Vol. 1 - Ch. 45 - Hanging from Divine Tree

Chen Tianquan's scream made the others startle as well. When they looked closely at the faces on the fruits, they were all deeply shocked.

"Is that my great uncle?"

"It looks like my uncle."

"Does that fruit look like my grandfather?"

"Why is my father hanging from a tree? Wuu wuu wuu wuu!"

The crowd became noisy and restless as countless clansmen rushed over to identify their relatives upon hearing the news.

Although there were spiritual tablets in the family Ancestral Hall, there were no portraits of the deceased elders. Seeing these lifelike faces stirred up emotions in many clansmen, making it difficult for them to remain calm.

"What did you say?" Chen Xingzhen suddenly stood up in his room and looked at the clansman in front of him.

"Patriarch, you should see for yourself. These fruits are too unusual; I didn't dare to look too long."

Receiving the clansman's confirmation, Chen Xingzhen immediately quickened his pace and dashed toward the Ancestral Hall. Just yesterday, a clansman reported that the Divine Tree was normal. How could such a drastic change occur so early in the morning?

Over the past few days, he had searched through the family's records and actually found some information about the Divine Tree bearing fruit.

However, the descriptions were very different from the fruits currently growing on the Divine Tree. This made him feel uneasy, and today's events seemed to confirm his fears.

Unfortunately, the family elders of the past had all returned to dust, and he could not find out the reason for this occurrence from other members of his family.

Moreover, when his family had migrated to this place, they had accidentally lost the secret technique to communicate with the Divine Tree, so he could not get any specific details from the tree itself.

Before Chen Xingzhen reached the Ancestral Hall, he could already hear the cries and lamentations of many clansmen.

They were shouting words like "uncle" and "grandfather."

Chen Xingzhen's eyebrows furrowed even more. What on earth was happening here?

"Get a site, the Patriarch is coming!"

The arrival of Chen Xingzhen calmed the clansmen somewhat. The current situation was truly puzzling, and they were eager to know the cause of this event.

Under the watchful eyes of many clansmen, Chen Xingzhen did not care about his status as patriarch this time. He took two steps at a time and quickly rushed to the bottom of the Ancestral Hall. When he saw the human-faced fruits in front of him, even he, who had seen many things, couldn't help but be stunned.

"What is this?"

Chen Xingzhen's gaze swept over the fruits one by one, his expression changing from calm to shock and confusion.

As he looked at the faces on the fruits, his slightly wrinkled eyes became moist. He saw the faces of family members and elders who had passed away long ago.

Scenes from the past appeared in his mind, as if they were unfolding right in front of him.

These were the faces he would see in his dreams.

When Chen Xingzhen looked at the fruit at the top of the Divine Tree, he could no longer contain his grief and immediately knelt down, crying out in a pained voice:

"Father!"

The many clansmen behind him were instantly confused by this sight, but when they saw their patriarch kneeling on the ground and crying, they could no longer suppress the grief in their hearts.

They began to cry as they looked at the faces on the fruits. For a moment, the entire Ancestral Hall was filled with the mournful cries of the clansmen.

Outside the Ancestral Hall, Chen Qinghe and Chen Qingmeng, who had heard the commotion, rushed back from the fields.

Both of them were still holding hoes for digging. Since the family needed to rebuild and winter was coming, they wanted to plant a crop of Blood Rice for the family.

Eager to contribute, they volunteered to work the land, taking it as an opportunity to train their bodies with the goal of reaching the mid-stage of Body Tempering soon.

But when they arrived at the entrance of the Ancestral Hall, they saw their patriarch kneeling and weeping bitterly.

Seeing this, they both felt a bit helpless and scratched their heads.

Since they were still young and did not recognize the faces on the fruits, they naturally did not have the same emotional reaction as the other clansmen.

However, one of the fruits bore a certain resemblance to their clan brother, Chen Qingyu.

Just as Chen Qinghe was at a loss, Chen Qingmeng suddenly spoke up,

"Qinghe, what should we do about the patriarch... our father?"

Upon hearing this sudden question, Chen Qinghe was also taken aback.

Although they usually referred to him as the patriarch, according to the family hierarchy, they should call Chen Xingzhen their great-great-uncle.

Their great-great-uncle's father... What should they call him?

After pondering for a moment, Chen Qinghe had an answer in his eyes: "Our ancestor!"

But then Chen Qinghe suddenly shook his head. Was this the time to think about it?

"Qingmeng, let's go, we need to find the other family members quickly."

With that, Chen Qinghe grabbed Chen Qingmeng and ran. The scene in the Ancestor Hall deeply affected him; even the patriarch was kneeling on the ground and crying.

He did not know what to do; in such a situation, it was natural to call for help.

Unfortunately, his father and clan brother Chen Qingyu, along with several other warriors from the Blood Coagulation Realm, had gone out to look for traces of the Li clan and had not yet returned.

Just as they were about to inform the other clan members, they encountered several dusty figures at the clan's main gate.

Chen Qinghe stopped in his tracks and looked up, then his face lit up with joy---it was his father and Chen Qingyu who had returned. The two of them rushed towards them.

Chen Tianjing and the others, who had just returned from outside, were also confused.

Although the Li clan was no longer a problem, why was there no one guarding the clan's main gate? And after returning to the clan, they hadn't encountered any clan members either.

However, when they saw Chen Qinghe and Chen Qingmeng running towards them, they also stopped in their tracks.

"Dad, our great ancestor is hanging from a tree, come see!"

"Right, Brother Qingyu's father and your father are also hanging from a tree!" Chen Qinghe spoke with a slight urgency and panic.

Chen Tianjing's face had already changed at Chen Qinghe's first sentence.

When Chen Qinghe spoke the second sentence, Chen Tianjing felt an ominous premonition and turned his head to see Chen Qingyu with a somber expression.

Chen Tianjing immediately erupted in anger,

"You unfilial son, I will not spare you today for this treachery!"

Saying this, Chen Tianjing had already loosened the Heavenly Bull Tendon Belt around his waist, ready to take action.

At this moment, Chen Qingmeng also spoke anxiously, "What Qinghe said is true, they are all hanging from a tree."

Seeing that the two of them were not lying, Chen Tianyu, who was standing nearby with a slight frown, stopped Chen Tianjing who was about to strike, and then said,

 "Tianjing, don't rush into anything. Let's go to the Ancestral Hall and see."

"You little rascal, I'll take care of you when we get back!"

Chen Tianjing suppressed his anger, and the group quickly left for the Ancestral Hall.

Even before they reached the Ancestral Hall, the three of them could hear screams and lamentations coming from within.

This sent a chill through their hearts, and they quickened their pace.

When they entered the center of the Ancestral Hall, they saw many clan members kneeling on the ground and weeping bitterly.

This made the three of them feel even more uneasy.

As they looked at the strange fruits hanging from the sacred tree, their expressions changed drastically.

However, as warriors of the Blood Coagulation Realm, especially after seeing the obviously abnormal scene in front of them, they were on guard and did not panic.

"Where is the clan leader? Where did he go?"

Chen Tianjing grabbed a clan member who was still crying for his parents and asked.

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