Chapter 1477 : Secrets of the Ancient Cauldrons

"This matter is thus settled."

With the personnel decided, Eldrin Chen spoke up, "Then we shall give everyone one thousand years. Once you have selected your candidates, we will depart immediately."

"Agreed."

With the matter settled, the group discussed a few more details before taking their leave.

After everyone had departed, Eldrin Chen took the Ancient Crimson Dragon Cauldron from Exquisite Jiang's hands and began to study it.

After some examination, he discovered that both this Ancient Crimson Dragon Cauldron and the Black Dragon Ancient Cauldron were merely single-pattern World-Opening Supreme Treasure [the most foundational and common grade of supreme treasures capable of creating worlds].

Understanding this, Eldrin Chen mused thoughtfully, "The power of these two World-Opening Supreme Treasure still falls short of the Nether Sea Pearl we encountered within the Netherworld Small Universe."

Exquisite Jiang nodded in agreement, then estimated, "If my calculations are correct, that Nether Sea Pearl was likely a triple-pattern Netherworld Supreme Treasure [a supreme treasure of the netherworld, its power denoted by the number of mystical patterns it bears]."

"No wonder even the mighty Primordial Solar Heavenly Flame Grand Formation [a grand formation harnessing the primordial power of the solar heavenly flames] could not harm the Nether Sea Pearl in the slightest."

Recalling this, Verdant Consort added with a hint of lingering fear, "Fortunately, that Nether Sea Pearl was being wielded by an ordinary Ghost Immortal [an immortal whose cultivation path has strayed into ghostly or netherworldly arts]." Continue your cultivation journey at audio-novel dot com.

"If it had been wielded by the Ancient Ruins Nether Lord, unleashing its full power, we might not have been able to return at all back then."

"There is no need for such concern."

Eldrin Chen offered a slight smile and continued, "That Nether Sea Pearl is a 'defensive Netherworld Supreme Treasure' [a treasure of the highest order within the Netherworld] born from the very essence of the Netherworld Small Universe. Its defensive capabilities rank first among the three great treasures of that realm."

"However, in terms of offensive power, this treasure cannot match even a single High-Grade World-Opening Treasure [a supreme treasure capable of cleaving open worlds]. It would likely have been insufficient to detain us."

With that said, Eldrin Chen handed the Black Dragon Ancient Cauldron to Exquisite Jiang and received this Ancient Crimson Dragon Cauldron in exchange.

He then began refining the Ancient Crimson Dragon Cauldron and remarked, "This cauldron is a fire-attribute World-Opening Supreme Treasure. When combined with my Primordial Solar Heavenly Flame [a supreme flame embodying the essence of the primordial sun], its power should increase by another thirty percent."

"At that point, with Exquisite and I joining forces, we would have a reasonable chance of breaching the defenses of that Nether Sea Pearl."

"..."

Eldrin Chen had already refined this Ancient Crimson Dragon Cauldron repeatedly in the past. Although it had now ascended to the realm of a World-Opening Supreme Treasure, re-establishing his connection to it was not a strenuous task.

Not long after, Eldrin Chen successfully completed the refinement process and began mobilizing personnel from his clan.

After several centuries had passed, Eldrin Chen [the protagonist, a powerful cultivator] gathered over two hundred Immortal [beings who have ascended to immortality] and set off silently towards the Netherworld Realm [a vast and perilous underworld dimension].

Along the way, he rendezvoused with Ancient Ruins Nether Lord [a powerful ruler of the Netherworld] and the others, then immediately proceeded towards the Netherworld Small Universe [a sealed, pocket dimension within the Netherworld]. Unnoticed, they arrived before the spatial rift leading into the Netherworld Small Universe.

"Proceed with caution,"

Eldrin Chen stood before the spatial tear, then looked at Ancient Ruins Nether Lord and said, "I will take the lead to clear the path. Follow closely behind."

"Understood."

Ancient Ruins Nether Lord nodded and activated the Heaven Escape Pearl [a treasure capable of parting spatial barriers] to widen the fissure.

As Eldrin Chen stepped into the Spatial Rift, a colossal force surged forth to meet him.

"Hmph—"

Sensing the ambush, Eldrin Chen let out a cold snort. With a flick of his sleeve, he unleashed a palm strike that cleaved through the void.

In that fleeting moment, the aura of the Endless Chaos [the primordial, formless state before creation] surged violently. The assailant was sent flying backward by Eldrin's single blow, a look of utter shock dawning on their face.

"Hmmmm—" [a resonant, vibrating hum]

After forcing the attacker back with a single strike, Eldrin Chen channeled the Primordial One Energy True Aura to shield the fissure, then turned his gaze upon the one who had struck. [the Primordial One Energy True Aura is a powerful defensive technique that forms an impenetrable shield of pure, unified energy]

The assailant was a Netherworld Ghost Ancestor at the Earth Immortal Great Perfection stage, seemingly one of the few who had reached that pinnacle in years past. [an Earth Immortal Great Perfection cultivator has reached the absolute peak of the Earth Immortal realm, just one step away from becoming a Celestial Immortal; a Netherworld Ghost Ancestor is a powerful spectral entity that has cultivated to an extremely high level within the ghostly path]

Yet after all these years, this Earth Immortal Great Perfection Netherworld Ghost Ancestor was no longer a match for Eldrin Chen. A single exchange had already inflicted significant wounds upon it.

Seeing the overwhelming power of the newcomer, the Netherworld Ghost Ancestor did not hesitate for a moment. It instantly fled, vanishing into the boundless void.

Only then did Exquisite Jiang and the others arrive, traversing the void. Gazing at the retreating Netherworld Ghost Ancestor, she asked, "Have they discovered us?" Find thousands of chapters at audio-novel`com.

"It seems they sensed the anomaly long ago and have been preparing for some time,"

Eldrin Chen replied calmly. Once the group had fully assembled, he invoked the Path Principles of space to seal the surrounding void, then led the way toward the Nether River Galaxy. [Path Principles are the fundamental laws and truths that govern cultivation and reality itself, which high-level cultivators can comprehend and manipulate]

An immeasurable span of time later, Eldrin Chen finally arrived at the periphery of the Nether River Galaxy.

Yet, beholding the Nether River Galaxy before them, a slight frown creased everyone's brows. At the galaxy's core, countless Netherworld Stellar had been ignited, their power woven into a vast Formation that shrouded its very heart. [a Formation is a complex arrangement of energy nodes, artifacts, or ley lines that creates powerful magical effects, often used for defense, attack, or cultivation]

Ancient Ruins Nether Lord [the ruler of the ancient ruins in the netherworld] observed this and, with a slight frown, remarked, "This is the Lunar Domain Grand Formation [a grand defensive formation that harnesses lunar energy]. It seems they were well-prepared."

Eldrin Chen nodded, yet a wave of relief washed over him as he said, "Fortunately, this Netherworld Small Universe [a sealed, self-contained pocket dimension within the netherworld] is isolated. Its mastery of Formation [the art of constructing and utilizing magical arrays] is far inferior to that of the Immortal Domain [the realm of the immortals]."

"This Formation uses the Nether Sea Pearl [a mystical pearl containing the essence of the nether sea] as its Formation Eye [the core node that powers and stabilizes a magical array], yet it is only a quasi-World-Opening [a cultivation realm signifying the power to open a new world] grade immortal array."

Upon hearing this, Heaven Abyss Path Master [a master of the heavenly abyss cultivation path] gave a slight nod of agreement, though his brow remained furrowed. "Even if it is merely a quasi-Supreme-Grade Immortal Formation [an immortal formation of the highest possible grade], I fear that without power equivalent to the Half-Step Celestial Immortal Realm [a cultivation realm halfway to becoming a true celestial immortal], breaching it would be impossible."

Eldrin Chen pondered for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the formation. After a brief observation, he declared, "A direct, forceful assault is not feasible. However, this array is exceedingly crude in its construction."

"If we charge into the formation and follow this specific path, destroying each of their Formation Eye one by one, the entire array will collapse of its own accord."

Ancient Ruins Nether Lord listened, but his expression darkened further. "Fighting within their formation means we are on hostile ground. The enemy will have the Formation's power augmenting them. If we become locked in a stalemate, the situation could turn dire."

His words caused the expressions of everyone present to grow even more solemn.

Engaging the enemy within their own fortified formation was never the optimal strategy. Such a move was typically reserved for those possessing absolute confidence in their overwhelming superiority.

During the Great Tribulation [a cataclysmic era of conflict and upheaval] in times past, figures like Patriarch Suwei and the Lord of Thousand Dragon Lake [the ruler of the thousand dragon lake territory] had met their end at the hands of Eldrin Chen precisely because they had chosen to fight within his formations.

Now, taking that step is fraught with peril, for a single misstep could trap them within.

Seeing everyone's concern, Eldrin Chen seemed to have anticipated it. He gazed at the Formation within the Nether River Galaxy before them and spoke.

"This Formation of the Netherworld Small Universe is composed of hundreds of millions of minor Formation Eye, coordinated with several dozen key Formation Eye, and anchored by the internal core Blessed Land. It constitutes a colossal, composite Formation."

"Its overall structure can be broadly divided into three sections."

As Eldrin Chen explained in detail, everyone gradually grasped the layout of this grand formation.

The formation was roughly divided into three zones. The outermost zone consisted of over ten billion Netherworld Stellar.

The individual energy of these Netherworld Stellar was negligible to Immortal and Earth Immortal alike. After all, for Eldrin Chen to advance a single layer in his cultivation now required refining thirty million Galaxy Star Sand Pill.

Yet, the energy aggregated from such a vast multitude of Netherworld Stellar was still astonishing, constituting roughly three-tenths of the formation's total power.

The middle zone was the core of the Netherworld Small Universe, formed by the convergence of three thousand Netherworld Ghost Cities, which also contributed three-tenths of the grand formation's energy.

Finally, the core zone housed the Nether Sea Blessed Land, one of the three great Netherworld Blessed Land within the Netherworld Small Universe.

That place was originally a supreme-grade Netherworld Blessed Land [a region of concentrated spiritual energy and natural wonders]. However, because the Small Universe [a self-contained pocket dimension] was on the verge of Oblivion [complete dissolution and return to primordial chaos], the energies within had become extremely unstable. At best, it was now comparable to a Upper Grade Blessed Land [a high-tier region of spiritual power] in the world of the living. For more chapters, visit audi0-n0vel.c0m for the complete novel.