Chapter 5 : Legacy of the Verdant Sword

Eldrin Chen held the cold hand of Seventh Granduncle, silently reciting the Chen Clan's Sixteen-Generation Hierarchy. These sixteen short words contained the hopes and aspirations that the clan's Founding Ancestor had placed upon his descendants.

The funeral arrangements for Seventh Granduncle were overseen by Third Elder. The old man's sons, unable to cultivate, had passed away many years before him. His grandsons were now elderly men in their seventies, and in truth, none were closer to him than Eldrin Chen had been.

The funeral was a simple affair. Only after the traditional seven-day mourning period had passed and the elder was laid to rest did Eldrin Chen depart from Green Chariot Peak, setting his course for Spirit Province Lake, five thousand Li-lengths [one Li-length equals five hundred meters] away.

Spirit Province Lake was a full five thousand Li-lengths [one Li-length equals five hundred meters] from Green Chariot Peak. Fortunately, Eldrin Chen's cultivation was not weak. Traveling via the Wind Riding Technique [a technique allowing cultivators to glide swiftly over the ground], he could cover a thousand Li-lengths in a day. In merely five or six days, he arrived at the Spirit Province Lake.

During the journey, he had finished taking stock of Seventh Granduncle's remaining possessions. The elder had not left behind much of great value. The truly precious items amounted to two Spirit Talismans [enchanted paper slips that store a single-use spell] and one Verdant Leaf Sword.

Of the two Spirit Talismans, one was called the Crimson Flame Talisman [a talisman that unleashes a burst of searing crimson fire], and the other was a Golden Armor Talisman [a talisman that conjures protective golden armor]. Both were First Rank High Grade Spirit Talismans, and they were fine examples of the elder's lifelong skill as a talisman master.

The Crimson Flame Talisman could release a gout of Crimson Flame True Fire [a potent spiritual flame]. Used well, its power was sufficient to seriously injure a cultivator at the Qi Refinement Ninth Layer [the ninth and penultimate stage of body refinement], making it a trump card even against those in the late stage of the Qi Refinement realm.

The Golden Armor Talisman could manifest a suit of golden armor to protect its user, capable of withstanding the full-force assault of a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator. Furthermore, this particular Spirit Talisman could be used three times before its power was exhausted.

The Verdant Leaf Sword was forged from the leaves of the Verdant Leaf Bamboo, a highly valuable Second Rank Middle Grade spirit bamboo [a bamboo infused with spiritual energy]. Its leaves could be used to craft a great many first-rank magical swords.

The Verdant Leaf Sword was not only reasonably powerful but also inexpensive to produce. Its sole drawback was that only cultivators with a Wood-attributed Spiritual Root [the innate spiritual affinity that determines a cultivator's elemental alignment] could unleash its full potential. Those with other types of Spiritual Root could, at best, wield sixty to seventy percent of its power. Dive deeper into the Dao at audio_novel.com.

Even so, the great sect of Chu Kingdom, the Green Sun Sect, relying on their Verdant Leaf Bamboo Grove, monopolized the entire low-grade magical artifact market of Chu Kingdom with the Verdant Leaf Bamboo they produced, bringing in considerable revenue every year.

The Verdant Leaf Sword left to Eldrin Chen by his Seventh Granduncle was of First Rank High Grade quality, possessing formidable power. Moreover, as a cultivator with Five Spiritual Roots, Eldrin Chen could naturally unleash its full potential.

"So this is Spirit Lake Isle?"

Standing before a vast lake, Eldrin Chen gazed at the breathtakingly beautiful scenery ahead, unable to suppress a sense of awe.

Spirit Lake Isle was a sprawling lake stretching for over a hundred Li-lengths [one Li-length equals five hundred meters], with an Lake Heart Island at its very center. This Lake Heart Island was not only a place of stunning beauty but also home to rare and exotic creatures.

Just over a decade ago, this place had been nothing but barren land.

Later, the Clan Patriarch accidentally discovered a First Rank High Grade spirit vein [a natural conduit of concentrated spiritual energy] here. He then mustered forces to slay the First Rank High Grade demonic beast [a creature mutated and empowered by chaotic spiritual energy] that had claimed this territory, securing this precious land for the clan.

Over the years, the Chen Clan had established a First Rank High Grade protective formation [a magical array for defense or other purposes] on the Lake Heart Island. Utilizing the spiritual energy from the vein, they began cultivating the azure Spirit Fish [fish infused with spiritual energy, valuable for cultivation] in the lake. Through careful management, this once-desolate treasure had been transformed into an additional outpost for the Chen Clan.

When Eldrin Chen arrived at the Lake Heart Island, the two Chen Clan cultivators stationed there breathed a sigh of relief.

"The clan has finally sent someone."

During this period, the ones responsible for overseeing Lake Heart Island were Eldrin Chen's ninth elder brother, Chen Roland, and the fourteenth-ranked member of the Nian Generation, Chen Silas.

Chen Roland was thirty-two years old this year. Unfortunately, his aptitude was poor, and his cultivation level was merely at the third layer of Qi Refinement [the initial stage of cultivation where one refines the body's vital energy]. It was likely he would never be able to break through to the Qi Refinement, Late Stage. Chen Silas was even worse off, possessing the so-called waste Spiritual Root of Five Spiritual Roots [an extremely poor spiritual aptitude where all five elemental affinities are present but weak]. Now twenty-five, he had only just broken through to the first layer of Qi Refinement.

Originally, the Chen Clan had another great-uncle from the Chang Generation at the Qi Refinement Ninth Layer guarding Spirit Lake Isle. Sadly, to protect the Foundation Establishment Pill [a precious pill that aids in the critical breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment realm], the family had mobilized all its ninth-layer Qi Refinement cultivators from the Chang Generation who had little lifespan remaining. The result was that seven or eight of these Qi Refinement Ninth Layer cultivators were deployed, and not a single one returned alive.

That great-uncle stationed at Spirit Lake Isle naturally never returned either. Consequently, Chen Roland and Chen Silas had been living on tenterhooks during this period.

Today, finally seeing a cultivator from the Qi Refinement, Late Stage arrive, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Chen Roland smiled and said, "Since Eldrin has arrived, let us hand over our duties."

Because plans were made to open up Spirit Farmland [land infused with spiritual energy for growing special crops] and to rear Spirit Fish [fish that absorb spiritual energy, beneficial for cultivation], and to avoid a shortage of spiritual energy affecting Eldrin Chen's cultivation, the clan decided not to station any other cultivators at Spirit Lake Isle.

Of course, the primary reason was the clan's shortage of personnel. With several great-uncles from the Chang Generation at the Qi Refinement Ninth Layer having fallen in battle, the Chen Clan was already critically short-handed and needed the two of them to return.

In truth, as Spirit Lake Isle had only been developed for a mere ten years and was not a core clan asset, there wasn't much that needed to be handed over.

The most valuable assets were the Cangqing Spirit Fish in the lake. This type of Spirit Fish was a specialty of Azure Lake. Not only were they exquisitely delicious, but consuming them could also enhance one's cultivation.

Within the lake, there were only one hundred and thirty-seven tails of Spirit Fish [spiritually infused fish]. Each mature Azure Spirit Fish [a specific type of spirit fish] was worth five Spirit Stones [minerals that store and radiate spiritual energy]. Unfortunately, most of the Azure Spirit Fish in the lake were half-grown fingerlings cultivated over the past few years and would require more time to reach maturity.

However, once these Spirit Fish gradually grew to full size, it was foreseeable that they would bring the clan a considerable profit.

The most precious was the Fish King, possessing Qi Refinement, Late Stage [a stage of cultivation] cultivation. Most of the lake's Spirit Fish were its descendants. This fish had an extremely docile temperament and was the most important asset of Spirit Lake Isle.

After tallying the number of Spirit Fish, Eldrin Chen nodded and signed his name on the handover ledger.

"Good, we can finally return," he said.

Seeing him sign, the two men couldn't help but smile. Read, share, and discuss at audio~novel.com.

Although Spirit Lake Isle possessed breathtaking scenery and ample spiritual energy, it was ultimately a desolate, uninhabited place.

Despite the protective formation, it simply couldn't compare to the security offered by Verdant Chariot Mountain.

After seeing the two men off, Eldrin Chen first inspected the island's protective grand formation, the Island Guardian Grand Formation [a powerful defensive array protecting a location].

This formation was named the Twofold Solar Dawn Formation. Its formation cores were comprised of two First Rank High Grade [a classification for the quality of artifacts] magical artifacts: one called the Mist Veil Canopy and the other named the Solar Flame Sword.

The formation, drawing upon the power of the dawn's radiance and the water-attuned spiritual energy of the Spirit Lake Isle, was capable of unleashing astonishing might.

The Mist Veil Canopy [a magical artifact that can shroud an area in mist] could block spiritual sense [a cultivator's extrasensory perception]. It transformed into a dense fog that enveloped Lake Heart Island, rendering even Qi Refinement, Late Stage cultivators incapable of discerning the situation within the isle.

The Solar Flame Sword [a magical sword that channels solar energy] accumulated the power of the dawn's glow and could be activated nine times consecutively. Each strike was equivalent to the trump card of a Qi Refinement, Late Stage cultivator, with power sufficient to slay a Qi Refinement Ninth Layer practitioner.

However, once its stored dawn energy was depleted, refilling it to capacity would require nine full years. Therefore, this sword was not to be wielded lightly.

After taking control of the formation, Eldrin Chen felt a measure of security. With this formation guarding Spirit Lake Isle, any ordinary group of three to five Qi Refinement, Late Stage cultivators attempting to force their way in would be courting their own doom.

Having refined the formation control disk, Eldrin Chen began to explore Lake Heart Island.

The Azure Spirit Fish [a type of spiritually nourishing fish] fed on aquatic plants and did not require dedicated feeding. However, cultivating Spirit Farmland [land imbued with spiritual energy for growing special crops] was no simple task.

The First Rank High Grade Spirit Vein [a vein of earth that concentrates and emits spiritual energy] on Spirit Lake Isle could support three Mu-area [one Mu-area equals six hundred sixty-six point six seven square meters] of Spirit Farmland. Yet, success was not guaranteed by simply choosing any spot; it required careful observation to locate a convergence point where spiritual energy gathered.

Eldrin Chen had not walked far before he found such a convergence point. To his astonishment, a peach tree was growing precisely where the spiritual veins met.

It was early spring, and the tree was a riot of brilliant blossoms. Faintly, almost imperceptibly, a soft spiritual luminescence shimmered among them.

"A Spirit Peach Tree [a mystical tree that bears fruit imbued with spiritual energy]?"

Eldrin Chen revealed a flicker of pleasant surprise, but quickly shook his head. This peach tree grew at a confluence of spiritual energies and was not far from advancing to the next rank of Spiritual Root [the innate spiritual foundation of a cultivator]. Yet, it ultimately fell short by half a step.

The Spirit Peach Tree bore fruit once a year, and each spirit peach it produced was a treasure for cultivators in the Qi Refinement [the foundational stage of cultivation where one refines their vital energy] realm, more effective than many Qi Gathering Pill [a pill that aids in gathering and refining Qi]. In the market, a single spirit peach was valued at five Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy, used as currency and for cultivation]. Find thousands of chapters at site: audio-novel.com.