There are no ancestors at all; I made them all up.

Chapter 53... Bowing to Chen Xu
Inside the Five Qi Pavilion, the air was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood.

"Young Master, Sect Leader Chen said he needs to go into seclusion for quiet cultivation and cannot travel far," the servant in blue reported, bowing his head.

Upon hearing this, Bai Shaoyou sighed and said, "For cultivators, breaking through to new realms and gaining insights is extremely rare; forcing it is pointless."

At this moment, a middle-aged man dressed in a dark green brocade robe with a stern face strode in. His gaze swept over the mountain of ancient books and tattered scrolls piled on the table, and his brows furrowed.

"Shaoyou!" the man's voice was stern. "I sent you to Nanbin to familiarize yourself with the trade routes, make connections with talented people from all walks of life, and lay the foundation for your future leadership! Not to bury yourself in vague legends and anecdotes! What secrets of immortal dynasties, ancient inheritances, strategist Chen Xu—how can a true dragon be raised in a small pond? It's a waste of time!"

"Seventeenth Uncle is right." Bai Shaoyou slowly closed the book in his hand: "By the way, has there been any progress on the information I asked the family to gather?"

Bai Zhenhai, known as Seventeenth Uncle, snorted coldly and tossed out a jade slip: "I've found out about a 'Hun Yuan Jing,' one of the three great sect-protecting techniques of Wu Xiang Valley! Such a behemoth is not to be trifled with. I've already ordered my men to erase all traces of my investigation to avoid getting burned! As for this 'Hun Yuan Yi Qi Jing,' I've never heard of it."

"Wuxiang Valley?" Bai Shaoyou sat up straight. "Famous for its 'Wuxiang Wanhua' (myriad transformations without form), a sect said to be able to imitate all the laws of the world?"

“Indeed!” Bai Zhenhai said in a deep voice, “This sect is a giant that has been passed down from the chaotic era! Its foundation is unfathomable! The sect you mentioned is unknown and claims to have originated from the Immortal Dynasty. It sounds like a fabrication by later generations!”

“It’s the Hidden Star Gate! It’s the revival of the Immortal Dynasty, and its roots can be traced back to an even more ancient time,” Bai Shaoyou corrected.

"Stop this nonsense!" Bai Zhenhai waved his hand impatiently to interrupt. "Over at Falling Star Gorge, the Xuanji Chess Academy and Hundred Birds Valley have already clashed several times, and the killing intent is high! My Bai family is on good terms with the Chess Academy. If we are targeted by those mad birds, we will be in big trouble! Follow me and set off immediately!!"

Bai Shaoyou replied, "What advantage can we possibly gain from a conflict between two sects?"

"As long as we go, we'll find something!" Bai Zhenhai said. "We're just going to try our luck on the outskirts, picking up some fragments that have crumbled off the mountainside, looking for bargains!"

"Fragments?" Bai Shaoyou was taken aback. "Taken by the two sects?"

"Ha!" Bai Zhenhai sneered. "If they had that ability, they would have broken in long ago! Do you know that although Mount Xuyuan is unpredictable, it is much smaller than described in ancient books because it is constantly collapsing! These remnants are the mountain itself falling off, like a dragon shedding its scales. They are of no use to Mount Xuyuan, but for us, they may be the source of our opportunities! If we dawdle any longer, not even a trace will be left!"

Without waiting for a reply, he dragged Bai Shaoyou out of the Five Qi Pavilion and onto a flying cloud boat.

The flying boat cut through the air, accompanied by a fierce wind.

Bai Shaoyou leaned on the railing, gazing into the distance. He saw the southern horizon bathed in a hazy glow, reflecting on a mysterious sea. Suddenly remembering Chen Qing, he shook his head and chuckled, "Everyone has their own ambitions. This mystery of the Void Abyss… I'll take you there!"

Mingxia Mountain, quiet room.

Chen Qing had finished reading the two books on weapon crafting and closed his eyes to savor them.

"Several secret weapon-refining methods, such as the Nine Revolutions Blood Flame Forging True Method, the Profound Yin Fusion Spirit Technique, and the Golden Essence Acupoint Technique, all take blood refining as their core and are supplemented with rare spiritual materials to forcefully break through the spiritual barriers of magical treasures, which can save a lot of time and effort! However, due to the scarcity and extinction of spiritual materials, their value in the modern world has been greatly reduced."

Chen Qing stroked the pages of the book, secretly praising it, before finally fixing his gaze on "Nine Revolutions Blood Flame Forging True Method".

The core of this method is clearly stated: "Use the spirit fire to burn away the flaws in the precious artifact, forging the spirit of the weapon! The fiercer the fire and the more refined the blood, the faster the artifact will be completed! However, the spirit fire is hard to find..."

"Spiritual fire is hard to come by?" Chen Qing chuckled lightly. "Trading treasures for time, spending money to save time, that's all there is to it. The collection that Bai Shaoyou brought out is truly a grand gesture! It's exactly what I need right now! With this method, the dream weapon forging is a sure thing!"

With his mind made up, he turned to the "Zhou Tian Xing Jin Tu Pu" (Illustrated Compendium of the Celestial Stars).

The diagrams were vast, depicting the trajectories of stars. Chen Qing flipped through a few pages and found that they all described formations based on stars. One page contained a plain paper bookmark.

Chen Qing turned to this page, and his gaze suddenly sharpened!
The Star Substitution Technique!
"A substitute life?" Chen Qing observed intently.

In the center of the array, a figure sat cross-legged, with strands of silver threads shooting out from the acupoints all over his body, drawing in the starlight from the heavens!
Starlight gathered three feet above their heads, condensing into a dazzling star core!
"Gathering starlight into shadow, and incorporating destiny into the core... When faced with a fatal calamity, the star core shatters and the shadow vanishes, leaving the true body unharmed. What a brilliant trick of deception and substitution!"

This technique is not a Buddhist method of relieving calamity, but it takes a different approach and directly points to the mysteries of astrology and destiny!

"Wonderful!" Chen Qing was invigorated. This diagram was of immeasurable value to him. "Understanding this technique might even help me glimpse the mysteries of the Zhou Tian Star Constellation Restriction. It might even complement my future cultivation of the Zhou Tian Star Constellation Tribulation."

He became absorbed in the thought, and only when dusk settled did he slowly exhale.

"The essence is hard to come by, and without the light of pure stars, setting up the array and condensing the star core would require many rare and precious materials, which are hard to find in the present world."

Having read this far, he roughly understood that many of the books Bai Shaoyou had sent contained extinct items, greatly diminishing their value, which was why they were given away so easily.

"However, it suits me perfectly!"

As he pondered this, he reached out and snatched the book, "The Mysterious Mirror of Spiritual Light," into his hand.

"It's getting late. After I've finished reading this book, I'll call the two little ones over and tell them about the patriarch's past, so I can add more details to the story."

the other side.

Beyond Luoxing Gorge lies a hundred miles of sea.

The sky is overturned, and the sea is churning!

A "mountain" formed from complex radiance and ancient, rugged rocks hangs majestically between heaven and earth. Grayish-white clouds, like living things, entwine around the mountain and are now churning violently, as if some colossal being is awakening...

"Violent——"

A piercing bird cry tore through the sky!
The three-headed, iron-feathered giant bird flapped its wings and swooped down, its wingspan covering the sky and the sun. Every feather gleamed with a cold, sharp light. Its sharp claws slashed down, and more than a dozen blue claw shadows tore through the air, emitting a shrill shriek like a ghost's wail!

"Stars scattered across the board, control!" On the white jade flying boat, Xing Liuzi tapped his fingertips, and the star-studded chessboard in front of him bloomed with brilliant light. The lines of latitude and longitude intersected and rose, transforming into a starlight shield like a sky curtain.

"laugh--!"

The claw-like shadows collided with the protective shield, sparks raining down!

The light curtain trembled violently, but it never broke.

"You feathered beast from Hundred Birds Valley! How dare you be so insolent!"

Behind Xingliuzi, a disciple carrying a guqin on his back roared and slapped the strings with his five fingers!
"Zheng——"

The sound of the zither suddenly began!

The azure blade shot out, cleaving a ten-zhang-deep ravine in the sea wherever it passed! A giant bird's iron feathers shattered, emitting a mournful cry.

however--

In the distance, a dark mass of birds is sweeping across the sky!

On the edge of the battlefield, an inconspicuous flying boat hovered quietly.

Bai Shaoyou stood at the bow of the boat, his pupils trembling slightly.

In the distance, claw shadows tore through the sky and split the sea, sonic blades cleaved the waves, and the aftershocks of the clash of spells caused the sea surface to cave in!

"See that?" Bai Zhenhai beside him pointed to the sky in a deep voice. There, blue flint, twisted fragments, and broken crystals were constantly shooting out from the clouds. "Those are our targets! Stay close to me in time."

Bai Shaoyou nodded, but a thought suddenly flashed through his mind: "If the ancients really left their legacy on this mountain, after so many years, it would probably have been scattered into the vast ocean like these remnants, lost forever. How much of the true teachings can later generations obtain by searching so hard?"

As he was reminiscing, before he could finish speaking, a dark fragment was suddenly swept up by the turbulent current!
Bai Shaoyou instinctively reached out, only to find it icy cold and heavy, making his palm numb.

Could this be my destiny?
"Uncle Seventeen, look at this..."

"Just scraps devoid of spiritual energy." Bai Zhenhai swept them with his divine sense and tossed them back. "Most of the things that fall here are like this. It's lucky if they contain even a trace of ancient energy. Don't expect too much. Keep a calm mind."

Bai Shaoyou looked around.

On the sea, numerous cultivators, riding various magical artifacts, were desperately trying to escape the falling "opportunities." Some were overjoyed with the flint, only to be surrounded and attacked in an instant; others snatched the broken pillars, but were then attacked by the restrictions and fell into the sea; and many more, like Bai Shaoyou, held the useless wreckage with faces full of disappointment.

“Uncle Seventeen is right,” Bai Shaoyou shook his head with a wry smile, then gave a self-deprecating laugh, “It’s really like picking up trash.”

He was feeling dejected and was about to urge his seventeenth uncle to leave this chaotic place...

"boom!"

A golden light suddenly burst open on the distant sea, and a violent surge of spiritual energy swept in all directions!
The previously chaotic battlefield instantly erupted into chaos!
"Look! What is that?!"

"Such a powerful surge of spiritual energy! It must be an ancient treasure!"

"Get out of my way! That's my opportunity!"

Bai Zhenhai's pupils constricted, and he grabbed Bai Shaoyou, who was about to step forward, saying, "Don't rush!"

Dozens of cultivators rushed toward the light source like a pack of bloodthirsty sharks, their spells roaring and blood splattering everywhere!
A few breaths later, in the center, a burly man with a thick beard, covered in blood, tightly clutched a dark gold ancient tablet in his arms!
The object, though only a foot or so in size, exuded a chilling ancient rhythm. Deposits crumbled away, revealing faint, dragon-like Daoist patterns flowing within them!

"Hahaha! Heaven is on my side!" The burly man with a bushy beard laughed wildly, his eyes filled with madness. He raised his hand and wiped away the grime accumulated on the board, revealing a line of ancient seal script!
The surrounding cultivators stared intently, and saw that the handwriting was vigorous and graceful, with a natural and profound Daoist charm!

The first two sentences were blurry, but the last two were legible, so someone read them aloud—

"I bow deeply to Chen Xu, the starlight illuminates the beginning of calamity!"

Chen Xu!?
Bai Shaoyou and Bai Zhenhai could see the words on it. He was shocked and almost lost his voice. He looked at his seventeenth uncle and saw the huge waves in each other's eyes!

However, right now!

"Buzz!"

The rigid handwriting, like a stone thrown into water, suddenly became distorted and blurred!

Bai Shaoyou felt a blur before his eyes, and the noise around him seemed as distant as if from another world.

He sensed something amiss and quickly looked at the ancient wooden board again; the ancient seal script on it had changed—

"Heaven lacked one thing, and the tripod was about to collapse at the beginning of the calamity!"

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(End of this chapter)