Because of this, many noble families went directly to Ziwei Mountain, demanding an explanation from Chen Zhixing.

But they did not see Chen Zhixing, as he surprisingly was not at Ziwei Mountain!

Where did he go?

These individuals from the noble families couldn't find Chen Zhixing, and the emissaries sent from the Celestial Saint Palace to mediate also failed to locate him.

Yet, there are those who can find him.

The night.

Outside Linjiang City.

Broken temple.

In the ruined temple where one of the nine central figures, Ning Changyu, fell, a campfire was gently burning, with a golden-brown roasted rabbit over the fire, and several wine jars placed beside it.

Chen Zhixing sat here, staring calmly at the campfire in front of him.

Outside the temple gate, footsteps could be heard.

Squeak.

The wooden door was pushed open from the outside, and a figure dressed in a Taoist robe with a fisherman's hat on their head walked in slowly.

Chen Zhixing wasn't surprised; he didn't even turn his head to look.

The person sighed helplessly upon seeing this.

He took off his hat, revealing Chen Daoyan's not-so-old face.

"Zhixing, the reason you're doing this is to see your grandfather, right?"

"Yes."

Chen Zhixing nodded calmly.

No emotional turbulence, nor any resentment towards Chen Daoyan for his past schemes against him and his parents.

This is his grandfather, by blood.

There was manipulation; he acknowledges it, and his parents do too!

It was supposed to be this way.

Upon seeing this, a gentle smile appeared on Chen Daoyan's face. He reached out, seemingly wanting to pat Chen Zhixing on the shoulder.

"What happened back then was my fault; I didn't anticipate the Chen Family would face so many issues, nor did I expect my grandson to be so outstanding."

Chen Zhixing did not dodge, allowing him to give a solid pat.

But he didn't say much to Chen Daoyan either.

He just listened to Chen Daoyan talk about the Chen Family's matters overseas, mentioning that the Chen Family has a small hidden world called Suspended Island overseas, which is said to be a Blessed Land Grotto Heaven. Many ancestors recorded in Ziwei Mountain's family records are there, and these ancestors have been spreading their branches, forming a larger Ziwei Chen Family over there, and this family is considered the heaven of that small world.

Chen Daoyan further mentioned that upon hearing about this side, he thought several times about bringing Chen Zhixing and his parents to live on Suspended Island.

He added that those brought there, to the Suspended Tao on Suspended Island, are considered the main branch of Ziwei Chen Family. Over there, there's a formation similar to the 'Array of Circulation Stars' of a larger scale and more comprehensive accumulation like Ziwei Star.

After listening for a while, feeling that Chen Daoyan might be thirsty, Chen Zhixing handed him a rabbit leg and opened a wine jar.

Then.

"Grandfather, do you remember that the first time you saw me was in this broken temple?"

Chen Daoyan paused momentarily upon hearing this.

"At that time, you helped me defeat strong enemies and personally told me you were my grandfather, introduced Dugu and a group of Dark Guards to protect me, helped me fend off attacks from the Holy Land during the East Profound Grand Competition, and recommended me as the head of the Chen Family..."

Chen Zhixing's tone was flat, as if recounting past events.

Regrettably, he had only met Chen Daoyan a few times, and not many events ensued, finishing the recount quickly.

Chen Daoyan listened quietly but, for some reason, felt a bit bitter, and the roasted rabbit seemed less delicious.

As expected.

"But I'm still curious as to why you kept Chen Zhaosheng's joining the Celestial Spider hidden from me, why you let Brother Zhaosheng return after I quelled the Southern Domain chaos, and why you made Ancestor Tianyuan leave after I encountered the Longevity Realm Profound Turtle, and before leaving, why I encountered the Golden Nature within the Cyan Pheasant Sword... Grandfather, can you explain these things, as Zhixing truly doesn't understand."

Is it that he doesn't understand, or he doesn't want to admit?

Chen Daoyan stayed silent.

But Chen Zhixing didn't give him the chance to remain silent, merely looking at him with calm eyes, saying: "If Grandfather isn't willing to explain these things to me, then you probably won't ask me to do anything else, right?"

Chen Daoyan didn't want to explain.

It's hard to open up.

But he had to speak, and it had to be the truth, because the child in front of him already had answers in his heart, merely needing confirmation directly from him.

"Zhixing, these are all in the past."

"Yes, I know, but I still want an answer."

"It's all... for the Chen Family." Under Chen Zhixing's calm gaze, Chen Daoyan replied painfully: "According to the original intention of the family, the hope was for Zhaosheng to prove the Longevity Realm and then proceed overseas to activate the Array of Circulation Stars over there, thus nurturing the Emperor of the Six Realms, the Star of the North."

"Yes, I am Zhixing." Chen Zhixing nodded: "Ziwei Mountain of the Chen Family has always been watched by the Three Great Sacred Lands. Once the path of the Star Monarch is initiated here, the Three Great Sacred Lands would quickly identify it and occupy most of the Star Monarch positions, so you hoped to nurture Brother Zhaosheng and have him initiate the formation overseas, thereby giving the overseas Chen Family elders the time to become Star Monarchs... yes, Grandfather, please continue, why did Ancestor Tianyuan leave, and why did Brother Zhaosheng return?"

"The reason the Ancestor left is..."

"Talk about Brother Tiansheng first."

"Zhixing..." For some reason, Chen Daoyan's eyes reflected a trace of plea when looking at Chen Zhixing.

Seeing this, Chen Zhixing sighed lightly: "Since Grandfather doesn't want to say, then let me speak."

"Zhixing!"

"The reason Brother Zhaosheng returned was that you found a better target candidate since you discovered I had come into contact with Golden Nature, and because you have channels of communication with the Golden Nature within the Cyan Pheasant Sword, because you used the Golden Nature as a method of contacting the Taoist Monarch Yimiao, intending to trade my Chaos Body and Daluo Taoist Lands in exchange for Brother Tiansheng's chance to prove the Longevity Realm and the opportunity in the East Continent.

By then, the Three Great Sacred Lands would share the Golden Nature I produce among themselves, while my physical body would belong to the Daluo Taoist Lands, so that Brother Tiansheng could use the Four Seasons Method to prove the Longevity Realm, then go overseas to activate the Array of Circulation Stars you mentioned... considering that he carries the Saint King Map, opening the array would be the most suitable as Emperor Ziwei, and because he had not practiced the path of Star Monarch before, even if he becomes Emperor, he wouldn't hold much control over you Star Monarchs belonging to Ziwei Star, considering this as the best outcome for you?

As for Ancestor Tianyuan, he probably left because he disliked your approach, couldn't bear it enough to stop it, thus taking the chance upon discovering a Longevity Realm Profound Turtle to withdraw, preferring 'out of sight, out of mind'?"

"...."

Chen Daoyan stayed silent.

"Grandfather, this is rather pointless, truly."

Seeing his silence, Chen Zhixing shook his head and said: "You probably aren't aware. Actually, none of you are favored by the Three Great Sacred Lands on your plan."

"...."

"Celestial Saint Palace was the first to warn me, and upon detecting my ascent to Peak, Immortal Ascended Taoist Palace directly unleashed a Great Wilderness Gathering Net from the entrance of Descent to stall Master Yimiao's pace."

"...."

"As for Master Yimiao herself..."

Thinking of the figure coming all the way to the Southern Domain, almost explicitly setting Ziwei Chen Family up for the sake of initiating Ziwei Star as Master Yimiao, Chen Zhixing rubbed his forehead in frustration: "How could you believe her promises? She wouldn't equitably regard people; if you were successful, perhaps she could grant you some rewards, yet you still wished to trade with her?"

"...."

"Greedy, intelligent, capricious, unruly, treating all beings as ants, she's not someone you can communicate with."

"...."

"Such a figure is among the top in cultivation across the world, and yet you dared to trust her promises... what now, she reneges, do you have any means to counter her now?"

"...."

Chen Daoyan's expression froze for quite a while.

Because at some unknown time.

A woman dressed in long robes quietly appeared in this broken temple, sitting beside the fire with a smile, watching the pair of grandfather and grandson.

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