Chapter 341 : Ancestral Flames and Forgotten Ties

"Truly?"

Old Patriarch's eyes flickered slightly. After a moment of contemplation, he continued, "The Blazing Sun Dominating Void Art... if it's from the Qi Nation, 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 founding ancestor of our Chen Clan of Green Chariot Mountain did indeed hail from an Immortal Clan within the Qi Nation."

"It is said that due to a great upheaval in those distant years, our clan's progenitor was forced to flee the Qi Nation. He came here, claimed Green Chariot Mountain, and thus laid the foundation for our Chen Clan Lineage."

A shade of reminiscence passed over the Old Patriarch's face as he spoke. "In the beginning, our Chen Clan of Green Chariot Mountain maintained occasional contact with the Qi Nation. However, after the founding ancestor passed into seclusion [a term for a cultivator's death during deep meditation], the vast and perilous distance gradually eroded our ties."

"In his time, our late clan uncle, Path Void, once journeyed to pay his respects to the Qi Nation Chen Clan. But after Path Void fell in battle against a Beast Tide [a massive, destructive surge of demonic beasts], all connection between our branches was severed."

As Eternal Profound Chen narrated this history, Eldrin Chen began to grasp the contours of this ancient lineage.

The Chen Immortal Clan of Green Chariot Mountain had been established for over four hundred years. During the first century or two, while the patriarchs of the 'Zhu' generation and the 'Dao' generation still lived, some tenuous threads of connection with the Qi Nation Chen Clan remained. Find this and other novels at audio-novel .c om.

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 their Foundation Establishment [the third major stage of cultivation, where one builds a stable foundation for their core] high-ranking members.

Furthermore, because it was so distant, the Foundation Establishment Patriarchs of the family had only visited the Qi Nation Chen Clan [the main branch of the Chen Clan located in the Qi Nation] a mere one or two times at most.

The most recent occasion a Path's Generation Patriarch from the Chen Clan [the Chen family of cultivators] journeyed to Qi Nation [a nation within the cultivation world] was three hundred years ago, when the then-clan leader, Path Void Chen [a former Patriarch of the Chen Clan], achieved a breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage [the advanced phase of the Foundation Establishment realm].

At that time, the Old Patriarch [the venerable elder and former leader of the Chen Clan] had not even broken through to Foundation Establishment yet, while that generation's leader, Path Void Chen, already showed the potential to reach the Violet Sanctum [the fourth major cultivation realm, where one opens a mystical violet palace within their dantian]. The entire clan was at the peak of its prosperity, making it a triumphant return to their ancestral home.

Unfortunately, sixty years later, a Beast Tide [a catastrophic invasion by monstrous beasts] erupted. The former clan leader, Path Void Chen, led the generation of Clan Elder [senior members of the clan] into battle. The result was that the older generation of cultivators from the Chen Clan was almost completely wiped out, and both Foundation Establishment Patriarchs had also fallen in combat. This effectively severed all ties with the Chen Clan in Qi Nation.

Back then, Eternal Profound Chen [a senior member of the Chen Clan] had only recently reached Foundation Establishment. His understanding of the Chen Immortal Clan [the immortal cultivation clan of the Chen family] in Qi Nation was extremely limited, making it utterly impossible to establish contact with the Qi Nation Chen Clan millions of Li-length away.

In truth, even if contact had been made, the Immortal Clan [a clan with a lineage of immortal cultivators] of the Qi Nation Chen Clan could not have offered much assistance. The distance was simply too vast, and the strength of the Chen Clan in Qi Nation likely wasn't significantly greater than that of the Green Chariot Mountain [the mountain stronghold of the Chen Clan] branch in its heyday.

Since that time, the Chen Immortal Clan in Qi Nation lost all connection with the Chen Clan of Green Chariot Mountain. Three hundred years passed in the blink of an eye; even Eldrin Chen [the current protagonist and a key figure in the Chen Clan] was now over two centuries old.

Although the Chen Clan had gradually grown and prospered over these years, most of the cultivators who knew of the Qi Nation Chen Clan had long since passed away in meditation. By now, even the Old Patriarch possessed very little knowledge about them.

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

"For hundreds of years, I never imagined we could reconnect with the Qi Nation Chen Clan. Our ancestors in the Nine Springs [the underworld in Chinese mythology] would surely be overjoyed to know this."

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

Kael Chen nodded, turned, and flew towards Guest Greeting Peak. Not long after, he returned with the two siblings, their faces etched with tension, arriving before the Hinter Peaks.

That Void Cosmos Chen followed him all the way to the front of the Hinter Peaks. With a single glance at the two figures ahead, his heart couldn't help but tremble.

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

"We, your juniors, Void Cosmos Chen and Void Spirit Chen, pay our respects to the two True Persons [a respectful title for high-level cultivators]!"

"Hmm."

Eldrin Chen's gaze swept over them calmly before he gave a slight nod. "The Blazing Sun Dominating Void Art is genuine, that much is true."

However, the Blazing Sun Dominating Void Art alone was not sufficient for complete confirmation. Eldrin Chen then activated another mystical technique, known as the Bloodline Tracing Art.

This art could discern the power of a bloodline. Although hundreds of years separated these two from the lineage of Green Chariot Mountain, it could still provide a general identification.

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 bloodline connection from ten generations prior being this close was essentially sufficient to confirm their familial relationship.

"Then there is no mistake."

Old Patriarch nodded, his gaze resting on the two siblings with a warm, benevolent smile. "This old man is Eternal Profound Chen, the great-great-grandson of Distant Ancestor Thalion Chen. Calculating the exact generational gap between us would likely be futile, so you may simply address me as Patriarch."

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

Void Cosmos Chen promptly prostrated himself on the ground, speaking with fervent emotion, "Your junior, Void Cosmos Chen, along with my younger clan sister Void Spirit Chen, pays our respects to the two Patriarch." Discover more cultivation stories at audio-novel`com.

"There is no need for such formalities."

Eldrin Chen said calmly. The blood tie between them was already somewhat distant; in mortal terms, their generations were separated by over a dozen. It was far simpler and avoided unnecessary complications to base their interaction on cultivation seniority instead.

He glanced at the pair, using his sleeve to gently lift them to their feet, then asked with a smile, "You have come from the Ancestral Vein in Qi Nation. It seems you have important business?"

"Indeed we do!"

Hearing this, Void Spirit Chen promptly replied, "We have come seeking aid."

"Oh?"

Eldrin Chen and the Old Patriarch exchanged a glance, a flicker of understanding passing between them.

As the two siblings recounted their tale, the reason for their visit soon became clear to all present.

The Chen Clan of Qi Nation had endured for over eight hundred years, making it the most ancient Immortal Clan within Bright Prefecture of Qi Nation. Yet, its history had been fraught with hardship.

For eight centuries, the Chen Immortal Clan had stood guard over Bright Prefecture in Qi Nation. For the first six hundred, it remained a Foundation Establishment Immortal Clan. It was only two hundred years ago, after exhausting six centuries of accumulated resources in a desperate gamble, that the clan finally ascended to become one of the five great Violet Sanctum Immortal Clan of Bright Prefecture.

Unfortunately, the Chen Immortal Clan of Qi Nation had long ago incurred the enmity of a powerful foe, a shadow that had stunted its growth ever since.

The roots of this conflict traced back to the Distant Ancestor Thalion Chen of the Chen Clan from Green Chariot Mountain. In his time, Thalion Chen, who had achieved Self-Achieved Foundation Establishment [reaching the Foundation Establishment realm through his own efforts, without external aid], was considered a peerless genius within Bright Prefecture of Qi Nation.

Yet, fate turned when a chance encounter over a rare opportunity led to a bitter falling-out with the prefecture's foremost genius of that era, Patriarch Mo-ink.

Initially, this was of little consequence. Both were rare talents among Foundation Establishment cultivators, and the Chen Immortal Clan held no fear of Patriarch Mo-ink.

However, Patriarch Mo-ink broke through to the Violet Sanctum Realm [the third major realm of cultivation, where one forms a spiritual core within their dantian] over four hundred years ago. Faced with such a formidable foe, Distant Ancestor Thalion Chen was forced to flee far away to the Chu Nation, where he established what is now the Chen Immortal Clan.

That Patriarch Mo-ink was a relatively upright man. After Thalion Chen fled to the Chu Nation, he did not pursue the matter with the Chen Immortal Clan.

The most critical issue, however, was that Patriarch Mo-ink's cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. Astonishingly, three hundred years ago, he successfully broke through to the Golden Core Realm [the fourth major realm, where one condenses their spiritual energy into a solid, golden core of immense power].

After Patriarch Mo-ink attained his Golden Core, he chose to let bygones be bygones regarding the youthful conflicts of his past. Yet, his disciples harbored a deep-seated grudge over that old enmity. They subjected the Chen Immortal Clan to endless harassment and have consistently oppressed the Qi Nation Chen Clan Immortal Clan in every possible way. Experience the full epic at AUDIO-NOVEL.COM.