Chapter 3226: Aurora

Lin Waner's words also gave Ye Chen some inspiration.

He pondered for a moment, murmuring to himself: "Although Meng Changsheng sought immortality all his life, he still retained some of the seven emotions and six desires to some extent."

"When he first achieved some results, he indeed returned specially to fulfill his promise to the old ancestor of the Jiang family, only unfortunately the Jiang family old ancestor had shallow fortune and thin affinity, missing him by just a few days;"

"Later he retreated into seclusion in the Dashan Mountains, yet still could not remain detached from worldly affairs and avoid worldly turmoil; when he witnessed Senior Lin and Wu Feiyan being pursued and killed by the Qing army, he, also being Han, extended a helping hand to them;"

"Thus, his giving that ring to Senior Lin, hoping he would restore the Han dynasty, was surely not idle talk; this ring might, in his view, in that era, truly have had the potential to restore the Han dynasty; otherwise, if it only had a single emergency teleport function, how could it overcome the Qing court's millions of troops."

Speaking of this, he asked Lin Waner: "Miss Lin, what other hidden abilities do you think this ring might have?"

Lin Waner said: "I dare not speak of other things, but the formula for the Hundred Revolutions Thousand Returns Pill likely relates to that ring; Wu Feiyan's greatest motivation for obtaining it is to get the formula for the Hundred Revolutions Thousand Returns Pill, to open her next five hundred years."

Ye Chen nodded and smacked his lips: "Perhaps it is still a treasure containing an offensive formation, but my strength is insufficient, so I have not yet discovered this aspect."

As he spoke, Ye Chen held the steering wheel with one hand and pulled the ring from his pocket with the other, pinching it at his fingertip, puzzled: "When Meng Changsheng gave the ring to Senior Lin, the Qing army had already swept across the Central Plains; if he truly believed this thing could help Senior Lin restore the Han dynasty, then it must possess the power to withstand a million troops..."

Ye Chen suddenly felt a surge of longing.

If this speculation is true, then this ring ought to be a divine artifact.

Of course, the ability for extreme teleportation is indeed strong, but this seems more like a passive defensive life-saving skill; relying on such passive ability to overthrow the Qing dynasty in that era would likely require dying at least tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of times.

Moreover, this function of the ring cannot be used endlessly; after each use, it requires a large infusion of spiritual energy; if not for my ample supply of pills, I would probably still be half-dead from injuries, unable to recover myself, let alone restore the ring—just a fool's dream.

Therefore, if the ring only has this ability, Meng Changsheng giving it to Lin Zhuolu to let him go out and restore the Han dynasty alone is as absurd as in Journey to the West, when the Nine-Headed Worm tells Benbo'erba to go kill Tang Seng and his disciples.

At this moment, Lin Waner asked Ye Chen: "Young Master, you have been pouring spiritual energy into it all along; have you ever tested how much spiritual energy it can actually hold?"

Ye Chen shook his head, self-mocking: "Who would dare keep testing it... Every attempt drains almost all my spiritual energy in a short time; I replenish it with Yuanyuan Pills, yet it instantly sucks it dry again; after several repetitions, it still shows no sign of stopping; it feels like no amount of spiritual energy is enough to fill its demand, like a bottomless pit; my Yuanyuan Pills are limited, so I have never dared to try."

Lin Waner nodded slightly in understanding: "Spiritual energy is exceedingly precious; if such endless trials were truly the case, it would indeed be heartbreaking."

As she spoke, she added: "But Young Master, this ring has saved your life before; if you had not poured spiritual energy into it initially, it might not have played a decisive role at the critical moment; thus I believe that even if you increase your investment in this ring, you will surely reap its rewards in the future; it saved you once, and will certainly not disappoint you."

Ye Chen nodded slightly and said: "After returning to Huaxia, I will take time to refine another batch of Yuanyuan Pills; then I will go all in, using an entire furnace of Yuanyuan Pills, to see what effects it truly has."

……

The vehicle drove for nearly ten hours through the night in Northern Europe, and after less than two hours of daylight, it quickly turned into that extreme, ethereal darkness again.

For convenience, the two decided that upon arriving at Ling'en, they would go directly to the Northern European royal family's vacation villa.

The Northern European royal family's vacation villa is built on the gentle slope of the mountain peak in the northern hills of Ling'en, with a small path leading straight down to the foot of the mountain, where the way forward is blocked by an iron fence gate.

Ye Chen took out the key given to him by the Northern European royal steward, got out of the car, opened the iron fence gate, and then drove up the winding mountain road.

The mountains here are neither high nor steep; on the contrary, they resemble an upturned bowl of rice placed on a tabletop—not only is the terrain very gentle, but the lines are also very soft.

This vacation villa of the Northern European royal family is a very ancient and elegant wooden structure; the house is large, with nine bedrooms, and the living room, study, and dining room are all complete, capable of accommodating at least twenty to thirty people living here.

Ye Chen and Lin Waner parked their car at the villa's entrance, used the key to open the door; although no one has lived here for a long time, the royal family has staff regularly coming to ventilate and clean, so the rooms are spotlessly clean; moreover, the weather here is relatively dry, so there is no peculiar smell in the rooms.

In the center of the spacious living room stands a real wood-burning fireplace, different from the fireplaces in cities that people use merely as a decorative element; here, the fireplace is the genuine source of heating for the house.

The mountains in winter are covered with snow, and there is also cold air coming from the north, so the weather here is also very cold; Ye Chen saw some chopped firewood beside the fireplace, took some, and lit the fireplace.

As the fireplace fire burned brighter and brighter, the cold inside the villa gradually dissipated, gradually reaching a comfortable temperature.

Lin Waner toured the layout and structure of the villa, then returned and said to Ye Chen: "Young Master, the rooms here are quite good, facilities are complete, each floor has a large suite similar to a master bedroom; if you have no objection, why not stay in the largest room on the first floor, and I will stay in the room next to yours."

Ye Chen casually said: "Leave the largest room for you; I'll just sleep in the room next to yours."

Lin Waner did not refuse either, but smiled and said to Ye Chen: "Everything as you arrange."

As she spoke, she unconsciously looked out the window and exclaimed excitedly: "Young Master, quick look! The aurora!"

Ye Chen turned his head at the sound and saw, outside the north-facing window of the villa, in not-too-distant midair, a wondrous light appearing, mainly green with colors as accents, floating in the air and constantly shifting shape, resembling exactly the ionospheric phenomenon seen by researchers; when this phenomenon spread across the heavens and earth before his eyes, that shock truly made his blood surge.

This was Ye Chen's first time seeing the aurora; beautiful and moving, it also filled him with a sense of mystery.

Lin Waner, at this moment, excitedly grabbed Ye Chen's hand and blurted out: "Young Master, let's go out and see it!"

Ye Chen came here precisely to accompany Lin Waner to see the aurora; how could he refuse? So he went out with her.

Earlier, when viewing from inside the house through the window, it was somewhat like viewing the sky from the bottom of a well; after coming out, he discovered that this suddenly appearing aurora actually stretched across the entire night sky.

Waves of twisting, flashing aurora, like a dreamy gauze curtain caught between heaven and earth, made Ye Chen look on, entranced and intoxicated.

Lin Waner could not help but sigh: "The villa lent to us by Empress Helena is truly perfect; we do not need to cross mountains and ridges, and can here observe the vast majority of the aurora up close, whereas those living down the mountain, wanting to see this aurora, find it not so easy, not only is the view blocked by the mountain, but even the qualification to go up the mountain is lacking."

Ye Chen smiled and echoed: "It seems the Northern European royal family originally bought the best spot in the country for viewing the aurora."

As he spoke, Ye Chen suddenly felt an inexplicable sharp pain in his head, with a buzzing sound, as if something had shot out from his brain; he was in the act of lowering his head to rub his temples when Lin Waner suddenly pointed at the sky and exclaimed in surprise: "Young Master, quick look... the aurora has changed!"