Chapter 5 : Legacy of the Verdant Sword

Eldrin Chen held the cold hand of Seventh Granduncle, silently reciting the Chen Family's Sixteen-Character Generation Names. These sixteen short characters contained the hopes and aspirations that the Chen Family's founding Ancient Ancestor held 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 ironically, they were not as close to him as Eldrin Chen was.

The funeral was a simple affair. Only after the old man's seventh-day memorial rites and burial did Eldrin Chen finally depart from Verdant Chariot Mountain, heading for Spirit Lake Prefecture five thousand Li-lengths [one Li-length equals five hundred meters] away.

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

Along the journey, he had also finished taking stock of Seventh Granduncle's remaining possessions. What Seventh Granduncle left behind was not much; the truly valuable treasures were 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 Upper-Grade spirit talismans, and they were masterpieces Seventh Granduncle had kept from his many years of talisman crafting.

The Crimson Flame Talisman could unleash Crimson Flame True Fire [a potent magical fire]. Used skillfully, its power was sufficient to severely injure a Vital Essence Refinement 9th Tier cultivator and served as a trump card even against those at the Vital Essence Refinement Late Stage.

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

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

The Verdant Leaf Sword was not only powerful but also inexpensive to produce. Its sole drawback was that only cultivators with a Wood Spiritual Root [an affinity for the Wood element] could unleash its full potential; cultivators with other types of Spiritual Roots could only wield sixty to seventy percent of its power.

Even so, the major sect of State of Chu, the Green Sun Sect, relying on its groves of Verdant Leaf Bamboo [a type of spiritual bamboo], has monopolized the entire low-grade magical artifact market within the State of Chu with the bamboo it produces, yielding a considerable annual profit.

The Verdant Leaf Sword [a sword forged from Verdant Leaf Bamboo] left to Eldrin Chen by the Seventh Granduncle was a top-grade first-rank weapon. Its power was formidable, and as Eldrin Chen was a cultivator with Five Spiritual Roots [possessing an affinity for all five elemental spiritual energies], 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], with an Lake Heart Island situated at its very center. Not only was the scenery on Lake Heart Island supremely beautiful, but rare and exotic creatures also made their home there.

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 Spirit Vein [a subterranean conduit of concentrated spiritual energy] here. He then mobilized forces to slay the top-grade first-rank demonic beast that had claimed the territory, securing this precious land for the clan.

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

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

"The family has finally sent someone."

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

Eldric Chen was now thirty-two years old. 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. Eldran Chen possessed the so-called Five Spiritual Roots [a type of spiritual root considered extremely poor for cultivation], considered a useless Spiritual Root type. At twenty-five, he had only just broken through to the Vital Essence Refinement 1st Tier.

Originally, the Chen Family 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 forming the Foundation Establishment realm], the family had mobilized all its Chang Generation cultivators at the ninth tier who had little lifespan remaining. The result was that seven or eight Vital Essence Refinement 9th Tier Granduncle went out, and not a single one returned alive.

That granduncle at Spirit Lake Isle naturally never returned either. Therefore, during this time, Eldric Chen and Eldran 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.

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

Because plans were made to open up Spiritual Field [a field nourished by spiritual energy for growing spirit plants] and to rear Spirit Fish [fish that absorb and thrive on spiritual energy], and to avoid insufficient spiritual energy supply affecting Eldrin Chen's cultivation, the family decided not to station any other cultivators at Spirit Lake Isle.

Of course, the main reason was the family's shortage of personnel. Now that the Chen Family had lost several Vital Essence Refinement 9th Tier Granduncle from the Chang Generation in battle, the family was 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 family asset, there wasn't much that needed to be handed over.

The most valuable assets were the Azure Spirit Fish in the lake. This type of Spirit Fish was a specialty of Cangqing Lake, renowned not only for its exquisite flavor but also for its ability to enhance one's cultivation when consumed.

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

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

The most precious was the fish king, whose cultivation had reached the Vital Essence Refinement Late Stage [the final stage of refining one's foundational life force]. Most of the lake's Spirit Fish were its descendants. This fish possessed an extremely docile temperament and was the most important asset of Spirit Lake Isle [a spiritual island within a lake].

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

"Good. I can finally return home," he said.

Seeing him sign, the two men could not help but smile.

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

Despite the protective formation, it could not compare to the safety of Verdant Chariot Mountain [the Chen family's main mountain stronghold].

After seeing the two men off, Eldrin Chen first inspected the Island Protection Grand Formation [a large-scale defensive magical array] on Lake Heart Island [the central island within Spirit Lake Isle].

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 magical array] comprised two upper first-rank magical artifacts: one called the Mist Veil [a defensive artifact that conjures concealing mist], and the other named the Solar Flame Sword [a sword imbued with solar fire energy].

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

The Mist Veil [an enchanted artifact that can block spiritual sense] could isolate spiritual perception. It transformed into a dense fog that enveloped Lake Heart Island, making it impossible even for Vital Essence Refinement Late Stage [the final stage of Qi Condensation] cultivators to clearly see the situation within the isle.

The Flame Sword accumulated the power of the dawn's light and could be activated nine times consecutively. Each strike was equivalent to the ultimate trump card of a Vital Essence Refinement Late Stage cultivator, its power sufficient to slay a Vital Essence Refinement 9th Tier [the ninth and final tier of Qi Condensation] cultivator.

However, once the accumulated dawn light energy was depleted, it would require nine full years to recharge it completely. 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 suicidal endeavor for even three to five ordinary Vital Essence Refinement Late Stage cultivators to try and force their way in.

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

The Azure Spirit Fish [a type of spirit-nourishing fish] fed on aquatic plants and did not require dedicated feeding. However, opening up a Spiritual Field [a field nourished by spiritual energy for growing spirit herbs] was no easy task.

The first-rank upper-grade Spirit Vein [a natural conduit 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 spot. It required careful observation to locate a convergence point of spiritual energy.

Eldrin Chen had not walked far before he found a convergence point of Spirit Vein. To his astonishment, a peach tree was growing right at that spiritual nexus.

It was early spring, and the tree was ablaze with brilliant peach blossoms. Faintly, almost imperceptibly, a spiritual glow 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 currents, not far from advancing to become a Spiritual Root [a plant that has evolved to actively gather and refine spiritual energy from its surroundings]. Yet, it still fell short by half a step.

The Spirit Peach Tree bore fruit once a year, and the Spiritual Peach [the fruit of the Spirit Peach Tree, prized by cultivators] it produced were treasures for cultivators in the Vital Essence Refinement [the foundational stage of cultivation where one refines their body's vital energy] realm, more effective than many Qi Absorption Pill [a common pill that aids in absorbing Qi, the vital energy of heaven and earth]. In the market, a single Spiritual Peach was valued at five Spirit Stones [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy, used as currency and for cultivation].