Chapter 1503 : A Conquered Realm's Hidden Treasure

At the same moment, the Western Time Divine Lord atop the Heavenly Vault witnessed this scene, and a faint chill crossed his countenance.

The reason he had risked offending the others by intervening was precisely for this piece of Crimson Firmament Ancient Iron now before his eyes.

But now that the Crimson Firmament Ancient Iron had fallen into the hands of Eldrin Chen, his heart sank with a quiet dismay.

The Violet Mystery Path Master, observing this, spoke with a placid expression, "Does Your Excellency intend to take this item away?"

"Hmph—"

The Western Time Divine Lord snorted coldly. With a flick of his sleeve, he swept up Immortal Maiden Flowing Flame and the others, vanishing into the boundless expanse of heaven and earth.

Only after his departure did the remaining figures collectively release a subtle sigh of relief.

The Blazeflame Divine Spirit, seeing this, could not help but express his surprise, "None of us detected her concealment. How did you know she possessed this piece of Crimson Firmament Ancient Iron?"

"I did not know."

Eldrin Chen shook his head, then stated calmly, "But she was the most powerful cultivator from the Flowing Fire Star Palace present. It was most likely she who would have brought forth a supreme treasure."

"So that's how it is," Eldrin Chen [the protagonist, a powerful cultivator and clan leader] remarked, comprehension dawning.

Upon hearing this, everyone present gave a slight, understanding nod.

With matters having progressed to this point, the campaign against the Flowing Fire Star Palace was effectively concluded.

The moment they set foot upon the Flowing Fire Blessed Land, this ancient Blessed Land [a realm of concentrated spiritual energy, superior to a Grotto-Heaven] truly and irrevocably changed masters.

After securing control of the Flowing Fire Blessed Land, Eldrin Chen immediately ordered an inventory of the treasures housed within this Blessed Land.

Once the tally was complete, they discovered that the Flowing Fire Star Palace Blessed Land, true to its status as the ruler of the Flowing Stream Hundred Seas, possessed wealth accumulated over tens of millions of years that could only be described as staggering.

The assets of this Blessed Land could be broadly categorized into three parts: fixed assets, Immortal Treasure [powerful enchanted artifacts], Immortal Artifact [divine tools], Spiritual Root [plants with profound spiritual properties], Immortal Herb [herbs of celestial grade], and lastly, Immortal Scripture [cultivation manuals and secret techniques] and other esoteric texts.

Fixed assets constituted the largest portion. A single Supreme Grade Blessed Land [the highest grade of Blessed Land], from a long-term perspective, was even more valuable than a Primordial Unity Immortal Weapon [a weapon wielded by an Immortal of the Primordial Unity realm], its worth speaking for itself.

Setting aside the Blessed Land itself, the Flowing Fire Star Palace also held vast mineral veins, six hundred Mu-area [one Mu-area equals six hundred sixty-six point six seven square meters] of Immortal Field [fields for cultivating immortal-grade plants], and one Void Gate [a spatial teleportation artifact].

That Void Gate was a supreme Spatial Supreme Treasure [a pinnacle-grade artifact for manipulating space] forged by the Flowing Fire Blessed Land with the assistance of the Immortal Court [the celestial governing body]. This artifact could transport one to almost any location within the Vast Azure Immortal Domain in the blink of an eye.

Even realms beyond the Immortal Domain [the celestial domain where true Immortals reside], such as the Starry Sky Great Universe [the vast cosmos beyond the known heavens], could be reached through this portal gate.

The value of such a supreme treasure is truly inestimable, and its ownership, strictly speaking, belongs to the Immortal Court [the celestial bureaucracy governing the Immortal Domains].

However, its activation requires drawing upon the Earth Vein [the spiritual ley lines that form the world's foundation] of the entire Flowing Stream Hundred Seas [a region of a hundred seas and flowing waterways], which is why it is anchored there and cannot be moved.

The Flowing Fire Star Palace [a celestial palace associated with flowing fire and stars] holds dominion over the Flowing Stream Hundred Seas, and the Master of Flowing Fire Star Palace also holds a position within the Western Abyss Immortal Court [the Immortal Court governing the Western Abyss], hence their qualification to act as its custodians.

According to Eldrin Chen, this Void Gate [a gate capable of traversing the void between realms] opens once every thousand years, each time bringing the Flowing Fire Star Palace a profit of over ten thousand Immortal Source [a crystalized form of pure, primordial Immortal energy].

Although the lion's share of this profit is taken by the Immortal Court, what remains for the Flowing Fire Star Palace still amounts to roughly three thousand pieces.

Now that the Chen Immortal Clan has become the master of the Flowing Stream Hundred Seas, they naturally possess the right to wield this Void Gate as well.

Aside from the Void Gate, the most precious assets were the hundred Mu-area [one Mu-area equals six hundred sixty-six point six seven square meters] of Immortal Field [fields of soil imbued with Immortal essence].

One must understand, these were Immortal Field! Every inch of their soil was paved with Immortal Soil [earth saturated with Immortal energy], making their value utterly incalculable.

Many Earth Immortal Blessed Land [sanctified realms of Earth Immortals] accumulated over millions of years might only possess a dozen or so Mu-area of such Immortal Field.

After attaining immortality, Eldrin Chen obtained the Heaven-Seizing Earth-Nurturing Art [a profound art for cultivating immortal-grade fields]. Yet, even after cultivating for several hundred thousand years, the Immortal Field [a field capable of nurturing immortal-grade spiritual plants] he had managed to develop amounted to barely over sixty Mu-area [one Mu-area equals six hundred sixty-six point six seven square meters].

Furthermore, to cultivate these sixty Mu-area of Immortal Field, the Chen Immortal Clan had invested a vast ocean of resources and Immortal Spirit Essence [a highly refined spiritual energy used by immortals]. Their total value was likely equivalent to several million Immortal Source [a high-grade spiritual crystal used by immortals as currency and cultivation resource].

"With these Immortal Source and the spiritual veins, plus these six hundred Mu-area of Immortal Field, our clan will likely possess over a thousand Mu-area of Immortal Field within a hundred thousand years,"

Eldrin Chen murmured inwardly, a flicker of joy lighting his features.

Currently, of the Chen Immortal Clan's sixty Mu-area of Spiritual Field [a field for nurturing spiritual plants], thirty Mu-area were planted with Jade Marrow Golden Bamboo Shoot [a spiritual bamboo shoot prized for its marrow-like essence]. Among them, over three thousand stalks had already matured to the immortal grade.

Roughly calculated, this brought the clan an income of approximately one thousand five hundred Immortal Source every millennium.

If the scale of Jade Marrow Golden Bamboo Shoot cultivation were expanded twentyfold, then after two or three hundred thousand years, the Chen Immortal Clan's income from this source would also increase twentyfold.

At that point, it would yield thirty thousand Immortal Source every millennium, amounting to roughly thirty million Immortal Source every million years.

This income would be truly staggering. Even Seven Mystery Path Master, who occupied a Large Immortal Source Mine [a major vein of Immortal Source crystals], might not reap such profits every million years.

More crucially, as more and more Jade Marrow Golden Bamboo Shoot were planted, a rare few among them would inevitably undergo a metamorphosis, ascending to become Jade Marrow Golden Bamboo [the mature, far more valuable form of the spiritual bamboo].

That Jade Marrow Golden Bamboo is a World-Opening Marvel [a rare and wondrous material born from the primal energies of a newly formed world]. While it cannot be used for alchemy, it is a superior material for forging World-Opening Supreme Treasure [supreme-grade magical treasures born from the energies of world creation].

When enough Jade Marrow Golden Bamboo is gathered, it becomes the finest material for crafting the 'World-Opening Sword Formation' [a legendary sword formation of world-sundering power].

Therefore, these six hundred Mu-area [one Mu-area equals six hundred sixty-six point six seven square meters] of Immortal Field [a field imbued with immortal-grade spiritual energy] held long-term value for Eldrin Chen that even surpassed that of a World-Opening Supreme Treasure.

The sole drawback was that for a Jade Marrow Golden Bamboo Shoot [the sprout of the Jade Marrow Golden Bamboo] to metamorphose into a full Jade Marrow Golden Bamboo, it often required a million years. Thus, this value could not be realized in the short term.

Beyond these fixed assets, the Flowing Fire Star Palace also left behind a vast quantity of Immortal Herb [herbs of immortal grade, containing immense spiritual power] and Spiritual Root [plants with innate spiritual properties, often used in high-level cultivation].

Among them were seven World-Opening Spiritual Root [spiritual roots born from the energies of world creation], each a treasure of immeasurable worth. The Immortal Herb were also of immense value.

Furthermore, the Immortal Treasure [magical treasures of immortal grade] and Immortal Artifact [enchanted artifacts of immortal grade] numbered in the thousands. The total value of all these liquid assets, even excluding divine materials like the Crimson Firmament Ancient Iron, exceeded thirty million Immortal Source [a highly concentrated and purified form of spiritual energy used by immortals].

Finally, the ancient Immortal Scripture [scriptures and texts containing immortal-level cultivation arts and knowledge] numbered over ten thousand volumes. Most were Seventh Rank [seventh-grade] Immortal Scripture, but there were nearly one hundred volumes of Eighth Rank Realm [eighth-grade] World-Opening Ancient Scroll [ancient scrolls containing arts related to world creation or primordial power], all treasured collections of the Flowing Fire Star Palace.

Witnessing such a monumental haul, Violet Mystery Path Master could not help but stroke his beard and remark, "The accumulated treasures of thirty million years from the Flowing Fire Star Palace are all laid bare here."

Eldrin Chen nodded slightly, a faint smile gracing his lips as he retrieved four of the World-Opening Spiritual Root, several World-Opening Marvel, and meticulously copied all the World-Opening Ancient Scroll from the Flowing Fire Star Palace archives.

After completing this step, he handed them to Violet Mystery Path Master and said, "Elder Brother contributed greatly to this battle. Please consider these a token of my gratitude."

Violet Mystery Path Master's expression shifted slightly, and he immediately shook his head. "Worthy Brother, you aided me in overcoming the Path-Obstructing Tribulation [a formidable heavenly trial that blocks a cultivator's path to a higher realm], allowing me to step into the Primordial Unity Realm [a profound cultivation stage where one's spirit and body achieve perfect harmony]. How could I have the audacity to accept more of your treasures?"

"Hahaha!" Eldrin Chen laughed heartily before continuing, "Without Elder Brother's assistance, I fear my Crimson Dragon and Black Dragon cauldrons might not have been preserved."

"These treasures are rightfully yours."

Seeing this, Violet Mystery Path Master finally ceased his refusal.

He accepted the four World-Opening Spiritual Root [a rare spiritual plant containing the essence of primordial creation] and took the replicated World-Opening Ancient Scroll [a legendary cultivation manual detailing the secrets of world creation].

He did not take any of the other World-Opening Marvel [mysterious objects imbued with the power of genesis], merely stating, "Your path to the Dao is still young, and your foundation is not yet vast. You should keep the remaining items."