself, "The blood is red, yet tinged with cyan... His Essence, Qi, and Spirit are condensed... Suspended animation?"

"Suspended animation? My son is in suspended animation?"

Hearing the White Deer Pill Monarch’s words, Xia Qianhe leaped to his feet and cried out.

Standing nearby, Wu Shuangying’s hairs stood on end when she heard this. Her eyes were wide with shock. ’Suspended animation? Is it true?’

"Let me take another look," the White Deer Pill Monarch said with a nod. He looked at Xia Qianhe and asked in a serious tone, "What exactly were your son’s injuries? Tell me everything."

Xia Qianhe quickly explained, "My son was first exposed to the Heaven-Burying Sect’s Corpse Condensing Powder, and then someone stabbed him in the Qi Sea Acupoint with a sword, causing him to fall unconscious."

"Corpse Condensing Powder?" Upon hearing this, the White Deer Pill Monarch quickly lifted Xia Liu’s clothes. A clearly visible sword scar was revealed on Xia Liu’s abdomen.