The sleeping old man slowly opened his eyes while a sliver of haggardness and great exhaustion appeared on his face. As he woke up, his mind jerked. He could not help but trigger the descent of the mysteries of the world to become a Saint Ruler, but the descent was immediately suppressed by the soft sounds of a zither.
I thank the island mistress for saving my live. Junior is unable to repay the mistress’s great deeds.
The old man looked towards the Heavenly Enchantress dully. His voice was extremely weak.
No problem. You’re a pitiful person.
The Heavenly Enchantress spoke indifferently before turning to Jian Chen,
Make the best use of the time you have to ask what you need to ask. The soul-comforting melody is able to temporarily suppress him, but it can’t last very long.
The soft sound of the soul-comforting melody was heard by Jian Chen and made him feel extremely calm. He hesitated slightly before pulling out a jade pendant from his Space Ring and displaying it before the old man. He said,
Do you recognise this?
When the old man saw the pendant in Jian Chen’s hand, his expression changed greatly. He called out,
This- this is- this is- no- that’s impossible. Why would it be here?
Jian Chen became slightly excited, but it was suppressed by the zither music. He stared fixedly at the old man and said,
Perhaps you recognise this jade pendant?
The pendant was a status symbol of the Changyang clan. There were various different types of pendants, and all the people, from the members of direct descent to the employed mercenaries and guards, had one. Jian Chen’s pendant was the status symbol for a direct descendent.
The old man’s carried a mixed expression as a sliver of reminiscence appeared in his eyes. He recognised the origins of the pendant with a single glance, especially the brown, aged patterning. He would never forget it, as it was created by he himself years ago.
May I ask where you received this pendant from?
The old man asked. His expression was extremely complicated, a mess of emotions.
Right now, Jian Chen had virtually confirmed his suspicions. He said,
It was my father who gave it to me.
A gleam of light immediately flashed across the old man’s eyes. He eyed Jian Chen brightly before saying,
Are you from the Gesun Kingdom of the Tian Yuan Continent?
The old man’s voice trembled gently and carried a rare excitement. Currently, even the soul-comforting melody could no longer suppress his emotions.
Correct. I come from the Gesun Kingdom. I’m a descendent of the Changyang clan from the Gesun Kingdom.
Jian Chen also became excited.
The old man accepted the jade pendant from Jian Chen’s hand to examine it closely. He murmured to himself,
Lore City! The Changyang clan!
The old man displayed emotions of reminiscence, and two trails of murky tears slowly flowed down his face.
You… perhaps you’re the long-lost founding ancestor!? The Changyang patriarch?
Jian Chen became extremely excited.
The Changyang patriarch!
The old man murmured before smiling at himself,
The Changyang patriarch was what other people referred to me out of courtesy after I founded the Changyang clan. My original name is Changyang Zu Yunkong.
With that, Jian Chen finally completely confirmed the old man’s identity. He immediately dropped to his knees and said,
Descendent of the Changyang clan, Changyang Xiangtian, greets the old patriarch.
Great shock appeared in both Xiao Qian and Xiao Yue’s eyes as they witnessed this, both still playing the zither. The Saint Ruler, Jian Chen, was actually the descendent of Changyang Zu Yunkong. This greatly stunned the two of them.
Changyang Zu Yunkong revealed a vague smile on his teary face and said,
I never thought I’d still be able to see the descendent of my clan during my remaining life. Even if I die now, I won’t have any regrets. Child, looking at the sculptings on the pendant, you should be in the seventeenth generation of the clan. You should call me grandfather. I still don’t have the right to be called the old patriarch.
Yes, grandfather,
Jian Chen replied. He was both excited and anxious. He was excited by the fact that he had finally found the long-lost ancestor, yet he worried over the situation of the ancestor, which did not seem great. Someone had actually planted a seal in him, preventing him from becoming a Saint Ruler.
Just how is the clan after so much time?
Changyang Zu Yunkong asked.
Grandfather, don’t worry. The clan is very well right now, and has already become the greatest clan in the kingdom,
Jian Chen said.
It’s become the greatest clan?
Changyang Zu Yunkong revealed a smile of relief on his sallow face. He continued,
So many years have passed, is Chang Wuji still alive?
Uncle Chang is completely fine. He’s already become a Sixth Cycle Heaven Saint Master. He’s only a step away from becoming a Saint Ruler,
Jian Chen said.
I never thought that Chang Wuji would still be alive.
Changyang Zu Yunkong became melancholy,
Chang Wuji was a pitiful person from the outside that I saved. His talent is ordinary, so becoming a Sixth Cycle Heaven Saint Master should already be his limit. It’ll be very difficult for him to become a Saint Ruler. He’s also approaching a thousand years old. If he doesn’t reach Saint Ruler, he won’t have much time anymore.
As soon as he heard that Uncle Chang was about to pass away, Jian Chen could not help but imagine Uncle Chang’s old but kindly smile. He immediately became distressed and said,
Grandfather, don’t worry. Uncle Chang will definitely become a Saint Ruler.
I hope so. Although Chang Wuji is approaching the end of his life, he still has a few decades. If he consumes this ten-thousand-year-old heavenly resource, it should extend his life by quite a bit.
Changyang Zu Yunkong fished out a fine jade box from his Space Ring and said,
Grandson, this was something my mother gave me when I first left the clan. Inside is a ten-thousand-year-old heavenly resource. If you take it back and give it to Chang Wuji, he should be able to live an additional two centuries.
Jian Chen did not accept the jade box. He asked in concern,
Grandfather, can you tell me just what is going on with your body? Has someone really planted a seal in your mind that’s preventing you from reaching Saint Ruler? And your identity, is grandfather really a descendent of the Changyang clan of the ten protector clans?
Jian Chen seemed to touch on the source of Changyang Zu Yunkong’s pain. It caused his eyes to become dull, while deep sorrow appeared on his face. Only after a while did he begin speaking.
Grandson, you also actually know about the ten protector clans. The saint of the zither must’ve told you about them.
Changyang Zu Yunkong gave out a long sigh. The color of reminiscence appeared in his eyes, and he murmured,
Correct. Your grandfather truly is a member of the protector Changyang clan, a descendent of the Zu branch. However, that was already long ago. I don’t have any connections with the Changyang clan anymore, because I’ve already been expelled from my ancestral home.
Grandfather, why did the Changyang clan treat you like this?
Anger rose in Jian Chen’s heart.
Changyang Zu Yunkong sighed,
This is all because I intruded the forbidden grounds of the clan. Originally, I didn’t follow the clan rules and intruded there, disturbing the Emperor Armament stored there. It lost control and exploded with an aura of destruction, almost causing the space in which the clan lived to collapse. I committed a great crime, and exactly because of this I was expelled from my clan, banished from my ancestral home, and my name was erased from the record of descendents of the Zu branch. The great elders then planted a powerful seal in my mind, preventing me from reaching Saint Ruler for all my life.
If the seal did not exist, I would’ve reached Saint Ruler centuries ago. Why would I ever need to fall so low?
I never thought that Changyang clan of Lore City would have this additional, complicated relationship with the protector Changyang clan. Would I be considered as a descendent?
Jian Chen became mixed with emotions.
Thinking about it himself, wasn’t he forced to leave the Tian Yuan Continent to seek refuge with the Sea race because of the ten protector clans? As soon as he thought about the fact that the people who pursued him and wanted to do bad things to him were kinsmen, Jian Chen felt a series of weird distress.
Grandfather was someone expelled from the protector clan. My Changyang clan in Lore City has nothing to do with the protector clans.
Jian Chen mumbled in his heart. With a thought, a golden light shot from the centre of his eyebrows, and a palm-sized, golden tower appeared in Jian Chen’s hand.
Grandfather, I might have an idea on how to break the seal in your head. Don’t resist, I’ll take you elsewhere.
With that, a while pillar of light shot out of the tower, encasing Changyang Zu Yunkong and disappearing. He was already sucked into the artifact space by the saint artifact’s power.
Shortly afterwards, Jian Chen was also enveloped by a white light and was sucked into the artifact space. All that was left was a dainty tower floating in the air.
The Heavenly Enchantress and her two disciples, still playing the zither, all stared at the golden tower in shock. Strong curiosity appeared in their eyes.
Master, what’s that? It actually can suck living people inside. Perhaps there’s a so-called world inside?
Xiao Qian asked curiously. She had stopped playing the zither.
Ripples appeared in the Heavenly Enchantress’s phoenix eyes. She also eyed the tower in curiosity, shaking her head gently. She clearly did not know about the origins of the tower either.
The saint artifact of the Radiant Saint Master Union was always encased in a layer of dense Radiant Saint Force. Let alone the Heavenly Enchantress, even the union president had only seen its true appearance after it had flown into Jian Chen’s hands.
Currently a middle-aged man, the artifact spirit, stared grimly at the center of Changyang Zu Yunkong’s eyebrows. Only after quite some hesitation did he speak out,
Master, not only is the seal in his mind powerful, it’s extremely profound. It should be set down by a peak Saint King. Although this one is able to forcefully break the seal, it’ll cause his mind to fall into a battlefield. It’ll definitely harm him, and wipe out his soul.
