"I understand your meaning." Song Tongxuan did not elaborate further but turned to face Chu Zheng and gestured with his hand, "Please, Saint Heir, come inside to talk."Several people entered the front courtyard hall, and after taking their seats, Song Tongxuan could hardly restrain himself and said:
"May I ask if the Saint Heir has taken anything from the Song Family Treasury?"
"You asking this must mean that the Eastern Territory Song Clan has been here."
Chu Zheng's gaze slightly hardened, having anticipated this. The location wasn't far from Great Zhou, and since the Eastern Territory Song Clan could find Great Zhou, finding this place was reasonable.
"Indeed." Song Tongxuan nodded, "Last year, the main branch of the Song Clan visited, in search of a fragment of Blood Jade. Originally, this fragment seemed to be in the treasury..."
He looked at Chu Zheng, his words trailing off.
"It was I who took it."
Hearing Chu Zheng's response, Song Tongxuan's eyes brightened slightly, his voice tense as he added:
"May I ask if the Saint Heir could return it? When the main family came, they spoke personally. If this piece of Blood Jade could be found, Lingfeng and Lingping's status within the Song Family would change significantly. Their path in cultivation would benefit, gaining substantial support from the main branch..."
Giant Marsh was still some distance from Taixuan Holy Land, and with the Holy Lands currently recalling their disciples from abroad, Giant Marsh no longer had major powers residing, making information slow to spread.
The news of the Eastern Territory Song Clan's decline had not yet reached this place.
Regarding external matters, Song Tongxuan only had a vague understanding. He wasn't even fully aware of what was happening within the Immortal Martial Battlefield. His impression of Chu Zheng still lingered on the period when he was wanted by the major Holy Lands.
"Do you know what this fragment of Blood Jade is used for?" Chu Zheng asked, slightly surprised. He didn't expect the Eastern Territory Song Clan hadn't even informed Song Tongxuan about the Secret Realm.
"I do not know." Song Tongxuan admitted, somewhat blankly.
Chu Zheng immediately explained the matter of the Blood Jade Fragment as well as the Heritage Secret Realm.
Including the current situation of the Eastern Territory Song Clan, he did not conceal anything, telling the truth.
Ultimately, that fragment was something passed down to Song Tongxuan by the Song Family; the line of Song Tonghai could only be considered a collateral branch.
No matter the reason, taking without informing was theft, and the Heritage Secret Realm rightfully had a share for Song Tongxuan.
After a long while, Song Tongxuan finally processed this information, his expression growing complex.
Last time people from the Eastern Territory Song Clan visited, they hadn't mentioned the Heritage Secret Realm at all, perhaps they had never planned on sharing the Heritage Secret Realm with the Southern Territory Song Clan.
"Now, you have two paths to choose from, either join the Eastern Territory Song Clan or come with me to Taixuan City."
Chu Zheng sat quietly, waiting for Song Tongxuan's decision.
Uncertain of how Song Tongxuan would decide, the Eastern Territory Song Clan, despite its decline, was still a True Immortal Noble Family, with countless powerhouses above the Divine Infant Realm. Even if not comparable to the Five Great Holy Lands of the Southern Region, it wasn't far off.
All he could do was lay out all the information openly, allowing Song Tongxuan to make his own choice.
Song Tongxuan did not ponder for long and soon made a decision, his expression serious:
"Thank you for the reminder, Saint Heir. I will immediately contact Lingfeng and Lingping to pack up. We will migrate the entire family to Taixuan City."
Being able to establish such an enterprise in Giant Marsh, navigating between Immortal Sects as a mortal, Song Tongxuan's reliance was not solely on the offspring carrying the Immortal Bone.
Assessing the situation was a basic quality that a qualified Family Head should possess.
Even if Taixuan currently doesn't appear to have much advantage over the Eastern Territory Song Clan, Song Tongxuan still chose this path.
Partly because Chu Zheng was exceptionally young and because he had unlocked the Heritage Secret Realm alone, achieving something even a True Immortal Noble Family couldn't, the choice was almost self-evident.
Hearing Song Tongxuan's reply, Song Tonghai, who had been anxious, couldn't help but slowly relieve a sigh of relief; after all, they were brothers from the same mother, and he didn't want to strain their relationship further.
"How long will it take to finish packing?" Chu Zheng glanced at the setting sun outside and asked.
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After a moment of consideration, Song Tongxuan replied gravely, "Three days should suffice."
"Then we'll depart in three days."
Having set the date of migration, Chu Zheng immediately rose and walked towards the door.
He didn't know if he would ever return to Giant Marsh, so he might as well take advantage of the fact that he had already developed his Divine Sense, coupled with his Spiritual Eye, to excavate those ancient remains that had been deeply buried under the water for tens of thousands of years.
For him at this point, this hardly required any effort.
The only thing to pay attention to were the water demons hiding beneath the surface of the river, among which, it was said, there were Fourth Order water demons that could match the powers of someone in the Divine Infant Realm.
Chu Zheng left the Song Residence and plunged directly into the tumultuous river waters, beginning to search along the watercourse for ancient sites.
The dim and silent riverbed, through sensing the concentration of the vitality of living beings, allowed Chu Zheng to circumvent several Great Demons of the Divine Infant Realm from afar.
Powerful water demons, basically in deep slumber, undisturbed by anyone, were hardly awakened, and thus did not affect Chu Zheng.
However, the riverbed along the way had clearly been excavated and explored many times, leaving very fresh traces, evidently having just recently been swept clean.
...
...
It took a full three days before Chu Zheng roughly traversed the entire riverbed of Giant Marsh, with less than satisfactory results.
Originally, because of the rewards offered by the Five Great Holy Lands, countless cultivators had turned the river upside down, almost turning Giant Marsh inside out.
In these past few days, the most precious things Chu Zheng found were some Fifth Order and Sixth Order Magic Treasure Fragments; as for the Sects' ruins, even the ground tiles had been stripped away, clean as the autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves.
Calculating the time, Chu Zheng did not dwell on his regrets but immediately returned to Wild Goose Wing Island.
The Song Family had already packed up neatly and even purchased a small Flying Boat for migration.
Fortunately, the Song Family had only settled down for a few decades, had not taken root deeply, and did not have many people, most of whom were hired retainers; they were simply dismissed after being given some Spirit Stones.
On the Flying Boat, there were only a few dozen people, most of whom had been close confidants of Song Tongxuan for many decades, too hard to part with, and could only be taken away together. Searᴄh the NôᴠeFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
Taking the Song Family along, Chu Zheng's travel speed was much slower; half a month later, Chu Zheng finally brought the group to Taixuan City.
After settling Song Tongxuan's family well, he took Song Tonghai back to the Taixuan Holy Land, where they met Song Lingxue and Song Lingqing.
Since the day Song Lingqing returned home, the father and his two daughters had never been reunited; seeing each other again now, they couldn't help but feel deeply moved.
Not until he saw Song Lingqing safe and sound did Song Tonghai's eyes slightly redden— the joy of regaining a precious lost treasure was indescribable.
Chu Zheng did not disturb the family reunion and directly went to the location where Geng Yiyang was in seclusion.
"What is it this time?"
Seeing Chu Zheng, Geng Yiyang instinctively furrowed his brow, sensing trouble brewing.
When Chu Zheng took action, it was always astonishing. Many times, Geng Yiyang felt somewhat wary of Chu Zheng's capacity to attract trouble.
"Do you know about the spatial passage above Giant Marsh?"
Chu Zheng's first words made Geng Yiyang startle, and his expression changed as he replied, "How did you know there's a spatial passage over Giant Marsh?"
This matter was likely unknown even to the Holy Master among the Five Great Holy Lands.
At the time he had intercepted Chu Zheng at Giant Marsh, it was just to take a look at the seal.
Hearing Geng Yiyang's question, a thought flickered in Chu Zheng's mind, and without mentioning the seal, he cautiously replied:
"When I returned to Giant Marsh, I sensed a strange spiritual power in the void, so I took a moment to observe it and discovered the spatial passage."
"The first time I heard about this spatial passage, I had not yet entered the Path."
Geng Yiyang was silent for a long while, then spoke slowly, "That is a passage to the realm of Alien Demons."
"To seal this passage, an Immortal Venerable died in the Alien Realm, and no fewer than ten True Immortals perished. The entrance on the other side is suppressed by the skeleton of that Immortal Venerable, while the exit on the Giant Marsh end was sealed by a Nine Tribulations True Immortal."
"This seal is merely superficial, meant only to block the overflowing evil aura."
"What are Alien Demons?" Chu Zheng's gaze sharpened.
"They are creatures born to kill all living beings in the world."