The Ye Family stood amid the Vast Mountain Range in the Central Region of the Barbaric Continent.
The mountains rose and fell for miles, their slopes steep and rugged, like the bones of the earth's spine laid bare after ages of wind and frost.
Tall, weathered trees lined the mountainsides, their roots sunk deep into cracks in the rock. Their canopies spread overhead, leaving the mountain path dark and secluded.
Ancient stone tablets and broken statues lay scattered along both sides of the path. Faded words and images carved into the tablets recorded the Ye Family's heritage and glory.
The main buildings of the Ye Family's Ancestral Land stood in a vast valley.
At the valley's center lay a great square.
The square was paved with bluestone slabs, worn smooth as mirrors that reflected the clouds overhead.
At the far end of the square stood a majestic hall. Above its doors hung a massive plaque carved with four ancient characters: Xuanhuang Forever.
This was the Ye Family's Ancestral Hall, where the memorial tablets of generations of ancestors were enshrined.
At that moment, the skies above the Ye Family were anything but calm.
The Xuanhuang Bell, Xuanhuang Pagoda, and Xuanhuang Seal—three Supreme Treasures that safeguarded the Ye Family—floated high overhead together, radiating dazzling Xuanhuang light.
The light was heavy and still, like the earth's breath made solid and set flowing through the void. Unlike the starlight of the Star Sect or the azure glow of Yaochi Holy Land, it was steadier and more restrained, like a pulse released each time the earth itself breathed.
The Xuanhuang Bell hung highest. Its body was dark gold, covered in fine lines that intertwined like the veins of the earth.
With every toll, Xuanhuang light rippled outward in a ring. Wherever it passed, fine golden