Opportunity…
Yu Songnian silently looked at the Bloodline Casket.
Could what lay inside be his opportunity?
"Open it and take a look," Tianpo said. "The method to open a Bloodline Casket is very simple. As long as a direct blood relative of the creator drips their own blood onto the casket, it will open."
It really was very simple.
Yu Songnian took out a small blade and cut his finger. As the blood dripped down, it slowly flowed along the carved patterns.
Clearly it was only a single drop of blood, yet on the Bloodline Casket, it flowed more and more, until finally, blood filled every single groove.
With a click.
The Bloodline Casket opened.
Even Tianpo tilted his sword body slightly, curiously peering inside.
Inside the casket quietly lay a pitch-black stone.
Beside the stone was a jade slip.
Yu Songnian picked up the jade slip first.
He sent his mental power into it.
The jade slip suddenly floated into the air, and an image appeared above it.
This was...
Yun Jin cautiously glanced at third senior brother's expression and immediately understood.
This was likely third senior brother's father, the former Patriarch Yu.
"Father," Yu Songnian said softly, his eyes reddening.
But he quickly realized that this was only an image, and he looked toward Yun Jin somewhat awkwardly.
Yun Jin turned her gaze away, pretending she had seen nothing.
The figure hovered in midair, looking gently forward, "Songnian, when you open this casket, I am most likely already gone. I am very sorry that I couldn't accompany you longer, but I truly had no other choice."
The figure sighed, "You most likely still don't know about your origins. Your mother actually wasn't a human, but rather a Foreign Race who fled from the Extreme South: the Stone Clan. They believe in the power of spirit stones, using special stones to temper their bodies. Normally, they appear no different from humans, but once their bloodline is activated, they enter a petrified state, and all their abilities are greatly enhanced."
"So it really is Stonefolk," Tianpo nodded in satisfaction.
He truly was an ordinary yet outstanding naming genius.
"Many years ago, internal conflict erupted among the Foreign Races. Some fled into the Central Plains, hiding their identities and living like humans. Your mother and I met and fell in love under such circumstances, and then you were born."
"But we never imagined that the conflict between different bloodlines would manifest such disastrous consequences within your body. Originally, when you were born, you would have turned into stone and never awakened. It was your mother who exhausted all her energy to suppress the Foreign Race bloodline, allowing you to survive. In your memories, your mother probably always seemed frail and sickly, didn't she? In truth, it was because she continuously used her own origin power to nurture your meridians and suppress your bloodline."
Yu Songnian was dazed.
So.
His mother wasn't actually ill…
She had grown that weak entirely because of him.
"I'm not afraid of you resenting me. I loved your mother deeply, and I once urged her to stop doing this. Because as long as your bloodline conflict remained unresolved, suppression like this would only be temporary. One day, you would still become permanently petrified. By then, I would lose both of you. I was selfish, so I wanted to keep your mother."
The figure sighed again, "But your mother refused. She always believed that your condition was her fault. No matter what, she was determined to protect you. And so the days passed. Eventually, your mother exhausted her origin energy and could no longer hold on. Before she passed away, she left behind her natal spirit stone, which is the one inside this Bloodline Casket. Your mother was of Stone Clan royal blood. This stone is the Stone Clan Royal Stone. It contains terrifying power. Even after possessing it for many years, your mother only managed to glimpse a fraction of that power."
"She said that once you reached Fusion Stage, you could incorporate the Royal Stone into your body. At that time, you might be able to completely merge the two bloodlines and eliminate the aftereffects."
"But with your condition, reaching Fusion Stage would be extremely difficult." The figure showed a despairing expression. "After losing your mother, I desperately tried to keep you alive. Over the years, I thought of countless methods and fed you innumerable heavenly treasures. But… in the end, your condition could no longer be suppressed. You began petrifying more and more frequently, and the intervals grew shorter. I knew that if this continued, I would lose you as well!"
"Recently, I learned of a piece of treasure emerging in the mountains near Lin City. That treasure radiated brilliant light and astonishing spiritual power. Many cultivators went to explore it, yet none returned alive."
"If I could obtain that treasure, perhaps I could suppress your bloodline for a few more years. So I decided to go retrieve it. This journey was fraught with danger. I might not survive. If I succeeded, then we father and son would still have a few more years together. If I failed…"
The figure smiled, "Then I would go see her underneath."
After speaking, the figure fell silent for a long while.
After a long while, he quietly looked ahead with an indescribable gaze.
There was no one there, but everyone knew whom he was looking at, it'sYu Songnian.
"There was a time when I resented you," the figure said softly. "If you had never been born, your mother wouldn't have died."
Yu Songnian's body trembled slightly.
Then the figure suddenly smiled, "But your mother loved you more than life. I loved your mother more than life. So I love you more than life as well. Songnian, no matter what, live well. As long as you are alive, there is hope."
The figure's voice grew softer and softer, until it completely disappeared.
The room once again returned to silence.
Yu Songnian quietly looked at the black stone, then carefully picked it up.
The Royal Stone.
This was the only thing his mother had left him.
Yun Jin sighed softly.
Yet her heart was filled with worry.
The Royal Stone might solve Third Senior Brother's problem, but it required Fusion Stage to use.
With his current condition, how could Third Senior Brother possibly cultivate to Fusion Stage?
This matter seemed like a dead end.
Tianpo, however, chuckled, "Human and Foreign Race bloodlines coexisting. This kid is rather interesting. Little Master, you need not worry too much. With me around, I can protect him for three years. Once the Wushuang Sect secret treasury is opened and its manuals retrieved, perhaps we can find a bloodline fusion method. Even if it cannot fully resolve the issue, it should at least somewhat suppress it. If he can hold on until Fusion Stage, this kid will truly soar."
Yun Jin's eyes lit up, "Senior, does the Wushuang Sect secret treasury truly contain such manuals?"
Tianpo snorted, full of pride, "What manuals does Wushuang Sect lack? Just wait and see. I guarantee you'll be left speechless."
Yun Jin's curiosity was completely ignited.
In her previous life, until the story ended, there had never been any mention of Wushuang Sect. That mysterious sect had never appeared.
This time.
It was time to let everyone see the true bearing of the world's number one sect.