Chapter 2

Dengxian Pavilion, situated in the northwest corner of Gumu City, was built against a mountain. The Su family, numbering tens of thousands, almost all lived in this vicinity.

In the hearts of the Su family's descendants, the three-story wooden pavilion of Dengxian Pavilion was a holy place.

This was because it was the residence of the first ancestor of the Su family, with a history of over three thousand years. Despite its age, it had been meticulously maintained and was in excellent condition.

"Creak!"

With a light sound, Su Ye pushed open the door and stepped into Dengxian Pavilion.

The ground floor was extremely simple, with only four chairs placed against the walls. In the past five years, Su Ye had come to clean every three days, and now he knew every small corner of the building by heart. Even with his eyes closed, he could clean it thoroughly.

"Five years in Dengxian Pavilion, and not a single bit of progress..."

Shaking his head with a self-deprecating smile, Su Ye found a broom and began to work.

Five years ago, Su Ye's divine acupoints had increased to forty-eight, but he still failed to break through to the Life Seizing Realm. Afterward, the Grand Elder of the Su family assigned him the task of cleaning Dengxian Pavilion, hoping that he would gain some enlightenment by observing the ancestor's statue and successfully break through to the Life Seizing Realm.

Unfortunately, Su Ye never succeeded, even with fifty-four divine acupoints.

"In the first five years, I managed to open twelve dead acupoints, but in the last five years, I only opened six, which is half as many. After having thirty-six divine acupoints, it's already difficult to open another dead acupoint. In the future, it will only get harder, and it might take five years to open just one or two dead acupoints."

"Moreover, the more times I attempt to break through to the Life Seizing Realm, the more severe the damage to my internal organs. But even so, I have to keep going and continue trying..."

"..."

Swinging the broom, Su Ye felt a bit melancholic at first, but soon his eyes became unusually determined. An image of a tall and robust figure flashed through his mind. It was a handsome young man whose eyes were filled with affection and indulgence, causing a satisfied smile to curl the corners of Su Ye's lips.

"Father, I will definitely find you, unless... I die..."

Unconsciously, Su Ye had already climbed the stairs and stepped onto the third floor.

The top floor was even simpler, with only a statue in the northern part of the room.

The statue depicted a middle-aged man sitting cross-legged, with a handsome face and wearing a white robe, exuding a gentle and refined demeanor. Every part of the statue was intricately carved, even the fine wrinkles in the robe and the tiny pores on the skin were clearly visible, making it seem almost lifelike. If an outsider saw it, they would surely think it was a living person sitting there, meditating with closed eyes.

The middle-aged man was the first ancestor of the Su family, Su Muzhe, from whom the Gumu Su family originated.

No one in the Su family knew where this ancestor came from, but everyone knew about Su Muzhe's deeds from three thousand years ago.

It was said that Su Muzhe was a legendary figure, becoming a Sumeru Realm powerhouse before the age of forty. Unfortunately, on the night he reached the Sumeru Realm, he vanished without a trace and never appeared again. He left only this statue on the third floor of Dengxian Pavilion, leaving future generations with endless regret.

If Su Muzhe hadn't disappeared, with his talent, he would have definitely reached the Feathered Transformation Realm and become a supreme powerhouse standing at the peak of the Daluo World. He might even have surpassed the Feathered Transformation Realm, achieving immortality, and the Gumu Su family would have become one of the top clans in the Daluo World.

Of course, this was just a possibility.

However, although Su Muzhe disappeared, his insights into spiritual cultivation remained, imprinted within this statue. Over the past three thousand years, especially in the last few hundred years, many fortunate Su family descendants have suddenly gained enlightenment while observing the ancestor's statue, greatly enhancing their cultivation. This made the statue even more mysterious in the eyes of the Su family descendants.

"Su Ye pays respects to the ancestor."

After respectfully bowing to the statue, Su Ye sat down opposite it, closed his eyes, and calmed his mind. Then, with a thought, he began to circulate the "Spring Rain Nourishing Technique." In no time, the surrounding spiritual energy began to gather, seeping into his body.

To draw upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for cultivation, one needed a spiritual technique.

In the Daluo World, there were countless spiritual techniques, divided into seven grades. The "Spring Rain Nourishing Technique" was a sixth-grade spiritual technique, suitable for cultivators below the Life Seizing Realm. Reaching the sixth grade was already quite good. Moreover, high-grade spiritual techniques were not suitable for everyone.

In Gumu City, whether it was the Su family, the Qin family, or the Tang family, the entry-level spiritual techniques used by their descendants were ungraded. The "Spring Rain Nourishing Technique" was obtained by the Su family over a decade ago at great cost from a sect, specifically to help Su Ye quickly reach thirty-six divine acupoints.

This spiritual technique was only suitable for those born with more than eighteen divine acupoints.

Su Ye was able to open eight dead acupoints before the age of eight, thanks in large part to the "Spring Rain Nourishing Technique." However, as his divine acupoints increased, the effectiveness of this spiritual technique gradually diminished. Despite this, Su Ye had no choice but to continue cultivating, as the Su family had no better cultivation techniques.

Fortunately, the task of cleaning Dengxian Pavilion somewhat compensated for the inadequacy of the spiritual technique.

Over the years, although Su Ye had not gained any special opportunities from the ancestor's statue, the third floor of Dengxian Pavilion had a magical quality. Cultivating here allowed his mind to completely relax without him even realizing it, making his spiritual technique circulation more focused and doubling his cultivation efficiency.

If it weren't for the frequent visits of other clan members to observe the ancestor's statue, Su Ye would have wanted to cultivate here every day.

"Boom!"

In an instant, Su Ye's fifty-four divine acupoints began to vibrate slightly. Out of the 108 acupoints, half were in the chest and abdomen, and the other half were in the limbs, neck, and head. This morning, before attempting to break through to the Life Seizing Realm in Luoyan Valley, Su Ye had just opened the last dead acupoint in the chest and abdomen region, transforming it into a divine acupoint.

The fifty-fifth acupoint Su Ye wanted to open was in his right leg.

In sync with the vibration of the fifty-four divine acupoints, Su Ye's ten fingers trembled imperceptibly. The spiritual energy that had just entered the divine acupoints seemed to be driven, quickly converging into a small stream and rushing toward the nearest blocked acupoint in his right leg.

"Huh?"

However, just as the spiritual energy was about to touch the dead acupoint, it suddenly dispersed, and Su Ye's mind became inexplicably dazed. After so many years of cultivation, this was the first time Su Ye encountered such an inexplicable situation. He exclaimed in surprise and instinctively opened his eyes.

What's going on?

As Su Ye furrowed his brow, his eyes widened in shock, his black pupils revealing a barely concealed horror—

He saw two eyes!

The eyes of the ancestor's statue, which had been closed for over three thousand years, had somehow opened, staring straight at him. Those eyes were like stars in the dark night, extremely bright, and also like black holes that could swallow everything in the world, incredibly deep.

Strange!

Before Su Ye's mind could fully process this, his spirit became even more dazed. The dark, ink-like eyes of the statue seemed to emit an irresistible pull, instantly enveloping him and dragging him into a deep, deathly silence.