Chapter 651: The Heritage of the Tian Family
Chapter 651: Chapter 651: The Heritage of the Tian Family
Zhongshan, an Emperor Extreme Realm cultivator? Yin Luori had never truly seen him as such. The Wu Clan, whom Yin Luori couldn\'t defeat, were all slain by Zhongshan. Could that really just be the Emperor Extreme Realm?
Over the years, as Yin Luori interacted with Zhongshan, he gradually came to respect him. Of course, Zhongshan\'s deliberate guidance played a significant role in this change.
When the three of them gathered in the study, they all looked at Zhongshan with curiosity.
"Your Majesty summoned us, what is the matter?" Nangong Sheng asked.
"It\'s about the Tian Family," Zhongshan said solemnly.
"Oh?" The three of them were slightly taken aback, especially the Old Drunkard, who frowned deeply.
"Why are you asking about the Tian Family?" the Old Drunkard immediately inquired.
"One of my relatives was taken by the Tian Family to the \'Jingbo Pool.\' You were once part of the Tian Family; do you know about this?" Zhongshan asked.
Upon hearing the name Jingbo Pool, the Old Drunkard\'s face changed drastically. A look of bitterness appeared on his face as he thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, we cannot afford to provoke the Tian Family right now, truly."
"Oh?" A hint of stubbornness appeared on Zhongshan\'s face.
"Let me tell you about the Tian Family," the Old Drunkard said after some thought.
"Alright."
"The Tian Family is located in the depths of a hellish abyss, where millions of spirits gather every day from all directions. These spirits, devoid of any intelligence, seem to instinctively know this place, hoping to reverse the path of the Yellow Springs and reincarnate into the living world. But how can one reverse the Yellow Springs? Most of them vanish into thin air along the way, though occasionally, a Ghost King with intelligence is born and departs." The Old Drunkard described the hellish scene.
"Hmm."
"The Tian Family resides in this ghostly territory, facing endless spirits every day. They have stood strong for tens of thousands of years. The Tian Family is divided into five branches, each centered around a peak. Do you know what the five branches are?" the Old Drunkard asked with a bitter smile.
"What are the five branches?" Zhongshan frowned.
"Destiny, Fortune, Feng Shui, Accumulating Yin Virtue, and Fame," the Old Drunkard explained.
"Destiny, Fortune, Feng Shui, Accumulating Yin Virtue, and Fame? The Tian Family has a grandiose ambition," Lin Xiao remarked in surprise.
"The five peaks correspond to the Destiny Peak, Fortune Peak, Feng Shui Peak, Yin Virtue Peak, and Fame Peak. The head of the Destiny Peak is the family head, currently Tian Jizi," the Old Drunkard said.
"Oh? Tian Jizi?"
"The family head\'s original name was Tian Ji. After becoming the head, according to family rules, he added \'Zi\' to his name," the Old Drunkard explained.
Tian Jizi? Zhongshan\'s brows furrowed deeply. Zhongshan\'s master, Tian Xingzi, was the head of the Tian Family in the living world?
"You practice the path of fortune, could it be that you were once a disciple of the Fortune Branch of the Tian Family?" Zhongshan asked, frowning.
"Yes, the ancestor who taught me the path of fortune was the head of the Fortune Peak," the Old Drunkard said.
"And where is he now?" Zhongshan\'s expression grew more serious.
"He\'s dead!" the Old Drunkard said.
"Uh?"
"I was born with poor aptitude. Otherwise, why would Tian Jizi want me to pass on the path of fortune to other disciples? You must know, the path of fortune can only be learned by one person. If I passed it on, I would surely die. I may have had low talent, but I couldn\'t just sit and wait to die. The ancestor who taught me this power made me the new peak master. Just because of my poor aptitude, I was stripped of my position and hunted across the world?" As the Old Drunkard spoke, his face flushed with anger.
"Are the heads of the five peaks all very powerful?" Zhongshan asked.
"I\'ve only met the head of Destiny Peak; I haven\'t seen the others. But they should be very strong. The ancestor who taught me fortune cultivation was at the Celestial Extreme Realm. The other four peaks should also be at the Celestial Extreme Realm," the Old Drunkard replied after some thought.
"Five branches? The Fortune Branch cultivates fortune, but what about the other four branches?" Zhongshan asked.
"Besides the Destiny Branch, which is led by the family head, the other branches naturally cultivate different paths," the Old Drunkard explained.
"They all cultivate different paths? So they cultivate Feng Shui, Yin Virtue, and Fame as well?" Lin Xiao asked in surprise.
"Hmm!"
"That\'s odd. Cultivating Feng Shui and Yin Virtue is understandable, but how does one cultivate Fame?" Lin Xiao doubted.
"The Tian Family secretly controls several empires, naturally gathering fortune," the Old Drunkard replied nonchalantly.
"The Tian Family has such a big appetite and deep foundation!" Yin Luori exclaimed in admiration.
"Hmph!" The Old Drunkard showed a hint of disdain.
"Hmm?" Yin Luori frowned.
"That\'s just the surface strength of the Tian Family," the Old Drunkard shook his head.
"Surface strength?" Yin Luori asked incredulously.
"The true strength of the Tian Family lies in the so-called \'Jingbo Pool.\' I don\'t know what\'s inside, but the ancestor who taught me fortune often yearned for it. It\'s said that fifty thousand years ago, the Tian Family faced a cataclysm. The three great celestial empires of the Yin Realm descended, and in the critical moment, an ancestor from the Jingbo Pool emerged and single-handedly quelled the disaster of the three empires," the Old Drunkard asserted.
Everyone listened in astonishment. Could the Tian Family\'s foundation really be that deep?
"So, Your Majesty, it\'s impossible to forcibly break into the Tian Family," the Old Drunkard shook his head.
"Do you know about the Tian Family in the living world?" Zhongshan asked.
"There\'s a Tian Family in the living world?" The Old Drunkard was surprised.
Zhongshan felt a bit frustrated. He originally wanted to ask if the \'Tian Token\' given by his master would be of any use, but now it seemed pointless. The Old Drunkard obviously didn\'t know.
"Maybe there is a Tian Family in the living world too," the Old Drunkard thought.
"Uh?" Zhongshan was puzzled. What does he mean by \'maybe\'?
"Because of the Tian Family\'s mission!" the Old Drunkard explained.
"What mission?" Zhongshan frowned.
"The ancestor who taught me fortune once said that the Tian Family\'s mission is to protect this small thousand world. He said I could betray the Tian Family but not the small thousand world. Even if I leave the Tian Family, I must keep an eye on the world\'s great events and eliminate invaders from the great thousand world whenever possible. With such a strange ancestral command and mission, perhaps there really is a Tian Family in the living world," the Old Drunkard mused.
"A mission? To protect the small thousand world?" Zhongshan found this odd. Who assigned this mission? How could one family persist for so long?
"The Tian Family isn\'t the only one," Nangong Sheng suddenly spoke up.
"Oh?"
"There is another force dedicated to protecting this world," Nangong Sheng said.
"Another one?"
"The Creation God Palace," Nangong Sheng confirmed.
"One of the three great holy lands of the living world, the Creation God Palace?" Zhongshan was surprised.
"Yes, the Creation God Palace. It\'s the most mysterious of all the holy lands in the living world. No one knows where it\'s located, and it has never disappeared. Perhaps because the Creation God Palace watches over the living world, the Tian Family vanished there. While I was in the living world, apart from Xuan Yuan, I never saw anyone else from the Creation God Palace. It seems like there\'s only one person per generation from the Creation God Palace," Nangong Sheng explained.
"Only one person? How can that be considered a holy land?" Lin Xiao exclaimed in surprise.
"I\'m not sure. It seems that wherever the master of the Creation God Palace goes, that\'s where the palace is established," Nangong Sheng replied after some thought.
"Let\'s not talk about the Creation God Palace anymore. Let\'s discuss the Tian Family. I plan to visit the Tian Family. Nangong Sheng, how is your recovery progressing?" Zhongshan asked.
"Excluding my formation abilities, I only have the strength of the Fusion Period," Nangong Sheng replied with a bitter smile.
"Alright then, you stay here in Great Zhen and recover," Zhongshan decided after some thought.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Nangong Sheng nodded.
"Supreme Yin, would you be willing to accompany me?" Zhongshan asked.
"Of course, I\'ll go with you!" Yin Luori replied with a hearty laugh, his battle spirit evident. He was eagerly anticipating the challenge of confronting the Tian Family with Zhongshan.
"Your Majesty, I must remind you of something important," Nangong Sheng said with a frown.
"Oh?"
"In this small thousand world, the strongest beings are not us celestials but those at the twelfth level of the Celestial Extreme Realm. Like the ancient mighty figure Gu Shentong, he is the most powerful."
"Uh?"
"Whether before I was injured or those three Wu Clan members, as long as we are in this small thousand world, we are all limited by it. No one can match Gu Shentong in power. That is to say, the Wu Clan member you killed before, like me, could only exhibit the strength of the eleventh level of the Celestial Extreme Realm. And the one who defeated me was truly at the eleventh level. So, please, Your Majesty, be cautious and do not underestimate the Celestial Extreme Realm," Nangong Sheng warned solemnly.
"Hmm, I understand," Zhongshan nodded. Indeed, even when Zhongshan opened the reincarnation passage, he only managed to defeat the weaker Wu Clan member and was weak for several days afterward. Facing someone like Gu Shentong would be suicidal. However, Zhongshan\'s greatest advantage was his ability to escape; no formation or person could trap him.
"Your Majesty, I..." The Old Drunkard began hesitantly.
"Don\'t worry, you don\'t have to go," Zhongshan assured him.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The Old Drunkard let out a sigh of relief.
"Mr. Corpse, you will accompany me," Zhongshan said.
"Yes," Mr. Corpse replied with a nod. As someone from the great thousand world, Mr. Corpse had seen many powerful figures. Even hearing about the formidable Tian Family didn\'t faze him.
"Your Majesty, please take this old servant along!" Wei Taizhong quickly requested.
"You?" Zhongshan frowned.
"My strength is lacking, but I promise I won\'t interfere. Even if I have to wait from a distance, I beg Your Majesty to take me. I just want to see Yinglan as soon as possible," Wei Taizhong pleaded, his face full of hope.
"Very well," Zhongshan sighed deeply and nodded, unable to refuse Wei Taizhong\'s earnest plea.
"The four of us will depart in three days," Zhongshan declared firmly.
"Yes!" The other three responded immediately.
Thus, the four-person team to the hellish abyss was finalized: Zhongshan, Mr. Corpse, Yin Luori, and Wei Taizhong.
Three days later, the group set off for the center of the Yin Realm, heading toward the hellish abyss—
In the living world, in a secluded valley, a man with white hair and wearing white clothes sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. This man was Xuan Yuan, the master of the Creation God Palace. Suddenly, Xuan Yuan\'s eyes snapped open, revealing a pair of silver pupils from which a fierce, sword-like light shot out.