Floating life reflects two lotuses

Xiao Jinlian carefully placed the faintly glowing ancient artifact on the table, her brow furrowed. This artifact was something she and Li Heng had risked their lives to bring back from the Spirit Offering Secret Land, but it had always exuded an eerie aura. The runes on it were complex and ancient, each stroke seemingly containing some kind of mysterious power.

“Silan, have you ever seen the runes on this before?” Xiao Jinlian turned to look at Silan, who was standing to the side.

Silan shook her head, but there was a hint of hesitation in her eyes: "Although I've never seen it before, it looks somewhat familiar. I once heard my mother mention that the runes on ancient artifacts are often related to the 'Spirit Offering Site,' which is a top secret location of the royal family."

"The place of offering spirits?" Xiao Jinlian repeated softly, her heart suddenly filled with turmoil.

“Yes.” Silan nodded, her voice low. “I heard that it’s a place used by the royal family to worship some kind of mysterious power. But no one knows its exact location except the emperor.”

Xiao Jinlian reached out and touched the runes on the ancient artifact, the cool touch traveling through her fingertips. A slight tremor ran through her as she noticed the artifact's light brightening as her fingertips traced the runes. The runes seemed to come alive, slowly wriggling as if responding to her touch.

"What's going on?" Xiao Jinlian pulled her hand back in surprise, but her eyes remained fixed on the antique.

Silan was also stunned: "Princess, this...this rune seems to have been activated."

Li Heng walked in upon hearing the noise, still holding the royal files he had just collected: "What happened?"

Xiao Jinlian pointed to the antique: "This thing seems to have reacted; I just touched it."

Li Heng frowned, strode to the table, and bent down to examine the ancient artifact. The runes flickered erratically, like some kind of hint. He looked up at Xiao Jinlian: "What did you do to this thing?"

“I only touched it,” Xiao Jinlian replied softly, a hint of doubt in her eyes. “Perhaps it has something to do with my identity?”

Li Heng opened the dossier in his hand and laid out a parchment covered with symbols on the table: "This is something I found in my father's old collection. It is said to be a part of the record about the sacrificial ritual."

Xiao Jinlian carefully compared the runes on the artifact and the patterns on the parchment and found that they did indeed bear some resemblance. She frowned, pointed to one of the more complex patterns, and asked, "This symbol... is it related to the direction of the imperial tomb?"

Upon closer inspection, Li Heng's expression changed slightly: "It does indeed resemble the entrance marker of an imperial mausoleum. Could the origin of this artifact be related to the imperial mausoleum?"

Silan whispered, "The imperial mausoleum... Could it be that the place for offering sacrifices to the spirits is hidden deep within the imperial mausoleum?"

Xiao Jinlian nodded slowly, already having some guesses in her mind: "If this ancient artifact is related to the imperial tomb, then it means that the place of offering spirits may be the key to connecting the secrets of the royal family with the power of runes."

Just as the three were discussing, the antique's light suddenly intensified, instantly enveloping the entire room in a blue glow. Xiao Jinlian instinctively shielded her eyes, but felt a strange power surge into her mind.

She closed her eyes, and a blurry image appeared before her: a majestic underground palace, its stone walls covered with intricate runes, and in the center a huge altar surrounded by seven faintly glowing fragments of runes.

"This is..." Xiao Jinlian suddenly opened her eyes, her breathing rapid, her forehead covered in cold sweat.

Li Heng asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

Xiao Jinlian raised her head, her voice filled with shock: "I saw the underground palace... and the altar of the sacrificial site."

Silan looked at her in surprise: "Princess, do you mean that this artifact can really guide you to the place of offering sacrifices?"

Xiao Jinlian nodded slowly: "I just sensed a powerful force, as if it was calling me to go there."

After a moment of contemplation, Li Heng said with a solemn expression, "If the place of offering sacrifices is really hidden in the imperial mausoleum, then we must not alert them when we go there. Consort Yan's spies are everywhere, and she will definitely not allow us to get close to the core secrets of the royal family."

Silan nodded in agreement: "Princess, the imperial mausoleum is heavily guarded, and it is very dangerous to enter there."

Xiao Jinlian's gaze was resolute: "Regardless of the danger, I must find the place of the offering. Only in this way can I unravel the secret of this rune, and perhaps even find a way to restore Chu Wanlian and me to our original state."

Li Heng looked at her with a complicated expression, but finally sighed, "Alright, I'll go with you."

A flicker of hesitation crossed Silan's eyes, but she quickly made up her mind: "No matter what, I will stay by the princess's side."

Xiao Jinlian looked at them, a slight smile playing on her lips, her eyes filled with gratitude. She gazed up at the night sky outside the window, silently vowing, "No matter the cost, I will unravel this mystery of fate."

That night, the three carefully studied the runes on the ancient artifact again, matching the clues with the records on the parchment. Finally, they reached a crucial conclusion: the entrance to the Sacrifice Site lay behind a hidden stone wall deep within the imperial tomb.

“It seems our goal is clear.” Xiao Jinlian closed the parchment, her eyes gleaming with determination. “Next, we need to overcome those obstacles and find the entrance.”

Li Heng nodded: "However, we must try our best to avoid Consort Yan's eyes and ears. This battle is destined to be difficult."

Silan silently gripped the short sword in her hand and whispered, "For the princess, I will fight with all my might."

The flickering candlelight illuminated the three pensive faces, like the misty, unknown land ahead. The ancient garment lay quietly on the table, its soft glow seeming to infuse the impending adventure with a mysterious power.

Chu Wanlian sat at the control panel in the laboratory, experimental data constantly flashing on the screen in front of her. She stared intently at the complex symbols, and Xiao Jinlian's voice softly echoed in her mind:

“These runes… seem somewhat similar to those we saw in the Sacrifice Secret Realm.”

Chu Wanlian nodded slightly, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she retrieved more research data. A series of experimental results appeared on the screen, showing that the rune energy field fluctuated abnormally strongly, even triggering slight spacetime disturbances under certain specific conditions.

"Are these symbols... really from ancient times?" Chu Wanlian murmured to herself, trying to connect the clues before her.

“Not only are they ancient, but they are the core runes of the Luoyuan Contract.” Xiao Jinlian’s voice was filled with certainty. “These runes can guide the flow of energy and may even be related to the transmission of souls.”

Chu Wanlian frowned, flipping through the documents in the laboratory, and finally found a blueprint in a folder labeled "Confidential". It was a simplified rune array, almost identical to the layout of the rune device in the core area of ​​the laboratory.

“This array…” she paused, then her pupils suddenly contracted.

The amazing discovery of rune arrays

Chu Wanlian quickly compared this rune image with the ancient rune photos she had previously saved, and the result made her gasp in shock.

"This...this is exactly the same thing!" Her voice was filled with disbelief. "How can the runes of an ancient spirit offering site be exactly the same as the design of a modern laboratory?"

Xiao Jinlian calmly analyzed in her mind: "Perhaps these rune arrays are based on some ancient design and improved upon. The laboratory research may be trying to restore the power on our side."

Chu Wanlian's gaze fell on the screen, the intricate rune patterns seeming to mock her ignorance. She quickly searched through the data and found a key location mentioned in the laboratory's research log: "Royal Mausoleum Rune Ruins".

"Imperial tomb?" Chu Wanlian repeated softly, her thoughts racing. "Could it be that the core of the laboratory's research is utilizing the runic relics within the imperial tomb?"

Xiao Jinlian remained silent for a moment in his mind, then said in a low voice, "The Imperial Mausoleum... that's a very important place for us. All the sacrificial rites are related to the Imperial Mausoleum. If you modern people are studying the runes in the Imperial Mausoleum, things might be more complicated than we imagine."

Further exploration

Chu Wanlian decided to delve deeper into this clue. She carefully examined the laboratory's internal network, entered the keywords "Imperial Mausoleum Rune Relics," and discovered some encrypted files. She attempted to crack the password but failed repeatedly.

“It’s no use, their encryption technology is very advanced,” she said softly in frustration, turning instead to search for clues in the experimental records.

Just then, the laboratory door was gently pushed open, and Li Chenyao walked in. As always, he was dressed in a suit and tie, exuding a calm and imposing aura with every gesture.

"Xiao Jinlian, you're working very diligently." His deep voice carried a hint of amusement as he walked straight to her side, his gaze falling on her screen.

Chu Wanlian immediately closed the sensitive file, trying her best to appear nonchalant: "Director, what brings you here?"

Li Chenyao smiled slightly, crossed his arms and leaned against the table: "I heard that you have been very interested in rune research recently, so I came here to see what you have discovered."

Chu Wanlian was taken aback, her heart racing: "I was just curious, I didn't find anything special."

"Is that so?" Li Chenyao raised an eyebrow, his tone meaningful. "You know, every clue in the lab is crucial. If you make any new discoveries, remember to tell me immediately."

Chu Wanlian nodded and watched him turn and leave, but she became increasingly wary.

"What exactly does this man know to write..."

After Li Chenyao walked away, Chu Wanlian reopened the screen and continued studying the rune data. While reviewing the information, she inadvertently clicked on a hidden experimental video.

In the video, a team of researchers in protective suits are standing in an underground space. The camera slowly pans, clearly capturing a stone wall covered in runes, with a giant array of runes in the center of the wall faintly glowing.

Chu Wanlian held her breath, her gaze fixed on the stone wall: "This... is the runic relic in the imperial tomb?"

A voice-over in the video says, "This is one of the key objectives of the laboratory's core research. We speculate that these rune arrays can stabilize energy fluctuations, providing entirely new possibilities for soul swapping."

“Soul exchange…” Chu Wanlian’s hand trembled, almost losing control.

Xiao Jinlian's voice echoed in his mind, her tone tense: "Chu Wanlian, this is very likely related to the secret of our soul swap!"

Chu Wanlian took a deep breath, saved the recording, and her resolve gradually hardened: "I must find out the true function of these rune arrays and uncover the secrets behind them."

New tasks

That evening, Chu Wanlian subtly mentioned her findings to Xu Nianni. Although Xu Nianni was somewhat confused, she nodded in support: "Lianlian, whatever you want to investigate, as long as I can help, just say so."

Chu Wanlian looked at her, a warm feeling welling up inside her: "Thank you, Ni Ni. It's so good to have you."

As Chu Wanlian left the laboratory, she glanced back at the sealed core lab and silently vowed:

"The runic remains in the imperial tomb, the research in the laboratory, our soul swap... all of this is definitely not just a coincidence. I will find the answer."

As the night breeze swept by, her figure blended into the city lights, like a solitary explorer determined to change her destiny, embarking on an unknown journey.