Chapter 1 The Beginning

"Crack!"

Lightning tore through the sky like a silver serpent.

It was midnight, and the sky, which had cleared up in the evening, was now filled with lightning, thunder, and howling winds.

"Boom!"

A bolt of blood-red lightning struck from the sky, as thick as a water bucket, and only dissipated after several breaths.

Within the imperial city of Tianfeng Kingdom, an old man with white hair and beard stared with wide eyes, watching the direction the lightning had struck, and muttered, "Red lightning appears in the world, this world is about to be in chaos again!"

Far away in the Demon Emperor's Hall in the Black Death Lands of the far north, a face covered by a black mask suddenly opened its eyes and said to itself, "Lord! Is that you?"

In the Chen Manor of Qingyuan City, Chen Xiao sat pale-faced on the bed, weakly asking, "Did we succeed, Xiaoju?"

"We succeeded," Xiaoju's voice was equally weak.

"That's good!" After saying that, Chen Xiao fell into a deep sleep, as if relieved of a heavy burden.

......

When Chen Xiao woke up again, it was already broad daylight.

"Chen Xiao, Chen Xiao, you're awake! After breaking through, I remembered so many things!" Chen Xiao had just opened his drowsy eyes when he heard Xiaoju's voice coming from the jade pendant.

Xiaoju was the Stone Spirit in this jade pendant, and the jade pendant was the only relic that Chen Xiao's parents had left him. Chen Xiao was an orphan.

"I just want to know what benefits I got. You almost killed me last night," Chen Xiao replied lazily.

"Hehe, take a look for yourself. It seems pretty powerful," Xiaoju said with a chuckle.

Chen Xiao had long felt an unusual tingling sensation in his body. After a little concentration, his internal organs, blood vessels, and meridians were all clearly visible.

"This... this is internal vision?" Chen Xiao couldn't believe his eyes.

And that tingling sensation came from a colorful vortex in his dantian (energy center). Four thin lines of different colors were slowly flowing along Chen Xiao's meridians toward this vortex, and the vortex itself was also slowly rotating.

Seeing this, Chen Xiao was stunned. These four thin lines were clearly four types of original force (yuanli), and four different elemental attributes at that.

The known original force in the cultivation world has four attributes: red fire, green water, blue lightning, and yellow earth.

Ordinary people only possess one elemental attribute. To possess four attributes at the same time? People had never even heard of it, let alone seen it.

"Hehe, this thing is called a Four-Phase Flower Wheel, and it's very powerful!" At this time, Xiaoju's proud voice came from the jade pendant.

Chen Xiao looked blank: "Four-Phase Flower Wheel, what is that?"

"Cough, cough..." Xiaoju coughed awkwardly twice, and then said, "Actually, I don't know what it's for. I just remember that's what it's called."

Although he didn't know what this thing was for, the four elemental attributes alone were already heaven-defying. Chen Xiao's only feeling now was that life was always full of ups and downs, and it was so exciting!

Just as Chen Xiao was getting a little carried away with excitement, there was a knock on the door outside, and a soft, sweet voice came, "Xiao'er, are you still sleeping? Get up quickly and eat."

Chen Xiao knew who it was as soon as he heard the voice, and at this time he also noticed that it was already broad daylight, so he quickly said, "Aunt Yun, you eat first, I'll be right there!"

This 'Aunt Yun' was named Chen Ruoyun. Although she had the same surname as Chen Xiao, she was not related to Chen Xiao by blood. She was an adopted daughter of the Chen family's old master when he was alive.

For some unknown reason, Aunt Yun had never married and had no children. She had raised Chen Xiao single-handedly, so she treated Chen Xiao as her own son, and Chen Xiao had long regarded her as his own mother.

...

When Chen Xiao arrived in the hall, there were five or six dishes placed on a mahogany square table, and the aroma lingered in the air. A beautiful woman was sitting next to the square table waiting for him, without touching her chopsticks.

"Aunt Yun, didn't I tell you to eat first? Don't wait for me next time."

Chen Xiao said as he sat down. This beautiful woman was naturally Aunt Yun. Seeing Chen Xiao sitting down, she smiled and said, "You got up so late. You must have worked too hard cultivating yesterday. Cultivation is important, but don't tire yourself out!"

"Yes, I know!" A trace of tenderness flashed in Chen Xiao's eyes. No matter how many people misunderstood him, looked down on him, or insulted him, Aunt Yun would always stand firmly behind him, supporting him, loving him.

Because he was in a good mood, Chen Xiao had a particularly strong appetite today. He was eating heartily when he suddenly heard someone say outside the door, "What a fragrant smell, Xiaoyun, your cooking is getting better and better!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a tall middle-aged man walked into the hall. Although he spoke words of praise, his voice was loud, as if he was arguing with someone.

"Uncle!" Chen Xiao respectfully called out to the person who came. This person was the head of the Chen family, Chen Feng.

"Mm!" Chen Feng responded indifferently. This nephew gave him a headache.

Aunt Yun also greeted him, "Brother, you're here!"

"I smelled the fragrance of your cooking from far away, so I came to freeload a meal. You don't mind, do you?"

"How could I? You're too polite to say that, brother."

Aunt Yun hurriedly went to add a pair of bowls and chopsticks.

The three of them ate quietly. Chen Feng's constantly furrowed brows made the atmosphere a little strange. Aunt Yun asked suspiciously, "Why are you frowning, brother? Has the family encountered some difficulties?"

Chen Feng put down his chopsticks when he heard the words, took out a red-skinned, gold-lettered invitation from his arms, placed it on the table, and said angrily, "It was sent by the Lan family. They're holding some kind of engagement banquet tomorrow. They're even holding a banquet for marrying off a daughter. Do they really think the Lan family is some kind of prestigious family?"

Chen Xiao paused with his chopsticks. He didn't expect this matter to be settled so quickly. As for why his uncle was so angry, Chen Xiao also understood the reason.

It turned out that the ownership of a mine in Nanshan had always been unclear. The Chen family and the Lan family both claimed it as their own. Because of this, the two families often had frictions. The Chen family was slightly stronger than the Lan family, so the Lan family would suffer a little loss every time there was a dispute. But now that the Lan family was involved with the Wang family, they would definitely try to get back at them as soon as possible.

Aunt Yun was intelligent and meticulous. Chen Feng would come to her for anything he was unsure of.

But facing this matter, she couldn't do anything. The Wang family was really not someone the Chen family could afford to provoke.

She had no choice but to persuade him, "There's no such thing as a good banquet, but then again, brother, don't be too anxious about this matter. It's just a mine. What's wrong with letting them have it?"

"Alas, this is not just a matter of a mine, it concerns the face of my Chen family!" Chen Feng was very helpless. He also knew the principle of taking a step back, but he couldn't swallow this breath.

Seeing the resentful look his uncle gave him, Chen Xiao immediately understood what he was thinking. He quickly finished the rice in his bowl, wiped his mouth after eating, and said extremely seriously, "Uncle, don't worry about this matter. Just leave it to me!"

It would have been better if Chen Xiao hadn't spoken. As soon as he said this, Chen Feng exploded: "You little bastard, what nonsense are you talking about? Don't you think you've embarrassed us enough? Get as far away as you can, and don't let me see you!"

Before he could finish roaring, Chen Xiao had already run far away, but Aunt Yun smiled and said, "Look, you're getting anxious again. Maybe this time, this child can really do it!"

Chen Feng completely collapsed. He could understand Chen Xiao talking nonsense, but Xiaoyun, who was always known for her intelligence, actually said such a thing. Chen Feng thought that either the world had gone crazy, or he had gone crazy.

Aunt Yun ignored Chen Feng, who was now on the verge of collapse, and just continued, "Didn't you see the look in this child's eyes when he spoke just now? It's exactly the same as Third Brother's."

Aunt Yun seemed to be talking to Chen Feng, but her eyes were full of affection, and she didn't know where she was looking.