Chapter 341 : Ancestral Flames and Forgotten Ties

"Truly?"

Old Patriarch's eyes flickered slightly. After a moment of contemplation, he continued, "The Blazing Sun Void-Treading Art... if it's from Qi Kingdom, then it indeed could be a match."

"Oh?"

Eldrin Chen's gaze sharpened, and everyone turned their attention to the Old Patriarch.

Under their collective gaze, the Old Patriarch nodded and began to recount the tale. "The progenitor of our Green Chariot Mountain Chen Clan did indeed hail from an Immortal Clan within Qi Kingdom."

"It is said that due to a great upheaval in those distant years, our Chen Clan's founding ancestor was forced to flee from Qi Kingdom. He claimed this Verdant Chariot Mountain as his refuge, thus establishing the lineage that has become our Chen Clan today."

As he spoke, a shade of reminiscence passed over the Old Patriarch's face. "In the beginning, our Green Chariot Mountain Chen Clan maintained occasional contact with Qi Kingdom. However, after the founding ancestor's passing, the vast and perilous distance gradually eroded those ties, and our interactions dwindled."

"In his time, Daoxu, the Clan Uncle once journeyed to pay his respects to the Qi Nation Chen Clan. But after he fell in battle during the Beast Tide Calamity, the connection between our branches was severed."

As Chen Thalion's narrative unfolded, Eldrin Chen began to grasp the contours of this ancient lineage.

The Chen Immortal Clan of Verdant Chariot Mountain had been established for over four centuries. In its first one or two hundred years, while the Ancient Ancestors of the 'Zhu' and Dao Generation generations still lived, some tenuous threads of connection with the Qi Nation Chen Clan remained. For uninterrupted reading, go to audio-novel*com.

It was solely due to the vast distance of several million Li-length [one Li-length equals five hundred meters] that the connection between the two sides remained confined to the level of the Foundation Establishment [the second major realm of cultivation, where one builds a solid foundation for their dao] high-ranking members.

Furthermore, because the journey was so exceedingly long, the Foundation Establishment Ancestor [a venerable elder who has reached the Foundation Establishment realm] from the family had only visited the Qi Nation Chen Clan once or twice in their lifetime.

The most recent occasion a Dao Generation [the generation designated by the character 'Dao' in the clan's naming hierarchy] Ancient Ancestor [a revered founding or early-generation progenitor of a clan] from the Chen Clan journeyed to the Qi Kingdom was three hundred years ago, when the previous Clan Patriarch [the male leader of a clan], Chen Daoxu, achieved a breakthrough into the Foundation Establishment, Late Stage [the advanced phase of the Foundation Establishment realm].

At that time, the Old Patriarch [the current, aged leader of the clan] had not even broken through to Foundation Establishment [the second major realm of cultivation]. That generation's Clan Patriarch, Chen Daoxu, already possessed the Purple Mansion Potential [the innate talent and promise to reach the Purple Mansion realm], and the entire clan was at the peak of its prosperity; it was a triumphant return to their ancestral roots.

Alas, sixty years later, the Beast Tide Calamity [a periodic, catastrophic invasion by hordes of demonic beasts] erupted. The previous Clan Patriarch, Chen Daoxu, led the senior generation of Clan Elder [respected senior members of a clan] into battle. The outcome was devastating: the older generation of Chen Clan cultivators was nearly wiped out, and both of their Foundation Establishment Ancestor [venerable elders at the Foundation Establishment realm] had fallen in combat. This effectively severed all ties with the Chen Clan in the Qi Kingdom.

Back then, Chen Thalion had only recently attained Foundation Establishment [the second major realm of cultivation]. His understanding of the Chen Immortal Clan [a clan with cultivators powerful enough to be considered 'immortal' by mortal standards] in the Qi Kingdom was extremely limited, and he possessed no means to contact the Qi Nation Chen Clan across those millions of Li-length [one Li-length equals five hundred meters].

In truth, even if contact had been established, the Chen Immortal Clan in the Qi Kingdom could not have offered substantial aid. The distance was simply too immense, and the strength of the Chen Clan in Qi Kingdom was likely not significantly greater than that of the Verdant Chariot Mountain [a spirit mountain and the ancestral home of the Chen Clan] clan in its heyday.

From that point onward, the connection between the Chen Immortal Clan of Qi Kingdom and the Green Chariot Mountain Chen Clan was broken. Three hundred years passed in the blink of an eye; even Eldrin Chen was now over two centuries old.

Although the Chen Clan had gradually grown and prospered over these years, most of the cultivators who had known of the Qi Nation Chen Clan had long since passed away in meditation. By now, even the Old Patriarch [the current, aged leader of the clan] possessed only scant knowledge of them.

The newer generations of cultivators were fundamentally ignorant of their existence, and in truth, even if they knew, they would harbor little sentiment or connection to that distant branch.

"For centuries, I never imagined we would reconnect with the Qi Nation Chen Clan. Our ancestors, knowing this from the Nine Springs [the underworld in Chinese mythology], would surely find great solace in their hearts."

After speaking, the Old Patriarch looked towards Kael Chen and said, "Bring them to see me."

Kael Chen gave a nod, turned, and flew towards the Guest-Welcoming Peak. Not long after, he returned with the two siblings, their faces etched with tension, arriving before the Back Mountain.

Following him all the way to the foot of the Back Mountain, Chen Lucian glanced at the two figures ahead and could not suppress a tremor in his heart.

Being Foundation Establishment Cultivators after all, the moment the siblings saw the two, they understood their cultivation was likely that of Golden Core True Persons. They promptly prostrated themselves, saying,

"Your juniors, Chen Lucian and Chen Selene, pay our respects to the two True Persons!"

"Hmm."

Eldrin Chen's gaze swept over them with calm detachment before he nodded. "It is indeed the Blazing Sun Void-Treading Art."

Yet the Blazing Sun Void-Treading Art alone was not conclusive proof. Eldrin Chen then invoked another art, known as the Bloodline Tracing Art [a mystical technique used to identify and trace familial bloodlines].

This art could discern the power of a bloodline. Though centuries separated these two from the lineage of Verdant Chariot Mountain, the technique could still reveal a general connection.

After a long moment, Eldrin Chen withdrew his spell and nodded. "By tracing their bloodline, the ancestors of these two, ten generations back, share a close kinship with our own lineage," he stated.

A blood connection from ten generations prior being this close was essentially sufficient to confirm the familial relationship between the two branches.

"Then there is no mistake."

Old Patriarch nodded, his gaze resting on the two siblings with a warm, benevolent smile. "This old man is Chen Thalion, the great-great-grandson of the distant founding ancestor, Thalion Chen. Calculating the exact generational gap between us would be a futile endeavor. You may simply address me as Ancient Ancestor."

Seeing the Old Patriarch being so gracious, the brother and sister were overcome with rapturous joy.

Chen Lucian promptly prostrated himself on the ground, his voice trembling with emotion. "This junior, Chen Lucian, along with my younger clan sister, Chen Selene, pays our respects to the two Ancient Ancestor." Find thousands of chapters at *audio-novel.com*.

"There is no need for such formalities."

Eldrin Chen said calmly. The blood ties between them had grown distant; in mortal terms, they were separated by over a dozen generations. It was far simpler and cleaner to determine status by cultivation realm, avoiding unnecessary complications.

He glanced at the two, his sleeve brushing the air to gently lift them to their feet, then asked with a faint smile, "You have come from the ancestral lineage in the Qi Kingdom. It seems you have a matter of importance?"

"Indeed we do!"

Hearing this, Chen Selene quickly spoke up, "We have come seeking aid."

"Oh?"

Eldrin Chen and Old Patriarch exchanged a glance, their eyes flickering with subtle understanding.

As the two siblings recounted their tale in detail, the others soon grasped the reason for their visit.

The Chen Clan of the Qi Kingdom had a legacy spanning over eight hundred years, making it the most ancient Immortal Clan within the Ming Province of the Qi Kingdom. Yet, its journey through the years had been fraught with hardship.

For eight centuries, the Chen Immortal Clan had stood guard over Ming Province. For the first six hundred, it remained a Foundation Establishment Immortal Clan. It was only two hundred years ago, after exhausting six centuries of Deep-Seated Foundation [a profound and stable cultivation base accumulated over generations] in an all-or-nothing gamble, that it finally ascended to become one of the Five Great Purple Mansion Immortal Clans of Ming Province.

Alas, the Chen Immortal Clan of the Qi Kingdom had long ago incurred the enmity of a formidable foe, and its subsequent development had never proceeded smoothly.

The roots of this conflict traced back to the distant ancestor of the Chen Clan from Verdant Chariot Mountain, Thalion Chen. In his time, Thalion Chen, having achieved Self-Guided Foundation Establishment [a rare and difficult method of reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm without external aid], was considered a peerless talent even within the Ming Province of the Qi Kingdom.

Yet, fate turned when a chance encounter over a rare opportunity led to a bitter falling out with the then-reigning top genius of Ming Province, Ancestor Mo.

Initially, the matter seemed inconsequential. Both men were rare prodigies among the Foundation Establishment cultivators, and the Chen Immortal Clan did not fear Ancestor Mo.

However, Ancestor Mo [a powerful cultivator] broke through to the Purple Mansion [a high stage of cultivation] realm over four hundred years ago. Faced with such a formidable foe, the distant ancestor Thalion Chen was forced to flee far away to the Chu Kingdom and establish what is now the Chen Immortal Clan [a clan of cultivators].

That Ancestor Mo was a relatively upright individual. After Thalion Chen fled to the Chu Kingdom, he did not pursue the matter with the Chen Immortal Clan.

The most critical point, however, was that Ancestor Mo's cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. Astonishingly, three hundred years ago, he broke through to the Golden Core [a core of condensed spiritual power] realm.

Although Ancestor Mo let bygones be bygones regarding the youthful conflicts of his past after his Golden Core breakthrough, his disciples harbored a deep-seated grudge. They subjected the Chen Immortal Clan in the Qi Kingdom to endless harassment and have consistently oppressed them in every possible way. Visit audio-novel .c om to enjoy the complete series.