Chapter 1292: The Ancestor of Celestial Mountain Spirit Tribe

"Ancestor?" Acilis said in surprise as her gaze fell on one of the male spirits standing in front of the crowd.

'To think that Ancestor came out of his ancestral hall. This is the first time in my life seeing him outside the ancestral hall. Maybe this is also the first time he has left the ancestral hall? According to what I know, Ancestor has never left the hall since he built the village,' she thought.

The avatar, who also saw the two male spirits standing in front of the crowd, raised his eyebrows when his gaze fell on one of them.

He could not help but remember one of the elders of the Celestial Mountain Tribe from the time when he was the Great Emperor. That elder was the younger brother of the tribe's lord at that time, and his face had been quite young.

Although the male spirit standing in front of the crowd now had a much older face, there was still some resemblance to his younger self. It was the face of the younger brother of the tribe's lord from back then.

Acilis and the group landed in front of the crowd. Although they had just arrived, the crowd's attention was already focused on the avatar.

Especially the Ancestor.

His eyes and lips trembled, and his heartbeat quickened. Tears started to well up in his eyes as he suddenly remembered the distant past when the Great Emperor had visited their tribe.

He had never forgotten that face. He had never forgotten the feeling that had come over him the moment he met that great figure.

Although much younger, the perfection of the avatar's face was unmistakable. He knew that if this man grew much older, he would return to the same face that he had known in the past.

Moreover, the same sensation he felt at this moment was the same sensation he had felt when he met the Great Emperor in the past.

The sensation of submission that he had never felt before except when he stood before that great figure.

He knew that at this moment, that great figure had truly returned.

Thud!

The others saw the ancestor suddenly drop to his knees as tears already streamed down his face before he kowtowed. They did not even have time to feel shocked before the ancestor's voice resounded.

"Celestial Mountain Spirit Tribe's elder, Rafen Greendew, greets the brightest and highest star that illuminates the universe, the Great Emperor of All Heavens," he said, his voice choking as he struggled to hold back his tears.

His greeting did not include his tribe or anyone else. It was only his personal greeting. He simply could not help but greet him the same way he had greeted the Great Emperor in the past when he was an elder of the Celestial Mountain Spirit Tribe.

The avatar also realized it, and he smiled.

The others did not remain standing after seeing the ancestor kowtow. They also kowtowed toward the avatar.

"We greet the brightest and highest star that illuminates the universe, the Great Emperor of All Heavens," they shouted in unison.

The avatar could see that those who stayed here were not only members of the Celestial Mountain Spirit Tribe, but also members of other spirit tribes and spiritual beasts.

He put aside his observation and spoke to them.

"Rise."

Then all of them stood up again. The avatar approached Rafen, who was still crying, and stopped in front of him.

"To think I could see you again, Rafen. You must have been through a lot," the avatar said.

Rafen quickly wiped his eyes, but his tears continued to flow.

"To think that you still remember me. It is truly an honor for me," he said with a trembling voice.

"Of course I still remember you. Why would I forget about you? Did you underestimate my memory?" the avatar said, causing Rafen to quickly bow.

"I would not dare, Your Majesty. My apologies. It was never my intent to doubt your memory. It is just that I am truly happy that you could still remember me among your countless followers."

Seeing the response, the avatar knew that Rafen had taken his words seriously, so he quickly spoke.

"I was just joking. You do not have to feel guilty over such a trivial matter. But seriously, I remember all of the followers that I have met. If there is someone that I have forgotten, then that means my memories have still not entirely returned."

Rafen straightened his body and wiped his tears again. The avatar reached out and touched Rafen's shoulder.

"Act like an ancestor, would you? You are standing in front of many people here. It is truly unbecoming for a respectable figure like you to act this way," the avatar said.

"What is my worth or pride in front of Your Majesty? I have been waiting for this moment for a very long time. How could I still cling to my pride or my image after all these years of waiting?" Rafen replied.

The others who had seen the ancestor acting like this since earlier were inwardly astonished, especially those who had met him directly.

The ancestor was someone whom not everyone here had ever seen before. Many were seeing the ancestor for the first time.

Yet seeing the ancestor, who had already become a legend among all the people here, act so submissively in front of someone made everything feel surreal and strange.

However, they understood. The person standing before them was the legend among legends. His story had already been passed down from the time of their ancestors to the present day. They knew that he was someone worthy of respect even above their own ancestors.

The avatar knew that it would be useless to keep convincing Rafen or continue dwelling on this topic, so he sighed, nodded, and let it be. He looked at the man standing beside Rafen, who at this moment was looking at him with an expression of reverence.

"So, I suppose that you are the tribe lord of the Celestial Mountain Spirit Tribe?" he asked.

The middle-aged man with long green hair and the other features of a Celestial Mountain Spirit instantly bowed to him.

"Yes, Your Majesty. This one's name is Ursan Greendew, the current tribe lord of the Celestial Mountain Spirit Tribe. It is truly my greatest honor to finally meet Your Majesty, the being who rules over all things."

The avatar nodded. He then looked at the crowd.

"I can see that there are various races here. This makes me curious about your story. How did all of you come to live here?" he asked Rafen while showing a warm smile to the crowd, which made many of the men admire his perfection while many of the women blushed shyly.

"Ah, yes. Let us move to a more comfortable place, Your Majesty. We can talk much more there," Rafen said as he gestured with his hand before starting to walk.

The crowd created a path for them to pass through. Varmak also followed them, and no one minded it.

Rafen guided the avatar into the village. As they walked, the avatar could see many other villagers, and all of them were looking in his direction. Their eyes glimmered as they admired him and the group walking with him.

Everyone stopped what they were doing just to watch the group, as it was not every day that they could see all of the important figures of the tribe gathered together.

"All of them are descendants of the spirits and spiritual beasts that followed our group from the Higher Heavens. Their origins vary from the Ninth Heaven to the Third Heaven," Rafen explained to the avatar.

"They live here peacefully without danger, but I know that they also long to move freely in the outside world, which is much wider. They have never left the core area and can only imagine what it is like beyond it."

The avatar kept his attention on the villagers and smiled at them.

After walking for a while, they finally arrived at the largest structure in the village. It was a circular building made of wood, with a roof covered by a large white cloth.

Before the group entered, Rafen looked at the others who had followed him and the avatar.

"I would like to converse with His Majesty alone first. You can wait for your turn later," he said, which made the others feel disappointed.

The avatar did not say anything. He knew that Rafen wanted to talk to him about many things, and some of the topics were probably better kept from others.

The others, including Varmak, obeyed and stayed outside while Rafen and the avatar entered the building. The moment the avatar entered, he saw that the interior was quite simple.

There was only one large, long table in the middle with several chairs surrounding it, and that was all. There was no other furniture. The room was large enough to accommodate more or less twenty people.

"My apologies if I can only receive Your Majesty in a place like this. We know that we lack many things," Rafen said with an apologetic expression.

"Aish, don't mind it. I do not care about such trivial things. As long as we can talk to each other comfortably, that is enough," the avatar said.

Rafen let the avatar sit in the chair at the center of the table while he sat on the avatar's right.

"So, where should we start? Oh yes, let us start with how you ended up here. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to evacuate so many people from the Higher Heavens to this place," the avatar said after they had settled down.

Rafen released a deep breath.

"Well, that time was truly a difficult one."