Chapter 1742 : The Innate Formation's Triumph

"How could they be so powerful?"

Watching Vast Sea Heavenly God [a powerful deity associated with the vast oceans] being pushed back step by step, Golden Flame Patriarch [a patriarch whose power is associated with golden flames] was utterly shocked. He understood that if this continued, within less than a thousand exchanges, Vast Sea Heavenly God might face defeat.

Thus, with a hardened heart, he unleashed his ultimate trump card, pouring all his strength into the attack, intending to defeat Exquisite Jiang [a powerful female cultivator known for her grace and skill] and turn the tide of the battle.

Yet, Exquisite Jiang merely raised an eyebrow. With a flick of her sleeve, a set of Formation Flag [enchanted banners used to set up powerful magical formations] flew out, instantly enveloping him within a Formation [a structured arrangement of energy used for attack, defense, or other mystical purposes].

"Innate Eight Trigrams Formation Flags!"

Golden Flame Patriarch was startled, a look of terror flashing across his face.

After the Eight Trigrams Treasure Tree [a mystical tree embodying the eight trigrams, symbols of fundamental principles] advanced to become an Innate Ancient Tree [a primordial tree born from the chaos of creation], the Eight Trigrams Formation Flags [a set of formation flags based on the eight trigrams] had also ascended to the Innate Realm [a primordial state of existence, representing the highest order of power]. The combined might of these Formation Flag was now comparable to a killing formation of the Late Celestial Immortal Realm [an advanced stage of immortal cultivation].

Now, with Exquisite Jiang deploying this formation against him, even Golden Flame Patriarch was far from a match. He was defeated in merely a little over three hundred exchanges.

After Golden Flame Patriarch's defeat, Vast Sea Heavenly God naturally stood no chance either, falling to the combined efforts of the others.

"Three duels, two victories. The outcome of this sword contest is now beyond doubt." Official source: audio novel.com. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Witnessing the victory in the second sword duel, a smile naturally appeared on Eldrin Chen's face.

Among the three duels, the first and second were the most crucial. Winning these two would guarantee the Returning Abyss Immortal Alliance at least a fifty percent share of the Western Essence Divine Abyss Sea.

This third duel was merely an added bonus.

Even so, neither side was willing to abandon the final contest.

After final discussions, the Western Essence Grotto-Heaven and the Divine Abyss Grotto-Heaven dispatched Abyss Halting Path Master and Netherwater Heavenly God. Both were Immaculate Celestial Immortals who had laid a Triple Primordial Unity Foundation. The former's cultivation had reached the Fourth Heaven Celestial Immortal Realm, while the latter was also at the Third Heaven Celestial Immortal Realm.

For its part, the Returning Abyss Immortal Alliance sent four Imperial Scion-level Immaculate Celestial Immortals: Worthy Verdancy Chen, Verdant Seal Patriarch, Blazeflame Divine Spirit, and Ancient Ruins Nether Lord.

These four were all peerless talents. Having undergone Foundation Reforging within the Thirty-Three Heavens Grand Formation, their innate aptitude and foundational reserves were now far beyond their former selves. This was especially true for Worthy Verdancy Chen; her current strength was now on par with Verdant Consort.

The ensuing battle held little suspense. Worthy Verdancy Chen engaged Abyss Halting Path Master, while the remaining three jointly besieged Netherwater Heavenly God. In less than a thousand exchanges, they had already defeated the Netherwater Heavenly God.

Though Abyss Halting Path Master possessed formidable combat prowess, he could not withstand the combined assault of the four. In the end, he had no choice but to concede defeat.

After Abyss Halting Path Master's defeat, Pure Void smiled and declared, "In this contest of swords, the Returning Abyss Immortal Alliance has achieved victory in all three duels."

"However, the two Grotto-Heaven are also exceptionally powerful. In my view, the authority over this Heavenly Path Source Artifact [a supreme artifact embodying the source of the Heavenly Path] should be split four-six. What do you think?"

At this point, Pure Void continued, "The Returning Abyss Immortal Alliance takes six parts. As for the remaining four parts, you two Grotto-Heaven can split them equally?"

Upon hearing this, Western Essence Heavenly God's brow furrowed slightly.

Originally, Western Essence Heavenly God held six-tenths of the authority over the Heavenly Path Source Artifact, but after this battle, he was left with only two-tenths. This outcome left him deeply dissatisfied.

In his initial expectations, he should have retained at least four-tenths, leaving the remainder for the Returning Abyss Immortal Alliance and the Divine Abyss Grotto-Heaven.

The Divine Abyss Path Master also wore an unpleasant expression. Unfortunately, having been defeated by Eldrin Chen, he lacked the standing to argue further. With a cold snort, he turned and departed.

Seeing the Divine Abyss Path Master leave, Western Essence Heavenly God had no choice but to abandon any further struggle for a larger share. Without the support of the Divine Abyss Grotto-Heaven, his strength alone was insufficient to challenge the current Returning Abyss Immortal Alliance.

Watching the two Grotto-Heaven Patriarch depart, a faint smile touched Eldrin Chen's lips. He promptly clasped his hands towards Pure Void and said, "My thanks for your assistance today, Fellow Daoist."

Pure Void smiled slightly, stroking his beard as he replied, "No need for formalities. It was but a small favor. That we secured such a significant portion was primarily due to the formidable strength of you and your alliance."

Hearing this, Eldrin Chen understood that in this world, the right to speak ultimately belongs to the fist. If the Returning Abyss Immortal Alliance had not possessed sufficient power, even with Pure Void's backing, they likely would not have secured such a large share.

Of course, the role of Pure Void as the mediator, transforming the impending clash between the two sides into three duels of swordsmanship, was also a matter of great significance.

Otherwise, given the combined strength of the two great Grotto-Heaven sects, Divine Abyss and Western Essence, if a full-scale war truly erupted between the three parties, it would likely result in mutual devastation.

After all, although the Celestial Immortal cultivators of the Returning Abyss Immortal Alliance possessed exceptional combat prowess, they were ultimately all newly ascended Celestial Immortal. Facing the several mid-to-late stage Celestial Immortal cultivators from the two great Grotto-Heaven, their foundation and accumulated depth were still somewhat lacking.

If both sides were to fight to the death, the cultivation at the Early Celestial Immortal Realm level would ultimately prove somewhat insufficient, especially for the several Flawed Celestial Immortal cultivators, who faced a significant risk of falling in battle.

Returning to the main narrative, after defeating the two great Grotto-Heaven sects, Eldrin Chen and the others strode into the Abyssal Cavern Sea Region. In the blink of an eye, they arrived before a vast Chaos Abyssal Chasm.

"Is this place the Chaos Abyssal Chasm?" Find this and other novels at audio-novel-dot-com.

Gazing at the Chaos Abyssal Chasm before him, a trace of solemnity appeared on Eldrin Chen's face.

There, in the depths of the Abyssal Cavern Sea Region, an immeasurable abyssal chasm pierced through the Boundless Void, reaching straight into the endless Depths of Chaos.

Within the vast chasm, boundless Chaos Energy Flow surged and roiled, held at bay outside the Chaos Abyssal Chasm by a colossal super-array.

And at the very core of that array, a radiant ancient seal floated and sank, drawing in and exhaling vast clouds of Primordial Chaos Energy [the primordial, formless energy from which all creation emerged], transforming it into the energy of the Endless Chaos.

"This object is the Heavenly Path Source Artifact of the Western Essence Divine Abyss Sea—the Primordial Chaos Ruins Ancient Seal."

Gazing upon this Heavenly Path Source Artifact, Vast Sea Heavenly God slowly spoke, a trace of covetousness flickering across his visage.

The Primordial Chaos Ruins Ancient Seal is the foremost treasure of the Western Essence Divine Abyss Sea, one of the most supreme Innate Ancient Treasure. It bears the Great Path Authority [the supreme authority over the fundamental laws of reality] of the Western Essence Divine Abyss Sea. To fully refine it is to gain the empowerment of the entire Primordial Chaos Ruins Ancient Seal itself.

If he could refine this artifact and receive the Heavenly Path [the cosmic law and power of the Heavenly Realm] empowerment of the Western Essence Divine Abyss Sea, he would possess combat power rivaling the Ancient Immortal Realm.

More crucially, the wielder of a Heavenly Path Source Artifact can anchor their Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core and true essence of a cultivator] within the ancient seal, granting a near-Indestructibility [the state of being unkillable and impervious to destruction]. Even if slain, they could be resurrected by drawing upon the Heavenly Path Origin [the foundational source energy of the Heavenly Realm] power of the Western Essence Divine Abyss Sea.

Of course, with the Heavenly Path of the Vast Azure Immortal Domain now dissipated and no Great Encompassing Golden Immortal [a supreme immortal who has attained the Golden Immortal Realm and can encompass all things] to guard it, resurrection via a Heavenly Path Source Artifact has become far more arduous.

Relying solely on the innate power of the Heavenly Path Source Artifact, it could at most resurrect someone once before depleting the majority of its internal origin energy. A second resurrection would require accumulating power for at least one hundred million years.

"This Heavenly Path Source Artifact seems analogous to the Heaven and Earth Supreme Treasures of an Earth Immortal World,"

Eldrin Chen murmured inwardly, understanding that this Heavenly Path Source Artifact was essentially a Heaven and Earth Supreme Treasure that had undergone continuous sublimation.

For instance, within Eldrin Chen's Returning Abyss Heaven, each of the twenty-four heavens possessed its own World's Origin supreme treasure, such as the Abyssal Grotto Pot, the Primordial Solar Seal, the Stellar Pearl, the Void Cosmos Mirror, the Aurora Vase, and others.

Within each of these Great Path Authority [the fundamental authority over a specific Great Path or Dao] lies the power of a single Heavenly Layer. By fully refining and merging with such a treasure, one can ascend to the status of a Realm Imperial Lord [a sovereign whose authority is intrinsically tied to a specific realm or domain], wielding combat prowess on par with the Primordial Unity Realm [the foundational first stage of the Primordial Spirit realm].

These Imperial Lord [lords who have attained authority over a specific domain] have their Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core and true essence of a cultivator's being] anchored within their respective foundational treasures. Even if they were to fall in battle against a Tribulation [a cataclysmic heavenly trial or calamity], Eldrin Chen could still restore them to life, though at the cost of depleting the foundational essence of the Returning Abyss Heaven [the celestial realm under Eldrin Chen's dominion]. This chapter is part of a larger work available at audio–novel.com.