It was during their discussions when the patriarch and 10 great elders felt a disturbance in the ancestral sanctuary. They all came to the conclusion that an ancestor was going to leave their secluded cultivation. To be respectful, they all decided to use their main bodies to go greet and receive them.
The ancestral sanctuary was home to a few dozen members of the Bai family, and their spouses. No one actually knew how many people were in there, nor did they know if anyone was still alive. There were only 2 reasons why anyone would enter the sanctuary. There were either at the end of their lives, or were in the midst of breaking through.
Out of the 11 people that were standing in front of the sanctuary gate, the current patriarch, Hao Lin, was the youngest. He was only 6 million years old, but he had met a few ancestors before who had left the sanctuary to guide him when he was a child. One including his own great-grandfather.
Slowly, more and more elders came to join Hao Lin and the grand elders. They were not weak, all of them at least Sacred Emperor Realm.
Hao Lin himself was a very talented cultivator, with powerful innate abilities, he managed to become a Heavenly Sovereign at the age of 5 million. This kind of divine talent would have caused Cultivation families to wage war against each other, as this talent could mean the difference between success and destruction in a longevity war.
Luckily, Hao Lin was born in the Bai Family. No one even dared to think of harming Hao Lin, afraid that some powerful ancestor would sense their thoughts and destroy their billion year heritage with a single strike.
The entrance to the sanctuary was just a decoration. It was unnecessary to enter the Ancestral Sanctuary, but how could they leave nothing behind to worship their ancestors?
It was an extremely tall arched gate, made of white imperial jade. Long steps lead to the gate, but if one was daring enough to ignore the rules and climb the steps, one would find that there was nothing behind the gate. The ancestral Sanctuary was actually a separate realm. Only when you are strong enough will you be able to open the portal there.
At this moment, hundreds of elders of at least the Sacred Emperor Realm were prostrating themselves at the bottom of the steps.
In front of them was Hao Lin and the 10 grand elders. They had one knee on the ground, looking downwards.
None of them had their heads raised, giving the utmost respect to whoever was leaving the sanctuary.
The large gate started to groan...
Click...Click...Click…
The sound of heels could be heard reverberating down the steps.
Click…Click…Click…
Many thoughts ran through everyone's mind. Was this ancestor a woman? For many, this was the first time they ever saw an ancestor coming out of the gate. No one was nervous, as it was a joyous occasion for someone to survive their cultivation. On the contrary, some boot lickers were excited as this would mean an opportunity for them to hug a thigh or climb to a higher position.
Only when the clicking of the heels finally stopped, did they hear an authoritative voice. It sounded extremely pleasant, but everybody can hear the depth and ruthlessness in her voice. This was someone they can never disrespect.
"Raise your heads."
Slowly, everyone raised their heads to take a look at this mysterious ancestor. What they did not expect to see was an extremely alluring woman in red. She had a head of dark red hair and wore an inscrutable face. To many, this was the most attractive person they'd ever seen in their entire lives. She gave off an unapproachable, feisty aura. When one's difference in strength is too large, it is very easy to be captivated by the opposite party.
Some of the elders were intoxicated by her beauty and started festering some impolite thoughts. They were immediately woken up from their dreams by the coughs of the stronger elders present, and their faces turned aghast.
Were they courting death? How dare they lust for someone out of their league? They were indeed cats and dogs in the eyes of such a divine being! They tilted their head down in shame and started slapping themselves until their cheeks turned bright red.
The fact is, most people there did not know she was. Only the grand elders and certain older members of the Bai Family recognize her from portraits they had seen before. Knowing her true identity, even Hao Lin broke into a cold sweat. Had some of these stupid people committed a sin right in front of someone even he could not afford to offend?
Huo Shen Huang. Daughter of the Divine Phoenix. Grand Matriarch, Divine Empress and the first wife of their ancestor cum progenitor, Bai Yu Sheng.
Who was she? She was the deeply loyal wife of the elusive legend, Bai Yu Sheng, who created the Bai Family. She was the Holy Mother, Some of the people present being her descendants. She was a part of the famous epic which starred Bai Yu Sheng and his journey to becoming the strongest, which did not depict her likeness but did portray her deep love for him.
Who could have predicted that someone from aeons ago would have come out of the ancestral sanctuary? To the people of the present, Bai Yu Sheng and Shen Huang were like heroes of legends. So many aeons had passed that even some Bai Family members were speculating about the existence of such elusive people.
"I happen to be in a good mood. I do not want this to ever happen again. If you are too weak, find a way to deal with it. If this happens again, I do not mind destroying you all and creating a new Bai Family that knows respect." Shen Huang coldly snorted.
Nobody knew if she was joking or not, but no one was stupid enough to test the validity of her words.
In order to break the silence, Hao Lin cupped his hands towards Shen Huang and asked politely. " Divine Empress Shen Huang, excuse me for prying, but I was wondering for what occasion did you leave the Ancestral Sanctuary? May you grant us the chance for us to redeem ourselves and serve your needs?"
Almost instantly, the unreadable face of Shen Huang changed into a light smile. Her features softened, almost making her unrecognizable from her previous display.
"Hubby has finally awoken. He has made a complete recovery this time.
Spare no expense in the upcoming celebration."
Everyone was flabbergasted. The first ancestor was still alive? And he had recovered from his ailments? Before they could say anything, Shen Huang disappeared into thin air, and the loud boom of the Ancestral Sanctuary's gate closing reverberated loudly.
Bai Family main branch estate. Inside a cave abode atop the mountain with the densest immortal qi.
Bai Hao Ran slowly opened his eyes. His head began to throb, and an originally dull ache intensified. Memories that did not belong to him came flooding into his brain. Memories of a 20-year-old mortal entered painfully into his skull. Every single experience this mortal had felt, Hao Ran had relived it. Those 20 years flew by extremely quickly, and Hao Ran was glad it was finally over. What seemed to have taken 20 Years was only a breath of time in reality.
No one was supposed to disturb Hao Ran's cultivation, however his fiancee, Wang Bing Ji decided to move into a shed outside his cave abode as she deeply missed him. Upon hearing the loud grunts that came from within the cave, Wang Bing Ji panicked.
She nervously opened the array formation to the cave abode. "Hao Ran! Are you okay? Did something bad happen during your cultivation?"
How could she bear to see her beloved get hurt?
Wang Hao Ran, still in a state of confusion, gave a perfunctory response. "I've reached the Loose Immortal Realm. Inform father of the great news."
Wang Hao Ran did not hate Bing Ji. In fact, he enjoyed her company greatly. However, he does not express his feelings very clearly, and some people might misinterpret his aloofness to be his disdain for Bing Ji. Regardless, Bing Ji still greatly loves him.
Bing Ji nodded her head in understanding, leaving immediately as she was afraid she might interrupt Hao Ran.
Hao Ran sighed. The memories of the mortal he had received were very bizarre. It was from a civilization that did not have cultivation, but despite that, they thrived and created weapons of mass destruction that were as powerful as some cultivators at the Earth Immortal Realm.
Amazingly, this civilization seemed to have traded the way of cultivation away in exchange for precognitive powers. Everyone in that civilization was able to see the past, present and future of whatever world they desired. Although he did not fully understand these memories, one thing he understood was that the mortal whose memories he had acquired was also named Bai Hao Ran.
Who is the Bai Hao Ran that is in the Myriad Heaven Realm? He knew immediately that he had not changed. Bai Hao Ran of the Bai family had not changed. He had merely fused his memories with the Bai Hao Ran from the earth.
After a few hours, he had completely integrated with his mortal life's memories. He now has the ability to recall memories as if he was the Hao Ran from the earth. He looked towards a bronze mirror that was inside his cave abode.
An extremely handsome face, dark brown hair and blue eyes. He had acquired his hair from his father, and his blue eyes from his mother. An angular face with soft facial features. He was what every female cultivator wanted to become Dao companion with.
Hao Ran was no saint, nor was he overtly cruel. He would kill and punish his enemies, but greatly reward anyone who stands by him. However, how could any random cockroach stand proudly before him? He had punished those who acted self-righteous in front of him before and did not think twice about it again. However, recalling some of the memories of Mortal Hao Ran, his face darkened.
He took out 2 sticks of incense and created a cenotaph inside his cave abode. He lit it and placed it on the ground.
He was glad that the memories that Mortal Hao Ran provided him had helped him open his eyes to some glaring issues that were going to haunt him in the future.
Firstly, he had to apologize to Bing Ji for his actions in the past 700 years.
Secondly, he had to go and tie up some loose ends.
Hao Ran stood up and left his cave abode.