Chapter 210 : The Cauldron and the Heavenly Thunder

Legend holds that within the Purple Realm [a higher plane of existence], cultivators with Three Spiritual Roots [a moderate innate talent for absorbing spiritual energy] possess a significantly greater chance of successfully weathering the Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation [the cataclysmic heavenly trial required to ascend to the Nascent Soul realm] compared to those with a Heavenly Spiritual Root [the pinnacle of innate cultivation talent].

In the Eastern Wastelands, the Nascent Soul Dao Lord [a supreme master of the Nascent Soul realm] of the Dao Lord Sacred Land [a hallowed ground of cultivation] often place greater value on those Nascent Soul True Lord [venerated masters of the Nascent Soul realm] who, despite possessing only Three Spiritual Roots, forged a Superior Golden Core [the highest grade of foundation for the Golden Core realm].

Returning to the matter at hand, Lyra Jiang raised her hand and summoned forth her Life-Bound Magical Treasure [a magical artifact intrinsically linked to a cultivator's life force], the Six Realms and Eight Desolations Cauldron.

The treasure cauldron, embodying the heavens and supporting the earth, instantly intercepted this bolt of Heavenly Thunder Tribulation [the devastating lightning strikes of a heavenly trial]. Though its radiance dimmed under the impact, it ultimately faced no danger of severe damage.

The eighth bolt of Heavenly Thunder Tribulation was twenty percent more powerful. After recalling the Six Realms and Eight Desolations Cauldron, Lyra Jiang deployed the Earth-Fortress Earth Origin Disk to erect a defensive barrier, successfully withstanding the strike.

The final bolt of Heavenly Thunder Tribulation possessed terrifying, escalating power, its force approaching that of a Golden Core, Late Stage [an advanced master of the Golden Core realm] cultivator's full might.

To guard against any unforeseen peril, Lyra Jiang first activated the Earth Marsh Five Mist Veil for defense, then sent the Dragon Transformation Blade slashing forth to meet the attack.

Although formidable, the ninth Heavenly Thunder Tribulation bolt had not yet reached the true power level of the Golden Core, Late Stage. Confronting it with the Dragon Transformation Blade, Lyra Jiang managed to block it, her success tinged with relief after the tense moment.

"Success."

A flicker of joy appeared on Lyra Jiang's exquisite features as she watched the Tribulation Clouds [the ominous clouds that gather during a heavenly trial] gradually disperse across the Firmament [the vault of heaven]. Discover more cultivation stories at http://www . audio-novel.com.

A cascade of seven-colored light-rain descended. Lyra Jiang expelled her Golden Core [the solidified essence of a cultivator's power and lifespan] with a single breath. The Pure Yin Great Luo Golden Core [a supreme-grade core of pure yin essence] spun rapidly, absorbing fully half of the radiant downpour.

The remaining half she collected with a treasure vase, storing it away with utmost care.

This seven-colored light-rain is known as Heavenly Tribulation Immortal Nectar [a celestial elixir condensed from the laws of heaven and earth during a tribulation]. Legend speaks of its myriad wondrous uses; it can not only enhance the foundational potential of a Golden Core, but can also be used in alchemy and artificing to elevate the quality of treasures.

It is said that even a Fourth Rank Magical Treasure [a treasure of the Golden Core realm], if infused with a small amount of this Immortal Nectar, would see its might surge by thirty percent.

Typically, after a Golden Core Cultivator [a cultivator who has formed a Golden Core] survives their Heavenly Thunder Tribulation [a trial of heavenly lightning], they receive at most one or two drops of this nectar. Lyra Jiang's Heavenly Thunder Tribulation far surpassed the ordinary, and the resulting downpour was astonishingly abundant—ten times the usual amount.

Witnessing her successful tribulation transcendence, the assembled cultivators promptly bowed in respect, offering their congratulations.

"We congratulate Jiang the Ancient Ancestor! May the Ancient Ancestor [a venerable title for a senior cultivator] enjoy eternal blessings and swiftly attain the immortal Dao!"

"Congratulations to Jiang the Ancient Ancestor…"

As the crowd continued their felicitations, they noticed Lyra Jiang alighting beside Eldrin Chen.

Many wore expressions of surprise at this. Percival Pan reacted quickest, swiftly amending his words: "We congratulate Immortal Maiden Jiang! May the Maiden's youth endure forever, her immortal grace everlasting and undimmed."

"This fellow..."

The crowd quickly caught on and hastened to echo the sentiment.

Upon hearing this, Lyra Jiang was greatly pleased. With a casual flick of her hand, she scattered a shower of radiant treasures, sparking a scramble among the onlookers.

"This seat has forged her Golden Core [the condensed essence of a cultivator's power, marking a major breakthrough] today, a truly joyous occasion. Consider these trinkets yours."

With those words, she took Eldrin Chen by the hand and led him back into the depths of her Spirit Pool Cave Abode.

From a distance, the Old Patriarch wore a look of stunned disbelief. Eldrin Chen was a man of few words, and over the years, the patriarch had never detected even a hint of budding affection between him and Lyra Jiang.

News of Lyra Jiang's breakthrough to the Golden Core realm swiftly spread throughout the Chu Kingdom. Celestial Ruins Mountain hosted a grand feast for three full days, celebrating the momentous event in proper style.

Her circle of close friends was small; she invited only her dear friend Yvonne the Violet Consort. The rest were the various Purple Mansion Immortal Clan [powerful cultivation families whose patriarchs have reached the Purple Mansion realm] of Bianzhou, who saw her as their patron and naturally sent congratulatory gifts with fervent delight.

Even Purple Mansion Immortal Clan from Qing and Yang Provinces sent representatives, each bearing rare and precious treasures as tokens of their esteem.

Only after the festivities had concluded did Lyra Jiang finally find the time to begin sorting through the spoils acquired from Celestial Python Lake.

On this day, Lyra Jiang [the alchemist] prepared to light the furnace and begin pill concoction. Eldrin Chen personally served as her assistant, aiding her in refining the various elixirs.

The spoils from this battle included many pill ingredients. Those below the Third Rank [the Purple Mansion Realm] naturally did not require Lyra Jiang's personal attention. Only the Foundation Establishment Pill [a pill that aids in breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm] and pills of Third Rank or higher necessitated her direct expertise.

Refining the Foundation Establishment Pill was a familiar task for both of them. After Lyra Jiang's breakthrough to the Golden Core [the Golden Core Realm], her mana and spiritual sense had increased tremendously. Her Pill Success Rate [the rate of successfully producing a finished pill] for this type of elixir was now extremely high, and the speed of the refining process had also accelerated significantly.

This battle had yielded a total of five Demonic Core [the condensed energy core of a demonic beast] from Purple Mansion Realm beasts. The three cores from early-stage Purple Palace, Early Stage [the initial layers of the Purple Mansion Realm] beasts were completed by Lyra Jiang in merely three days, resulting in an astonishing output of fifteen Foundation Establishment Pill Pills.

The Demonic Core from a mid-stage Purple Palace, Mid Stage [the middle layers of the Purple Mansion Realm] beast was abundant with creation energy. Lyra Jiang managed to refine seven Foundation Establishment Pill Pills from it in a single batch.

The Demonic Core from the Violet-Blooded Demonic Serpent [a powerful serpent demon] was of Third Rank High Grade [the peak of the Third Rank, corresponding to late Purple Mansion]. Its creation energy was so potent that the two divided the material into two separate furnace batches. This process astonishingly yielded thirteen Foundation Establishment Pill Pills. Immerse yourself in the complete world at audio-novel-dot-com.

They tallied the results: the final pill count reached twenty-five. They realized that, aside from the twenty pills allocated for the Four Great Purple Mansion Immortal Clans [the four major clans of the Purple Mansion level], five remained. These would be sufficient to reward the participating Foundation Establishment Cultivator [cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Realm] for their merits.

Sixty Foundation Establishment cultivators had participated in the campaign. Excluding the disciples from the Four Great Clans, the remaining thirty-plus were Rogue Cultivator [independent cultivators without clan or sect affiliation] from the Celestial Ruins Mountain [a major cultivation site]. These five Foundation Establishment Pill Pills would be ample as part of their reward.

The remaining four Purple Marrow Fruit [a rare spirit fruit] were of standard, tenfold medicinal potency. The duo spent four days refining them. Each furnace batch produced at least seven pills, culminating in a total of thirty Foundation Establishment Pill Pills.

Lyra Jiang planned to sell these Foundation Establishment Pill Pills to the immortal clans of Bianzhou [a region]. After her breakthrough to Golden Core, she was severely lacking in Spirit Stone [minerals that store spiritual energy, used as currency and for cultivation]. Whether for her Life-Bound Magical Treasure [a cultivator's personally bonded and nurtured magical artifact] or her divine abilities, she would require vast amounts of Five Elements Essence [a refined spiritual essence containing the power of the five elements]. The needed Spirit Stone were estimated to exceed three million.

After successfully refining the Foundation Establishment Pill [a pill that aids in establishing one's cultivation foundation], Lyra Jiang once again lit the furnace to concoct other elixirs. She began with several batches of Third Rank Low Grade [a classification for pills of moderate power suitable for mid-level cultivators] pills.

Among them were three batches of Mysterious Jade Pill [a pill that enhances a cultivator's spiritual essence and refines their meridians] and five batches of Purple Aura Pill [a consumable pill that temporarily boosts spiritual energy and aids in cultivation breakthroughs]. The difficulty of refining these two types was not particularly high. From the Mysterious Jade Pill batches, a total of twenty-five pills were successfully formed.

Although Eldrin Chen had already consumed this type of pill before, he still took nine of them, intending to bring them back to exchange for resources for Lior Chen, Kael Chen, and the others.

Consuming this pill could increase the spiritual power of a cultivator in the Purple Palace, Early Stage [the initial phase of the Purple Mansion realm, where one's spiritual core begins to solidify] by one-tenth. It could also augment the True Essence [the refined, potent spiritual energy cultivated by a practitioner] of a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer by three-tenths.

For cultivators in the Foundation Establishment, Late Stage [the advanced phase of the Foundation Establishment realm], consuming this pill would result in a more abundant and potent True Essence, thereby increasing their chances of a successful breakthrough into the Purple Mansion [a major cultivation realm where one's spiritual energy condenses into a stable, mansion-like core within the body] by a measurable degree.

A single pill of this caliber was worth over ten thousand Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy, used as currency and for cultivation]. Within the clan's Foundation Establishment Cultivator [practitioners who have solidified their cultivation base], aside from those who had achieved Self-Guided Foundation Establishment [the difficult process of establishing one's foundation without external pill assistance]—namely Ethan, Kael, and Lila—the others currently lacked the means to acquire such a valuable resource through exchange.

However, individuals like Lior were key talents the clan focused on nurturing. Eldrin Chen planned to allow them to receive the pills on credit. The debt would be deducted from their future stipends once their cultivation reached the Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer and began to stagnate, marking the time they would most need such an aid.

From the five batches of Purple Aura Pill, over forty pills were successfully formed. As consumable items, their purpose needed little explanation. The Chen Clan received a share of fifteen of these pills.

Furthermore, Lyra Jiang also refined one batch of Spirit-Nourishing Pill [a pill specifically designed to restore and strengthen a cultivator's Primordial Spirit, or spiritual core]. This pill was of great use to cultivators when training their spiritual sense [the extended perception ability of a cultivator].

The Solar Separated Flame Scripture [a profound cultivation manual created by Eldrin Chen, focusing on the power of solar and separated flames], which Eldrin Chen had created, also contained methods for cultivating the Primordial Spirit. One such technique was named the 'Solar Spirit-Refining Visualization Art' [a meditative art that uses visualization of the sun to purify and strengthen one's spiritual essence].

Cultivating this esoteric method placed a significant strain on his spiritual sense [the perceptive and cognitive faculty of a cultivator's mind]. With the support of the Spirit-Nourishing Pill [an elixir that replenishes and fortifies mental energy], Eldrin Chen could finally begin its cultivation.

As a Third Rank Middle Grade elixir, the Spirit-Nourishing Pill was considerably more difficult to refine. Lyra Jiang dedicated three full days of concentrated effort, ultimately succeeding in forging a total of seven Spirit-Nourishing Pills. Find thousands of chapters at audio . novel . com.