Chapter 1734 : From Mortal Dust to Immortal Throne

This figure was none other than the former Sect Master of Divine Abyss Grotto-Heaven, the Divine Abyss Path Master who had shaken the Vast Azure Immortal Domain for one hundred eighty million years.

The Divine Abyss Path Master had cultivated for two hundred million years to this day. In his youth, he was merely a rogue cultivator, hailing from a Nameless minor world deep within the Dimensional Void.

He was the first Immortal [a being who has transcended mortality through cultivation] in that minor world's history to ascend. His ascension coincided with a Great Tribulation [a cataclysmic era of conflict and upheaval ordained by fate] sweeping across the Immortal Domain, and he found himself swept into its chaotic currents almost by accident.

It must be said that the Divine Abyss Path Master could be called a peerless genius of ancient times. Though he rose from humble origins, he carved out an astonishing legacy for himself amidst the turmoil of the Great Tribulation.

By the time the Great Tribulation ended thirty thousand years later, he had already become a top-tier Immortal at the Great Perfection of the Ascendant Immortal Realm.

In the short span of twenty million years that followed, he weathered several Great Tribulations and Path Tribulations [personal trials faced on one's cultivation path]. Though not a protagonist-level figure of the Tribulation [the era of tribulation itself], he nonetheless left a profound mark upon the annals of history.

Twenty million years later, he achieved the realm of an Immaculate Celestial Immortal and founded the Divine Abyss Grotto-Heaven.

After another eighty million years of accumulation, he finally succeeded in nurturing the Divine Abyss Grotto-Heaven into an Upper Grade Grotto-Heaven. He then weathered a ninety-million-year Kalpa Tribulation [a cosmic cycle of destruction and rebirth], thus becoming one of the Sovereigns [supreme rulers of a region] who commanded awe throughout the Western Essence Divine Abyss Sea.

Faced with such a legendary figure, even Abyss Halting Path Master acted with considerable caution.

At this moment, Abyss Halting Path Master presented a letter and spoke, "Honored Patriarch, this is a missive delivered by the Returning Abyss Immortal Alliance." Access the full story on audio-novel . com.

Divine Abyss Path Master cast a glance, his brow furrowing slightly after a moment.

After reading the letter, Divine Abyss Path Master pondered briefly before speaking. "This Returning Abyss Path Master appears to come for the authority over the Heavenly Path Source Artifact [a supreme artifact capable of channeling the fundamental laws of the cosmos], but in truth, his aim is the distribution of the Immortal Spirit Essence [the purified spiritual energy required for Celestial Immortals to advance their cultivation] and Immortal Source [the primordial source energy from which Immortal Spirit Essence is refined] from the Chaos Abyss."

Upon hearing this, Abyss Halting Path Master's expression shifted slightly. "The Immortal Spirit Essence converted by the Heavenly Path Source Artifact has been shared solely between us and the Western Essence Grotto-Heaven since time immemorial. If we allocate a portion to them, won't our own share diminish?"

"It matters little."

Divine Abyss Path Master shook his head and continued. "To convert Immortal Spirit Essence, one requires Celestial Immortal Great Power [a cultivator who has reached the Celestial Immortal realm and possesses formidable strength] to activate the Heavenly Path Source Artifact."

"The more Celestial Immortal [immortals who have ascended to the celestial realm] who activate the artifact, the greater the amount of Immortal Spirit Essence that can be converted. The Chaos Abyssal Chasm within the Western Essence Divine Abyss Sea has a theoretical limit sufficient to produce essence for the cultivation of one hundred Celestial Immortal."

"Currently, the converted Immortal Spirit Essence only meets the needs of fifty Celestial Immortal. Its potential is far from fully tapped."

"They possess close to thirty Celestial Immortal Great Power. If they can commit even one-third of their force, the Immortal Spirit Essence converted by the Heavenly Path Source Artifact would double. It would not significantly encroach upon our allotted share."

Abyss Halting Path Master spoke again, concern in his voice. "While that may be true, the conversion ultimately has a ceiling. They have no small number of Immaculate Celestial Immortal [Celestial Immortals who have perfected their foundation]. Once they advance to the Late Celestial Immortal Realm, the supply will likely fall short."

"Moreover, their ambitions likely extend beyond just the Immortal Spirit Essence. They probably covet a share of the Heavenly Path Authority [the right to wield and influence the cosmic laws channeled by the artifact] as well."

Upon hearing this, Divine Abyss Path Master [the master of the Divine Abyss Path] could not help but frown slightly, a crease forming between his brows.

He believed Abyss Halting Path Master [the master of the Abyss Halting Path] spoke sense. An existence at the Late Celestial Immortal Realm [the late stage of the Celestial Immortal realm] consumed cultivation resources several times greater than one at the Early Celestial Immortal Realm [the early stage of the Celestial Immortal realm].

The resources of the Western Essence Divine Abyss Sea [the sea region encompassing the Western Essence and Divine Abyss domains] were finite. Even if exploited to their absolute limit, they could, at most, sustain only thirty Celestial Immortals [powerful immortals who have ascended to a higher plane of existence] in their middle or late stages.

Given the foundation of the Immortal Alliance [a coalition of powerful immortals], once it reached its developmental bottleneck, it would inevitably, sooner or later, have to settle the score with the two great Grotto-Heaven [self-contained paradisiacal realms of immense spiritual power].

Most crucially, the complete Heavenly Path Authority [the sovereign authority and control over the laws of a Heavenly Domain] of the entire Western Essence Divine Abyss Sea was something Divine Abyss Path Master had coveted for a long, long time.

It must be understood that any single Celestial Immortal Great Power [a mighty Celestial Immortal cultivator], upon fully refining a Heavenly Path Source Artifact [an artifact that is the source and key to a Heavenly Domain's authority] and completely mastering the Heavenly Path Authority of one Heavenly Domain [a vast region governed by its own set of heavenly laws], would possess combat power capable of breaking through one Heavenly Pass [a major bottleneck or tribulation threshold in cultivation], rivaling that of an Ancient Immortal [an immortal from a bygone, primordial era].

As for those Ancient Immortal who had already broken through a Heavenly Pass, if they gained the augmentation of Heavenly Path Authority, their combat power would also increase by at least the equivalent of one additional tribulation's worth of strength.

Take, for example, the several Ancient Immortal Great Power within the Vast Azure Immortal Domain [the Immortal Domain of Vast Azure]. Although they were merely Triple Tribulation Ancient Immortal [Ancient Immortals who have survived three great heavenly tribulations], bolstered by the authority of their domain, their combat prowess might not be inferior to those Four Tribulations Ancient Immortal [Ancient Immortals who have survived four great heavenly tribulations] who had cultivated bitterly for billions of years.

Furthermore, supreme beings like Void Sword Master [the master of the Void Sword Path] from the Void Heavenly Domain [the Heavenly Domain of Void] and Master of Purple Tenuity [the ruler of the Purple Tenuity Path Palace] from the Purple Tenuity Path Palace [the palace governing the Purple Tenuity Path], each wielded the authority of an entire domain. Their true combat power had, in fact, already touched the realm of the Ancient Immortal.

For such sovereign authority, Divine Abyss Path Master naturally harbored a deep and enduring thirst. Now, the Returning Abyss Immortal Alliance [the Immortal Alliance of the Returning Abyss] posed a significant threat, casting a shadow of worry upon his brow.

After all, the Returning Abyss Immortal Alliance [a powerful coalition of immortal cultivators] with its nearly thirty Celestial Immortal Great Power [cultivators who have ascended to the celestial immortal realm] is not an opponent to be taken lightly.

After much deliberation, he finally looked towards Abyss Halting Path Master and said, "Dispatch someone to the Western Essence Grotto-Heaven [a celestial realm of profound spiritual essence]. Inform them that the authority over the Western Essence Divine Abyss Sea [a vast, spiritually potent sea] should no longer be encroached upon by others."

"Then send another envoy to the Returning Abyss Immortal Alliance. Tell Returning Abyss Path Master [the leader of the Returning Abyss Immortal Alliance] that if they assist me in seizing the authority of the Heavenly Path Source Artifact [a legendary artifact said to be the source of the Heavenly Dao's power], I will let bygones be bygones."

"Furthermore, upon success, I will grant half of the converted Immortal Spirit Essence [the purest form of spiritual energy used by high-level immortals] to their Returning Abyss Immortal Alliance."

"..."

Communications between the three great powers flowed back and forth several times. On this day, while Eldrin Chen was cultivating within his Seclusion Chamber [a specially prepared chamber for deep meditation and cultivation], he suddenly received two letters. Enjoyed this chapter? Read more at audio novel.com.

After reading them, he could not help but shake his head with a wry smile.

"Husband, what is it?"

Beside Eldrin Chen, Exquisite Jiang inquired.

Eldrin Chen handed the two letters to Exquisite Jiang and said with a laugh, "Both the Divine Abyss Grotto-Heaven [a grotto-heaven realm associated with divine mysteries] and the Western Essence Grotto-Heaven have sent letters, each seeking an alliance with us to eliminate the other."

"Both the resources of the Immortal Spirit Essence [the highest grade of spiritual energy, refined to an almost divine purity] and the Chaos Abyss [a primordial, formless void said to contain the essence of creation] are promised freely, yet they refuse to cede even a sliver of Heavenly Path Authority [the supreme authority to command and shape the fundamental laws of heaven and earth]."

Exquisite Jiang listened while reading the letter. After finishing it, she shook her head and said, "Promises of Immortal Spirit Essence and resources are illusory. Only the Heavenly Path Authority holds true substance."

"If either side were to gain sole control of the Heavenly Path Authority, they could sever our connection to the Immortal Spirit Essence at any moment during a conflict."

Verdant Consort and Nyssa Qu also glanced at the letter, quickly grasping the general situation.

Nyssa Qu shook her head, her expression calm as she stated, "Whoever gains sole mastery of the Heavenly Path Authority will wield power on par with an Ancient Immortal [a being who has transcended countless tribulations and exists from a bygone era]."

"Allowing either faction to monopolize it would grant them dominion over the entire Vast Azure Immortal Domain, forcing our Returning Abyss Immortal Alliance out of the game entirely."

Hearing this, Violet Consort Yan inquired, "What, then, is your counsel, husband? What should we do now?"

Eldrin Chen burned the letter, his voice steady as he replied, "We lack the strength to sweep across the Western Essence Divine Abyss Sea [a vast, perilous sea realm suffused with potent western elemental energies] and seize all authority directly."

"However, allowing any one of the two great Grotto-Heaven [a self-contained, paradisiacal realm of immense spiritual density] to hold the authority alone would be detrimental to our interests."

"Moreover, to safeguard our stake, we must secure a portion of the authority over this Heavenly Path Source Artifact [a primordial artifact that is the very source and anchor of the Heavenly Path's laws]."

Hearing this, Lila pondered for a moment before speaking. "The two great Grotto-Heaven [powerful, semi-independent cultivation realms] hold the authority over the Heavenly Path Source Artifact [a legendary artifact tied to the fundamental laws of heaven]. I fear they will be unwilling to cede a portion of that authority to us."

"That will not be their choice to make."

Eldrin Chen shook his head. He understood clearly in his heart that the surrounding major Grotto-Heaven would not look favorably upon any single faction monopolizing that authority.

If the Returning Abyss Immortal Alliance were to claim a share of that authority, transforming the struggle from a duel between two powers into a three-way contest, that might be a development the other Grotto-Heaven would welcome. Find thousands of chapters at audio–novel.com.