Half a Stone Bridge

This place was the most confidential location of the Nangong Family. Not only was it guarded by arrays, but several experts at the Body Integration Realm were stationed within. No one would ever believe that an outsider could break in without making a sound.

Therefore, up until now, Nangong Wenyue had not detected any anomalies within this space.

After forming his Golden Core, Chen Xiao had further unlocked the marvelous utility of the Flowing Light Flying Moon Talisman: the ability to store living beings within the Golden Immortal Kingdom.

One must know that the Golden Immortal Kingdom was a world nearly as real as any other, filled with the Golden Immortal power of the Talisman Treasure Golden Immortal. Originally, many creatures had been kept here, but after the Talisman Treasure Golden Immortal perished, those beings had also fallen.

Now, Chen Xiao intended to bring these five little ones into the Golden Immortal Kingdom. It was important to note that the kingdom was saturated with Golden Immortal power, a substance far superior to the standard Immortal Spirit Root energy of the Immortal World. While the spiritual energy within the belly of Mingyu Mountain was dense, it was merely the most common variety; compared to Golden Immortal power, the difference was as vast as heaven and earth.

However, Chen Xiao's current cultivation was too low. Being below the level of an Immortal, he was fundamentally unable to wield that power. Even the vast majority of items within the Golden Immortal Kingdom were, to him, like flowers in a mirror or the moon in the water—visible, yet untouchable.

Resentment, oh, resentment! Strength, oh, strength!

"Big Brother is taking you to a place where the spiritual energy is definitely no less than it is here, but you are not allowed to resist, understand?"

Chen Xiao looked at the five little ones, including Xianxian, and spoke.

He now knew that what Xianxian held in her arms was actually the Primordial Fetus of an Innate Divine Spirit, though it lacked sufficient spiritual power to condense and take form.

"Big Brother, take that bridge with you too."

Guigui, looking sneaky, tugged at Chen Xiao's lapel and spoke.

"That bridge?"

At this moment, Chen Xiao frowned. In truth, when he first entered, he had already noticed this half of a grey-blue stone bridge. It was about seven zhang long and broken in the middle, as if it had been severed by something.

The half-bridge was carved with archaic patterns, giving off an ancient and desolate feeling. The bridge walls were also inscribed with many characters, but they were too ancient for Chen Xiao to recognize.

"Yes, that big bad guy bullied Sister just because he wanted to subdue this bridge through us," the purple-clad boy, Momo, said indignantly.

"For this half-bridge?" Chen Xiao was startled. "Could it be that this bridge has some connection to you?"

"I don't know." Xianxian shook her head. "Actually, my cultivation was already enough to leave this place, but I was always restrained by this bridge and couldn't get away, which is how they finally caught me."

Chen Xiao frowned slightly. With a wave of his hand, he instantly stored the bridge into the Golden Immortal Kingdom, then said, "Alright, relax your minds and do not resist."

A warm smile appeared on Chen Xiao's face as he carefully channeled his divine sense into the Flowing Light Flying Moon Talisman. After all, storing living beings was a different matter entirely from storing inanimate objects. Although he knew the talisman was capable of this, it was his first time attempting it in two lifetimes.

A light, ethereal glow spilled from between Chen Xiao's brows, slowly covering the bodies of the five little ones. Finally, with a flash of cyan light, all five of them entered the Golden Immortal Kingdom.

"Ooh, so comfortable!"

As soon as the five little ones entered the Golden Immortal Kingdom, they couldn't help but leap for joy. To them, the Golden Immortal power here was undoubtedly a supreme tonic.

"Haha, alright, from now on this is your new home," Chen Xiao said with relief as he watched the five little ones through his divine sense.

"Thank you, Big Brother!"

Xianxian was the most sensible among the five. Although she didn't know where this was, her intuition as an Innate Divine Spirit told her that Chen Xiao harbored no malice toward them.

Xianxian carefully placed the Primordial Fetus in her arms in a spot where the Golden Immortal power was particularly dense, then offered her thanks. Of course, at this moment, she had no idea where Chen Xiao himself was located.

At this time, the archaic stone bridge had landed in the very center of the Golden Immortal Kingdom and remained perfectly still.

"By the way, was the purpose of that villain you mentioned in refining Xianxian solely for this half-bridge?"

Chen Xiao's divine sense carefully examined the half-bridge. Aside from being quite ancient, there was nothing extraordinary about it; not even a trace of spiritual fluctuation emanated from it.

However, Chen Xiao understood that since this bridge had a natural restraining effect on Xianxian and the others, it certainly wasn't as simple as it appeared.

"I don't know..."

Xianxian shook her head blankly. "But there seems to be something else beneath this ground, only our cultivation is too weak to go down there."

"I see. I understand."

Chen Xiao felt a slight clarity in his heart, though he did not pursue the matter further. In his past life, the Chen Clan had been destroyed and replaced by the Nangong Family; he feared this place was the key.

Over the past few days, Chen Xiao had carefully analyzed the Nangong Family. Especially after discovering this mountain belly, he realized the family was by no means as simple as they appeared on the surface. With their strength, they could have easily vied for the position of City Lord in a city several times larger than Moon-Gazing City, yet they insisted on squeezing into this place, plotting against a family like the Chen Clan, which had only a few hundred years of history and whose strongest member was merely at the late stage of the Tribulation Transcendence Realm.

The biggest reason for this, he feared, was the object beneath the spiritual vein that Xianxian had mentioned.

"Moon-Gazing City belongs to the Chen Clan, so whatever is beneath it naturally belongs to the Chen Clan as well. If you want to take it, you'll have to ask me, Chen Xiao, first."

A cold sneer played on the corners of Chen Xiao's mouth. He immediately slapped an 'Escape' talisman onto his body, his form turning into a streak of light as he dove into the mountain wall beside him.

If it were his past life, even if Chen Xiao had discovered the Nangong Family's conspiracy, he likely would have tried his best to avoid it, perhaps even yielding the position of City Lord and letting them fight over whatever was below.

But now, having lived two lives and spent fifty years struggling in the Immortal World, Chen Xiao naturally understood one truth: in a world where fists did the talking, blind concession only led to extinction. One had to fight for what was theirs and seize what they could. Only when one's own strength was formidable did one earn the right to self-preservation.

Of course, these things could not be accomplished overnight. He had originally planned to wipe out the Nangong Family once the timing was ripe, but at this moment, he changed his mind.

By letting them continue to dig for treasure, the Nangong Family could serve as a cover, allowing the Chen Clan to secretly develop their influence, increase their strength, and slowly plot to claim the unknown treasure beneath.

Moreover, now that Chen Xiao had released the aura of his Immortal Spirit Root, he figured it wouldn't be long before the Glazed Heaven Palace received the news. Once the imperial reward from the Glazed Heaven Palace arrived, the Chen Clan's status as the masters of Moon-Gazing City would be firmly secured.

Of course, until that reward arrived, as long as Chen Xiao remained alive, no one would dare touch the Chen Clan.

Now that Chen Xiao had formed his Golden Core and unlocked the functions of the Flowing Light Flying Moon Talisman, unless an actual Immortal took action, or a freak like the Poison Immortal intervened, very few people could kill him.

The Flowing Light Flying Moon Talisman—it was named "Flowing Light Flying Moon" for a reason!

Even better, as of now, no one knew that the person who had awakened the Immortal Spirit Root within the Chen Clan was Chen Xiao.