Chapter 115 A Clan with 8 Foundation Establishers (Organization)

Eldrin remained silent, quietly placing a Spirit Gathering Pill into Kael's hand.

Kael accepted the Gathering Origin Pill and offered Eldrin a solemn bow. With strides both unyielding and resolute, he stepped out, his receding figure radiating an aura of indomitable fierceness and unwavering determination.

Eldrin watched from afar, feeling an inexplicable heaviness in his heart. Over 20 years ago, it was also here that Sixth Elder Chen Qingmeng had bid him farewell, entrusting him with his alchemy notes.

To this day, even at his peak and with the aid of the Soul Convergence Pill, Kael (Person Name) possessed merely a 20 percent chance of success. "Brother Kael (Person Name)."

Watching his retreating figure, Eldrin suddenly spoke up, offering his blessing.

"With the legacy of your father's valor, you shall surely succeed!"

Not far away, the figure suddenly halted his steps. Turning back, he cast a profound glance at Eldrin (Person Name), a faint smile gracing his lips.

"With your blessing, I shall surely build my foundation."

"Ha ha ha."

He suddenly burst into laughter, picked up his resolute conviction, and strode away.

After bidding farewell to the crowd at Verdant Chariot Mountain (Location), Eldrin (Person Name) returned to the Spirit Lake Continent with Caleb (Person Name) and Silas (Person Name). Once back, the siblings immediately entered seclusion to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm.

In the blink of an eye, over 2 months had passed. On this day, Eldrin was jolted from his secluded cultivation, a faint smile gracing his lips.

As expected, Caleb (Person Name) successfully broke through to the Foundation Establishment realm, becoming the family's sixth Foundation Establishment cultivator.

After her elder brother's successful breakthrough, it seemed to deepen the younger sister's confidence. Merely 3 days later, Chen Silas (Person Name) also took this step, becoming the family's seventh Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Before long, 2 pieces of news arrived from Verdant Chariot Mountain (Location).

That good-for-nothing Chen Qingyu, even after obtaining the Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object), still failed in his foundation establishment.

It is said that Chen Changming, who was reportedly 1 100 and 17 years old, collapsed on the spot upon hearing the news and passed away on his sickbed just a few days later.

Instead, it was Kael (Person Name) who brought a pleasant surprise. Carrying on his father’s legacy and driven by a desperate resolve to risk everything, he actually succeeded in establishing his foundation, becoming the family’s eighth Foundation Establishment cultivator.

This Kael (Person Name) was similar to Lin Baixi (Person Name) of the Lin family back then—both achieved Foundation Establishment on their own just before turning 50. Their future potential might even rival that of Silas (Person Name) and Caleb (Person Name), who established their foundations before the age of 30.

With 3 new Foundation Establishment cultivators joining their ranks at once, the clan's manpower immediately became ample. The family compound was adorned with lanterns and colorful banners as they held a grand celebration.

As the number of Foundation Establishment cultivators increased, certain rules needed to be established. Eldrin and the Old Clan Leader summoned the family’s Foundation Establishment cultivators to convene a meeting.

The meeting concluded with the establishment of a new rule: henceforth, only Foundation Establishment cultivators could serve as clan elders. It was also decided that the clan's spirit vein would be guarded in rotation by the several Foundation Establishment elders.

Just like the guardians of Dark Iron Mountain (Location) and Yuyang Market, the Foundation Establishment cultivators stationed there could be rotated every 5 years. If necessary, even 2 or 3 Foundation Establishment cultivators could replace the old clan leader in guarding Pingyang City.

In addition, the clan had developed a fifth second-order spirit vein, which served as Yang Yuanqing's cave abode.

Considering that the 10 1000 Li Great Barrens would eventually face the chaos of demon beasts, the Chen Clan had refrained from excessive development of this spirit vein. They merely cleared a dozen or so acres of spirit fields outside the cave abode to cultivate spirit rice, stationing 1 Foundation Establishment cultivator and several Qi Refining cultivators to oversee the area.

Although these spirit grains were not particularly valuable, they could be harvested once every year and could be temporarily abandoned at any time should the Beast Tide descend.

Moreover, the ancient cultivator's abode cultivated spirit rice, which generated an annual income of several 100 spirit stones. This not only resolved the qi cultivation needs of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but also significantly alleviated the financial strain on the family.

After all, with the clan now having 8 Foundation Establishment cultivators, the annual stipend for just the 6 Foundation Establishment, Early Stage (Cultivation Realm) cultivators alone amounted to 1,800 spirit stones—already the clan's greatest expenditure.

Moreover, the clan had revised its stipend standards. From now on, the annual allowance for Foundation Establishment, Mid Stage (Cultivation Realm) would increase to 400 spirit stones, while Eldrin (Person Name) and the old clan leader would receive an elevated annual stipend of 600 spirit stones each.

Thus, the annual stipend for the 8 Foundation Establishment elders of the clan amounted to a staggering 3,000 spirit stones. These resources were vital to their cultivation progress, and not a single stone could be spared.

In addition, to nurture the younger generation and cultivate more Ninth Layer Qi Refinement cultivators within the clan, the annual stipend for those with Triple Spiritual Roots or higher was increased by 50 percent. Those with Dual Spiritual Roots would receive an extra subsidy of 10 spirit stones each year.

With the relaxation of birth policies over recent years, the family now boasted over 3 100 Qi Refining cultivators, among whom more than 80 possessed Triple Spiritual Roots or higher.

Although each of them received only a modest stipend, increasing the allowances of so many cultivators by 50 percent amounted to a considerable expenditure.

Fortunately, the Spirit Isle Lake (Location) had advanced to a mid-grade second-level spiritual vein, and both the Azure-Scale Fish (Spirit Beast) schools and the spirit fields had doubled in scale, now generating over 2,000 spirit stones annually for the clan.

Additionally, with the development of the Dark Iron Mountain (Location) dojo, the dark iron vein and the spirit fields of Dark Iron Mountain (Location) now generate an annual income increase of over 1,000 spirit stones.

In summary, the clan possessed 5 second-order spirit veins. Setting aside Pingyang City which generated no revenue, the spirit veins at Spirit Isle Lake (Location), Dark Iron Mountain (Location), and the Ancient Cultivator's Cave Abode yielded approximately 4,000 spirit stones for the clan annually.

The spiritual energy of Verdant Chariot Mountain (Location) primarily served the cultivation needs of the clan's practitioners. Only about a dozen acres of spirit fields could generate any meaningful income, yielding merely 200 to 300 spirit stones. The mountain's true value, however, lay in the occasional maturation of high-grade spiritual herbs—resources precious enough to aid Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The tax dividends from Yuyang Market also remained quite stable, contributing an annual income of 1,500 spirit stones to the clan.

Including the trade from the shop and the 5 Elements Essence, along with other miscellaneous income, the Chen Clan now had an annual revenue of over 6,000 spirit stones.

Compared to the family's most impoverished period 30 years ago, this represented a sixfold increase. Even with 7 additional Foundation Establishment cultivators and the number of cultivators in the clan having tripled, the family still maintained an annual surplus of approximately 1,500-1,600 spirit stones.

With so many interests now under their control, the Chen family's coffers began to swell, and naturally they needed to dispatch more cultivators to garrison these territories.

The retained gains they were able to secure also demonstrated that the Chen Immortal Clan (Organization) had already reached the pinnacle of Foundation Establishment clans, with the potential to even qualify for advancing to a Purple Mansion clan in the future.

Fortunately, the large number of cultivators from the Xian generation born during the earlier population boom had now gradually come of age. Many were already 20-some years old and fully capable of contributing to the family's cause.

For Eldrin, life soon returned to its usual tranquility. His status within the family had risen to extraordinary heights, placing him among the true highest decision-makers. Under these circumstances, he no longer needed to trouble himself with trivial matters.

He had also grown accustomed to the scenery of Spirit Isle Lake (Location), where secluded cultivation perfectly resonated with his state of mind.

Time slipped away in such a hurry, and in the blink of an eye, another 6 years had passed.

This year marked yet another cycle of trading the 5 Elements Essence, but Eldrin no longer needed to spend months traveling back and forth.

Chen Qingwan and Lior led the team together to Celestial Ruins Mountain, successfully completing this trade mission.

"Clang—"

That day, Eldrin was absorbing the essence of the sun and moon when he saw a streak of sword light flying toward him. Silas Chen descended on the radiance and landed before him.