Free Web NovelChapter 217: Chapter 215: Bai Family Ancestral Hall
"This one it is, then. If I recall correctly, the longest lease for a Market shop is one hundred years, right? Let’s sign it for a century. I’ll have someone send the Spirit Stones to the Market later."
Bai Zichen said quickly, decisively settling the matter.
"Clan Leader, go find Brother Ying’s descendants. The clan will support them for three generations... If a descendant with Spiritual Roots appears within those three generations, transfer the shop’s profits to them for their cultivation. If, after three generations, no descendant with Spiritual Roots has appeared, then let it be. Just reclaim the shop for the clan."
"Excellent. The clan can provide the Spirit Stones for the lease."
A shop with a hundred-year lease in the core area of the Market was a hen that lays golden eggs. Bai Xianzhong’s eyes went wide when he heard this.
"No need. Just rent it in my name. The Bai Family can’t stop those who would be green with envy over a hundred-year lease... The clan just needs to manage the shop well. I don’t want to see any harm come to Brother Ying’s descendants, or for any of the Spirit Stones to go missing."
With the shop’s lease under Bai Zichen’s name, it would deter those who coveted the profits from a Market shop.
One had to understand that current shop leases were mainly for ten or twenty years, making it convenient for the Qingfeng Sect to adjust prices at any time.
Furthermore, it would make those who wanted to prey on a family with no heirs think twice before acting.
This was a shop in his name; he was merely gifting the Spirit Stone profits to Bai Ying’s descendants. Anyone who wanted to make a move had better think carefully about whether they could withstand the wrath of a future Core Formation True Man.
"I will bring Bai Ying’s descendants to the clan tomorrow. I’ll watch over them as they grow up, right under my nose."
Bai Xianzhong shivered as he met Bai Zichen’s meaningful gaze, and he spoke at once.
The Bai Family, on the whole, was relatively harmonious, unlike some Cultivation Families that split into several branches and tore each other apart over a few Cultivation Resources.
However, to say they were all models of brotherly affection and humility was simply not the case.
A Market shop that could be passed down for a hundred years, whose value would only increase as long as the Qingfeng Sect didn’t fall.
The huge profits were tempting, and there was no guarantee that someone, blinded by greed, wouldn’t take a desperate risk.
"Clan Leader, I would like to pay my respects at the Clan Ancestral Hall."
Only after arranging all these matters did Bai Zichen make this request.
"Of course, of course... For the Bai Family to produce such a talent, it is only right to inform the ancestors."
Bai Xianzhong dismissed the others and personally led Bai Zichen to the back of the main hall, through a long, dark corridor.
"By the way, why haven’t I seen Bai Wei... Could it be that he also fell during the Ghost Spirit Sect’s invasion?"
The matter concerning Chubby had made Bai Zichen think of Bai Wei.
Back when he and his sister Bai Ling were tested and found to have Dual Spirit Root Talent, they were seen as the Bai Family’s future Foundation Establishment Seeds.
As long as he hadn’t died prematurely, he should have at least reached Qi Refining Great Perfection by now.
"Sigh... that boy is a radical thinker who got fixated on one idea... He was convinced the Clan was biased and had secretly given you a Supreme Treasure to allow you to cultivate so quickly."
Bai Xianzhong shook his head helplessly, looking like he didn’t want to talk about it much.
"His cultivation stagnated, and he nearly suffered Qigong Deviation. The key thing is that it affected Bai Ling. She took the resources the clan provided her and exchanged them for various Elixirs, trying to prop Bai Wei up."
"Luckily, I came out of seclusion once and noticed that Bai Ling’s cultivation progress was off. She had been stuck at the Eighth-Layer Qi Refining for a full seven or eight years... Only after a deep investigation did I discover what was happening."
"I have already confined Bai Wei to his quarters and forbidden him from leaving."
This was a clansman who harbored resentment toward the most outstanding cultivator the Bai Family had ever produced. He had nearly ruined the future of another potential Foundation Establishment Cultivator in the family. For Bai Xianzhong to merely confine him to his quarters was an act of great tolerance, done also out of consideration for Bai Ling’s feelings.
"What a shame."
Bai Zichen remarked lightly, then strode through the long corridor lined on both sides with candles as thick as a forearm.
’To be self-reliant... Easy to say, but how many can truly do it?’
’But for someone like Bai Wei to stray onto the wrong path, convinced that everyone around him owed him and that unfair treatment was the only reason he wasn’t as brilliant as Bai Zichen—that already showed a major flaw in his character.’
’As for Bai Wei himself, in a few decades, I’ll be a Core Formation True Man with a five-hundred-year lifespan, while Bai Wei will be nothing but a pile of dirt.’
’Why would I care about him?’
"When we evacuated Hanxiu Peak, we took the Spiritual Tokens with us. After we returned, we rebuilt the Ancestral Hall on the original site..."
Bai Xianzhong stood before a heavy, massive door. Inside, it was pitch-black and profound, with only a few flickering points of candlelight.
"I will wait outside. You can go in and pay your respects by yourself."
Without a word, Bai Zichen walked into the Ancestral Hall and offered a stick of incense to several ancestors.
Then, he stood before the nameless Spiritual Token of the Bai Family’s Ancestor, countless thoughts swirling in his mind.
’No wonder the Ancestor’s Spiritual Token is the only one in the Bai Family Ancestral Hall that’s blank, without even a name.’
’No wonder the Bai Family, just a minor Foundation Establishment Cultivation Family, has a Sword Refining Secret Technique for a Tier Two Flying Sword, and an inherited Talisman Treasure.’
’No wonder the Wood God Skill can cause Spirit Plants to mutate and evolve only in the hands of a Bai Family disciple, while for anyone else, it’s just an ordinary Spirit Plant Assistance Technique.’
’Ancestor, oh Ancestor, why didn’t you leave behind a single word? It would have helped your descendants understand more about the real story behind the Fish Dragon Sect’s fall...’
Comparing this with the information from the Youlong Sect, he could clearly deduce that the Bai Family Ancestor was one of the disciples sent away before the Fish Dragon Sect was annihilated.
Each of these disciples carried a portion of the Fish Dragon Sect’s legacy, fled far from the Outer Sea, and scattered throughout the mainland.
And the Bai Family Ancestor, who carried the most crucial Holy Beast Essence Blood, fled the farthest. He almost reached Black Mountain in the far north before he finally stopped.
There, in the Black Mountain Range, he put down roots and started a family, which became the Ink Bamboo Bai Family. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
’To be entrusted with the Holy Beast Essence Blood, the Ancestor must have been one of the Fish Dragon Sect’s most crucial and valued disciples. I understand that a Nascent Soul Seed—a Core Formation Cultivator with the potential to reach the Nascent Soul Realm—would have been too big a target, attracting the attention of the Dragon Monarch. But surely they could have found a Core Disciple at Foundation Establishment Perfection for the task?’
Bai Zichen mused to himself. As an observer hundreds of years later, he had too little information.
Thinking deeply, he found several contradictions and irrationalities.
It was certain that the Ancestor, Bai Mucheng, had his cultivation stall at Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment and passed away around the age of two hundred.
There was no possibility of him faking his death to live in seclusion.
’Would the Fish Dragon Sect really entrust a Supreme Treasure like the Holy Beast Essence Blood to a Foundation Establishment Disciple who seemed so ordinary and had little hope of reaching the Core Formation Realm?’
’Furthermore, the Cultivation Techniques practiced by the Bai Family are all quite common. Besides the Sword Refining Secret Technique, we have none of the Fish Dragon Sect’s top-level techniques, like the Dragon Transformation Scripture, which is said to lead directly to the Nascent Soul Realm and grants vast Magical Power.’
’Did the Ancestor never receive the top-tier inheritance for cultivation techniques? Or was he afraid of implicating his descendants and deliberately concealed the part of the legacy related to the Fish Dragon Sect’s techniques...’
The Fish Dragon Sect had a legacy spanning tens of thousands of years and was a sect based in the Outer Sea. Bai Zichen didn’t believe they hadn’t made contingency plans for a catastrophe that could wipe out their lineage.
They certainly had various backup plans.
It’s just that the strength of the attacking Demon Race back then exceeded their expectations, and a traitor sabotaged the Grand Array, which was why many of their measures could not be deployed.
Genggeng, who had been lying quietly on Bai Zichen’s shoulder, suddenly started squeaking excitedly, "SQUEAK SQUEAK!"
The emotion transmitted through the Spirit Beast Contract was one of extreme terror and panic, as if it had encountered a natural predator—a suppression stemming from its very bloodline.
"What’s wrong? Take it easy... Don’t get agitated."
Bai Zichen soothed Genggeng, holding it in his arms and stroking its fur. Its body was twitching, terrified to the extreme.
"Beneath the Ancestral Hall, is there an aura that you find terrifying and overwhelming?"
A Tier One Peak Spirit Beast had limited Spiritual Wisdom, but thankfully, since it was a contracted Spirit Beast, he was able to vaguely grasp its meaning after a great deal of effort.
Bai Zichen sent out his Divine Sense, spreading it out with the Ancestral Hall as the center. He reached his limit without discovering anything.
When his Divine Sense penetrated the ground, it was affected by the Spirit Vein, ores, and soil. His normal Divine Sense range of three hundred and sixty zhang was reduced; getting two hundred zhang deep would be considered good.
’Genggeng has a mixed Demon Beast bloodline, making it extremely sensitive to Spiritual Qi and giving it a talent for treasure-hunting... Could it have sensed an aura more than two hundred zhang underground? Is that why it’s so terrified?’
Bai Zichen patted Genggeng’s back. The little thing was so scared it had curled into a ball, letting out mouse-like squeaks. freewebnσvel.cøm
Who could imagine that this was a Tai Chi Bear, a species known for being fierce and aggressive?
’Hundreds of zhang away, and a mere wisp of aura can scare Genggeng this badly... This little guy’s senses are truly extraordinary. Even though they are both Demon Beasts, a normal Tier Two Demon Beast would definitely not have this ability.’
Bai Zichen’s heart began to beat a little faster. He did his best to think of other things to calm himself down and not let his emotions show.
’Hidden hundreds of zhang beneath the Ancestral Hall... a wisp of its aura from that distance can paralyze my Spirit Beast, leaving it utterly defenseless...’
’The object hidden underground is either that drop of Holy Beast Essence Blood, or at the very least, a Treasure directly related to it.’
He wasn’t clear on the specific classifications within the Demon Race. But for something to be called a Holy Beast—and for a single drop of its Essence Blood to make a top-tier Great Demon like the Dragon Monarch, himself a Tier Four Shapeshifting Great Demon, so determined to obtain it that he would summon a demonic army to destroy the Fish Dragon Sect—it must have come from at least a Tier Five Demon Beast, and very likely something even more powerful.
A drop of Essence Blood from such a being would contain boundless energy, far beyond the imagination of an ordinary Cultivator.
Although he didn’t know its use, the equivalent of a Tier Five or higher Spiritual Object was hidden hundreds of zhang beneath the Clan Ancestral Hall, giving him the impulse to start digging right now and take the Holy Beast Essence Blood for himself.
’Digging up the Ancestral Hall would be the easy part. I’d just have to persuade the clan members and spend some time and manpower. But if what’s hidden below is truly the Holy Beast Essence Blood, it would be impossible to keep it a secret with so many people watching. The power it would radiate would quickly announce to the world that I’ve found an incredible Treasure.’
Bai Zichen paced back and forth, countless thoughts rising in his mind only to be suppressed.
’Given the quality of the Holy Beast Essence Blood, the moment it’s revealed, it will emit the aura of at least a Tier Five Spiritual Object, perhaps even higher... Would I be able to protect it?’
The Ancestor, Bai Mucheng, had hidden the Holy Beast Essence Blood underground for several hundred years, and not a single person had discovered it.
If he hadn’t come to pay respects at the Ancestral Hall today and happened to have Genggeng with him, he wouldn’t have noticed anything unusual either.
Probably only a Core Formation True Man, standing right here and pushing their Divine Sense to its limit, would be able to feel the disturbance underground.
’Perhaps the Ancestor’s intention was to wait until a Core Formation Cultivator appeared among the Bai Family descendants. Only then would they be qualified to learn the secrets of the Fish Dragon Sect. Without that level of cultivation, knowing the whole story would be useless. You wouldn’t be able to do anything about it anyway.’
A moment later, Bai Zichen’s expression returned to normal. He bowed once more to the ancestral tablets and turned to leave.
’Since the Holy Beast Essence Blood has rested safely beneath the Ancestral Hall for hundreds of years, it can stay there for a few more decades.’
’Once I reach the Core Formation Realm, it will be time to retrieve the Holy Beast Essence Blood from beneath the ground.’
