C640 Underground City

"Aren't we headed to Afnetalos?"

"We're making a stop elsewhere first."

Their conversation echoed from the deep underground outside the city.

The Golden Carriage, enveloped in a radiant halo, shrank and darted like a golden spike deep into the earth.

Yu Yuan didn't hear the ground crack or crumble, yet he knew the Golden Carriage, piloted by Chen Langzhi, was an authentic heavenly artifact capable of subterranean travel.

"Yu, you truly are remarkable."

Chen Langzhi, clad in a green robe and looking like an average middle-aged man, had a glint of wisdom flashing in his eyes as they opened and closed. "Any other youngster would be restless if I changed the route without warning."

After a brief moment of shock, Yu Yuan regained his composure.

Chen Langzhi, watching closely, noticed Yu Yuan's suspicion. He could tell from Yu Yuan's breathing, the slight shifts in his skin, and the extension of his spiritual sense that Yu Yuan was discreetly exploring their surroundings without making any hasty moves or confronting him outright.

"You're a respected elder of the Chen family and a Spirit Walk cultivator. Whatever you plan to do with me, I have no say in it." Yu Yuan was candid, smiling wryly as he joked, "Now that I'm aboard your ship, my fate is in your hands."

He spoke boldly, trusting that his connection to Chen Qingyan meant the Chen family wouldn't intend him any harm.

"Haha, rest easy, Yu. The Chen family bears you no malice."

As Chen Langzhi's words trailed off, the Golden Carriage breached a protective wall and reached an enigmatic location underground.

The carriage came to a smooth halt.

"Here we are."

Chen Langzhi floated down, landing before an immense stone gate, thirty feet tall and dark as night.

The gate appeared to be crafted from the same stone used in the construction of Afnetalos.

Flanking the grand entrance were sculptures of dire beasts, their forms unknown and imposing.

The dire beasts, sculpted from black rock, towered seven to eight zhang high, just slightly shorter than the stone door.

These creatures resembled a cross between a lion and a tiger, with long wings unfurled at their sides. The wings shimmered with a cold, metallic sheen, like blades of black steel capable of slicing through Sunsilver with ease.

Yu Yuan, observing the wings, felt a twinge of unease. He was convinced that those wings could effortlessly cleave through his flesh, despite his usual confidence in his physical resilience.

The stone door was adorned with intricate and exquisite patterns, with spiritual energy and vitality pulsing within.

Yu Yuan, his expression blank, descended from the Golden Carriage and gazed at the massive stone door, flanked by the peculiar dire beasts. He and Chen Langzhi appeared remarkably small in comparison to the imposing door and creatures.

"Is there another city beneath the ground of Afnetalos?"

After a moment of contemplation, Yu Yuan grasped the implication, his heart skipping a beat. "The surface city represents the Songbird Empire to the outside world, while the underground city is the inner sanctum of the Chen family?"

The Songbird Empire hadn't even been founded on the Aetherius Continent three hundred years prior.

It was the emergence of the Songbird Queen from the Chen family that catapulted the empire into existence. Her meteoric rise led to the establishment of the Songbird Empire.

A century of conquest solidified the Songbird Empire as one of the six great empires.

Then, over another hundred years, the Songbird Queen propelled the Songbird Empire to become the mightiest of them all.

Yu Yuan was aware that the land was once ruled by the Skyborn Empire and that the Chen family was among its subjects.

Three centuries ago, the Skyborn Empire wasn't the strongest on Aetherius, and the Chen family was merely a minor clan, comparable to the Yu family in Asvetaesi.

The ascension of the Songbird Queen was the sole catalyst for the Chen family's rise to power, relegating the Skyborn Empire to the annals of history.

Just as the Shadowlight Empire emerged from the Silvermoon Empire, the Songbird Empire replaced the Skyborn Empire, establishing its dominion on this land.

"Young Master Yu, your insight is remarkable," Chen Langzhi complimented once more, gesturing towards the grand gate. "You've got it exactly right. The city above is the Songbird City of the Songbird Empire, which indeed belongs to the Chen family. But beneath Songbird City lies the true foundation of our Chen family. It's where our kin and the Chen family's counselors come together to cultivate, socialize, and exchange knowledge."

After a brief pause, he continued, "In our Chen family, the surface is known as the outer city, while the underground is referred to as the inner city of Afnetalos."

"The inner city of Afnetalos," Yu Yuan chuckled. "Mr. Chen, you flatter me by bringing me to your family's inner city. May I ask which member of the Chen family wishes to meet with me?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Chen Langzhi said with a mysterious smile.

He stowed the Golden Carriage and confidently led the way. Approaching the massive green-black gate, the two dire beasts lying there suddenly opened their eyes, which gleamed with a fierce intelligence.

The dire beasts scrutinized Chen Langzhi, recognizing his identity.

With a rumble, the massive stone gate slowly swung open.

"Let's go," Chen Langzhi said with a hearty laugh. As the gate opened, he effortlessly led Yu Yuan into the inner city.

Yu Yuan hastened to keep up, his curiosity piqued by the underground inner city of Afnetalos. In his lifetime, he had heard countless tales of the Songbird Empire and the Chen family, the preeminent family of Aetherius. Yet, he had been unaware of the hidden realm beneath Afnetalos.

Stepping inside, Yu Yuan's view opened up dramatically.

The streets of the inner city were broad, flanked by buildings that, while not exceptionally tall, typically rose three to five stories.

Looking up, he saw gray clouds suspended overhead, beneath which glowed pearls that shone like stars.

His keen vision allowed him to discern that the suspended gray clouds were a special kind of magical instrument—a dome created by a rune circle designed to block spiritual sense and prevent even the most powerful cultivators from gazing upon this place.

"Uncle Zhi!"

"Ah Zhi!"

The street was quiet, with few pedestrians. Instead, heads occasionally popped out from the buildings on either side, with younger members of the Chen family greeting him as "Uncle Zhi" and the elders as "Ah Zhi."

Each face bore a smile, and there was a sense of warm familiarity among them all.

Yu Yuan inhaled deeply, savoring the abundant spiritual energy around him. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the walls of the buildings lining the street were intricately carved with rune circle patterns designed to gather and amplify this energy.

The spiritual energy within the inner city was significantly richer than that of many renowned mountains and lakes, thanks in part to the enhancement provided by the rune circles. Each building housed its own independent training room, enabling members of the Chen family to refine their spiritual energy more efficiently.

Yu Yuan had the distinct impression that this subterranean inner city could rival the sacred training grounds of the Ethereal Void.

"In all of Aetherius, truly dense concentrations of spiritual energy are scarce. Aside from Godsblight Marsh, the only other notable location is the recently acclaimed Forgotten Ruins. Such is the nature of the Everlands, with its limitations upon this continent," Chen Langzhi explained to Yu Yuan as he exchanged greetings with his kin. "The richness of spiritual energy in this city is solely due to the use of soulstones in its construction."

He beamed with pride as he continued, "Beyond the three great upper sects—the Devil Palace, Shadow's Keep, Skyreach Consortium, and the Order of Healing—our Chen family stands as the most affluent power in the Everlands! The Songbird Empire is the dominant force on this continent, holding the most fertile territories, abundant with spiritual mountains and mines."

"To bless our people, Her Majesty the Empress has spared no effort!"

Yu Yuan silently nodded in agreement, his esteem for the legendary Songbird Queen growing even further.

Throughout the history of Aetherius, there have been many emperors of renown, such as the Stormcrowned Emperor and the Sky-God, whose formidable deeds made a lasting impression on the Otherkin.

Yet, the Songbird Queen's meteoric rise to power as a woman was unprecedented. In just over two centuries, she elevated the Chen family to the pinnacle of Aetherian society and established the Songbird Empire as the continent's supreme power.

Moreover, she earned the deep trust of Euwrea's three great upper sects. When it came time for her to refine the Solar Spirit, it was these sects that extended the invitation to her. Their experts even covertly safeguarded her, dedicating themselves wholeheartedly to her protection.

In a world where the Human Emperor was a woman, it was unprecedented for someone to be held in such high regard by the three great upper sects.

"If all goes well, Her Majesty the Songbird Queen should be able to ascend as a new primordial spirit within three hundred years!" Chen Langzhi said with a radiant smile. "The esteemed cultivators of the upper sects are all in agreement. The Chen family's esteemed position and stability in Aetherius is due to this very fact."

With these words, he led an astonished Yu Yuan to a five-story pavilion and knocked gently on the door.

Yu Yuan was still reeling from Chen Langzhi's words, his admiration for the Chen family and the Songbird Queen growing by the minute.

It had taken two hundred years to establish the Chen family and the Songbird Empire, and now there was a prospect of another three hundred years to achieve the status of a primordial spirit. It was no surprise that he had caught the attention of the three great upper sects.

The stone door swung open with a creak, and Chen Langzhi's smile faded into a solemn expression as he ushered Yu Yuan inside.

"Just a moment, please."

Inside, a figure stood with their back to Chen Langzhi and Yu Yuan, their hands radiating a brilliant light, their entire being as if sculpted from dazzling diamonds.

A Fellbeast occupied the majority of the room, its true form revealed. The rune circles on the room's walls pulsed with spiritual energy, flowing like water.

The room was saturated with demon energy, none of which escaped its confines.

The individual, back still turned to Yu Yuan and Chen Langzhi, worked with the precision of a master sculptor, skillfully flaying and deboning the Fellbeast. Their graceful movements somehow rendered the gruesome task into an almost beautiful spectacle.

Before long, they extracted a still-pulsating Demon Heart from the creature's chest cavity, cradling it effortlessly in their hands. "At last, it is finished," they declared with ease.

Turning around with a smile, they greeted, "We meet again. I am Chen Liangquan, the one who visited the mid-lake island."

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