"Master, do you know what this water means?" Li Chonglou's heart was filled with joy.
He had studied for days with no clue.
There were at least eight hundred things related to water on this Earth.
How could he possibly guess?
"No," Lin Zhendong shook his head. "I don't yet understand the meaning of this small seal script character for water."
"But I know why your blood could activate the base of this Shi Boqiong."
Hearing this, Li Chonglou and Lin Ying both became serious.
Lin Zhendong continued, "Back then, when I took you and your father to Kunling, the array set up by the monk Shenxiu used the same materials as this base!"
"Your father's hand was cut by the rocks, and his blood dripped onto it, which caused the anomaly."
"It eventually disappeared without a trace."
"I always thought it was an immortal technique, but now it seems it only activated the energy within the meteor iron!"
"Your blood and your father's blood should be special compared to ordinary people, carrying some trace radioactive elements, which caused such an anomaly."
"I now have to suspect whether you have royal blood from the Tang dynasty..."
These words made Li Chonglou and Lin Ying look at each other in astonishment.
Li Chonglou was bewildered, as if in a dream.
His family had been farmers for generations. Although they shared the same surname, Li, with the Tang royal family, many people were surnamed Li.
Weren't Li Hanlong and Li Duo'er also surnamed Li?
How could he be connected to the royal family?
As if seeing through Li Chonglou's confusion, Lin Zhendong calmly explained, "This is just my personal guess, not yet confirmed."
"Back then, Emperor Qin Ying Zheng unified the empire, and there was an omen of a falling meteor."
"The 'Annals of the First Emperor of Qin' in Volume 6 of the 'Records of the Grand Historian' had recorded it."
"In the thirty-sixth year, Venus guarded the heart, and a falling star descended upon Dong Commandery, becoming stone upon reaching the ground..."
At this point, Li Chonglou smoothly added, "The common people spread the saying, 'The First Emperor dies, and the land divides.'"
"When the First Emperor heard this, he dispatched censors to investigate, but no one confessed."
"So, he ordered the execution of all the people near the meteor and commanded that the meteor be destroyed."
This piece of history, for Li Chonglou, who studied ancient culture, was easy to recall.
Lin Zhendong greatly admired this and nodded in agreement, "But unofficial histories have recorded that the meteor was not destroyed, but hidden in the palace."
"Its hardness surpassed that of alloys, and the base of the Shi Boqiong was made from a small piece taken from it."
"In the thirty-second year of the First Emperor's reign, which was 215 BC, he sent the Yan native Lu Sheng to search for immortals, but to no avail. In despair, he followed the alchemists' advice and made the Shi Boqiong from the meteor, hoping for a final reversal."
"Who would have thought that the artisans who made the Shi Boqiong sealed its function with their own blood."
"To explain scientifically, they had been in contact with the meteor for a long time, inhaled the stone dust, and their bodies already carried unique radiation."
"This is the key to activating the Shi Boqiong."
"As a result, the First Emperor could not use it to reverse his fate, thus he became furious, feeling deceived."
"In his rage, he burned books and buried scholars alive, killing all the alchemists, and most of those artisans did not escape."
"Only one apprentice escaped, and that apprentice was surnamed Li!"
"His descendants were the founders of the Li Tang dynasty."
This story, told by Lin Zhendong in a calm tone, was nonetheless earth-shattering.
Li Chonglou and Lin Ying were immensely shocked.
This was something that could never be found in official history, and precisely because of that, it was even more captivating.
Hearing this, Li Chonglou understood what his master meant. He must also be a descendant of that person, and although thousands of generations had passed, the radioactive elements in his blood had not disappeared.
Thus, he could activate the Shi Boqiong and use it for soul reincarnation.
But how did this relate to his father's disappearance?
Did he also return to the past to be reborn?
"Master, then my father..." Li Chonglou asked anxiously.
"The records above are clues I've gathered from historical tomb records over the years while searching for the Shi Boqiong," Lin Zhendong gestured for him to be patient and continued, "As far as I know, the Shi Boqiong disappeared before the Tang dynasty, but it was rumored that its functions were exaggerated."
"By the Tang dynasty, Empress Wu Zetian ascended the throne. As the only female emperor in history comparable to Qin Shi Huang, and a balancer of Taoism and Buddhism."
"Her obsession with power reached its peak, and naturally, she did not want to die of old age."
"So, she ordered the monk Shenxiu to draw up an immortal array for her using the meteor hidden in the palace as a base."
"But fate played its hand. Monk Shenxiu did not damage the meteor, only etched on its surface, and naturally, no dust entered the body."
"And the Li family had been almost wiped out by Wu Zetian, with no one knowing this secret. Thus, this array naturally followed her into the tomb, remaining dormant until I and your father infiltrated Kunling."
"Your father's blood activated the immortal array, which further confirmed the function of the Shi Boqiong."
"However, where he specifically went is unknown, but I can now be certain that he is definitely not dead!"
Lin Zhendong's tone was extremely confident, a confidence stemming from his years of research on the Shi Boqiong.
That immortal array was meant for Wu Zetian to become an ancestor of immortality, but unexpectedly, Li Chonglou's father, Li Fu, used it.
It could be said that everything was destined.
"If that's the case, Master, can we go directly to Kunling and use my blood to reactivate the array to find him?" Li Chonglou's eyes shone with boundless hope.
Never before had he felt so close to his father.
It even made him impatient.
But Lin Zhendong's expression dimmed, and he shook his head, denying it, "It's impossible."
"That array and the meteor disappeared together."
"Apart from the Shi Boqiong and this base, there is no other material of the same kind in this world."
"Nor is there any powerful figure like Shenxiu."
"Only by finding the Shi Boqiong, which has patterns carved by alchemists, and which seems to have the same function."
Hearing this, Li Chonglou felt something within him urging to break free from his heart.
This was the secret of his rebirth.
He had only told Jiang Yuxin about this, but Jiang Yuxin had dismissed it as an excuse.
Since things had come to this, he decided to be open and honest with his master.
After all, he had returned the listening watch to the front desk when he got back to the hotel.
For safety, he had also completely turned off his mobile phone and left it in his room.
Then, he walked back to the living room and solemnly said, "Master, what I am about to say might shock you, but I am not telling any lies."
"I have lived for seventy-two years now. In my previous life, I was framed and imprisoned. In prison, I met you."
"You took me as your disciple, taught me appraisal techniques and knowledge, changed my destiny, and allowed me to be reborn."
"And you and senior sister tragically died, yet I was powerless to help."
"It wasn't until I was seventy-two years old that I encountered the Shi Boqiong at the National Museum. By accident, I pricked my palm and activated that divine object."
"My soul was reborn a few months earlier."
"Everything began to change!"
Li Chonglou's words caused Lin Ying's beautiful eyes to widen, and she jumped up from the sofa, pulling Li Chonglou back and forth to examine him.
Even Lin Zhendong frowned, his eyes unable to hide his shock.
Their eyes met, and he could not see any trace of confusion in Li Chonglou's gaze.
Every word was the truth.
After a long while, he sighed leisurely, "No wonder... no wonder when I saw you in prison, it felt like seeing you after a lifetime!"
"At that time, I thought it was just because I named you when you were young. I didn't expect our souls to have such a bond."
"Fate is a trickster, fate is a trickster!"
"Chonglou, according to you, the Shi Boqiong and the array in Kunling have different functions. It can allow the soul to be reborn, but not to become an ancestor of immortality?"
Lin Zhendong's mental fortitude and willpower were terrifying.
After all, he had witnessed a miracle with his own eyes.
After only a moment of shock, he accepted Li Chonglou's statement and began to ponder.
Compared to that immortal array, the Shi Boqiong was too small.
Indeed, the energy within it, from a scientific perspective, was insufficient to sublimate the physical body, only to allow the soul to be reborn.
This was very possible.
But allowing the soul to be reborn was exactly what he desired.
He wanted to go back to the past to save his wife and change her destiny.
If he possessed both the Shi Boqiong and Li Chonglou's blood, he should be able to achieve it.
At this moment, having received Li Chonglou's confirmation, Lin Zhendong felt immense confidence in this legendary artifact for the first time.
Before, it was all about trying anything, with faith outweighing reality.
If he didn't search for the Shi Boqiong, he would be tormented by his inner conscience.
But now it was different; he absolutely had to find it.
"Chonglou, for our respective goals, we both must find the Shi Boqiong," Lin Zhendong said after suppressing his excitement. "The whereabouts of your father are also unknown, and whether he became an ancestor of immortality is also uncertain. Perhaps only by obtaining the Shi Boqiong can we find him."
Li Chonglou nodded firmly, "I will never give up!"
"Junior Brother, tell me properly about your past life; I want to hear it." Lin Ying's interest had been fully captured by Li Chonglou's mysterious experience.
There was a destiny in the unseen. The first time she saw Li Chonglou, she also felt a sense of closeness, as if she had known him for many years.
Thinking back now, it felt even more miraculous.
Li Chonglou patiently recounted the key moments and major events of his previous life.
In reality, it wasn't particularly spectacular because at that time, he had no family or friends left. He was alone, allowing him to focus his mind and immerse himself in the ocean of antiques.
He dedicated his entire being to scholarship, which is how he became a world-renowned authority.
Otherwise, even a slight distraction would have prevented such an achievement.
When they heard about his father's death in prison and his own death during an expedition, Lin Ying and her father showed no change in expression.
It was only when Li Chonglou mentioned that the Shi Boqiong suddenly appeared and was sent to the museum by a mysterious person that they were shocked.
Who was this mysterious person?
Although it was an event decades in the future, did this mean that someone knew the whereabouts of the Shi Boqiong?
Or perhaps, this divine artifact might have already fallen into the hands of some people.
And the person who donated the Shi Boqiong must have been someone with great righteousness.
Otherwise, who would be willing to give away such a rare treasure of the world?
Lin Zhendong admitted to himself that he did not possess such magnanimity, as the Shi Boqiong was the key to his wife's revival.
For so many years, this matter had been his only spiritual pillar, and he would never give up.
"It seems we still need to focus our efforts on that character for water," Lin Zhendong said seriously after a few seconds of silence. "During this time, Xiao Ying and I will stay next to you."
"Until you complete your mission, I will take you to explore Kunling again."
"Also, it's time to guide you to cultivate my Lin family's mental techniques to the third level!"