Chapter 134 Eldrin (Person Name) Distributes Treasures

As the beast tide approached, the 100-1000-li Great Barrens would bear the brunt of it first. Chen Caleb (Person Name), who had been stationed at Yang Yuanqing’s cave abode, abandoned the ancient cultivator’s dwelling and returned to Pingyang City.

The Old Patriarch gazed at the 7 Foundation Establishment cultivators of his clan and couldn't suppress a smile. "We now have 7,000 Foundation Establishment cultivators," he exclaimed with exhilaration.

"If our Chen Family produces 8 Foundation Establishment cultivators, this beast tide uprising is going to be a grand undertaking indeed."

"Indeed, who would have thought that in just a few decades, our Chen Clan would successively welcome 7 new Foundation Establishment cultivators."

Everyone broke into smiles, clearly holding high hopes for the family's future prospects.

After a few moments of cheerful conversation among the group, the old clan leader pondered briefly before finally speaking up.

"This time, our Yu County must dispatch 10 Foundation Establishment cultivators to Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location). As the leading clan of Yu County, our Chen Family must send at least 2 members."

"Which 2 individuals do you believe would be best suited for this assignment?"

"Perhaps I should go with Kael." After a moment of contemplation, Lior spoke again: "Both Uncle Changxuan and Eldrin are pillars of our clan. It wouldn't be wise for them to take risks at Celestial Ruins Mountain."

"Kael (Person Name) and I—1 at Foundation Establishment, Mid Stage (Cultivation Realm) and the other at Foundation Establishment, Late Stage (Cultivation Realm)—should be fairly well-matched for this."

"No."

Eldrin shook his head, his heart still refusing the notion.

Lior (Person Name) had now reached the fourth level of Foundation Establishment. With his innate magical treasure, the Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss (Magic Treasure), in hand and having mastered the Gengjin Divine Thunder (Supernatural Power), he had become the third most powerful combatant in his clan.

With the Crimson-Gold Banner of the 3 Treasures (Magic Treasure) in hand, the Elder Uncle’s combat prowess was nearly on par with that of the Purple Palace, Early Stage (Cultivation Realm). Clearly, he stood as a top-tier force in quelling the beast tide and could by no means remain stationed in Pingyang City.

"Therefore, you shall take Elder Uncle's place and assume guardianship over Pingyang City."

He then turned his gaze toward Kael once more.

Although Kael possessed a Triple Spirit Root, he had achieved Foundation Establishment through his own efforts, granting him even greater future potential than both Caleb and Silas. Eldrin held this clansman in high regard, recognizing that such talent was ill-suited for a place like Celestial Ruins Mountain.

At this thought, he spoke with finality: "Very well. For this journey to Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location), Aunt Qingwan shall accompany Seraphina (Person Name)."

Since Eldrin had made the decision, the matter was settled for the time being.

Having settled the matter, Eldrin smiled once more. "Our Yu County lies closest to Celestial Ruins Mountain, so both Ling County and Feng County will be sending reinforcements."

"The Feng Prefecture will support us with 1,000 Qi Refining cultivators and 5 Foundation Establishment cultivators. Moreover, Patriarch Xu Daoyuan will also be arriving."

"Ling Prefecture is separated from us by Feng Prefecture and doesn't border the 100-1000-li Great Wilderness. Thus, all their Qi Refining cultivators available for deployment have gathered at Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location), though they'll also send 1 Zifu (Cultivation Realm) expert along with 5 Foundation Establishment (Cultivation Realm) cultivators."

Moreover, the Primal Chaos cultivator who had arrived was none other than Patriarch Yang Zhengyuan.

Hearing this, everyone’s faces lit up with a trace of delight.

Yang Zhengyuan was 2 generations senior to Patriarch Yang Yuanhe. Having now lived for 3 100 and 50 years, his cultivation had reached the sixth level of the Purple Mansion, making him second only to Lyra (Person Name) in strength throughout the Borderlands.

This individual had survived 4 beast tides, possessing extensive combat experience against demonic creatures. Armed with a top-grade Grade-3 magical artifact, his strength was sufficient to contend with even a Purple Palace, Late Stage demonic beast.

With him guarding Yujun, even a beast at the Purple Palace, Late Stage would find it difficult to breach the city's defenses.

After hearing him out, the old clan leader also smiled. "With Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location) blocking the main force of the demon race, the demonic beasts under Celestial Python Lake (Location) will likely find it difficult to cross Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location)."

"If it's just a detached force, with 2 Elders (Cultivation Rank) holding the fort, our Yu County can certainly put up a fight."

Eldrin smiled faintly and continued, "Once the beast tide commences, I shall accompany Elder Uncle to preside over Yuyang Market."

For the family, Uncle Lior will hold Pingyang City, Silas will guard Spirit Isle Lake, Caleb will oversee Dark Iron Mountain, and Kael will be stationed at Verdant Chariot Mountain.

"Remember, in times of necessity, even Verdant Chariot Mountain (Location) may be abandoned—with the sole exceptions of Pingyang City and Spirit Isle Lake (Location)."

"Kael and Caleb, you 2 shall hold the fort at Dark Iron Mountain and Verdant Chariot Mountain. Should the tides of war shift unexpectedly, we shall consider deploying you both to the battlefield as circumstances dictate."

The 4 of them nodded upon hearing this, committing Eldrin's instructions firmly to memory.

After finalizing the personnel arrangements, Eldrin retrieved several treasures: a ritual blade, a Divine Thunder Net, a flying sword, a spherical magical artifact, and a protective seal-shaped treasure.

The crowd couldn't help but reveal looks of astonishment upon seeing these magical treasures—each turned out to be a second-tier, superior-grade artifact.

That artifact blade was named the Heaven Net Blade, originally the life-bound magic treasure of a cultivator surnamed Yan from the Qingyang Sect. After this individual fell at the hands of Eldrin, the magic treasure naturally fell into his possession.

The Divine Lightning Net was no ordinary artifact—it was Wei Mingyuan’s life-bound magical treasure, the Li Fire Divine Lightning Net. As for the flying sword, the spherical artifact, and the seal-shaped treasure, they had all been obtained from Wei Mingyuan as well.

"This is a magic treasure I seized in battle."

"For me, these treasures no longer hold much use. I shall entrust them to you."

Eldrin spoke, then after a moment of contemplation, presented the most precious Second-Rank Superior Flying Sword to Chen Qingwan. With this sword in her grasp, both her offensive prowess and means of escape would be elevated by a significant margin.

The second most valuable defensive treasure seal, Eldrin (Person Name) gave to Lior (Person Name). The Third Elder possessed a natal immortal sword and Gengjin Divine Thunder, lacking no means of offense.

With this second-tier, high-grade defensive magical instrument, Lior's strength would greatly increase, placing him among the top experts within the Foundation Establishment, Mid Stage.

The Heaven Net Blade was bestowed upon Kael (Person Name). Having established his foundation through self-cultivation, once he breaks through to the third layer of Foundation Establishment (Cultivation Realm), he would wield power equivalent to Foundation Establishment, Mid Stage (Cultivation Realm), enabling him to unleash most of this treasure’s might.

The others had yet to reach Foundation Establishment, Mid Stage (Cultivation Realm), and since they had not achieved Foundation Establishment through their own efforts, they naturally could not wield the other 2 or 3 artifacts. They could only make do with the defensive artifacts discarded by the Third Elder and Chen Qingwan.

The remaining orb artifact and the Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss were also extremely precious. After a moment of contemplation, Eldrin spoke to the elder clan leader.

"Although the Solar Flare Array of Pingyang City is a mid-grade, second-tier formation, its power still falls somewhat short."

"This Net of Bing Fire Divine Thunder should be suitable for replacing the Blazing Sun Divine Pearl, elevating this formation to second-rank, superior grade."

The old clan leader pondered briefly before nodding. "With my current mastery of formations, I can reconstruct the city's protective grand array."

"I can modify the array flags of the Blazing Sun Divine Fire Formation to redeploy a Bing Fire Divine Thunder Array."

"Very well."

A faint smile graced Eldrin’s lips as he picked up the final spherical artifact, remarking lightly.

"The spiritual vein at Spirit Isle Lake (Location) has reached the Upper Second Order. Continuing to use a Middle Second Order formation array would no longer be appropriate."

"However, with this Earth Marsh Treasure Pearl, I can attempt to upgrade the formation of Spirit Isle Lake (Location) to the second-tier, superior-grade."

Over the years, he had come to understand that he possessed an innate gift—a transcendent clarity of insight and talent that seemed woven into his very being.

For instance, during spell duels, he could keenly detect his opponent’s slightest missteps and seize that fleeting, lightning-quick moment to deliver a fatal strike.

It was precisely by relying on this unparalleled sharp intuition that over the years, despite engaging in numerous battles, he had always managed to seize upon his opponents' slightest mistakes, successively slaying powerful foes and forging a formidable reputation.

Moreover, he discovered that this talent was not limited to combat. During his daily cultivation and studies of the myriad arts of cultivation, he could always identify the crux of any problem and keenly pinpoint solutions.

For instance, even while cultivating his techniques, he always felt that the family's inherited method, the Blazing Sun Surpassing the Void Art, contained far too many flaws and intolerable minor imperfections. He could only continuously refine and perfect this technique as he practiced it.

Over these years of cultivation, the "Blazing Sun Ascendant Art" had unknowingly undergone a dramatic transformation. The potency of the spiritual energy refined through it now surpassed that of the original version by over 20 percent.

Relying on this seemingly 'extraordinary' talent, his alchemy had now advanced to the second-rank upper grade, while his mastery of artifact forging had also progressed remarkably close to the second-rank upper grade.

Chapter 1: The Reborn Eldrin The air in the Nether Abyss trembled as a crimson streak tore across the ashen sky. Upon a jagged cliff stood a figure in azure robes, his sleeves billowing in the sulfurous winds. This was Eldrin, once the youngest Nascent Soul cultivator of the Azure Cloud Sect, now a lone survivor in this desolate realm. "9 Revolutions... just 1 more breakthrough," he murmured, his fingers tracing the ancient scars on his wrist. The Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss hummed at his hip, its blade thirsting for spiritual energy. Suddenly, spatial ripples distorted the air before him. 3 figures materialized, their black armor gleaming with malevolent energy. The leader, a hulking man with a facial scar, sneered. "The Eldritch Flame Sect sends their regards, Eldrin. Your Core Formation stage won't save you now." Eldrin's lips curved into a faint smile. "Scarface Luo. Still doing others' dirty work after all these years?" Without warning, Scarface Luo lunged. His demonic blade shrieked through the air, but Eldrin merely flicked his sleeve. The Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss erupted in crimson light, parrying the strike with a shower of sparks. "Impossible!" Scarface Luo staggered back. "You're supposed to be at the early Core Formation stage!" Eldrin's eyes glowed with ancient wisdom. "Some things aren't what they seem." He formed a hand seal, and the very atmosphere convulsed. Countless spirit stones materialized around him—32,000 glowing crystals forming a brilliant constellation. Their energy surged into him, causing his cultivation to skyrocket. "Nascent Soul stage?!" 1 of the attackers gasped. The transformation was both magnificent and terrifying. Eldrin's body floated mid-air as golden patterns emerged across his skin. The ground beneath him cracked, releasing geysers of spiritual mist. Scarface Luo's eyes widened in realization. "The Heavenly Dao Body! You've achieved the legendary—" His words were cut short as Eldrin pointed a single finger. A beam of pure yang energy vaporized the 3 attackers, leaving only swirling dust motes in their wake. Landing gracefully, Eldrin surveyed the aftermath. His spiritual sense detected another presence—a young girl hiding behind a petrified tree, her eyes wide with awe and fear. "Come out," he said softly. The girl emerged, trembling. "Are... are you an immortal, senior?" Eldrin's gaze grew distant. "Just a traveler who's walked this path for 1 100 years too long." He produced a jade slip from his spatial pouch. "Take this cultivation manual. The world is about to change." As the girl bowed in gratitude, Eldrin looked toward the horizon where storm clouds gathered. The Heavenly Tribulation was approaching, and he had mere days to prepare. Countless cultivators had fallen at this juncture, their centuries of cultivation turned to dust. But Eldrin was different. In his previous life, he'd been the Thundercloud Sovereign, mastering 9,000 combat arts and 300 secret techniques. Reborn with all his memories intact, he would rewrite destiny itself. The wind whispered through the dead trees, carrying the scent of ozone and impending revolution. Somewhere in the distance, a bell tolled—once, twice, 3 times—marking the beginning of the end, or perhaps, a new beginning.