Talisman Emperor

Chapter 6 - The Manor

Chen Xi was muddled and his head went blank.

This refined and beautiful, mischievous and vivacious woman before my eyes actually said she's my mother, she… she…

Chen Xi felt a surge of emotion and was slightly at a loss for what to do. There was no word that could accurately describe his current state of mind.

His mother vanished when he was two and thus there wasn't a shred of an impression of her within his mind. Coupled with him hearing some bad rumors and gossip about his mother since a young age and his grandfather's silence on the matter, even if he had a greater yearning to understand his mother's past, he still had no choice but to bury these feelings deep within his heart.

That's right, deep within his heart.

Because he was afraid that his mother was really like what the rumors described, that she detested his Chen Clan, abandoned his father, himself, and his younger brother, and eloped with a young and handsome son of a wealthy family.

He was afraid that if the truth was like that, he wouldn't be able to control himself and would completely go mad.

Throughout these years, he'd thought of his mother more than once and forced himself to forget her afterwards. The suffering and bewilderment during this process was completely unimaginable to others.

"My darling son, are you surprised to see your mother so young and beautiful? Is it difficult to accept?" The white-dressed woman giggled and blinked her eyes. "Why, if it was me, I'd definitely be unable to accept it as well. Can your mother help it that she's skilled in retaining her youth?"

"Okay, I don't have much time left." The white-dressed woman paused for a moment and retracted her smile before continuing, "Listen well, my son. You must commit to heart what I'm about to say next, or else we will probably never have a chance to meet."

Chen Xi's heart trembled when he heard her, so he calmed his numerous and disorderly thoughts.

The white-dressed woman's eyes revealed a sense of nostalgia, and her beautiful face kept changing between rage, helplessness, bitterness, resentment…and so on and so forth.

She eventually said, "I was taken away by your uncle because my family didn't agree to my marriage with your father. Because of me, and for the sake of upholding the reputation of their Zuoqiu Clan, they didn't hesitate to annihilate the entire Chen Clan just for the sake of expunging this humiliation."

So mother didn't elope with someone but instead was taken away by my uncle…

Chen Xi seemed to have freed himself of the shackles that he'd carried for over 10 years, and his mood couldn't help but ease up. However, the last part of what she said caused his mood to fiercely fall into a bottomless chasm before it had time to wildly rejoice.

It was actually the Zuoqiu Clan that Mother's from that annihilated my Chen Clan?

Chen Xi's breathing was hurried and his chest felt like a 5,000 kg boulder was pressing down upon it. Due to the violent change in his feelings, his eyes went black and he nearly fainted.

He'd spent every waking moment over these past 10 plus years pondering the identity of the perpetrator of his Chen Clan's annihilation. He'd decided in his heart that no matter the difficulties and dangers he would face, he'd definitely kill every single one of them. But never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that the truth would actually be so unbelievable and so atrocious!

"Son, you're really furious, right? Mom's furious as well! Mom had already broken off all relations with the Zuoqiu Clan long ago and had even paid the price, but they just refused to let Mom go."

Zuoqiu Xue's voice went lower and lower and gradually got more serious. "The reason is extremely simple: it's because Mom and your dad obtained an extraordinary treasure during one of our travels to experience the vicissitudes of life."

"Look, that's precisely it." She pointed with her delicate hand at the jade pendant that revolved with white lights, and endless pain and hatred emerged within her eyes.

Chen Xi raised his head to look over and his gaze went dull. At this moment, his mind was approaching numbness, and he relied on the last strand of intellect within him to listen to Zuoqiu Xue.

"Have you heard of the River Diagram? It was the most mysterious diagram in the primordial era. Numerous gods and devils of the primordial era used it to comprehend their own path in the Dao. They peeked into the secrets of the heavens to master the profound meaning of the Grand Dao and ascended to the highest summit of the Dao. It was precisely because of this that every appearance of the River Diagram was accompanied by slaughter. This slaughter caused upheaval within the three dimensions and disturbed the six paths of reincarnation. That doomsday-like scene of various figures with remarkable ability fighting over the River Diagram, just thinking about it sends a chill down one's spine."

"Luckily, the River Diagram vanished after the end of the primordial era, and that terrifying scene of gods and devils entangled in battle never appeared again. It's probably been 1,000,000 years since then. If it wasn't for Mom having read the ancient books of the clan when I was young, I would be completely unaware of the River Diagram's name," Zuoqiu Xue tirelessly spoke with a low and serious voice that carried a trace of nostalgia with it.

However, when Chen Xi heard it, it was like listening to an ancient legend, so it couldn't cause a ripple within his heart. An incident from 1,000,000 years was too far away, so far away that it was completely unable to arouse a shred of interest within him to understand it.

All he knew was that the River Diagram was a treasure, a treasure that could make everyone slaughter each other madly.

"Concealed within this jade pendant is a rubbing of the River Diagram's stone inscription, and a trace of the River Diagram was branded onto it during the rubbing process. Don't look down on this brand, because with it, one is capable of locating where the River Diagram is concealed. The reason mom was taken away and our Chen Clan was annihilated is precisely because of this jade pendant!"

Zuoqiu Xue's subsequent words were instead like a warhead detonating within his mind, completely stunning Chen Xi. His eyes stared fixedly at the jade pendant in astonishment.

If it was said that he took the River Diagram as an ancient story before, then at this moment, he abruptly noticed that he'd actually been fortunate enough to be associated with a trace of the River Diagram's karma!

He didn't know whether he should feel fortunate or begrieved, but he already understood everything. The annihilation of the Chen Clan, his mother leaving and the disappearance of his father…even the name of jinx, it was all thanks to the jade pendant. If it wasn't for the conflict over it, how else would such a tragedy occur to his entire family?

This is probably how a man's wealth is his own ruin from inducing the greed within another!

Chen Xi deeply sighed in his heart with endless frustration.

"Supposedly, there's a cultivation manor that belonged to a primordial being within the jade pendant. Its interior was made into a dimension of its own that contains various profound places and items concealed inside, and the River Diagram's rubbing is only one of these items. Unfortunately, Mom has never entered it and merely knows of this."

"I assume your cultivation is at the Congenital Realm since you're capable of evoking the spiritual brand Mom left within the jade pendant. Thus, you're already capable of establishing ownership of the jade pendant. Keep it! Work hard!"

The silhouette of the white-dressed woman gradually dimmed down and blurred. It seemed as if it would shatter into pieces in the next moment. Even her voice became hurried. "Son, you must remember that under no circumstances should you tell anyone about the jade pendant until you've become formidable, including your younger brother. If you do, it will destroy the hope of our Chen Clan!"

"Don't worry about Mom's safety. As long as your strength reaches the Heavenly Immortal Realm, you'll be able to meet Mom."

Her voice lingered in the air as the silhouette of the white-dressed woman completely shattered and vanished without a trace, the jade pendant that hung from his chest then returning to normal.

The room once again sunk into darkness and Chen Xi only felt as if he'd had a dream. But the voice still endlessly lingered at the bottom of his heart, and the jade pendant that hung on his chest told him that this was no dream, but reality!

He silently sat there in the darkness, and only after a long time did his lips lightly tremble as he muttered, in a soft voice, "Don't worry, Mother, your son will definitely find you!"

…

Chen Xi lost all desire to sleep, so he went and washed his face with cold water. After he became clear-headed once again, he directed his gaze onto the jade pendant on his chest.

After experiencing everything from before, he understood that his cultivation had stagnated at the 3rd level of the Congenital Realm for these five years precisely because of this jade pendant.

The jade pendant had silently siphoned away his True Essence until today, when the energy within it finally reached saturation and was capable of awakening his mother's spiritual brand. From the silhouette of his mother that he saw today, he found out about the matters that he'd been puzzled about all this time.

He finally found out that he wasn't a jinx at all, that his natural talent wasn't bad at all, and most importantly, he found out that his mother was still alive. Chen Xi was filled with inspiration because he knew that as long as he became stronger, he would be able to find his mother!

Heavenly Immortal Realm?

So long as I'm alive, the day will come when I'm capable of establishing my Violet Palace, charge into the Golden Hall, condense my Ying-Yang Golden Core, break through Rebirth, become an Enlightened Nether Transformation Master, experience the heavenly tribulations to become an Earthly Immortal, and comprehend the Grand Dao to ascend to the Immortal Dimension to become a Heavenly Immortal!

So long as I'm alive, the sworn enemies that killed my grandfather and took away my younger brother's right arm, not one of you shall escape!

Chen Xi took a deep breath, and his gaze was steadfast and unwavering.

"A manor that a primordial being used to cultivate is actually within this jade pendant, and even the River Diagram rubbing is within. I wonder what profound places and items are inside it? According to what Mother said, the seal on the jade pendant has already been released, and my Congenital Realm cultivation is already capable of establishing ownership of the manor. I wonder if it's true…?"

Chen Xi recalled his mother's words and hesitated for a moment, then he resolutely gritted his teeth, divided a portion of the True Essence within his body and poured it into the jade pendant.

A trace of a gentle luster gushed out from the surface of the jade pendant and revolved, then converged to form a deep and quiet black hole.

At almost the exact same time, a suction force that could not be resisted gushed out from within the black hole. Chen Xi was caught off guard and it was too late to struggle, so his entire body was drawn into the black hole.

Om!

The black hole broke apart bit by bit and vanished.

The entire room sunk into darkness once more and then returned to normal; however, Chen Xi was nowhere to be found.

…

Chen Xi was standing on a vast and magnificent space. An array of stars flickered and fluttered atop the sky above him like a group of fireflies that fluttered about in the air. A chilly, silver light that was like a waterfall gracefully shone down, giving off an unreal feeling.

Beneath his feet was a soft, dark green grassland that stretched out into the distance without an end.

He was standing all alone under the night sky filled with an array of stars. The starlight coiled around his body like fireflies; it was as if he was in the wilderness, and everything seemed so unreal.

Could this be that primordial being's cultivation manor?

Chen Xi scanned his surroundings, but he didn't notice a single building that could be considered a manor. On top of his bewilderment, he couldn't help but secretly become vigilant.

The unknown is the fundamental source of fear. It was precisely because of this that Chen Xi didn't dare to carelessly move about and gathered absolute concentration as he carefully watched his surroundings.

After standing there for a long time, Chen Xi's legs became sore, but the surroundings still remained quiet without a single sound, as though there were no other living beings besides him here.

"Could it be that this manor doesn't exist at all?" Chen Xi lay on his back atop the thick grass as he gazed at the dense array of stars in the sky that flickered and fluttered about. He couldn't wrap his head around it.

Something's off!

Not everything within this space is inanimate, and those stars... Aren't they revolving endlessly as if they're alive? The stars in the outside world don't fly around like this!

Chen Xi's eyes sprang wide when he realized this, and he gazed fixedly at the array of stars that fluttered in the sky and carefully observed them.

The sky was like a veil with dazzling stars sprinkled all over. The stars were moving around in an infinite variety of trajectories that were unique to themselves and with varying speeds. They followed a complicated and profound trajectory as they whizzed and whirled in the air.

If it was an ordinary person in his place, they would probably be dazzled the moment they saw this scene, but Chen Xi was fascinated as he gazed upon it.

Using a myriad of stars as the tip of a brush, using the veil of the night sky as the talisman paper, the drawing of the brush seems to be in a chaotic state, but it's actually orderly. Not only does it guarantee the individual stars' continuous movement, they move about in harmony, full of life and vitality. Truly extraordinary… Chen Xi, who was immersed in his fascination, didn't notice that the spots of chilly starlight that shone down from above were slowly converging into a diagram…