Chapter 51 : The Patriarch's Stand

With the Solar Fire Soul-Burning Formation [a formation that harnesses solar fire to burn the souls of enemies] and his Second Rank High-Grade defensive magical treasure [an enchanted artifact], the Old Patriarch single-handedly held back nearly half of the Thunderclap Demonic Roc [a powerful, thunder-wielding demonic bird]. His contribution was no less significant than that of a full Violet Sanctum Cultivator [a cultivator who has opened their Violet Palace, a major milestone].

This instantly stabilized the battlefield. The cultivators of Heavenly Ruins Mountain [a sacred mountain site] managed to hold their ground, and for the moment, the risk of a complete collapse was averted.

While channeling the formation's power to repel the demon beasts, Eldrin Chen swept his gaze across the field. Although the situation had reached a temporary stalemate, he knew it could not last.

"How do we break this deadlock?"

His eyes scanned the surroundings, pupils narrowing with intense focus as he pondered a solution to turn the tide.

"The Patriarch, relying on the Solar Fire Soul-Burning Formation and the ancient bronze pagoda, is holding back dozens of Second Rank demon beasts for now. But his reserves of True Essence [the refined spiritual energy cultivated within a practitioner] are finite. He cannot hold out for long."

"Furthermore, there are simply too many Second Rank beasts. Even if I unleash all my hidden cards and manage to slay a few, it would not be enough to swiftly end this battle."

With this thought, he lifted his gaze towards the sky, where Exquisite Jiang danced amidst the fray.

The peerless beauty soared through the heavens, wielding the Heavenly Ruins Immortal-Slaying Sword [a legendary sword of immense power] as she single-handedly engaged four Violet Sanctum Demonic Beast [demonic beasts of Violet Sanctum strength]. Each of her foes was at least at the Violet Sanctum Mid Stage, yet she held her ground without yielding an inch.

"No good," he muttered to himself. "Against demon beasts of Middle and Late Violet Sanctum Realm power, even if I pour my entire being into an attack, I doubt I could so much as scratch them." The story continues at audio~novel.com.

"Then, to break this deadlock, the only way is..."

A thought flashed through his mind, and his gaze shifted to another battlefield.

Elara Lin was wielding several Violet Sanctum magical treasures [enchanted artifacts used by cultivators], fighting two Violet Sanctum Demonic Beast alone. While she was not at a disadvantage, she could not slay her opponents in a short time either.

"You will do."

Eldrin Chen looked at that Violet Sanctum Demonic Wolf, a flicker of killing intent flashing in his eyes.

After all, this demon wolf was a Violet Sanctum Great Monster [a powerful demonic beast at the Violet Sanctum cultivation level]. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't even have a chance to flee. But now, its Inner Pill [the condensed core of a demonic beast's power] had been damaged, and it was severely wounded. This presented the only opportunity he could intervene in.

Once the thought formed, he acted decisively. He retrieved a talisman and channeled his spiritual energy to activate it. This precious talisman was the most valuable legacy of the Chen Clan—the Blazing Heaven Sword Talisman.

The Blazing Heaven Sword Talisman was left behind sixty years ago by the previous patriarch of the Chen Clan. That patriarch was a Clan Elder from the Path's Generation lineage. His cultivation had reached the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment [the pinnacle of the Foundation Establishment realm], and he was only half a step away from breaking through to the Violet Sanctum Realm.

At the peak of his power, he paid a great price to inscribe this divine ability of his into a precious talisman. Its power was no less than his full-force strike, capable of threatening even a Violet Sanctum Great Monster.

Most crucially, Eldrin Chen possessed spiritual energy as profound as a Foundation Establishment Mid Stage cultivator, and his True Essence [a pure and potent form of spiritual energy] was exceptionally sharp and fierce. This made him perfectly compatible with the talisman, allowing him to unleash its full potential.

"Clang—"

A golden sword radiance, resplendent as the sun, soared into the sky, its peerless sharp edge cleaving through the void.

At this moment, Eldrin Chen suddenly activated the Blazing Heaven Sword Talisman [a powerful talisman that unleashes a devastating sword strike imbued with solar energy] in a surprise attack, catching the Violet Sanctum Demonic Wolf [a powerful wolf demon that inhabits violet sanctums] completely off guard.

At the critical juncture, the beast tried to channel its magic power to evade, but Elara Lin was no easy opponent. With keen perception, she seized the fleeting opportunity, coordinating flawlessly to activate the Ice Jade Condensing Light Mantra [a mystical chant that freezes targets with a beam of condensed icy light], immobilizing the demonic wolf for a single, crucial instant.

In a life-or-death duel, a single moment's mistake is often enough to decide the battle, let alone being frozen solid by a technique from a peer-level expert.

In that mere instant, the golden sword light manifested by the Blazing Heaven Sword Divine Ability [a supreme sword technique that channels the power of the blazing sun] cleaved through the air, tearing a massive, grievous wound across the wolf's flank.

Struck by this sudden, devastating blow, the demonic wolf let out a piercing howl of agony. Its entire body was momentarily paralyzed by the searing pain, rendering it incapacitated.

Elara Lin acted with decisive swiftness. Her Frost Soul Coldlight Sword [a magical sword that channels frigid energy capable of freezing a foe's very soul] transformed into a streak of icy light that shot through the air, aimed directly at the wolf's skull.

The other Violet Sanctum Demonic Roc [a giant, predatory roc demon from the violet sanctums] naturally would not let her succeed. It first unleashed its third-rank magical artifact, the Golden Roc Slash [a blade artifact that mimics the talon strike of a golden roc], to intercept Elara Lin. Simultaneously, it spat out its Inner Pill [the condensed core of a demon beast's cultivation, used as both a weapon and a source of power] to blast against the incoming Frost Soul Coldlight Sword.

Yet, Elara Lin did not even flinch. Although her most proficient magical treasure, the golden bracelet, was occupied restraining the Inner Pill, as a disciple of Exquisite Jiang, she was far from lacking in third-rank magical artifacts.

She first activated her defensive magical treasure Frost Soul Spirit Pearl [a pearl imbued with the essence of frost and soul energy], which descended a curtain of light to block the Golden Roc Slash [a slashing attack imbued with the power of a golden roc]. Then, she summoned her Third Rank Magical Artifact [a powerful enchanted artifact of the third rank], the Weak Water Long Ribbon [a ribbon-like weapon embodying the yielding yet unbreakable nature of water], to entangle the Demonic Roc Inner Pill [the condensed core of power from a demonic roc]. This successfully blocked the two-pronged assault from the Violet Sanctum Demonic Roc [a powerful demonic bird creature of the Violet Sanctum realm].

That momentary obstruction was all that was needed. The Frost Soul Coldlight Sword [a sword radiating a chilling light that can freeze the soul] soared through the air and descended, piercing through the Violet Sanctum Demonic Wolf [a ferocious wolf demon of the Violet Sanctum realm] and pinning it lifeless in the void.

"Brilliant!"

Working in perfect tandem, their well-coordinated ambush had slain one of the Violet Sanctum Demonic Wolf in an instant, decisively turning the tide of the battle.

The remaining Violet Sanctum Demonic Roc was already slightly weaker in cultivation base than Elara Lin. Now, facing her alone, it stood no chance whatsoever.

Witnessing Elara Lin consecutively unleash the Weak Water Long Ribbon and the Frost Soul Coldlight Sword, she launched a relentless assault upon the Violet Sanctum Demonic Roc, driving it back step by step. This chapter appears courtesy of *audio-novel.com*.

Seeing it could hold out no longer, the Demonic Roc [a general term for roc-type demonic beasts] once again spat forth its Inner Pill [the condensed core of a demonic beast's power and life force] to engage Elara Lin in close combat. Its aim was to buy time, waiting for the Second Rank [a specific level of power for demonic beasts] Demonic Roc to break through the Solar Fire Soul-Burning Formation [a formation that uses solar fire to burn the souls of intruders] and come to its aid.

Seeing this, Elara Lin let out another cold laugh. "Daring to reveal your Inner Pill in a one-on-one fight with me?"

"Swish!"

A captivating smile graced her lips as she activated the Icy Jade Spirit-Congealing Curse [an auxiliary divine ability that freezes and congeals spiritual energy]. This particular technique had never failed her. A streak of white light sliced across the sky, instantly immobilizing the Inner Pill in place.

Then, with a flick of her long sleeve, she unleashed a streak of golden light. The Inner Pill [the condensed core of a demon beast's cultivation], having lost its master after the demon wolf's demise, offered no resistance. Thus, this powerful golden bracelet was finally free to act.

As the sole Third Rank Middle-Grade Magical Treasure [a mid-tier enchanted artifact of the third rank] in Elara Lin's possession, the golden bracelet proved its worth once more, successfully ensnaring the Inner Pill of the Violet Sanctum Demonic Roc.

Seeing its Inner Pill trapped, the Violet Sanctum Demonic Roc sensed grave danger. Yet, this core was the culmination of its lifelong cultivation; losing it would make recovery nearly impossible.

Driven by this thought, its fear was overridden. It had no choice but to continue attacking Elara Lin with its Golden Roc Slash [a slashing technique named after the golden roc] while channeling all its remaining spiritual power in a desperate attempt to reclaim the Inner Pill.

Unlike the Violet Sanctum Demonic Wolf, which had been caught off-guard by Elara Lin's ambush and lost its core in the initial clash, the Demonic Roc was now resisting with its life on the line.

The Violet Sanctum Demonic Roc poured its dying will into resisting. The Inner Pill, after all, was a treasure containing over half of the Demonic Roc's spiritual power. It forcefully pushed back with a surge of energy, and for a moment, even the golden bracelet could not subdue it, resulting in a tense stalemate.

Witnessing this from a distance, Eldrin Chen acted decisively. He drew forth his precious Second Rank High-Grade Magical Treasure [a top-tier enchanted artifact of the second rank], the Violet Light Mirror.

With the Blazing Heaven Sword Talisman [a talisman embodying a sword technique of blazing heavens] expended, this valuable Second Rank High-Grade Magical Treasure became his only means to intervene in a battle at the Violet Sanctum [the third major realm of cultivation] level.

His True Essence [refined spiritual energy] was exceptionally dense and sharp, far surpassing others at his realm. Channeling it into the Violet Light Mirror, he managed to unleash a full seventy percent of the mirror's potential power.

At his command, a beam of violet light shot forth from the mirror's surface, enveloping the struggling Demonic Beast Inner Pill [the condensed spiritual core of a demon beast] in its radiant grasp.

This mirror light possessed the wondrous ability to ensnare magical instruments and congeal True Essence [the refined spiritual energy cultivated by immortals]. Now, as it enveloped the Inner Pill [the condensed core of a demon beast's power], it caused the flow of demonic energy within the pill to feel slightly sluggish and resistant.

Under normal circumstances, the Demonic Roc could have easily shattered the mirror light's restraint with a single surge of its demonic energy. However, currently suppressed by the golden bracelet and the Icy Jade Spirit-Congealing Curse [a mystical technique that freezes and congeals spiritual energy], this mere Second Rank High-Grade Magical Treasure [a high-quality enchanted artifact of the second tier] became the final straw that broke the camel's back.

*Clang—*

With a crisp metallic ring, the golden bracelet completely locked down the demonic pill, which was then swiftly retrieved by Elara Lin.

Seeing its core captured, the Violet Sanctum Demonic Roc lost all will to fight. It turned and beat its wings, desperate to flee.

Alas, escape was no longer an option. Elara Lin consecutively unleashed two Third Rank Magical Artifact [powerful enchanted artifacts of the third tier]—the Weak Water Long Ribbon and the Frost Soul Coldlight Sword—launching a relentless assault. Continue your cultivation journey at www . audio-novel.com.