46: Chapter 46: The spiritual energy the ancestors spoke of has truly arrived.
In the deepest parts of the Kunlun Mountains, everything was shrouded in mist.
There was a valley here that outsiders couldn't enter; even with the most advanced satellite maps, one would only see a messy area of signal interference.
The valley was filled with old-style buildings, pavilions, and towers, looking like a set from a period drama. This was the home of the Dongfang Family. In that circle unknown to ordinary people, their family was considered a top-tier existence, with a heritage spanning nearly a thousand years.
Incense was burning in the Dongfang Family's ancestral hall.
The family head, Dongfang Hong, was an old man with completely white hair and beard, appearing to be in his eighties. He sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, staring blankly at the ancestral tablets.
Suddenly, the old man's body stiffened, he became fully alert, and his face was a mix of shock and wild joy.
Just now, the Internal Energy within his body, which had been stagnant for decades, sensed a stir. It was an energy fluctuation coming from a very distant place; though thin as a strand of hair, it was terrifyingly pure.
Compared to the "Internal Energy" he had practiced his whole life, if this newly appeared energy was heavenly dew, then what he had practiced before was muddy water from a stagnant pond.
"Spiritual energy... it really is spiritual energy!"
Dongfang Hong, an old Grandmaster who could normally make the entire circle tremble with a stomp of his foot, spoke with a trembling voice this time. "The 'Spiritual Energy Revival' written in the ancestral books... that great era... has truly arrived!"
Their Dongfang Family, along with several other "old fossils," had guarded a few fragmented martial arts manuals and endured for hundreds of years. Generation after generation had been waiting for this—waiting for the spiritual energy predicted by their ancestors to return to the world.
He had thought there was no hope in this lifetime, but he never expected to encounter it just as he was about to enter his coffin.
"Someone, come here!" the old man shouted at the top of his lungs.
The door opened, and a middle-aged man in black entered, kneeling on one knee: "Family Head!"
"Go! Bring Shuo'er to me, immediately!" Dongfang Hong was incredibly anxious.
Before long, a young man in his early twenties strode in.
The young man looked spirited, with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes. His long hair was held back with a wooden hairpin, and he wore a white retro martial arts uniform. He walked with a breeze, clearly a proud individual.
He was Dongfang Shuo, Dongfang Hong's proudest grandson and a martial arts prodigy the likes of which the Dongfang Family only saw once every few centuries. At only twenty-three, his skills had already reached their peak, just a paper-thin margin away from becoming a Grandmaster. He had no rivals among the younger generation.
"Grandfather, you called for me?" Dongfang Shuo gave a salute. Though his movements were proper, the expression on his face still carried a hint of defiance.
"Shuo'er, come here," Dongfang Hong beckoned.
He reached out a hand like withered bark, placed it on his grandson's wrist, closed his eyes to feel for a moment, and nodded. "Good, your Internal Energy has improved again. At this rate, you'll definitely become a Grandmaster within a year."
"It's all thanks to Grandfather's excellent teaching," Dongfang Shuo said politely.
"No," Dongfang Hong suddenly shook his head, his expression becoming extremely serious. "Our Dongfang Family, and the entire Ancient Martial Arts World, have taken a narrow path."
"Huh?" Dongfang Shuo was stunned, not understanding what madness had gripped the old man.
"The bit of 'Internal Energy' we practice was just a substitute created out of necessity after spiritual energy vanished; it's all dross." Dongfang Hong's eyes gleamed. "Just now, true spiritual energy appeared! The great era we've waited five hundred years for has begun!"
Dongfang Shuo's heart skipped a beat. He had heard about the "Spiritual Energy Revival" since he was a child but had always thought it was a story made up by the older generation. He hadn't expected it to be true.
"Grandfather, you mean..."
"Exactly!" Dongfang Hong interrupted him. "The source of that fluctuation is in the Northwest, very far away, but I can feel it clearly. Shuo'er, you are the most talented in our family. Set out now and find this source!"
The old man stared at his grandson and said word by word, "Find the person who triggered all of this! No matter who they are, no matter what their conditions, you must establish a good relationship with them, or even... take them as your master!"
"Whether our family can rise again in this new era all depends on you!"
Dongfang Shuo was dumbfounded. Take a master?
He was the acknowledged number one genius, destined to be the leader in the future. Now he was being told to take someone else as his master?
Although he was extremely reluctant, he knew his grandfather wouldn't joke about such a major matter. If someone could truly bring about the legendary spiritual energy, their skills must be unfathomably great.
"This grandson accepts the command!" Dongfang Shuo suppressed his pride and cupped his fists in agreement.
That same day, Dongfang Shuo left the valley.
He didn't take a plane or a train. For an expert like him, modern transportation was too slow and made it easy to be watched.
Using his family's inherited Qinggong, he moved as fast as the wind, darting through the mountains and forests. In less than three days, he crossed thousands of miles and reached the sand-swept Northwest Gobi.
The further Northwest he ran, the more obvious that comfortable "spiritual energy" in the air became. Although it was still very thin, it was much stronger than in the interior.
"The direction is correct." Feeling confident, he followed his senses all the way.
Finally, he stopped at a large area enclosed by barbed wire.
Hiding behind a sand dune, he looked from afar. The place was busy with vehicles, looking like a massive construction site. Most prominent was the hundred-meter-tall Black Giant Tower in the middle.
That pure spiritual energy he craved so much was emerging from the tower.
"Found it." Dongfang Shuo was a bit excited.
He glanced at the soldiers with guns on the perimeter. In his eyes, these ordinary people with their "fire sticks" couldn't stop him at all.
With his skills, slipping in to check the situation would be child's play.
But the pride in his bones wouldn't allow him to do that.
He was the young master of the Dongfang Family, not a thief. He had come to see an expert and should do so openly.
He pulled a fine silk handkerchief from his robe, took out a small brush, dipped it into a portable inkstone, and wrote several lines of large characters on the handkerchief.
After writing, he applied force to his fingers and gave the handkerchief a light flick.
The limp silk handkerchief instantly straightened, cutting through the wind and sand like a knife, tracing a white line. It flew directly across the dozens-of-meters-wide restricted zone, over the high wall, and without straying, stuck perfectly onto the door of the command center prefab at the heart of the base.
Inside the command center, Director Zhao Lixin was assigning tasks to Chief Engineer Wang Heshan and the others when he suddenly heard an extremely faint sound from the door panel.
He frowned and went to open the door.
A white handkerchief was stuck right there on the door.
Director Zhao Lixin peeled it off in confusion and looked.
Written on it in a very ancient script was:
"Dongfang Shuo of the Kunlun Dongfang Clan comes to pay respects to the master of this place. Having heard of the Spiritual Energy Revival and the changing of heaven and earth, I have come specifically to seek guidance on the Great Dao. I hope your Excellency will not hesitate to show yourself for a meeting."
The signature left no phone number or address, only a vermilion seal carved with the two characters "Dongfang."
As Director Zhao Lixin looked at the handkerchief, his face darkened instantly.
He knew trouble had arrived. These "guests" they least wanted to provoke had found their way to the door after all.