Chapter 5 : Legacy of the Verdant Sword

Eldrin Chen held the cold hand of Seventh Granduncle Eternal Verdancy Chen, silently reciting the Chen Clan's Sixteen-Character Generation Names. These sixteen short characters contained the hopes and aspirations of the clan's founding Patriarch for his descendants.

The funeral arrangements for Seventh Granduncle were overseen by Third Elder. Seventh Granduncle's sons, unable to cultivate, had passed away many years before him. His grandsons were already in their seventies, and in truth, Eldrin Chen felt a closer kinship with the departed elder than they did.

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 Mountain, setting his course for Spirit Lake Prefecture five thousand Li-length [one Li-length equals five hundred meters] away.

Spirit Lake Isle lay a full five thousand Li-length from Green Chariot Mountain. Fortunately, Eldrin Chen's cultivation was not weak. Traveling by Wind-Riding Art, he could cover a thousand Li-length in a day. In merely five or six days, he arrived at Spirit Lake Isle.

Along the journey, he took the time to inventory Seventh Granduncle's remaining possessions. The elder had not left behind many items. The truly valuable treasures amounted to just two spirit talismans and one Verdant Leaf Sword.

Of the two spirit talismans, one was named the Crimson Flame Talisman, and the other was the Golden Armor Talisman. Both were First-Rank High-Grade spirit talismans, and they were among the finest works Seventh Granduncle had produced during his many years of talisman crafting.

The Crimson Flame Talisman could unleash a Crimson Flame True Flame [a potent magical fire]. Used skillfully, its power was sufficient to severely injure a cultivator at the ninth tier of the Vital Essence Refinement realm, making it a trump card even against those at the Late Stage of Vital Essence Refinement.

The Golden Armor Talisman could manifest a suit of golden armor to protect the user, capable of withstanding the full-force assault of a Late Stage Vital Essence Refinement cultivator. Furthermore, this talisman could be activated three times.

The Verdant Leaf Sword was forged from the leaves of the Verdant Leaf Bamboo, an extremely valuable Second-Rank Mid-Grade spiritual bamboo. Its leaves could be used to craft a great many First-Rank magical swords.

The Verdant Leaf Sword was not only quite powerful but also inexpensive to produce. Its sole drawback was that only cultivators with a Wood Spiritual Root [an affinity for the Wood element, allowing superior manipulation of wood-based energies] could unleash its full potential. Cultivators with other types of Spiritual Roots could, at best, utilize only sixty or seventy percent of its power. Dive deeper into the Dao at audio-novel.com.

Even so, the major sect of Chu Nation, the Verdant Sun Sect, relying on its groves of Verdant Leaf Bamboo, has monopolized the entire low-grade magical artifact market of Chu Nation with its output. This venture yields considerable profits every year.

The Verdant Leaf Sword left to Eldrin Chen by Seventh Granduncle was a top-grade first-rank weapon. Its power was formidable, and as Eldrin Chen was a cultivator with Five Spiritual Roots [a rare and balanced spiritual aptitude], he 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]. At its heart lay an Lake Heart Island. This 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 had accidentally discovered a top-grade first-rank Spiritual Vein [a subterranean channel of concentrated spiritual energy] here. He mobilized forces to slay the top-grade first-rank demonic beast that had claimed the territory and secured this precious land for the clan.

Over the years, the Chen Clan had established a top-grade first-rank defensive formation on the Lake Heart Island. Utilizing the spiritual energy from the Spiritual Vein, they began cultivating the lake's Azure Verdant Spirit Fish [a type of spiritually infused fish]. Through careful management, this once-uninhabited treasure had become an additional outpost for the Chen Clan.

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

"The clan has finally sent someone," they said.

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

Remembrance Heaven Chen was thirty-two years old this year. Unfortunately, his aptitude was poor, and his cultivation realm was merely at the Vital Essence Refinement 3rd Tier. It was feared he would never be able to break through to the Vital Essence Refinement Late Stage in his lifetime. Remembrance Origin Chen possessed the so-called Five Spiritual Roots [a type of spiritual root considered extremely poor for cultivation], a truly deficient Spiritual Root. Now twenty-five, he had only just broken through to the Vital Essence Refinement 1st Tier.

Originally, the Chen Clan had a Chang Generation granduncle at the Vital Essence Refinement 9th Tier stationed at Spirit Lake Isle. Sadly, to protect the Foundation Establishment Pill [a precious pill that aids in breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm], the clan had mobilized all its Chang Generation cultivators at the ninth tier who had little lifespan remaining. The result was that seven or eight of those Vital Essence Refinement 9th Tier cultivators went out, and not a single one returned alive.

The granduncle stationed at Spirit Lake Isle naturally never returned either. Consequently, during this time, Remembrance Heaven Chen and Remembrance Origin Chen had been living on edge, their hearts constantly filled with trepidation.

Today, finally seeing a cultivator at the Vital Essence Refinement Late Stage arrive, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief.

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

Because they planned to open up Spiritual Fields [fields nourished by spiritual energy for growing special plants] and also to raise Spirit Fish [fish that absorb spiritual energy, often used for food or alchemy], and to avoid insufficient spiritual energy supply affecting Eldrin Chen's cultivation, the clan decided not to station any other cultivators at Spirit Lake Isle.

Of course, the main reason was the clan's shortage of personnel. Now that the Chen Clan had lost several Vital Essence Refinement 9th Tier Granduncles from the Chang Generation, the clan was critically short-handed and needed the two of them to return.

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

The core asset was the Azure Verdant Spirit Fish in the lake. This type of Spirit Fish was a specialty of the Cangqing Lake, renowned not only for its exquisite flavor but also for its ability to enhance cultivation when consumed.

The lake held only one hundred and thirty-seven Spirit Fish [a type of fish infused with spiritual energy]. Each mature Azure Verdant Spirit Fish [a specific, valuable breed of spirit fish] was worth five Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy]. Unfortunately, most of the fish in the lake were young fingerlings bred in recent years, still requiring time to reach maturity.

However, once these Spirit Fish grew in succession, they were certain to bring the clan a handsome profit.

The most precious was the Fish King, possessing cultivation at the Vital Essence Refinement Late Stage [the final stage of refining one's foundational life energy]. Most of the lake's Spirit Fish were its progeny. This fish was exceptionally docile and represented the most vital asset of Spirit Lake Isle [the name of the spiritual lake island].

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

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

Seeing him sign, the two men could not help but smile. Discover more cultivation stories at audio-novel`com.

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

Despite its protective formations, it could not compare to the security of Green Chariot Mountain [the name of the Chen clan's mountain stronghold].

After seeing the two men off, Eldrin Chen first inspected the Island Protection Grand Formation [a large-scale defensive magic array] surrounding Lake Heart Island [the central island within the spirit lake].

This formation was named the Two Principles Dawn Formation [a defensive array based on the duality of Yin and Yang]. Its Formation Eye [the core artifact powering a magic array] comprised two top-grade first-rank magical treasures: one called the Mist Veil [a treasure that conjures concealing mist], and the other, the Solar Flame Sword [a sword imbued with solar fire].

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

The Mist Veil [an enchanted 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 Vital Essence Refinement Late Stage cultivators incapable of discerning the situation within the isle.

The Flame Sword accumulated the power of the dawn's radiance and could be activated nine times consecutively. Each strike was equivalent to the ultimate trump card of a Vital Essence Refinement Late Stage cultivator, possessing power sufficient to slay a Vital Essence Refinement 9th Tier practitioner.

However, once the accumulated dawn radiance was depleted, replenishing it to full capacity would require nine years. Therefore, this sword was not to be used lightly.

After taking control of the formation, Eldrin Chen felt a measure of security. With this formation guarding Spirit Lake Isle, it would be a death wish for even three to five ordinary Vital Essence Refinement Late Stage cultivators to attempt a forced entry.

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

The Azure Verdant Spirit Fish fed on aquatic plants and did not require dedicated feeding, but opening up Spiritual Field [a field nourished by concentrated spiritual energy for growing spiritual plants] was no simple task.

The first-grade superior Spiritual Vein [a subterranean current of concentrated spiritual energy] on Spirit Lake Isle could support the opening of three Mu-area [one Mu-area equals six hundred sixty-six point six seven square meters] of Spiritual Field, but success was not guaranteed by simply choosing any location. It required careful observation to find a spot where the spiritual energy naturally converged.

Eldrin Chen had not walked far before he found a convergence point of the Spiritual Vein. To his astonishment, a peach tree was growing right at that very junction.

It was early spring, and the tree was a riot of brilliant blossoms. Faintly, almost imperceptibly, a subtle spiritual glow shimmered among the flowers.

"A Spiritual 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 [a place where streams of vital power naturally gather], not far from advancing to become a Spiritual Root [a plant that has evolved to become a permanent, powerful source of ambient spiritual energy]. Yet, it still lacked that final, crucial increment.

The Spiritual Peach Tree bore fruit once a year. The Spiritual Peach [the spiritual fruit of the Spiritual Peach Tree] it produced were treasures for cultivators in the Vital Essence Refinement [the foundational stage of cultivation where one refines their body's vital energy] stage, more effective than many Energy Absorption Pill [a common pill that aids in absorbing spiritual energy]. In the market, a single Spiritual Peach was valued at five Spirit Stones [minerals that store and radiate spiritual energy, used as currency and for cultivation]. The story continues at audio-novel.com (official site).