More than two centuries ago, the family patriarch’s great-great-grandfather chanced upon an ancient, enigmatic scroll! After considerable study, it was confirmed to be an artifact from the primeval era!
It took a significant amount of time to finally decipher the text inscribed upon it and uncover the profound secret held within the scroll!
It turned out that this was the Barrier Scroll spoken of in ancient myths and legends—the very key to bridging the continent of Mafa and the Divine Realm!
And the barrier guarding this passage was none other than the Upper Ancient Barrier from those same legends!
Legend held that the other side of the Upper Ancient Barrier led to the world inhabited by the gods! To open the barrier was to summon the deities of the Divine Realm to the Mafa Continent, gaining immense wealth and formidable power!
Faced with such astounding ** (implication of immense value/power), the Ye family naturally would not relinquish the opportunity lightly!
Thus, they began preparing the crucial items required to summon the deities, following the instructions laid out in the scroll!
The conditions for summoning the gods were exceedingly strict: one must collect a sufficient quantity of Magic God Stones, and one must possess a person with a specific bloodline to serve as the medium for the opening!
This specific bloodline was what the Church called the Blood of the Spirit Medium—a lineage rumored to allow communication with the Divine Realm through the soul, becoming the vessel through which the gods could descend into this world!
Such a bloodline was near impossible to find on the continent, exceptionally rare!
After generations of concerted effort! Finally, just over forty years ago, the Ye family managed to collect enough Magic God Stones to open the Upper Ancient Barrier. Even more fortunate was the fact that Xiaoman’s father, Ye Chong, possessed the exact Blood of the Spirit Medium recorded in the scroll!
Consequently, the Ye family finally initiated their first plan to open the Upper Ancient Barrier—this occurred six months before Xiaoman was born!
The ritual proceeded smoothly, and the barrier was successfully opened! However, as Ye Chong stepped into the enclosure, preparing to receive the divine descent, an unforeseen accident occurred!
For reasons unknown, the barrier suddenly began to contract and seal itself!
Ye Chong failed to escape in time and was trapped within the closing barrier! He then mysteriously vanished without a trace! The Ye family was forced to abort the ritual!
The first attempt to summon the Upper Ancient Gods failed, and worse still, the Ye family lost Xiaoman’s father, Ye Chong!
Time marched on! Thirteen years later, Xiaoman grew ** (implication of maturity/adulthood), and the Ye family, unwilling to accept their previous failure, decided to launch a second plan to summon the gods!
This time, Xiaoman became the linchpin of the entire scheme!
His bloodline was even more unique than his father Ye Chong’s: not only had he inherited the Blood of the Spirit Medium, but he also possessed the extremely rare Demonic Devourer Physique!
He was, arguably, the most perfectly suited medium to unlock the barrier!
On the other hand, having learned from their prior failure, the Ye family had made far more meticulous and thorough preparations!
Indeed, the opening of the barrier and the summoning ritual this time proceeded flawlessly. Yet, at the critical final moment, one of the participating retainers, Yuan Jia, suddenly turned traitor, attempting to forcibly enter the barrier himself! This act once again triggered a violent rebound from the barrier! Ye Xiaoman was flung clear of the barrier, and the barrier sealed shut once more!
The second attempt to summon the gods collapsed due to Yuan Jia's last-minute defection, and Ye Xiaoman was ejected from the barrier, sustaining grievous injuries and falling into a coma!
Not only that, but the external enemies allied with Yuan Jia, the Kun family, suddenly launched an attack, resulting in a fierce, bloody clash between the two factions. In the end, only Chen Feng managed to escape while protecting Xiaoman!
With two consecutive summoning failures leading to devastating losses for the Ye family, coupled with the fierce opposition of Xiaoman’s mother, Su Lan! The Ye family had no choice but to abandon the plan!
It was worth noting that for the sake of this so-called divine summoning, Su Lan had already lost her husband and nearly lost her son; therefore, she absolutely would not permit any further misfortune to befall her child.
The matter was shelved, left unresolved!
No one knew what existence the so-called Divine Realm truly held, but looking at it now, that supposed Divine Realm must be the long-vanished Crouching Dragon Villa!
As for what kind of entity Crouching Dragon Villa was, that, too, remained unknown.
However, Xingchen now clearly understood that Crouching Dragon Villa was a research or military base from the same era as Moon Shadow, possessing astonishing bio-technological capabilities!
The so-called gods must be people from another civilization who commanded high technology during that time!
And it was certain that this civilization must have had connections to the Huaxia Civilization, because the script they used was authentic Hanzi—what this era referred to as the Crouching Dragon script!
But what exactly was the connection between Crouching Dragon Villa and the Huaxia Civilization, Xingchen could not ascertain!
There was one other point Xingchen was certain of: his own transmigration and possession must be directly related to this mysterious barrier!
If this riddle could be solved, he might uncover why he transmigrated here, and perhaps even find a way to return to the modern world!
In fact, Xingchen had originally intended to question Chen Feng thoroughly upon returning from the Snow Territory Continent, but the unconscious state of Yan Luo had left Xingchen deeply troubled, followed by the sudden attack by Zhan Lang, which caused the matter to be continuously postponed until now!
Xingchen had managed to grasp the causes and effects of the situation to some degree!
Everything that followed were events Xingchen experienced personally, so he knew the details intimately!
First, he learned basic swordsmanship from Chen Feng, and then he began roaming the continent! Thus commencing a life that bordered on epic, mythical legend!
In a certain sense, that summoning had not truly failed; it was just that what they summoned was not some distant deity, but Xingchen’s soul from another world!
Of course, how to settle this confusing debt was likely something no one could clarify!
"That is how the whole thing happened!" Half an hour later, Chen Feng finally finished recounting the entire sequence of events to Xingchen.
"Child," Su Lan said softly, "Mother truly does not want you to venture into danger again. That barrier is like a curse; first your father, and now your two children are involved. I dread what other misfortune might strike in the future."
"Don't worry," Xingchen assured her. "I will be fine. Don't forget, the me of today is no ordinary person."
"The Xiaoman of now," Ye Xiang stated, "is a living god. I believe you can certainly rescue Brother Chong."
"We originally didn't plan to tell you," Chen Feng confessed with emotion. "But now that Xingye and Xingzhan are both trapped within the barrier, I feel it necessary to settle this matter."
"I feel certain your father is still alive," Mother said, growing agitated. "And he is right inside that barrier. But I fear you will be just like him, never to return."
"I must go this time," Xingchen said firmly. "I have to find Father, Xingye, and Xingzhan. Only then can our family truly be reunited."
"Worthy of being Big Brother's child," Ye Xiang marveled. "I believe you can accomplish it."
"Now, we no longer hope to gain the power of that so-called god. Our only hope is for Brother Chong and the two children to return safely," Mother stated gently.
After learning the full history, Xingchen mentally organized a clear course of action.
"Is there still a way to open the barrier now?" Xingchen asked the most crucial question!
"Yes," Chen Feng replied. "With the current capabilities of the Divine Dragon Empire, gathering enough Magic God Stones is not an issue, and the scroll has been carefully preserved by us all along."
"We must not delay," Xingchen urged. "I will trouble Brother Feng to preside over this entire matter."