The clouds are constantly changing.
Inside the pavilion, the three sat facing each other.
After hearing this last instruction from the patriarch, Chen Shuangbai sighed deeply and said, "The patriarch cherished the ancestral temple and never forgot to return to Eastern Radiance to complete the lineage. This ambition is admirable, and this wish is worthy of respect."
Ling Yuan was quite pleased and added, "Therefore, all of us disciples throughout the ages will know about this after we achieve the Nascent Soul."
"If you ask why our sect doesn't have many patriarchs remaining to guard the sect, it's also because of this patriarch's dying instruction."
It has only been a little over three thousand years, and the lineage has only reached the sixth generation with True Lord Qingchen.
Ling Yuan continued, "Therefore, in order to carry on the legacy of the patriarch, all the second, third, and fourth generation patriarchs who reached the Nascent Soul Realm made preparations before embarking on the road back to the ancestral court."
Returning to the ancestral temple?
Chen Shuangbai was taken aback.
Between the Eastern Radiance Continent and Celebrated Splendor Continent lies the Buried Wind Ocean.
He had come to understand the terrifying nature of this vast ocean.
Even the outermost area is a place where Golden Core cultivators are stopped, Nascent Soul can easily perish if they're not careful. Not to mention the deepest part of the Buried Wind Ocean... It's said that even Mahayana cultivators have never been able to get through it!
"So... all the predecessors who achieved the Nascent Soul throughout history embarked on that path?"
Chen Shuangbai, puzzled, asked again.
True Lord Ling Yuan nodded slightly, a complex expression in his eyes. "Hmm."
"The second generation patriarch, who was also the patriarch's eldest disciple, was honored as the True Lord Lingxu."
"After reaching the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, carrying two High-Grade Law Treasure left behind by his ancestor, he intended to return along the path his ancestor had taken, never to return."
"The third-generation patriarch, honored as True Lord Qinglin, possessed Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivation. He prepared for over two hundred years, carrying three High-Grade Law Treasure he had crafted, before stepping into the Buried Wind Ocean, where he too vanished without a trace."
"The fourth generation patriarch True Lord Xuantong, the fifth generation patriarch True Lord Xiqi, and the sixth generation patriarch—well, the master of us three siblings, whose honorific title True Lord Yanya —have all embarked on their journey back to the ancestral temple."
Different people, different talents, but the same result.
They disappeared without a trace, never to return.
A moment of silence fell over the pavilion.
Chen Shuangbai felt a strange, indescribable feeling churning within her.
Beyond admiration and emotion, I felt a profound sense of tragic grandeur!
Five patriarchs!
Each and every one of them is a prodigy, and each and every one of them has reached a level that is difficult for ordinary people to achieve.
However, they all chose to give up the opportunity to enjoy their later years in the Celebrated Splendor Continent and resolutely embarked on that perilous path, just to fulfill the last instructions left by their ancestor.
But upon closer reflection, Chen Shuangbai felt that some aspects were not entirely reasonable.
He pondered for a moment, then said, "But there can't be only one patriarch in each generation, can there?"
"The other patriarchs should also have fellow disciples. Could they... have all gone as well?"
True Lord Ling Yuan shook his head slightly, saying only, "Not every generation has such a prosperous era as we have today."
Chen Shuangbai fell silent.
That's right!
Today, the Jade Spring Sect is the pillar of the vast Immortal Dao Alliance Vast Waves Alliance, which spans multiple countries. However, for hundreds or thousands of years, the Jade Spring Sect was merely a sect confined to the three states of the Jing Kingdom.
Leaving aside the conflicts with major sects like the Arrayed Mystery Sect and the Heavenly Star Mystic Sect, the other four sects in the Jing Kingdom alone had many frictions, hindering and guarding against each other. How could they have achieved the prosperous state they enjoy today?
Vast Sea Elder picked up the conversation and sighed, " Qingchen and Ling Yuan are the sixth generation, and you Xuhong, are the seventh. But from the fifth generation up to the second generation, where did they get the spiritual resources they needed to progress from Qi Refining to Nascent Soul?"
"It's not just that the foundation of [ Azure Firmament Heaven ] has been gradually depleted."
"By concentrating most of the spiritual resources, at least one Nascent Soul can be nurtured in each generation."
"If they had been a little more ambitious, there might have been a second one, but over the long years, perhaps due to setbacks in their cultivation, being hunted down by enemies, or other reasons, they all perished one after another."
After listening, Chen Shuangbai was filled with emotion.
As expected, outsiders can only see the glory of today, while only family members can see the hardships they have endured along the way.
He sighed deeply before speaking softly:
"Our forefathers paved the way with great difficulty, allowing us to stand on their shoulders and create the prosperous world we enjoy today!"
Ling Yuan disagreed with this statement.
She raised an eyebrow and smiled, "No need to make excuses for our ancestors. The current favorable situation of our Jade Spring Sect is mostly due to your efforts Xuhong."
"No one can erase this fact!"
Chen Shuangbai simply smiled, then steered the conversation back to the flying shuttle that had been in the hall earlier, looking at Vast Sea Elder with curiosity, "So... this flying shuttle was forged by you, Senior, for your next return to Eastern Radiance?"
Vast Sea Elder nodded.
"Good."
The first six people who embarked on their return journey have not sent back any news, making their hopes seem extremely slim...
Therefore, Vast Sea Elder began to ponder how to better protect the next disciple who was embarking on the return journey!
"I have been accumulating the spiritual resources for forging this shuttle for over six hundred years... and finally, in this generation, I have gathered enough, and there is finally a sign that I will succeed!"
"Speaking of which, this is all thanks to you!"
Chen Shuangbai knew what this senior was referring to.
Those five Nascent Soul Demon Lord bodies, and a top-tier fourth-order spiritual resource called [ Tribulation-Warding Purple Gold ].
After Chen Shuangbai killed Xuan Chengzi, the first Nascent Soul Late Stage Xuanchengzi, the Gao Clan of the Jade Wave Immortal Market on the sea, presented this item to the Jade Spring Sect under the guise of a gift for becoming a disciple.
At that time, Chen Shuangbai was still in seclusion in [ Dew Radiance Pool ], and it was Zhanlu who received them.
Zhanlu is his alter ego, and in a sense, she can make decisions on his behalf.
"This thing has such miraculous effects?"
Vast Sea Elder nodded and said, "This item is one of the six extraordinary metals of heaven and earth. Although it is only the size of a fist, its enhancement to artifacts is undoubtedly enormous."
"It is precisely because of this [ Tribulation-Warding Purple Gold ] that I have been able to elevate the defensive capabilities of this [ Earth-Cleaving Ocean-Escaping Divine Shuttle ] to another level, greatly increasing the chances of survival for the next disciple embarking on the return journey!"
This Spirit Treasure treasure is trapped in the [ Azure Firmament Heaven ] and cannot escape unless it is reincarnated.
But he couldn't let go of his master's last wish, so he was willing to stay here all these years, just for that day!
Chen Shuangbai also admired him.
"Your Excellency is truly virtuous!"
The old man waved his hand and said, "There's no lofty sentiment involved; it's simply to fulfill one's last wish."
The final secrets of the Jade Spring Sect were also revealed to Chen Shuangbai.
Having heard so much, Chen Shuangbai couldn't help but become more interested in the ancestral temple of the Eastern Radiance Continent. He asked curiously, "Senior, since our patriarch is so concerned about the ancestral temple, could you tell me what its status was in the Eastern Radiance Continent before it fell into ruin?"
Upon hearing this, a look of nostalgia appeared in Vast Sea Elder's aged eyes, and he sighed:
"The ancestral temple at that time was truly a sacred place of immortals; if I had to describe it, it would truly be—"
He paused, his voice trembling slightly.
"A towering ridge reaching the sky, a thousand-year-old lineage of Daoist tradition."
"The Milky Way hangs down in its Dharma form, the sun and moon illuminate its profound teachings."
"Dragons and phoenixes perch on sacred mountains, and orchids and magnolias fill the hall..."
[PS: Two chapters for now! One more chapter will be posted later! Please give good reviews! Please give gifts! Please urge me to update!]