Huo Ru Yan shook her head and said, “There is no solution. If there were, other forces would have tried it long ago. A first-layer Martial Saint probably would not dare to carry it out casually.”
Lin Xiao felt a wave of regret, full of reluctance.
Such a supreme treasure, seized only to be discarded. This was a first for him.
“However, I do have a method. We cannot break it now, and neither can the Jiang family locate it.”
Huo Ru Yan revealed a sly smile.
“Oh?”
Lin Xiao’s eyes brightened.
“Come with me. I will first show you the two items.”
Huo Ru Yan said.
“Are they the things those Martial Saints were fighting over?”
Lin Xiao asked curiously.
Huo Ru Yan nodded and smiled. “Have you heard of the Heaven-Swallowing Spirit Emperor?”
“What? The Heaven-Swallowing Spirit Emperor?”
Lin Xiao was greatly shocked.
How could he not know the Heaven-Swallowing Spirit Emperor? He had made his fortune because of the Heaven-Swallowing Spirit Emperor.
But why was Huo Ru Yan mentioning the Heaven-Swallowing Spirit Emperor now? Could those two items be related to the Heaven-Swallowing Spirit Emperor?
“It cannot be the Heaven-Swallowing Spirit Emperor’s tokens, can it?
Impossible. Without the key, she could not have obtained them.”
Lin Xiao guessed inwardly, then dismissed his own speculation.
“It seems you have heard of the Heaven-Swallowing Spirit Emperor. Yes, the two items I obtained are relics of the Heaven-Swallowing Spirit Emperor. They are tokens he gave to his wife back then. I placed them in a certain spot. Come with me.”
Huo Ru Yan said with a proud smile.
At this moment, Huo Ru Yan bore no resemblance to a Blood Sect leader or a demonic figure. She was completely like a playful young girl.
Even after six years apart, she trusted Lin Xiao without reservation, directly revealing something as precious as the Heaven-Swallowing Spirit Emperor’s relics.
With that, she turned and flew forward, soaring towards the distant horizon.
“The Heaven-Swallowing Spirit Emperor’s tokens!”
Lin Xiao was shocked once more. It really was the Heaven-Swallowing Spirit Emperor’s tokens! But Miao Ling had said that only with the key could one obtain them.
How had Huo Ru Yan acquired them?
Immediately, Lin Xiao rose and followed her.
“Are the tokens a rouge box and a jade hairpin?”
While flying, Lin Xiao could not help asking Huo Ru Yan.
“How do you know?”
Now it was Huo Ru Yan’s turn to be greatly surprised.
Even if rumours had spread, those were ones she had deliberately released. No one else had seen them.
How could Lin Xiao know?
“I came precisely for these two items. Only along the way did I learn of your situation.”
Lin Xiao said directly.
“I see!”
Huo Ru Yan understood, then smiled charmingly. “You are not planning to rob me, are you?”
Lin Xiao was momentarily at a loss for words. If it were anyone else, he would unhesitatingly say yes.
But this was Huo Ru Yan. Robbing her made him very conflicted.
Yet he had promised Miao Ling and had to obtain the Heaven-Swallowing Spirit Emperor’s tokens.
He had received favours from the Heaven-Swallowing Spirit Emperor and help from An Miao. He could not break his promise.
Moreover, the items originally belonged to Miao Ling. By rights, she should be the one to have them.
Most importantly, without Miao Ling, no one else could open them.
“It seems you really do intend to rob me.”
Seeing Lin Xiao’s troubled expression, Huo Ru Yan laughed playfully. “How about I give you one as a token?”
“Er…” Lin Xiao felt awkward.
These were tokens the Heaven-Swallowing Spirit Emperor had given to Miao Ling, a jade hairpin and a rouge box. How could a woman give them to a man as a token?
Tokens were meant to be given from a man to a woman.
Besides, he needed both, not just one.
“You are still the same as before!”
Seeing Lin Xiao’s embarrassed look, Huo Ru Yan laughed joyfully.
Lin Xiao smiled noncommittally, then said, “What if I say I want both?”
Huo Ru Yan was slightly taken aback. “You want both?”
“There are some reasons…” Lin Xiao began to explain, but before he finished, Huo Ru Yan interrupted him decisively. “Take both. I cannot open them anyway. Keeping them would only be a hot potato.”
“Thank you. I will remember this favour.”
Lin Xiao said gratefully.
“If I ask you to promise me one thing in return, would you agree?”
Huo Ru Yan tilted her head, smiled, and asked in return. Her face held playfulness and a touch of allure.
Lin Xiao paused, feeling somewhat uneasy.
“I am teasing you. If not for you back then, I would not be here today. Let alone two items, everything I have could be yours.”
Huo Ru Yan said seriously.
“Thank you!”
Apart from thanks, Lin Xiao did not know what else to say. He felt deeply touched. Seeing Huo Ru Yan just like in the old days also made him quite happy.
Before long, the two arrived above a mountain range. This place felt extremely cold and eerie.
Just entering it made one shiver involuntarily.
“What is this place?”
Lin Xiao asked in surprise.
“Cold Glen!”
Huo Ru Yan had barely answered when, dozens of li ahead, between the mountains, a water glen emitting mist faintly appeared in Lin Xiao’s sight.
The cold glen was not large, only several zhang wide and dozens of li long.
However, the surrounding mist seemed to carry extremely cold and chilling power. Within dozens of li around it, vegetation was frozen, with no living creatures. Even the peaks near the cold glen were encased in ice.
The entire area resembled ice yet was not, resembled frost yet was not. It was a realm of deathly silence.
“Cold Demon Ridge is extremely perilous. From time to time, anomalies like cold glens, cold pools, cold floods, or cold storms appear. If touched by these anomalies, even a Martial Saint would perish.”
Huo Ru Yan explained. “Earlier, when I was nearby, this cold glen suddenly formed. The Heaven-Swallowing Spirit Emperor’s tokens were flushed out from the void by it.”
Hearing this, Lin Xiao could not help being astonished. So the Heaven-Swallowing Spirit Emperor’s tokens had been ejected by the cold glen?
No wonder Huo Ru Yan had obtained them before him. The anomalies here were too bizarre. Even the Heaven-Swallowing Spirit Emperor’s arrangements could not withstand the impact. Without the key, the two tokens had still been forced out.
“I investigated and probed for a long time before confirming they were the Heaven-Swallowing Spirit Emperor’s tokens. Later, when my breakthrough reached a critical point, I used a special blood linkage method to hide the tokens beside the cold glen and designed a plan to lure Martial Saints from various forces here.”
With that, faint blood qi emanated from Huo Ru Yan’s body, as if some special power was circulating within her.
Bang! At that moment, something suddenly burst from the ground beside the distant cold glen and flew rapidly towards them.
In a short time, a rouge box half the size of a palm and a jade hairpin the length of a finger arrived before them.
On the exterior of the box and on the hairpin, there were special blood seals.
“These are the Heaven-Swallowing Spirit Emperor’s tokens?”
Lin Xiao said in surprise as he looked at the rouge box and jade hairpin.
Bang! However, just as Lin Xiao spoke in surprise, another event occurred.
