Chapter 3: Ancient Saintly Sovereign

"Hehe, Xiao Chen, why do you want to join the Immortal Dao Sect?"

"Master, because I want to become the strongest in the world!"

"Hehe, good, I believe you can do it. I just hope heaven doesn't let your efforts go to waste."

"Master! Master!" Xiao Chen, in his unconscious state, suddenly screamed. When he woke up, he realized he had been dreaming. Remembering his master's kind smile, tears flowed down his face, his heart filled with sorrow.

"Was I dreaming?" Xiao Chen jolted awake and quickly got up, hoping that the massacre of the Immortal Dao Sect was just a dream. He didn't want to believe it was real.

But when he saw the corpses, he knew it was real. Unable to bear the heavy blow, he fell back into grief and fear, feeling as if the whole world had turned dark.

"How could this happen? Why did this happen? It was bad enough that the Xiao family discriminated against me, and the Yang family humiliated me. Why did the Immortal Dao Sect have to be destroyed too? Is it because I'm a useless person?" Xiao Chen muttered bitterly, looking lost.

"Young one, are you suffering because you're a useless person who can't cultivate true essence, discriminated against by the Xiao family? Are you angry because of the Yang family's insults? Are you terrified because the Immortal Dao Sect was exterminated?"

Suddenly, a slightly deep, old voice echoed in Xiao Chen's ears. Startled, Xiao Chen quickly turned his head to look around, but he saw no one—only the corpses of the Immortal Dao Sect disciples.

"Who's there? Who's talking?" Xiao Chen asked warily, thinking to himself, "Did I hear wrong? There's no one here."

"Young one, your name is Xiao Chen, right? Close your eyes, and you will see me!"

The voice sounded again, and Xiao Chen was sure he hadn't misheard. Someone was indeed talking to him, but he couldn't see them.

Following the voice's instructions, Xiao Chen slowly closed his eyes and found himself in a dark space.

"What… what is this place?" Xiao Chen asked, puzzled, as he found himself in a completely dark space, feeling an eerie sensation.

Suddenly, a golden light appeared in the dark space, and a shimmering figure emerged in front of Xiao Chen—an elderly man with white hair.

Seeing the old man appear so magically, Xiao Chen was shocked, his mouth agape. Trembling, he asked, "Grandpa, who… who are you? How are you here? What is this place?"

"This is your inner world," the old man said with a faint smile.

"My inner world? Why is my inner world so dark? Are you lying to me?" Xiao Chen asked, thinking that darkness represented bad people and he didn't see himself as a bad person.

"You can't cultivate true essence, and although you always believed you would someday, deep down, you were in great pain. Over the years, this pain accumulated into darkness within your inner world. The Yang family's insults and the destruction of the Immortal Dao Sect have made you feel despair and fear, turning your inner world into darkness," the old man explained.

Hearing this, Xiao Chen was once again shocked. "How do you know about my life? Who are you?"

"I am the strongest Sage Sovereign of the ancient times, Bahun! When you were unconscious, I entered your memory space and learned everything about your past," the old man said with a faint smile.

"Sage Sovereign Bahun? Then how did you end up in my inner world?" Xiao Chen asked, puzzled.

"I was being pursued and happened to see you roaring at the sky, so I entered your body. I don't have much time left; my injuries are too severe, and this soul body won't last long. Soon, I will dissipate completely. Although the divine blood is planted in your body, it's better than being taken by them," Bahun said, his soul body growing weaker.

"Divine blood in me? What's that?" Xiao Chen asked, confused, as he had no idea what divine blood was.

"Do you want to unlock all your meridians?" the old man asked with a smile.

Xiao Chen quickly nodded, "Of course, I do. If my meridians are opened, I can cultivate."

"When you were unconscious, the divine blood cleansed your entire body. Your blood is now divine blood, and your physique has completely changed. Your body is now hundreds of times stronger than before! All your meridians have been unlocked," Bahun explained with a slight smile.

"What? My meridians are unlocked? Does that mean I can cultivate?" Xiao Chen asked, shocked and overjoyed. The unlocking of his meridians meant he could now cultivate and was no longer a useless person!

"That's right! Indeed, my time is short, and I can only plant the divine blood in you. I don't want my lifetime of skills and techniques to be lost, and meeting you is fate. I can only pass them on to you!"

"Pass them to me?" Xiao Chen was even more ecstatic, not knowing what it was but certain it must be powerful if it was Bahun's lifetime of skills.

"Boom!"

As he finished speaking, Bahun placed his right hand on Xiao Chen's head, and a burst of golden light flashed, illuminating the dark space. Information flowed continuously into Xiao Chen's mind—powerful techniques and cultivation methods appeared in his consciousness.

After a while, Bahun stopped, his soul body becoming even more illusory. Smiling faintly, he said, "Xiao Chen, I've only passed on cultivation methods to you. With the help of divine blood, I believe your cultivation will progress quickly."

"Great! Thank you, senior! I will never forget your great kindness!" Xiao Chen said gratefully, his heart filled with hope.

"In this storage ring are my divine weapons and other powerful techniques. Take it. With divine blood protecting you, you will cultivate quickly. I must go now. Xiao Chen, remember, forget the past and look to the future! You are no longer the Xiao Chen of the past! Before I die, can you call me master?" Bahun said, his soul body becoming completely transparent before vanishing.

"Master…" Xiao Chen choked out, tears streaming down his face.

"Hehe, good disciple!"

"Forget the past, look to the future! Forget the past, look to the future!" Xiao Chen murmured, repeating it until he felt lighter. As he slowly opened his eyes, the darkness in his inner world faded. Smiling, Xiao Chen said, "Thank you, senior! You're right. I'm no longer the Xiao Chen of the past. I can cultivate now. I will make the Xiao family and Feng Yue City see that I'm not a useless person. I will make the Yang family regret it! And I will avenge the Immortal Dao Sect!"