Chapter 1 A Cultivation Family's Many Trials测试

"Young master, the Third Elder summons you."

The maidservant called out softly from a short distance away, her expression tinged with restraint.

Eldrin sat cross-legged upon the giant cliffside boulder, eyes closed as he breathed in the morning radiance, continuously nurturing that wisp of Primordial Violet Qi within his chest.

"It's already the hour of the dragon."

He murmured softly, then added, "Go inform the Third Elder that I shall arrive shortly."

After the maid departed, Eldrin continued to devour the last wisp of morning radiance before slowly concluding his cultivation.

Reborn into this world for 15 years, he had come to this place every dawn and dusk to absorb the essence of the sun and moon, transforming it into Primordial Purple Qi.

This cultivation art of inhaling the morning glow was known as the Primordial Chaos Sutra. He had unintentionally acquired it from a street vendor in his previous life, and after crossing into this world, it became the supreme method that would alter his destiny.

The Primordial Chaos Scripture could convert the power of dawn’s glow and moonlight into Primordial Chaos Creation Purple Qi (Spiritual Root). This wisp of purple qi possessed unparalleled and profound uses—merely from what he had explored so far, it already demonstrated the remarkable ability to enhance the quality of 1’s spiritual roots.

He possessed the 5 Spiritual Roots, a constitution considered utterly inferior. Yet, at birth, he was blessed with a Primordial Chaos Creation Purple Qi (Spiritual Root), elevating his innate talent to rival that of the 3 Spiritual Roots.

Eldrin (Person Name) knew this cultivation method was the greatest opportunity of his life. For over a decade, he had practiced diligently without cease, painstakingly absorbing the dawn's radiance and moonlight while accumulating Primordial Violet Energy (Cultivation Resource), never revealing it before anyone.

He wasn't even willing to reveal his true spiritual roots, claiming only to possess dual spiritual root talent.

In this life, he was born into a fairly decent family. The Chen Clan was a minor cultivation clan, with over a 100 cultivators in its ranks, and even had a Foundation Establishment elder overseeing its affairs.

Though it might be insignificant in the grand scheme of the world, within the tens of thousands of miles of Yu County, his words still carried considerable weight.

As the most outstanding talent among the younger generation of the Chen Family, he had been shouldering great expectations since childhood. He lived up to these hopes, astonishingly breaking through to the seventh layer of Qi Refining at merely 15 years of age—an achievement that could rival many elder cultivators who had trained for decades.

In contrast, the vast majority of his peers had barely reached the first or second level of Qi Refinement at this age.

Most cultivators lay their foundation before the age of 10, beginning formal cultivation around 11 or 12. It isn't until they reach their forties or fifties that they manage to break through to the middle or late stages of Qi Refining through relentless, painstaking effort.

Blessed with innate wisdom, he began practicing Qi cultivation at the age of 3. This granted him 8 or 9 additional years of invaluable training time compared to others. His cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, enabling him to reach Qi Refinement, Late Stage (Cultivation Realm) just 3 months prior.

After breaking through to Qi Refinement, Late Stage (Cultivation Realm), he gained significant recognition from his clan. His status within the Chen Family had risen considerably, marking his initial entry into the upper echelons of the family.

Eldrin collected his thoughts and rose to his feet, heading toward the Third Elder’s Great Hall of Clan Affairs.

The Cangyuan Mountain Range spanned thousands of miles, with its main peak, Qingyuan Peak, standing among the renowned spiritual mountains of Yu County. Within its depths lay a mid-grade second-order spirit vein, and legend held that for centuries these lands had been the territory of the Green Ape, a second-order demon beast.

Later, the Chen family's founding ancestor slew the creature, claimed this spiritual vein as his own, took wives and concubines, and established this immortal cultivation clan.

The entire spiritual vein of Verdant Chariot Mountain (Location) possessed varying densities of spiritual energy—thinner at the foothills and progressively richer toward the summit. Most clan cultivators below the sixth level of Qi Refining established their cultivation caves along the mountainside.

Further up lay the 17 mu of spirit fields cultivated by the Chen Family, along with the ancestral hall. As for the spiritual vein springhead located in the rear mountains—that was the cultivation grounds of the clan leader.

Elder Lior (Person Name) presided over the clan affairs, and the Grand Hall of Clan Affairs where he resided was situated atop the mountain peak.

As soon as Eldrin stepped into the clan affairs hall, he sensed an unusual tension. The entire hall was enveloped in a stifling atmosphere, with over a dozen figures seated solemnly within.

Greetings, Honored Elders and Uncles.

Those present were all high-ranking members of the Chen Family: Third Elder Lior, Fourth Elder Chen Qingyuan, Fifth Elder Chen Qingwan, while the remaining individuals were uncles and grand-uncles of the Elder Generation. Among the Generation of Remembrance, aside from him, there was only 1 elder brother.

Pursuing the Eternal Path, Honoring Ancestral Wisdom, Upholding Kinship Bonds, Ascending to Immortal Divinity.

Of the Chen family's 16-character genealogy, only the "Chang" generation remained today, with merely 6 or 7 members besides the clan leader.

The Chen Family had a total of 7 elders, all Qi Refining cultivators at the 9th layer bearing the "Qing" generational character. Among them, the Grand Elder Chen Qingxu was stationed in Pingyang Town (Location).

Pingyang Town (Location) had a population of over 1 100 1000, all of whom were blood descendants of the Chen Family. Every year, these mortals would produce 1 or 2 offspring with spiritual roots, forming the very foundation of the clan's legacy.

Mortals are highly nourishing to both demonic cultivators and yaoguai, which is why the Grand Elder seldom leaves Pingyang Town (Location) unless absolutely necessary, in order to protect the clan members.

Second Elder Chen Qinghe was overseeing the family's several shops in Yuyang Market, making him even more unable to break away.

At just 30-1 years of age, Seventh Elder Chen Qingyuan possessed extraordinary natural talent. However, having joined the Green Sun Sect, he was now considered only half a member of the Chen family, unable to fully attend to its affairs.

Seeing that aside from the clan leader who was in seclusion in the back mountains recovering from injuries, all 3 elders who could attend from the family had gathered, Eldrin sensed that something must have happened.

As soon as Eldrin entered, several elders nodded in approval. The fact that he had broken through to Qi Refinement, Late Stage at merely 15 demonstrated talent comparable even to those with heterodox spiritual roots. With significant potential to establish his Foundation in the future, he carried the family’s highest hopes.

Lior (Person Name), who was presiding over the family meeting, nodded in approval, his face revealing a rare trace of geniality.

"Eldrin, you've come."

"Since everyone has arrived, I shall brief you on the matter."

Seeing that the dozen or so Qi Refinement, Late Stage (Cultivation Realm) cultivators the clan could muster had all arrived, Lior (Person Name) suppressed his smile and revealed a troubled expression.

Eldrin’s heart sank slightly as he observed the man’s expression, and he roughly guessed the topic of this clan gathering. A year ago, the Daoist of Celestial Ruins Mountain had successfully refined a batch of Foundation Establishment Pills, yielding 4 pills in total. 2 of them were now being put up for auction.

The Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object) was a treasure 1 could only encounter by chance, not through mere pursuit. Back then, the Chen family had to sell off a significant portion of their assets and even incurred substantial debts, ultimately spending over 30,000 spirit stones to acquire this single Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object).

Clan Leader Chen Changxuan had been ambushed by enemies precisely because of this Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object). Fortunately, as a Foundation Establishment Stage Seventh Layer cultivator, he managed to fight his way out of the encirclement while safeguarding the Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object).

Although Chen Changxuan had slain a Foundation Establishment cultivator in this battle, he himself had suffered significant injuries. After returning to Verdant Chariot Mountain (Location), he had been secluded in the spiritual spring of the back mountains for cultivation. To this day, his recovery remained uncertain.

After the clan obtained the Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object), the final candidate selected to use it was advised not to exceed 60 years of age for the best chance at breaking through to Foundation Establishment. Cultivators beyond this age typically suffer from depleted vital energy, and even with the Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object), their success rate generally does not exceed 20 percent.

Within the clan, only 7 cultivators at the ninth level of Qi Refinement remained. Setting aside Chen Qingyuan, who had joined a sect, the Grand Elder was already over 70 years of age, while the Second Elder, Chen Qinghe, was also past 60. The Third Elder had suffered damage to his foundation during a battle in his early years and had lost all hope of making a breakthrough.

Among the others, Sixth Elder Chen Qingmeng was an alchemist, whose status and standing within the clan surpassed those of the Fourth and Fifth Elders. In the end, he borrowed a substantial amount of merit points and secured the Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object).

For the past 3 months, Chen Qingmeng had been in seclusion, striving to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm. By all reasoning, whether she succeeded or failed, the outcome should have been clear by now. Seeing the Third Elder's face clouded with distress, Eldrin (Person Name) felt an involuntary dryness tighten in his throat.