Chapter 193: Vanished Completely

As the golden light gradually faded, Cabinet Elder Yan brushed off his lapels and stood up; his originally gray hair and beard now shimmered with a gilded luster. He looked toward the dazed Lin Yu and smiled, "Thanks to you, this hot-headed youth, I managed to break through that final barrier of life and death."

"This is..." Before Lin Yu could finish his sentence, the old man raised a hand to stop him.

"Your grandfather took the eighteen War Gods of the Qin family and rushed to Tianyuan three months ago." Cabinet Elder Yan looked up toward a void in the dome, his expression as solemn as iron, "Those bastards from the Tongtian Pavilion tore open the Gui Xu barrier; now, beyond the Nine Heavens..."

He suddenly fell silent, his golden-tipped fingers gently tapping the young man's forehead: "There are some things that are safer for you not to know."

Yan Nanshan slammed his bronze pipe onto the side table, causing the bamboo slips of the *Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon* on the wall to rustle: "Do you think the Tongtian Pavilion's targeting of Huaxia medical arts is merely a dispute between schools? Their true scheme is to restart the Kunlun Heavenly Ladder."

Lin Yu looked at the ginkgo leaves drifting outside the window and suddenly remembered the yellowed *Classic of Mountains and Seas* in his master's study. The legend of Emperor Zhuanxu cutting off the communication between heaven and earth four thousand years ago now became indistinguishable from reality amidst the swirling tea smoke.

The sound of electric currents at a special frequency vibrated in the air, and thirty-seven satellite surveillance feeds synchronized in orbit flashed across the holographic projection.

Yan Nanshan's fingers, covered in calluses from holding guns, swiped across the tactical tablet; twelve Xuan Niao-20 VTOL fighter jets were standing by above the cloud layer.

"High-dimensional energy fluctuations detected at the 23 o'clock position." A warning suddenly came through the encrypted channel.

A stream of ghostly blue data flashed across the old general's prosthetic eye, and the shrapnel left over from the Huaihai Campaign deep in his skull throbbed with pain.

The titanium-tungsten alloy box projected a holographic star map in Lin Yu's palm, where the Ankh symbol and the He Tu Luo Shu overlapped and flickered.

When he touched the surface of the box, an Ouroboros tattoo identical to Xu Jianhua's suddenly appeared on his left arm—a mark that had appeared inexplicably after the Shennongjia plane crash three years ago.

Xu Jianhua took off his white coat, revealing the inscription "Valiant Old Qin" engraved on his mechanical prosthetic limb. This usually gentle National Medical Saint now had cold light, like that of a quantum computer, dancing in his eyes: "Do you know why we chose to act on the day of the Awakening of Insects?"

Images from twenty-three years ago suddenly flooded into Lin Yu's consciousness: the antimatter reactor at the bottom of the Crescent Moon Spring in Dunhuang, the bronze giant gate in the Lop Nur sandstorm, and those star coordinates that always appeared in his midnight dreams...

When the 108th fighter jet rose vertically into the ionosphere, the compasses across the entire North China region began to spin wildly. Yan Nanshan's voice came directly through the bone-conduction chip: "Remember, the true battlefield has never been in three-dimensional space."

Lin Yu gripped the box tightly, and from within came the resonance of the Nine Tripods cast by Dayu during his flood control four thousand years ago.

At this moment, he finally understood that the DNA double helix intertwined in the *Fuxi Nuwa Intertwined Figure* in his master's study fit perfectly with the star map inside the box.

A hoarse voice came from the communicator: "The blood the Zhang family shed for the Azure Dragon Project... is already enough."

"Shut up!" Zhang Tianhua slammed his fist onto the console, causing the metal surface to dent instantly, "I should have slaughtered those alien species with my own hands three years ago!"

A sigh came through the static: "Why do you think the General Command kept the Xuan Jia Guard you lead? Listen, on the day the Star Gate opens..."

"Understood, obeying orders." Zhang Tianhua suddenly stood at attention and gave a standard military salute to the starry sky, "The Tian Qu Legion will be victorious."

His reddened eye sockets reflected the light of the Milky Way, and the medals of merit on his military uniform trembled slightly in the night.

His smart watch suddenly vibrated, and a projection of his wife appeared, looking anxious: "Old Zhang, where are you? Mu Mu is being discharged today..."

"I'll be there right away!" The man instantly switched to a gentle tone, pulling open his tactical vest to reveal the hospital patient wristband underneath. Just as he was about to hail a hover-car, a familiar burst of laughter came from the street corner.

Wu Tai was carrying a medical kit while escorting Xuanyuan Qing back; he froze when he saw the military uniform. "Girl, go back to the lab first." He quickly pushed the girl through the automatic door, and by the time he turned around, the silly smile on his face had vanished completely.

"Madman Wu!" Zhang Tianhua pulled at his collar and approached step by step, "I heard you twisted my daughter's arm out of its socket?" Before he could finish, he suddenly lunged, his military combat techniques aiming straight for the other's throat.

Wu Tai leaned back to dodge the lethal attack and rolled three meters away, "Your 'Half-Step Crushing Fist' has regressed, Regiment Commander Zhang!" He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and suddenly turned serious: "Mu Mu's pupils showed signs of crystallization at the time; I had no choice but to use pain to stimulate her nerves."

Zhang Tianhua, who was about to pursue, stopped abruptly and pulled out the projection of his daughter's medical record: "Parasitic seed residue?"

"It's already been cleared." Wu Tai held up the surgical record, "Compared to this..." He looked toward the purple nebula looming in the night sky, "The Star Ring Defense Network can hold for seven days at most; you'd better send your family to the Underground City."

Both men reached for the pistols at their waists simultaneously; this was their habitual action when facing a crisis.

Zhang Tianhua suddenly sneered: "My brother didn't save you, a prisoner of war, in vain back then." He tossed the car keys and turned to leave, a whisper drifting in the wind: "See you in the firmament."

"See you!"

Zhang Tianhua waved his hand without looking back, and they didn't even exchange glances as they passed each other. Wu Tai's figure quickly caught up to Xuanyuan Qing in the distance, while Zhang Tianhua had already hailed a taxi and climbed inside.

Inside the consultation room of the Miaojie Zhongcaotang, Lin Yu leaned against the mahogany desk and let out a long breath.

Since the fierce battle with Gongsan Pingbalang, this was the first time he had felt a long-lost sense of relaxation.

After transferring all the rampaging True Qi in his meridians to Cabinet Elder Yan, the burning, twisting pain in his body finally subsided.

The young man, who had been tormented by disordered internal breath for several days, sat cross-legged and adjusted his breath with rhythmic breathing techniques.

Suddenly, the wooden door was slammed open, and Xuanyuan Qing rushed in with a sobbing voice: "Uncle Lin, why is there so much blood on the floor?"

"Just help me back to my room to meditate." Lin Yu forced himself to stand up, and after Xuanyuan Qing settled him, Xiao Chengzhou was already waiting outside the door.

"Pavilion Master, the entire clinic was just trapped by a mysterious energy field; your subordinate truly found it difficult to break through." The old subordinate cupped his hands in apology.

Lin Yu waved his hand weakly: "Continue to strengthen the defenses of Genyue Courtyard and Maiyi Lane, and also..."

He looked at the worried Xuanyuan Qing, "Teach her the Locking Method from the Eight Techniques of the Rong Sect."

Xiao Chengzhou understood upon hearing this. This technique could subdue an enemy without harming their life, making it perfect for the girl to defend herself. Compared to fierce fist techniques, it was indeed more suited to her pure and kind nature.

After everyone retreated, Lin Yu took out the silver-gray metal box gifted by Cabinet Elder Yan.

The cold, frosted surface felt seamless to the touch, as if it were a precision casting of some biological bone.

The young man stroked the arc-shaped structure resembling a human cranium and suddenly remembered the *Qihuang Thirteen Needles* that Xu Jianhua excelled at.

When the thirteenth silver needle was precisely inserted into the position corresponding to the Baihui acupoint, the metal box emitted a crisp mechanical clicking sound.

The dome structure, which had been seamless, unfolded one layer after another like a blooming lotus, revealing a nested micro-box and a yellowed letter inside.

"Russian nesting dolls?" Lin Yu picked up the second metal body, unable to laugh or cry, his fingertips trembling slightly with anticipation.

The truth, perhaps, was hidden within these layers of mechanisms. ===== CHAPTER 194 =====