Chapter 134 : A Clan's Rise Before the Beast Tide

With the Beast Tide [a periodic, massive invasion of demonic beasts] imminent, the Hundred-Thousand-Mile Great Wasteland would bear the brunt of it first. Caleb Chen, who had been stationed at Celebrating Origin Yang's cave abode, abandoned the Ancient Cultivator's Cave Abode and returned to Pingyang City.

Gazing upon the seven Foundation Establishment Cultivators of his clan, the Old Patriarch could not suppress a smile. He spoke with evident excitement.

"If our Chen Clan produces eight Foundation Establishment Cultivators, this Beast Tide could herald a period of great prosperity for us."

"Indeed. Who could have imagined that in just a few short decades, our Chen Clan would successively add seven Foundation Establishment Cultivators?"

Smiles graced everyone's faces, their optimism for the clan's future clearly shining through.

After the group exchanged pleasantries for a while, the Old Patriarch paused thoughtfully before speaking again.

"For this event, Yu County must contribute ten Foundation Establishment Cultivators to Heavenly Ruins Mountain. As the foremost family in Yu County, our Chen Clan must dispatch at least two. Who do you think would be best suited?"

"Who should the two be?"

"Perhaps Kael and I should go," suggested Lior Chen after a moment of contemplation. "Uncle Eternal Profound and Eldrin are the pillars of our clan. It would be unwise for them to take such risks at Heavenly Ruins Mountain."

"With me at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage and Kael at the Foundation Establishment Mid Stage, our pairing seems most appropriate." Original publication: audio-novel.com (official site) - The source of this chapter.

"No."

Eldrin Chen shook his head, his heart still refusing the idea.

"Lior is now at the Foundation Establishment Fourth Layer, possesses his Life-Bound Magical Artifact, the Bright Abyss Ethereal Spirit Sword, and has mastered the Metallic Gold Divine Thunder divine ability. He is already the clan's third most powerful combatant."

"With the Three Treasures Crimson Gold Flags in hand, Old Granduncle's combat prowess is nearly on par with an early-stage Violet Sanctum cultivator. He is clearly a top-tier force for quelling the Beast Tide and naturally cannot be left behind to guard Pingyang City."

"Therefore, you must take Old Granduncle's place and be responsible for defending Pingyang City."

As he spoke, his gaze turned towards Kael Chen.

Although Kael Chen possesses only Three Spiritual Roots, he achieved Foundation Establishment through his own efforts. His future potential is even greater than that of Caleb or Silas by a significant margin. Eldrin Chen held high hopes for this elder brother; such talent was not suited for the dangers of Heavenly Ruins Mountain.

Having reached this conclusion, he made the decision: "Very well. For this journey to Heavenly Ruins Mountain, Aunt Verdant Grace and Seraphina shall go together."

Since Eldrin Chen had made the final call, the matter was settled.

With this decided, a smile returned to Eldrin Chen's face. "Our Yu County is the closest to Heavenly Ruins Mountain, so reinforcements will come from both Ling County and Feng County to support us."

"Feng County will provide us with one thousand Vital Essence Refinement cultivators [the foundational stage where one refines their body's vital energy], along with five Foundation Establishment Cultivators [cultivators who have solidified their cultivation foundation]. Furthermore, Patriarch Path Abyss Xu will also come."

"Ling County is separated from us by Feng County and does not border the Hundred-Thousand-Mile Great Wasteland either. Therefore, all the Vital Essence Refinement cultivators they can spare have been sent to Heavenly Ruins Mountain. However, they will also dispatch one Violet Sanctum Cultivator [a cultivator who has opened their Violet Palace, a higher realm of power] and five Foundation Establishment cultivators."

"Moreover, the Violet Sanctum Cultivator coming is none other than Patriarch Upright Origin Yang."

Upon hearing this, everyone present revealed expressions of joy.

Patriarch Upright Origin Yang is two generations senior to Patriarch Distant Grain Yang. Now three hundred and fifty years old, his cultivation has reached the Violet Sanctum 6th Tier [the sixth level within the Violet Sanctum realm]. Within Border Province, his strength is second only to Exquisite Jiang.

This elder has weathered four Beast Tides [massive invasions by demonic beasts], and his experience in battling demonic creatures is profound. Wielding a Third Rank Superior Grade magical treasure [an enchanted artifact of significant power], his combat prowess allows him to trade blows with Violet Sanctum Late Stage [the final phase of the Violet Sanctum realm] demonic beasts.

With him guarding Yu County, even if a Violet Sanctum Late Stage demonic beast were to arrive, it would find it difficult to breach Yu County's defenses.

After hearing his report, the Old Patriarch also smiled. "With Heavenly Ruins Mountain holding back the main force of the Demon Race [the race of sentient demonic creatures], the demonic beasts under the command of Heavenly Python Lake will likely find it hard to cross Heavenly Ruins Mountain."

"If only a flanking force arrives, with two Patriarchs presiding over us, our Yu County will be more than capable of standing our ground."

Eldrin Chen offered a slight smile before continuing. "Once the Beast Tide begins, I and the Old Granduncle [a respectful term for a great-uncle] will take up position at the Sunward Market."

"For the clan, Uncle Lior will hold Pingyang City, Silas will hold Spirit Isle Lake, Caleb will hold Mystic Iron Mountain, and Kael will hold Green Chariot Mountain."

"Remember this: in a critical moment, you may abandon even Green Chariot Mountain, but never Pingyang City or Spirit Isle Lake."

"Kael and Caleb, you two will guard Mystic Iron Mountain and Green Chariot Mountain. Should the tide of war shift, we will consider summoning you to join the fray."

The four of them nodded in understanding, committing Eldrin Chen's instructions firmly to heart.

After finalizing the personnel arrangements, Eldrin Chen produced several treasures: a ritual blade, a net of divine thunder, a flying sword, a spherical magical artifact, and a defensive magical treasure in the form of a Treasure Seal.

Upon seeing these artifacts, the group could not conceal their astonishment—each one was a Second Rank High-Grade Magical Treasure [a powerful enchanted artifact of the second rank, high-grade]. This chapter appears courtesy of audio-novel dot com.

The ritual blade, named the Heaven Net Blade, had been the Lifebound Magical Treasure [a magical artifact bound to its owner's life force] of a Yan-surnamed cultivator from the Verdant Sun Sect. Having fallen to Eldrin Chen's hand, the blade naturally became his spoils of war.

The divine thunder net was of extraordinary origin—it was none other than the Life-Bound Magical Artifact [an artifact permanently fused with its wielder's spirit] of Bright Distance Wei, the Blazing Third Fire Divine Thunder Net. The flying sword, the spherical artifact, and the Treasure Seal magical treasure had all likewise been taken from Bright Distance Wei.

"These are treasures I seized in battle."

"They hold little further use for me. I entrust them to you now."

Eldrin Chen spoke, then after a moment of contemplation, he gave the most precious Second Rank High-Grade Flying Sword to Verdant Grace Chen. With this sword in hand, her offensive power and means of escape would be greatly enhanced.

The second most valuable defensive Treasure Seal, Eldrin Chen then gave to Lior Chen. Third Elder possessed a Lifebound Immortal Sword and Metallic Gold Divine Thunder, and thus lacked no means of attack.

With this Second Rank High-Grade defensive magical treasure [an enchanted artifact used by cultivators], Lior Chen's strength would increase significantly, placing him among the top tier within the Foundation Establishment Mid Stage.

The Heaven Net Blade was then given to Kael Chen. As a Self-Achieved Foundation Establishment cultivator, once he broke through to the Foundation Establishment Third Layer, he would be able to wield power equivalent to the Foundation Establishment Mid Stage and thus bring out the majority of this treasure's might.

The cultivation levels of the others had not yet reached the Foundation Establishment Mid Stage, and they were not Self-Achieved Foundation Establishment cultivators. Naturally, they could not wield the other two or three magical treasure [enchanted artifacts used by cultivators] and had to make do with the defensive magical treasure [enchanted artifacts used by cultivators] that Third Elder and Verdant Grace Chen had phased out.

The remaining spherical magical treasure and the Blazing Third Fire Divine Thunder Net were also extremely valuable. After a moment of thought, Eldrin Chen spoke to the Old Patriarch.

"Although Pingyang City's Solar Trueflame Formation is of Second Rank Mid-Grade caliber, its power is still somewhat lacking."

"This Blazing Third Fire Divine Thunder Net should be suitable for replacing the Blazing Sun Divine Pearl as the formation's core, thereby upgrading the formation to Second Rank High-Grade."

The Old Patriarch pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "With my current mastery of Formation [the art of creating and manipulating magical arrays], I can indeed reforge the City Defense Grand Formation."

"I believe we can modify the Formation Flag [the enchanted banners that anchor a formation] of the Solar Trueflame Formation and re-establish it as a Blazing Third Fire Divine Thunder Formation."

"That is good."

Eldrin Chen revealed a faint smile. Taking the final spherical magical treasure, he said with a laugh.

"The Spiritual Vein at Spirit Isle Lake has already reached the Second Rank High-Grade level. Continuing to use a Second Rank Mid-Grade Formation [a structured arrangement of energy nodes and flows for defense or other purposes] is no longer quite suitable."

"However, with this Earth Marsh Treasure Pearl, I can attempt to elevate the Formation at Spirit Isle Lake to the Second Rank High-Grade level."

Over these years, he had come to understand that he possessed an innate, special talent—or perhaps it was an inborn transcendent insight and genius.

For instance, during combat, he could keenly detect his opponent's slightest misstep and seize that fleeting, lightning-quick instant to deliver a fatal blow.

It was precisely by relying on this unparalleled, razor-sharp intuition that he had engaged in numerous conflicts over the years. Each time, he managed to capitalize on others' minute errors, successively slaying formidable foes and carving out a fearsome reputation for himself.

Furthermore, he discovered this talent was not limited to combat. In his daily cultivation and study of the Hundred Crafts of Cultivation [the myriad auxiliary arts and skills practiced by cultivators, such as alchemy, artifact forging, and formation setting], he could always identify the core of a problem and intuitively find its solution.

Even when practicing cultivation arts, he always felt the clan's inherited technique, the Blazing Sun Dominating Void Art, was riddled with too many flaws and intolerable minor imperfections. He could only continuously refine and perfect the art as he practiced it.

After years of cultivation, he had, almost without realizing it, drastically transformed the 'Blazing Sun Dominating Void Art'. The potency of the True Essence [the refined spiritual energy cultivated and circulated within a practitioner's body] it now produced exceeded that of the original version by more than twenty percent.

Relying on this seemingly 'uncommon' talent, his alchemy skills had now advanced to the Second Rank High-Grade level. His progress in the art of crafting Formation Artifact [enchanted artifacts designed to form or power arrays] was also not slow, having nearly reached the Second Rank High-Grade tier as well. Read the full novel exclusively on audio . novel . com.