103: Breaking Boundaries

Hearing Ancestor Chu's sudden interjection, Chu Jingyu and Chu Qinhui were both visibly stunned, then their gazes turned toward the sacrificial altar.

They bowed toward the sacrificial altar. For their world,

where various natural and man-made disasters are frequent and people die quickly, maintaining the Bloodline Legacy is paramount. Therefore, whether they are children of a Noble Family or common folk, they arrange for their children to become engaged and have children around the age of fourteen or fifteen.

Although sixteen is slightly late, it is not too late and is considered acceptable.

Neither of them would defy Ancestor Chu's wishes over such a small amount of time.

Thus, Chu Jingyu naturally responded, "We abide by Ancestor Chu's command."

Chu Qinhui, who hadn't spoken, silently lamented that the sense of a living person emanating from Ancestor Chu was growing stronger.

Seeing that Ancestor Chu had no further instructions, Chu Jingyu asked Chu Qinhui to guard the ancestral hall in his stead.

He then boarded a carriage and traveled along the newly constructed 'highway' toward Qingsha Village... The weather on this grassland is always misty; day and night, one cannot see the light of the sun or moon overhead.

After exploring the surrounding territories once, Chu Shengyuan and the two pythons returned to the place where they first arrived on the grassland.

He was afraid that he would miss the chance to return home if the passage opened again while he was away.

In these four days, he had finished all the snacks he brought in his jade pendant, and now he had no choice but to eat the various colored berries growing on the green grass of this grassland.

However, he could have refused to eat these berries. If he used the Origin Rune Stones in his jade pendant sparingly, they would be enough to sustain him and the two Source Beasts for a very long time.

But he couldn't stand having no flavor in his mouth for such a long time, so he had tasted almost every type of berry nearby.

Chu Shengyuan lay on the soft grass, gazing distractedly at the colorful clouds beyond the thin mist. Each cloud represented an extremely powerful Source Beast.

He thought with a touch of envy that it would be great if he were like those 'Jellyfish' Source Beasts; they only needed to feed on the light particles escaping from this strange grass to drift freely everywhere.

Although he couldn't figure out what the grass beneath him was, Chu Shengyuan cleverly dug up a large patch and stored it in his jade pendant, hoping to take it home.

Chu Shengyuan finished his Cultivation for the day. His eyes stared blankly ahead. If he remembered correctly, this was the exact spot where he had been pulled in by a tentacle.

He wondered when that passage would appear again.

Bored, he poked a cluster of 'small Jellyfish' gathered around him. They had been attracted when Chu Shengyuan was absorbing Origin Rune Stones, and after he fed them some Origin Rune Stone fragments,

they shamelessly remained by Chu Shengyuan's side, even clingier than a pet puppy.

Just as Chu Shengfan was teasing these 'small Jellyfish' to pass the time,

as if his wish for the passage to open again had been heard by the heavens, a rift inexplicably split open in the Void Realm.

Through the narrow, roughly palm-width rift, Chu Shengyuan could see several familiar-looking household servants nearby.

Clearly, those servants also saw the rift appear. One frantically ran toward the mountain, while the other two who remained shouted something toward Chu Shengyuan on the rift's side.

Unfortunately, the passage didn't seem to have fully formed yet, so Chu Shengyuan couldn't hear what they were shouting.

But it didn't matter. Chu Shengyuan stared intently at the rift before him. He tossed a blade of green grass from beside him toward the narrow rift and saw it safely land on the other side of the passage.

Immediately afterward, Chu Shengyuan grabbed a fist-sized, pale-blue 'Jellyfish' beside him, adopted a throwing posture toward the spatial rift, and just like the grass, the 'Jellyfish' successfully landed on the other side of the spatial rift.

Seeing their companion run off to a strange place, the remaining 'small Jellyfish' also curiously gathered toward the rift.

However, before they could follow, a flash of purple lightning appeared in the Void Realm, and the rift closed up again at a speed much faster than it had opened.

Chu Shengyuan stood frozen in place, his previously lifted spirits instantly sinking.

The rift was too narrow and the duration too short; there was no way he could squeeze through.

But he was an optimist, and he managed to cheer himself up quickly.

His choice was not wrong; as long as he waited patiently, the passage still had a chance to open. He wouldn't be trapped on this grassland forever... In a bright and spacious hall, the County Magistrate of Zhiyao County irritably put down his writing brush.

"How many members of the Noble Families that the Huo Family conscripted to go Beyond the Border have returned?"

Another lean-looking middle-aged man rubbed his palms and replied softly, "According to current statistics, fewer than a hundred people."

The County Magistrate frowned unhappily. "This Huo Family is going too far. If it were just the deaths of some commoners and low-level Contract Masters, like the Liu Family, then fine.

But they targeted all the low-level Noble Families. With so many deaths this time, I still have to report to the authorities above."

The other white-haired elder in the room spoke helplessly, "That matter is manageable, but now we have an even more troublesome issue before us."

"What is it?" The County Magistrate's expression instantly became serious and solemn. If the elder before him called it troublesome, it was certainly no small matter.

"Too many Noble Family Clan Chiefs have died, causing the overall Luck of Zhiyao County to decline sharply. The barrier condensed by this Luck is now extremely unstable, and many passages have begun appearing within the boundary. If we don't handle this soon, there is a danger of the boundary breaking."

Hearing the elder's words, the County Magistrate's face darkened. He deeply regretted how he had been blinded by greed and accepted that 'Fu Yang Chen Lao Shen.' Now he had to clean up the Huo Family's mess.

"Has Old Ancestor Huo returned? I can't be the only one cleaning up the mess he made, can I?"

The lean man lowered his gaze. "The Huo Family hasn't given a definitive answer yet, but the Huo Family has been extremely quiet recently. We haven't seen any main branch personnel appear outside."

The County Magistrate narrowed his eyes and said thoughtfully, "Are you implying that the Huo Family might now be just an empty shell?"

The white-haired elder's eyes narrowed, as if he had finally understood something.

"Logically speaking, even if the Clan Chiefs of those smaller Noble Families died Beyond the Border, it would only cause the boundary membrane to fluctuate, creating a few cracks and shaking the interior, but it should recover after a period of rest.

If the Huo Family's Origin Artifacts and main branch personnel have all left Zhiyao County, then this level of boundary-breaking upheaval would make sense."

The County Magistrate's face turned ashen with anger. If the Huo Family's main branch really had all left, he would certainly be charged with ineffective supervision.

His century of diligent effort in Zhiyao County would be ruined in an instant. If the county seat was breached, even his Family wouldn't be able to fully save him.

He gritted his teeth. "Follow me to the Huo Family first. We need to ascertain their true situation."

The other two people in the room had no objections and followed him out of the county office.

Filled with rage, the County Magistrate naturally didn't walk slowly. As soon as he exited the county office, a large bird appeared before him, possessing three heads, grayish-white wings, and measuring about seven or eight meters long.

The County Magistrate stepped onto the bird's back in the air. The large bird then lightly flapped its wings, soaring into the sky in the blink of an eye and flying toward the Huo Family's compound.