Chapter 346: Who Is Qi Yuan's Ancestor?

Chapter 346: Who Is Qi Yuan’s Ancestor?

Qi Yuan ignored the gazes of the crowd and walked toward the Blood Jade Wall.

To use the Ancestral Return Pill, one needed the aid of the Blood Jade Wall.

Qi Yuan was also looking forward to seeing how much the pill could elevate him.

According to what others had said, the stronger one’s talent and the deeper one’s fortune, the greater the enhancement.

With his keen intelligence, the primordial seed’s bloodline ancestor must think highly of him, right?

Maybe… invest a little more?

Elevate him directly to the realm of the Myriad Dao Martial God?

As Qi Yuan walked toward the Blood Jade Wall, the others in the stronghold followed suit.

They had long known that the reward for the previous mission was the Ancestral Return Pill, and some big shots had even planned to exchange for their own pills once Qi Yuan and his team succeeded.

Of course, now it seemed that was just wishful thinking.

At present, everyone present was curious about what achievements Qi Yuan, that ruthless man, would attain within the Blood Jade Wall.

At that moment, the martial artists who had been cultivating beside the Blood Jade Wall all awoke.

Seeing Qi Yuan, whose aura was thick with blood, they showed expressions of fear.

When they noticed the group of stronghold members following behind him, they silently withdrew from the Blood Jade Wall.

After all, with the situation unclear, safety came first.

Cultivation? What was that?

So when Qi Yuan stepped into the Blood Jade Wall, all those who had been meditating facing the wall retreated.

Qi Yuan paused and turned to look at the crowd.

“Have you all cursed me before? Otherwise, why are you so afraid of me, unwilling to stand with me?”

At these words, the expressions of the uneasy crowd shifted slightly.

“No… no, we’re just unworthy… to stand with you!” Lin Yishan said boldly.

“Right, unworthy!” the others chimed in.

“Ah, you old feudalists, still living in the past. Nowadays, we advocate… equality for all!” Qi Yuan said softly.

Among the people in this stronghold, a small number were modern, but most were actually from ancient times.

Lin Yishan, for instance, had been an escort in ancient times.

So it was likely true that these people were stuck in feudal, stubborn ways.

Qi Yuan couldn’t be bothered to say more. He leaped forward and stepped into the spot where the Blood Jade Wall stood.

At that moment, he also swallowed the Ancestral Return Pill.

In that instant, he looked inward and saw that about a tenth of the blood in his body was now glowing red like fireflies.

And that blood happened to be the blood he had obtained by devouring demonic beasts using the Devouring Origin Body.

In no time, Qi Yuan’s body seemed like a teapot with a leak, red light spilling out.

“Reacting with the Blood Jade Wall so quickly… his talent is indeed formidable. No wonder!”

“Who is the source of his bloodline?”

“With him being this strong, the ancestor at the source of his bloodline must bestow a generous gift, right?”

These people were burning with envy.

Qi Yuan was already powerful; if he gained the favor of his ancestor, how terrifying would he become? It was hard to imagine.

Just then, the Blood Jade Wall blazed with intense light.

A thick, blood-red beam shot into Qi Yuan’s body.

“A dead, low-grade bloodline… of all things. His future looks bleak!”

An old man, seeing the blood-red light, showed a disappointed expression.

Bloodline sources were also graded.

The lowest was low-grade, then mid-grade, then high-grade, and the highest was titled.

However, besides grades, bloodline sources had another classification: dead or active.

Dead meant the ancestor at the source had already died.

Active meant the ancestor was still alive.

Naturally, the more active and the higher the grade, the greater the potential and the harvest.

A dead, low-grade bloodline was almost at the very bottom.

“With a bloodline like that, it probably won’t help him much. What a pity!”

“Pity my ass. You’re just at the Qi-Blood Realm and you’re pitying him? The realm he has reached without relying on his ancestor’s bloodline is one you’ll never achieve in this life!”

At these words, everyone present fell silent.

Yes, for Qi Yuan, the Ancestral Return Pill was at most icing on the cake.

At that moment, Qi Yuan closed his eyes. One drop of blood inside his body boiled for an instant.

Just… boiled for an instant.

His strength also increased by a tiny bit in that moment.

And then, his eyes locked onto that drop of blood.

Instantly, a flood of information poured into his mind.

Through infinite time and space, he saw a blood-red world.

Qi Yuan saw a thin bone dripping with blood.

Following that bone, he seemed to see its owner.

It was a grotesque-looking, crawling demonic beast with a large head and thin limbs.

That was the bloodline source of that drop of blood.

“Yin God?”

Qi Yuan immediately recognized the strength of the bloodline source—comparable to a Yin God.

“Hmm… here… why do I feel there’s another me?”

Qi Yuan was slightly stunned.

Now, because of the Ancestral Return Pill, his consciousness had briefly lingered at the place of the bloodline source.

He suddenly noticed that there seemed to be another him here.

“No, it’s part of the primordial seed’s spirit!”

In just an instant, Qi Yuan understood what that "he" was—a fragment of the spirit of the Primordial Seed.

After the world restarted, he had completely devoured the Primordial Seed and returned to himself.

Yet here... there was still an overflow of that fragment of spirit.

This was rather... peculiar.

"Strange... this fragment of spirit seems lifeless.

Is it the spirit that died ten years later?"

Qi Yuan's thoughts raced.

Before the world restarted, the Qi Yuan transformed from the Primordial Seed had died; had his soul... drifted here?

The world restarted, yet it still remained.

Qi Yuan's eyes flickered, many thoughts crossing his mind.

Finally, his gaze fell upon the broken bone on the ground.

"You're already so old, yet even in death you worry, giving me your blood.

I'm one who respects the elderly and cherishes the young—I'll return your blood to you, and by the way... I'll add a bit of my own!"

Qi Yuan was generous; after all, this blood was all transformed from the essence blood of demonic beasts through devouring the original body.

Giving away a little more wouldn't matter.

And on the Blood Jade Wall, everyone saw... a flash of blood light from Qi Yuan's body, which then fell onto the Blood Jade Wall.

The onlookers were dumbfounded at the sight.

"What's going on?"

"How can the bestowed blood... be taken back?"

"Could it be a mistake?"

"Wrong bloodline?"

"Did the ancestor discover he's not a biological descendant? A cuckold?"

These people were baffled; this was the first time they'd encountered such a thing. But then, suddenly, another beam of blood light flew out from the Blood Jade Wall, rushing toward Qi Yuan.

The crowd, originally full of doubt, suddenly understood.

"So it was a mistake—this is the real one!"

"Dead, middle grade—though very ordinary, it's not bad."

"Could this be Qi Yuan's true ancestor?"

But before they could think further,

the Blood Jade Wall blazed with light.

Beams—one, two, three... ten... hundreds—dense as a stream of traffic, surged in a crowd, rushing into Qi Yuan's body.

"Ah... how does he have so many ancestors?"

"Lower grade, middle grade, upper grade, even titled ones!"

"What's happening? Is the Blood Jade Wall broken?"

"Could it be... his maternal ancestor... dallied with many, and these bloodline ancestors... all recognized him as their own son?"

The people at the outpost, both ancient and modern, had wild imaginations, thinking up all sorts of exaggerated ideas.

At that moment, they looked at Qi Yuan with strange expressions, as if watching a show and gossiping.

If not for Qi Yuan's overwhelming strength and heavy bloody aura, they would have pulled up stools, cracked sunflower seeds, and fabricated all kinds of apocryphal tales.

"This could make a movie... 'In Search of Ancestors'!"

"Where are the ancestors?"

Fearful of Qi Yuan's formidable power, they spoke with restraint.

"See? They recognized the wrong descendant—most of the blood has gone back!"

"It seems those returning bloodline ancestors at most held hands with the maternal ancestor!"

"How pitiful!"

The men and women at the outpost were bursting with curiosity, wishing they could travel back to ancient times to see what kind of enchanting figure Qi Yuan's maternal ancestor was, that she could have these hundreds of... ancient ancestors wrapped around her finger.

They all took Qi Yuan as their own descendant.

Now, after running through Qi Yuan's body for a round, they understood—well, not their descendant, just a bit of a scent.

And these people naturally didn't know that the returning red blood lights were all the bloodline source ancestors who were nothing but broken limbs.

Qi Yuan respected the elderly and cherished the young; he didn't want these people to worry even in death, so he left his blood on their bones.

Waiting until he connected with that fragment of the Primordial Seed's soul, he could use the blood as a coordinate to find those ancestors.

As for the purpose, naturally it was to respect the elderly and cherish the young—to provide for them in their old age and see to their funeral arrangements.

Qi Yuan was too eager to advance.

"So these are the bloodline ancestors of this body of the Primordial Seed? Their gifts... are indeed more generous. Their strength... mythical?"

Although Qi Yuan's power was now gone, his discernment remained.

Lower and middle grade bloodline ancestors were only at the Venerable level.

Upper grade bloodline ancestors could reach the Great Venerable's strength.

As for titled bloodline ancestors, they were mythical-level experts.

"So this is a Martial Lord?

Then... is a Martial God a Yang God?"

Qi Yuan closed his eyes slightly.

For those dead ancestors, he dared to send blood.

For those still alive, he wouldn't trouble himself.

After all, a gift from an elder cannot be refused.

"Not bad—now I've probably reached the peak of the Martial Spirit realm; one more step, and I'll be a Martial King!"

Having received so many gifts, Qi Yuan's strength had increased considerably.

The Martial King realm was comparable to the Zifu realm.

Above that was the Martial Lord.

"So, killing demons is still the fastest way to improve. I hope next time there's a more intense world with more demonic beasts, and also give me more... lovely ancestors."

At that moment, Qi Yuan opened his eyes.

The crowd, which had been buzzing with discussion, now fell silent.

Some who had been wearing expressions of wonder were now utterly still.

All the sorrows of this life flickered ceaselessly in his mind, for he feared that at this moment he might burst out laughing and anger Qi Yuan.

For this reason, the crowd, who had been caught between laughter and tears, now wore expressions of utmost solemnity; some even showed signs of grief, tears falling unbidden.

"You... your father died?" Qi Yuan's eyes showed a puzzled expression.

……

Jun'an Residential Complex.

New green sprouted on the branches, adding much verdure to the early spring.

Wang Zhiqi wore only a thin shirt and did not feel cold.

"Principal, this is our residential complex. Looks pretty good, doesn't it?"

Wang Zhiqi was simple by nature and still at an age fond of play.

Moreover, she was highly gifted, well-liked at Tianxuan Tower, and all the teachers were friendly to her, so facing Xie Tang, she felt no fear of a cultivator and was quite bold.

"Mm, quite a lot of people," Xie Tang nodded, casting a casual glance over the complex.

Mm, a very ordinary mortal residential complex.

"Don't be fooled by how ordinary our complex looks—there are many remarkable people here.

For instance, my dad, hehe, is a martial artist, practically a soldier king!" Wang Zhiqi boasted.

Her father, Yang Shan, was indeed a soldier king-like figure, practically a legend.

Such things could not be boasted about in front of her former classmates—they had to be kept secret—but facing a cultivator like Xie Tang was different.

"Not bad at all—truly outstanding among men!" Xie Tang praised.

A gifted disciple naturally deserved to be indulged.

"There's also a cat in our complex—an internet celebrity with millions of fans!" Wang Zhiqi grew excited at this. "Principal, this cat has become a spirit! Not only can it stir-fry, it can cook meals and even solve a Rubik's cube!"

As she spoke, Wang Zhiqi pulled out her phone.

She played the video for Xie Tang to see.

In the video, a pitiful-looking cat, wearing an apron and holding a spatula, was stir-frying, occasionally adding salt and seasonings—it looked quite amusing.

"This cat is so smart! I've even held it—it belongs to my neighbor!" Wang Zhiqi chattered on.

Xie Tang watched the video, a slight daze in her expression; for some reason, she felt a hint of familiarity from this cat.

"In a world like yours, this cat is indeed peculiar, but if placed in the Fire Spirit Realm, it's nothing special.

Some cats in our Fire Spirit Realm have even developed intelligence, their wisdom no different from ordinary humans."

"Principal, then do you think this cat has talent? Can it cultivate immortality like us?" Wang Zhiqi asked.

"Difficult," Xie Tang shook her head. "Our Xuantian Sect has no cultivation methods for non-human beings."

"What a pity." Wang Zhiqi was a bit disappointed, but she looked up at Xie Tang and suddenly said, "Principal, if you registered an account, you'd definitely get many followers and become a big internet celebrity!"

"Oh? Is that so?" Xie Tang smiled serenely, her star-like brows and sword-like eyes.

"This is the first time I've seen someone with eyebrows like stars!

I've seen others with sword brows and star eyes, but you, Principal, have star brows and sword eyes—so unique!" Wang Zhiqi's eyes sparkled.

Xie Tang chuckled: "My eyebrows are nothing. If you ever meet my senior sister, you'll find that someone's eyebrows can actually resemble a turtle's!"

"What? A turtle? That's so cool!" Wang Zhiqi exclaimed in amazement. "When I achieve mastery in cultivation, I'll turn my eyebrows into... the sun!"

Xie Tang looked at Wang Zhiqi with fond indulgence.

If anyone else had joked about her eyebrows, she would have cut them down with a single sword stroke.

But Wang Zhiqi was different; she knew Wang Zhiqi was innocent by nature and meant no harm.

But then, suddenly, her star-like brows twitched slightly, and a hint of joy appeared in her eyes: "Your residential complex truly is a blessed place—I've discovered two more little ones with excellent talent!"

Those two, in terms of talent, actually surpassed Wang Zhiqi by a considerable margin.

How could Xie Tang not be excited?

This time, to have such a harvest!

(End of this chapter)