Chapter 1159 : The Reborn Sun's Legacy

With these thoughts in mind, Eldrin Chen gazed upon the young child before him.

He took a step forward and spoke, "Since you have arrived late, then take a good, long look at this resplendent landscape, behold the glory of the Chen Clan."

Eldrin Chen murmured softly, summoning Ethan Chen, who was guarding the Great Wasteland Ancestral Domain. "This is the reincarnated form of your elder brother, Caleb."

"Elder Brother Caleb has been reborn!"

Ethan Chen's heart trembled, and a look of wild joy spread across his face.

He examined the child closely and could not contain his delight. "A natural-born Xavier Path Body [a constitution innately aligned with the path of the sun]! Elder Brother Caleb has the potential to achieve immortality in this life."

"Indeed," Eldrin Chen nodded. "He possesses an innate Immortal Bone [a foundational bone structure signifying supreme cultivation potential]. Before I depart, I intend to have him follow me in cultivation."

"I understand."

Ethan Chen nodded in agreement, then bowed his head slightly. "Rest assured, Clan Uncle. I will handle all the necessary arrangements."

The parents of Caleb in this life were still alive, a cultivator couple who had both reached the Violet Sanctum Realm [the third major realm of cultivation, where one forms a violet energy core within their dantian]. Original publication: audio-novel.com - The source of this chapter.

Considering that Caleb's previous life was the Patriarch of the Xian Generation, a status far too extraordinary, and to avoid future awkwardness in seniority, Eldrin Chen decided to personally guide his cultivation for one full Sixty-Year Cycle [a complete cycle of sixty years].

In exchange, the clan pledged to support Caleb's parents in this lifetime, cultivating them until they reached the Golden Core Realm [the third major stage of cultivation where one forms a solidified golden core of spiritual power].

Upon hearing that their child was the reincarnation of a founding Clan Elder, the couple was momentarily struck speechless with astonishment. Recognizing the impracticality of raising such a child themselves, they readily agreed to the proposal.

As for the bloodline Karma [the cause-and-effect bonds created by one's actions, especially familial ties] between Caleb and his parents, that would be for Caleb to repay in the years to come.

"..."

With their consent secured, Eldrin Chen continued his westward journey, taking young Caleb with him.

He traversed vast, mist-shrouged mountains and rivers, passed through the ancient grounds of the former Heavenly Ruins Mountain, and walked by the shores of the once-mighty Heavenly Python Lake.

As he walked this familiar path, memories of bygone years surfaced in Eldrin's mind.

In those distant days, when the Chen Clan was merely a minor Immortal Clan [a clan of cultivators] with only Foundation Establishment [the second major stage of cultivation] experts, the Heavenly Python Lake was already a dominant power in the lands surrounding Chu Nation.

Every century, the Beast Tide [a catastrophic surge of demonic beasts] unleashed by the Heavenly Python Demon King brought ruin and annihilation to Yu County, a disaster capable of shattering clans and extinguishing lineages.

At that time, the Verdant Sun Sect was in turmoil as Patriarch Xu had usurped leadership by treacherously ambushing his senior brother, leaving the sect utterly incapable of providing aid to the borderlands of Yu County.

Had it not been for Exquisite Jiang taking the lead and holding the line, Yu County would likely have fallen to the Demon Race territories nearly ten thousand years ago, and the glorious rise of the Chen Immortal Clan we see today would never have come to pass.

"I still remember those days," he mused, "when we, a group of Violet Sanctum cultivators, joined forces to assist Exquisite in slaying the Heavenly Python Demon King. That was the true beginning of the Chen Clan's ascent."

Recalling those bygone events, a wave of nostalgia washed over Eldrin Chen.

Though the Chen Clan was frail and weak back then, the genuine camaraderie and united spirit with which everyone faced adversity was a rare and precious bond.

Even now, Eldrin Chen could not forget the trials of that ancient battle.

Continuing his journey past Heavenly Python Lake, he traveled onward until he found himself, almost without realizing it, at the shores of Azure Wave Lake.

Gazing upon the expanse of Azure Wave Lake, Eldrin Chen turned to Caleb with a wistful smile. "More than ten thousand years ago, this Azure Wave Lake was the greatest lake in all the Eastern Region Great Wasteland."

"In those days, a mighty Azure Flood Dragon on the verge of its draconic ascension made its lair here," he recounted. "It was a dominant force, a true hegemon of the Eastern Region Great Wasteland, and it presented us with no small amount of trouble."

Eldrin Chen continued his tale, his voice tinged with reflection [a complex mix of nostalgia and contemplation]. "Later, that Azure Flood Dragon succeeded in its transformation into a true dragon, only to be slain by my hand upon the Gu Yuan Mountain Range. Its very Dragon Soul [the spiritual essence of a dragon] was later refined by Verdant Consort into the Azure Dragon Stirring Sea Sword."

"Now, after ten thousand years have passed, the Azure Wave Lake's Water Essence Power has been plundered by the Vast Sea for eight or nine-tenths of its power. Among the famed lakes of the Eastern Barrens, I fear it can no longer be counted among the ranks."

Caleb Chen listened silently, his expression one of partial understanding, only vaguely sensing that this was a tale of immense and grand history.

Eldrin Chen understood that he was still young and could not fully grasp the significance of these events; his words were merely an outpouring of his own thoughts.

He traversed past the Heavenly Python Lake and journeyed deep into the heart of the Vast and Misty Marsh, only to discover that the marsh, at some unknown time, had long since dried up and withered away.

The once boundless waters had vanished without a trace. Now, the vast expanse of the Vast and Misty Marsh had transformed into an ancient Great Wasteland, where countless Immortal Clan thrived and multiplied.

Even the Chen Immortal Clan had established numerous 'Mortal Domain' here, supporting the lives and reproduction of hundreds of thousands of people. The story continues at audio-novel[dot]com.

A fleeting ten thousand years—the vast sea had turned to mulberry fields, the Vast and Misty Marsh transformed into a boundless Great Wasteland.

For the myriad cultivators who thrived within it, ten thousand years might be a long stretch of time, their entire lives spent within that boundless Great Wasteland.

Yet for Eldrin Chen, the Vast and Misty Marsh of those bygone days seemed as if it were only yesterday.

This left Eldrin Chen with a vague sense of dissonance in his heart, a feeling of solitude and isolation that grew ever stronger.

"The Mortal Realm [the world of ordinary mortals] has transformed in myriad ways, bearing little resemblance to its former self."

Mountains and rivers had shifted, familiar faces were gone. A sense of Withering [a feeling of fading interest or melancholy] settled upon Eldrin Chen.

When his thoughts finally coalesced, he realized he had arrived at the former site of the Black Dragon Pool.

The Black Dragon Pool was once the secluded cultivation ground of the Black Dragon. Its spiritual vitality had long since faded from its former glory. Yet, as Eldrin Chen drew near, he detected a familiar aura.

A man clad in robes as white as snow sat in quiet meditation, his gaze fixed silently upon him.

"Melancholy Inscription Lord."

Gazing at the figure before him, Eldrin Chen murmured the title, a wave of complex emotions stirring within his heart.

The Melancholy Inscription Lord was a being who had attained the Dao from a snail's form. In a past life, he had been a peerless Demon Emperor whose might once shook the Vast and Misty Marsh.

His previous incarnation was Long Song Chu, a disciple of Dorian Ji and one of the founding figures of the Chu Nation Cultivation World.

In ages past, to aid Dorian Ji in overcoming his Primordial Spirit Great Tribulation [a catastrophic heavenly trial faced by cultivators at the Primordial Spirit realm], Long Song Chu employed the Nirvana Tribulation Transmigration Art [a supreme art of rebirth through heavenly tribulation] to undergo Reincarnation [the cycle of death and rebirth] into the body of a snail, eventually becoming a trusted confidant of the Azure Flood Dragon Demon Emperor.

Thereafter, the Melancholy Inscription Lord [a title for a powerful cultivator] turned traitor at a critical moment, severely wounding the Azure Wave Lake [a major cultivation force] and even the Azure Flood Dragon Demon Emperor [a powerful dragon demon ruler]. He even forced the Black Dragon Demon Ancestor [an ancient and formidable dragon demon progenitor] to pledge not to interfere with his path to ascension.

It was because of this that Dorian Ji was freed from his greatest worry, allowing him to gather his momentum and break through to the Path Lord [a high cultivation realm, equivalent to Primordial Spirit] realm in one go.

However, ever since Dorian Ji broke through to the Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core and a major stage of a cultivator's power] realm, the Melancholy Inscription Lord had vanished without a trace. Dorian Ji searched for him for many years without success, never expecting to encounter him here.

Upon seeing Eldrin Chen, the Melancholy Inscription Lord seemed to have anticipated it. He spoke calmly, "Before my end, to be able to meet an Immortal [a title for a powerful, often transcendent cultivator]... I, Long Song Chu, can consider this life not lived in vain."

"Alas."

Eldrin Chen carefully observed him and could not help but sigh inwardly.

This Long Song Chu, in order to aid Dorian Ji's Reincarnation [the process of being reborn into a new life or body], had transformed into the Demon Emperor [a ruler among demonic beings] known as the Melancholy Inscription Lord. Although his power could be considered peerless among Infant Soul [a high cultivation stage] cultivators, this very transformation had made it nearly impossible for him to advance any further.

Using the Nirvana Tribulation Transmigration Art [a profound art for rebirth through tribulation] for Reincarnation and Rebirth [a state of being born anew], he lacked a crucial wisp of Innate Womb Energy [the primordial life-force present at conception]. This deficiency forever barred him from breaking through to the Primordial Spirit Path Lord [the realm combining Primordial Spirit and Path Lord stages] realm.

Now, with a cultivation base merely at the Half-Step Primordial Spirit [a stage just below the full Primordial Spirit realm] level, yet having lived for over twenty thousand years, he had truly reached the point where his lamp of life was sputtering its last drops of oil.

Thinking of this, Eldrin Chen could not hold back a sigh. "Do you have any regrets?" he asked.

"Regrets?"

Melancholy Inscription Lord pondered for a moment, then shook his head slightly and said, "Who in this mortal world can live without regrets?"

"I imagine even you, as a Nine Heavens True Immortal [an immortal who has ascended to the highest of the nine celestial heavens], must have things you could not accomplish, regrets that linger in your heart?"

Melancholy Inscription Lord spoke calmly, not waiting for Eldrin Chen to answer before continuing, "I have come to terms with it. I am content."

"To have lived for twenty thousand years, I have already surpassed countless billions of living beings between heaven and earth. What more could I possibly desire?" For more chapters, visit audio-novel-dot-com for the complete novel.