Long River Eternity

Seeing Chu Tianxiao so excited, Lin Ding was stunned for a moment, then asked: "Spiritual...spiritual energy is revived, what's wrong?"

Chu Tianxiao was about to answer, but glanced at the driver next to him, then turned around and said indifferently: "No...nothing, let's talk about it when we get home."

Lin Ding noticed Chu Tianxiao's reaction and realized that the next topic was not suitable for discussion in the car, so he changed the subject: "Are we almost there?"

"Well, turn the corner ahead and drive another one or two hundred meters and you'll be there." Chu Tian smiled and pointed ahead, with a hint of anticipation in his tone.

Soon, the taxi stopped at the foot of a six-story residential building. The three of them got out and followed Chu Tianxiao into the main entrance and up to the sixth floor.

Opening the door, Lin Ding saw an ordinary one-bedroom apartment. The living room and bedroom were connected, along with a bathroom and kitchen. While the apartment wasn't large, it was kept clean and tidy.

Chu Tianxiao asked Lin Ding and Wei Wu to wait on the sofa, then went into the bedroom to search. He soon emerged with a notebook and a stack of photos. Placing them on the table, the first photo Lin Ding saw was a picture of his parents with some cultural relics, and he was immediately struck.

He was about to take the photo, but was stopped by Chu Tianxiao: "Let's look at the photo later. First, tell me how you knew about the revival of spiritual energy."

"Do you know what's wrong with the revival of spiritual energy?" Lin Ding asked in confusion. He didn't understand why Chu Tianxiao cared so much about this topic.

Chu Tianxiao hesitated for a moment, staring at Lin Ding, and slowly said, "Your parents once mentioned the revival of spiritual energy, but they said that they found clues during the archaeological excavation in Zhongzhou City. Logically, you shouldn't know about this. If you learned about it through Dr. Lin, it means that he is hiding something from me, and then a lot of things don't make sense."

It has to be said that Chu Tianxiao is a very cautious person. Perhaps due to his professional habits as a journalist, he can often obtain useful information from other people's words.

Lin Ding heard Chu Tianxiao's doubts, thought for a moment, and smiled slightly: "The news about the revival of spiritual energy was indeed not told to me by my father. I mentioned before that we hunted a demon beast, and that demon beast invaded our city precisely because a spiritual vein appeared near our city. As a result, it and the powerful people in our city suffered heavy losses, and we eventually hunted it down. It was from it that we learned about the revival of spiritual energy."

Although he had just met Chu Tianxiao, Lin Ding did not intend to tell him about Yang An and his spiritual energy training. However, during the battles with Black Flood Dragon and Zhan Wudi, he did mention the revival of spiritual energy, so what he said was true.

When Chu Tianxiao learned that Lin Ding had learned about the resurgence of spiritual energy from the demon beasts of Nanzhou, he felt relieved, reassured that Lin Tiansheng hadn't lied to him. So, he said, "Since that's the case, I'll tell you the whole story of how I met your parents. I hope you can find the clues they left behind."

Chu Tianxiao began to recount the scene from the first time he met Lin Tiansheng and his wife, until their disappearance, telling them everything he knew.

Chu Tianxiao had been passionate about history since childhood, and after becoming a journalist, he primarily covered historical topics. However, much archaeological information was held by major research institutes, and interviews were rare. Consequently, he rarely covered breaking news, confined to the back pages of Zhongzhou Monthly.

As rising archaeologists from the remote urban areas of Nanzhou, the Lin Tiansheng couple had always attracted Chu Tianxiao's attention. Since their arrival in Zhongzhou City, Chu Tianxiao had been eager for the opportunity to interview them.

Two months ago, Chu Tianxiao finally found an opportunity and met up with Lin Tiansheng and his wife. Having just arrived in Zhongzhou City, they were pleasantly surprised to have reporters come to interview them. Upon learning that Chu Tianxiao had been following them, they were even more delighted and answered Chu Tianxiao's many questions without reservation.

Chu Tianxiao is cheerful and optimistic. He is just in his early twenties. His appearance has to some extent made up for the longing of Lin Tiansheng and his wife for their son. As a result, the contact between the two sides has become more frequent and their trust has gradually deepened.

In this way, the Lin Tiansheng couple worked closely with Chu Tianxiao, and many archaeological discoveries were published in local archaeological journals in Zhongzhou through Chu Tianxiao's pen. Their reputation grew, and Chu Tianxiao also took this opportunity to improve his life.

Hearing this, Lin Ding couldn't help but frown, puzzled. "There aren't any ruins near Zhongzhou City. What on earth are they excavating here? I've never been able to figure this out."

Chu Tianxiao smiled slightly and explained patiently: "In fact, the current Zhongzhou City can be divided into the Old City and the New City. The Old City has existed since the founding of Zhongzhou City, and the buildings and facilities are quite old. A few months ago, an old building collapsed due to disrepair, leading the higher authorities to decide to completely rebuild the surrounding old buildings. Because the original old shelter was not built very deep, the construction team accidentally discovered a large number of ancient artifacts when demolishing the old building and excavating the deeper shelter. According to research by authoritative archaeological experts, this ancient site may be spread throughout the old city. Therefore, the excavation area is too wide and the number of unearthed artifacts is huge. All the famous archaeological experts in Jiuzhou Continent have been invited to conduct joint research."

Listening to Chu Tianxiao's description, Lin Ding's mind couldn't help but emerge with the soul-summoning formation under Zhongzhou City mentioned by Qin Hanming. Could it be that his parents' disappearance was somehow related to the soul-summoning formation?

He hinted to Chu Tianxiao to continue talking about his parents.

As Chu Tianxiao recounted his story, Lin Ding learned that his collaboration with his parents had gradually decreased a month ago. This wasn't due to a rift between them, but rather to the confirmation of the expert's conclusion. Upon learning of the expert's speculation, many archaeological and construction teams began to consciously conduct in-depth excavations in the old city, ultimately unearthing a large number of ancient artifacts.

As the number of unearthed cultural relics continued to increase, the Lin Tiansheng couple became increasingly busy, and the intervals between their interviews with Chu Tianxiao became longer and longer. Initially, it started every two or three days, gradually increasing to every four or five days. Until a few days before the monster invasion, Chu Tianxiao realized that it had been ten days since his last interview with the Lin Tiansheng couple.

At this time, Chu Tianxiao handed a stack of photos and a notebook to Lin Ding, and said seriously: "These are all the photos and content I recorded when I interviewed your parents. You can take a closer look."

Lin Ding took the notebook, flipped through each page, and compared it with the photos. He found that it was basically consistent with what Chu Tianxiao said. He was full of doubts: "Actually, you don't need to let me see these records. I don't disbelieve you."

Chu Tianxiao shook his head, a serious look in his eyes: "I do hope you can verify it, but mainly I want you to see these photos, because what I am about to say may be unbelievable."

After that, Chu Tianxiao spread the photos on the table in chronological order and continued, "Have you noticed that from this month's photos, your parents seem to be getting younger and younger?"

Lin Ding was momentarily stunned, then lowered his head to examine the photos on the table again. He was surprised to find that, as Chu Tianxiao had predicted, his parents' appearances seemed to be quietly changing. Though both around forty, they were weathered by years of outdoor archaeology, and now looked closer to fifty. Lin Tiansheng, in particular, had dark skin and wrinkles when he smiled, giving the impression of a hardworking farmer or laborer rather than a PhD in archaeology.

However, recent photos reveal a stark difference. While the couple's clothing remains well-worn and even stained, their spirits are remarkably vibrant, with no trace of fatigue from their busy days. Even more striking is their complexion, which appears to be brighter than before. In the photos, Lin Tiansheng's smile has fewer wrinkles. Overall, they now look more like someone in their forties.

Lin Ding's face was filled with disbelief, and he asked in a trembling voice, "How...how is this possible?"

While it was a good thing for parents to be able to regain their youth, such a drastic change was far from common sense. Since the Lin Tiansheng couple had been obsessed with archaeology for years, their cultivation was often sporadic, and so far they had only achieved the Dongming Mirror. Even if they were to encounter some chance encounter and suddenly reach the Yaoguang Realm or even the Kaiyang Realm, it would at most only delay aging, not make people ten years younger.