Chapter 261: How did he die?

At night, the moon was bright and the stars sparse.

In a remote mountain range, Yu Lin stood with his hands behind his back, gazing calmly at the deep valley ahead. Behind him, Dragon Lord, Qi Lin, and Bai Hu stared at each other, the atmosphere subtle.

Looking closely, Dragon Lord had a big bump swelling on his head, conspicuous in the moonlight; Qi Lin and Bai Hu were bruised and swollen, looking miserable.

Well, the bump on Dragon Lord's head was something Yu Lin knocked out casually.

The injuries on Qi Lin and Bai Hu's faces came from Dragon Lord, who, after being struck, flew into a rage and took it out on them.

And the three of them ended up bruised all over from fighting each other in a melee, their 'sparring' the result.

Hey, brothers, hold nothing back—anyway, you can't kill each other.

Yu Lin paid no heed to the grudges of those three behind him, striding straight into the valley's depths.

Inside the valley, mist swirled and strange rocks jutted out.

Yu Lin carefully sensed around, his gaze finally locking onto a cave entrance half-hidden by vines. Without hesitation, he headed straight for it.

The entrance was initially extremely narrow; after he widened it with his fists, just enough for a person to pass, he walked several hundred steps on—yet saw no trace.

But Yu Lin's divine sense clearly told him that deep within the mountain rock, there indeed lay a hidden aura, sharing the same origin as those three behind him.

He stopped, thought for a moment, and felt that proceeding step by step was too inefficient.

So he turned around decisively and headed back the way he came.

Dragon Lord, who had been guarding outside the valley, saw him come out so quickly, his face—still bearing the bump—showing surprise.

"Found it?"

Yu Lin shook his head: "No."

Dragon Lord grew more puzzled: "Then why did you come out?"

"I plan to split this mountain open and take a look."

…….. Just do whatever makes you happy.

"Then I'll make my move."

Yu Lin's body shifted slightly, and he already hovered lightly in the night sky, his robes fluttering in the fierce mountain wind.

With a casual gesture, Chi Xiao at his waist let out a clear dragon's cry, leapt from its sheath, and landed steadily in his palm.

The next moment, he raised his hand and swung the sword.

The motion seemed casual, yet a tremendous scarlet sword aura roared forth!

The sword aura swelled against the wind, instantly becoming a scarlet rainbow spanning heaven and earth; its blazing light dyed half the night sky like blood, turning darkness into a red sky!

Within a hundred miles, birds and beasts fell silent, all things lost their voice.

A Qi practitioner who saw it was greatly startled, secretly wondering which exalted master or immortal was dueling here!

The sword aura fell like the Milky Way pouring from the nine heavens, violently slashing onto that towering mountain!

There was no deafening boom, only a heart‑pounding tearing sound, as if space itself were being ripped apart— a soft 'hiss'.

Only to see the mountain, as if sliced by an invisible giant blade like tofu, a smooth, mirror‑like great crack appeared from its central axis and swiftly spread downward—rock shattered, and dust had not even risen before being obliterated by the fierce sword intent.

In the span of a breath, the whole mountain was split in two, revealing rugged inner strata and a deep cross‑section, as if the earth had opened a black giant eye!

Yu Lin fixed his gaze on the spot where he had originally sensed the aura of the Qingzhou Cauldron, his brow slightly furrowed:

"Strange."

Within the split mountain's interior lay nothing at all—not even a trace of the cauldron, nor any abnormal fluctuation; it was as if all his earlier sensations had been an illusory phantom!

He also couldn't be bothered to calculate further, and simply raised his right hand.

The Glove appeared, faint light flowing, and a vast, star‑sea‑like wisdom aura spread out.

"Take a look—where is the Qingzhou Cauldron?" Yu Lin ordered.

"Yes." The Glove responded, its patterns seeming to come alive, its perception piercing material barriers to scan the void.

In almost an instant, the answer became clear:

"Master, the target location contains an extremely concealed void chaotic flow. Inside the flow lies a fragment of space."

"The aura of the Qingzhou Cauldron originates from there; it has fallen into that space fragment."

"I see." Yu Lin nodded:

"Well, let's go back."

The Glove's light withdrew, its wisdom state deactivated, and it silently hid within his hands.

Yu Lin hesitated no longer, his form turning into a stream of light that shot straight toward the center of the empty mountain rift.

Just as he touched that space, an invisible spatial ripple spread like water rings; his figure flickered once and then vanished completely.

Below, Dragon Lord, Qi Lin, and Bai Hu, seeing this, forgot their squabble and hurried after him.

Passing through that unstable spatial barrier, the surrounding void chaotic flow was flung behind them. Suddenly the view opened up—it was another world entirely.

Inside this space fragment, the area was roughly as broad as a small town.

What is astonishing is that it is not empty, but a self‑contained world: above hangs a radiant great sun emitting light and heat; below lie continuous mountains, winding rivers, lush vegetation, and even small beasts frolicking in the woods—a complete, miniature ecosystem.

Yu Lin stood atop a hill, his gaze like lightning; he did not linger on this world's wonders, but fixed his eyes on the source of light and heat in the heavens—the great sun.

"Is the Qingzhou Cauldron transformed into that? Could it be that the Qingzhou Cauldron actually represents the Golden Crow?" A flicker of speculation crossed his mind, though he hesitated little: "Let's take it first and talk later."

With a thought, his body turned into a stream of light, shooting upward against space straight at that "sun".

The closer he got, the more he could feel the terrifying heat, enough to melt metal.

Yu Lin's body flowed with pure light, an invisible barrier forming naturally to shut out the scorching heat capable of burning mountains and boiling seas.

He passed unhindered through the blazing flame layer and came straight to the core.

There stood an ancient‑looking bronze cauldron, hovering motionless at the light‑core's center, its inscriptions flowing—clearly something extraordinary.

It was the Qingzhou Cauldron!

Yu Lin raised his hand and pressed it against the cauldron's body.

Just as his palm touched the cauldron's body——

"Hum!"

A dazzling golden radiance spread out like water ripples in an instant, sweeping across the entire small world!

After the light, a clear, resonant cry rang out; a golden light shot up from the cauldron, unfurling in the air and transforming into a magnificent three-legged Jin Wu, its whole body ablaze with golden flames!

That Jin Wu flapped its fiery wings, its golden eyes filled with the dazed confusion of just waking and a hint of displeasure at being disturbed; it looked around, then landed on Yu Lin, speaking in human voice, shouting:

"Who dares disturb my peace!"

Just then, Dragon Lord, the Qilin, and the White Tiger also came through the spatial entrance noisily, flying up close.

The Jin Wu spotted them at once, especially Dragon Lord with a big bump on his head, and instantly widened its bird eyes in surprise:

"Long Ge? Qilin? White Tiger? How did you guys come here?!"

Dragon Lord stepped forward: "This is a long story……"

It briefly explained how they had followed Yu Lin and the general situation outside.

After listening, the Jin Wu blinked its eyes, thus understanding the situation.

It was straightforward, directly bowing to Yu Lin as its master.

The matter was settled smoothly; just as Yu Lin was about to leave with the new member, the Jin Wu turned back to look at the small world it had guarded for countless ages, a hint of reluctance in its eyes, and turned its head to say to Yu Lin:

"Yu Lin, if I leave, this place……"

Yu Lin raised his hand, cutting off its words, and said understandingly:

"No need to say, I understand."

He then pointed his fingers together like a sword, vast magical power surging through his body, endless fire-attribute energy gathering from the void!

Only see his fingertip spark a thread of pure, ultimate primal fire; as he activated his spell, the flame rapidly expanded, condensed, and sublimated… ultimately, he actually recreated a new sun of comparable scale!

This newly born "sun" may not contain the infinite creative power of the true Great Sun, but its light and heat are sufficient to maintain the ecological balance of this small world, allowing it to continue operating until one day this spatial fragment naturally merges with the main world.

The Jin Wu looked at the newly born "sun", feeling the stable and abundant fire-attribute energy within it, and the last trace of worry in its eyes dissipated.

"All right! Thanks!"

"You're welcome."

Yu Lin swept his sleeve, and together with the newly acquired Jin Wu and Dragon Lord's trio, they turned into several streams of light, racing toward the exit of this small world.

However.

At the moment Yu Lin emerged, he frowned slightly and whispered:

Huh? How did Dong Yong die?