The four statues, all eight eyes radiated intensely at the same time.
Such an extraordinary sight completely stunned everyone from the three tribes who were outside the ancestral land.
Even the three tribal leaders, who were in the midst of worship, were jolted awake from their ritual.
"After more than a month, we finally progressed from vaguely sensing the statues' intentions of the three great ancestors to actually establishing a connection with the thoughts of the three great ancestor statues."
"The thoughts of the three great ancestors indicated that they would report to the revered 'Lord Di Kong' about opening the ancestral land for the sixth time."
"Could it be that 'Lord Di Kong' has agreed to open the ancestral land?!"
All three tribal leaders' mouths fell open as they looked towards the center of the ancestral land.
"Could it really be that the ancestral land is about to be opened?"
"Such a phenomenon is the one recorded in the clan annals for the opening of the ancestral land; the ancestral land is truly about to open!"
Amidst the incredulous exclamations of disbelief from the tribespeople from all three tribes, a two-zhang-wide swirling vortex of darkness suddenly appeared on the empty ground behind the fourth statue in the center of the ancestral land.
This vortex kept spinning, and nothing could be seen inside of it, yet as soon as the vortex appeared, thirty black tokens flew out from within it.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The thirty black tokens landed precisely in front of the three tribal leaders, who were kneeling outside the forbidden area.
Seeing the thirty black tokens, the three tribal leaders exchanged glances and then stood up with immense excitement.
"These are the entry tokens for the ancestral land!"
"The ancestral land has truly opened!"
The voices of the three tribal leaders holding the thirty black tokens trembled with excitement.
Then, remembering the rules for entering the ancestral land once it opened, the three leaders hastily instructed the tribespeople standing outside, "The ancestral land is open, only the tribespeople under twenty years old, holding these entry tokens, can venture into the Ancestral Land Secret Realm to seek great fortune."
"Within a month, you must enter the Ancestral Land Secret Realm, for the entrance to the secret realm will close after one month!"
"Quickly send word to all the family members under twenty; everyone must return to the clan!"
"With the opening of the ancestral land, the three tribes' end-of-year competition shall be held in advance, ten days from now, the grand competition among the three tribes will officially take place. Anyone who can secure a place among the top thirty in this competition will qualify to enter the ancestral land!"
The excited voices of the three tribal leaders echoed outside the ancestral land for a long time.
Upon hearing their chieftains personally announce the opening of the ancestral land, those outside tribespeople went wild with excitement.
The opening of the ancestral land was a truly great opportunity for the three tribes. Should their younger generation gain great fortune within the Ancestral Land Secret Realm, the rise of the three tribes once again would become a possibility!
The people hurriedly ran outside, following the instructions of their chieftains, to spread the word to the younger generation of their families scattered around, ordering them all to return to the clan.
For a time, Qingyang City was bustling with excitement.
While the three tribes were bustling due to the opening of the ancestral land,
through the dark vortex with a two-zhang diameter at the center of the ancestral land, looking deeper into the vortex, one could see a vast expanse of heaven and earth hidden within the swirl.
This great expanse of heaven and earth was the mysterious domain recorded in the millennium-long heritage of the three tribes, the Ancestral Land Secret Realm!
The Ancestral Land Secret Realm consisted of three major areas: the outer perimeter, the mid region, and the central core.
At the very core of the Ancestral Land Secret Realm was a vast lake surrounded by nine towering peaks.
All of the water within this vast lake was golden Spiritual Liquid, shimmering resplendently and radiating brilliant light.
And now, just as the ancestral land opened, the golden Spiritual Liquid within the lake suddenly surged tumultuously. Amidst these turbulent waves, a palm-sized golden monkey leapt directly out of the Spiritual Liquid.
This golden monkey, its entire body covered in luminous golden fur, was bathed in a flutter of golden light, so dazzling that it hurt to look directly at it.
Its pair of eyes shone like two exquisite black gemstones, filled with an endless divine luster, and appeared extraordinarily spirited.
The golden monkey that had jumped out of the golden lake seemed as if it had just been born. It blinked its large eyes and curiously surveyed the world around it.
After taking a quick look around, the golden monkey leapt straight out of the lake, skimming the water's surface as it bolted towards the shore. Then, with a few bounds, it swiftly hopped onto the nine towering mountains above.
The little monkey lay on the giant peak, looking out at the world beyond.
It even tried to run beyond the giant peak but was stopped by some mysterious force, unable to leave no matter what it tried.
The golden monkey pouted, then slid back on top of the giant peak.
After frolicking in the midst of the peak for a while, it seemed to grow tired and hopped back onto the golden lake.
As it jumped, the golden Spiritual Liquid in the lake rippled, splashing onto the little monkey who joyfully cried out a few times before diving into the golden lake.
The lake returned to calm.
"What, the Ancestral Land has opened?"
In the eastern territory of the Heavenly Wind Kingdom, inside a hut on one of the outer mountain peaks of the Taixuan Sect, the number one sect, a handsome young man in blue clothing, holding a letter in his hand, had a look of great excitement on his face.
"These past few years of arduous cultivation, I haven't returned home."
"The opening of the Ancestral Land, such an opportunity cannot be missed; it seems I must visit home!"
"To enter the secret realm, one must place within the top thirty of the Tri-Family Competition? Hmph, three years ago at the competition, I, Qian Ming, claimed the first place. This time, the title of first place will still belong to no one but me!"
"With first place, entering the Ancestral Land, I must seize the great fortune there!"
The young man in blue was brimming with confidence, and with a "swoosh," his figure vanished from the hut.
"After more than three hundred years, the Ancestral Land has opened again? I had thought it was just a fictional tale from the family records; I hadn't expected that there actually was such a thing as the Ancestral Land Secret Realm."
"Grandfather said that I must participate in the Tri-Family Competition first!"
"Top thirty in the Tri-Family Competition? That should be relatively easy for me!"
In the Southern Region of the Heavenly Wind Kingdom, within a sect blooming with peach blossoms, a young girl in white murmured to herself while reading a letter.
The girl in white, dressed in pure, tight-fitting garments, had a graceful figure with pretty cheeks and long black hair tied into a ponytail, displaying a remarkable efficiency.
If any disciple from the Southern Region of the Heavenly Wind Kingdom saw this sect surrounded by blooming peach blossoms, they would surely recognize it as the strongest sect in the Southern Region, the sixth-ranked "Peach Blossom Valley"!
And this young girl in white was the famous celestial maiden of Peach Blossom Valley, Bai Xiaodie, who, at just fifteen years old, had already reached the eleventh layer of True Qi!
"The Ancestral Land has opened?"
"In ten days, the Tri-Family Competition will begin, and the top thirty will be able to enter the Ancestral Land Secret Realm?"
"Quick, I must return to the family!"
Not just in powerful sects like the Taixuan Sect and the Peach Blossom Valley, but across various territories in the Heavenly Wind Kingdom, disciples from the three families practicing in various sects received news of the opening of their family's Ancestral Land.
These disciples, from all corners, hurried back to Qingyang City.
An event as monumental as the opening of their family's Ancestral Land, which had lain dormant for over three hundred years, was not something they would miss!
While news of the Ancestral Land's opening stirred the younger generations of the Ye, Bai, and Qian families into action,
on the official road outside Qizhou City, a carriage was slowly making its way toward the city.
Inside the carriage sat four people; two appeared to be plainly dressed middle-aged folks in their thirties, the man with a broad face and slim build, the woman, gentle and beautiful.
The other two were a fifteen-year-old youth and a young girl about twelve.
"Young Master, after three days, we will finally arrive at Qizhou City!"
"Once we're past Qizhou City, we'll reach Qingyang City, and we'll finally be returning to the family!"
The little girl, with her hair braided into two plaits and dressed like a maid, had lively eyes – this was none other than the little maid Tao'er.
And who else could she be referring to as "Young Master" if not Ye Chen, who had left the Qingyun Sect and was escorting his parents back to Qingyang City?