Floating life reflects two lotuses

Deep within the imperial mausoleum, bathed in moonlight, a chilling aura permeated the air. Xiao Jinlian held a tinderbox, staring intently at the fragments of runes in her hand, her brows slightly furrowed. Li Heng stood to the side, his expression cold and stern, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, his gaze sweeping across the surrounding shadows.

"Something's not right here," Li Heng said in a low voice, his tone tinged with wariness. "Be careful."

"The runes here seem to be deliberately concealing something," Xiao Jinlian responded softly, her gaze falling on the blurry symbols on the stone wall. She reached out and gently ran her hand across the stone wall, feeling the uneven texture under her fingers, as if it were hiding more secrets.

Silan followed behind, carrying a small lantern in her hand, her eyes warily scanning the surroundings: "Princess, are you sure this is the entrance to the Land of Offering Souls?"

“The arrangement of these runes is exactly the same as the secret place of offering spirits mentioned in the murals,” Xiao Jinlian said in a low voice. “It is guiding us to go deeper.”

The three slowly moved forward and entered a spacious stone chamber. In the center of the chamber stood a massive stone tablet, covered with densely packed runes. The runes glowed intermittently, as if containing some unknown power.

“This is part of the formation.” Xiao Jinlian walked around the stone tablet and stopped in front of a rune. “These runes describe the core location of the Spirit Offering Land.”

Li Heng approached, his brows furrowing slightly: "The site of the offering of spirits is actually hidden beneath the imperial tombs. Did the emperors of past dynasties know of its existence all along?"

“Perhaps this is why emperors throughout history have spared no effort to protect the imperial tombs,” Xiao Jinlian said thoughtfully. “But the ‘dual spirits annihilating together’ mentioned on this fragment seems to be more than just a matter of power going out of control.”

Just then, the runes on the stone tablet suddenly lit up, emitting a dazzling light. The entire stone chamber began to tremble slightly, and dust rose from the ground. Xiao Jinlian quickly took a few steps back, her eyes fixed on the stone tablet.

"Back off quickly!" Li Heng shouted, pulling Xiao Jinlian behind him to protect her.

Silan steadied herself against the wall, her voice tinged with panic: "What's going on? Why did the runes suddenly light up?"

"This is a sign that the formation has been triggered!" Xiao Jinlian reacted quickly, looking up at the top of the stone tablet, where the runes gradually combined to form a complete formation pattern.

“This formation is responding to some kind of power,” she whispered, a complex expression on her face. “It’s resonating with some kind of power from the outside world.”

Li Heng's gaze darkened, and his voice was low: "Could it be... another time and space?"

Xiao Jinlian did not answer, but simply raised her hand to touch the runes on the stone tablet, closed her eyes, and tried to perceive the mystery within.

A moment later, Xiao Jinlian slowly opened her eyes, her gaze filled with determination: "The place this formation points to is the true core of the Land of Offering Spirits. And its location is at the deepest part of the Imperial Mausoleum."

“But this also means danger,” Li Heng said in a low voice, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily. “The fluctuations here have already attracted attention; we must leave as soon as possible.”

Silan nodded: "Princess, what should we do?"

“Take this rune fragment; it might be the key to unlocking the secrets of the Land of Offering Spirits,” Xiao Jinlian said decisively.

Li Heng quickly took out a cloth bag and carefully wrapped the rune fragments: "Let's go, let's leave here and then make plans."

The three hurriedly left the stone chamber, the runic light gradually fading behind them. Unbeknownst to them, outside the imperial mausoleum, Consort Yan's secret guards were already lying in ambush, awaiting their arrival.

Back in safety, Xiao Jinlian sat by the lamp, carefully studying the information on the rune fragments. Her fingertips gently traced the ancient symbols, her gaze filled with deep contemplation.

“This formation is not just a point of convergence of power,” she murmured to herself. “It is closely related to the essence of the soul. Perhaps, this is the key to the soul swap between Chu Wanlian and me.”

Li Heng stood beside her, his gaze deep: "Whatever the answer is, I will accompany you to find the truth."

Silan brought over a bowl of hot tea and said softly, "Princess, we will definitely find a way to solve this."

Xiao Jinlian nodded, her eyes filled with determination: "Whatever secrets the Sacrifice Grounds may hold, I will uncover the truth. Next, we must head to the core area of ​​the Imperial Mausoleum."

Under the distant night sky, the imperial mausoleum was shrouded in a mysterious light and shadow, as if silently awaiting its fateful moment.

Li Chenyao sat in the laboratory monitoring room, complex data charts and fluctuations in rune energy flashing on the screen behind him. His fingers tapped lightly on the table, his gaze deep, as if he were deep in thought.

"President Li, the data this time is even more stable than expected." The lab technician handed over the latest report, his voice brimming with excitement. "If this continues, perhaps we really can achieve the project's ultimate goal."

Li Chenyao took the report, glanced at it, and nodded slightly: "Continue to monitor any abnormal fluctuations. Any deviation could ruin the entire experiment."

"Understood." The lab technician nodded and left.

On the screen, a dazzling array of runes was slowly rotating, emitting a faint blue light. Li Chenyao stared at the screen, a complex emotion, almost imperceptible, flashing across his eyes.

Meanwhile, Chu Wanlian stood in a corner of the laboratory corridor, holding a document in her hand. She opened the first page and saw the clear title—"A Preliminary Exploration of Soul Energy Transmission"—and her heart skipped a beat.

"What does this mean?" she muttered to herself, continuing to flip through the documents. She discovered that the structure of the rune array recorded inside was exactly the same as the murals she had seen in the ancient Taoist temple.

Xiao Jinlian's voice suddenly rang in his mind: "Your Highness, these runes look like some kind of passage. Are modern people also researching them?"

“Yes.” Chu Wanlian nodded and responded in a low voice, “Moreover, their goal seems to be more than just research.”

She quickly glanced around to make sure no one was watching her, then quietly put the documents away and turned to walk towards Li Chenyao's office.

Chu Wanlian pushed open the door to Li Chenyao's office and saw him with his back to her, staring at the chart of runic energy fluctuations on the screen. She took a deep breath and said casually, "Mr. Li, why have you never clearly told me the objective of the experiment?"

Li Chenyao slowly turned around, his gaze falling on her. His eyes held a hint of inquiry, his tone calm yet imposing: "Why are you suddenly so interested in the target?"

“Because I have the right to know.” Chu Wanlian looked him directly in the eye, her tone tinged with a hint of probing. “If I want to continue participating in this experiment, I must understand everything about it.”

Li Chenyao raised an eyebrow slightly, a meaningful smile playing on his lips: "You will have the right to know, but not now."

"Not now?" Chu Wanlian persisted, stepping forward. "President Li, have you underestimated my understanding of these runes?"

Li Chenyao's gaze instantly sharpened. He straightened up, crossed his arms, and said coldly, "If you truly understand these runes, then you should understand how dangerous these powers are."

"So?" Chu Wanlian retorted, not to be outdone. "What exactly is the danger you face? What is the ultimate goal of the experiment?"

Li Chenyao remained silent for a moment before finally speaking slowly: "We are trying to establish a stable soul channel to connect the ancient and the modern through these rune energies, transforming historical resources into controllable modern power."

Chu Wanlian's eyes widened, and her voice involuntarily rose: "Connecting the ancient and the modern? Do you know what you're doing? This is playing with fire!"

Li Chenyao gave a cold laugh, his voice low: "You're right, we are indeed playing with fire, but only when the flames are hot enough can the rules of the world be reshaped."

"Rules?" Chu Wanlian felt a chill run down her spine. "Li Chenyao, what exactly do you want?"

Li Chenyao took a step closer and said in a low voice, "If we can control these runic energies, we can redefine the meaning of resources, power, and even life. And all of this requires a key point—the stability of the soul channel."

Chu Wanlian took a deep breath, and Xiao Jinlian's voice in her mind sneered: "These people are simply insane. They treat runes as tools, but they don't know the true power behind them."

"I understand," Chu Wanlian replied in her heart, then looked at Li Chenyao, her tone firm: "Have you considered the consequences of doing this?"

Li Chenyao said calmly, "Any great achievement requires taking risks. If you can't accept that, then withdraw."

Chu Wanlian gripped the documents in her hand, a hint of anger igniting in her eyes: "Li Chenyao, I will not back down, nor will I allow you to use these runes to do anything you shouldn't."

Li Chenyao remained silent, simply watching Chu Wanlian leave. He turned to look at the rune array on the screen, a hidden emotion flickering in his eyes.

"You're far more interesting than I imagined," he muttered to himself, a cold smile playing on his lips.

Leaving her office, Chu Wanlian hurried back to her laboratory, spread out the documents on the table, and carefully studied the details of each rune. She had made up her mind that she would stop the experiment from being carried out, no matter what.

“Xiao Jinlian, do you know?” she said in a low voice, “modern laboratories have pushed runes to the edge of being out of control. If we don’t stop it, the consequences will be unimaginable.”

In her mind, Xiao Jinlian's voice turned serious: "We must join forces to find the true secret of the Land of Offering. Otherwise, the power of the runes will destroy everything."

Chu Wanlian nodded, her eyes filled with determination: "That's right, no matter which time or space, we must win this war."