MTLNOVEL Chapter 493: Ancient Clan (2)
The Song Clan's flying boat descended silently onto the aerial port reserved for top forces in Wanliu City, resembling the immortal palaces of the Moon Palace.
On the flying boat, the disciples of the Song Clan were all dressed in elegant magic robes embroidered with star and moon cloud patterns, exuding a cold and lofty aura. Leading them was a middle-aged scholar in a long robe, his eyes deep and profound.
The Zhao Clan followed closely, with a massive warship entirely black and shaped like a ferocious dragon head tearing through the clouds, descending with overwhelming murderous intent.
On the warship, Zhao Clan disciples wore profound armor. Their auras were fierce, and their eyes were as sharp as knives, unabashedly scanning Wanliu City below with an air of superiority.
The leader was a burly man, as imposing as an iron tower, clad in dark gold dragon-patterned heavy armor. Every step he took caused the void beneath him to tremble.
As the true ruler behind the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower, the Yuan Clan naturally would not be absent.
They did not make a grand entrance but, as the host and rule-setter, the participants of the auction had already entered the VIP room on the top floor of the Heavenly Circle Pavilion.
The high-ranking members of the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower treated the members of the Song and Zhao clans with utmost caution during their reception, showing just the right amount of respect in their words and actions.
The arrival of the Three Great Clans, such colossal entities, would typically make ordinary sects and families despair, possibly even retreat.
But the allure of the "Mystic Sun True Understanding," pointing directly to the hope of the True Immortal Dao, was enough to overwhelm all fears.
"What of the clans?! How can we not fight when Immortal fate is before us?!"
"Such an opportunity, rare even in a hundred thousand years, we must risk everything!"
"Their clans may have deep foundations, but they might not care for this scripture. This is our chance!"
Several major forces began to secretly contact each other, intending to join forces to secure this immortal scripture. Such an immortal fate was enough to push them to daring plots.
The stifling atmosphere quickly brewed to its peak in Wanliu City.
......
......
On the third floor of the Treasure Pavilion, in a tastefully decorated room with an excellent view, Chu Zheng and Xue Qing sat by the window.
The table was still filled with the Treasure Pavilion's top-tier spiritual dishes, and the aroma was pervasive.
Xue Qing held a golden trotter larger than her head, devouring it with grease all over her mouth.
The rich aroma of meat mixed with the pure essence of fire energy spread, and she ate with full concentration.
The clamor outside, enough to drive the entire Lower Realm insane, was far less attractive than the trotter in her hand.
Chu Zheng sat by the window, toying with a purple-gold first-class VIP token given by Yuan Feng.
The token was cool and smooth, with an excellent touch. He calmly glanced over the crowd surging in the streets below, his eyes deep like an ancient well, without a ripple.
In this month, Xue Qing's cultivation steadily advanced, nourished by top-tier spiritual food, about to step into the mid-stage of the Embracing Pill Realm.
Meanwhile, his own, the operation of the Qi-refining Technique in this spiritually abundant core of Zhongzhou was smoother, naturally stepping into the mid-stage of the Jade Bone Realm, his jade bones polished to perfection.
Regarding the upcoming auction, destined to be recorded in the history of the Lower Realm, Chu Zheng had little expectation or nervousness in his heart. What mattered to him was how many spirit stones the Mystic Sun True Understanding could fetch, supporting how far he and Xue Qing could go.
Chu Zheng's gaze swept over the crowded streets below, glanced at the flying magic treasures exuding powerful auras in the sky, and finally rested on the radiant Ten Thousand Treasures Tower, his eyes like an ancient well, without a ripple.
For him, who had traversed the River of Space-Time to be here, these scenes were nothing more than a drop of rain in the ocean, hard to stir any sentiment.
In essence, these cultivators were no different from him.
Most of them came here to gamble their lives, pouring all they had into betting on a better fate.
Meanwhile, he was in the ancient times, also fighting for his life, for that elusive Reincarnation Road.
As for those forces frantically competing, those lofty clans...
In his eyes, they were no different from the crowd below the window.
They were just pieces, large or small, on this eternal chessboard.
Not even worthy of being called pieces.
He picked up a cup of warm spiritual tea, took a small sip, and the tea's fragrance was crisp and refreshing.
......
......
The top floor of the Treasure Pavilion.
In a more luxurious and open room than where Chu Zheng sat.
Outside, Wanliu City's clamor was boiling, and every scene was clearly reflected inside through the giant glass window wall.
On the jade marrow round table in the center of the room were the top and most expensive spiritual dishes from the Treasure Pavilion, each like a work of art, emitting a precious glow and alluring aroma.
Seated around the table were the Xu Family and several disciples from Upper Realm families friendly with them.
Their demeanor was relaxed, and their manners were naturally aloof with inherent nobility.
Yun Tianji sat at the far end, with dining utensils before him, but he barely moved his chopsticks, keeping his head down, sipping the spiritual tea in his cup, as if trying to shrink himself into the shadows.
The robe stained with dark red ancestor blood he hadn't changed, looked particularly striking against the room's luxurious backdrop.
A young man with a handsome face wearing a cloud-patterned brocade robe reclined on a seat covered in snowy beast skin, his slender fingers playing with the glass wine cup in his hand, a hint of undisguised mockery at the corners of his mouth as he watched the crowd surging on the street below:
"Ha, just an Eighth Order Immortal Law makes these Lower Realm dogs scuffle to the brink of ruin, showing their disgraceful states. Truly, they're a group of frogs at the bottom of a well who've never seen true grandeur, pitiful and lamentable."
His words immediately shattered the previously peaceful atmosphere in the room. The expressions of the other family disciples showed varying degrees of agreement or mockery, as if they were enjoying a farcical drama.
Yun Tianji's fingers clenched tightly around the teacup, knuckles whitening from the force, and beneath his lowered eyelids, an unspeakable anger surged.
Just an Eighth Order? Pitiful and lamentable?
What they lightly dismissed was an unattainable luxury for countless cultivators below, who would gamble their entire lives and everything on!
And they...merely rely on the shade of their ancestors, being born with noble blood, possessing endless resources, why do they get to trample on countless people's struggles and hopes from such a lofty position, making it a laughing matter?!
He felt as if a burning brand had lodged in his chest, painfully unbearable.
He wanted to argue back, but he couldn't at this moment.
Now, he was no longer the Pride of the Heavens favored by his grandpa, just someone exiled to the Lower Realm and abandoned by his family.
Yun Tianji took a sip of spiritual tea, clenching his teeth, the refreshing tea's aroma mixed with indignation and resentment became incredibly bitter in an instant, yet he could only swallow it back down.
"This is inevitable."
Another man, dressed in golden attire, picked up the conversation, shaking the amber-like spiritual wine in his cup, speaking with a tone of certainty:
"These people, even if they traverse the Nine Heavens and Four Seas in this life, in the Great Universe, they would struggle to find a foothold. Without the blessing of Heavenly Fate, without the support of clan fortune, at best, they could only reach Perfect Eighth Order, ultimately just turning into a handful of yellow earth."
He scoffed: "Without our clans behind them to guide their Heavenly Fate, to provide protection, paving the path to ascension, do these Lower Realm ants with their meager talents and scarce resources think they could knock on the door of the Ninth Order? It's pure fantasy. How could they possibly understand these truths?"
Resources, bloodline, fortune, protection...
These are the biggest differences between clans and ordinary cultivators, and the reason the Ten Great Ancient Clans can stand at the pinnacle of the Great Universe.
The room fell silent, only the gentle clinking of spiritual wine in the glasses could be heard.
After a while, a gentle-looking young woman sitting diagonally across from Yun Tianji, focused her gaze on the silent Yun Tianji, put down her wine glass, and showed a seemingly friendly smile:
"Tianji, after all, you carry the Yun Family's blood. If you ever get the chance to ascend to the Upper Realm, you can come seek me out."
She paused, seeing Yun Tianji still with his head lowered, spoke in a slightly charitable tone, softly:
"If...the Yun Family is unwilling to take you back, it doesn't matter. Once I become an Immortal Venerable, I can take you out of this Near Immortal Realm. You once served Grandpa, you shouldn't be trapped in this realm."