Chapter 234: The Ancestor of the Chen Family

Chen Fei instinctively lifted his foot and looked at the footprint he had just stepped into.

After a brief moment, the mark began to fade, gradually restoring itself.

Chen Fei took a deep breath. This place… was strange.

“I want to see what exactly is calling me!” Chen Fei stepped forward, heading deeper into the ancestral land of the Chen family.

It was all thanks to the guidance of the bloodline summon. Without it, he would’ve easily gotten lost!

No wonder Wang Zhen had said that entering this place was certain death. The mist nullified all spiritual perception—if one were to wander in blindly, they’d likely become trapped in this fog forever.

If that strange ground began to attack, one could imagine the grim end that awaited.

Following the pull of the bloodline summon, Chen Fei eventually arrived at the outside of a courtyard wall.

This was a clearly manmade compound, different from the surrounding mist. Inside the yard, the layout could be seen clearly.

The walls were made of ordinary branches stacked together. Chen Fei could even visualize the scene of someone carefully laying them one by one.

“Junior Chen Fei, greets the ancestor of the Chen family!” Chen Fei stood at the entrance for a moment in silence before speaking aloud.

There was no response—but the bloodline summon intensified dramatically.

Creak!

With a slightly piercing noise, the courtyard door slowly opened, revealing an otherwise ordinary courtyard within.

But the fact that it even existed here made it feel anything but ordinary.

Chen Fei didn’t hesitate—what must come, must come.

Stepping into the courtyard, his gaze landed on a bamboo rocking chair.

Though the courtyard appeared empty, just seeing the chair, Chen Fei could vividly imagine an old man leisurely rocking in it, sipping tea.

“Junior Chen Fei, greets the Ancestor once more!” he called out again.

This time, there was finally a reaction.

A fierce wind rose from nowhere—in the blink of an eye, the serene courtyard was in chaos. The sky turned dark, blood-red light enveloping everything, transforming the scene into a hellish nightmare.

Chen Fei frowned, surprised by the sudden change.

Not far ahead, the door of a straw hut slowly opened. An old man with a thin frame and sharp eyes stepped out, his expression cold and stern.

“Descendant of the Chen family?” The old man gave Chen Fei a brief look, then his expression turned icy. “Audacious heretic, how dare you deceive me? Seeking death!”

With that, he raised his hand and struck.

A dark red palm condensed into reality above Chen Fei’s head, slowly descending with tremendous force.

Chen Fei looked up and saw that the palm bore visible Dao imprint marks. Even though it hadn’t yet landed, its pressure was already cracking the ground around him.

So strong!

Chen Fei dared not hesitate. With a flick of his wrist, the heavy bladeless sword slashed upward.

“Void Severing!”

The second form of the Unbound Sword Art: Void Severing!

The descending palm instantly froze. Then, the entire space fractured like a shattered mirror, splitting into jagged cracks.

These were space rifts—touching them with flesh would cause ghastly wounds or even devour entire limbs.

Chen Fei staggered back a step from the tremendous recoil, barely managing to withstand the strike.

The old man stared strangely at the sword in Chen Fei’s hand, unmoving as if petrified.

The scene froze.

Chen Fei didn’t dare move recklessly. This old man was likely Chen Wansheng—the ancestor believed to have failed in breaking through.

Though he didn’t know exactly what had happened, Chen Fei was almost certain of the man’s identity.

“You—who exactly are you?” Chen Wansheng finally spoke, his gaze sharp and heavy.

But then he chuckled bitterly. “I must be getting old, to ask something like that!”

He flicked his sleeve.

Chen Fei instantly felt an immense force pinning him to the ground. Even with the Void Heaven Cauldron shaking violently to resist, he couldn’t break free.

Chen Wansheng’s eyes lit up like torches, seemingly piercing right through him.

He crooked a finger—immediately, Chen Fei’s blood began to boil.

The pain was excruciating. His face flushed red as a mist of blood condensed in front of him.

Chen Fei felt something strange being pulled from within him, and Chen Wansheng’s eyes grew brighter.

“A true descendant of the Chen family!”

In a flash, Chen Wansheng appeared in front of Chen Fei, looking excited as if about to speak—then paused and sighed in regret.

“Such a rare talent in the family… but why have you not awakened the bloodline? Instead, you’ve formed a weapon spirit?”

He looked lost and confused, standing frozen once more.

Chen Wansheng murmured, “Perhaps it’s a good thing. A powerful bloodline is also a burden… sigh!”

His expression shifted erratically—at times lucid, at times dazed, sometimes fierce, sometimes mad. It was clear his mind was in a deeply disturbed state.

“Since you’ve already begun walking your own path, perhaps that is for the best,” he eventually said, looking at Chen Fei. “If you can reach the Heavenly Dao Realm, come find me again!”

With that, he raised his hand toward the blood mist in front of Chen Fei and quickly drew a Dao seal in the air.

As the seal formed, Chen Wansheng’s aura sharply declined.

Chen Fei stared as the blood mist morphed. When the seal fell into it, a familiar dream-like image appeared again.

A large, pulsating blood cocoon emerged from the mist.

A flash of hatred crossed Chen Wansheng’s eyes. “So it’s true! To poison future generations—shameful!”

He gnashed his teeth, then reached toward the cocoon.

The moment he entered the mist, the flesh of his arm dissolved, replaced by dense Dao patterns. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t touch the cocoon.

Just as the deadlock continued, the Void Heaven Cauldron trembled violently.

With a low hum, Chen Wansheng’s hand finally made contact with the cocoon.

“Hm?” He looked at Chen Fei in surprise, then a joyful expression burst across his face. “Good! Good! Heaven has not abandoned my Chen family! Heaven has not forsaken our clan!”

He laughed heartily, then channeled Dao patterns from his arm into the cocoon without hesitation.

Chen Fei cried out in pain.

“Endure it!” Chen Wansheng’s voice was now gentler, his gaze filled with encouragement.

As the Dao patterns surged, the cocoon finally cracked with a crisp snap.

Chen Fei felt as if something deep within him had been erased. His entire being felt clearer and more refined.

“This… is what the Chen bloodline should be!” Chen Wansheng whispered.

He then raised his hand and pressed it gently to Chen Fei’s forehead.

“From this day forth, you are the heir to the Chen family.”