Chapter 108: Chapter 108: The Eastern Clan
On the seventh day after leaving Bicheng, finally, Ji Chen and Nangong Ao arrived in Linxian City.
Compared to Bicheng, Linxian City was noticeably more bustling at this moment.
The number of cultivators coming and going on the streets was at least two or three times greater than that of Bicheng, and the overall strength was much higher.
"Old Ao, do you really know someone from the Dongfang family?"
On a certain street in the city, not long after arriving, Ji Chen couldn’t help but ask.
The Dongfang family was a prestigious family in Linxian City, not a Desolate Ancient Di Race, but in terms of strength, they were not much different from the average Ancient Emperor Race.
Because they were renowned for crafting artifacts worldwide, they were one of the few crafting families in Beiyou today, skilled in forging various magical treasures. It’s said that if there were enough materials, they could even forge Holy Weapons!
On the way to Linxian City, Ji Chen accidentally learned from Old Ao that he had some past relations with the Dongfang family.
Back in the ruins of the Ancient Emperor Ye, Ji Chen obtained a dragon bone, an excellent material for forging weapons, and he always carried it with him.
If he could seek assistance from the Dongfang family this time, perhaps he could have many good artifacts forged.
"I was once a life-and-death friend of the Dongfang Patriarch in those days. Although he is no longer alive, I still have a token he left behind. If you really want to forge your dragon bone into a weapon, if I step in, they will surely help." Nangong Ao said confidently.
Upon hearing this, Ji Chen nodded.
Currently, he was suffering from a severe dao injury, unsure if he could still be in this world a year later.
But before heading to the Immortal Burial Forest, he wanted to leave something for the Lingyun Sect.
Perhaps with the Dongfang family’s help, this dragon bone could be forged into several Dao Artifact-level magical treasures. By then, with these magical treasures, the overall strength of Lingyun Sect would improve significantly.
Soon, under the guidance of Nangong Ao, the two headed towards the northern part of the city.
They arrived at the gate of a residence.
"Halt."
The guards in front of the gate stopped them.
Nangong Ao flipped his palm and took out a finely crafted bronze short dagger, emitting a certain dim glow, and handed it to the guard, saying, "Please present this to the manor, and say an old friend has come to visit."
Looking at the bronze short dagger handed over by Nangong Ao, the two guards exchanged glances.
They could tell that Nangong Ao and Ji Chen were both people of extraordinary demeanor, and given that many renowned figures had come to Linxian City due to the Kunlun inheritance ceremony, these two might indeed have significant backgrounds.
"Please wait a moment."
Not daring to be negligent, one of the guards said this, leaving this remark behind before turning to take the bronze short dagger into the Dongfang family.
Ji Chen and Nangong Ao waited quietly outside the door.
Before long, footsteps could be heard from within the mansion, appearing somewhat hurried.
Shortly after, a middle-aged man came out, walking up to Ji Chen and Nangong Ao.
The middle-aged man was dressed in splendid clothes, giving off a very noble impression.
He glanced over Ji Chen and Nangong Ao, finally cupping his hands towards Nangong Ao, "Junior Dongfang Shuo, the current patriarch of the Dongfang family, I wonder who the two seniors might be..."
That bronze short dagger earlier was personally crafted by an ancestor of the Dongfang family long ago; it’s said that there were three of them in the world.
One was in the hands of that ancestor, while the other two belonged to his two close friends.
The ancestor once said that seeing this short dagger was like seeing him in person.
For countless years, the Dongfang family had always known about the existence of the short dagger, but this was the first time someone had visited them with it.
As the heirloom of the ancestor, as the current patriarch, Dongfang Shuo dared not be neglectful. Upon seeing the dagger, he personally came out immediately.
"I am Nangong Ao."
Taking back the dagger from Dongfang Shuo’s hand, Nangong Ao introduced himself.
In his view, no one in this world knew his name anymore.
"Nangong Ao..."
Dongfang Shuo muttered softly, quickly searching his mind, as if trying to find some information about this name.
Soon, he suddenly looked shocked, staring incredulously, "Could it be that the senior is... the old friend of my great-grandfather?"
That ancestor who crafted the dagger back then was clearly Dongfang Shuo’s great-grandfather, the father of his grandfather’s grandfather.
Although separated by several generations, Dongfang Shuo had naturally heard about some past stories of his great-grandfather.
It’s said that his great-grandfather had two life-and-death friends, one of whom was named Nangong Ao.
Of course, these things he had heard from his own grandfather and did not know much about.
"Great-grandfather?"
Upon hearing Dongfang Shuo’s words, Nangong Ao couldn’t help but be stunned.
To think that his old friend back then had cultivation not so different from his, having reached the peak of the Void Realm.
Such cultivation could allow one to live for nearly two thousand years.
After several generations, to Dongfang Shuo’s generation, the fact that the other party still knew his name was not too surprising.
After all, he had deep ties with the Dongfang family, and his name was likely recorded in the family history books.
"In a blink of an eye, thousands of years have passed, and I didn’t expect that someone would still remember my name in this world today." Nangong Ao took a deep breath, sighing as if reminiscing something.
And hearing these words, Dongfang Shuo was even more astonished, coupled with the token brought by Nangong Ao, he could almost confirm that this elder in front of him must be the dear friend of his great-grandfather.
It was just hard for him to imagine that someone from thousands of years ago could still be alive in this world.
How was this possible?
Such a long life, perhaps only the legendary Saints could live this long?
But in Beiyou, the last Saint born nearly ten thousand years ago was the Ancient Emperor Ye.
After the Ancient Emperor Ye, there had been no news of anyone achieving sainthood in the Near-Ancient Era.
Despite his many questions, Dongfang Shuo did not dare to ask more.
Soon, he guided Nangong Ao and Ji Chen into the family gate.
"In the past, Brother Yunling was renowned for crafting artifacts. When he was still alive, the Dongfang family was incredibly prosperous and bustling. Even people from the Desolate Ancient Di Race and Sacred Lands often came to him for help in forging weapons. I did not expect that the Dongfang family has declined so much now."
As they walked into the Dongfang family, Nangong Ao glanced around at everything, unable to help but sigh.