Chapter 21. Spirit Isle Lake (Location), Demonic Cultivators Attack

Although this could not compare to the celestial talent of Eldrin (Person Name), who began cultivating at the age of 3, it was far superior to most cultivators who could only start their practice after reaching 11 or 12 years of age.

Thus, in peaceful cultivation, another 4 months slipped by in the blink of an eye.

Hah.

After completing his cultivation for the day, Eldrin slowly exhaled a wisp of mist.

Sensing his own vital energy had grown yet another fraction, a trace of delight immediately surfaced on his face.

After a cultivator breaks through the ninth level of Qi Refining, it does not mean they can immediately build their foundation. On the contrary, they must further refine their spiritual energy.

Foundation Establishment is the process of continuously compressing spiritual energy, ultimately transforming it into liquid true essence. This brings about a qualitative transformation, completing the leap in 1's level of existence.

And throughout this process, the amount of Qi required was immense.

Typically, Qi Refining cultivators would cultivate their spiritual energy until their meridians were full. Through continuous tempering, they would then condense the energy to the very limits their meridians could withstand.

In addition, 1 must temper their meridians with spiritual energy, ensuring they reach their absolute limit before beginning Foundation Establishment. This process often requires nearly a decade of meticulous refinement.

Even so, without the aid of a Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object), the success rate of Foundation Establishment was merely 10 percent. Should the condensation of true essence fail, all meridians in the body would rupture from the explosive surge of qi, resulting in death by shattered meridians.

The reason Sixth Elder Chen Qingmeng perished after failing his Foundation Establishment was precisely because he stumbled at this critical juncture.

The function of the Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object) is to render the true qi more temperate while temporarily doubling the strength of the meridians within a short period.

It was precisely for this reason that cultivators who used the Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object) to break through would, at worst, suffer severe depletion of their vital energy even if they failed in their breakthrough, with no risk of perishing.

Eldrin's physical form had been enhanced by the Primordial Purple Qi, refining his foundational roots. Since childhood, his meridians had been tempered by both spiritual energy and the Primordial Purple Qi, making them far broader than those of ordinary Qi Refining cultivators. The resilience and strength of his meridians also vastly surpassed those at the peak of Qi Refinement.

By his estimation, with just a few more years of nourishment from the Primordial Purple Qi, the strength of his meridians would surpass that of an ordinary person by more than double. By then, his chances of breaking through to Foundation Establishment would increase by several additional percentages, almost equivalent to having taken a Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object).

"My meridians are exceptionally broad, allowing me to contain at least 30 to 40 percent more spiritual energy than cultivators of the same realm. This alone boosts my chances of achieving Foundation Establishment by 10 to 20 percent."

"So now we just need to proceed steadily, accumulate spiritual energy with the spirit peaches, and after honing ourselves for a few more years, we’ll probably have a 50 or 60 percent chance of building the foundation."

Eldrin thought with delight that with his current foundation, if he could obtain 1 more Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object), breaking through to Foundation Establishment would be as certain as sunrise.

In high spirits, he concluded his cultivation practice and stepped out of the wooden cabin, intending to tend to the spirit fish and Purple-Striped Wild Goose (Demon Beast) as usual. But after taking just a few steps, he noticed the spirit peaches on the Lingtao Tree were nearly ripe.

The joy of the impending harvest surged in his heart, lifting his spirits immensely.

"This year's spirit peaches seem to yield a few more than previous years."

Eldrin gazed at the spirit peach tree, his brow arching slightly.

It seemed that due to the Primordial Purple Qi, the foundation of the spirit peach tree had undergone a transformation, yielding more spirit peaches with each passing year.

The first year yielded 50-6 spirit peaches, the second year 60, and this year it has actually borne over 70 unripe green fruits.

This had nearly reached the limit of a lower-grade first-level spirit peach tree. 1 more step and it would break through to a middle-grade first-level.

"This spirit peach tree... could it have broken through its origin limitations and is now able to advance in rank with age?"

"If that's truly the case, judging by the trend, we'd only need to wait another year or 2 for it to reach low-grade Rank 1."

Eldrin thought with some delight that a mid-grade spirit peach tree would yield twice as many spirit peaches each year compared to a low-grade 1, typically producing around 1 100 fruits.

“…”

On this very day, at the edge of Spirit Isle Lake (Location), 3 cultivators—1 woman and 2 men—gazed toward the distant island at the lake's center.

1 of them, a middle-aged beauty whose charm had withstood the passage of time, gazed upon the scenery and could not help but exclaim in admiration.

"Who would have thought the Chen Clan actually controlled such a beautifully scenic spirit lake?"

"If I could claim this dojo as my own and cultivate here for the rest of my days, what a splendid existence that would be."

No sooner had the woman spoken than a gaunt old cultivator shook his head, "This Spirit Isle Lake (Location) is the Chen Clan's territory. With our level of cultivation, dreaming of claiming it is nothing but a fool's fantasy."

"Most of the Chen family's exclusive specialty, the Cyan Scale Spirit Fish, must be raised here, right?"

"If we can capture them all in 1 fell swoop, our cultivation resources for the next dozen or so years will be secured."

"Alright, alright, let's not get too caught up with the spiritual fish in the dojo. We have more pressing matters to attend to."

A third party suddenly spoke up—a burly cultivator in gray robes.

With a grave gaze fixed upon the lake's central isle, he fell into contemplation before murmuring after a long while.

"According to our investigation, the 1 who killed our junior brother is currently within Spirit Isle Lake (Location)."

"At present, our master has ordered us to come and seek vengeance. We must not slack off."

It turned out these individuals were all disciples of the Elder Demon Zhang, who had come specifically to hunt down Eldrin and seek vengeance for the descendant of Elder Demon Zhang—the 1 responsible for the blood sacrifice that annihilated Pingyuan Town.

At the thought of their mission, the beautiful middle-aged woman's expression shifted, and she spat out a dissatisfied curse.

"The old fiend fears Chen Changxuan, yet dares not face him himself. Instead, he sends us to risk our lives."

"That Eldrin is a cultivator at the 9th level of Qi Refinement, and with his protective formations in place, aren't we just courting death by coming here?"

Demonic cultivators have never valued familial bonds, resorting to any means for profit. Countless instances exist of fathers and sons turning on each other, or masters and disciples betraying 1 another.

The gaunt elder paid no mind to the woman’s open cursing of the Zhang Devil. Instead, he shook his head, his expression turning icy as he said:

"Each of us bears the Malevolent Ghost Heart-Devouring Curse left by the Elder Fiend Zhang. Obedience grants us a sliver of survival, while defiance condemns us to the agony of having our hearts devoured by spectral horrors. How dare you even contemplate rebellion?"

The burly demonic cultivator, the only 1 at the ninth level of Qi Refining among the 3 and also the strongest, wore a grim expression. Yet he spoke with unshakable confidence.

"Before this journey, my master gave me a 6 Ghosts Talisman, which should suffice to handle the formation here."

"When the time comes, with the 3 of us at Qi Refinement, Late Stage (Cultivation Realm), we won't believe we can't take down a mere lone individual."

"To avoid complications, let's act now."

The few demonic cultivators made their decision and immediately boarded a lone boat, riding the waves as they rowed toward the lake's central island.

Unfortunately, their luck ran out—they had only made it halfway across when Eldrin, who was counting the spirit fish, spotted them.

"Look out, they're demonic cultivators!"

Eldrin's pupils contracted. The Demonic Fiend Qi emanating from the demonic cultivator was far too conspicuous. Recognizing it instantly, he immediately returned to the heart of the lake island and activated the protective formation.

The Cloud Mist Kerchief emitted a thick layer of mist and clouds, enveloping the entire lake-isle.

"Damn it."

The 3 demonic cultivators immediately paled. The burly demonic cultivator gritted his teeth and declared without hesitation,

"There's no time to hesitate, charge in and kill our way through."

Several fiends plunged into the mist, only to find their vision obscured by the swirling clouds, their sight limited to barely 3 meters ahead.

The withered old fiend took 1 look at the scene and knew something was terribly wrong. He urgently cried out, "This fog blocks both spiritual sense and vision—even we cannot see through it. To avoid being picked off 1 by 1, we must not stray more than 10 feet from each other."