Nine Astra Skies

Chapter 231: Heavenly Valley

After being under the nourishing effects of the Flying Dagger’s Celestial Chi for several days, Ye Changxuan and Ye Zhantian were able to start walking around again. Although their cultivation base had yet to recover fully, there were no longer major concerns.

Inside the clan hall, everyone gathered again to commence a clan meeting. Ye Changxuan, Ye Zhantian, and Ye Chen had since recovered from their injuries. What was once a somber and gloomy atmosphere in the clan had once again become lively.

There were about ten to twenty clansmen in the hall. Apart from Ye Chen and Ye Changxuan, the rest belonged to the Zhan Cohort. Set in the middle of the room was a table with the Heavenly Astra Master Seal placed on top of it.

It looked ordinary, just like a regular piece of stone seal with many textures carved on it. However, those who had witnessed its terrifying power would know that it was not merely an ordinary seal!

The Heavenly Astra Master Seal and the Heavenly Astra Vice Seal had been passed on through centuries in the history of the Ye Clan. In all of the recorded history of the Ye Clan, these two Heavenly Astra Seals were always present. The ancestors had left behind their commandment that the Ye Clan members must safeguard these two Heavenly Astra Seals and they must not be lost!

“Little Chen, are you aware of the power that dwells within the Heavenly Astra Seal?” Ye Changxuan looked at Ye Chen and questioned uncertainly.

Recalling the tremendous power released by the Heavenly Astra Master Seal, the crowd cannot help but be afraid. Should Ye Chen, Ye Changxuan, and Ye Zhantian passed on, who knows what would have happened to the Ye Clan?

“Granduncle, Father, I have used a special method to have the Heavenly Astra Vice Seal recognize me as its owner. I thought that the Master Seal would be similar to the Vice Seal. I didn’t expect that the power within the Master Seal would far exceed my calculations. To have worried Granduncle and Father, I feel utterly remorseful,” Ye Chen said, lowering his head. He did not dare mention that the Heavenly Astra Seal had a mystical beast sealed within.

“I see. Little Chen, you don’t have to feel guilty, we don’t blame you. Just like you, we were just curious about the Heavenly Astra Seal,” said Ye Zhantian.

Looking at the Heavenly Astra Master Seal placed on the center of the table, Ye Chen shuddered. When he had attempted to use Astral Breakthrough to enter the Heavenly Astra Master Seal, he heard a chilling roar and felt an ancient beast-like presence. The sudden gush of power that rushed toward him was so strong that he was not able to withstand it at all. Ye Chen did not know what kind of mystical beast was sealed within the Master Seal, but he was certain that it was far stronger than the Purple-fire Astra Lion!

The Purple-fire Astra Lion had already far surpassed Tantai Ling. What could the mystical beast sealed within the Heavenly Astra Seal be?

Ever since that dangerous venture, for a long time afterward Ye Chen had not dared to pry inside the Master Seal with Astral Breakthrough. He could only keep the mystery buried within his heart for the time being.

“What sort of method did Little Chen use to activate the Heavenly Astra Seal?” Ye Zhantian questioned again. The power unleashed by the Master Seal was so overwhelming that he could not help but wonder.

‘Perhaps there was something special about my Celestial Chi,’ Ye Chen thought. It was better to not mention subjects such as Astral Body. It was not that he did not trust his father, granduncle, and the other clansmen. Seeing that Psyche was something that only Celestial Beasts possessed, if he had told them about it, would he not be seen as a monster?

Ye Changxuan and Ye Zhantian gave a light nod. Ye Chen’s Celestial Chi was unique, that was something that they had known for a long time.

The clansmen of the Zhan Cohort began discussing among themselves.

“What does Big Brother and Sixth Uncle plan to do with the Heavenly Astra Seal?” Ye Zhanlong asked.

“Are you going to seal them?” Ye Zhanying added, frowning.

“Yes, it’s truly too dangerous. If it’s activated again, the aftermath will be devastating.” The crowd was fearful of the Heavenly Astra Master Seal.

“Little Chen, what do you think?” Ye Changxuan glanced at Ye Chen and asked. Ye Chen had the most understanding about the Master Seal, so he had more authority on the matter.

“Father, Granduncle, please entrust this Heavenly Astra Master Seal to me. I’ll take good care of it.” Ye Chen made up his mind. No matter which mystical beast resided inside the Master Seal, he would not let it be kept in the Ye Clan house. If the mystical beast was able to break out of the seal, it would bring about great disaster to the clan.

“But the Heavenly Astra Seal is extremely dangerous, what if…” Ye Changxuan mentioned worriedly.

“Yes. Little Chen, the seal is too dangerous,” Ye Zhantian added with a frown. It was not that he did not want to let the seal go, he just did not wish for Ye Chen to face any more harm.

“Father, Granduncle, there’s something about this Heavenly Astra Seal. I need to figure out its secrets. Please don’t worry. Before I attain enough strength, I will not recklessly activate it,” Ye Chen quickly comforted the crowd.

“This will not do.” Ye Zhantian and Ye Changxuan, and the others debated among themselves and made the decision. If the Master Seal stayed with Ye Chen, there could be more troubles arising.

If Ye Chen did not stop it, Ye Zhantian and Ye Changxuan would seal the Heavenly Astra Master Seal. Ye Chen was getting anxious but could not explain his reasons to Ye Zhantian and Ye Changxuan. Suddenly, an idea struck him. He grinned, then said with a faint smile, “The task of investigating the use of the Heavenly Astra Seal was entrusted to me by the Great Ancestor. If Father and Granduncle were to seal it, I wouldn’t know how to explain it to the Great Ancestor.”

“Great Ancestor?” The crowd was taken aback and immediately quieted down.

“Little Chen, was it truly entrusted to you by the Great Ancestor?” Ye Zhantian looked at Ye Chen and asked him dubiously.

“Hm.” Ye Chen could feel his cheeks glowing hot, but he still managed a nod.

“The seal is ominous. I only worry it would bring harm to Little Chen” Ye Changxuan expressed his concerns.

“Since this task was entrusted by the Great Ancestor, as a man of the Ye Clan, it would be worth risking your life for, even if it meant your death,” Ye Zhantian paused for a moment, and continued, “the Great Ancestor must’ve a deeper reason for entrusting this task to you. A crucial secret might be contained within the Heavenly Astra Seal. After all, the Heavenly Astra Seal has been passed on in the Ye Clan for thousands of years.”

“It’s just…” Ye Changxuan still had his doubts.

“Little Chen, we can entrust the Heavenly Astra Seal to you but you must be cautious. Before you’re strong enough, you mustn’t activate the seal. Should you decide to activate the seal, you must inform us.” Ye Zhantian looked at Ye Chen with a glimmer of concern in his eyes.

“Hm, I understand. After what had happened, I will not take such risks again,” Ye Chen affirmed. He understood the elder’s concerns for him.

“Then it’s fine.” Ye Zhantian walked to the side of the table. Lifting the Heavenly Astra Master Seal gently, he passed it to Ye Chen.

Ye Chen accepted the seal with both hands, then placed the seal in the corner of the space within the armguard.

The clansmen were still restlessly discussing the Heavenly Astra Seal.

“This has taken some time, it’s time for me to bid farewell to Father, Granduncle and the other uncles.” Ye Chen surveyed his surroundings, then bowed slightly. He was planning to head to the Exclusion Zone with Great Emperor Mingwu, fortunately, he still had time left.

“Chief, you’re going back to the Capital City again?”

“Why not stay for several days?” the men of Zhan Cohort asked.

Ye Zhantian glanced at Ye Chen and sighed. “A man has his purposes. If Little Chen wants to go, let him go.”

“Little Chen, these are some things that your father and I have prepared for you, take them with you. There are some Chi Deposition Pills, Tier Three spirit artifacts, and some other things within.” Ye Changxuan passed several Heaven-Earth Pouches to Ye Chen, each pouch was stuffed to the brim.

“I won’t be taking the Thunder Sword, I already have a better Hell Rupture Sword. I won’t have much use for these defensive spirit artifacts either. As for the Chi Deposition Pills, I will leave some here.” Ye Chen took thirty thousand Chi Deposition Pills and placed them in his armguard. He had eighty thousand Chi Deposition Pills now. As long as he did not join any auctions, he would have enough to use.

“Do you really not have a use for these defensive spirit artifacts? They still might be of use when you’re out there,” Ye Changxuan asked with concern. Though Ye Chen did have a better Spirit Longsword and had no need for the Thunder Blade, why not take the defensive spirit artifacts?

“Granduncle, I already have two pieces of defensive silk shirts. Their effectiveness is comparable to Tier Five or Six spirit artifacts.” Ye Chen tugged at the edge of the silk shirt. “I still have a Tier Four Spirit Artifact Rank Thunder-flame Sword in my armguard. I will leave that behind for the clan as well. My Hell Rupture Sword is slightly higher rank than the Thunder-flame sword.”

The crowd looking at Ye Chen was taken aback, None of them expected that Ye Chen would have spirit artifacts above Tier Five under his possession. It was true that these Tier Two and Three spirit artifacts would not prove to be useful.

“In that case, so be it,” Ye Changxuan and the others said helplessly.

After eating some food, Ye Chen took Little Tanuki, Little Wingsy, and Little Squido with him and rode on the Golden Sun Condor.

Ye Chen was planning to leave the Golden Sun Condor in the Ye Clan valley and ride the Ashen Condor instead. However, Ye Changxuan, Ye Zhantian, and the others were against it, so he had no choice.

The Golden Sun Condor flapped its wings and soared into the sky.

Ye Chen looked down. The clansmen below were looking up at him, waving their hands bidding him farewell.

Slowly, their figures became smaller until they eventually faded out of view. Ye Chen suddenly felt lost.

“Big Brother Ye Chen, when will we be returning here?” Little Wingsy was also feeling down. He had a lot of fun in the Ye Clan valley as he had many friends around his age.

Little Squido nodded, his eyes squinting.

“Little Wingsy, do you like this place? Would you like to stay here?” Ye Chen asked. He had just realized just how much Little Wingsy liked being here.

“I like being here, I like my friends here. But wherever I go, I still want to be with Big Brother Ye Chen and Big Sister Tanuki,” Little Wingsy replied earnestly.

Ye Chen hugged Little Tanuki. Staring at the Ye Clan valley far away, he said, “We’ll be back after some time.”

The Golden Sun Condor glided in the sky and the sounds of wind rushed past their ears. Looking down below they could see the unending lands, the mountain ranges, wide, stretched-out plains, and the rapid river streams. Within the endless vast expanse of jungle, often came the roars of beasts.

Within the vast region of the Xiwu Empire, humans merely took up a small portion of it. The rest were claimed by the mystical beasts as their territory. There were many other places that humans were unable to reach at all.

With the Golden Sun Condor’s speed, it would only take about three days to arrive at the Capital City. They had been flying for over a day now.

They glided past a group of clouds. As they neared the edge of the clouds, the shadow of a mountain appeared.

Looking downward, there were thick and overgrown jungles, and strangely shaped rocks laid about.

“This should be the Heavenly Valley that Father and Granduncle spoke of. It’s said that the area here is forbidden to humans, ordinary men wouldn’t even dare set foot here.” Ye Chen rode atop the Golden Sun Condor which hovered in the air as he looked below. The overgrown forest must be where many mystical beasts lay hidden.