Chapter 106 Seraphina (Person Name) Builds Foundation
"This..."
A flicker of delight crossed Chen Seraphina's face, yet it was tinged with hesitation.
The Marrow-Tempering Elixir was a low-grade, second-tier pill capable of aiding Foundation Establishment cultivators in refining their meridians. Its value often exceeded 1,000 spirit stones—enough to complete her meridian purification, yet far too extravagant a possession.
Seeing her hesitate, Eldrin added, "Take it first to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm. Once you reach Foundation Establishment, your stipend will increase significantly, and you can repay me then."
Hearing this, Chen Seraphina (Person Name) finally accepted the Marrow-Tempering Elixir (Pill), her obsession with breaking through to the Foundation Establishment (Cultivation Realm) deepening by another measure.
"My thanks, Eldrin (Person Name)."
After expressing her gratitude to Eldrin, she entered the secluded mountain spirit spring to begin her closed-door cultivation.
To prevent any disturbances, Eldrin did not leave but personally stationed himself outside the Spirit Spring to cultivate, simultaneously standing guard for her.
In the blink of an eye, 2 months had passed. On this day, Eldrin sensed a surge of energy rising from the spirit spring, only to coalesce into a stable form moments later. A smile instinctively spread across his face.
It is done.
Chen Seraphina (Person Name) emerged from seclusion, having achieved a breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm, becoming the family's fifth Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Such joyous news prompted Eldrin to bring Seraphina Chen to Pingyang City that very day to meet the Old Patriarch, summoning even Lior back for the occasion.
The old clan leader burst into hearty laughter the moment he saw Chen Seraphina (Person Name). "It seems our Chen family is destined for greatness!"
Everyone broke into smiles as well. With 5 Foundation Establishment cultivators in the clan and control over 4 second-order spirit veins, the current Chen Family could firmly rank among the top 3 Foundation Establishment lineages across the entire Border Province.
After achieving Foundation Establishment, Chen Seraphina (Person Name) found herself not only penniless but also lacking even a second-tier magical instrument. The old clan leader decisively gifted her a second-tier magic treasure—the Crimson Flame Qi (Spiritual Root) Immortal Sword.
The Third Elder, now in possession of the Left Year Defense Treasure Seal, simply gifted the phased-out Golden Light Shield to Chen Seraphina (Person Name) as a congratulatory present.
Eldrin proved the most extravagant, producing a second-tier, medium-grade Mysterious Iron Treasure Bracelet. Over the past few years, he had smelted the Metal-Devouring Beast to extract 7,000 jin of mysterious iron, using it to forge magical instruments and refine his array-artifact techniques.
After several years of repeated smelting, though the losses were considerable, the abundance of materials at hand had elevated his artifact forging technique to the mid-second tier.
This Dark Iron Treasure Bracelet was the first mid-grade, second-tier magical artifact he had forged. It was inscribed with a Vajra Array pattern, and when activated, it became as heavy as 10 1000 jun, capable of smashing a massive city wall to rubble. Even a Foundation Establishment demonic beast struck by this bracelet would likely have its bones shattered and sinews torn.
Chen Seraphina (Person Name) couldn't put it down after receiving it, offering repeated thanks with unconcealed delight.
After exchanging greetings with several guests and accepting their congratulatory gifts, Seraphina (Person Name) departed for the Dark Iron Mountain (Location) dojo. Lior (Person Name) remained at Verdant Chariot Mountain (Location) to oversee routine clan affairs—her presence was better suited to maintaining order there.
Eldrin did not linger long. Before departing, he gave the old clan leader 1 Spirit-Concentrating Pill and placed the remaining 1 into the clan treasury. He then returned to Spirit Isle Lake to resume his secluded cultivation.
Time flows swiftly, fleeting in the blink of an eye.
2 years later, with the aid of the spirit peach, Eldrin's cultivation broke through another level, reaching the fifth layer of Foundation Establishment.
Over the past 2 years, the spirit peach tree had advanced by another grade, now bearing 70-2 peaches every 3 years—a number that aligned with the earthly malevolence stars. This brought a renewed abundance of cultivation resources to the family's Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Following the old customs of previous years, the merchant caravan journeyed onward under Eldrin's leadership, finally reaching Celestial Ruins Mountain after several months of travel.
Chapter 1 Upon arriving at Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location), Chen Xuan was greeted by an old acquaintance, Liu Rumeng (Person Name), who warmly remarked, “Fellow Daoist Chen, your cultivation has grown increasingly profound—to the point where I can scarcely grasp its depths now.”
"You flatter me, Fairy Liu. How could my meager cultivation ever compare to your profound depths?"
Eldrin smiled and said, "Liu Rumeng's cultivation has also improved significantly over the years. From the fifth level of Foundation Establishment when we first met, she has now reached the seventh level, becoming 1 of the rare Foundation Establishment, Late Stage cultivators."
For the past 6 years, the Chen Family had made an annual pilgrimage to Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location) to conduct trade in 5 Elements Essence. By meticulous count, this marked Eldrin (Person Name)'s fourth journey to engage in the 5 Elements Essence commerce.
He established his Foundation at the age of 20-2, the very year he first came to Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location) to trade in the 5 Elements' Essence. By this reckoning, he had already been at the Foundation Establishment stage for 18 years and was now 40 years of age. Truly, the passage of time goes unnoticed in the pursuit of cultivation.
According to the pact established between the Ji Clan, the dominant power among the 6 Kingdoms, and the Demon Emperor, barely 15 years remained until the next Demonic Beast Uprising.
After completing the transaction for the 5 Elements Essence, Eldrin remained at Celestial Ruins Mountain for half a month before returning to Verdant Chariot Mountain with the merchant caravan. However, less than 3 months after his return to Yu County, shocking news spread throughout the 3 counties of Border Province.
Eldrin (Person Name) had no time to cultivate, immediately meeting with the old clan leader and Third Elder in Pingyang City.
Chen Changxuan gazed at Lior and couldn't resist asking, "Is this matter truly real?"
"I had someone investigate, and it's said that even Elder Lin from the Celestial Ruins Mountain's Purple Mansion took action," the Third Elder affirmed with a nod.
"That's about 9-tenths of the truth."
Eldrin nodded, his expression shifting to 1 of solemnity mixed with a flicker of pleasant surprise.
Not long ago, a piece of news spread from the mouths of rogue cultivators at Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location).
It is said that the Violet Mansion beast, the Golden Lion Mastiff, for reasons unknown, suddenly attacked the territory of the Thunder Roc and engaged in a fierce battle with the Thunder Roc clan.
That Golden Lion Mastiff was a Purple Mansion demon beast under the command of the Earth Lion Demon King, with strength reaching the upper third rank.
Although the Thunder Roc Clan was backed by Celestial Python Lake (Location), their strength paled in comparison. Moreover, the battle at Demon Wolf Mountain 18 years ago had cost them 2 Violet Palace (Cultivation Realm) experts, severely diminishing their power. They stood no chance against the Golden Lion Mastiff (Beast Clan) lineage.
After a great battle, the Thunder Roc Clan was nearly decimated, and even their third-order spirit vein, the Thunder Valley, was seized by the Golden Lion Mastiff Clan.
Only 2 Purple Palace Demon Roc (Demon Beast) managed to escape. In a desperate attempt to evade the Golden Lion Mastiff's pursuit, 1 of the third-tier lower-grade demon rocs actually crossed over Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location) and fled into the 100-1000-mile untamed wilderness.
With Lyra (Person Name) standing guard, the Golden Lion Mastiff naturally dared not pursue beyond Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location), and could only allow it to escape with its life.
However, as soon as this news spread, it immediately caused a sensation among the major immortal clans of Bianzhou.
An isolated and severely injured Zifu-level demon beast held astonishing value. Not only could its demon core be used to refine a full cauldron of Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object), but its bones and fur could also craft third-tier magical artifacts and talismans. For any Zifu Realm cultivator, this represented a fortune of staggering proportions.
Thus, not only the rogue cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage from Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location), but even the major immortal clans of the Border Provinces could no longer remain seated. They all sought to track down the Purple Palace Demon Roc (Demon Beast), slay it, and claim its demon core.
Lior recounted the information he had obtained, unable to contain his excitement as he said, "That Thunder Roc has broken through to the Purple Mansion less than 10 years ago, and was severely wounded by the Golden Lion Mastiff. Now is precisely its weakest moment."
"If we can locate and slay it, the demon core we obtain will be sufficient to refine a full cauldron of Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object)."
Eldrin also nodded, yet cautioned prudently, "The strength of a Purple Palace demon beast is formidable. Even severely wounded, we may not be certain of subduing it. Moreover, Elder Uncle must guard Pingyang City and cannot be absent for extended periods." He proposed, "How about this—I shall first venture into the 100-1000-Mile Great Barrens to ascertain whether we can locate the hiding place of the Purple Palace Demon Roc."