The old beggar's eyes glead with a glimr of spirit upon hearing Qinchuan's words, but they imdiately dimd again, his gaze scattering as he was lost in mories.
In a low murmur, he muttered, "Descendant of the Great Emperor... Descendant of the Great Emperor..."
While speaking, tears suddenly stread down from the old man's eyes as he cried out, "Forefathers above, your descendant has failed you, disgracing your esteed na."
After crying, he started to cough incessantly again, indicating that his illness was quite severe.
After a long while, the old beggar regained so clarity and asked, "Young man, what business do you have with the Chou Family?"
Qinchuan knew that this old beggar was indeed a descendant of the Gongshan Family, who were the current Chou Family. Discover hidden stories at My Virtual Library Empire
Observing the descendant of a once great emperor reduced to a street beggar, he couldn't help feeling a sense of sorrow.
Therefore, he decided to first inquire why the Gongshan Family had fallen to such a state.
He did not reveal his intention to retrieve the treasure right away but instead said, "I owe the Chou Family a debt of gratitude, and I have co here to repay it."
"A debt of gratitude?"
The old beggar looked listless, struggling to wrinkle his lips and revealing several loose teeth as he coughed and said, "Cough... cough, the Chou Family has been imprisoned in this small city for generations, now almost wiped out, how could you owe them anything."
"Imprisoned?"
Qinchuan picked up on so clues. The information he got from the Eldest Prince was that the Gongshan Family had moved to this small city of their own will to avoid their enemies, so why did this descendant of the Chou Family claim they were imprisoned here?
"The city's defenses are slack, and not even a single city guard can be seen, so how could the Chou Family be imprisoned?"
However, upon seeing the old beggar's condition, he understood. Although there were no strong defenses in the city, keeping a few people with destroyed Dantians under watch posed no problem.
Qinchuan asked in confusion, "Who exactly did the Chou Family offend?"
The old beggar coughed again before murmuring, "This is an extrely secret matter of the Chou Family, I cannot tell you about it."
After a while, he continued intermittently, "It doesn't matter, my ti is running out anyway..."
After uttering a few words, he fell silent. Qinchuan, having lived through nine lives, was well accustod to life and death, and he realized the old beggar was nearing his end and becoming confused.
Qinchuan stepped forward and pressed his finger on the old man's wrist, transferring a few strands of True Qi.
The True Qi circulating within Qinchuan was not ordinary but Innate True Qi, which imdiately revived the old beggar's spirits.
His spirit lifted and he sat up, supporting himself with his hands. Grasping Qinchuan's hand, he said, "Young man, are you willing to complete a task for ? If you agree, I will tell you the whereabouts of the Chou Family and the treasure they have buried underground for tens of thousands of years."
Qinchuan was speechless. It appeared the old man mistook him for soone coveting the Chou Family's treasure, but he nodded and responded, "I've said before, I am here to repay the Chou Family's debt of gratitude. Whatever you need, just tell directly. As for the Chou Family's treasure, this young master is not interested in it."
Although he had co for the Heaven-Piercing Five Elents Spirit Root, that object was rightfully his, not a treasure belonging to the Chou Family, so there was no issue.
Chou Wu was startled. He had been imprisoned in this Northern Desolate City for decades and had seen countless people who ca asking for news of the Chou Family, all for the sake of the treasure they left behind. Qinchuan was the first to claim he did not co for the treasure.
But when he saw Qinchuan's clear gaze, he appeared completely truthful, not as if he were lying.
Whether it was the effect of his ancestral bloodline or the functioning of Qinchuan's Innate Pupils, Chou Wu found himself inexplicably believing him.
"Young friend, since you know that my Chou Family is descended from a Great Emperor, you must also know that my family originally did not bear the Chou surna, but that of Gongshan. Thus, my real na ought to be Gongshan Wu."
Convinced that Qinchuan did not co for the Chou Family's treasure, Chou Wu generously admitted that he was indeed a descendant of the Chou Family.
Qinchuan nodded and said, "Forty thousand years ago, the Chen, Li, Wang, and Yang clans governed the Great Domain of Tianyuan. Under the oppression of these four clans, the people of Tianyuan suffered, and cultivators led a miserable existence. After enduring this for tens of thousands of years, one year a youth erged from the Great Wilderness. He swept across the entire Tianyuan Great Domain, overturned the four clans, and established the foremost clan of the era. This person was nad Gongshan Busu and was the first leader of the Gongshan Clan."
Chou Wu looked at Qinchuan with amazent, surprised by his detailed knowledge of the origins of the Gongshan Clan.
Then Chou Wu continued, "The ancestor did possess invincible talent, but his accomplishnts owed everything to one man."
"That man road freely across the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, had access to the Divine Realm, descended into the Underworld, and no one could match him. It was by following this man that the ancestor achieved the status of Great Emperor, unrivaled in the Tianyuan Great Domain."
"But alas, that person eventually perished, and to repay him, the ancestor made a vow before his demise."
Of course, Qinchuan would not say that the person Gongshan Busu followed was he in his seventh reincarnation, and that by 'perished' it simply ant that his cultivation in that life had reached Perfection, and he reincarnated willingly.
Chou Wu continued, "The ancestor promised to guard a treasure for that person until soone ca to claim it!"
"Did soone co for it later?"
Qinchuan asked knowingly.
Looking up at the sky, Chou Wu shook his head and said, "The ancestor waited for him for two hundred thousand years but never saw his return. Eventually, the ancestor could not withstand the ravages of ti and passed away. And that person has yet to appear."
When Qinchuan learned of Gongshan Busu's fate, he was surprised that he had passed away and furrowed his brow, asking, "Passed away? With Gongshan Busu's talent, it wouldn't have been difficult for him to ascend to the Divine Realm, right? Why would he pass away?"
Chou Wu paused, then let out a deep, lancholic sigh, "Because the ancestor said, 'My master will return to the Tianyuan Great Domain to find . I must wait for him.'"
Suddenly shaken, even Qinchuan, a cultivator of the Asura Way, couldn't help but fall silent.
Chou Wu went on, "After the ancestor passed away, sohow the news of the treasure in our family leaked out."
At this point, Qinchuan suddenly understood and explained.
"So the Gongshan Family didn't provoke so formidable enemy, but was targeted by other clans because of the Spiritual Object left by that person to guard.
With no Great Emperor to defend the Gongshan Clan, they couldn't resist the attacks of other clans. That's why the family moved out of Tianqing City, settled in this Northern Desolate City, and changed their na to the Chou Family?"
"Exactly. The one who hunted down the Gongshan Clan was the Sun Family from the ancient realm of Great Yan. With a Quasi-Emperor at their helm, the Gongshan Clan was no match for them," Chou Wu nodded in agreent, then continued, "Who could have known that moving to the Northern Desolate City would be the beginning of a nightmare.
Back in Tianqing City, the Sun Family was wary of the strength of the Tianyuan Royal Family and did not dare to be too overt, limiting themselves to minor sches. However, once the Gongshan Clan moved to the Northern Desolate City, the Sun Family, with their power, took control of the entire city, turning it into a prison, and have kept the entire Chou Family captive, generation after generation, until the treasure is handed over."
Understanding the origins of the events, Qinchuan felt a sudden surge of anger. A chess piece he had casually laid down in his day now, because of a single promise, had caused his later generations to be hunted and imprisoned for hundreds of thousands of years.
What moved him even more was that the Gongshan Clan truly had been waiting for his return, and indeed, they had waited until he ca back.
As the two talked, a uniform rumble of marching footsteps suddenly ca from the street ahead.
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