"It was actually a divine crystal vein of legend!" Chen Fan's gaze grew heated.
He looked again at the divine crystal vein in the system space. Crystalline light shimmered across it; its quality was extraordinary, and the power it contained was incomparably vast.
"What a huge vein!"
It could probably cover all of Langya City outright. And the effects of the Spiritual Qi it released would surely envelop an entire Dao domain! All living things would benefit immensely and undergo a transformation.
Spiritual veins were also divided into grades. Above supreme-grade spiritual veins, they could be called "crystal" veins.
It meant that what was concentrated was the essence.
Only a quality above saint crystals and emperor crystals qualified as divine crystals!
Its value was imaginable-beyond estimation.
Chen Fan's eyes flickered. "As far as I know, the emperor crystal veins still existing across the entire Desolate Ancient Continent number no more than the fingers on one hand, while divine crystal veins exist only in legends..."
Spiritual veins and crystal veins served as the foundations upon which the major powers established themselves. Their importance went without saying.
They absolutely offered the most outstanding assistance to cultivators in their cultivation. The dense Spiritual Qi they released would surely yield twice the results with half the effort and produce powerful cultivators.
Even at its former peak, the Chen Lineage had possessed only a single saint crystal vein, and a very small one at that. Even that had been enough to let the Lineage flourish for countless years.
And someone had secretly dug it away.
"If made into divine crystals, this could probably stir up a bloody storm across the entire continent," Chen Fan sighed.
Because this was also a resource. Such staggering resources bolstered a Lineage's fortune and would inevitably draw those who wanted to seize them.
But this saved him the trouble of finding a spiritual vein. This would be the foundation upon which the Chen Lineage established itself, prospered, and rose again!
"A Desolate Ancient Domain aristocratic family..." Chen Fan murmured.
Going by scale, an ancient aristocratic lineage needed to occupy at least three Dao domains and establish its Lineage there.
That was the basic requirement. Moreover, it had to have Great Emperor-level powerhouses holding the fort-more than one.
Of the Desolate Ancient Continent's three thousand Dao domains, the top Desolate Ancient Domain aristocratic families could occupy a full ten Dao domains and possess several Great Emperor Realm powerhouses!
Chen Fan immediately set himself a modest goal!
Because this was a path he had to take.
Next, he needed to expand, but that would inevitably encroach upon the interests of other lineages and powers. Slaughter would be difficult to avoid.
At that thought, Chen Fan's mighty frame shuddered. "I'm missing a wife..."
One Great Emperor-himself-was not enough to elevate the Chen Lineage into an ancient aristocratic lineage within a short time!
At least two were needed. That was the basic condition.
This naturally, involuntarily, and inevitably made him think of his beautiful master, who had gone off to reincarnate...
Her name was Great Emperor Xuanji, also known as the Beauty Great Emperor.
At that thought, an emerald pendant appeared out of thin air in Chen Fan's hand.
It was the token his master had left him, a token by which they would recognize each other again in the future. Sealed within it was a wisp of his master's emperor soul.
After all, the present Great Emperor Xuanji was like a separate existence, and only after her cultivation reached a certain realm could she awaken the memories of her past.
And although cultivating the Reincarnation Art meant that, to break through the shackles of her cultivation, his master had to abandon her current Great Emperor cultivation, reincarnate, and cultivate anew to achieve a breakthrough-leaving him behind in the process and making the Chen Lineage unable to bear the price-
His master was not someone who would turn her back on him and deny their ties. When she returned in the future, she would still nurture him according to their agreement...
"Master cultivates the Nine Revolutions Reincarnation Art, and this is only her first revolution." Chen Fan smiled.
Of course, the Chen Lineage understood how important it was for a Great Emperor to break through a bottleneck. They could not stop her either, so they could only accept their misfortune. There was nothing they could do.
But.
Plans could not keep pace with change. Sorry, Master.
"Master should be twenty now. I wonder how she's progressing..."
Chen Fan immediately had a bold idea! One that did not quite fit reality.
Whether she was his master or not did not matter. This way, he could kill two birds with one stone-no, three!
Master would just have to show her disciple some understanding.
Chen Fan immediately infused spiritual power into the emerald pendant.
With his current strength, few people could withstand even his basic attack. Finding someone through the emperor soul's perception was not difficult.
Soon, he had a result.
"Master is in Burning Province..."
It was also one of the Desolate Ancient Continent's eighteen provinces.
Unfortunately, it was far away, and her exact location remained unknown.
"Once I've dealt with things in Langya City, I'll go hoodwink... find Master!"
Chen Fan put away the emerald pendant. Of course, finding her was one thing; once he found her, he would hoodwink her, not present a token to acknowledge their ties.
He would not need this token.
"Heh heh~"
Then Chen Fan rose and went to find everyone who was tidying the Chen Lineage's library pavilion.
Meanwhile.
In the lands of Burning Province.
At a power called the Divine Dao Holy Land.
A young woman contemplating the principles of heaven and earth before the central sacred hall opened her beautiful eyes.
Her red lips moved slightly. "Why do I feel someone spying on me..."
It was a perception from the depths of her soul. True or false-it did not seem false, but rather something that had actually happened.
She was somewhat puzzled.
The old woman beside her noticed and immediately grew stern, rebuking her coldly. "As the holy maiden, how can you reach the summit if you cultivate with a distracted mind!"
The young woman glanced at her calmly.
"Granny Luo, this disciple was at fault." She admitted her mistake of her own accord, yet her naturally cold disposition was difficult to conceal.
Granny Luo was exasperated at her failure to live up to expectations. "The Sage King asked me to guide you. An opportunity to contemplate heaven and earth is exceptionally rare, yet your mind suddenly wandered. What sort of behavior is that!"
She stamped her feet in anger.
The young woman remained unhurried. "Granny Luo, I sensed someone spying on me and was forced to..."
"Spying?" Granny Luo leaned on her cane, her brows furrowing angrily. "Here in our holy land, who would spy on you! Don't make excuses for your mistakes. Otherwise, how will you accomplish anything great in the future!"
"Kneel. Until you succeed today, you are not allowed to leave!"
The young woman refused outright. With a backhanded slap, she sent Granny Luo flying like a cannonball, leaving her utterly dazed from the impact.
Glancing sideways, she said coldly, "Cultivation should be free and unfettered. Opportunities can only be encountered, not forced." With those words, she turned and left.
Granny Luo hunched over, dizzy and disoriented, turning in circles.
"You..." She finally managed to steady herself, only to tilt with the lingering momentum and land on her backside.
The holy maiden had a rebellious streak!
"Insolence! If you refuse this old woman's faithful advice, I will report this to the Sage King!"
Watching the young woman's departing back, she cursed furiously. This holy maiden was only twenty years old, yet she was already in the Body Integration Realm! She was no weaker than the Divine Dao Holy Land's outer sect elders!
Ordinary holy maidens at this age would only be in the Divine Court Realm, or the Transcendent Realm at the very most.
Such an unheard-of, heaven-defying talent would make anyone jealous.
The young woman continued with light steps as though she had heard nothing.
"Who exactly was spying on me..."
Behind her, Granny Luo went straight to the Sage King.
She now arrived at a great hall.
A beautiful woman sat upon the throne.
"Granny Luo, what brings you to me?"
Granny Luo immediately began airing her grievances. "Sage King, the holy maiden refused this old woman's guidance and even struck me. She has no respect for her elders. What sort of behavior is that!"
The beautiful woman immediately looked helpless.
"Given your considerable seniority, I had intended for you to keep her in check. It seems I did not think this matter through. You may leave. I will handle it personally."
Granny Luo's aged eyes flickered. "Sage King..."
"Say no more," the beautiful woman said. "I must personally investigate the matter in White Emperor Province. We will set this aside for now."
If some supreme treasure had descended, as a powerhouse, she naturally would not waste even the slightest opportunity.
Granny Luo had nothing to say. "Yes, Sage King."
As she turned to leave, her gaze grew somewhat sinister and vicious, with a trace of burning eagerness.
It seemed using the Sage King to suppress the holy maiden before possessing her body would not work...
After all, the holy maiden's value was plain to see and could not be shaken.
She needed to take a longer view and get close to her.
Langya City, the Chen Lineage.
The library pavilion was a tall building arranged floor by floor.
If a spiritual vein was the foundation for establishing a Lineage, the library pavilion was its core.
Because possessing power alone, without cultivation techniques and divine abilities to enrich it, ultimately made one nothing more than a flashy but hollow paper tiger.
This place represented the Lineage's reserves and legacy, but now it was covered in dust.
Just as Chen Fan entered, he heard his disciple's grumbling.
"Sister Luoyu, could Master have become a Great Emperor by cultivating these low-grade techniques?" Bai Fengyao hugged them to her chest, unwilling to put them down.
Fortune! What fortune!
Within books lay beauties with faces like jade; within books lay houses of gold!
Good stuff! Sure enough, the more low-grade something was, the more powerful it was. The books had been right.
Chen Luoyu was immediately speechless. "Feng'er, don't talk nonsense, or your master might spank you."
Did she just think everything she saw was low-grade? As for Chen Fan, even as his aunt, she could not fathom him at all, much less after being away so long when they had barely seen each other.
Bai Fengyao hurriedly shut her mouth. The books said those who spouted the most nonsense always ended up the most miserable. She had to speak as little as possible.
Si Fu and Chen Tianya had returned again and were also enthusiastically tidying the place.
Chen Fan coughed. His disciple was complaining about things being low-grade. It seemed the library pavilion needed an upgrade.
"Master."
"Young Master." Everyone immediately stopped when they saw him.
Chen Fan said solemnly, "I came to inform everyone that, from now on, I am the Chen Lineage's ancestor!"
Up several generations-announced outright!