"No! A Mu, the Central Land is too dangerous. I won't let you go!"
Before winter set in, Chen Mu told Chen Hongjie that he wanted to go to the Central Land to study, but he hadn't expected Chen Hongjie to object so strongly.
"Third Uncle, don't worry! I've prepared thoroughly for this trip. There's absolutely no danger!
Besides, you know me. I've always been cautious and would never put myself in harm's way. Please, let me go!"
Chen Mu had been methodical since childhood, and often handled things even better than Chen Hongjie. Now that he put it that way, Chen Hongjie really had no grounds to argue.
But Chen Hongjie was as immovable as if he had swallowed an iron scale weight, and he still firmly opposed it.
"I don't care. I won't agree to it! If you insist on going, don't acknowledge me as your third uncle anymore!"
"Third Uncle, you know that won't work!"
In the end, Chen Hongjie lost his temper and left, leaving Chen Mu feeling rather helpless.
But unless Third Uncle could give him a good enough reason, Chen Mu wouldn't easily change his mind. He continued doing as he pleased, preparing for his long journey to study.
Two days before his planned departure, Chen Hongjie came to Chen Mu's house to see him again.
"A Mu! Must you go?"
Chen Hongjie was no longer as angry as before, though his expression was somewhat helpless.
"Yes!"
The resolve in Chen Mu's eyes left no room for doubt.
"All right... then before you leave, come with me to a place."
Chen Hongjie sighed.
"All right!"
Without hesitation, Chen Mu left home with Chen Hongjie.
Chen Hongjie led Chen Mu toward the mountain behind Chen Village.
Once they entered the mountain, Chen Hongjie picked up the pace, heading deep into its dense forest.
On the other side of the forest lay uncharted territory, a primeval forest where no human tribes had settled. Villagers rarely ventured into that region, so Chen Mu had never been here either.
Chen Hongjie led Chen Mu onward for half an hour before finally stopping in a secluded mountain valley thick with vegetation.
"We're here. Wait a moment."
Chen Hongjie felt around the rock wall ahead, then took two spirit stones from his storage ring and fitted them into the wall.
"A mechanism?"
Chen Mu could clearly see traces of a mechanism where the two spirit stones had been inserted.
Chen Hongjie raised the white bone staff passed down through generations of clan leaders and muttered under his breath, as if offering some kind of prayer.
Then he tapped the rock wall several times with the bone staff.
With each tap, Chen Mu could distinctly feel an astonishing force emanating from the wall. A vast, mysterious pattern gradually took shape across its surface.
With a clang, a circular stone in the center of the wall sank inward, then rolled aside to reveal a dark, deep passage into the mountain.
"Come on! Follow me inside."
With that, Chen Hongjie led the way in.
Although this was the first time Chen Mu had learned that such a place existed in Chen Village, he didn't believe his third uncle would harm him and followed close behind.
"Look at the rock walls beside you. The stories of our ancestors are on them."
Chen Mu did as he was told and glanced at the cave wall beside him. It was covered in all manner of strange murals, and what they depicted shook him to the core.
The murals showed birds and beasts, humans, and all sorts of strangely shaped humanoid creatures.
These beings all looked incomparably powerful. A flick of a tail could snap a mountain in two, and a raised hand threatened to destroy heaven and earth.
He also saw countless soaring dragons and phoenixes, as well as warrior generals who had fought across the three realms. These were plainly stories from myth.
But Chen Mu said nothing and silently followed Chen Hongjie until they reached the end of the passage, inside an enormous cavern.
The cavern was extremely spacious, covering several thousand square meters. Weeds grew everywhere, and a spring flowed from the cave wall, forming a small pool of crystal-clear water.
The cavern ceiling was more than five zhang high, with a large opening near the center. Sunlight streamed through it, making the cavern bright and full of life.
At the far end of the cavern stood a broad stone platform, about two or three meters high, with a huge rectangular stone stele in its center.
Chen Hongjie led Chen Mu before the stele and bowed deeply.
"Your unfilial descendant Chen Hongjie has brought his nephew Chen Mu to pay respects to our ancestors today."
Seeing this, Chen Mu followed Chen Hongjie's example and bowed as well.
After bowing, Chen Hongjie sat down beside the platform and motioned for Chen Mu to sit too.
"This... is the ancestral land of our Chen Clan!
Several thousand years ago, when our Chen ancestors first migrated to the Wilderness, this was where they began to multiply."
Once Chen Mu had sat down, Chen Hongjie continued.
"This is also Chen Village's last refuge. For thousands of years, whenever Chen Village faced the calamity of extermination, its people would hide here and cling to life until they recovered some of their strength, then go back outside and rise again."
Chen Hongjie smiled, a trace of bitterness in his eyes. "But do you know just how powerful our Chen Clan was more than ten thousand years ago?"
It was as though a flame had sprung to life in his eyes.
"Legend has it that our Chen Clan descends from god-slayers, born with the power to kill and wage war. We were the mightiest tribe under heaven in battle.
But later, for reasons unknown, our ancestors were defeated.
Our Chen Clan was suppressed as well. The rulers of the Central Land branded us a clan of sinful blood and banished us to the Wilderness, forbidding us from ever returning to the Central Land."
Chen Hongjie let out a long breath, as if he meant to give voice to all the frustration pent up in his heart.
"A Mu, since you want to go to the Central Land, I had to tell you about this.
You can go to the Central Land, but you must be careful not to shed blood. If anyone from the ruling lineage of the Central Land senses your origins, you'll be in grave danger!"
Chen Mu nodded in realization, finally understanding why Chen Hongjie hadn't wanted him to go to the Central Land.
But Chen Mu didn't quite believe what Chen Hongjie had said. After all, ten thousand years was simply too long. The country he had lived in during his previous life had only five thousand years of recorded history.
Over ten thousand years, no one knew how many generations had passed. By now, probably only the clan leader took it seriously.
"Originally, I should have done everything I could to stop you! But these past few days, I've come around."
A trace of relief appeared in Chen Hongjie's eyes.
"For one thing, the method our Chen Clan used to awaken its bloodline power has long been lost. Ordinary people couldn't possibly tell that you belong to the Chen lineage.
For another, the Chen Clan hasn't appeared in the Central Land for thousands of years. They've probably long forgotten that our Lineage even exists. So, logically speaking, you shouldn't be in much danger in the Central Land."
Chen Hongjie clenched his fists and looked at Chen Mu.
"I know your talent is extraordinary. Only in a place like the Central Land, where gifted people abound, can you have a better future.
Our Chen Clan has never been a Lineage that shrinks from battle. Since that's the case, go bravely!
I'll take good care of Chen Village. When you return, you'll surely find a stronger Chen Village."
Chen Mu was happy that Chen Hongjie had come around.
"Thank you, Third Uncle!"