Chapter 1005 : Before Parting, Laying the Groundwork

"Time, ah!"

Eldrin let out a soft sigh before stepping forward to take a seat opposite the elder uncle.

Beneath the ancient tree, an elder and a youth sat facing each other over a game of Go, both enveloped in profound silence.

They all understood in their hearts that this would be their final game of chess in the mortal realm. Perhaps the next time they met, it might no longer be in this present life.

After an unknowable span of time, Chen Changxuan (Person Name) set down his game piece, shaking his head with a bitter smile. "Even after all these years, this old man still cannot best you. It seems I shall never have another chance to surpass you in this lifetime."

"Elder Uncle..."

Eldrin’s heart trembled violently. After a long silence, he finally spoke, “Why not ascend together with me? Perhaps in the immortal realm, there remains a chance to attain immortality.”

"There's no need for this!"

Chen Changxuan shook his head and smiled wryly. "My divine soul is anchored within the Flaming Prison of Infernal Seas. Should I leave this place, over half of my lifetime cultivation would dissipate."

"Rather than ascending to the immortal realm, it would be better to remain within the Violet Realm and accumulate some cultivation foundation, thereby increasing my chances of achieving immortality in the next life by severalfold."

"Moreover, ascending to the higher realm was already difficult enough. Bringing me along would only make it more troublesome."

Upon hearing this, Eldrin (Person Name) also darkened his expression slightly, realizing that Chen Changxuan's words were not without reason.

To ascend, an immortal must summon the Ascension Radiance from the Celestial Realm. This divine light traverses countless worlds to guide immortals toward transcendence, and in principle, no mishaps should occur.

The Conduction Immortal Light is also exceedingly domineering, capable of elevating an immortal to the Immortal Realm in an extremely short span of time.

However, anything caught within the Ascension Radiance would struggle to endure such extreme velocity. Unless it possessed a celestial-grade quality, it would be utterly annihilated into dust and smoke.

It was precisely for this reason that when immortals ascended, they would often leave their low-tier treasures behind, taking only divine artifacts of the celestial rank with them.

There are also powerful immortals who can use their potent celestial essence to shield worldly objects, allowing them to bring certain near-transcendent treasures along during their ascension. However, this requires paying an immense price.

Eldrin's cultivation had reached the pinnacle of creation, his immortal essence and mastery of laws far surpassing ordinary ascendants. He was even confident he could bring several of his dao companions along during his celestial ascent.

Yet he was well aware of his own limits. For this ascension, he would not only bring along his 3 dao companions—Lila, Seraphina Qu, and Yan Zijie—but also carry several Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots.

After all, the Spirit Peach Tree would determine his cultivation speed after attaining immortality, while the Enlightenment Tea Tree could assist him in comprehending the power of laws.

Once the 8 Trigrams Treasure Tree ascends in rank, it too becomes 1 of the most supreme immortal treasures. Eldrin could not bear to part with a single 1 of them.

Bringing the old uncle along would likely make the ascension perilous.

Moreover, the Elder Uncle’s soul is now anchored within the Flaming Prison of Blazing Fire, making it truly unsuitable for him to ascend to the Immortal Realm alongside me.

After all, his understanding of the Immortal Realm was limited. Venturing in recklessly would leave him completely in the dark, and it was unwise to bring the Elder Uncle along when their future remained uncertain.

At this thought, Eldrin said thoughtfully, "Then let the elder uncle devote himself to cultivation with peace of mind. Once we establish our footing in the immortal realm, we shall return to guide you toward ascension."

"Very well."

Chen Changxuan smiled faintly, stroking his long beard as he said, "This old man shall await that very day right here."

With that, Eldrin (Person Name) never again mentioned bringing Chen Changxuan along in his ascension.

With a flick of his sleeve, 9 strands of immortal qi blossomed forth. "Over the years," he spoke calmly, "I've refined these 9 strands of immortal qi during my leisure. They shall remain as the foundation of our family's legacy."

"And these spiritual treasures and immortal artifacts are of no further use to me either, so I shall leave them within the family."

Eldrin spoke in a measured tone as he produced several dozen Pure Yang spiritual objects and magical treasures from his grasp.

Over the years, Eldrin had slain countless demons and monsters. From his battles against the extraterrestrial demon gods alone, he had seized over a 100 Pure Yang Spirit Treasures, along with 7 quasi-Immortal Artifacts.

These treasures were of no use to Eldrin, and he couldn't take them along during his ascension. Thus, he selected a few artifacts to bestow upon Chen Ethan, Kael, and others, while giving all the remaining ones to the Elder Uncle today.

After distributing the treasures and settling the disputes, Eldrin nurtured the Sun God's Gold deep beneath the Infernal Fire Sea, then produced 2 supreme treasures from his robes.

Among these 2 treasures, 1 was the Treasure Banner of the 8 Trigrams (Magic Treasure), while the other was an ancient golden bell.

This

The moment he laid eyes on these 2 supreme treasures, Chen Changxuan’s expression shifted almost imperceptibly. He shook his head at once and said, “Both the Treasure Banner of the 8 Trigrams (Magic Treasure) and the Donghuang Bell are priceless treasures. Even if you bring them to the Immortal Realm, they will be of great use. How could you possibly leave them behind?”

"Eldest Uncle, there is no need to persuade me further."

Eldrin shook his head, his expression grave as he stated, "This Treasure Banner of the 8 Trigrams has been fused with all manner of spiritual materials by me. Its grade has nearly brushed against the edge of the Immortal Realm."

"If Uncle can properly nurture them, they might just become a set of immortal-grade formation flags rivaling celestial treasures, serving as foundation for transcending tribulations and ascending to immortality."

As for the Bell of the Eastern Sovereign...

Eldrin fell into brief contemplation, his gaze shifting toward the Solar Emperor’s physical form deep within the Flaming Prison of Blazes. After a long silence, he finally spoke: “The Solar Emperor Bell may be the only chance—the sole opportunity for the Solar Emperor Ancestor to revive.”

"The chance for the Patriarch's resurrection?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Changxuan could not help but exclaim with utter astonishment.

"Indeed."

Eldrin nodded gravely, then spoke with solemn intensity: "According to all reason, the soul-scattered Primordial Emperor Ancestor should never have been able to resurrect. Yet he was never an ordinary mortal."

Mentioning the Eastern Emperor, Eldrin began to narrate with vivid detail.

In that great battle of yore, the primordial spirit of the Eastern Emperor was slain by an extraterrestrial demon god. By all accounts, he should have been utterly annihilated, with no chance of resurrection whatsoever.

However, the situation with Dong Huang was different. Having cultivated an immortal physique, even though his soul was completely extinguished, his physical body still retained astonishing divine properties.

Precisely because of this, although the soul of the Eastern Emperor had perished, his physical body remained alive and was refined by the Outer Demon God into a Second Primordial Spirit.

It was precisely because of this immortal physique that the True Spirit of the Eastern Sovereign did not pass into reincarnation, but instead remained within the mortal form.

Now Eldrin intended to utilize this wisp of true spirit, combined with the nourishment from Donghuang's physical form, to reconstitute his divine soul and seek a sliver of hope for revival.

The spirit of the Donghuang Bell was originally formed from a wisp of the Donghuang Patriarch's divine soul.

"Now that the Eastern Emperor Bell has ascended to an immortal treasure, it can be placed within the Eastern Emperor's physical form. If nurtured for thousands of years, it might even reawaken his divine soul."

Eldrin spoke in a measured tone before declaring, "I intend to use the Bell of the Solar Sovereign, the Solar Sovereign Immortal Physique, and the Solar God's Gold as 3 formation anchors to assist the Solar Sovereign in reconverging his divine soul."

"If this endeavor succeeds, it may take as little as several 1000 years, or as long as tens of thousands of years, but the Eastern Emperor might just have a chance at resurrection."

With those words, Eldrin sighed, "This is not merely about resurrecting Donghuang. Perhaps for the venerable tomb keeper of yore, it is also an unconventional resurrection in its own right."

Upon hearing this, Chen Changxuan's expression darkened slightly.

In the past, to forge the Donghuang Bell, the old tomb keeper did not hesitate to merge his lifelong cultivation and near-immortal laws into it. It could be said that the successful creation of the Donghuang Bell owed at least 30% of its achievement to the tomb keeper.

Once the Sun Emperor successfully revives, the Bell of the Eastern Emperor will gain potential for further ascension—perhaps equivalent to granting the ancient tomb guardian a new lease on life.

At this thought, the Elder Uncle sighed and said, "The Eastern Emperor Ancestor fell in battle for the Violet Realm. It truly isn’t right that his soul was scattered to the winds."

"Since you have such resolve, I naturally support you."