Free Web NovelChapter 199: Chapter 199: Ancestral Jade
The ancestral jade Qin Wanshan brought from the old vault was not large.
It was palm-sized, dark green, and carved with a simple Qin character. It did not release overwhelming aura. It did not shake the room. It looked old, quiet, and stubborn.
Qin Wanshan placed it on the table in the deepest chamber.
"This jade belonged to one of our ancestors before the Qin family declined."
Qin Yuheng looked at it carefully.
"Does it contain bloodline inheritance?"
"No," Qin Wanshan said. "At least, not the kind that awakens power. It is a memory lock."
Qin Mo leaned forward, then stopped himself before getting too close.
"What triggers it?" freeweɓnovel.cøm
Qin Wanshan looked at Qin Zhengyuan.
"Sleeping seal resonance may."
The room became quiet.
Qin Zhengyuan’s wound was connected to a sleeping seal.
The true echo from Whispering Star Well had said:
A sleeping seal is not opened by force, but by remembering who closed it.
Perhaps the ancestral jade could provide part of that memory.
But opening it carelessly might awaken bloodline traces too early.
Qin Wanshan did not allow immediate activation.
Instead, they prepared.
True Self Soul Anchor Crystal.
True Soul Guiding Lantern.
Sleeping Seal Observation Lens.
Fulfilled Command Law Tablet.
True Sky Black Glass Water.
Wish Distortion Cleansing Crystal.
Forbidden Concept Sealing Bookmark.
Mu Qinglan’s moon restraint.
Qin Zhengyuan sat calmly at the center.
Qin Yuheng stood nearby but did not touch the jade.
Qin Wanshan activated it with a drop of his own blood.
The jade glowed faintly.
At first, nothing happened.
Then an old voice spoke.
Not loud.
Not dramatic.
Tired.
If this memory wakes, then a Qin descendant has encountered a sleeping seal.
Listen carefully.
Do not open.
Remember.
Qin Wanshan’s eyes reddened slightly.
The voice continued.
In ancient days, the Qin line did not only fight.
We sealed.
We guarded gates that should not open.
Some seals were made to imprison enemies.
Some were made to hide roads.
Some were made to protect descendants from powers they could not yet bear.
Qin Yuheng’s heart stirred.
Protect descendants from powers they could not yet bear.
The Qin bloodline awakening after Level 1000.
The ancient ancestors embedding power into descendants.
Sleeping seal?
The voice continued.
A sleeping seal differs from a prison seal.
A prison seal suppresses what must not move.
A sleeping seal preserves what must awaken only under the right sky, right blood, right will, and right enemy.
If enemies seek a sleeping seal, they may try to turn the heir into a key.
If the key turns under false sun, the seal opens wrong.
If the seal opens wrong, inheritance becomes chain.
The room became deathly silent.
Inheritance becomes chain.
This explained Crimson Eclipse’s interest.
They did not merely want Qin Zhengyuan dead.
They wanted the Qin sleeping seal opened incorrectly.
The voice grew fainter.
Remember this:
The one who closed a true Qin sleeping seal did so willingly.
Not out of fear.
Not out of defeat.
But to wait.
Find the closing will.
Do not break the sleeping gate.
Wake it only when the heir can stand beyond mortal height.
The jade dimmed.
A final line appeared.
Before Level 1000, do not awaken the deep blood seal.
Then silence.
No one spoke for a long time.
Qin Yuheng finally understood something critical.
The Qin bloodline power that should only begin after Level 1000 was likely protected by a sleeping seal.
Blood Sun’s Crimson Eclipse ritual had tried to exploit that structure early.
Qin Zhengyuan, as a powerful Qin descendant, had been used as an anchor because his blood carried access traces.
Mu Qinglan’s moon counterweight had prevented collapse.
But the real danger remained: if the sleeping seal opened under false sun authority, Qin inheritance could become a chain controlled by the ritual.
Qin Wanshan’s voice was low.
"Now we know why they targeted Zhengyuan."
Qin Zhengyuan closed his eyes.
"I was not the final target."
Mu Qinglan said coldly, "You were a door they tried to force."
Qin Yuheng looked at the ancestral jade.
Before Level 1000, do not awaken deep blood seal.
That matched what the family had instinctively known.
His Qin bloodline must not awaken early.
He must climb.
Build foundation.
Reach the height where bloodline power could be felt naturally.
Not forced.
Not stolen.
Not opened by enemy ritual.
Qin Mo’s face was pale but focused.
"This changes the anchor map. The sleeping seal core is not corruption. It is protective inheritance structure. Crimson Eclipse wrapped around it and tried to create a false opening route."
Qin Wanshan nodded.
"Update the map."
The new map entry appeared.
[Crimson Eclipse Anchor Map — Ancestral Update]
Sleeping Seal Core:
Protective Qin inheritance seal.
Not to be opened before proper realm threshold.
Crimson Eclipse Function:
Attempts to convert living Qin blood trace into premature key.
False Sun Authority:
Potentially forces wrong opening direction.
Shadow Witness Nodes:
Stabilize false authority.
Moon Counterweight:
Prevents collapse, currently protective but entangled.
Command-Blood Thread:
Likely used to imitate legitimate Qin command over seal structure.
Primary Rule:
Do not open.
Do not force.
Recover closing will and external ritual pattern first.
This was the most important progress since the lens.
It also confirmed something terrifying.
Blood Sun Hall—or whatever older force behind its methods—wanted access to Qin inheritance before its time.
Qin Yuheng’s future bloodline awakening was now more dangerous than ever.
But also clearer.
That night, Qin Wanshan spoke privately to Qin Yuheng.
"Your bloodline must remain quiet."
"I know."
"Even if you find resources that claim to awaken it safely."
"I will not use them."
"Even if the Tower offers bloodline rewards before Level 1000."
Qin Yuheng’s gaze sharpened.
"I will refuse."
Qin Wanshan nodded. frёewebnoѵēl.com
"That may be one of your hardest future tests."
Qin Yuheng understood.
Power delayed was difficult.
But power stolen by timing became disaster.
The next floor file arrived the following morning.
[Floor 45: Crimson Puppet Theater]
Type:
Puppet stage / identity acting / blood-string manipulation / role traps.
Warning:
Those who accept a role may move according to its script.]
Qin Mo stared at the file.
"Blood-string manipulation. Role traps. Right after ancestral sleeping seal discovery."
Qin Yuheng’s eyes cooled.
"Then we enter carefully."
The Tower was continuing the lesson.
Roles.
Keys.
Scripts.
False authority.
If Floor 45 tried to make him accept a role, he already knew the answer.
He would choose his path.
Not the script.
