Atavism

Ancestral temple actually was just a room in Village Cheif's house where after the harvest, grain and other produce of the village were stored and only the village chief was allowed in there.

When he was younger, Zhen and Bao used to guess what must be hidden in there, there was even a time when both had tried to sneak in, only to be found and beaten by the chief.

But whatever Zhen could have guessed paled in comparison to actually seeing it in person.

Trailing behind his mother and the boys, he entered the Ancestral Temple, a large, brightly lit room and could barely contain his shock.

The inside of the room was big, much bigger than the outside suggested, enough to easily hold years' worth of rice and other amenities. The light that filled the room seemed to be coming out of nowhere. Matrices of runes filled the walls, looking arcane and unblemished on the rough stone walls.

'Isolation, expansion, cloaking, and... I don't know, it is at least a Grade Four Array Formation, maybe even Grade Five', being an aspiring Formation master, his attention was immediately stolen by the arrays on the walls.

Bao and the company looked around confused and bewildered. The size of the room did not make sense to their eyes, and they were having difficulty matching the small room they saw outside with the space bigger than the entire house.

"What is this magic?" Lin, a stout boy exclaimed and others nodded along. Chief, who was also following along, barely contained his mirth at their expressions.

"It is something immortal cultivators call Array Formations and use them to produce all kinds of effects. This room was made by Xia's grandmother before she left this continent."

Zhen barely registered the shocking fact, too busy analyzing the amazing formation. It was Bao who questioned the chief, "Great Grandma was an Immortal!?"

"She was not the only one."

Just then formation flickered and Zhen traced the disturbance back to an old wooden trunk laying in the corner and looked to see his mother kneeling in front of it, fiddling with it. Zhen would not have paid the rickety-looking trunk any attention if his acute senses had not sensed the disturbance but now it was clear, that trunk was the core of the formation.

Formation flickered again and Zhen felt essence Qi in the air stilling. He lost all perception of the outside world.

Bao detected nothing except the closing of the door behind. He instead turned to Zhen, "Did you hear, our mum's grandma was an Immortal.

Zhen nodded dumbly, too overwhelmed when his mother got up and turned to address them, "And as Chief said, she was not the only one. Our clan was once an Immortal clan but somewhere in past, our forefathers decided to forgo cultivation and live as simple mortals."

"Why?"

"We have no idea. It happened so long ago that no one can say for sure. It could have been some tribulations or they might have had enough of bloodshed and decided to leave."

Chief came forward and spoke, "Whatever happened, we gave up cultivating immortality and started cultivating rice."

"But not everyone wanted to give up cultivating, and neither our forefathers wanted to give up all their achievements in cultivation, in alchemy, formations, and nor they wanted to deprive us of the choice. So a tradition began; anyone who wanted to cultivate immortality despite its dangers, we as a clan would still support them no matter what they choose."

"And the past generation left their blessing here", the chief pointed at the trunk, "To help the future generations on the cultivation path."

Zhen curiously watched the wooden box, at first glance it looked like black Ironwood but Ironwood cannot be used in the core of even Grade one formation, much less a Grade four one.

His mother kneeled beside the trunk and splashed a few drops of her blood on it after severing her finger with a knife. A click sounded, and unceremoniously, the trunk opened.

Immediately entire essence Qi in the room stirred and rushed into the box. Zhen's eyes widened, but no one else gave any indication of detecting anything unusual. Due to Void Flawless Physique, his senses were far more attuned to qi than someone of his cultivation.

"To walk on the path of cultivation, you will need a lot of resources and proper cultivation manuals. The cultivation manuals army gives are incomplete and low level. Even the best you could get from there would be of Yellow Rank. ", disdain in her voice was clear, and Zhen understood why.

The cultivation techniques here were at least at Heaven rank, the highest rank of techniques there is as far as most cultivators are concerned.

Zhen guessed it because of the phenomenon that occurred earlier, it happens in presence of very high-rank Cultivation techniques. If a technique of such rank is written, it affects the very reality itself, gathering the qi from surroundings. Over time the piece where the technique is written gains spirituality and sometimes even sentience, and turns into a demon.

Such techniques would not even exist in lower realms and even in higher realms, if one appears, could lead to slaughter on a planetary scale.

And here her mother was taking out one Heaven rank cultivation technique after another.

"Bao, given that you have divine strength, Vajrakshasa's Vastra would suit you best. It is a Qi and Body dual cultivation technique, and if you cultivate it to completion, will grant you the strength equal to Vajrakshasa, a demon capable of ending worlds with a flick of his wrist."

Bao took the tome with reverence and opened it, only to close it with face red in embarrassment.

"Um mum, we do not know how to read."

Xia smiled, "Do you? Bao, you have the blood of Sheng in your veins. In your blood flows the knowledge and wisdom of your ancestors, their blessings. Unlock your gift, your potential, and your destiny."

Bao nodded, his honest face still looking puzzled but he opened the book again, and this time something was different. Bao looked at the first page and immediately got enamored by the book. A golden aura burst forth him, and despite no qi present in the Bao entered the first state of Qi Gathering.

He was not alone, hearing Xia's words everyone entered a trance, and a golden glow surrounded their bodies.

"Atavism!", Zhen muttered, his eyes wide. Soon his eyes glazed over and he too entered a trance.

The glow that surrounded his body was far brighter than the rest.