Ordinary People: Starting with the Chen Clan

The Jingzhe Mirror and the magic artifact that Chen Xuanzhou named Lotus Crossing are not much different, but that black stone tablet can reduce his magic power consumption by more than half and allow him to control it more precisely.

He could control the other two magical artifacts at will after consuming just over a hundred strands of white incense, but he didn't fully refine the stone tablet artifact until a single white condensed bead was used up.

With Chen Xuanzhou's command, "Rise!"

The entire stone tablet artifact immediately rose three feet off the ground, and the entire tablet body instantly expanded, transforming into a black wall about ten feet high and five feet wide.

Its surface is as smooth as a mirror, without a single pattern. At the bottom of the stone tablet is an irregular base that looks like a pile of iron ore.

"fall!"

An almost inaudible sound echoed in the room.

Then came a series of booming sounds, creaking noises, and other noises mixed together.

"Ugh... ptooey... cough..."

"Xuanzhou, how are you? Are you alright... Xuanzhou, don't scare your mother..."

"I'm fine. I was just testing a magical artifact and accidentally knocked the house down."

"Honey, lend a hand..."

After a flurry of activity, Chen Xuanzhou emerged from the ruins, covered in dust and pale-faced. As he looked at the house he had lived in for several years now reduced to rubble, a name flashed through his mind—Xin Ruyin.

But there's no rush. Let's talk about it after he reaches the Foundation Establishment stage. Besides, the other person should be younger than him, and we don't even know where he is in Yuanwu Kingdom right now.

"You silly child, how can you test magical artifacts at home? The arrays in the house only serve as soundproofing; they can't withstand a single blow from a top-grade magical artifact."

As Chen's mother brushed the dust off Chen Xuanzhou's clothes, she complained. At the same time, seeing that Chen Xuanzhou's expression was not good, she wanted to scold him but couldn't bring herself to say anything harsh.

It's not that I'm heartbroken about the house, I'm just afraid of hurting him.

"I got a little carried away when I obtained this top-grade magic weapon for the first time. I won't do it again. I'll remember that."

This top-grade magic weapon is indeed powerful, but its energy consumption is also outrageous. I originally thought I had a deep foundation, but I didn't expect that just one strike would consume forty percent of my magic power.

Chen Xuanzhou wasn't afraid of anything, except for his mother's concerned gaze, which left him speechless. He quickly explained.

"Anyway, the child will be moving to the center of the spiritual vein soon, so this house has fulfilled its mission."

"By the way, Xuanzhou, were you just testing the Jingzhe Mirror artifact? Why didn't I sense any lightning-attribute magic fluctuations?"

Sensing his son's pleading look, Chen Houwen, who was of one mind with his son, immediately understood and changed the subject. At the same time, he was a little puzzled as to why the sound of the Awakening of Insects was so faint.

"The child is testing that stone tablet ritual implement."

"A stone tablet artifact? You actually completed its refinement so quickly!"

"Yes, it has only undergone preliminary refinement, and its power is indeed formidable, but it is somewhat difficult to control."

"With your cultivation level, it's already quite impressive that you can control it, let alone that Prison-Suppressing Stele that people jokingly call a 'pseudo-magic weapon'."

Is this ritual implement famous? What is its origin?

Of the three magical artifacts, only this one was completely ineffective against Chen Xuanzhou's Spirit Appraisal Seal technique, and it was precisely because of this peculiarity that he accepted it.

For him, having the Awakening of Insects Mirror was enough to break even, and the other two magical artifacts were unexpected surprises.

The results of the experiment did indeed surprise him. The 40% mana consumption was not an exaggeration. Chen Houwen's description of a pseudo-magic weapon was quite accurate. This magic weapon was not something that a Qi Refining cultivator could use.

Only those with a foundation far surpassing their peers, like him, can use it as a commonly used magical artifact after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage.

"I am not clear about the specifics, but as far as I know, this magical artifact has been in the Fourth Branch for more than a hundred years, but no one has ever used it to defend against enemies."

Seeing this, Chen Xuanzhou didn't ask any more questions. He figured he would understand once his cultivation improved.

Chen Shangyu didn't keep Chen Xuanzhou waiting long before he sent someone to inform him of his new residence, which was the original residence of Zhang Xuanheng of the Fourth Branch. It was located in the inner perimeter of the spiritual vein, and even closer to the core area than the place where he had gone into seclusion to break through.

This shows that even among family members, the treatment varies drastically.

With nothing much to pack, Chen Xuanzhou headed towards Zuowang Peak that very day. Although this peak was the third largest spiritual peak in the ancestral land, it was not very tall, only about a thousand feet high.

However, the area stretches for nearly ten miles, containing no fewer than a hundred cave dwellings, but almost all of them are occupied by the first four branches of the family. The other branches can only use them by relying on spirit stones and merits.

Chen Xuanheng's cave dwelling was naturally located near the mountaintop, facing south, and a nine-ringed banyan tree was planted outside the courtyard.

Looking at those two rings of aerial roots that encircle the entire courtyard, they must be at least two hundred years old. This is equivalent to a natural spirit-gathering array.

After walking through a passage woven from tree roots, Chen Xuanzhou took out a black token, shone it at the courtyard gate, and a ripple of cyan light appeared, instantly dispelling the protective array.

The courtyard was very simple in structure, without any luxurious decorations. Apart from the main hall for receiving guests, which was slightly decorated with jade and spirit pearls, the rest consisted of simple quiet rooms and weapon-refining rooms.

It is evident that although Chen Xuanheng was a direct descendant, he was by no means a person who indulged in extravagance and debauchery.

Chen Xuanzhou didn't have any special requirements for his residence; he simply performed a few cleaning spells and that was it for moving.

Upon entering the quiet room, he took out the Lotus Crossing Ritual Tool. The lotus petals were five-colored, and there were several obvious cracks in the lotus seedpod, one of which even split the entire seedpod in two.

Chen Xuanzhou summoned the incense burner, which contained only fifty-eight orange condensed beads and nearly a hundred white condensed beads. He had been counting all the incense offerings over the past five years by the strand. Even so, he had used up most of his savings from the past six years, and in the past five years, he had only spent money and not gained anything.

Therefore, he took a huge gamble when he invested those condensed pearls into the ancestral land's spiritual veins.

Chen Xuanzhou took out an orange condensed bead and placed it on the lotus pier. As soon as it merged with the lotus, a thin crack in the lotus pod immediately closed up.

With his continuous efforts, he smashed seven orange condensed beads and nineteen white condensed beads before finally restoring the magic artifact.

Without hesitation, Chen Xuanzhou took out three spirit crystals and placed them into the three holes in the center of the lotus seedpod.

As for the nine empty holes around him, he did not take any more spirit crystals. Instead, he sat directly on the lotus bridge and began his first attempt at initiation.

With a thought, the five-colored lotus petals on the Lotus Crossing artifact immediately flew out and scattered to various corners of the meditation room. Runes flashed on each lotus petal, and the spiritual energy in the entire meditation room rapidly gathered there.

The lotus seedpod, after being transformed by the lotus he sat on, continuously poured into his body.

Suddenly, Chen Xuanzhou had a flash of inspiration. He injected a wisp of orange incense into his brow, and immediately he could see his own body clearly, making it impossible for the infused spiritual energy to escape.

He gathered it together with his magic power and refined it little by little.