Transforming into a stunningly beautiful fox spirit, leaving a scar on the heart of a prodigy.

The main street of Chen Family Ancestral City is very wide.

The flagstones stretched for six zhang (approximately 10 meters), their ruts worn smooth and shiny. Chen Xuan walked in the very middle, the wind whipping up a tattered corner of his cloak, revealing a glimpse of his gold-embroidered brocade robe underneath.

The collateral relatives stood by the roadside. Upon seeing him approach, they stepped aside, clasped their hands, and bowed. Some people's lips moved, but in the end, they simply nodded vigorously.

The vermilion gates of the main residence were all closed. A few curtains moved slightly, then were put back in place.

Chen Xuan didn't look at those windows.

Su Chang'an, nestled within his sea of ​​consciousness, observed closely. The spiritual energy concentration in the ancestral city was more than twice that of the back mountain of the Supreme Forgetfulness Sect. But her attention wasn't on that.

Her divine sense probed ten feet into the ground.

The spiritual veins are not following the correct path. Normally, spiritual veins should spread out like tree roots, but here they are forcibly twisted together, all pointing in the same direction into the city.

Su Chang'an kept quiet.

"Drink less tea later," she transmitted telepathically. "The water here isn't clean."

Chen Xuan did not reply.

He had just publicly exposed Chen Boyong's innocence, and the air on the entire street felt heavy. Walking among these people felt like walking through a graveyard.

As they reached the middle of the street, a servant in a blue robe hurried up to them, bowing respectfully. "Your Highness, the Third Ancestor has prepared a simple banquet in a side hall. Please come and join us."

Chen Xuan didn't stop.

Su Chang'an quickly considered the matter.

Chen Daolin had just been exposed in public, yet instead of turning against him or giving him the cold shoulder, he hosted a banquet. He held something in his hands, and the cost of turning against him was too high.

"Go," Su Chang'an transmitted his voice. "The more polite he is, the more it shows he doesn't dare to act forcefully. Find out what's going on."

Chen Xuan paused for a moment. His brows furrowed, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

He didn't want to go.

He'd just finished cursing his own father, and then turned around and sat down at another "relative's" table—this kind of thing made his chest tighten. But Su Chang'an was right. The enemy was in the dark while we were in the light; not finding out their strength was tantamount to suicide.

The footsteps turned a corner.

The side hall is located in the northeast corner of the ancestral city. The hall door is open, and light shines through.

When Chen Xuan entered, the first thing he saw was the dishes on the table.

Twelve dishes. Bronze tableware, even the chopsticks were all facing the guests. The arrangement was too neat. So neat it looked like a funeral.

Chen Daolin sat in the main seat, wearing a new robe. Behind him stood four direct descendants, their auras steady—at least two of them were above the Cave Profound Realm and had reached the threshold of Great Saint.

Chen Daolin stood up. "You must be tired from the journey. Have something to eat first."

His tone was gentle, a stark contrast to the cold, indifferent observer in the square.

Chen Xuan sat down. He didn't touch his chopsticks or serve tea.

Chen Daolin wasn't in a hurry. He first praised them. He recounted the events at the Three Emperors' Secret Realm, saying, "The things done in the secret realm were handled very well."

Su Chang'an didn't take a single word in his mind.

After praising him, the tone shifted.

"Now that you've returned to your ancestral home, the treatment due to a direct descendant must naturally be restored." Chen Daolin lightly rubbed his fingers on the teacup. "The Tianyuan Cave is too small. I've already had someone vacate the Guiyuan Hall."

He paused.

"The Guiyuan Hall is connected to the main root of the ancestral spiritual vein, which is most beneficial for those who break through to the Dongxuan realm in the Great Saint realm. Staying there for three to five days will at least solidify one's foundation by 30%."

The four elders nodded in unison. One of them stroked his beard and said, "The Guiyuan Hall is the core forbidden area of ​​the ancestral land, and only the direct descendants of the emperors have ever been allowed to enter. This opening demonstrates the sincerity of the three ancestors."

Su Chang'an's heart sank a notch.

Guiyuan Hall. The main root of the spiritual vein.

The spiritual veins she scanned on the street were unusual, and their endpoints were in that direction. All the diverted spiritual veins converged at the same point.

It's not a sacred place for cultivation. It's a cage. Once someone goes inside, their spiritual veins are locked, and even a Great Saint would be trapped and die.

Chen Xuan's fingers tightened under the table. He didn't reply. He picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, chewed it twice, and swallowed.

Chen Daolin's gaze lingered on his face for a moment before returning to his own. No rush.

He threw out a second thing.

"The girl beside you—" He carefully chose his words, avoiding the word "demon." "There are many rules and many eyes in the Central Continent. Without a proper title, she will inevitably attract criticism. I can grant her the status of a worshipper in the name of the Three Ancestors."

Su Chang'an sneered in his mind.

Offering. Sounds nice. The token is engraved with tracking array patterns. Wearing that thing means your every move is under the Chen family's watchful eye.

Use a dog leash.

The hall was quiet for three breaths.

Chen Xuan put down his chopsticks.

"She doesn't need a title from the Chen family."

The air grew cold. The elder on the left frowned, while the elder on the right placed his hand on the magical artifact at his waist.

Su Chang'an transmitted his voice: "Don't be stubborn. Say you'll think about it."

Chen Xuan's jaw tightened slightly.

Two breaths.

"I'll think about it."

These four words sound like they were swallowed with teeth clenched and mixed together.

Chen Daolin's expression remained unchanged as he nodded. "No rush."

Su Chang'an breathed a sigh of relief.

Then the palace doors were pushed open.

There was no announcement. There were no footsteps.

A surge of energy rushed in.

Su Chang'an felt as if ice water had been poured over her head. She recognized the scent—a hint of sandalwood. She had smelled it in the Scripture Pavilion and in the Palace of Bones.

Li Changgeng, dressed in a gray Taoist robe, entered the side hall. His white hair was draped over his shoulders, and he looked to be no more than forty years old.

The four elders stood up at the same time.

It wasn't just politeness. The body reacted before the brain. The chair leg scraped against the floor tiles, and all four people's backs snapped straight up simultaneously.

"Ancestor."

Chen Daolin also stood up, taking a half-step to the side.

Li Changgeng didn't look at him.

His gaze passed through the twelve spiritual dishes, through the bent backs of the four elders, and landed on Chen Xuan.

The entrance to the sea of ​​consciousness.

Su Chang'an's soul was pinned down by something invisible. It was as if someone had aimed a needle at her, probing inch by inch through Chen Xuan's sea of ​​consciousness barrier.

Nine tails exploded in his sea of ​​consciousness. The essence of the celestial fox rampaged through his meridians.

She held herself down tightly.

Lower your breathing to the lowest possible level. Lower it even further.

Don't move. Don't make a sound. Don't let him confirm.

Chen Xuan suddenly stood up.

The chair was knocked over by a knee, the sound of it hitting the floor tiles echoing loudly. His right hand gripped the hilt of the greatsword on his back, veins bulging from the back of his hand to his forearm.

The aura of the Great Sage Realm was not released. However, a thin layer of ice formed on the surface of the teacup on the table.

"What are you doing here?"

It's not a question.

Li Changgeng stood at the entrance of the palace. The scent of sandalwood filled the air between them.

He did not answer.

Looking at Chen Xuan's brow, the corner of her mouth twitched slightly.

It's not a laugh.

It's like someone who has waited a long time in the dark finally seeing what they want, and their lips twitch involuntarily.

Su Chang'an shrank deep into his sea of ​​consciousness, curling himself up into a ball.

The sound of my heartbeat echoed in my mind. It was very loud.