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Chapter 5: Blood of the Origin Vessel, Lingyin Seeks Immortality

After chatting for a while, Miss Vilyric finally gained a general understanding of Zeng Family Village and the surrounding situation.

This is a remote village in Yangyuan County, located in the southern part of the Dongyuanzhi Kingdom.

The Dongyuanzhi Kingdom often gathers several families with the same surname into settlements, forming villages like Zeng Family Village, which has a population of around a hundred people, centered around the only large city, Yangyuan City, with at least a few hundred nearby.

This city’s structure is typical throughout the Dongyuanzhi Kingdom, where villages surround towns, and towns protect cities. Those cities, big and small, collectively safeguard the capital at the center of the Dongyuanzhi Kingdom.

Although Zeng Xianzhi is a local native of Zeng Family Village, he was not self-elected by the villagers nor inherited this position. Instead, he was appointed by the Prefect of Yangyuan City and officially registered in the capital.

Cough, a minor official is still an official…

Although not explicitly stated, from the hints in his words, Vilyric could roughly guess that it was something like “everyone pooled funds when he was a child to let him leave the village for school, and after graduating, he returned to serve as the village head to repay the villagers’ kindness…” or something along those lines.

If this is true, then Zeng Xianzhi indeed demonstrates gratitude and doesn’t seek wealth. Although he may have developed a slightly pretentious way of speaking due to schooling, at his core, he remains pure and is quite easy to get along with.

In addition, this place… this continent is indeed the Ancient Spirit Realm.

Although Zeng Xianzhi is just a small village head, his experience studying at Yangyuan City’s academy grants him access to this not-so-secret name, and he confirmed it through Vilyric’s indirect hints.

“Miss Vilyric… your name is indeed quite peculiar, and such pure black hair… You must not be a local, right?”

“Black hair?”

The Priestess, instinctively twirling a strand of her hair, turned slightly to look at him, her curiosity piqued.

“Why emphasize black hair? Is there any significance to it?”

During the earlier conversation, Vilyric had portrayed an image of herself as someone who had been practicing in the mountains for a long time and had never encountered the outside world, only deciding to leave the mountains now that she had achieved a small level of success.

Of course, Vilyric didn’t intend to hide her true identity; it was just that given Zeng Xianzhi’s limited exposure, making things overly complicated didn’t matter. After all, her goal was simply to gather information.

From Villager Zeng’s description, although he had little direct contact, it was clear that extraordinary beings unlike ordinary people existed on this continent. If it turns out that this is the homeland of souls and the like, then the context from the Lingyin Merchant Association could help infer the general situation of powers here.

Whether they are practitioners or cultivators, what they are called doesn’t matter as long as it can rationalize Miss Vilyric’s sudden arrival and her near total ignorance of the surroundings.

“Um… Miss Vilyric doesn’t understand the significance of black hair? So, you aren’t aware of your own origins?”

“Technically, that would not be wrong…”

A look of surprise flashed across Zeng Xianzhi’s face, and he shook his head helplessly, explaining patiently.

“Our Ancient Spirit Realm is vast and fertile, divided into four kingdoms: Dongyuanzhi Kingdom, Nanyuan Sacred Kingdom, Beiyuan Universe Kingdom, and Xiyuan Ling Kingdom.”

“The Four Kingdoms occupy over 90% of the Ancient Spirit Realm, established by the legendary first four saints, who granted their blessings and inherited protection.”

“The power of the four saints lingers in every corner of the four kingdoms, helping us repel evil demons and epidemics. Over time, it has gradually imprinted on the bloodlines of the people in the four kingdoms, turning us into four branches that altered our appearance and hair color.”

Zeng Xianzhi pointed to his own hair.

“For instance, people from Dongyuanzhi Kingdom mostly receive protection from the Spirit Saint, and their hair color has evolved mainly to gray or dark shades, while those from Nanyuan Sacred Kingdom are influenced by the Yuan Saint, resulting in lighter hair with a golden hue.”

“According to ‘The Chronicle of the Four Saints,’ over a thousand years ago when the four saints descended to eliminate evil demons and restore order, the Ancient Spirit Realm was not divided into four kingdoms. The people then were all part of one clan, and this bloodline was called the ‘Origin Vessel,’ symbolizing purity and original heritage.”

“And the most obvious feature of the ‘Origin Vessel’ is black hair.”

“…So, what makes this ‘Origin Vessel’ special?”

“Special? Nothing at all.”

“What?”

Seeing the black-haired girl tilt her head, sporting a “Are you kidding me?” expression, Zeng Xianzhi helplessly chuckled again.

“The ‘Origin Vessel’ is just the ‘Origin Vessel,’ merely a name; why must it be special? Having the Origin Vessel only indicates that person’s lineage is ancient and has been handed down since over a thousand years ago…”

“Of course, if I had to say something, the ability to remain unchanged over a thousand years, maintaining its original bloodline and being inherited to this day… that’s already quite remarkable. In reality, ‘Origin Vessels’ are extremely rare now. Especially someone like you, Miss Vilyric, with absolutely flawless pure black hair—I’ve seen little of this in my lifetime.”

“Alright…”

It was clear that Villager Zeng was doing his best to provide all the information he knew. Given that they had only just met and he knew nothing of her identity, this attitude was already quite rare; it was best not to trouble him too much.

Although she didn’t hold high hopes, Vilyric decided to give it a try.

“By the way, have you heard of a place called Lingyin Fairy Island?”

Upon hearing this, Zeng Xianzhi was momentarily stunned.

He initially thought such confidential information would be completely beyond the comprehension of a small village head, and Vilyric was ready to give up, but unexpectedly, he quickly shook his head with a smile.

“Miss Vilyric, are you joking with me? The name Lingyin is common knowledge in the Ancient Spirit Realm; even a rough man like Uncle Zeng has grown up hearing stories about the fairy island.”

“Oh…?”

An unexpected answer made the black-haired girl raise an eyebrow.

Zeng Xianzhi pondered for a moment and then turned around, retrieving an old, worn thick book covered in age marks and bookmarks from a bookshelf behind him, placing it on the table in front of Vilyric.

Vilyric couldn’t understand the Ancient Spirit Realm’s characters written on it, so she could only pretend to look up and cast an inquiring glance at him.

“The ‘Record of Seeking Immortality at Lingyin,’ this was reportedly authored by a capable person from Dongyuanzhi Kingdom who ascended to the fairy island several hundred years ago. While I can’t guarantee the contents are absolutely factual, it should be a point of reference, so I’ll give it to you, Miss Vilyric.”

“You’re giving this to me?”

Vilyric frowned slightly but didn’t reach for the book.

After all, she understood the principle that if something is offered with no apparent reason, it’s either a trap or a ploy. Regardless of how one thinks about it, this seemed a bit excessive for a first-time meeting.

Seemingly sensing the girl’s confusion, Zeng Xianzhi wasn’t bothered and just sat down in front of her again, smiling.

“I’m thirty-two this year and have been village head for ten years, so I’ve seen a lot, but I guarantee that even when considering my days studying in Yangyuan City, Miss Vilyric’s appearance and demeanor are undoubtedly the most remarkable of all the women I’ve encountered…”

“A gentleman appreciates beauty; I won’t deny that this serves to please a fair lady. However, the more important reason is—I can see that Miss Vilyric is not an ordinary person. In my eyes, you’ve maintained an almost untouchable aloofness since we met, as if residing on cloud nine and keeping people at a distance.”

“But the moment we talk about the fairy island, I noticed a hint of barely noticeable tension in your demeanor. I believe there must be something of great importance to you there?”

Zeng Xianzhi patted the cover of the ancient book with a slight sigh.

“I’m quite aware that you are celestial beings; this meeting today is already a blessing from three lifetimes. This ‘Record of Seeking Immortality at Lingyin’ is quite rare on the market but not particularly valuable.”

“Instead, giving it to you means that when you read it in the future, if you can recall a village head named Zeng Xianzhi, that would be enough.”

“Is that so…”

This reason wasn’t overly abrupt.

Nodding, Vilyric skipped over the slightly awkward topic and turned her attention to the neatly arranged desk in front of her. The translation tool she wore could only convert spoken words, so she naturally couldn’t read the text used by the people in the Ancient Spirit Realm directly for now.

But it seemed the reason Zeng Xianzhi was busy at the desk was likely related to these things.

“By the way, you mentioned preparing something earlier with Uncle Zeng. Can I ask what you are preparing? As… a return for this book, I might be able to offer some help within my means.”

This didn’t seem to be any kind of secret. Zeng Xianzhi nodded and opened his mouth to respond.

“Actually…”

However, at that moment.

The door of the wooden hut was once again knocked upon rather violently, and it seemed Uncle Zeng was back. Suddenly, the loud voice burst into the room!

“Villager Zeng! Villager Zeng, you’re in trouble! Come out and take a look! Er Gouzi has been possessed!”