258: Worship! Ding!

The old residence of the Shen Family, with its dark gray bricks and tiles, still retained its original appearance.

Although it had been uninhabited for a long time, it was regularly cleaned and maintained, with a spotless courtyard and well-trimmed plants, showing no signs of desolation. However, the loneliness that had settled into the brick seams and beams was impossible to dispel.

Inside the ancestral hall, candlelight flickered, and incense smoke curled upwards.

Shen Xinrong knelt before the spirit tablets of her parents, her eyes instantly turning red as she gazed at the familiar names. The grief and longing accumulated over many years burst forth at this moment.

Li Shengyuan threw Lord Nu Tao, whose cultivation had been crippled and was now like a pile of mud, before the spirit tablets.

“Uncle, Aunt, Shengyuan and Xinrong have come to see you,” Li Shengyuan's voice was particularly solemn in the quiet ancestral hall.

“The blood debt of that year, we will reclaim a portion today. This villain, Lord Nu Tao, was one of the direct perpetrators. He has now been captured and brought before your spirits to comfort you both in the afterlife!”

Before his words faded, he pointed two fingers like a sword, and an invisible surge of energy instantly pierced through the brow of Lord Nu Tao, who was filled with terror.

This demonic overlord, who had dominated the overseas regions for many years, perished body and soul without even a final scream.

Under Li Shengyuan's precise control, his body transformed into a wisp of smoke, leaving only a trace of his true spirit mark to be absorbed by the ancestral hall's power of vows, symbolizing the culprit's execution and sacrifice before the spirits of the deceased.

“Father! Mother—!”

Seeing her enemy brought to justice, Shen Xinrong could no longer hold back and burst into tears, which streamed down her face.

She prostrated herself on the ground, her shoulders trembling violently. Years of forbearance, solitude, and hatred all transformed into tears of release at this moment.

Yue Xiyan and others gently comforted her from the side, their eyes also filled with pity and empathetic sorrow.

Just then, footsteps sounded from outside the ancestral hall.

“Shengyuan!”

“Xinrong!”

Li Mu and Wenren Qingxuan, having received the news, rushed over.

They looked at the scene inside the ancestral hall, especially Shen Xinrong, who was weeping bitterly, and sighed in their hearts.

Li Mu stepped forward and patted his son's shoulder, his gaze containing both approval and a heavy heart.

Wenren Qingxuan, on the other hand, quickly walked to Shen Xinrong's side, gently embraced her, and softly said:

“Good child, don't cry. Your parents in the afterlife, seeing their great revenge avenged and knowing that you are doing well, can rest in peace. From now on, we are your family!”

Li Shengyuan nodded slightly to his parents, everything unspoken.

He took three sticks of incense offered by Yue Xiyan, preparing to personally offer them to Shen Xinrong's parents.

However, as he inserted the incense into the censer, a wisp of the God-Demon Origin within his body was actually stirred!

Immediately after, the small, seemingly unassuming, dusty bronze cauldron that the Shen Family had used for generations suddenly underwent a drastic change!

“Buzz—!”

A faint hum, yet one that reached the soul, resounded.

The small bronze cauldron vibrated violently, and the dust of ages accumulated on its surface seemed to be brushed away by an invisible hand, revealing the ancient, unadorned patterns hidden beneath.

These patterns were not carved; instead, they resembled naturally formed Dao rhythms, now emitting a soft yet profound, hazy glow.

Immediately after, an illusory pillar of light shot up from the cauldron, projecting countless intricate and complex runes that swirled in the air above the ancestral hall.

A vast, ancient aura, imbued with the breath of endless creation and destruction, permeated the air, instantly enveloping the entire ancestral hall.

“This is?!”

Everyone was startled by this sudden turn of events. Even Shen Xinrong, immersed in her grief, stopped crying and looked up in astonishment.

Li Shengyuan's gaze was sharp as he stared intently at the seemingly ordinary small cauldron, which was now displaying an astonishing phenomenon.

With his knowledge and current cultivation, he was momentarily unable to discern the origin of this object. He only felt that the power contained within it was of an extremely high level, even triggering a faint resonance with the God-Demon Origin within his body.

This change was also caused by the God-Demon Origin within him!

“The Shen Family's ancestral censer... is actually such a treasure?”

If Prince Wei Mu Weiran, were here, his eyes would probably pop out. The Demonic Cult and he had painstakingly plotted, yet they did not know that the true supreme treasure might be right before their eyes.

Li Mu and Wenren Qingxuan also showed expressions of shock. They had been good friends with the Shen Family for many years, yet they had never heard of any supernatural qualities of this cauldron.

The light lasted for several breaths before slowly receding, and the swirling runes gradually vanished. The small cauldron returned to its unremarkable appearance, as if everything that had just happened was an illusion.

However, the lingering Dao rhythm within the ancestral hall and the shock in everyone's hearts clearly told them that what they had just witnessed was real.

Shen Xinrong looked at the censer, her beautiful eyes filled with disbelief, and she murmured:

“This... this was just an ordinary bronze cauldron my father used to offer incense with when I was little... how could it be...”

Shen Xinrong's mind kept replaying the scenes from when she was with her parents, and there was no mention of anything extraordinary about this cauldron.

Or perhaps, even her father did not know about the cauldron's peculiarity... And did the people of the Demonic Cult exterminate the Shen Family precisely for this cauldron?

Li Shengyuan reached out and gently stroked the cold body of the cauldron, feeling the immense power that was so deeply restrained that even he could hardly detect it unless specific conditions were met. He said in a deep voice:

“Aunt Shen, it seems that your father, mother, and the Shen Family ancestors have left you not only a deep blood feud, but also a secret legacy... one that is enough to shake the world.”

He raised his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through the roof of the ancestral hall, looking towards the endless sky.

“This object is absolutely no ordinary item! Its appearance might indicate that there are deeper karmic ties surrounding the Shen Family's tragic case that have yet to be resolved.”

Inside the ancestral hall, the atmosphere shifted from sorrow to an inexplicable solemnity.

Li Shengyuan looked at the cauldron in his hand, thinking that perhaps only the Great Qian living fossil, that old Chancellor, would know a thing or two...