Alert! The Dragon Lord has emerged from seclusion!

"The Netherworld Sect? Good..."

Qin Huaigu left the room and gently closed the door behind him.

Lin Chen took out an acupuncture kit from the canvas bag, inside which were thirty-six silver needles neatly arranged—a gift from his fourth master. The needles were made of a special alloy that could carry true qi.

He lifted the brocade quilt covering Qin Yurou and saw that she was only wearing a thin silk nightgown, her frail body trembling slightly in the cold air.

Lin Chen looked away and focused on administering the acupuncture.

The first acupuncture point is Shen Ting (神庭).

The silver needle, carrying the warm Nine Yang True Qi, slowly pierced in. Qin Yurou's body trembled again, but this time her brows seemed to relax a little.

Lin Chen was completely focused, and his acupuncture technique flowed smoothly: Baihui, Fengfu, Dazhui, Lingtai... Each needle was precisely inserted into the acupoint, and the Nine Yang True Qi flowed like a trickle into Qin Yurou's body through the silver needle.

This process is extremely mentally taxing.

He had to control the strength of his inner energy to avoid burning Qin Yurou's fragile meridians, and also guide the uncontrolled cold energy in her body to flow along a specific route.

At the same time, one must also be mindful of suppressing that malevolent energy.

Sweat trickled down Lin Chen's forehead, quickly condensing into tiny ice crystals in the low temperature.

An hour later, Qin Yurou had twenty-four needles inserted into her body, forming a complex network of energy channels.

A sliver of color finally returned to her pale face, and her breathing became steady and strong.

"Only twelve stitches left." Lin Chen wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Just then, Qin Yurou's long eyelashes fluttered a few times, and she slowly opened her eyes.

Those were eyes as clear as autumn water, yet lifeless, reflecting Lin Chen's blurry figure.

"Who...are you?" Her voice was so weak it was almost inaudible.

"Lin Chen, I'm here to treat you." Lin Chen's hands moved without stopping as he inserted another needle into her Tanzhong acupoint. "Don't speak, relax your body, and follow my breathing guidance."

Qin Yurou seemed to want to say something, but the warm current in her body made her feel more comfortable than ever before, and she quickly closed her eyes again in a daze.

Lin Chen hurried to finish the last few stitches.

When the thirty-sixth needle pierced the Yongquan acupoint on the sole of Qin Yurou's foot, all thirty-six silver needles trembled slightly at the same time, emitting a low humming sound.

The cold energy within Qin Yurou's body began to circulate rhythmically, forming a delicate balance with Lin Chen's Nine Yang True Qi.

The yin energy was forced into a corner of the dantian and was firmly enveloped and suppressed by a burst of Nine Yang True Fire.

"It's temporarily stabilized." Lin Chen breathed a sigh of relief and removed all the silver needles.

He checked the time; it had been exactly two hours.

The door was gently pushed open, and Qin Huaigu anxiously poked his head in: "Mr. Lin, how is it?"

"The Yin energy has been suppressed, and some of the cold energy has been dissipated." Lin Chen tucked Qin Yurou in, "But her constitution is special, and she needs long-term conditioning. Moreover—"

"The Yin energy has only been suppressed, not eradicated. The practitioner must be found, or the source medium of the Yin energy must be found, to completely eliminate it."

Qin Huaigu entered the room and saw that his granddaughter's face had regained its color, even becoming slightly flushed. He was so moved that tears streamed down his face: "Yu Rou hasn't looked this good in half a year... Mr. Lin, I can't thank you enough!"

"Don't thank me yet." Lin Chen shook his head. "Miss Qin needs acupuncture for seven consecutive days, once a day, to initially stabilize her condition."

"During this period, the Yin energy within her body may retaliate, and someone must keep a close watch on her at all times."

"I'll do it!" Qin Huaigu said without hesitation.

"You're too old to withstand this cold," Lin Chen said. "I'll stay until her condition stabilizes. But before that, I need to go and investigate the Zhao family."

"This is too dangerous!" Qin Huaigu exclaimed urgently. "That old fox Zhao Shichang is extremely cunning. The Zhao family mansion is heavily guarded, and there are even rumors that they are keeping a group of desperados..."

Lin Chen smiled and took out a small black device from his canvas bag—a miniature reconnaissance drone given to him by Su Qingxue.

It is only the size of a palm, flies silently, and has infrared and thermal imaging capabilities.

"I don't need to go in myself." He connected his phone, and the drone's control interface immediately appeared on the screen. "Just let this little thing fly in and take a look."

Qin Huaigu stared in disbelief: "This..."

"Modern technology," Lin Chen said, adjusting the equipment. "Sometimes, these things are more useful than cultivation."

Late that night, Lin Chen stood on the attic of the Qin family's old house and quietly controlled the drone to take off.

The night view of Jiangcheng Ancient Street unfolds on the screen, with green tiles and white walls resembling an ink painting under the moonlight.

The drone flew silently toward the Zhao family mansion, three kilometers away—an antique-style garden covering nearly ten acres.

However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that many of these "ancient buildings" are actually modern reinforced concrete structures with only antique-style decorations.

"There was definitely a problem." Lin Chen looked at the thermal imaging image.

Deep within the Zhao family compound, there are several areas with abnormal heat sources—not the temperature a human body should have, but some kind of low-temperature heat source, and their distribution pattern is bizarre.

What bothered him even more was that there was a detached small building in the northwest corner of the mansion, surrounded by as many as eight bodyguards, each with bulging pouches at their waists, clearly carrying weapons.

The drone descended to a lower altitude and captured images of the interior through gaps in the second-floor curtains:

An elderly man in his sixties, dressed in a Tang suit, was talking to a man in black robes. The elderly man was Zhao Shichang, and the man in black robes—

Lin Chen zoomed in on the image and saw a tiny pattern embroidered on the sleeve of the man in black robes: three skulls surrounding a ghostly flower.

The insignia of an inner sect elder of the Netherworld Sect.

"They really did collude together." Lin Chen sneered.

He maneuvered the drone closer, and its built-in high-sensitivity microphone captured the intermittent conversation:

"...That girl from the Qin family...someone has interfered..."

"...Find out who it is...The sect leader attaches great importance to this...The Seven Yin Gathering Plan...cannot fail..."

"...Three days later...at the auction...that item...I must get it..."

Just then, the man in black robes suddenly looked up, his scarlet eyes staring straight at the direction where the drone was hidden!

Lin Chen felt a chill and immediately controlled the drone to take off rapidly.

Almost simultaneously, the man in black robes raised his hand and shot out a wisp of black energy that grazed the edge of the drone.

The drone shook violently, but eventually regained its balance and quickly flew away from the Zhao family's residence.

"We've been discovered." Lin Chen retrieved the drone and noticed a corrosion mark on the side of the fuselage. "However, we also overheard some crucial information."

"Seven Yin Gathering... Auction..."

He immediately sent Su Qingxue an encrypted message: "The Zhao family is indeed colluding with the Netherworld Sect. There will be an auction in Jiangcheng in three days, and the Netherworld Sect's target is suspected to be an item related to the 'Seven Yin Convergence'."

"In addition, the Yin energy in Qin Yurou's body has been temporarily suppressed, and she needs a seven-day treatment course."

A few minutes later, Su Qingxue replied: "I have checked. There is indeed a high-end antique auction at the Jiangcheng International Convention and Exhibition Center in three days."