Crafting an Immortal Race with Daily Hexagrams-Chapter 413 - 211: Purple Thunder Break Extreme

It was night.

From the void overlooking Yunshui City, the Ren Water Concealing Spirit Array emitted a faint glow, yet from within the city looking up at the night sky, it remained as dark as ever, a rather peculiar sight.

Under the starry night sky, a figure hurriedly approached from afar.

Upon reaching the grand array, the figure immediately took out a seal token and struck it towards the array.

"It’s the Zhao Family Patriarch, open the array."

The Array Guardian Cultivator in the city hurriedly opened the array upon receiving the token’s spirit light.

Zhao Tuan, clad in a flowing robe, transformed into a stream of light, passing over Yunshui City’s sky, arriving at the Shen Family Manor’s gate, his expression sorrowful, and with a thud, knelt on the ground.

The Shen Family cultivator guarding the gate realized something significant must have happened and immediately went to inform Patriarch Shen Chongming.

When Shen Chongming arrived, Shen Chongxuan, upon receiving the news, also rushed over from the Mountain Foot Academy.

"Brother Tuan, you..."

Shen Chongxuan hurriedly approached, trying to help him up.

Shen Chongming’s face was somewhat grave, seemingly realizing something, and he did not speak.

The two brothers helped Zhao Tuan up, and after arriving at the parlor, Zhao Tuan finally began to speak mournfully, "My father... has passed away."

"Uncle..."

Hearing this, Shen Chongxuan’s expression froze, whispering in shock.

Their mother, Zhao Xuan, was the sister of Zhao Jinhua of the Zhao Family, making the brothers and Zhao Tuan cousins.

The passing of Zhao Jinhua inevitably reminded him of his mother once again.

"Brother Xuan, go fetch Grandfather."

After a moment’s deliberation, Shen Chongming spoke.

Father Shen Wenxing and Zhao Jinhua had been brothers for half their lives, and the two shared a close bond.

But since he was currently in seclusion to enhance his cultivation, he couldn’t be disturbed, so they had to first summon Grandfather Shen Yuan.

Apart from their marriage ties, the Shen and Zhao families also shared a strong private friendship.

Now that someone has passed away, the elders in the family must be informed.

Tears welled up in Shen Chongxuan’s eyes as he quickly left the parlor.

Moments later, Shen Yuan arrived with a solemn face, his hands behind his back, and Shen Chongxuan followed behind, wiping his tears.

Seeing Shen Yuan’s arrival, Zhao Tuan staggered to his feet, knelt in front of him, and choked out:

"Grandmaster Shen... my father... is gone."

The address "Grandmaster Shen" signified that he came to report the death purely out of personal connections between the two families.

After all, the death of someone from an affiliated family shouldn’t have warranted disturbing Shen Yuan, the elder patriarch of the Shen Family.

Hearing his sorrowful voice, Shen Yuan’s heart trembled slightly, and he couldn’t help but recall images of Zhao Jinhua back in Jinliu Village, suntanned and often running stark naked to his house to play.

When Shen Wenyan went to Danzhou, to compensate Zhao Xuan for the hardships she endured in the Shen Family, he had specifically sought Zhao Jinhua and his son, intending to pass the Immortal Dao True Method to Zhao Tuan.

Over several decades, Zhao Jinhua, lacking both spiritual root and cultivation, ultimately could not withstand the ravages of time.

"Stand up."

Gently supporting Zhao Tuan’s arm and patting his shoulder, Shen Yuan sighed lightly.

"Your father... he was past seventy, wasn’t he?"

Zhao Tuan bowed his head slightly, "Grandmaster Shen, he was eighty-one."

"Eighty-one... the rascal outlived his old man..."

"Your grandfather was only seventy-three when he passed."

With a deep gaze, after a moment of contemplation, Shen Yuan turned slowly to Shen Chongxuan and said, "Go to Xingyang, summon Chongxu, and take Li’Er to Anyang City to bid your uncle farewell."

Shen Chongxuan slightly bowed in acknowledgment.

Shen Yuan then turned to Shen Chongming and said, "Go to the Clan Court and find someone knowledgeable about the rites to accompany you to preside over Uncle Zhao’s funeral."

"He worked tirelessly for the Shen Family all his life and deserves respect."

Shen Chongming also bowed in agreement.

"Go now."

After issuing all the instructions, Shen Yuan waved his hand.

Once everyone had left the parlor, he went outside alone, hands behind his back, gazing at the endless stars with a sigh.

No wonder those Immortal Dao Cultivators consciously or unconsciously suppressed their humanity, making themselves less and less human.

Intentionally maintaining humanity naturally means being inevitably affected by worldly affairs like life and death, impacting one’s state of mind.

...

Zhao Jinhua’s funeral was grand in scale.

As the elder patriarch of an affiliated clan, he was personally accompanied to his final rest by the main family’s patriarch and sons, with the rites and music officiated by a scholar from the Clan Court.

The current patriarch, Shen Chongming, even publicly announced the creation of a personal biography for Zhao Jinhua in the Shen Family’s history, and that he would be buried in the mountain cemetery, right beneath the tombs of the second son of the Shen Family and his wife.

Such an honor indeed aroused the envy of other affiliated clans.

But they also understood that part of the reason Zhao Jinhua received such treatment was due to the marriage ties between the Zhao and Shen families.

More importantly, the Zhao family had been diligent over the years, never making any mistakes.

Many stewards of various families hoped to prosper by relying on the Shen Family’s influence, growing their own families.

Yet they also believed that the steadily rising Shen Family was destined for great achievements in the future.

Before the hidden dragon ascends to the skies, the fish and shrimp in the shallow waters could still closely associate with it. Once the time comes, and the hidden dragon emerges, soaring straight to the heavens, it won’t be so easy to cling to it again.

They now all hope to leave a lasting mark for their family in the Shen Family’s history.

In the future, if the Shen Family truly prospers, even if their own family declines, relying on the lingering influence could accumulate some heritage and good karma for their descendants; this is the meaning of family legacy.

After Zhao Jinhua’s funeral, at the City Lord’s Mansion in Anyang City, Shen Chongxu had already returned to the frontier to keep watch.

Shen Chongming and Shen Chongxuan, the brothers, were at the mansion chatting leisurely with Zhao Tuan.