Chapter 115 : A Pill of Destiny and Resolve
Eldrin Chen remained silent, wordlessly placing an Essence Gathering Pill [a pill that aids in gathering and refining spiritual energy] into Kael Chen's hand.
Kael Chen accepted the Essence Gathering Pill, offered Eldrin Chen a solemn, respectful bow, and then strode out. His retreating figure carried an air of fierce determination and final resolve.
Eldrin Chen watched him from afar, a profound and inexplicable heaviness settling in his heart. More than two decades prior, in this very place, the Sixth Elder and Verdant Bud Chen had bid him farewell, entrusting him with his alchemical notes.
Even now, at the peak of his cultivation and with the aid of the Essence Gathering Pill, Kael Chen's chances of success were estimated at a mere twenty percent.
"Brother Kael,"
Eldrin Chen called out suddenly, watching his back, and offered his blessing.
"Carrying forth the legacy of your father's valor, you shall surely succeed!"
The figure in the distance halted his steps. He turned back, his gaze lingering deeply on Eldrin Chen for a moment, and a faint smile touched his lips.
"With your blessing, I will surely achieve Foundation Establishment [the second major realm of cultivation, where one solidifies their spiritual foundation]."
"Hahaha." Experience the full epic at audi novel.com.
He suddenly burst into laughter, his resolve hardening as he strode away with renewed purpose.
"..."
After bidding farewell to the group at Green Chariot Mountain, Eldrin Chen returned to Spirit Lake Isle with the siblings Caleb and Silas. Once back on the isle, the two siblings immediately entered seclusion to attempt their breakthrough into the Foundation Establishment Realm.
A little over two months passed in the blink of an eye. On this day, Eldrin Chen was roused from his deep meditation, a smile gracing his features.
True to expectations, Caleb had successfully broken through to the Foundation Establishment realm, becoming the sixth Foundation Establishment Cultivator of the Chen Clan.
Her brother's success seemed to bolster his sister's confidence. Merely three days later, Silas Chen also took that crucial step, emerging as the clan's seventh Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Not long after, two pieces of news arrived from Green Chariot Mountain.
The first was that Greenjade Chen, despite having been granted a Foundation Establishment Pill [a precious elixir that aids in breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm], had failed in his attempt to reach Foundation Establishment.
It was said that upon hearing this news, the one hundred and seventeen-year-old Eternal Brightness Chen collapsed on the spot, unable to bear the shock. He passed away on his sickbed a few days later.
In contrast, Kael Chen delivered a pleasant surprise. Carrying the legacy of his father and a resolve to gamble with his life against all odds, he actually succeeded in his Foundation Establishment attempt, becoming the clan's eighth Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
This Kael Chen was similar to the White Hope Lin of the Lin Clan back in the day; both achieved Self-Achieved Foundation Establishment [reaching the Foundation Establishment realm through one's own efforts without external aid] just before reaching fifty years of age. In terms of future potential, he likely would not be inferior to Silas and Caleb, who had reached Foundation Establishment before thirty.
With the addition of three new Foundation Establishment Cultivator [cultivators who have reached the Foundation Establishment realm] at once, manpower immediately became more abundant. The clan held a celebration, decorating with lanterns and streamers.
With more Foundation Establishment Cultivator, certain rules needed to be formally established. Eldrin Chen and the Old Patriarch convened a meeting of all the clan's Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
The outcome of the meeting was the establishment of new regulations. Henceforth, only Foundation Establishment Cultivator could become clan Elder [a senior, decision-making member of a clan or sect]. It was also decided that the clan's Spiritual Vein [a geological formation that concentrates and emits spiritual energy, crucial for cultivation] would be guarded in rotation by several Foundation Establishment Elder.
For instance, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator stationed at Mystic Iron Mountain and Sunward Market could be rotated every five years. If necessary, two or three Foundation Establishment Cultivator could even take turns replacing the Old Patriarch in guarding Pingyang City.
Furthermore, the clan developed a fifth Second Rank [a classification for the quality/power level of spiritual objects or locations] Spiritual Vein, which was Celebrating Origin Yang's cave abode.
Considering that the Hundred-Thousand-Mile Great Wasteland would inevitably face a Beast Tide [a massive, destructive surge of demonic beasts], the Chen Clan did not overdevelop this Spiritual Vein. They merely cleared a dozen or so Mu-area [one Mu-area equals six hundred sixty-six point six seven square meters] of Spiritual Field [a field nourished by spiritual energy for growing spiritual plants] outside the cave to plant Spirit Rice [a grain infused with spiritual energy, consumed by cultivators], and stationed one Foundation Establishment Cultivator along with several Vital Essence Refinement [the first major stage of cultivation, focusing on refining the body's vital energy] cultivators there.
Although the value of this Spirit Rice was not high, it could be harvested once a year and could be temporarily abandoned if a Beast Tide arrived.
Moreover, planting Spirit Rice in this Ancient Cultivator's Cave Abode [the former dwelling place of a cultivator from ancient times] could generate an income of several hundred Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy, used as currency and for cultivation] annually. This not only covered the spiritual energy needs for one Foundation Establishment Cultivator's cultivation but also significantly alleviated the clan's financial pressure.
After all, the clan now had eight Foundation Establishment Cultivator. The annual stipends for just the six Foundation Establishment Early Stage [the initial phase within the Foundation Establishment realm] cultivators alone amounted to one thousand eight hundred Spirit Stone, already constituting the clan's largest expenditure.
Furthermore, the clan had revised its stipend standards. From now on, the annual stipend for cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Mid Stage would increase to four hundred Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy]. The annual stipends for Eldrin Chen and the Old Patriarch were raised even higher, to six hundred Spirit Stones each per year.
Calculated this way, the annual stipends for the clan's eight Foundation Establishment cultivators amounted to a staggering three thousand Spirit Stones. These resources were vital for the cultivation progress of the clan's Foundation Establishment Elder and thus could not be begrudged in the slightest.
In addition, to nurture rising talents and foster more cultivators at the Vital Essence Refinement 9th Tier, the clan increased the annual stipend for cultivators with Three Spiritual Roots [a mid-tier innate talent for cultivation] or better by fifty percent. Cultivators with Dual Spiritual Root [a high-tier innate talent for cultivation] received an additional subsidy of ten Spirit Stones per year.
With the encouragement of childbirth in recent years, the number of Vital Essence Refinement cultivators within the clan had now surpassed three hundred. Among them, over eighty possessed Three Spiritual Roots or better.
Although the stipend increase for each individual was modest, granting a fifty percent raise to so many cultivators represented a significant additional expenditure.
Fortunately, the Spiritual Vein [a natural conduit of concentrated spiritual energy] at Spirit Isle Lake had advanced to the Second Rank Mid-Grade. The scale of the Azure Herring School [a type of spirit fish] and the Spiritual Field [a field nourished by spiritual energy for growing spirit plants] had doubled, now bringing the clan over two thousand Spirit Stones annually. Your portal to cultivation novels: audio-novel-dot-com.
Coupled with the development of the Mystic Iron Mountain Path-Field, the Mystic Iron Ore Vein and the Spiritual Field on Mystic Iron Mountain added another thousand-plus Spirit Stones to the clan's yearly income.
In summary, the clan possessed five Second Rank Spiritual Vein. Excluding Pingyang City which generated no direct profit, the three Spiritual Vein at Spirit Isle Lake, Mystic Iron Mountain, and the Ancient Cultivator's Cave Abode brought in approximately four thousand Spirit Stones for the clan.
The spiritual energy of Green Chariot Mountain was primarily reserved for the cultivation of the clan's members. Only a dozen or so Mu-area [one Mu-area equals six hundred sixty-six point six seven square meters] of Spiritual Field there yielded any profit, generating a mere two to three hundred Spirit Stones. The primary value of Green Chariot Mountain lay in the occasional maturation of high-grade Spirit Herb [plants imbued with spiritual energy, used in alchemy] useful to Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
The tax revenue and dividends from Sunward Market remained quite stable, providing the clan with an annual income of one thousand five hundred Spirit Stones.
Combined with the trade from the shops and the Five Elements Essence [a refined spiritual essence containing the power of the five elements], along with other miscellaneous income, the Chen Clan now had an annual revenue exceeding six thousand Spirit Stones [minerals that store and radiate spiritual energy, used as currency and for cultivation].
This was a sixfold increase compared to the clan's most impoverished period three decades prior. Therefore, even though the clan now had seven more Foundation Establishment [the second major realm of cultivation, where one builds a solid foundation for their dao] cultivators and the number of cultivators in the clan had tripled, the annual surplus of Spirit Stones still amounted to around one thousand five hundred or six hundred.
Occupying such a significant share of profits, the Chen Clan's coffers began to swell, naturally necessitating the dispatch of more cultivators to garrison and protect their holdings.
The very ability to secure and maintain these gains signified that the Chen Immortal Clan's strength now stood at the very pinnacle among Foundation Establishment Immortal Clan [an immortal clan whose patriarch has reached the Foundation Establishment realm]. Future even possessed the qualifications to make a bid for the status of a Violet Sanctum Immortal Clan [an immortal clan whose patriarch has reached the Violet Sanctum realm, the third major realm].
Fortunately, the large cohort of clan cultivators from the Xian Generation [the generation born after the clan's policy encouraging population growth], born during the period of encouraged fertility years ago, had now gradually come of age. Many were already in their twenties and possessed the capability to contribute to the clan's efforts.
For Eldrin Chen, life soon returned to its usual tranquility. His status within the clan was exceedingly high, placing him among the true highest decision-makers. Under the present circumstances, he no longer needed to trouble himself with trivial minutiae.
He had also grown accustomed to the scenery of Spirit Isle Lake, finding its serene environment perfectly suited to his state of mind for secluded cultivation.
"..."
Time flowed on in this manner, and in the blink of an eye, another six years had passed.
This year marked another cycle for the Five Elements Essence trade, but it no longer required Eldrin Chen to spend months traveling back and forth.
Verdant Grace Chen and Lior Chen led the team together, journeying to Heavenly Ruins Mountain and successfully concluding this trade venture.
"Clang—"
On this day, as Eldrin Chen was absorbing the essence of the Sun and Moon [the refined spiritual energies of the celestial bodies], he saw a streak of sword light flying towards him. Silas Chen descended upon the sword radiance, landing before him. For the best reading experience, visit audio-novel.com.