Chapter 278 : The Heavy Toll of Victory

After dispatching someone to relay the message, a heavy silence settled over those present.

Eldrin Chen sighed inwardly and handed an account ledger to the group, then spoke.

"This battle claimed the lives of nineteen Violet Sanctum [cultivators at the Violet Sanctum realm] and two hundred and sixty Foundation Establishment [cultivators at the Foundation Establishment realm]."

"Over a thousand Foundation Establishment Cultivator emerged, but most have been tainted by demonic energy [corruptive energy from demons]. If it is not purged, I fear these individuals will be in danger of falling into demonic corruption."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions turned grim. Although they had slain over half of the Violet Sanctum Demonic Cultivator [cultivators who use demonic energy] from the Demon Cave, they themselves had not emerged unscathed.

In this battle, the Heavenly Ruins Alliance mobilized over twenty Violet Sanctum Cultivator and more than two hundred Foundation Establishment Cultivator. The Purple Abyss Sect had deployed a force of similar scale.

The Verdant Azure Immortal Sect and the Firmament Sword Sect had committed their full strength, together fielding eighty Violet Sanctum and over seven hundred Foundation Establishment.

In total, more than a hundred Violet Sanctum and over a thousand Foundation Establishment Cultivator had entered the fray. Yet, fewer than nine hundred Foundation Establishment emerged alive, and of the one hundred and twenty-some Violet Sanctum, only about a hundred survived.

The death toll of so many cultivators meant compensation payments alone would amount to several million Spirit Stone [minerals that store spiritual energy, used as currency]. The cost was devastatingly heavy.

Everyone seated wore expressions of deep concern. Even for any one of the four Golden Core [the Golden Core cultivation realm] powers, bearing this expenditure would inflict severe damage to their foundations. Immerse yourself in the complete world at audio–novel.com.

Seeing the grim expressions on everyone's faces, Exquisite Jiang could only say, "To avoid chilling the hearts of our people, we must not be lacking in the compensation we provide for the fallen."

"If the Spirit Herb Garden of our four great immortal sects pool our resources, we should be able to refine over a dozen batches of Foundation Establishment Pill every ten years."

"With my pill formation success rate, it would only take twenty years to distribute the compensation for the Foundation Establishment [the second major stage of cultivation] cultivators."

Hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement. Exquisite Jiang's alchemy skills were unmatched in Chu Nation, and having her perform the refining would indeed save significant costs.

With the compensation for the Foundation Establishment cultivators settled, the others began offering their own suggestions. True Person Great Defense spoke up, "My Verdant Azure Immortal Sect possesses several Bulwark Earth Vein [spiritual earth energy veins]. Combined, they can produce ten Five Elements Treasure Crystal [crystals imbued with the essence of the five elements] every Sixty-Year Cycle."

"We will contribute ten."

He calculated silently. Nineteen fallen Violet Sanctum Cultivator [cultivators of the third major stage] required thirty-eight Five Elements Treasure Crystal as compensation. He intended his ten to cover part of that.

At that moment, however, the Grand Elder of the Firmament Sword Sect shook his head. "This battle began because of your Verdant Azure Immortal Sect. The one who betrayed us was Grand Granary Old Demon. And the heaviest casualties were suffered by your Verdant Azure Immortal Sect contingent."

"Nearly half of the funds we are gathering now are to pay *your* sect's compensation. And you offer only ten crystals?"

True Person Great Defense's aged face flushed slightly. Of the nineteen fallen Violet Sanctum cultivators, ten had been from his Verdant Azure Immortal Sect.

The primary reason for the heavy losses among the Violet Sanctum and Foundation Establishment Cultivator ranks of the Verdant Azure Immortal Sect was the utterly unforeseen betrayal by Grand Granary Old Demon.

Thinking of this, True Person Great Defense gritted his teeth and declared, "For the compensation regarding the Five Elements Treasure Crystal, I shall bear the cost of fifteen pieces."

With True Person Great Defense covering fifteen pieces, the remaining leaders discussed and agreed that each family would contribute eight Five Elements Treasure Crystal for the compensation, thus settling the matter completely.

After handling the compensation, Eldrin Chen then spoke up, "Now that so many Foundation Establishment Cultivator have been tainted by demonic energy, we must find a way to purge it from them."

Upon hearing this, the others all wore grave expressions. Nearly a thousand Foundation Establishment Cultivator—this represented the accumulated strength of Chu Nation and the Verdant Azure Immortal Sect over a century.

Statistically speaking, barring unforeseen circumstances, many among them were destined to advance to become Violet Sanctum Cultivator, and some might even one day attain the status of a Golden Core Patriarch.

If the demonic energy was not purged, it would hinder their cultivation. Worse, many could be corrupted by its influence and fall onto the Demonic Path [the path of cultivation that embraces demonic and destructive energies].

Demonic energy corrodes the very bones. While it can be burned away by True Flame [a pure, high-temperature flame often used in alchemy and purification] when external, it is far more difficult to deal with once it has invaded the body.

This is because overly aggressive methods risk damaging the physical body and meridians [the energy channels within a cultivator's body]; one might purge the demonic energy only to find the vessel itself ruined.

Therefore, there are typically only two common methods to expel demonic energy. The first is to use one's own True Essence [the refined spiritual energy cultivated within a practitioner] to temper the body day and night, gradually forcing the corruption out.

This method often proves to be a protracted process, as the True Essence of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator is inferior to true magical power, making the endeavor even more arduous.

All Foundation Establishment cultivators who participated in this battle remained within the demonic miasma for two Shichen-time [one Shichen-time equals two hours]. Their bodies were essentially permeated by the taint, and purging it would require two full decades.

Beyond this, cultivators, having fought Demonic Cultivator for years, have naturally developed other methods.

Among these methods, the most effective is concocting the Demon-Cleansing Spirit Liquid [a special elixir formulated to neutralize demonic energy]. This liquid neutralizes the demonic energy, scouring away its corrupting essence until nothing remains.

At that moment, Exquisite Jiang swept her gaze over the assembly and declared, "I possess the formula for the Demon-Cleansing Spirit Liquid."

"What might the cost be?" Elder Qian could not contain his elation and blurted out the question. This content originates from audio-novel dot com. Please respect copyright.

"Typically, concocting a single dose requires one thousand Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy]. However, if producing over a thousand doses, the cost per dose can be reduced to approximately six hundred Spirit Stones."

She paused in thought, then continued, "The number of cultivators from this battle requiring the Demon-Cleansing Spirit Liquid is vast. The demand for Spirit Herb [plants imbued with spiritual energy] will be immense. I fear the resources of Chu Nation alone will be insufficient to gather them all."

The others did a quick mental calculation. The Foundation Establishment Cultivator in this battle had not remained within the Demon Cave for more than three Shichen-time. The demonic taint within them was not yet severe; a single dose of the Demon-Cleansing Spirit Liquid should suffice to cleanse it completely.

At six hundred Spirit Stones per dose, even producing over a thousand would amount to a cost of roughly six hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

This price, to be shared equally among the four major Golden Core powers, was no longer considered exorbitant. Any individual present could readily produce the sum.

Thus, a collective sigh of relief washed over the assembly as the matter was settled.

With these affairs concluded, the group turned their attention to tallying the spoils of the recent battle.

Strictly speaking, assaulting Demonic Cultivator strongholds was a thankless endeavor, its rewards paling in comparison to campaigns against the Demon Race.

This was because the Demonic Treasure wielded by Demonic Cultivator were vile and malicious. Prolonged use would corrupt the user's soul with demonic and baleful energies, warping their temperament and character.

Consequently, righteous cultivators who acquired such Demonic Treasure typically chose to destroy them.

However, in this engagement, the alliance had slain tens of thousands of Demonic Cultivator, nearly halving the fiendish population within the Demon Cave.

Though their departure was hasty, they still managed to seize close to ten thousand Storage Bag, many of which contained valuable items.

Upon inventory, they discovered over five hundred thousand Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy] had been captured, along with various magical treasure [enchanted artifacts used by cultivators] and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures [rare spiritual resources from heaven and earth]. The combined value exceeded one million Spirit Stone.

This tally did not even include the millions of Blood Crystal [crystals condensed from blood and malice] or the multitude of other sinister and damaging demonic artifacts.

In addition, they also seized the Storage Bag [a spatial artifact for storing items] belonging to Blood-Robed Old Demon and the Demonic Treasure [an enchanted artifact infused with demonic energy] black demonic sword from Yan Old Demon.

Within the Storage Bag of the Blood-Robed Old Demon, they discovered a Demonic Treasure of the Fourth Rank Low-Grade [the lowest tier within the fourth rank of magical items] and another piece of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures [rare and potent natural spiritual resources] at the fourth rank.

The black demonic sword from Yan Old Demon was a fourth-rank Immortal Sword [a sword forged with immortal-level techniques and materials]. Its entire body was forged from Obsidian Abyss Ancient Gold [an ancient, dark metal ore] and had been tempered with a vast quantity of baleful energy [a corrupt and malevolent form of spiritual energy] from a Demon Cave [a cavern or lair inhabited by demons].

Exquisite Jiang examined the several Demonic Treasure and took the black demonic sword, saying, "Although these Demonic Treasure cannot be used directly, their materials can be melted down and taken back to forge proper magical treasures."

"I will take this Immortal Sword. The rest, you may divide amongst yourselves." This chapter is provided by audio–novel.com. Support the original.