Chapter 1478 : The Four Ancient Spirit Beasts

As Eldrin Chen recounted the tale in measured tones, the assembled group gradually gained a foundational understanding of this grand formation.

Then, Eldrin Chen continued his analysis, gazing at the countless Formation Eye [the core nodes that control and channel a formation's power] on the periphery. "The outer formation is comprised of the dispersed Myriad Stellar [the countless stars and celestial bodies within this realm]," he explained. "However, they cannot directly mobilize the energy of these individual Stellar [celestial bodies]."

"Thus, they employ the Formation [a structured array that channels and amplifies energy] to layer and converge the energy from the Myriad Stellar in successive tiers, ultimately unified and gathered by four primary Formation Eye."

At this point, Eldrin Chen fixed his gaze upon those four Formation Eye. "The Soaring Serpent [a mythical winged serpent], the Great Roc [a colossal bird of prey], the Dragon Turtle [a hybrid creature of dragon and turtle], and the Kui Ox [a single-legged, thunderous bovine beast]—these are the four Ancient True Spirit Beasts [primordial spiritual entities of immense power] that were birthed at the dawn of this Small Universe [a self-contained pocket dimension or realm]."

"The four Stellar before us are the manifested power of the four Ancient True Spirit Domains [the territories or realms ruled by the Ancient True Spirit Beasts] within the Solar Realm Small Universe [the specific name of this pocket dimension]. They are also the crucial linchpins of the outer Formation Eye."

"Once we breach them, the power of the outer Myriad Stellar will be unable to converge, and the formation will collapse of its own accord."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell into contemplative silence.

Kael Chen pondered for a moment before inquiring, "These four Ancient True Spirit Domains are manifestations of power from the Yang World's ancient domains. With the amplification of the Formation, they should be capable of summoning spectral projections of the four True Spirit [beings who have ascended to a profound spiritual state of existence]."

"Although the power of these projections pales in comparison to the true bodies of the four Yang World True Spirit, being only comparable to a Late Stage Earth Immortal [an advanced cultivator who has forged a connection to the world's essence], their combined force could rival a single Earth Immortal Great Perfection [a cultivator who has reached the pinnacle of the Earth Immortal realm]."

"Most crucially," he continued, his tone grave, "the threats within this Formation extend far beyond this. The Three Thousand Ghost Cities [a vast necropolis of spectral settlements] in the central region and the core area's Nether Sea Blessed Land [a blessed land of profound Yin energy from the underworld] will both be formidable adversaries." Enjoyed this chapter? Read more at https://audio-novel.com.

Eldrin Chen [the protagonist, a powerful cultivator] nodded upon hearing this. The last time they had struck, they had caught this Netherworld Small Universe [a minor, self-contained realm of the underworld] completely off guard. But now, the Netherworld Small Universe was prepared. The force they would face upon striking again had grown substantially.

At its peak, this Netherworld Small Universe had housed over a thousand Ghost Ancestor [Eighth Rank cultivators of the ghostly path] and one hundred thousand Seventh Rank Ghost Immortal [Seventh Rank cultivators of the ghostly path].

Now, with the collapse of its Earthly Path [the foundational cultivation method of this realm], the number of powerful beings within had dwindled to less than one-tenth of its former glory. Yet, there remained at least eight thousand Ghost Immortal and nearly one hundred Ghost Ancestor at the Earth Immortal [a high cultivation realm] level.

Of course, this Small Universe was different from the outside world. Isolated from external lineages, its denizens had never cultivated the World-Opening [a specific, powerful cultivation method] techniques. Consequently, the powerful beings of this Small Universe were considerably weaker than their counterparts from beyond.

An Earth Immortal Patriarch [a patriarch at the Earth Immortal realm] from the Vast Azure Immortal Domain [a major immortal realm] could likely hold his own against two Earth Immortal from the Solar Realm Small Universe [another minor realm].

The Ghost Ancestor of the Netherworld Small Universe at the Early Eighth Rank [the initial stage of the Eighth Rank] were even weaker, their true combat prowess roughly equivalent to that of a Half-Step Earth Immortal [one who has partially advanced into the Earth Immortal realm].

A Ghost Ancestor at the Ninth Level Earth Immortal [the pinnacle of the Earth Immortal realm] here barely scratched the threshold of Late Stage Earth Immortal [the advanced phase of the Earth Immortal realm] in terms of real power. This was precisely why Eldrin Chen had been able to use his Gale Wind God-Slaying Gourd [a powerful magical artifact] to instantly obliterate a Ghost Ancestor at Earth Immortal Great Perfection [the perfected stage of the Earth Immortal realm] in a single strike all those years ago.

Regardless, these eight thousand Ghost Immortal and nearly one hundred Ghost Ancestor, combined with the power of this Netherworld Grand Formation [a grand defensive formation of the underworld], would undoubtedly be a formidable force to confront.

After careful consideration, Eldrin Chen finally spoke. "Within the central region's Three Thousand Ghost Cities [a cluster of three thousand ghostly citadels], the formation can amplify the combat power of three thousand Ghost Immortal to the Great Perfection level of their realm. Their strength would then be roughly comparable to three thousand cultivators at the Late Ascendant Immortal Realm [the advanced stage of the Ascendant Immortal realm]."

"However, their mastery of Formation [the art of crafting and utilizing magical arrays] is lacking. Although the Ghost Immortal bolstered by the Formation are powerful, they cannot venture far from the Three Thousand Ghost Cities. Thus, they pose no significant threat to us."

"What we truly face," he began, his voice grave, "are the five thousand Ghost Immortal [immortals who have transcended mortality through ghostly cultivation], the four spectral projections of True Spirit [primordial spiritual beasts of immense power] behemoths, the near hundred Earth Immortal Ghost Ancestor [ancient, powerful ghosts who have attained earth immortal status], and that accursed Nether Sea Pearl [a legendary artifact said to contain the condensed power of the Nether Sea] from the Netherworld Small Universe [a self-contained pocket dimension within the Netherworld]."

Exquisite Jiang pondered for a moment before speaking. "If we can withstand the pressure and destroy the four core Formation Eye [the central, most vital nodes of a magical array], the outer defensive formation should collapse of its own accord."

Upon hearing this, the assembled cultivators exchanged uneasy glances.

Nyssa Qu considered the words, then inquired, "How then shall we proceed? What is our strategy?"

Without hesitation, Eldrin Chen declared, "Within my Earth Immortal World [a personal realm created and governed by an Earth Immortal], I command over three hundred Divine Spirits [spiritual beings of significant power, often bound to serve a higher immortal]. They can hold the line against a portion of the Ghost Immortal onslaught."

Seeing this, Exquisite Jiang immediately added, "My own Earth Immortal World also houses close to three hundred such Divine Spirits."

Inspired by their lead, the others began to report the numbers of Divine Spirits they could muster from their own personal realms.

After a swift tally, it was found that Verdant Consort could deploy two hundred and fifty, while each of the other Immortal who had opened a Ninefold Heaven [a specific, advanced tier of personal immortal realm] could contribute roughly two hundred Divine Spirits.

Thus, from the eleven Earth Immortal [immortals who have ascended to govern their own earthly domains] present, they discovered they could field a force of two thousand six hundred Divine Spirits of Ascendant Immortal Realm [a foundational level of immortal power] strength.

"Two thousand six hundred Divine Spirits," he calculated aloud, "combined with the three hundred who accompanied us, gives us nearly three thousand combatants of Ascendant Immortal [the basic rank of immortalhood] caliber."

Eldrin Chen made a rough calculation before speaking. "Generally speaking, an Immortal [a being who has ascended to immortality through cultivation] can single-handedly contend with two or three Ghost Immortals [immortals who failed their heavenly tribulation and exist in a spectral state] of the same realm. The Ghost Immortals within this Netherworld Small Universe [a minor, self-contained realm within the underworld] are even weaker."

"By that reckoning, a force of three thousand one hundred Immortal [a being who has ascended to immortality through cultivation] combatants is more than sufficient to deal with over five thousand of their kind."

Hearing this, the assembled Immortals all nodded slightly in agreement.

However, Ancient Ruins Nether Lord [a powerful lord of the netherworld] voiced a concern with some hesitation. "The Divine Spirits [powerful spiritual entities born from the laws of a world] nurtured within our inner worlds are manifestations of the fundamental Path Principles [the core laws and truths of cultivation] and the world's origin essence. The fall of even one would deplete a portion of the world's foundational energy."

"If a great number perish, the cost to restore that lost essence would be considerable."

Eldrin Chen shook his head, a sigh escaping his lips. "Yet, are the Immortals [beings who have ascended to immortality through cultivation] who followed us here not also in peril should they fall in battle?" Access the full story on audio-novel . com.

"After they perish, we can simply expend some of our world's essence to aid their Reincarnation [the cycle of rebirth] within our inner realms. As long as we conquer this Small Universe [a minor, self-contained realm], all losses to our world's foundational energy can be recouped."

His words brought another round of thoughtful nods from the group.

Restoring a world's foundational energy required a vast expenditure of power. By their estimation, for every ten Ascendant Immortal Realm [the realm of a newly ascended immortal] Divine Spirits [powerful spiritual entities born from the laws of a world] slain, a full vial of Galaxy Star Sand Pill [a precious elixir refined from the essence of stars and cosmic dust] would be needed for recovery.

Should a hundred fall, the essence required for restoration would be enough to purchase a High-Grade World-Opening Treasure [a supreme artifact capable of creating or stabilizing a new world].

Moreover, the Divine Spirits [powerful spiritual beings born within a cultivator's inner world] within an Earth Immortal World [the personal, evolving cosmos within an Earth Immortal] often possess combat power vastly inferior to the Earth Immortal Patriarch [a supreme cultivator who has forged their own inner world] themselves.

Given the formidable power of Eldrin Chen's Earth Immortal World, setting aside the dozen or so Imperial Lord [rulers of celestial domains, a rank above Earth Immortals], the combined might of three hundred Divine Spirits would be utterly insufficient. If Eldrin Chen were to unleash his full power without regard for spiritual energy [the vital force used in cultivation] expenditure, he could suppress and annihilate them all within ten moves.

Even if three thousand Divine Spirits were to besiege him simultaneously, Eldrin Chen could single-handedly shatter their assault, likely emerging without significant injury, though his spiritual energy reserves would be severely taxed.

Therefore, the vast majority of Earth Immortal [cultivators who have ascended to create their own inner worlds] are extremely reluctant to deploy the Divine Spirits from their Earth Immortal World for external combat.

Furthermore, by the time an Earth Immortal finds themselves outmatched, unleashing their inner world's Divine Spirits rarely turns the tide of battle.

Of course, in their current predicament, they could not claim absolute superiority. To decisively break the stalemate, Eldrin Chen had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure.

This was no time to cherish their feathers. If they could conquer this Small Universe [a self-contained, lesser cosmos], all the fallen Divine Spirits could be resurrected.

The expenditure of World's Origin [the foundational, life-giving energy of a world] would be, compared to their potential gains, a mere trifle. Dive deeper into the Dao at @udio-novel.com.