At this point, Yuanen Yehui had already regained her composure. She had returned, so she had to be prepared to face everything. After taking a deep breath, she got out of the car first, followed by everyone else.
Er Ming appraised his surroundings with curiosity in his eyes, then nodded with a pleased expression, clearly very happy with the environment here.
He had grown up in the Great Star Dou Forest, so he was naturally very fond of the forest environment. Even though this was only a forested mountain, it was still not bad.
Yuanen Tianshang reappeared at the entrance to the ancestral hall, then gestured for Yuanen Yehui to follow him.
There was no one else currently in the ancestral hall aside from Yuanen Tianshang, and he was soon joined by Yuanen Yehui and the others.
As soon as Tang Wulin entered the ancestral hall, he immediately detected a very comforting aura that stemmed from a type of plant; it was clear that the wood used to construct this ancestral hall was no ordinary material.
After pa.s.sing through the entrance, they arrived in a s.p.a.cious yard. This was a traditional style yard that Tang Wulin had seen in Heaven Dou City before, and it was clear that the Yuanen Family was still upholding traditions.
Yuanen Tianshang didn"t say anything as he strode further into the ancestral hall. Yuanen Yehui"s head was slightly lowered as she followed along behind him. She didn"t want to look at her surroundings, and she was even a little scared to look as she was afraid that she wouldn"t be able to control her own emotions.
Xie Xie was holding tightly onto her hand the entire time, as if he were trying to transfer his power to her, while Tang Wulin and Er Ming were inspecting the manor around them.
The front courtyard was surrounded by a fence comprised of individual logs, and it gave off an aura akin to that of an immovable mountain. After pa.s.sing through the front courtyard, everyone was greeted by two large characters: Ancestral Hall.
This was the largest room in the entire manor, and the two characters were extremely well-written, clearly having been inscribed by a master.
Yuanen Tianshang made his way into the ancestral hall, and everyone else trailed along behind him.
In contrast with its antiquated exterior, the interior of the ancestral hall was luxurious and resplendent with a ma.s.sive tiered table positioned directly across from the entrance. Each tier of the table was full of small plaques, and the tiers tapered up to a point, forming a pyramid structure.
Each plaque had a name, and a birth and death time. At the very top of the pyramid was a plaque inscribed with the words "Plaque of Matriarch Xiong Xiaoling".
Beside this plaque was a small statue that was only around the same height as the plaque, standing at roughly 30 centimeters tall. It depicted an extremely life-like ape thumping its own chest with its bare fists, and due to how small it was, it was rather adorable in appearance.
Tang Wulin"s first reaction upon seeing this statue was to turn his gaze toward Er Ming, just in time to see Er Ming"s lips twitch in an awkward manner. Er Ming"s voice then rang out in his mind. "When the h.e.l.l did I become so... so..."
He couldn"t muster up the correct adjective for this farcical sight.
"Pay your respects to your ancestors," Yuanen Tianshang said in a strict voice.
Yuanen Yehui turned toward him and expressed her grat.i.tude before kneeling down onto a futon and kowtowing thrice in succession.
By taking her to the ancestral hall, Yuanen Tianshang was acknowledging her as a member of the Yuanen Family, and Yuanen Yehui was very thankful for this. After all, her mother had brought a calamity upon this family. Who knew how many of the plaques here contained names of people who had perished during that disaster?
A complex look appeared on Yuanen Tianshang"s face as Yuanen Yehui paid her respects, and he heaved a heavy sigh.
Right at this moment, a burly figure slowly emerged from the rear of the ancestral hall; it was none other than Yuanen Zhentian.
Yuanen Zhentian also heaved a faint sight at the sight of the kowtowing Yuanen Yehui, and he said, "Welcome back."
He then cast his gaze toward Tang Wulin and gave him a faint nod. At the same time, he detected an intense gaze and reflexively cast his own gaze toward that expression.
As soon he did so, Yuanen Zhentian"s body shuddered violently, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes. He had been struck by an unprecedented sense of unrest that stemmed directly from his bloodline, as if his blood essence were churning in his veins.
The only other times that he had been struck by this feeling was when he had become a Soul Sage, progressed to the t.i.tled Douluo level, and broken through to become a Limit Douluo.
However, just the mere sight of this man was triggering this feeling within him, and it was rather unsettling.
Er Ming hesitated momentarily before asking, "Are you the leader of this family?"
Yuanen Zhentian nodded in response. "Indeed I am. May I ask your name?"
At this point, Yuanen Yehui had already risen to her feet, and she was just about to say something, but Er Ming raised a hand to stop her.
He then pointed up at the ape statue at the top of the tiered table, and said in a peculiar voice, "I am it."
Tang Wulin almost burst into laughter upon hearing this, and Yuanen Yehui was also stunned by this explanation, while Xie Xie turned his head to the side and clapped a hand over his own mouth to prevent himself from laughing out loud.
"How dare you!" Yuanen Tianshang immediately flared up with rage.
A wry smile appeared on Er Ming"s face as he said, "I knew it would be very hard for you to believe, but I"m telling the truth. Come with me." He was eager to display his own ident.i.ty, and after he did that, he was going to get rid of that stupid statue right away!
Thus, he strode out of the ancestral hall, and Yuanen Zhentian cast a perplexed gaze toward Yuanen Yehui, to which the latter confirmed, "He"s telling the truth."
The strange sense of unrest in his bloodline immediately made Yuanen Zhentian realize something, but this realization only made him even more incredulous.
How was this possible?
Yuanen Zhentian grabbed onto the shoulder of the enraged Yuanen Tianshang to calm him down, then also made his way out of the ancestral hall.
Er Ming was already standing in the courtyard, and he was looking up at the sky as his body began to expand.
Extremely exaggerated muscles began to appear all over his body, and an extremely overwhelming yet very familiar aura began to spread through the surrounding area.
His ma.s.sive, bulging muscles, steely black skin, and mountainous aura all struck one with a sense of extreme astonishment.
On this occasion, even Yuanen Tianshang could clearly sense the unrest in his own bloodline, and he wasn"t the only one; as Er Ming"s bloodline aura became more and more powerful, all of the members of the Yuanen Family in Shanling could sense changes taking place in their own bloodlines.
In a dimly-lit room, an unkempt and disheveled man abruptly shuddered as he reflexively raised his head. His murky eyes suddenly became slightly clearer, and he immediately cast his gaze toward a certain direction.
Only after Er Ming"s height had exceeded 100 meters did he finally stop growing, and he stood like an immovable mountain between heaven and earth.
His astonis.h.i.+ng bloodline aura was proliferating in all directions, and Yuanen Zhentian was stunned to discover that Er Ming"s aura was more powerful than his own.
He was undoubtedly a quasiG.o.d! Never did he think that he would meet a quasiG.o.d who also shared the same t.i.tan Giant Ape bloodline as his!