Chapter 972 : Footsteps on the Divine Domain

The Purple Seal Divine Domain is the most ancient domain within the Purple Seal Realm.

Legend holds that the Purple Seal Divine Domain was the very ground where Purple Seal Immortal Lord attained enlightenment during the Primordial Era.

In that age, the Purple Seal Realm was newly formed, a chaotic Primordial Era where Innate ferocious beasts vied for supremacy, and various Immortal beings roamed, spreading their teachings amidst the primordial tumult.

Purple Seal Immortal Lord was born within the Purple Seal Divine Domain, displaying prodigious talent from a tender age.

It is said he could speak at birth, embarked on the path of cultivation at the age of three, achieved Foundation Establishment by seven, reached the Violet Sanctum realm by sixteen, and forged his Golden Core Realm before even a single Sixty-Year Cycle had passed.

From there, his advancement was meteoric. In mere millennia, he cultivated the Immortal Ascension Path Fruit, quelled the calamity of the ferocious beasts, and forced the various Immortal Path Lineage to retreat and give him wide berth.

Now, over seven million years later, whether these tales hold truth, Eldrin Chen could not say for certain.

Yet, as he now set foot upon this Purple Seal Divine Domain, a profound sense of reflection washed over Eldrin Chen.

"The legendary Purple Seal Immortal Lord was born here, walked among the myriad Immortal Domain, and in a span of mere millions of years, cultivated the Path Fruit of a Great Encompassing Golden Immortal," he mused.

"One day, I too shall stride forth from this land, perhaps treading a path not unlike his own." Dive deeper into the Dao at audio-novel . com.

Eldrin Chen walked in silence across the vast earth. A subtle intuition stirred within him, a sense that some profound opportunity lay hidden within this boundless expanse, yet it felt as if something crucial was still missing.

He furrowed his brow, and after a long while, shook his head and murmured to himself, "It is a certain opportunity, yet it seems the time for its emergence has not yet arrived."

With this low utterance, Eldrin Chen gathered his wandering thoughts back within.

Setting aside further contemplation, he took a single step and continued his journey forward.

Unbeknownst to them, the group traversed the Boundless Void and arrived before a range of majestic, towering mountains.

Upon a certain mountain peak, Eldrin Chen beheld a colossal ancient tree whose canopy seemed to blot out the heavens.

It was an ancient tree entwined with violet patterns of the Dao [the fundamental principle or path of cultivation and existence], its bark etched with immeasurably weathered marks, and an aura of transcendent, profound meaning [a deep, intrinsic significance or principle] brewing within it.

However, as Eldrin Chen observed it, he realized the ancient tree was incomplete; it was not a whole Acquired Spiritual Root.

He saw that apart from its main trunk, the ancient tree had three primary branches. For reasons unknown, two of these three branches had been severed.

"You have come."

As Eldrin Chen arrived, the several Primordial Spirit Path Lords [cultivators who have reached the stage of refining their spiritual core into a Primordial Spirit] who had been waiting for some time stepped forward.

Noticing the expression on Eldrin Chen's face, the Lord of the Path Palace [the supreme leader of a major cultivation sect or organization] spoke with a sigh, "The Purple Seal Divine Tree is an ancient divine tree that was born at the very dawn of the World-Opening [the primordial event that created the world] of the Purple Seal Realm."

"It has lived far too long, and over such vast eons, it has naturally endured its share of Tribulations [cosmic trials or calamities that test a cultivator's strength and resolve]."

The Heavenly Gaze Path Master [a Daoist title for a master of divination and foresight] also nodded, seizing the moment to add, "Six hundred thousand years ago, a Path Lord from the Eastern Sea fell into demonic cultivation and achieved his Dao. Before being expelled from the Purple Seal Realm, he broke off a branch from the divine tree and forged it into the Purple Seal Demon Staff, a Demonic Treasure [an artifact of immense power, often forged with malevolent or corrupting energies]."

"Then, over twenty thousand years ago, to survive a great cataclysm, the eighteen Demigod Patriarchs [cultivators who have ascended halfway to true godhood] of the Purple Seal Realm joined forces. They severed another branch from the Purple Seal Divine Tree and, pooling the strength of the entire realm, forged an Immortal Treasure [a supreme artifact of celestial power]. Only thus did they manage to weather that calamity."

After the others finished speaking, Eldrin Chen nodded, a pang of regret stirring within his heart.

The divine tree's branches are finite in number. Once a branch is severed, restoring it is nothing but a fool's dream. Moreover, such an act inevitably diminishes the yield of the Purple Seal Divine Fruit.

It is said that in its prime, the Purple Seal Divine Tree would bear three Purple Seal Divine Fruits every three thousand years.

But now, with two of its main branches lost, only a single fruit remains to ripen in that same span of time.

"Could Primordial Chaos Violet Aura [the supreme, formless energy from which all creation is said to have emerged] be used to restore it?"

With this thought in mind, Eldrin Chen pondered for a moment before immediately beginning to calculate with his fingers.

A moment later, Eldrin Chen shook his head again, abandoning the idea.

It was not that the Primordial Chaos Violet Aura [a supreme-grade energy born from the primal chaos] was incapable of restoring the Purple Seal Divine Fruit [a legendary fruit said to contain the essence of the heavens and seal one's destiny]. Rather, to fully restore the Purple Seal Divine Fruit, one would need half a strand of Acquired Primordial Chaos Violet Aura [a refined, usable form of the primal chaos aura] and would have to wait another three thousand years.

Eldrin Chen currently did not possess much Primordial Chaos Violet Aura, and his future needs for it were considerable. It was wiser to conserve it for the advancement of his Immortal Treasure [a peerless artifact of immortal grade].

As for this Purple Seal Divine Fruit Tree [the divine tree that bears the Purple Seal Divine Fruit], he would consider it again after achieving immortality and before his ascension.

Withdrawing his thoughts, Eldrin Chen cast his gaze over the assembled crowd and spoke with a smile, "Let us discuss the allocation of this Purple Seal Divine Fruit." This content originates from audio‑novel.com. Please respect copyright.

Upon hearing his words, everyone's hearts stirred slightly. They promptly ascended to the summit of Purple Seal Divine Mountain [a sacred mountain imbued with the power of the Purple Seal] and took their seats.

As everyone settled, Eldrin Chen swept his eyes over the gathering. He noted that over fifty Primordial Spirit Path Lord [cultivators who have mastered the path of the Primordial Spirit, the spiritual core of existence] were present.

Among them, more than twenty cultivators were at the Primordial Spirit Late Stage [the advanced phase of the Primordial Spirit realm] or higher. However, only those at the Primordial Spirit 9th Tier [the pinnacle, ninth tier of the Primordial Spirit realm] were truly qualified to contend for the Purple Seal Divine Fruit.

And the cultivators at the Primordial Spirit 9th Tier were all familiar faces to Eldrin Chen.

These individuals were respectively the Mistress of Drifting Snow Palace [the ruler of a renowned palace of ice and snow], the foremost Sword Cultivator [a practitioner who specializes in the sword path] of the Purple Seal Realm, Heaven Abandoned Lin, the Master of Solar Fire Hall [the leader of the Solar Fire Hall], and the Master of the Stellar Palace [the ruler of the Stellar Palace].

Beyond them were a few others who had newly broken through to the Primordial Spirit 9th Tier [the ninth and highest tier of the Primordial Spirit realm] in the past thousand years, such as the Demon-Subduing Divine Monk and the Master of the Glazed Palace [the leader of the Glazed Palace].

Among these figures, both the Demon-Subduing Divine Monk and the Master of Glazed Palace were recent breakthroughs; their foundations were not yet fully solidified, making their qualifications to contend for the Purple Seal Divine Fruit [a legendary fruit that can elevate one's cultivation] somewhat lacking.

The Mistress of Drifting Snow Palace, Heaven Abandoned Lin, the Master of Solar Fire Hall, and the Master of Stellar Palace were the key candidates vying for the Purple Seal Divine Fruit.

"The Mistress of Drifting Snow Palace entered the formation to suppress the Second Demon God [a powerful demonic entity] for a thousand years, and the Master of Solar Fire Hall entered to suppress the Demon God for the second millennium."

"The Master of the Stellar Palace has also performed monumental feats on numerous occasions, while Heaven Abandoned Lin grievously wounded the Nine Nether Abyssal Demon Venerable [a supreme demon lord] with a single sword strike and slew multiple Primordial Spirit Heavenly Demon [demons at the Primordial Spirit realm]."

"Each of them has rendered great Merits [accumulated virtuous deeds and cosmic credit] to the Purple Seal Realm. Truly, the choice is difficult to make."

These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. Eldrin Chen found it difficult to make a unilateral decision, so he turned his gaze to the assembled Mortal Path [a specific cultivation methodology] cultivators. "Regarding this Purple Seal Divine Fruit, my Chen Immortal Clan [the immortal clan of the Chen family] will not intervene."

"I propose that the selection be made from among these four: Elder Brother Heaven Abandoned, the Mistress of Drifting Snow Palace, the Master of Solar Fire Hall, and the Master of Stellar Palace."

Upon hearing this, all the Demigod Patriarch [patriarchs who have reached the half-step to divinity] nodded in agreement one after another.

The Tribulation Transcending Divine Monk [a monk who has transcended heavenly tribulations] clasped his hands together and praised, "Patron Chen's decision to not contend for the Purple Seal Divine Fruit [a legendary fruit that can elevate one's cultivation] is truly a deed of immense virtue. This humble monk naturally supports your proposal."

"We are of the same mind."

The several Demigod Patriarch [powerful cultivators one step below true immortality] all nodded in agreement, accepting Eldrin Chen's method.

Upon hearing this, the four cultivators were inwardly overjoyed. Heaven Abandoned Lin glanced at the others, then cupped his hands and said, "We cultivators, when faced with an opportunity for immortality, must ultimately embrace the principle of contention."

"Indeed it is so." The Mistress of Drifting Snow Palace [the leader of a powerful sect] nodded, feeling a measure of confidence within her heart.

"Let us still compete. Only then will we be truly convinced."

The Master of Stellar Palace [the leader of the Stellar Palace] and the Master of Glazed Palace [the leader of the Glazed Palace] exchanged a subtle, uneasy glance. Among the four, their strengths were not evenly matched.

That Heaven Abandoned Lin was the foremost Sword Cultivator [a cultivator who specializes in the sword path] within the Purple Seal Realm [a vast cultivation world]. His cultivation had already half-stepped into the Demigod Realm [the realm just below true immortality], and his combat prowess was unrivaled among Primordial Spirit [the Primordial Spirit stage cultivators].

Although the Mistress of Drifting Snow Palace's combat power was slightly inferior, she possessed the Near-Immortal Treasures [artifacts of immense power, close to immortal-grade] known as the Demon-Suppressing Cauldron [a mighty cauldron used to suppress demons]. Though this cauldron had been grievously wounded by the Second Demon God [a powerful entity among the demonic races], it remained a Near-Immortal Treasures, not to mention it had now mostly recovered.

Only they, the two of them, lacked a Demigod-grade treasure to anchor their Fortune [one's destiny or luck]. They feared they were no match for the other two.

Yet, with such a profound opportunity laid before them, even knowing they were outmatched, they still had to fight for it. In the end, the Master of Stellar Palace could only nod and say, "Since that is the case, let us settle this with our skills." This content originates from audio-novel dot com. Please respect copyright.