# Chapter 925: The Unexpected Truth
The east of Liuyun City was originally a stretch of mountainous terrain, but due to the Shenhuang Army, it had long since been flattened into a plain.
Although Yun Che had grown up in Liuyun City, before the age of sixteen, he had never once been to this place. The rear mountain area, where low-level profound beasts existed, he could visit with Xiao Lingxi or Xia Yuanba accompanying him, and Xiao Lie did not strictly forbid him from entering. But the mountainous area east of the city, Xiao Lie absolutely forbade him and Xiao Lingxi from going to. Perhaps it was because this place was too far from Liuyun City, and he couldn't rest assured about their safety.
Yun Che arrived above the area and quickly released his spiritual sense, enveloping this land that had been trampled by the Shenhuang Army.
Although it was very faint, Yun Che could still vaguely sense that this land had once been covered by a sealing profound formation. Clearly, after the Fenghuang God Sect discovered the violet crystal mine here, they immediately set up an invisible isolation barrier to prevent the violet crystal's energy from being detected by others.
But unexpectedly, his spiritual sense swept all the way to over twenty li away without perceiving any trace of violet crystal energy.
Without a doubt, the Fenghuang God Sect had been extremely cautious about this matter. They had cleaned it up spotlessly, leaving not a single trace behind. After all, for the Fenghuang God Sect at that time, if the Four Sacred Grounds were to detect anything, the consequences would be incredibly dangerous.
Descending from the air, he stepped onto the now-thickened ground. Yun Che furrowed his brows in contemplation, still unable to figure out why such a large quantity — over a hundred jin — of Purple Vein Divine Crystal could exist here.
Earlier, this doubt had merely flickered through his mind. Then, with too many things happening, the question about the Purple Vein Divine Crystal had been pushed to the back of his mind. But while dealing with Xuan Yuan Wentian, he suddenly recalled something that was definitely not normal — a hundred jin of Purple Vein Divine Crystal, even if buried very deep, would inevitably release an extraordinary profound crystal energy. That the Four Sacred Grounds had never detected it was already very abnormal. And twenty-four years ago, when Tianwei Sword Domain and Sun Moon Divine Palace's people came to Liuyun City to pursue his parents, Yun Qinghong and Mu Yurou, they had also reached Liuyun City… Xiao Ying was also murdered at that time.
If they had merely passed through and not discovered it, it could barely be understood. But after arriving in Liuyun City, they clearly searched the surrounding area for several days. Even if they hadn't dug three feet into the ground, it was close enough. With the spiritual sense intensity at the level of the Sacred Grounds, how could they have completely failed to detect such a massive and high-grade violet crystal mine?
Moreover, those sent to pursue Yun Qinghong and Mu Yurou would certainly be figures at the Emperor Sovereign level… Over at the Sword Domain, it was even led by the young master, Xuan Yuan Wentian, himself.
Could it be that at that time, this violet crystal mine did not yet exist?
No… absolutely impossible. Such a massive violet crystal mine must have taken an extremely long time to form. How could it have been generated in just over twenty years?
Furthermore, based on the depth of excavation his spiritual sense detected beneath his feet, this violet crystal mine was not buried deep. On the contrary, it could even be considered quite shallow — the shallowest point was less than twenty zhang from the surface. Back then, the Shenhuang Army had sent two hundred thousand troops to station here, using daily "exercises" to create a huge commotion, precisely to cover up the sounds of extracting the shallow violet crystal.
Yun Che stood there for a long time, completely baffled. If one said that over the past few thousand years, the Four Sacred Grounds had never approached this land, and therefore never noticed it, that could barely be explained. But to say that all the Sacred Grounds' people who came to Liuyun City had short-circuited brains and thick nerves… that was simply unconvincing.
Just as Yun Che was hesitating whether to dive underground to investigate, a figure suddenly appeared in the west, walking slowly in this direction.
Yun Che turned his gaze and saw an elderly man of medium build with a kind face. His expression shifted slightly as he rose into the air and flew over, landing before the old man: "Uncle Hong, what brings you here all of a sudden?"
The old man stopped walking, then smiled: "Ah, it's the young master. Sigh, it's almost the lady's death anniversary again. The master wants me to pick some Wu-lan flowers, the ones the lady loved most in life. Young master, why are you here as well?"
Among the Xiao Sect, Yun Che respected Xiao Lie the most, and after him, it was this Xiao Hong. Xiao Hong was not originally a member of the Xiao Sect. He had been rescued by Xiao Lie's father during his travels abroad, brought back to the Xiao Sect, and given the surname Xiao. He had taken care of Xiao Lie's daily life since childhood and was fiercely loyal to Xiao Lie. Back when Yun Che married Xia Qingyue, Xiao Hong had accompanied him to pick up the bride.
Every year on the anniversary of his deceased wife's death, Xiao Lie would bring a large bunch of Wu-lan flowers. This was because they were the favorite flower of his late wife. Yun Che and Xiao Lingxi had known this since childhood.
"I was just passing by and thought I'd take a look," Yun Che said, glancing around. "It doesn't seem like there are any Wu-lan flowers around here. How about I go with Uncle Hong to look somewhere else?"
"No need," Xiao Hong smiled and shook his head. "The young master is now a person of immense worth. How could I have you accompany me in such mundane tasks? In previous years, this place was full of Wu-lan flowers during this season. But ever since the Shenhuang Army came, the land was leveled, and Wu-lan flowers seem hard to find now. Sigh."
"So the Wu-lan flowers from past years were all picked here," Yun Che said with some emotion. "Come to think of it, Grandfather never allowed me and Little Aunt to come here to play since I was young. I don't even know what this place used to look like."
"Heh heh, of course," Xiao Hong chuckled, reminiscing. "After all, this is a place of sorrow for the master. Even he himself rarely came here after that incident."
"A place of sorrow?" Yun Che was slightly taken aback. "What happened here? Why is this Grandfather's place of sorrow?"
"Oh?" Xiao Hong showed surprise. "You mean the master has never told the young master about this? Oh… heh heh, that's understandable. That kind of matter, the master would indeed not bring it up on his own. After all, it is also the place of greatest pain in his heart."
"…" Yun Che sensed that something was not ordinary. He pressed further, "Uncle Hong, what exactly happened here? Why is it the place of greatest pain in Grandfather's heart? If you know, please tell me in detail. After all, I am no longer the child I once was. After knowing, perhaps I can find a way to help Grandfather overcome this shadow."
Xiao Hong shook his head. "It can't be helped. The dead are gone. But it's no harm to tell the young master about this matter, since the young master is now such an extraordinary figure."
"Young master, do you know how the lady passed away back then?" Xiao Hong suddenly asked.
Yun Che replied, "I heard that Uncle Xiao Ying was murdered, his wife died for love, and their child's fate was unknown. Grandma was too heavily impacted, she became ill from grief, and not long after giving birth to Little Aunt, she passed away from depression… Although Grandfather didn't tell me this, that's how it's said in the Xiao Sect and throughout Liuyun City. Could there be some hidden truth behind it?"
Xiao Lie's wife had died of depression after giving birth to Xiao Lingxi due to the pain of losing her son. Before the age of sixteen, Yun Che had never doubted this. But after the age of sixteen, when he gained the memories of the Cang Yun Continent and recalled this matter, his medical knowledge naturally raised questions in his mind.
They say women are inherently weak, but mothers are strong. Although the pain of losing a son is heart-wrenching, after giving birth to Lingxi, Xiao Lie's wife would have shifted all her attention and maternal love to her newborn daughter. No matter how great the pain in her heart, she would strive to turn it into strength — this is a mother's instinct and also the most admirable aspect of a mother.
No matter what, she wouldn't have just given birth to a daughter and then abandoned her, dying from "depression."
Moreover, she was not alone at the time. She had Xiao Lie, who deeply loved her.
Therefore, whether from a medical or human nature perspective, Xiao Lie's wife should not have died from "depression." There must have been another reason. For example… dying from illness?
Xiao Hong gazed at the flattened mountain terrain to the east and began to narrate slowly: "Back then, Young Master Xiao Ying met with a tragic end, and the young master's whereabouts were unknown — more than likely lost. The lady suffered a heavy blow and wept every day. At that time, she was also six months pregnant. The master feared that her excessive grief would harm her body, so he tried every day to comfort her and cheer her up… Sigh, the master was also heartbroken at that time, but his feelings for the lady were indeed deep."
Yun Che: "…"
"When the lady was about six months pregnant with Miss Lingxi, it happened to be the season when the Wu-lan flowers bloomed here. The Wu-lan flower was the lady's favorite, so the master brought her here to quietly admire the blooming flowers, hoping to somewhat soothe the pain of losing her son. I was attending to them at the time."
"From morning until evening, the lady's mood indeed improved somewhat. But just as the master was preparing to take her back to Liuyun City, an unforeseen accident suddenly occurred."
"What accident?" Yun Che immediately pressed.
"The lady… was suddenly struck by a bolt of lightning." More than twenty years had passed since that scene, but even now, recalling it, Xiao Hong's face still showed lingering fear.
"Struck by… a bolt of lightning?" Yun Che froze, his mind momentarily unable to process this. "What do you mean? How could she be struck by lightning out of nowhere?"
"The master and I were also completely baffled," Xiao Hong sighed. "The Wu-lan flowers were blooming, the sky was clear for miles. There wasn't a single dark cloud, not even a wisp of cloud. Yet suddenly, a bolt of lightning descended from the sky and struck the lady… And that lightning was a strange black."
"…Black!?"
"Yes, the master and I both saw it clearly. It was indeed a black bolt of lightning, something neither the master nor I had ever seen in our lives. Its color and its appearance were both extremely bizarre. The master thought it was someone's scheme — that the villain who killed Young Master Xiao Ying had returned to eliminate the roots. He searched furiously, but throughout the entire mountain area, besides the three of us, there wasn't a single other person. After that, no other anomalies occurred."
"And then? What happened after Grandma was struck by the black lightning?" Yun Che asked urgently, his brows tightly furrowed.
A bolt of lightning from a clear sky was already highly abnormal. If he had encountered it, his first reaction would also be that someone was behind it. And black lightning… the basic color of lightning profound force is purple. When his Yun family's Purple Cloud Art reached a very high level, it would undergo a qualitative change into red lightning. But whether in Tian Xuan Continent, the Huan Yao Realm, or the Cang Yun Continent back then, he had never seen or heard of anyone or any sect whose lightning force could take on a jet-black color.
However, when Fen Juechen and Xuan Yuan Wentian released Dark Profound Force, the extremely compressed Dark Profound Force would sometimes form lightning-shaped profound light, which looked like black lightning… But over twenty years ago, Tian Xuan Continent had no Dark Profound Force at all. The only one who could use Dark Profound Force, Shiyue Mojun, was firmly sealed away in the Slay Moon Demon Cave outside the continent.
"After being struck by the lightning, the lady fell unconscious on the spot. She remained unconscious for three full days before finally waking up. Strangely, there was no trace of injury from the lightning on her body. But after that, her body became extremely weak. She would often have fits during the day and nightmare-ridden nights. The master searched for famous doctors both inside and outside the city, tried all kinds of tonics, but there was no improvement. Later, the lady carried the pregnancy for a full thirteen months before finally giving birth to Miss Lingxi. After that, her condition worsened day by day, and before long, she passed away…"