Chapter 1432 : Into the Western Metal Mountains

The Venus Grotto-Heaven was established by a major Human Race sect of Sword Immortal [a title for supreme masters of the sword path], renowned for pursuing the ultimate path of offensive might.

The Radiant Gold Grotto-Heaven was founded by the Radiant Gold Heavenly God. It is said this deity's cultivation was earth-shattering, a top-tier existence who had achieved three Immortal Path [a supreme cultivation art] fruits.

Among these three Supreme Grotto-Heaven [the highest grade of cultivator paradises], the White Tiger Clan holds the foremost position, a testament to their immense power within the Western Pole Heavenly Domain.

The Tiger's Roar Blessed Land within the Western Metal Great Mystery Mountain Range is a branch of this clan. Its ruling Sovereign [a supreme ruler] is a powerhouse at the Half-Step Celestial Immortal level.

Contemplating the might of the Western Metal Great Mystery Mountain Range, Eldrin Chen mused, "This mountain range teems with powerful figures of the Demon Race. We must proceed with caution and avoid provoking entities beyond our strength."

The women nodded in agreement, continuing to follow him deeper into the Western Metal Great Mystery Mountain Range.

The mountain range was impossibly vast; finding the Western Metal Primordial Tiger [a legendary beast of ancient lineage] within it would be no simple task.

Concealing their auras, the group ventured into the endless peaks.

After an indeterminate period of travel, Eldrin Chen halted before a secluded cave abode.

A beautiful Immortal [a being who has ascended to immortality] emerged from the cave. Seeing the group, she bowed and said, "Support Spirit pays her respects to you, esteemed Patriarch [a venerable clan or sect leader]."

"Mmm."

Eldrin Chen gave a slight nod, a look of satisfaction on his face.

The young woman before him was named Support Spirit Chen, a rising star from the lineage of his second disciple, Worthy Path Chen. A Dual Path Fruits Immortal [a being who has transcended mortality through cultivation], she excelled in tracking and escape arts, and was the one who had discovered traces of the Western Metal Primordial Tiger [a legendary beast of immense power, embodying the essence of the west and metal].

Seeing Support Spirit Chen, Eldrin Chen inquired, "What is the situation?"

Support Spirit Chen shook her head. "The Western Metal Primordial Tiger leaves no discernible trail. With my current level of cultivation, tracking it is nearly impossible. All I have managed to find are a few remnants it left behind."

As she spoke, Support Spirit Chen produced a single strand of fur. "This hair was shed during the Western Metal Primordial Tiger's fierce battle with a great menace. I do not know if it will be sufficient for divining its current location."

Eldrin Chen took the hair, examining it carefully for a moment before a smile touched his lips. "The aura is indeed that of the Western Metal Primordial Tiger. With this, we finally have a chance to locate it."

At this, Eldrin Chen nodded again, offering Support Spirit Chen an approving smile. "You have done well. Return to the clan and claim your reward."

"My thanks, Patriarch [the revered leader of a clan or sect]."

Upon hearing this, Support Spirit Chen immediately bowed, her voice tinged with excitement.

The gains from this search for the Western Metal Primordial Tiger would be sufficient to ensure her, Future, would lack no resources for her cultivation for the next one hundred thousand years.

After Support Spirit Chen departed, Eldrin Chen gazed at the tuft of fur in his hand and immediately began to activate the Great Deduction Polarity Stars Path to perform divinations.

Using the Great Deduction Polarity Stars Path as his guide, he led the group deep into the void.

Soon, they arrived at the summit of a towering mountain range deep within the Endless Peaks.

"The general area should be around here," he stated.

Eldrin Chen murmured to himself and once again channeled the Great Deduction Polarity Stars Path.

After a series of continuous divinations, he finally spoke. "That Western Metal Primordial Tiger possesses cultivation at the Late Stage Earth Immortal level and has some innate ability to obscure the Celestial Mechanism [the underlying principles and fate of the cosmos]."

"With just a single strand of fur, even with the aid of my Celestial Mechanism Treasure, I cannot pinpoint its exact location."

Exquisite Jiang nodded in agreement. "A general location should be sufficient. We can conceal our auras and conduct a careful search of this region."

"Very well," Eldrin Chen agreed.

The Immortal Domain [the vast realm where immortals reside] is immeasurably vast, and the Western Pole Heavenly Domain [the westernmost celestial region] is fundamentally different from the Western Essence Divine Abyss Sea [the Western Essence Divine Abyss Sea].

Within that Western Essence Divine Abyss Sea, ninety-nine out of a hundred parts of its territory consist of desolate, empty ocean. These waters are mostly inhabited by sea beasts of low intelligence, with the various archipelagic seas being the only places where the myriad races cultivate.

It is just as in the Flowing Stream Hundred Seas [the Hundred Seas of the Flowing Stream]; the combined landmass of all its Immortal Isles [islands inhabited by immortals] amounts to less than one-thousandth of the empty ocean expanse.

Yet the Western Pole Heavenly Domain is entirely composed of Great Wasteland [vast, untamed wilderness] land. How exceedingly difficult it is to find a single [a powerful, savage magical beast] here.

They had narrowed down the location of the Western Metal Primordial Tiger [a legendary beast of pure metallic essence] to a specific corner within the Western Metal Great Mystery Mountain Range [the Western Metal Great Mystery Mountain Range].

But even this "corner" was boundlessly vast. Eldrin Chen estimated it to be roughly several hundred times the size of the Returning Abyss Sea Region [the Returning Abyss Sea Region].

Finding the Western Metal Primordial Tiger within these sprawling mountain ranges was challenging enough, let alone having to carefully avoid the various Demon Race [tribes and factions of demons] that dwelled there.

Eldrin Chen used the Spatial Law [the profound law governing space] to conceal the group as they ceaselessly explored this expansive Great Wasteland. In the blink of an eye, three thousand years slipped by.

Just as Eldrin Chen's patience was wearing thin, they finally discovered traces of the Western Metal Primordial Tiger.

"Such potent Metallic Gold Power [the sharp, unyielding power of metal and gold]," he remarked.

Sensing the valley before him, Eldrin Chen could not help but express his surprise.

Before them lay a valley of unfathomable depth. Deep within it was a massive cavern, brimming with Essence of Metallic Gold [a potent spiritual essence embodying the sharp, unyielding properties of metal], from which a familiar aura emanated.

That aura unmistakably belonged to a Primordial Tiger [a ferocious beast born from the primal metallic energies of the world].

The sight astonished everyone present. Exquisite Jiang could not hold back her words. "This place... it must be a metal-attributed Blessed Land [a place of concentrated natural spiritual power and rare resources]," she said.

Eldrin Chen gave a slight nod, yet a furrow appeared between his brows. "However," he said, "within this Blessed Land, I sense a powerful concentration of Fiendish Energy [a violent, corrosive form of spiritual energy often associated with desolate places and fierce beasts]."

Nyssa Qu spoke up then. "The Primordial Tiger is one of the Primordial Era Desolate Spirit [a classification of one hundred fearsome, often mindless beasts born from the primal energies of the ancient world]. This lineage is essentially a White Tiger [one of the Four Symbols, the celestial beast of the west and metal] devoid of sentience. It can absorb metallic Fiendish Energy to enhance its cultivation. It is entirely expected for it to cultivate in a place where such energies converge."

Hearing her explanation, Eldrin Chen offered no further comment.

So-called Primordial Era Desolate Spirit were rare, numbering only one hundred of the most ferocious entities born from the heavens and earth during the Primordial Era [the mythic first age of the world].

Beings like the Boundless Black Serpent [a legendary serpent of immense size and power], the Western Metal Primordial Tiger [an artifact or form related to the metal-aligned Primordial Tiger], the Primordial Era Desolate Dragon [a dragon born of primal desolation], the North Sea Mysterious Tortoise [a mythical tortoise dwelling in the northern seas], and others were all born from the world's Fiendish Energy. They possessed no innate intelligence; only a very few Primordial Era Desolate Spirit ever awakened to sentience.

The Great Wasteland Celestial Crocodile Clan, for instance, gained their intelligence only through some extraordinary Opportunity and Fortune [a rare chance encounter or twist of destiny that bestows great benefit].

Once they gain sentience, these Primordial Era Desolate Spirit become no different from the Demon Race or the Hundred Clans. They are unwilling to have their intellect tainted by Fiendish Energy [a chaotic and corrupting form of spiritual energy] and will no longer cultivate by drawing upon the world's Fiendish Energy, thus losing much of their innate ferocity.

The cultivation grounds of the Western Metal Primordial Tiger before them were still saturated with Fiendish Energy, clearly indicating they were savage Primordial Tiger still devoid of sentience.

Thinking of this, Eldrin Chen cautioned, "Although the Western Metal Primordial Tiger lack sentience, as Primordial Era Desolate Spirit, their bodies are saturated with the world's Fiendish Energy, making them even more formidable in combat than White Tiger of the same realm."

"When the battle commences, provide support from the flanks. Exquisite and I will engage them directly."

"Understood."

The women nodded, their expressions turning grave.

Seeing their resolve, Eldrin Chen said no more. He took a decisive step forward and crossed the threshold into the Blessed Land.

The moment he entered the Blessed Land, Eldrin Chen's brow furrowed slightly, a flicker of solemnity crossing his features.

This so-called Blessed Land was less a sanctuary and more a festering den, thick with Fiendish Energy and noxious miasma.

The concentration of Fiendish Energy and miasma within was overwhelming. An ordinary Earth Immortal Patriarch cultivating here for long would soon find their mind eroded by the Fiendish Energy, their temperament warped beyond recognition.

Over the vast expanse of time, there is even a risk that one's soul could become corrupted by the Fiendish Energy [a malevolent and corrupting form of spiritual power], potentially descending into a state of mindless savagery, akin to the Primordial Era Desolate Spirit [ancient, feral beasts devoid of higher consciousness].