Bai Honglin's question momentarily stunned Lin Feng. The queries themselves hinted at much. Suppressing the turmoil within, he shook his head, "Senior Bai, I came alone. In truth... I haven't seen my parents for sixteen years. They left on a journey long ago and never returned..."
"What?!" Bai Honglin's expression froze, replaced by shock. "Sixteen years ago?! Was it during that time...? But Brother Lin said he was going back to find you... No! Wait! If you say he never returned, then how did you know about his agreement with our sect?"
Lin Feng's heart clenched painfully at the mention that his father had intended to return for him. A wave of inexplicable sorrow washed over him. "That year... Father likely did return," he said, voice thick with grief. "But he didn't meet me... or rather, he didn't communicate with me. I don't know what happened at the time... All I know is, I awoke one morning to find my father's storage ring beside me. The ring was sealed, however. Only when I reached the Golden Core stage was I able to open it. Inside, Father left a message. He told me he had entrusted something to the Profound Ice Palace and instructed me to retrieve it once I reached the Nascent Soul stage..."
"This..." Bai Honglin was visibly shaken, momentarily lost in thought. His gaze unconsciously flickered to the ring on Lin Feng's right middle finger. He recognized it instantly – the very storage ring he remembered seeing on Lin Tian's hand. Both the striking resemblance and the ring confirmed Lin Feng was undoubtedly Lin Tian's son. Yet, the news that Lin Tian had vanished sixteen years ago struck Bai Honglin like a physical blow, leaving him momentarily adrift.
When Bai Honglin first heard Lin Feng had arrived, boundless hope had surged within him. He had envisioned finding Lin Tian through his son, and with Lin Tian's aid, the Profound Ice Palace's current crisis could be effortlessly resolved. Lin Feng's revelation, however, felt like a cruel douse of icy water, plunging Bai Honglin's heart into despair. The abrupt collapse of his soaring hope was a blow that even his cultivation at the Divine Transformation stage could not instantly absorb.
After a pause, Lin Feng pressed on, "Senior Bai, please tell me... what truly happened to my father back then? Can we deduce where he might be now? And... what exactly did my father entrust to your esteemed sect? May I take it?"
Bai Honglin snapped out of his reverie at Lin Feng's questions, only to be struck by another wave of surprise. A flicker of profound confusion crossed his face. "What?" he blurted out, utterly bewildered. "You mean to say you don't even know what your father entrusted here?!"
Lin Feng shifted slightly, a hint of embarrassment coloring his tone. "The information Father left... wasn't entirely clear. He merely instructed me to come here after reaching the Nascent Soul stage, saying I would understand then..."
Bai Honglin's eyes narrowed thoughtfully, a dawning realization seeming to settle upon him. After a brief silence, he addressed Lin Feng, "Very well. In that case, perhaps it's best I take you to see what your father entrusted first. As for the rest... I will tell you in detail afterwards."
"Hmm? Alright... Thank you, Senior Bai." Lin Feng stood and bowed, though a seed of doubt sprouted within him. Why did he need to be shown? Was the entrusted item something that couldn't be brought out? But he suppressed his burning curiosity and followed Bai Honglin out without further questions.
...
Bai Honglin led Lin Feng deep into the rear compound of the Profound Ice Palace. The elder seemed deeply preoccupied, his thoughts elsewhere. Profound Ice Palace disciples they encountered bowed respectfully, but Bai Honglin paid them no heed. An oppressive silence hung in the air, dissuading Lin Feng from speaking. He trailed closely behind, matching Bai Honglin's pace.
Weaving through numerous imposing structures, they finally arrived before a sheer cliff face at the very back of the sect grounds. Bai Honglin produced a smooth jade token. His fingers flew through a series of complex hand seals before he tossed the token towards the seemingly solid rock. Like a stone dropping into water, the token vanished into thin air, rippling the space as a concealment formation dissolved. Where there had been nothing, a massive stone door, roughly ten zhang (≈33 meters) high, now materialized on the cliff face.
As they approached, Lin Feng felt the unmistakable pressure of two powerful spiritual senses sweeping over him – undoubtedly guardians of this place. However, no figures emerged, presumably recognizing Bai Honglin. Watching the Sect Leader execute another intricate series of seals on the stone door only reinforced Lin Feng's belief: this was one of the Profound Ice Palace's most secure forbidden zones.
Rumble...
A low tremor ran through the ground as the massive stone door slowly ground open. A palpable wave of white, glacial air billowed out, instantly piercing Lin Feng to the bone. For a terrifying heartbeat, he felt his very true essence threatening to freeze solid within his meridians. He frantically circulated his cultivation technique to expel the invasive cold, shock gripping him. What lay within, possessing such intensity that its mere passive aura could be so terrifying?
"The cold energy inside is potent. Shield yourself carefully," Bai Honglin cautioned Lin Feng before stepping through the threshold.
The passage within was wide but starkly empty. Thick layers of ice coated the walls and ceiling. Lin Feng watched as Bai Honglin continuously deactivated one complex protective formation after another – formations far beyond Lin Feng's current comprehension of array theory. Within the short stretch of a hundred meters, they bypassed nearly ten different formations.
Finally, the passage ended, opening into a vast, circular chamber perhaps a hundred meters across. Its center was dominated by a solitary ice platform, roughly three meters long and one meter high. Tendrils of dense, white, mist-like freezing vapor coiled around it, obscuring whatever rested upon its surface.
Bai Honglin stopped just inside the chamber. He turned to Lin Feng, his expression unreadably solemn. "Nephew Lin..." he said softly, gesturing towards the platform, "Go... see for yourself. Once you see it... you will understand."
Lin Feng's expression tightened. He gave a slight nod, then walked past Bai Honglin, his steps carrying him towards the shrouded ice platform.
As he neared the platform, an inexplicable sense of dread washed over him, making his steps falter with hesitation. Yet, he forced himself forward. When he stood directly before the platform, the swirling plumes of frosty vapor seemed almost sentient, parting dramatically like a curtain being drawn aside.
Then, revealed before him, lay a crystalline ice coffin…
The instant Lin Feng saw the coffin, his pupils contracted violently. Then, his gaze fell upon the figure lying within.
Bang!
It struck him like a physical blow.
His face drained of all color, twisting into an expression of sheer, primordial horror he'd never worn before. His body swayed violently, staggering backward, step after heavy step, until he nearly crumpled to the icy floor. A firm grasp suddenly clamped onto his shoulder – Bai Honglin had moved with lightning speed to steady him.
Even supported, Lin Feng seemed unaware. His eyes were wide, glazed, utterly unfocused, staring into a terrifying void. His lips moved soundlessly at first, then a broken whisper escaped them: "No... Impossible... Impossible..."
"IMPOSSIBLE!!" The denial erupted from Lin Feng's throat in a raw, animalistic scream of pure anguish. He wrenched himself free and lunged back to the coffin's side. His eyes, burning with frantic desperation, locked onto the achingly familiar face resting peacefully within the ice. His body trembled violently as a single, shattered syllable tore from his lips...
"Mother..."
Inside the pristine ice coffin lay a woman with long, dark hair, dressed in a gown of pale blue. Her skin was flawless as polished jade, her beauty so profound it seemed capable of dimming the stars and moon themselves. One glimpse would etch her image into memory forever. She lay with eyes closed, as if in peaceful slumber. Yet, emanating from her entire form was an absolute, chilling absence... the absence of life.
She was... Lin Feng's mother!
The mother he had longed for, searched for, mourned for sixteen bitter years... found now, utterly unprepared, amidst circumstances he could never have conceived in his darkest nightmares. How could he have imagined that the 'object' his father entrusted to the Profound Ice Palace was... his mother's corpse?!
This was not how it was supposed to be. Reunion... was not supposed to be this!!
An ocean of agony, vast and suffocating, flooded Lin Feng's chest, threatening to tear his very soul asunder. A crimson haze began to cloud the edges of his vision. A savage, uncontrollable aura seeped from his core, so potent it sent the surrounding frigid air whirling away in chaotic eddies. Unstable, multicolored light flickered violently across his skin, escaping his control like a dam bursting...
"Why... Why is this happening?!" Lin Feng whirled around, his voice a raw, guttural roar directed at Bai Honglin. "WHY?!!"
The sheer, tangible weight of rage and killing intent radiating from Lin Feng's eyes was staggering. So intense was it that Bai Honglin, a Divine Transformation powerhouse, actually recoiled half a step on pure instinct – a reaction that shocked even himself. What kind of baptism by blood and death could forge such concentrated fury in a young man not yet thirty?
Yet, Bai Honglin's shock lasted only an instant. Lin Feng's devastating reaction, while extreme, was tragically predictable. Regaining his composure instantly, Bai Honglin's own aura flared – a calming, gentle white light radiating from him. His voice cut through Lin Feng's torment like a blade, sharp and clear:
"Nephew Lin!! Calm yourself!! LISTEN TO ME!!"
He paused deliberately, locking eyes with the distraught young man, then delivered the words with deliberate force:
"Your mother... she is NOT DEAD!!"