Qi Ruming came rushing over like a gust of wind. When he saw Lin Chen studying two tokens, he immediately said,
"Little Junior Brother, are you worried about your background and family history?"
Lin Chen nodded and set the two tokens on the table. "Third Senior Brother, these tokens are very similar. Aren't you and Master worried that I might be with the Raksha Sect?"
Pfft... Hahaha...
Qi Ruming couldn't help bending over with laughter.
Only when Lin Chen's face darkened did he stop. He picked up the two tokens and explained,
"I went back and checked just now. The one we confiscated is definitely a Raksha Sect token, but yours..."
Qi Ruming waved Lin Chen's family heirloom. "Yours looks similar, but it's a completely different thing.
"Actually, before you joined the sect, we had already investigated the Lin Family, including He Yiliang's Household. We even looked into the reason your families were wiped out..."
Qi Ruming slowly lowered the token, his eyes filled with helplessness. "In the end, every lead went dead. Even the people investigating either died for no reason or disappeared."
Lin Chen took a deep breath. "If the Raksha Sect is trying to kill me, does that mean they're involved in this?"
"I'll report this to the sect. Based on what we know so far, the Raksha Sect may be involved, but we have no direct evidence."
Qi Ruming shook his head. "Besides, that force has no fixed base, so it's hard to track down. Let's leave that aside for now and look at the Iron Box."
As he spoke, Qi Ruming took out the Iron Box he'd carried away earlier and set it before Lin Chen.
Right in front of Lin Chen, he pressed down on the bottom of the box, then pressed the eyes in the Dragon-Phoenix Pattern on top.
Suddenly, he let out a loud shout, startling Lin Chen.
Lin Chen saw a powerful force of vital energy surge into the Iron Box.
Then, the lines etched into the Iron Box lit up with a red glow.
Click, click...
The sound of mechanisms turning came from inside the Iron Box.
Lin Chen noticed Qi Ruming's face gradually paling, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.
The process was clearly taking a heavy toll on him.
Fortunately, the state only lasted a few minutes before the Iron Box let out a resonant hum.
Then, dazzling white light poured out.
When the light faded, a strange, black object lay before them.
"What is this?"
Lin Chen stared at it for a long time, but still couldn't make out what it was.
Qi Ruming wiped away his sweat, a delighted smile spreading across his face.
"Little Junior Brother, if I'm not mistaken, this should be a component. What about those other two boxes you have?"
Seeing the excitement and fervor in Qi Ruming's eyes, Lin Chen immediately took out the other two Iron Boxes.
They activated them the same way.
Soon, they had three different components.
The more Lin Chen looked at them, the more confused he became.
Qi Ruming, however, grew more and more excited. He turned the three objects over and over, his fervor practically spilling from his eyes.
"Little Junior Brother, this is undoubtedly an extraordinary creation."
He muttered to himself, "There should be other components, too. If we could assemble the whole thing... Little Junior Brother."
Qi Ruming suddenly looked up at him. "Your family's massacre might have been because of this."
Lin Chen nodded.
Perhaps finding the other Iron Boxes was the only way to solve the mystery of the massacre.
But that raised another question: what were the Token, Hairpin, and Small Mirror?
They definitely weren't ordinary objects.
"Little Junior Brother, could I borrow these three components to study them? I haven't figured out the inner layers yet. I think there might be more to them..."
Qi Ruming looked a little embarrassed. As he spoke, he kept rubbing his hands together. "I know this is a bit presumptuous. After all, they're yours..."
"Go ahead and take them, Third Senior Brother. You're helping me unlock this secret and uncover the truth. I couldn't be more grateful—why would I think you were being presumptuous?"
Lin Chen hurriedly cut him off.
He meant it.
In his hands, the Iron Boxes were just Iron Boxes.
But Qi Ruming was a blacksmith who had devoted himself to this craft. He was surely better at it than Lin Chen.
If he could really uncover the secret, Lin Chen would have to thank him.
"Good! Don't worry, Little Junior Brother. I'll figure out what's inside. Perhaps it'll be of some help to you."
The two chatted for a while longer, then Qi Ruming left.
From that moment on, Lin Chen had another task: searching for the other Iron Boxes.
After a while, he took out the Small Mirror.
He said to it, "He Yiliang, your body has been brought back. What should I do with it?"
He'd asked about this before, but He Yiliang inside the mirror hadn't responded.
Today, he decided to try again.
To his surprise, the Small Mirror responded.
A hazy shadow slowly took shape. It was He Yiliang.
Lin Chen had guessed right. The Small Mirror could nurture souls.
"Lin Chen, I need you to do something for me."
He Yiliang's ethereal voice came through.
"In exchange, I can give you all my savings."
"That depends on whether your price is good enough. I've already gone above and beyond by protecting your body and nurturing your soul." Lin Chen felt no pity for him.
He Yiliang's expression froze. He hadn't expected Lin Chen to say that.
In his view, they were both in the same boat and should be working together, united in purpose.
Instead, Lin Chen was using the opportunity to demand a reward.
He was displeased, but he needed help, so he had no choice but to give in.
"I have twenty thousand Spirit Stones in savings. They're in the fourth room at the Spirit Origin Pavilion in the Outer Disciple area, in the fourth storage cabinet from the left, on the fourth row, in the fourth storage box. The mechanism's combination is four fours..."
When He Yiliang finished, Lin Chen was dumbfounded.
That many fours in a row—how deadly was that?
Ten lives wouldn't be enough to get it wrong, would they?
For a moment, Lin Chen suddenly felt a little sorry for He Yiliang.
The poor guy had obviously been set up.
"You're an Outer Elite Disciple, and that's all you've saved?" Lin Chen really didn't want to get mixed up in this bad luck.
He Yiliang was stunned again. He still wasn't satisfied?
This guy was way too greedy.
He'd only joined the sect less than a month ago. Did he even know how much twenty thousand Spirit Stones was?
"Lin Chen, twenty thousand Spirit Stones is enough to take an ordinary Outer Disciple decades to save. Even someone like you, an Inner Disciple, would need at least three or four years to save that much, wouldn't you?"
He spoke with absolute confidence, even a hint of disdain.
Without a word, Lin Chen dumped more than fifty thousand Spirit Stones onto the table.
There wasn't room for them all, and some spilled onto the floor.
He Yiliang stared, dumbfounded, his eyeballs nearly popping out.
Lin Chen snorted. He wasn't one to show off.
But this guy seemed to look down on him, so he had to put his strength on display.
"Having Spirit Stones doesn't mean everything." He Yiliang was still stubborn. "I joined two years ago and already reached the Qi Condensation Ninth Layer. You have the Five Elements Root. You probably won't ever reach my level in your lifetime..."
Qi surged from Lin Chen, whipping up a fierce gale that swept through the room.
An aura of cultivation even stronger than the Qi Condensation Ninth Layer burst forth. He Yiliang's eyes widened again.
Luckily, Ghosts didn't need to breathe. Otherwise, he really would have suffocated.
How was this possible?
Lin Chen had been in the sect less than a month, yet he'd earned more Spirit Stones than He Yiliang had in three years.
And his cultivation aura was far stronger than He Yiliang's had been in life.
What was happening?
Had the world changed?
He Yiliang felt the world spinning around him. He nearly became so angry that his soul scattered.
Seeing that, Lin Chen reined in his aura and put away the Spirit Stones before saying, "You should understand that you're the one asking me for help. Don't act like you're above me."
After giving He Yiliang a taste of his own medicine, Lin Chen finally got him to face reality. He fell silent.
Lin Chen glanced at the Small Mirror. "I'm not against working together, but you'll have to show me some sincerity."
Before you continue