Chapter 27 : A Treacherous Ambush in the Immortal Realm

Had he been greedy for the cave abode's opportunities and recklessly entered, it would have been like a dragon plunging into shallow waters; he would most likely have met his end there.

This near brush with being ensnared was not due to his carelessness, but rather because he had not anticipated the cunning of these individuals.

They sold maps, but each time only offered incomplete, fragmented versions. This tactic, by its very nature, lent an air of credibility to their partial charts.

While seasoned cultivators with decades of experience traversing the Immortal Realm might see through such a scheme, young cultivators newly emerged from their clans could easily stumble and fall prey to this very trick.

"Vital Essence Refinement 9th Tier, and he even possesses a defensive magical treasure [an enchanted artifact used for protection]."

Seeing Eldrin Chen block his enchanted sword, the leader of the assailants revealed a flicker of avarice in his eyes.

Most cultivators at the Vital Essence Refinement 9th Tier level did not possess a first-rank, upper-grade defensive magical treasure; such an item was exceedingly rare.

Over the years, he had ambushed and slain over a dozen greenhorns, yet never encountered such a prize. Thinking this, he urgently signaled to his two companions:

"Attack together! Hold nothing back!"

In the span of a single breath, several magical treasures [enchanted artifacts] struck in rapid succession.

Eldrin Chen reacted with lightning speed, immediately summoning his magical treasures to counter the enemy's assault.

Among the trio, the leading man was at the Vital Essence Refinement 8th Tier. Besides a spellsword, he also wielded a Monastic Ruler [a type of enchanted ruler artifact], both being upper-grade first-rank magical treasures. He posed the greatest threat among the three.

The spellsword was a wood-attributed magical treasure, its offensive power not particularly high. However, the three-inch crimson rays emitted by the Monastic Ruler were already capable of threatening the shield-light barrier projected by the Cyan Small Shield.

Eldrin Chen dared not allow this artifact to attack freely. Instead, he opted to maneuver while simultaneously summoning his Verdant Leaf Sword to clash and entangle with the Monastic Ruler.

The tall, lean man's cultivation was only at the Vital Essence Refinement 7th Tier, yet he possessed a set of Mother-Child Flying Daggers [a set of enchanted daggers consisting of one mother and nine child blades]. Upon activation, these daggers transformed into ten streaks of blade-light that shot forth with terrifying speed, making them nearly impossible to defend against.

The final assailant appeared relatively young, likely a descendant of the leader, with a cultivation base merely at the Vital Essence Refinement Mid Stage. He posed little threat for the moment.

As the battle unfolded, Eldrin Chen realized the most troublesome opponent among the three was actually the tall, lean man.

That set of Mother-Child Flying Daggers was swift as lightning. While the power of an individual blade-light was not immense, the Cyan Small Shield would struggle to withstand their relentless, successive bombardment.

With no other choice, Eldrin Chen was forced into constant evasion, using his Golden Light Blade to intercept and clash with the Mother-Child Flying Daggers.

"This cannot continue," he thought grimly.

Once more, he sent the Mother-Child Flying Daggers flying back, watching as they surged forth again like a tide of starlight. Eldrin Chen [the protagonist, a young cultivator from the Chen family] frowned slightly.

As the saying goes, a purely defensive stance is bound to fail. Eldrin Chen was not one to endure attacks without retaliation. In an instant, he channeled his energy, and the Golden Light Blade shot forth like a beam, cleaving directly towards the tall, gaunt man.

The man's expression shifted dramatically. Abandoning his assault on Eldrin Chen, he urgently recalled the Mother-Child Flying Daggers to intercept and entangle the Golden Light Blade.

It was in that fleeting moment that Eldrin Chen's gaze turned icy. He unleashed his trump card.

The Crimson Iron Saber Embryo transformed into a streak of crimson light, a blade aura that shot forth. In the space between lightning and flame, it sheared through the tall man's protective shield of spiritual energy, cleaving him in two with a single, devastating strike.

"Second Uncle!"

"Second Brother!"

In that instant, the faces of the remaining two men paled with terror. Without a second thought, they split up and fled in opposite directions.

But having come this far, how could Eldrin Chen possibly leave such a threat alive? He immediately gave chase to the leader of the group.

To end the battle swiftly and prevent the other from escaping, Eldrin Chen disregarded the heavy drain on his True Qi [the refined life-force energy cultivated by martial artists and cultivators]. He once again activated the Crimson Iron Saber Embryo. With a single, powerful blow, he grievously damaged both the man's flying sword and his Monastic Ruler [a magical measuring tool that can also be used as a weapon], two of his magical treasures.

He then unleashed the Golden Ray Heart-Locking Needle once more, shattering the man's protective spell shield and piercing directly into his Dantian [the core energy center located in the lower abdomen of a cultivator].

"Aaaargh—!"

With his Dantian shattered, the man let out a wretched scream. He turned his head to look at Eldrin Chen, his face contorted with terror, and he hastily begged for mercy.

"My Dantian is ruined. From this day forward, I am but a cripple. I beg you, spare my life!"

"He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword!"

Eldrin Chen's gaze was as cold as winter frost. The Verdant Leaf Sword transformed into a streak of sword light that flashed past, and the man's head tumbled to the ground.

Of the three rogue cultivators, two had been slain. The third failed to escape his fate as well; he hadn't fled far before Eldrin Chen caught up and severed his head from his shoulders.

Once the battle concluded, Eldrin Chen collected the trio's Storage Bag [a spatial pouch used by cultivators to store items]. He then incinerated their remains with a Fireball Technique, and only then did he allow himself a moment to relax.

"Hah..."

Though the fight had seemed straightforward, Eldrin Chen knew well that his victory was largely due to the advantage granted by his superior magical treasures.

Among the three opponents, two were veteran cultivators with decades of experience. Without the Crimson Iron Saber Embryo, even if he could have won, it would not have been nearly so effortless.

Such is the harsh reality of this world: a superior or divine ability can elevate a warrior's combat prowess by leaps and bounds.

Of course, this was also because Eldrin Chen had tempered his body for years with the Primordial Mist Violet Aura [a rare and potent spiritual energy], granting his meridians far greater strength and resilience than the average cultivator. The amount of True Qi [the refined energy cultivated within a practitioner's body] he could channel in an instant vastly exceeded that of his peers.

An ordinary cultivator at the Vital Essence Refinement 9th Tier would find controlling three upper-grade first-rank artifacts simultaneously to be their absolute limit, leaving no spare capacity to activate something as demanding as the Crimson Iron Saber Embryo.

Had not Silas Han himself required the Vital Essence Blood [a life-force consuming technique] to wield the Blood-Transforming Demon Saber? Though this blade's power was now slightly diminished, it remained formidably Baelon.

By Eldrin Chen's estimation, a typical Vital Essence Refinement 9th Tier cultivator attempting to activate this saber embryo would likely need to commit their entire reservoir of True Qi, leaving them utterly incapable of wielding any other artifacts or casting spells.

Pushing these thoughts aside, Eldrin Chen swallowed several . He spent half a day recovering, using his Recovery ability to restore himself to about seventy or eighty percent of his peak condition before finally approaching the cave abode to investigate.

It seemed that with the trio vanquished, the formation had lost its controllers and thus its ability to launch autonomous attacks. After testing it several times with artifacts and receiving no retaliation, Eldrin Chen cautiously stepped inside.

"It's actually a Second-Order Spirit Vein [a concentrated underground flow of spiritual energy]!"

The moment he crossed the threshold, Eldrin Chen was struck by the exceptionally dense spiritual energy within the cave. Its concentration far surpassed that of Spirit Isle Lake.

As he ventured deeper into the Spirit Vein [a vein of earth that concentrates and channels spiritual energy], a growing sense of dread washed over him. It was increasingly clear this had once been the abode of a senior cultivator. Not only was the Spirit Vein of a high Second Rank Lower Grade [a classification for the quality of a Spirit Vein], but a complete Second-Rank Superior [a classification for the power of a formation] Numinous Fire Soul-Burning Formation [a defensive formation that unleashes soul-scorching spiritual flames] had been laid down here.

This formation was comprised of a set of seven Formation Banner [enchanted flags used to anchor and power a formation]. Once activated, it could unleash Second-Order [a classification for the power of a technique] Heaven-Scorching Numinous Fire [a formidable technique that conjures spiritual fire capable of searing the heavens]. Any Foundation Establishment Cultivator [a cultivator who has solidified their spiritual foundation] caught within would be reduced to ashes, let alone a mere Vital Essence Refinement [the initial stage of cultivation focused on refining one's vital life force] cultivator like himself.

"If my guess is correct," he mused, "those three must have stumbled upon this cave-dwelling by chance and turned it into a trap to lure and kill others."

"Over the years, who knows how many have met their unjust and ignoble end within this formation."

Eldrin Chen gazed at the formation within the cave, a sigh escaping his lips.

Subsequent discoveries confirmed his suspicions. Within the dwelling, he found numerous identity tokens belonging to low-level cultivators, most of them from the younger generation of various prominent cultivation clans.

During his exploration, he also pieced together the identity of the cave's former master from various relics left behind.

The former master of this abode was a rogue cultivator named Ronan Yang, who had reached the Foundation Establishment Mid Stage [the middle phase of the Foundation Establishment realm]. A century ago, this man had been a figure of considerable renown within Yu County.