Chapter 291: Inviting the Ancestor
Seeing He Qian so deferential before Shen Daoxing, the Eldest Prince, He Yu, grew furious. "Confused for a moment? I simply don’t trust him. Outsiders are all..."
But before the Eldest Prince, He Yu, could finish his sentence,
Shen Daoxing took a step forward and gave him an indifferent look.
Though Shen Daoxing had done nothing, He Yu felt an irresistible, majestic aura wash over him. He trembled and involuntarily hunched over. His pride as a prince of the nation was worthless before Shen Daoxing.
It was as if a Venerable Supreme from time immemorial stood before him. He Yu found it difficult to even breathe.
This was undoubtedly the aura of someone long accustomed to a position of power.
’Just who is this person?’
The Eldest Prince, He Yu, was stunned.
Even Shen Daoxing himself hadn’t noticed that whenever he unleashed his power without reservation, the formidable aura he naturally exuded was subtly changing him. This was the awakening of his Venerable Bloodline.
He was a natural-born Venerable Supreme.
He Qian grew anxious and quickly said, "Yang, my brother is just overly worried about his sister. He only did this because he was confused for a moment. He isn’t a bad person at heart! I apologize to you on his behalf."
As she spoke, He Qian quickly bowed deeply to Shen Daoxing.
At this, Shen Daoxing, who had been wearing an indifferent expression, suddenly reached out to steady He Qian. He smiled faintly. "Princess, you’re too kind. How could I hold a grudge over such a trivial matter? So long as the Eldest Prince no longer seeks me out for trouble."
The sudden shift in his demeanor caught He Qian off guard.
Then, Shen Daoxing looked at the Eldest Prince, He Yu. "Eldest Prince, you’ve truly misunderstood. I bear no ill will toward Tianze, nor do I have any designs on the Princess. You don’t have to tell me. Once the Qinyuan Festival ends and I’ve acquired the Wind Source Ore, I will leave Tianze."
Seeing Shen Daoxing’s sudden change in aura, the Eldest Prince, He Yu, was also taken aback.
"Hahaha, so it was all a misunderstanding! That’s wonderful."
Suddenly, the Third Prince He Yong’s hearty voice rang out. He strode over, laughing loudly, and clapped He Yu on the shoulder. "Big Brother, if it’s all just a misunderstanding, what are you standing around dazed for?"
The Eldest Prince, He Yu, blinked. Now that he’d been given an easy way out, he naturally wouldn’t insist on being difficult.
He glanced at the training grounds, now shattered to pieces with not a single spot left intact, then at Wei Zhi, who had been beaten black and blue.
The Eldest Prince fell silent, finally bowing his head. "Yang, I misunderstood you earlier. It was my own recklessness. I apologize."
He Yu’s attitude had finally softened, but then his tone shifted once more. "However, Yang Xing, even so, don’t you get any ideas about my sister. She will absolutely not end up with an outsider like you."
"..."
Shen Daoxing.
Just then, Wei Zhi got to his feet. He walked over to Shen Daoxing, clasped his hands, and bowed respectfully. "Thank you for showing mercy."
He appeared to be severely injured, but they were all just superficial wounds. Shen Daoxing had not dealt a fatal blow.
Off to the side, He Yong sized up Shen Daoxing, his face full of amazement. "Yang, are you really only at the Ninth Layer of the Spirit Transformation Realm? How did you manage to jump a realm and defeat an Earth Profound Realm expert?"
Shen Daoxing smiled faintly and gave He Yong a meaningful look. "What? You want to learn? If you do, we can come back to the training grounds tomorrow and continue."
He Yong froze. Remembering the miserable beating he’d taken from Shen Daoxing before, he shivered and hastily took a step back.
Not far away, the figures of Peng Yue, Deng Fang, and Yuan Yuan also appeared, their hearts filled with shock as they stared at Shen Daoxing.
They had all felt the massive commotion from the training grounds earlier and had turned back to see what was happening. They never expected to find Wei Zhi being soundly thrashed by Shen Daoxing.
An expert of the Earth Profound Realm was being chased around and beaten by a kid from the Spirit Transformation Realm.
The three of them were dumbfounded.
They never imagined that
Shen Daoxing had been holding back when he fought them, not using his full strength at all.
A wave of relief washed over them.
With that, the matter was settled.
He Qian looked up at the sky. "It’s getting late, Young Master Yang. We should head back. As for what happened today, my brother will host a banquet for you tomorrow to properly make amends."
As she spoke, she nudged the Eldest Prince, He Yu, with her elbow.
The Eldest Prince, He Yu, finally snapped out of it and nodded hastily. "Right, right."
"Princess, you’re too kind."
Shen Daoxing nodded.
The group then returned to the imperial palace. After exchanging a few pleasantries, they all went their separate ways to their respective residences.
Shen Daoxing sat cross-legged on his bed. The Seven-Colored Power inside him circled endlessly within his Dantian. The previous battle had benefited him greatly, and his control over the Seven-Colored Power had grown more proficient. However, it was still too soon to attempt a breakthrough to the Extreme Dao of Spirit Transformation.
The night passed peacefully.
「The next day.」
Blinding sunlight streamed through the window, flooding the room.
Several palace maids bustled in and out of the room.
After eating the breakfast brought by the maids, Shen Daoxing felt the power within him still needed further refinement.
So, he pushed open the door and stepped outside, planning to find He Yong for another sparring session.
Stepping outside, Shen Daoxing discovered the palace was already festooned with lanterns and colorful banners. Maids and eunuchs hurried back and forth, all looking extremely busy. The entire palace was steeped in a festive atmosphere. Numerous civil and military officials were entering the palace grounds, making it even livelier than the day before.
’But the Qinyuan Festival doesn’t start until tomorrow.’
Shen Daoxing found this odd.
"Today is Tianze’s day for ’Inviting the Ancestor’."
Just then, a pleasant female voice rang out.
Shen Daoxing turned to see He Qian and He Yong emerging slowly, dressed in solemn and magnificent ceremonial robes.
"Princess. Prince."
Shen Daoxing stepped forward and bowed with his hands clasped.
"Young Master Yang!"
He Qian and He Yong returned the bow with equal formality.
"Today is Tianze’s day for ’Inviting the Ancestor’," Princess He Qian explained slowly.
"Every year on this day, the younger generation of Tianze travels to the Profound Abyss Cave on Ancestor Mountain to invite our forefather out of seclusion. If he is willing, he emerges to celebrate the Qinyuan Festival with us and offers us juniors some guidance. However, the ancestor hasn’t responded to our requests in over a hundred years."
A eunuch approached the princess’s side and bowed. "Princess, all is in readiness."
"Very well. You are dismissed."
He Qian nodded, then turned to Shen Daoxing. "Young Master Yang, it’s not often you visit Tianze. This is a rare opportunity. Why not accompany us to Ancestor Mountain? Perhaps you’ll get to meet our forefather."
’The Tianze ancestor?’
Shen Daoxing recalled the statue he had seen in the plaza.
He paused for a moment, then nodded. He was actually quite interested in this ancient patriarch of Tianze.
He Qian’s smile was radiant as she waved her hand.
A large procession of maids and eunuchs emerged, following behind He Qian. In their hands, they carried trays laden with Immortal Elixir and Spirit Grass, Celestial and Earthly Treasures, and other precious offerings.