Chapter 12 : The Alchemist's Legacy

'Twenty-sixth Uncle has an upright character. After his failure in Foundation Establishment [the second major realm of cultivation, where one solidifies their Dao foundation], he has likely been burdened by guilt for many years.'

'If he cannot fortify his Dao heart [the unwavering will and conviction of a cultivator], I fear he may sink into despondency.'

With this thought, a pang of regret stirred within Eldrin Chen, though he knew it was not his place to comment. He simply asked, "May I ask why Uncle Kylan sought me out?"

Kylan Chen seemed to return from his thoughts, his weary eyes once again appraising Eldrin Chen.

After a long moment, a silent sigh escaped him. Then, from his sleeve, he produced a thick, well-worn tome.

"Throughout the centuries of the Chen Family, your talent for cultivation ranks among the very finest. In time, the mantle of the family will likely fall upon your shoulders."

"I have little else to teach you. This contains the sum of my lifelong insights into alchemy [the art of refining spiritual pills and elixirs]. I hope it may prove of some use to you."

"Clan Uncle, this..."

Eldrin Chen's voice held a note of hesitation. An alchemist's personal notes represented their life's work, the distillation of their most precious knowledge. This was Kylan Chen's most valued skill.

By entrusting this to him, it gave Eldrin Chen an unsettling feeling, as if receiving a final bequest.

"No need for further questions."

Kylan Chen placed the alchemy insights into Eldrin Chen's hands. After giving him a profound look, he turned and left the great hall.

Somehow, Eldrin Chen glimpsed a fierce and resolute aura emanating from his retreating figure.

"My Twenty-sixth Uncle... he intends to attempt Foundation Establishment [the second major realm of cultivation, where one builds their spiritual foundation] once more!"

The realization flashed through Eldrin Chen's mind in an instant.

His intuition was correct. Unable to bear the weight of his guilt and the pressure upon the clan, Kylan Chen had resolved to make another desperate attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Without the aid of a Foundation Establishment Pill [a rare elixir that significantly increases the chance of successfully establishing one's spiritual foundation], the success rate for most cultivators attempting Foundation Establishment was less than one in ten. Failure most often resulted in shattered meridians and death.

For Kylan Chen to charge the Foundation Establishment Realm now was a final, desperate gamble against overwhelming odds. Success would help reverse the clan's decline; failure meant utter annihilation, body and spirit.

As for entrusting the alchemy insights to Eldrin Chen, it was merely to leave behind a seed—a potential future alchemist for the family.

"Twenty-sixth Uncle..."

Eldrin Chen's throat felt parched and dry. He wished to offer words of counsel, yet no sound would come forth.

In his current state, even his own chance for Foundation Establishment [the second major realm of cultivation, where one builds a stable spiritual foundation] seemed distant and uncertain. He possessed no power to alter the course of events.

The only thing he could do was pray, to fervently wish for his success in the breakthrough, that he might become the family's second Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

In the end, when the words finally reached his lips, they were but two.

"Take care."

In the distance, Sixth Elder's footsteps faltered for a moment. With his back turned, a faint smile touched the corners of his mouth.

"The Immortal Ascension Path [the arduous journey of cultivation towards immortality] is long, the Dao [the fundamental principle or path] fraught with hardship. We can only trudge forward, solitary and slow."

"If I should fall, and if you ever gain the strength... go and see the view from the summit in my stead."

He said no more. With a final wave of his hand behind his back, he continued his descent down the mountain path.

......

After parting ways with Sixth Elder, Eldrin Chen did not immediately descend the mountain. Instead, he waited for five days, only setting out for Pingyang County Town after the New Year had passed.

Pingyang County Town lay over three thousand Li-length [one Li-length equals five hundred meters] from Verdant Chariot Mountain. Even with his current level of cultivation, Eldrin Chen required a full two days of travel to reach it.

The city was built upon the Ancient Pingyang Plain, from which it derived its name.

From a great distance, Eldrin Chen could already make out Pingyang County Town, for a fiery red orb hung suspended in the sky above the city.

This world was different from his previous life. Mortal settlements could not be established arbitrarily.

In this world, the flesh and blood of mortals were a potent tonic for demonic beasts, while their souls were treasures coveted by Demonic Cultivator [cultivators who use malevolent and forbidden methods]. Any town built in the wilds would, within a few years, become sustenance for such fiends.

Therefore, all cities in this world were constructed atop Spirit Vein [a subterranean channel that concentrates and emits spiritual energy] and protected by a City Defense Grand Formation [a large-scale defensive array formation], which together provided a tenuous shield for the mortal populace.

Take the Pingyang County Town before him, for instance. It was founded upon a Second Rank Lower Grade Spirit Vein and guarded by a Second Rank Mid-Grade Blazing Sun Divine Fire Formation.

The fiery red orb in the sky was known as the Blazing Divine Fire Pearl, a Second Rank Mid-Grade Formation Artifact [a magical treasure specifically designed to serve as the core or key component of a formation]. It was capable of unleashing the Solar Trueflame [a pure yang flame with potent purifying properties against evil], a blaze that could incinerate demons and monsters.

When powered by a cultivator at the Great Perfection stage of Vital Essence Refinement [the first major stage of cultivation, focusing on refining the body's vital energy], such as the Grand Elder, this City Defense Grand Formation—specifically designed to counter demonic forces—could often hold its own against monsters at the mid to late stages of Foundation Establishment [the second major stage of cultivation, where one builds a stable foundation for their core].

It was precisely because of this that the hundreds of thousands of bloodline descendants of the Chen Family could thrive and multiply within this harsh Immortal Realm [the world of cultivation, where immortals and cultivators reside].

"Brother Eldrin, you've finally arrived."

"Come in quickly."

Even before Eldrin Chen had entered the city, he heard a hearty laugh.

Looking up, he saw a middle-aged man walking towards him with a smile.

With a glance, he recognized the man's identity. This person was named Solas Chen. He was the eldest son of the Grand Elder, now fifty-five years old, the eldest among the Nian Generation [the generation of the Chen family whose given names contain the character 'Nian'] in terms of age. Unfortunately, his cultivation aptitude was poor, and he had only reached the Vital Essence Refinement 6th Tier.

Solas Chen stepped forward and examined Eldrin Chen closely, unable to hold back a sigh. "It seems I must call you Elder from now on."

"Between you and me, such formalities are unnecessary."

Eldrin Chen said with a smile. The two walked into the city, and along the way, he asked, "Where is the Grand Elder?"

"He asked me to bring you to him."

The two of them journeyed onward, and soon Eldrin Chen beheld Grand Elder Sylas Chen.

As the Grand Elder of the Chen Family, Sylas Chen had just passed his seventy-fifth year. Yet, measured against the lifespan limit of one hundred and twenty years for those at the Vital Essence Refinement Stage, his strength still resided firmly within its peak period.

Cultivators at the Vital Essence Refinement 9th Tier were scarce within the Chen Family. Guarding Pingyang City required a seasoned and steady elder cultivator like him, making this heavy responsibility one he still had to shoulder.

However, in another twenty years, Sylas Chen's True Essence [the refined spiritual energy cultivated within a practitioner's body] would gradually begin to wane. Once he passed the century mark, his power would decline precipitously. By then, the family would likely need to seek a new Elder to succeed him.

"You have arrived."

Within the great hall, the Grand Elder regarded Eldrin Chen with an unsmiling expression, giving a slight nod of acknowledgment.

"Since you are here, we shall begin testing for Spiritual Root [the innate spiritual foundation that determines one's aptitude for cultivation] tomorrow."

Testing for Spiritual Root was a matter of paramount importance, both for the Chen Immortal Clan and for all the descendants of the Chen Family within Pingyang City.

According to the regulations of the Chen Immortal Clan, a day was chosen in the first month following the Lunar New Year to test the clan's young children for Spiritual Root. Every child who had reached the age of six was required to participate in this grand assembly.

To prevent any oversight, each child was granted one opportunity per year to be tested for Spiritual Root until they reached the age of nine.

Although the Chen Family lacked a Spirit Root Detection Plate [a specialized artifact for identifying cultivation aptitude] and could only rely on rudimentary methods employed by Vital Essence Refinement 9th Tier [the ninth and final stage of the foundational cultivation realm] cultivators to test for a Spiritual Root [the innate organ that allows one to absorb and cultivate spiritual energy], they still possessed an eighty to ninety percent certainty of roughly identifying a child's Spiritual Root potential.

With such a detection probability, if a child possessing a Spiritual Root failed to be identified in three consecutive attempts, it could only be attributed to ill fortune—a lack of sufficient destiny to walk the immortal path.

Even so, Pingyang City had a population of one hundred twenty thousand, and every year, five to six thousand children needed their Spiritual Root tested, which represented a significant workload.

In fact, this number did not even include the six surrounding towns. Around Pingyang City, there were six smaller towns, each with an average population of nearly ten thousand people.

"So many people," Eldrin Chen murmured.

On the plaza designated for the Spiritual Root Detection Ceremony, Eldrin Chen watched the bustling crowd of young children arriving to register and could not help but frown slightly.