Chapter 427 : Opening Shops Across Jizhou

"You have contributed the most in this battle, and this treasure is rightfully yours."

Sect Leader Qian gazed at the Star Fragment (Spiritual Object), a trace of reluctance in his voice as he said, "Setting aside the Star Fragment (Spiritual Object) itself, the total value of all treasures in the Demonic Ape Mountains wouldn't exceed 10,000,000 spirit stones."

And yet, this Star Fragment (Spiritual Object) alone would require at least 60 Heavenly Crystals (Spiritual Object) to purchase. To claim he felt no longing for such a priceless treasure would be nothing but falsehood.

Yet in this battle, the Heavenly Ruins Alliance had contributed the most, while the Azuregreen Immortal Sect had waived their claim to the treasures in exchange for a favor from Eldrin (Person Name). With these circumstances, his Skyward Sword Sect alone naturally held no grounds to contest the spoils.

However, obtaining the vast treasures of the Demon Ape Mountain left Sect Leader Qian thoroughly satisfied. Even after allocating these resources for compensations and rewards, the Azure Sky Sword Sect still reaped bountiful gains.

"Then I thank you."

Eldrin smiled faintly and spoke, then turned his gaze toward the shattered Demonic Spring.

Everyone exchanged glances, and Chen Changxuan spoke up, "As long as the divine mark left by the Demon God remains indestructible, the demonic spring can hardly be eradicated completely. It seems the spiritual veins of Demon Ape Mountain cannot be restored."

"Then let's keep it for now. When the Chu Kingdom produces a Nascent Soul True Monarch, we shall consider erasing this pathmark."

Grandmaster Taiwu also remarked, "The Demon God's Beacon is difficult to eradicate completely. Although we have captured the spiritual veins of Demon Ape Mountain, demonic energy still lingers. For a long time to come, it will be nearly impossible for cultivators to practice here. We have no choice but to abandon this place."

Leaving the battlefield for the Skyrend Sword Sect to cleanse, Eldrin led the Heavenly Ruins Alliance back into the heart of the Chu Kingdom.

After returning to the Chu Kingdom, Eldrin produced resources worth 5,000,000 spirit stones as compensation and rewards for the major factions of the Sky Ruins Alliance, then departed for Spirit Isle Lake with Lyra.

Upon arriving at Spirit Isle Lake (Location), Eldrin (Person Name) exclaimed excitedly, "With the Star Fragment (Spiritual Object), your Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss (Magic Treasure) can advance to the next tier. By then, your power will likely rival that of a Nascent Soul cultivator."

"The Demon-Subduing Immortal Sword."

A smile also graced Lyra’s (Person Name) lips. A Soul-Bound spirit treasure-grade Refining Demons Immortal Sword was, by any measure, a top-tier treasure in this world.

Many Nascent Soul, Early Stage (Cultivation Realm) cultivators possessed merely 1 or 2 Demon-Subduing Treasures (Magic Treasure), as forging such artifacts required sublimation materials from fifth-grade heavenly treasures alongside vast quantities of 5 Elements Essence (Spiritual Energy).

Moreover, deducing a single Life-Bound Spiritual Treasure is no easy feat. It demands exceptional enlightenment and a considerable amount of time to continuously refine the treasure’s array patterns.

In truth, even with the innate talent and comprehension of Eldrin and Lyra, and despite having precedents of deducing their Natal Magic Treasures, it would still take them 60 years to deduce a single Natal Magic Treasure.

In any case, once the Heaven's Ruin Immortal-Slaying Sword successfully advanced, Lyra's strength would undoubtedly increase dramatically. There would be few forbidden lands left in this world that she could not freely traverse.

At this thought, Eldrin spoke up: "The family's stockpile of 5 Elements Essence has been accumulated over nearly a century, and we've continued acquiring more throughout these years. It should barely suffice for your advancement of the Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss."

"If the 5 Elements essence is sufficient, then I can rest assured."

Lyra nodded. The Chen Family had amassed the 5 Elements Essence for over a 100 years. Through continuous acquisitions and their own accumulation, their stockpile nearly equaled the Chu Kingdom's total output of 60 years.

The value of so much 5 Elements essence exceeded 10 million spirit stones, truly sufficient for her to advance the Heaven's Ruin Immortal-Slaying Sword.

Thinking of advancing the Refining Demonic Immortal Sword, Eldrin wasted no more time. That very day, he ordered his clan to gather the 5 Elements’ Essence Qi worth over 10 million spirit stones.

The Heaven-Sundering Immortal-Slaying Sword required the dual energies of Geng Metal and Xin Metal. The other elemental energies of the 5 Phases were incompatible with it, so the 5 Phase energies still needed to be converted into the dual energies of Geng Metal and Xin Metal.

To this end, several Golden Core cultivators of the Chen family traveled across the 6 nations of Ji Continent via teleportation formations. Leveraging the connections of the Chen Immortal Clan (Organization), they spent half a year gathering both the Geng Metal and Xin Metal energies.

That day, Eldrin arrived at Pingyang City and found the old clan leader.

As soon as they met, the Old Clan Leader handed him the Dual Auras of Geng Metal and Xin Metal, then said with a grave expression, "After extracting these 5 Elements Essences this time, the clan vault has been nearly drained completely."

"In a few decades, when you advance to the Mirror of Yin, Yang, and Void (Magic Treasure), I'm afraid the 5 Elements essence might still be somewhat insufficient."

Eldrin's brow furrowed slightly. This was indeed no trivial matter, as the output of 5 Elements Essence in Chu Kingdom remained fundamentally limited.

The cost to advance a single Life-Bound Spiritual Treasure required the essence of the 5 Elements, valued at over 10,000,000 spirit stones—a quantity that would take the Chu Kingdom decades of effort to accumulate.

Though the cultivation world of the Chu Kingdom had grown far more prosperous, both he and Lyra possessed 5 soul-bound magic treasures each. Combined, they had a full 10 Demon-Subduing Treasures requiring advancement—a burden the Chu Kingdom alone could never sustain.

At this thought, Eldrin said, "Then let the family establish merchant associations in the other nations of Ji Province and begin purchasing the essences of the 5 Elements."

"So be it."

The old clan leader nodded, then smiled wryly. "In recent years, the clan exhausted its resources to purchase the Heavenly Crystal (Spiritual Object) for you. We've only just finished repaying the 32,000 spirit stones in debt. Acquiring large quantities of 5 Elements Essence now would impose considerable financial strain."

"Are we short on spirit stones?" Eldrin frowned slightly, then declared, "Then we shall offer some fourth-tier magical artifacts for sale, along with items like the Primordial Chaos Tribulation-Transcending Pill and even Golden Core Formation Pills. Acquire as many as we can obtain."

"This will do."

Chen Changxuan also understood the paramount importance of the 5 Elements essence. Compared to elevating a supreme demon-refining treasure, even selling the Creation Jade was a necessary sacrifice.

At this thought, the old clan leader poured a cup of tea for Eldrin and continued, "Large-scale, long-term acquisition of the 5 Elements’ Essence from other nations involves considerable stakes. It would be best to have a Golden Core realm cultivator oversee the matter."

"Is that so?"

Upon hearing this, Eldrin also showed a contemplative expression. They were going to purchase 5 Elements Essence from the other 6 Ji Provinces—and in massive quantities at that. This would require someone of sufficient stature to oversee and coordinate the efforts.

With this thought in mind, Eldrin spoke up, "We can leave matters in Yan Kingdom to Brother Qingci. Having guarded Yan Kingdom for many years, he has developed a thorough understanding of the region. As for acquiring the 5 Elements Essence, the others shouldn't find it too troublesome."

"Leave the Qi Kingdom to Uncle Lior. With the assistance from the local Chen branch family, we won't need to dispatch too many people to help."

"The remaining states of Cang, Wei, and Ji also require overseers, and the situations there may prove even more complex."

"Lila, Silas, and Kael possess considerable potential. It would be wasteful to expend their talents on trivial matters. Let the Qian and Xu clans assist instead."

The old clan leader also nodded upon hearing this. The Xu Clan now had 2 Golden Core cultivators, Xavier and Xu Daoyuan, while the Qian Clan had also produced a Golden Core cultivator some 20 years ago.

This man, Qian Xinghe, was technically a contemporary of that Qian Xingming from back in the day, though he was considerably younger. Rumor had it he had exhausted his family's entire fortune to purchase a Golden Core Formation Pill (Spiritual Object) beyond the borders of Ji Province, enabling his breakthrough to the Golden Core realm.

"Actually, I was thinking the same as you."

Chen Changxuan began, then paused slightly before continuing, "I’ve spoken with the Qian and Xu families. The 2 from the Xu clan raised no objections, but Qian Xinghe mentioned he intends to embark on a journey to travel and gain experience—I politely declined his request."