Chapter 286 : The Millennium Verdant Origin Mushroom

After slaying the Ancient Mystic Path Master, the group arrived upon Ancient Mystery Island.

They conducted a thorough search of the island. Apart from two Formation Artifact of the third rank, middle grade, they found only a dozen or so Mu-area [one Mu-area equals six hundred sixty-six point six seven square meters] of Spiritual Field.

Within the Spiritual Field, there were over a hundred Spirit Herb plants. All were of the Second Rank or higher, with four or five particularly precious specimens that had reached the third rank.

After harvesting the Spirit Herb, Eldrin Chen broke the restrictive seals on the Storage Bag and opened it to reveal its treasures.

Once the group had finished tallying the treasures within the Storage Bag, they could not help but reveal expressions of delight.

The Old Patriarch spoke with a mixture of joy and excitement, "This Ancient Mystic Path Master did not possess many treasures, but what he had showed considerable depth."

Gazing upon the treasures before him, a faint smile flickered across Eldrin Chen's face.

Though the Ancient Mystic Path Master's Storage Bag contained few items, among them was an exceptionally rare Millennium Verdant Origin Mushroom.

The Verdant Origin Mushroom matures once every three Sixty-Year Cycle. Once matured, it can be refined into the Verdant Origin Pill, which assists cultivators in breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage.

Generally, if a Verdant Origin Mushroom is not harvested after maturing, it will wither within ten years. Only an exceedingly rare few can transcend their inherent grade limitations and continue to grow. Experience the full epic at audio–novel.com.

The Verdant Origin Mushroom that has broken through its grade limitation is one such rare variant. A Verdant Origin Mushroom capable of surviving for a millennium is one in a thousand, an exceedingly rare Fourth Rank Spirit Herb [a plant imbued with potent spiritual energy].

The Millennium Verdant Origin Mushroom can be used to refine the Fourth Rank Low-Grade elixir known as the Creation Verdant Origin Pill [a pill that expands a cultivator's spiritual meridians]. This Creation Verdant Origin Pill can broaden the spiritual meridians of a Violet Sanctum Cultivator [a cultivator at the Violet Sanctum stage] by thirty percent, allowing them to contain thirty percent more spiritual power [the refined energy cultivated within a practitioner's body].

Back when Vast Righteousness True Lord was expounding the Dao, he once mentioned this pill, believing it could remedy the deficiency in spiritual power common among Violet Sanctum Cultivator, thereby increasing one's chances of a successful breakthrough to the Golden Core [the stage where spiritual energy condenses into a solid, golden core within the dantian].

This Ancient Mystic Path Master [a title for a senior cultivator], with his lifespan nearing its end and unwilling to accept fading into oblivion, had recently exhausted his resources to purchase this Millennium Verdant Origin Mushroom, selling off most of his treasures to raise the necessary funds.

Unfortunately, before he could gather all the supplementary herbs needed for the alchemical cauldron, his enemies tracked him down. Thus, this Millennium Verdant Origin Mushroom became a dowry for another.

This highlights the plight of rogue cultivators. A single batch of high-grade Spirit Herb alchemy requires at least several hundred types of supplementary ingredients. Without the support of a clan's Spiritual Field [a field nourished by spiritual energy for growing spirit herbs] and clan members, gathering all the materials for one batch is a time-consuming endeavor.

After all, major Immortal Clan [a clan of cultivators] maintain stockpiles of various Spirit Herb, and they possess both connections and numerous low-level disciples to assist in procurement. Therefore, they can swiftly assemble the supplementary herbs needed for pill refinement.

Gazing at the Millennium Verdant Origin Mushroom, Eldrin Chen revealed a flicker of joy. This journey had not only yielded a Fourth Rank Immortal Sword [a sword imbued with immortal power], but also the long-sought Millennium Verdant Origin Mushroom. It was indeed a bountiful harvest.

Old Patriarch looked at the Millennium Verdant Origin Mushroom and said with delight, "With this Millennium Verdant Origin Mushroom, once we refine the Creation Verdant Origin Pill, our spiritual power will increase by another thirty percent. It will also bolster our hopes for a breakthrough to Golden Core."

"Indeed."

Eldrin Chen turned his gaze towards the Heavenly River Immortal Sword [a legendary blade of immense power]. This sword was forged from Heavenly River Treasure Gold [a rare, fourth-rank spiritual metal]. If he could extract and refine its materials, it would be sufficient for his Heavenly River Positive Water Sword [a divine sword technique bound to his life force] to undergo the Treasure Heavenly Thunder Tribulation [a heavenly trial that refines and empowers magical treasures], allowing its grade to advance to the fourth rank.

Although this would require destroying a fourth-rank Immortal Sword [a sword of immortal-grade power], in his view, it was a completely worthwhile trade. After all, when the Celestial Abyss Twin Swords [a pair of legendary swords] were combined, they formed his most potent trump card.

Moreover, a Lifebound Immortal Sword [a sword forged with one's life essence] consumed only thirty percent of the spiritual energy required by a standard sword of the same rank. While both were fourth-rank Immortal Sword, activating the Heavenly River Immortal Sword once would drain twenty percent of his energy reserves, making it far less efficient and convenient than a Lifebound Immortal Sword.

Not to mention its immense potential. Once it successfully weathered the Treasure Heavenly Thunder Tribulation, it would be capable of advancing all the way to the Fourth Rank Superior Grade [the pinnacle of the fourth rank], a prospect the Heavenly River Immortal Sword could never hope to match.

Aside from the Spirit Herb [a plant imbued with spiritual energy] and the Immortal Sword, the Ancient Mystic Path Master [a title for a venerable master of the Dao] had also left behind several cultivation manuals. The most profound among them could guide one to the Violet Sanctum 9th Tier [the ninth and highest tier of the Violet Sanctum realm]. However, for the present-day Chen Clan, these were no longer considered rare treasures.

There was, however, a Divine Ability Jade Slip [a jade slip containing the secrets of a divine ability] detailing the Positive Water Divine Thunder [a divine thunder technique of the positive water element]. This was a valuable find, as it finally completed the clan's inheritance of the Five Elements Divine Thunder [a set of five thunder techniques corresponding to the fundamental elements].

"After all these years, we have finally completed the legacy of the Five Elements Primordial Solar Divine Thunder [the supreme divine thunder technique combining the five elements and the primordial sun]," Eldrin Chen murmured, a smile of satisfaction gracing his features.

Legend held that if a cultivator mastered all five techniques of the Five Elements Primordial Solar Divine Thunder, they might gain insight into the legendary, peerless Great God Ability [a category of supreme divine powers] known as the Great Five Elements Primordial Solar Divine Thunder [the ultimate fusion of the five elemental thunders and solar power].

These peerless Great God Ability, also called 'Primordial Solar Divine Ability' [divine abilities of the primordial sun], represented the apex of offensive power. Among them, the Great Five Elements Primordial Solar Divine Thunder was a standout, ranking within the top three offensive Divine Ability [supernatural techniques] across the entire Purple Seal Realm [a vast and powerful cultivation world].

'Primordial Solar Divine Ability' were treasures coveted even by Primordial Spirit Path Lord [powerful cultivators at the Primordial Spirit realm], much like Primordial Solar Supreme Treasure [artifacts of the primordial sun]. Once mastered, such an ability granted the power to dominate the world.

"I should contemplate this after returning."

After storing the treasures, Eldrin Chen turned his gaze towards this Spirit Island [an island rich in spiritual energy, often a site for cultivation].

He pondered for a moment before asking, "What do you think we should do with this Spirit Island?"

"A third-rank Spirit Mountain [a mountain peak imbued with potent spiritual energy, suitable for high-level cultivation] is quite precious. Perhaps we should claim it for ourselves."

Ethan Chen spoke up, clearly reluctant to abandon such a prize.

The Old Patriarch nearby shook his head in disagreement. "This Spirit Island is too far from the Chu Nation. If we occupy it and old allies of the Ancient Mystic Path Master [a title for a powerful master of esoteric cultivation arts] come seeking vengeance, our reach would be too short to defend it effectively." Original English translation available at audio-novel.com.

Hearing this, Verdant Mist Yu, who had been about to suggest taking over the island herself, hesitated and suppressed the thought.

Eldrin Chen considered this and found the Old Patriarch's reasoning sound. "Then let's sell it," he declared.

"If the price is right, the cultivation families of the Cang Nation should be willing to pay."

After making his decision, Eldrin Chen spent half a month visiting the various great clans of Cang Nation in succession. In the end, three Violet Sanctum Cultivator [cultivators who have opened their Violet Sanctum, the third major cultivation realm] were moved to make an offer, each naming their price.

Of those three, two were cultivators from Violet Sanctum Immortal Clan [powerful clans with Violet Sanctum cultivators as their foundation], and one was a renowned rogue cultivator within Cang Nation.

The former two wished to snatch a bargain, purchasing the island at a base price to increase their clan's foundation. The latter sought a secluded place for cultivation and a Spirit Mountain [a mountain imbued with spiritual energy] upon which to establish his own sect.

The two Violet Sanctum Immortal Clan offered one hundred seventy thousand and one hundred eighty thousand Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy] respectively. This price was already considered low for a Third Rank Lower Grade Spiritual Vein [a vein in the earth that channels spiritual energy], let alone for a Spirit Island that still held many immature Spirit Herb [plants that absorb and concentrate spiritual energy].

The rogue cultivator could not produce much wealth, but was willing to offer a Purple Sun Jade [a rare jade imbued with the essence of the rising sun] in exchange, along with a compensation of fifty thousand Spirit Stone.

After reviewing the three offers, Eldrin Chen said with a smile to the Old Patriarch, "With this Purple Sun Jade, we have obtained the key supplementary ingredient for refining the Creation Verdant Origin Pill [a legendary pill that can expand a cultivator's meridians]."

To refine a single batch of Creation Verdant Origin Pill, besides the crucial main ingredient, one also requires a Purple Sun Jade and five Five Elements Treasure Crystal [crystals containing the purified essence of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth].

Only by gathering these six key supplementary ingredients can the Polarity [the balance of opposing forces like Yin and Yang] and Five Elements [the five fundamental phases of energy: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth] within the Creation Verdant Origin Pill be balanced, allowing it to contain sufficient Creation [the primordial force of genesis and vitality] energy. Only then can it help a cultivator expand their meridians by thirty percent.

Without the nourishing Creation energy from the Five Elements Treasure Crystal and the Purple Sun Jade to temper the meridians, relying solely on the violently potent medicinal properties of the Millennium Verdant Origin Mushroom [a mushroom that has absorbed spiritual energy for a thousand years] would forcibly stretch the meridians by thirty percent. This would inevitably cause severe damage, riddling them with deep cracks and leading to complete failure.

The value of these six key supplementary ingredients alone already reached five hundred thousand Spirit Stone. Combined with the Millennium Verdant Origin Mushroom, also worth several hundred thousand spirit stones, the cost to refine a single batch of Creation Verdant Origin Pill soared to a staggering one million.

This was nothing compared to the two million Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy] cost of refining a Golden Core Formation Pill [a legendary pill that aids in the formation of a cultivator's Golden Core], but it was still a precious high-grade elixir [a potent medicinal pill used for cultivation]. For the best reading experience, visit audio~novel.com.