Chapter 329 : Deng Clan Spirit Mountain

In addition to 4 highly valuable top-grade Class 4 magic treasures, there were also 4 mid-grade Class 4 magic treasures and 3 low-grade Class 4 magic treasures.

The fourth-tier, mid-grade magic treasures included Deng Tiankun's 'Heavenly Radiance God-Slaying Blade', the Bull Demon King's 'Savage Bull Blood Armor', the Earth Lion Demon King's set of array artifacts—'Celestial Demon Blade' and 'Kalpa-Transcending Mystic Pearl'.

The Sky Demon Blade and the Calamity-Crossing Mystic Pearl among them were arranged as formation artifacts, having passed through the hands of the Green Wave Lake Demon King.

Fearing the Demon King might have left behind hidden traps, they replaced these 2 treasures. The Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss and the Bull Demon Blood Armor were substituted for the original array artifacts, and the formation was reconfigured atop Earthlion Ridge.

The third and fourth-tier lower-grade items were respectively: an ancient bronze cauldron (Magic Treasure), a Golden Sun Divine Flame Lantern (Magic Treasure), and a Mountain-Suppressing Stone Stele (Magic Treasure).

Lyra took the small bronze cauldron, intending to deploy it as a defensive array artifact at Tianxu Lake to reinforce its protective capabilities.

Eldrin simply exchanged for the remaining 2 items as well, intending to deploy them as formation artifacts atop Verdant Chariot Mountain to enhance the power of the clan’s defensive array.

After exchanging for several treasures, they also obtained a set of Taiyi Heaven-Sealing Formation (Formation). This formation had reached the high-grade of the fourth tier, and the 2 of them planned to deploy it at Spirit Isle Lake (Location).

The spiritual vein grade of Spirit Isle Lake (Location) had now reached the fourth rank, making the former third-rank formation utterly inadequate. Moreover, since Spirit Isle Lake (Location) served as the secluded cultivation ground for Eldrin (Person Name) and his dao companion, they naturally spared no expense in its enhancement.

Apart from that, the storage pouches of the several Golden Core cultivators also contained some spirit stones and supplies.

Eldrin had personally taken stock earlier and discovered that the storage pouches of the Deng family trio contained over 2,000,000 spirit stones, along with several jade slips recording divine abilities and cultivation techniques of considerable value.

At this thought, Eldrin glanced at Lyra and said, "In this battle, the great immortal clans held back hundreds of thousands of demonic beasts and 40 to 50 Purple Mansion great demons. Their contribution could be said to rival that of 2 or 3 Golden Core cultivators."

"In my opinion, we should also allocate a portion of Tier-4 cultivation techniques and spiritual treasures as rewards for distribution."

"Very well, bring forth several cultivation manuals and present the world's spiritual treasures for everyone to choose from."

Lyra also nodded slightly. The great clans and the Zifu cultivators were locked in such desperate struggles, all for the sake of that slim chance at a breakthrough.

In this battle, they unexpectedly slew the 3 Golden Core cultivators of the Deng family, acquiring a considerable number of treasures. Offering several fourth-tier spiritual materials and cultivation methods as rewards served as immense encouragement for everyone.

After the meeting concluded and the treasures were distributed, Eldrin pondered for a moment before saying, "Of the Deng family's 3 Golden Core cultivators, 2 fell in battle, leaving only that old devil to escape. It seems their 2 spirit veins may soon become unoccupied."

"Now that we've spent considerable time reorganizing the Earth Lion Ridge, I intend to make a trip to Yan Kingdom (Location) to settle matters with the Deng Family."

Lyra nodded slightly, a subtle gleam flashing in her eyes. "The Deng Clan's collusion with the demonic tribes is an offense punishable by death. Once we explain the truth to the True Monarch of the Ji Clan from the Yan Kingdom, we shall hold the moral high ground."

"I'll save it."

Eldrin nodded. That very day, he rode his sword out of the Earth Lion Ridge, soaring toward the direction of Yan Kingdom.

The Earth Lion Ridge was over 3,000,000 li away from Yan Kingdom (Location). Even with Eldrin's (Person Name) current sword-flight speed, it took a full month of travel to reach Yan Kingdom (Location).

Upon arriving in Yan Kingdom, Eldrin witnessed numerous streaks of light chasing and battling across the sky. The 2 opposing sides appeared to be cultivators from the Deng Family and the immortal alliance of Yan Kingdom.

His brow twitched slightly, and with a flick of his sleeve, he immobilized the cultivators on both sides. Summoning a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he inquired, "Why is there such chaos within the Yan Kingdom? Has something happened?"

"E-Elder..."

The Foundation Establishment cultivator trembled uncontrollably, casting a terrified glance at Eldrin. The aura radiating from the man before him was as vast as the sun, while his own spiritual presence resembled the faint glimmer of fireflies—a gap too immense to quantify.

At this thought, he dared not conceal the truth and couldn’t help but tremble as he spoke, “Senior, something terrible has happened! The Yan Kingdom’s foremost immortal clan, the Deng Family (Organization), has suddenly been struck by a great upheaval. Now, the entire nation is hunting down their cultivators.”

Eldrin's expression shifted slightly as he swiftly pieced together the whole story from the man's account.

It turned out that 2 months prior, the cultivators stationed at the Deng Family's ancestral hall had discovered that the soul lamps of their 2 ancestral elders had extinguished. The Deng Clan's leadership then realized a great calamity had likely befallen them.

Just 3 days later, all 40-some Purple Mansion Elders of the Deng Clan had returned to the family, convening a council of the clan's senior elders.

They also sensed the impending danger. After convening a meeting and deliberating together, they decided to divide and transfer all the family treasures, then quietly conceal their cultivation bases and flee the cultivation world of Yan Kingdom (Location).

In that case, if Old Man Deng were to perish, they would never return to Chu Kingdom (Location). But if the clan leader survived, they would wait until circumstances took a favorable turn before coming back.

They spent 7 days discreetly transferring the finances from their clan and various market establishments, yet soon attracted the attention of major immortal families across the Yan Kingdom's cultivation world.

A Golden Core cultivator then employed his divine sense to probe the auras of the Deng Clan's 3 Ancestors. To his astonishment, he discovered that the spiritual energies of all 3 Golden Core experts had nearly dissipated—it was highly likely they had already perished.

Thus, overnight, the once highly esteemed cultivators of the Deng family became the most coveted delicacies in the cultivation world of the Chu Kingdom.

In order to seize the wealth they carried, various great clans and rogue cultivators from the Yan Kingdom (Location) cultivation world launched a relentless pursuit against the Deng Family cultivators.

Although the Deng Clan had several dozen Zifu cultivators, they were utterly overwhelmed when faced with the combined assault of 2 Golden Core immortal clans from Yan Kingdom and over 30 Zifu cultivators.

Many were slain by the great immortal clans, while the survivors scattered in desperate flight, becoming little more than vermin hunted by all.

"This Deng family..."

"It seems I have arrived too late."

Eldrin (Person Name) let out a soft sigh, though this outcome had been well within his expectations.

Once a clan discovers that their founding elder has perished abroad and there no longer exists a sufficiently powerful ancestor to safeguard their lineage, the immediate transfer of assets becomes an essential skill every major immortal family’s leadership must master.

Any sane person would understand that without a Golden Core Elder overseeing the family, the treasures and resources left behind would inevitably attract covetous eyes.

Rather than leaving resources for the enemy, it would be better to flee with the treasures—they might yet serve as capital for a comeback.

The Deng Clan had been passed down for over a 1000 years. For generations, they had relied on their prestige as a Golden Core Immortal Clan to wreak havoc upon the Yan Kingdom. Now, the time for retribution had truly arrived.

Many cultivators in the Yan Kingdom (Location) cultivation world had suffered under the Deng family's tyranny, with numerous immortal clans even being forced to offer their most talented female cultivators to the Dengs as Cauldrons (Cultivation Tool).

Far too many businesses had been forcibly seized by the Deng family, and countless individuals had met wrongful deaths at the hands of the Deng cultivators.

Now that the Deng Family had fallen from grace, the time for settling scores had arrived. Cultivators from the Deng Clan—from the highest-ranked Violet Manor elders to the lowest Qi Refinement disciples—were being ruthlessly hunted down by every major immortal clan and rogue cultivator across the Yan Kingdom's cultivation world.

By now, nearly half of the Deng Clan's cultivators had been slaughtered, with countless Foundation Establishment and Purple Mansion realm experts slain. Only a handful managed to escape.