Chapter 1 : Cultivation Clan's Many Trials

"Young Master, the Third Elder summons you."

The maidservant called out softly from a short distance away, her expression tinged with restraint.

Eldrin sat cross-legged upon the colossal rock at the cliff's edge, eyes closed as he inhaled the morning radiance, continuously nurturing that wisp of Primordial Violet Qi within his chest.

"It's already the hour of the dragon."

He murmured softly, then added, "Go inform Third Elder that I shall arrive shortly."

After the maid departed, Eldrin continued to devour the last wisp of morning glow before slowly concluding his cultivation.

Having been reborn into this world for 15 years, he would come to this place every dawn and dusk to absorb the essence of the sun and moon, transforming it into Primordial Purple Qi.

This cultivation art of breathing in the morning mist was called the Primordial Chaos Sutra. He had unintentionally acquired it from a street vendor in his previous life, and after crossing into this world, it became the supreme method that would alter his destiny.

The Primordial Chaos Scripture could convert the power of dawn's glow and moonlight into Primordial Chaos Creation Purple Qi (Spiritual Root). This wisp of purple qi possessed supreme miraculous properties—merely from what he had managed to uncover, it already demonstrated the extraordinary ability to enhance spiritual root aptitude.

He possessed the 5 Spirit Roots, a constitution considered utterly inferior. Yet, at birth, he was blessed with a wisp of Primordial Chaos Creation Purple Qi (Spiritual Root), elevating his innate talent to rival that of the 3 Spirit Roots.

Eldrin knew this cultivation method was the greatest opportunity of his life. For over a decade, he had practiced diligently without respite, meticulously absorbing the dawn's radiance and moonlight's essence while accumulating Primordial Purple Energy, never revealing it to anyone.

He wasn't even willing to reveal his true spiritual roots, claiming only to possess dual spiritual root talent.

In this life, his family background was rather decent. The Chen Clan was a minor cultivation family, with over a 100 cultivators in its ranks, and even had a Foundation Establishment elder overseeing its affairs.

Though it might be insignificant in the grand scheme of the world, within the tens of thousands of miles of Yu County, his words still carried considerable weight.

As the most outstanding talent among the younger generation of the Chen Family, he had been burdened with great expectations since childhood. He lived up to these hopes, astonishingly breaking through to the seventh layer of Qi Refining at merely 15 years of age—a cultivation level comparable to that of many elder practitioners who had cultivated for decades.

By comparison, the vast majority of his peers had barely reached the first or second level of Qi Refinement at this age.

Most cultivators lay their foundation before the age of 10, begin formal cultivation around 11 or 12, and only reach mid to late Qi Refining stage through relentless grinding by their forties or fifties.

Blessed with innate wisdom, he began practicing Qi cultivation at the age of 3. This granted him 8 or 9 additional years of invaluable training time compared to others. His cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, enabling him to reach Qi Refinement, Late Stage (Cultivation Realm) just 3 months prior.

After breaking through to Qi Refinement, Late Stage (Cultivation Realm), he gained significant recognition from his clan. His status within the Chen Family had risen considerably, marking his initial entry into the upper echelons of the family hierarchy.

Eldrin drew his thoughts back and rose to his feet, heading toward the Grand Hall of Clan Affairs where the Third Elder resided.

The Cangyuan Mountain Range spanned thousands of miles, with its main peak—Qingyuan Peak—standing among the renowned spiritual mountains of Yu County. Nestled within its depths lay a mid-grade, second-order spirit vein. Legend held that for centuries, these lands had been the territory of the Green Ape, a second-order demon beast.

Later, the Chen family's founding ancestor slew the creature and claimed this spiritual vein as his own. He took wives and concubines, establishing this immortal cultivation clan.

The entire spiritual vein of Verdant Chariot Mountain (Location) possessed a distinct gradient of spiritual energy—thin and faint at the foothills, growing progressively richer toward the summit. Most clan cultivators below the sixth level of Qi Refining established their cultivation caves along the mountainside.

Beyond that lay the 17 mu of spirit fields cultivated by the Chen Family, along with the ancestral hall. As for the spiritual vein springhead located in the rear mountains—that served as the cultivation grounds for the Clan Leader.

Elder Lior (Person Name) presided over the clan affairs, and the Grand Hall of Clan Affairs where he resided stood atop the mountain peak.

As soon as Eldrin stepped into the clan affairs hall, he sensed an unusual tension. The entire hall was steeped in a heavy atmosphere, with over a dozen figures seated solemnly within.

Greetings, Honored Elders and Uncles.

Those present were all high-ranking members of the Chen Family: Third Elder Lior, Fourth Elder Chen Qingyuan, Fifth Elder Chen Qingwan, while the remaining few were even uncles and grand-uncles of the Elder Generation. Among the Generation of Nian, aside from him, there was only 1 elder brother.

Pursuing the Eternal Path, Honoring the Ancestral Sages, Upholding Mutual Prosperity for the Clan, Ascending to Immortal Imperishability.

Of the 16 generations recorded in the Chen family genealogy, only 6 or 7 elders of the Chang character generation remained aside from the clan leader.

The Chen Family had a total of 7 elders, all Qi Refinement cultivators of the Qing generation at the 9th level. Among them, the Grand Elder Chen Qingxu (Person Name) was stationed in Pingyang Town (Location).

Pingyang Town (Location) had a population of over 1 100 1000, all of whom were blood descendants of the Chen Family. Every year, these mortals would produce 1 or 2 offspring bearing spiritual roots, forming the foundational bedrock of the clan's enduring legacy.

Mortals are highly nourishing to both demonic cultivators and monstrous beings, which is why the Grand Elder seldom leaves Pingyang Town (Location) unless absolutely necessary, in order to protect the clan members.

Second Elder Chen Qinghe was overseeing the family's several shops in Yuyang Market, making it even more impossible for him to break away.

Elder Chen Qingyuan, at the tender age of 30-1, possessed extraordinary innate talent. However, after joining the Qingyang Sect, he was now considered only half a member of the Chen family, unable to fully attend to its affairs.

Seeing that aside from the clan leader who was in seclusion healing his injuries in the back mountain, all 3 elders who could attend from the family had arrived, Eldrin faintly sensed that something must have happened.

As soon as Eldrin entered, several elders nodded in approval. Breaking through to Qi Refinement, Late Stage at merely 15 years of age—this level of talent could rival even that of a heterotypic spiritual root. There was considerable hope that he would eventually build his foundation, and within the clan, great expectations were placed upon him.

Lior (Person Name), who was presiding over the family meeting, nodded in approval, his expression softening with rare warmth.

"Eldrin, you've come."

"Since everyone has arrived, I shall brief you on the matter."

Seeing that the dozen or so Qi Refinement, Late Stage (Cultivation Realm) cultivators the clan could muster had all arrived, Lior (Person Name) suppressed his smile and revealed a troubled expression.

Eldrin’s heart sank slightly as he observed the man’s expression, already guessing the topic of this clan gathering. A year ago, the Daoist of Celestial Ruins Mountain had successfully refined a batch of Foundation Establishment Pills, yielding 4 pills in total. 2 of them were now being put up for auction.

The Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object) was a treasure 1 could only encounter by chance, not through pursuit. Back then, the Chen family had to sell off a considerable portion of their assets and even incurred substantial debts, ultimately spending over 30,000 spirit stones to acquire this single Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object).

Patriarch Chen Changxuan had been ambushed by rivals due to this Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object). Fortunately, as a seventh-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator, he managed to fight his way through the encirclement while safeguarding the pill.

Although Chen Changxuan had slain a Foundation Establishment cultivator in this battle, he himself had suffered significant injuries. After returning to Verdant Chariot Mountain (Location), he had been in secluded cultivation at the spiritual spring in the back mountains. To this day, his recovery remained uncertain.

After the clan obtained the Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object), the final candidate selected to use it needed to meet specific criteria for breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage. Ideally, the cultivator should not exceed 60 years of age. Beyond this threshold, a cultivator’s vital energy and blood would have significantly declined. Even with the aid of the Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object), the success rate would typically not exceed 20 percent.

Within the clan, only 7 cultivators at the ninth level of Qi Refinement remained. Setting aside Chen Qingyuan, who had joined a sect, the Grand Elder was already over 70 years of age, while the Second Elder, Chen Qinghe, was also past 60. The Third Elder had suffered damage to his foundation during a battle in his early years, extinguishing any hope of further breakthroughs.

Among the others, Sixth Elder Chen Qingmeng, being an alchemist, held a higher status and value within the clan compared to the Fourth and Fifth Eldors. In the end, he borrowed a substantial amount of merit points and secured the Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object).

For the past 3 months, Chen Qingmeng had been in seclusion, striving to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm. By all reasoning, whether successful or not, the outcome should have been clear by now. Seeing the Third Elder’s troubled expression, Eldrin couldn’t help but feel his throat grow dry.