The Female Lead Brought Her Lover to the Wedding Banquet and Broke Off the Marriage; I Slaughtered Her Entire Family - Chapter 18:

Chapter 18: Who’s Laying Whose Trap?

“Let’s check it out together,” Lin Chen said matter-of-factly. “You can sense the location, I have manpower. We team up and both win.”

Lin Fan didn’t respond immediately. After a while, he nodded. “Fine. But I need a few days to recover.”

“No problem,” Lin Chen stood up. “Rest up, someone will look after you.”

After leaving the tent, the corner of Lin Chen’s lips curled up slightly. Lin Fan had agreed too easily. He definitely had his own little schemes brewing. But it didn’t matter. The [Black Soul Lock] was already planted. There was no escaping from his grasp.

In the following two days, Lin Fan’s injuries healed astonishingly fast. The Profound Yin Bone Mending Pill was indeed potent, and combined with his strange constitution, his recovery was practically cheating. He was soon able to walk.

Lin Chen made his rounds daily, exchanging a few indifferent greetings, while secretly monitoring the [Black Soul Lock]. Everything remained under his control.

On the third morning, Lin Fan came to him on his own. “Young Master Lin, my injuries are almost fully healed. We can head to the Azure Underworld Cave now.”

Lin Chen glanced him over and nodded. “Good. I’ve been waiting too.” He changed the subject, “Are you really sure you can find the entrance?”

Lin Fan patted his chest. “Don’t worry. I can feel it.”

Lin Chen smiled slightly and gave the order, “Prepare to move.”

This time, the group was small—two Grandmaster guards, four elite martial artists—for efficiency.

They once again ventured into Bloodhole Valley, following the canyon deeper inside. The deeper they went, the heavier the air became, the humidity mixed with an indescribable oppressive feeling, and even the light seemed dimmer.

Lin Fan led the way, stopping from time to time, closing his eyes to sense something unseen. “This way.” He pointed to a barely noticeable side path choked by rocks and vines. “Feels like… we’re close.”

Lin Chen followed closely, his guard up. This brat better not try any tricks.

The path grew narrower, the stone walls pressing in suffocatingly from both sides. Yet Lin Fan’s pace quickened, as if something was pulling him forward.

“Here!” He suddenly stopped, pointing at an ordinary-looking rock wall ahead.

Lin Chen frowned. “The entrance? Looks like any other rock.”

“It’s not just a rock,” Lin Fan shook his head, stepped forward, and placed his palm against it.

A strange phenomenon occurred. The moment his palm touched the wall, the faint green glow from his body flared, pouring into the stone. On the surface of the wall, invisible patterns lit up, streams of eerie blue light outlining intricate symbols, like ancient runes awakening from slumber.

Lin Chen’s heart stirred. The Azure Bloodline was indeed extraordinary.

The green glow intensified, and the runes on the wall fully lit up, outlining the shape of a doorway.

Crack… Rumble…

The rock wall silently split open inward, revealing a pitch-black tunnel entrance.

“It’s open!” Lin Fan turned back excitedly. “Young Master Lin, this is the entrance to the Azure Underworld Cave!”

Lin Chen stepped forward, peering inside. The passage was so dark one couldn’t see their hand in front of their face, yet an ancient and powerful aura rushed toward them.

“Go,” Lin Chen ordered. “Everyone stay sharp. In these old tombs, there’s no shortage of traps.”

Lin Fan nodded and was the first to enter. Lin Chen followed, with the two Grandmaster guards bringing up the rear, while the other four martial artists guarded the entrance.

Inside the passage was more spacious than expected. Stones embedded in the walls emitted a faint glow, barely illuminating the ground.

Lin Fan led the way, the green light on his body flickering, seemingly resonating with the surroundings. “This place… feels strange,” he muttered. “Like it’s calling to me, yet it also rejects me.”

Lin Chen remained silent, scanning the surroundings. The walls were covered with indecipherable runes and strange drawings—giant vortices in the sky, bizarre beasts on the ground, and creatures that barely resembled humans.

“What do these drawings mean?” Lin Chen asked casually.

Lin Fan shook his head. “I’m not sure. But they look… familiar, like I’ve seen them somewhere before.”

They reached the end of the passage, which opened into a vast circular stone hall. In the center was a round pool filled with a strange, glowing, bluish-green liquid. Surrounding the pool stood seven massive stone pillars, also carved with runes.

“This is…” Lin Fan instinctively moved toward the pool, as if something was pulling at his soul.

Lin Chen grabbed him. “Look carefully first.”

Lin Fan snapped out of it and nodded, though his attention kept drifting toward the pool.

Lin Chen surveyed the stone hall. Besides the pool and pillars, the surrounding walls had numerous alcoves filled with old jars, scrolls, and other ancient items. It was indeed a treasure trove, but it reeked of something ominous.

“Lin Fan, do you feel anything?” Lin Chen asked.

Lin Fan closed his eyes, carefully sensing. After a while, he opened them. “I think… the key is that pool. It seems… it wants my blood.”

Lin Chen’s heart skipped. “Your blood?”

Lin Fan nodded. “Yes. It feels like… only with my blood can something here be activated.”

Lin Chen thought for a moment and decided to gamble. “Try it. Be careful.”

Lin Fan walked to the pool, took out a small knife, and made a shallow cut on his fingertip. A drop of crimson blood fell into the bluish-green liquid.

Plop.

The blood merged into the water silently. At first, nothing happened. But after a few breaths, the entire stone hall shook violently!

The pool roiled fiercely, green light bursting forth, casting a ghastly hue over the entire hall. The runes on the seven stone pillars lit up, shooting beams of light straight to the dome!

“What’s going on?” Lin Fan stumbled back in fright.

Lin Chen’s hand was already on the hilt of his sword, his eyes alert as he scanned the area. “I don’t know, but it’s definitely not a feast.”

Before his words even faded, a mass of green light suddenly rose from the center of the pool, slowly condensing into a blurry humanoid figure. The figure wore an ancient-style robe, its features obscured, but an oppressive might radiated from it, making it impossible to look directly at.

“Descendant… of the Azure Bloodline…” The voice was like a rasp from the deepest abyss, tinged with the weight of ages. “You… have come.”

Lin Fan froze, instinctively wanting to retreat. “Wh-Who are you?”

“Guardian of this place… awaiting in this place… I’m Qing Ming … also… the ancestor of the Azure Bloodline.”

The phantom’s voice echoed in the empty stone hall.

Lin Chen remained composed on the surface, but his heart was exploding. The Azure Clan? Ancestor? This Lin Fan… his value was far beyond what he had imagined! A priceless treasure!

“Ancestor? Azure Clan?” Lin Fan was utterly confused. He had always thought he was just an ordinary person with a strange constitution and a streak of dumb luck. When did he get tied to some ‘clan’?

“Yes. Your bloodline… has not been severed.” There was no emotion in the phantom’s voice. “This place… is the Azure Holy Land… also… its last root.”

“In ancient times… when the heavens collapsed and the earth shattered… during the great calamity… the mighty fell like grass… and the Azure Bloodline… was nearly wiped out…”

Lin Chen was inwardly delighted.