In the Land of Beyond Heaven, Hongyue was obviously surprised as well. However, when she heard Yun Lintian's question, she rolled her eyes and replied in annoyance. "Do you think I am an encyclopedia or something? This is also the first time I heard about it, alright?"
"Besides, it's normal for the Divine Beast Clans to have subjects under them. Hence, there's nothing to be surprised much about it."
"Aren't you surprised about it earlier?" Yun Lintian retorted.
"I'm surprised because I didn't find any trace of the Vermilion Bird's Origin Blood in them. That's Origin Blood we are talking about. It will never dilute, even passing on thousands of generations. If her ancestor didn't lie, there's obviously a problem here." Hongyue snorted annoyingly.
Yun Lintian immediately realized it was indeed the case. He looked at Huoyun Yurou and asked in doubt. "Senior, as far as I know. The Divine Beast's Origin Blood will never dilute when passing down…."
"Are you curious why we didn't have a single trace of Lord Vermilion Bird's bloodline?" Huoyun Yurou interjected. Seeing Yun Lintian nodding, she explained. "Our ancestors were afraid that someone from the Divine World would find us through Lord Vermilion Bird's bloodline. They had decided to extract Lord Vermilion Bird's Origin Blood from our bloodline and stored it away."
"In each generation, we will choose a suitable candidate to inherit Lord Vermilion Bird's Origin Blood. Of course, we wouldn't fuse with the Origin Blood right away from the beginning. We will do it when we have to face a powerful enemy one day."
Yun Lintian immediately understood. However, he couldn't help asking. "Isn't Senior's clan facing a powerful enemy right now? Why don't Senior fuse with the Vermilion Bird's Origin Blood and face them?"
Yun Lintian didn't understand it. The clan had reached this point, yet they still held back? It didn't make sense at all.
Huoyun Yurou went silent. Pain and sorrow appeared on her face as though she was thinking of a painful experience.
Huoyun Lingling couldn't bear to see her grandmother in pain. She let out a sigh and explained on her behalf. "I've told Senior before that those people are after our clan's divine artifact. This artifact, in fact, is used to hold Lord Vermilion Bird's Origin Blood."
She moved to the altar and touched it gently as she spoke this. All of a sudden, the bird-shaped flame above the altar expanded, and a huge red gate appeared in everyone's sight. The gate was similar to the gate at the entrance. There was a Vermilion Bird pattern engraved on it. The difference was a hexagon-shaped hole in the Vermilion Bird's chest.
"The artifact is kept behind this gate. A key is required to open it." Huoyun Lingling explained further. "Three thousand years ago, our Crown Prince had silently disappeared, and he also took the key away with him. That's why we cannot access Lord Vermilion Bird's Origin Blood."
It was as though there was a click sound in Yun Lintian's head. All the puzzles and doubts were clear to him instantly. The token that Little Flame gave him was undoubtedly the key to this gate. He couldn't help scolding Little Flame inwardly…. Why did he bring the key with him when he knew he won't return?
Yun Lintian took a deep breath and asked. "The Crown Prince is Senior's…."
"Son. He's my son." Huoyun Yurou answered sadly.
"I see…. I'm sorry to hear that, Senior." Yun Lintian was tangled in his heart. On one side, he wanted to reveal everything to her directly, and another side told him to hold on first. A thorough investigation was required in case there was a traitor among them.
Huoyun Yurou shook her head with a sad smile. Her cloudy eyes seemed to cover with haze as she said. "My son has always been carefree. I am aware that he didn't want to inherit the clan head position, and I don't blame him for that. I didn't stop him when he left and believed he would return. After all, he took the key with him, which meant that he had a plan to return in his heart…. Alas, I don't know where he is now."
Yun Lintian went silent. He reconsidered the pros and cons in his heart. Returning the token to Huoyun Yurou right away was not a wrong choice, but he simply couldn't get rid of the bad feeling in his heart.
"You can return the token to her if you believe me." Hongyue suddenly spoke. "My judgment shouldn't be wrong. The three of them here are trustworthy."
"Oh? Why are you suddenly pitying them? This isn't your style at all." Yun Lintian was surprised to hear these words from Hongyue.
"Hmph! I just don't want you to waste time here. It doesn't matter whether there's a traitor hiding here or not. As long as she got the Vermilion Bird's Origin Blood, who in this place can be her opponent? Also…." Hongyue paused for a second and continued. "This woman is indeed strong, but Linlin can suppress her for a period even if she successfully fused with the Origin Blood. You can use this chance to escape if she really has a bad intention."
Yun Lintian nodded inwardly. Hongyue's suggestion was reasonable enough.
Huoyun Yurou adjusted her mood and said softly. "Lingling, Yanyan, send Little Friend Mu and Lord White Tiger God back to rest first."
Huoyun Lingling and Huoyun Yanyan nodded their heads and walked to Yun Lintian, preparing to send him back to his hut.
However, Yun Lintian suddenly raised his head and said in a deep voice. "Wait for a moment. I have something to tell everyone here."
Huoyun Yurou smiled faintly. "Please do speak."
Yun Lintian scanned the hall briefly to ensure there were no other people here before taking the token that was burning vigorously out. "Senior's son told me to give this to you."
The expressions of Huoyun Yurou and the Huoyun sisters changed drastically the moment the token appeared in Yun Lintian's hand. Their gazes were involuntarily glued to the token, unable to move elsewhere.