Chapter 229. Purple Palace, Mid Stage (Cultivation Realm)

To set up the grand formation, Eldrin and the old clan leader spent 2 months jointly refining 7 sets of second-tier formation flags.

These 7 sets of formation flags totaled a full 40-9 individual banners. The cost of these flags alone amounted to 50,000 spirit stones.

After the 2 had refined them, they deployed the 7 sets of formation flags across 7 spiritual veins. Using the power of the formation disk, they linked them together, forming a defensive array spanning 8 100 li in all directions.

From the sky, the 7 Stars Demon Refining Array appeared like a translucent curtain of light inverted over the land, enveloping the entire 8-100-mile plain surrounding Pingyang City.

Gazing at the translucent barrier enveloping the 8-100-mile expanse of the Great Wilderness, the old clan leader smiled and said, "With this formation guarding us, Pingyang City shall remain untroubled from this day forth."

"Yes."

Eldrin also nodded in agreement. The power of the 7 Stars Demon Refining Array was inherently immense, and when augmented by the energy of 6 second-grade, upper-tier spirit veins and 1 third-grade, lower-tier spirit vein, the unleashed force would be truly staggering.

These spiritual veins could provide spiritual energy nearly equivalent to that of 6 Purple Palace, Early Stage (Cultivation Realm) cultivators and 1 Purple Palace, Perfection Stage (Cultivation Realm) cultivator combined. Moreover, the spiritual energy from these veins would continuously regenerate, allowing the formation to maintain its formidable power without interruption.

In such circumstances, with just 1 Zifu-stage cultivator activating the formation, even a typical False Core cultivator would find it difficult to gain any advantage.

And once the spiritual vein of Pingyang City was elevated to the third-grade, upper-tier, even a Golden Core, Early Stage (Cultivation Realm) cultivator would likely find it difficult to breach its defenses in a short time.

At this thought, both Eldrin and the old clan leader breathed a sigh of relief.

Pingyang City was the lifeblood of the clan. Only if this place remained secure could the lineage produce more mortal descendants.

In this realm, the probability of a mortal awakening a spiritual root is approximately 1 in a 1000. The greater the mortal population, the more cultivators will emerge.

Low-level cultivators were far too important. The amount of 5 Elements Essence required by Eldrin and the old clan head kept increasing, and nearly all the 5 Elements Essence produced by the clan's cultivators each year was supplied to these 2 individuals.

Yet this was far from sufficient. Every year, the clan had to spend over 10,000 spirit stones to purchase the 5 Elements' Essence from various sources.

In addition, the family required a substantial workforce to guard the spirit veins, manage their business operations, refine elixirs and artifacts, and fend off demonic beasts.

To refine a single cauldron of third-grade elixirs, Eldrin required over a 100 supplementary ingredients. Had he been a rogue cultivator, relying solely on his own efforts to gather them all, the very notion of cultivation would have been rendered impossible.

As a clan cultivator, his family possessed 2,000 low-level cultivators and spirit fields. Whatever medicinal herbs he needed, he simply had to give the order and they would be gathered for him.

"If there are millions of mortals, then the clan shall have over 10 1000 cultivators."

By then, the 5 Elements essence should become largely self-sufficient. Over these years, Lyra (Person Name) and I have been purchasing 5 Elements essence across various regions, driving up its price by over 40 percent across the Qing, Yang, and Bian provinces. It's truly becoming rather cost-ineffective.

Eldrin thought to himself, yet all he could do was have his clan intensify their efforts to acquire the 5 Elements Essence.

To forge the Life-Bound Magic Treasure, the Great White Star Pearl, for the old patriarch, the family had expended over half of the accumulated 5 Elements Qi they had painstakingly gathered over the years.

Once he broke through to Purple Palace, Mid Stage (Cultivation Realm), there were still 4 innate magic treasures requiring advancement. To elevate each innate magic treasure to Third-Class, Superior Grade, the amount of 5 Elements' Essence consumed would be worth approximately 50,000 spirit stones.

The cost was already exorbitantly high, and adding a 40 percent premium would mean spending an extra 20,000 spirit stones. For all 4 items combined, the additional cost would amount to 80,000 spirit stones. Even with his considerable wealth, the expense made him wince in pain.

Speaking of spirit stones, 1 must mention the spirit geese raised by Eldrin. The current flock at Spirit Isle Lake has now reached 1,000 birds.

Drawing on the roast duck methods from his past life, Eldrin commanded his clan's cultivators to develop a secret recipe. Not only did it make the spirit geese incredibly delicious, but it also enhanced 1's cultivation.

The Chen family’s roast goose shops had now expanded to major markets across 3 provinces, becoming a renowned delicacy throughout the Chu Kingdom. Many cultivators could not resist stopping by for a taste. In recent years, it was said the business had generated a substantial annual revenue.

After setting up the formation, he returned to Spirit Isle Lake (Location).

The days that followed fell into a familiar rhythm. Each day, aside from his never-neglected cultivation practice, was spent nurturing his magical treasures and refining his spiritual power to advance his cultivation base.

5 years later, Lior (Person Name) retrieved the Geng Metal Crystal (Spiritual Object) from him, making his first attempt to break through to the Violet Mansion realm.

Having consumed treasures such as the Mysterious Jade Pill (Spiritual Object), Lior (Person Name) had accumulated a far more profound foundation than an ordinary Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment cultivator. Thus, he managed to penetrate 50% of his meridians in a single breakthrough.

With the Third Elder's profound foundation, should he obtain another 5 Elements Treasure Crystal, his chances of breaking through to the Purple Mansion Realm would likely reach 60 percent.

Another 3 years passed, and Eldrin finally achieved perfection in his magical power, touching the bottleneck of Purple Palace, Mid Stage.

On the verge of breaking through to Purple Palace, Mid Stage (Cultivation Realm), he did not delay further and immediately consumed the Cloudmark Fortune Pill.

With the tempering of his several natal magic treasures, even without the aid of the Cloud-Patterned Creation Elixir, it would only take 20 years to break through to Purple Palace, Mid Stage (Cultivation Realm).

Now, with the aid of the Cloud-Scripting Creation Pill, breaking through to the Purple Palace, Mid Stage (Cultivation Realm) was naturally as easy as turning 1's hand.

After the breakthrough came the refinement of spiritual power and the advancement of his natal magic treasures. By the time all 4 of his natal magic treasures had ascended to the third-tier, upper-grade, a full year had slipped by in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Eldrin emerged from seclusion after successfully advancing his final Natal Magic Treasure, only to find Chen Changxuan had been waiting outside the cultivation chamber for several days.

The moment she saw him, the old clan leader declared, "The alliance assembly at Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location) is about to commence. Had you not emerged from seclusion, I would have been prepared to go myself."

Eldrin calculated the time with his fingers and realized, to his astonishment, that only 1 year remained until the date Lyra had set for their assault on the Qingyang Sect.

Before the war began, Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location) summoned prominent immortal clans from 3 provinces to jointly launch a campaign against the Qingyang Sect. Naturally, the Chen Family would also need to dispatch their Zi Palace cultivators.

This alliance at Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location) holds grave importance. The old clan leader has decided to accompany Eldrin (Person Name) on this journey.

Fortunately, with Lior's (Person Name) greatly enhanced magical power, he could now barely manage to temporarily guard Pingyang City in place of the old clan leader.

The 2 rode upon the Purple Blood Skiff (Magic Treasure), arriving at Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location) in just over a day’s flight, making them the last 2 Zifu cultivators to arrive.

As soon as he landed on Celestial Ruins Mountain, Eldrin spotted several Meng Family cultivators, led by the female cultivator Meng Xingwan.

Back when Eldrin (Person Name) had just built his foundation, Meng Xinghe had even proposed a marriage alliance between them. In the blink of an eye, over 70 years had passed—Eldrin (Person Name) was now a Purple Palace, Mid Stage (Cultivation Realm) venerable, while Meng Xingwan remained at the seventh layer of foundation establishment.

Meng Xingwan glanced at Eldrin and the old clan leader, then quickly lowered her gaze and spoke with deference, "I pay my respects to the 2 Ancestors."

"It's Xingwan."

The old clan leader gave a warm smile. His mother was a female cultivator from the Meng Family, making him rather close to them by relation.

Over the years, the 2 families had forged numerous marital alliances. Several Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Chen family, such as Chen Nianzhen, had formed cultivation partnerships with cultivators from the Meng family.