Chapter 301 : The Urgent Quest for the Void Gem

With this thought, Eldrin Chen smiled and said, "Thinking about it this way, acquiring Void Gem [a rare spatial gemstone used for crafting storage treasures] is indeed a matter of utmost urgency."

As the two were speaking, a streak of light flew in from beyond the heavens. It turned out to be a Communication Talisman [a jade slip used for transmitting messages over long distances].

Lyra Jiang caught the streak of light and, after glancing at it, her brow furrowed slightly. She then handed it to Eldrin Chen and said, "A message from Freya Ji. Many have perished over in Qi Kingdom."

"It's rather brutal."

After reading it, Eldrin Chen sighed, his own brow creased with concern.

This letter was a battle report from other regions of the Ji Continent. Within Ji Continent, it was not only Chu Kingdom that bordered the Demonic Tribe [the collective territories of demonic beasts and spirits].

The Western Spirit Lake region in the southwest of Chu Kingdom, within Ji Nation, and the Qi Kingdom to the northeast, all shared borders with the Demonic Tribe.

In truth, among these three kingdoms, the pressure faced by Chu Kingdom was actually the least severe. This was because Chu Kingdom possessed neither a Fifth Rank Spirit Vein [a high-grade source of concentrated spiritual energy] nor a fifth-rank Earth Vein [a powerful terrestrial energy leyline].

By comparison, as Chu Kingdom lacked such critical resources as Fifth Rank Spirit Vein and fifth-rank Earth Vein, and with the vast Cerulean Peaks Range serving as a buffer, it was arguably the most expendable territory from the perspective of the Ji Clan.

Even if Chu Kingdom were to fall, the expansive Cerulean Peaks Range would remain as a formidable buffer, making the loss relatively insignificant for the Ji Clan. Find thousands of chapters at audio-novel .c om.

In truth, Ji Nation had never occupied a single Spirit Mountain [a mountain imbued with concentrated spiritual energy] within the Chu Kingdom. The Chu Kingdom Cultivation World [the society and lands where cultivators reside within the Chu Kingdom] of today was carved out two millennia ago by a Rogue Cultivator [an unaffiliated cultivator without sect or clan backing] who had attained the realm of a Nascent Soul True Lord [a supreme cultivator whose soul has formed an independent infant spirit].

That True Lord [an honorific title for a Nascent Soul realm cultivator], a Rogue Cultivator by origin, bore the surname Chu. He was known as Ziqing the Twin-Toned Lord, and the very name of the Chu Kingdom was derived from his legacy.

In his time, Ziqing the Twin-Toned Lord had been the Personal Disciple [a disciple personally taught by a master] of the previous Clan Lord of the Ji Clan. He followed the Ji Clan to the Ji Continent, where, in a single sweeping campaign, he purged the Demonic Beast [monstrous beasts that absorb spiritual energy, often hostile to humans] hordes from the lands that would become the Chu Kingdom. He thus founded the Chu Kingdom Cultivation World and established the Nascent Soul Sect [a major sect led by a Nascent Soul realm powerhouse] known as the Violet-Cyan Sword Sect.

Later, Ziqing the Twin-Toned Lord perished during the Demonic Abyss Cataclysm [a great calamity involving an eruption of demonic forces from a dimensional abyss]. He left behind three Demon-Subduing Supreme Treasure [peerless magical artifacts of immense power, specifically effective against demons]: the Mirror of the Vast Heaven, the Violet Abyss Furnace, and the Firmament Immortal Sword.

Subsequent turmoil led his three chief disciples to splinter the Violet-Cyan Sword Sect, giving rise to the Green Sun Sect, the Purple Sun Sect, and the Firmament Sword Sect.

Today, the Green Sun Sect lies in ruins. The heritage of the Purple Sun Sect was inherited by the Violet Abyss Sect. Only the Firmament Sword Sect barely retains a fragment of the true orthodox lineage passed down by Ziqing the Twin-Toned Lord.

Returning to the main thread, compared to the Chu Kingdom, the Qi Kingdom possesses a fifth-rank Great Earth Origin Vein [a supreme earth-element spiritual vein of the fifth rank]. Furthermore, the Western Spirit Lake is home to not one, but two Fifth Rank Spirit Vein [spiritual energy veins of the fifth rank, extremely rare and potent].

These two locations are the primary targets of the current Beast Tide Calamity [a periodic, massive invasion by hordes of demonic beasts]. The battle there has already drawn in dozens of Demon King [powerful demonic beasts equivalent to Golden Core realm cultivators] and Golden Core True Person [cultivators who have formed a Golden Core, the foundation for immortality] locked in fierce combat across these two kingdoms.

The conflict has raged to this day, claiming the lives of over ten Golden Core Grade [cultivators or beings of Golden Core realm power] powerhouses. Both sides are nearing the brink, their restraint wearing perilously thin.

With the sole exception of Nascent Soul True Lord and Demon Emperor [demonic rulers of power equivalent to the Nascent Soul realm] who have yet to personally intervene, the opposing forces are almost at the threshold of unleashing a war of truly cataclysmic scale.

The Demon Emperors and True Lords on both sides were already exercising extreme restraint. To strike first would mean tearing up the pact prematurely, inevitably incurring the backlash of the Heart Demon Blood Oath [a binding vow where breaking one's word invites a demonic tribulation upon one's soul], and could even lead to the fall of a Demon Emperor or True Lord.

Witnessing so many casualties, Eldrin Chen couldn't help but frown. "After all, the Ji Clan was once a Dao Lord Sacred Land [a sacred land founded and ruled by a Nascent Soul Dao Lord]. Surely they should be able to suppress Azure Wave Lake?"

"The Ji Clan..."

Lyra Jiang's eyes flickered slightly, a shadow of sorrow passing through them.

She shook her head, deciding to reveal certain truths to Eldrin Chen. "In truth, the Ji Clan is currently in its most destitute era."

As her tale unfolded, Eldrin Chen's understanding of the Ji Clan grew clearer.

It turned out that three thousand years ago, the Ji Clan was one of the few Dao Lord Sacred Lands in the Eastern Sea region and one of the most glorious sacred lands within the Purple Realm [the name of this cultivation world].

They boasted three Dao Lords within a single clan, and their Clan Lord possessed the bearing of one destined for immortal ascension. In terms of power, they rivaled even the Jiang Clan left behind by Jiang the Sovereign Emperor.

Yet, tragedy struck three millennia ago. After Jiang the Sovereign Emperor ascended to immortality and ventured alone, sword in hand, into the Demonic Abyss [a bottomless pit of demonic energy and corruption] never to return, the Ji Clan's Nascent Soul True Lord led the clan's elite forces to investigate.

That expedition, spearheaded by the Jiang and Ji Clans, involved dozens of Dao Lords and top-tier Nascent Soul cultivators. In the end, not a single soul returned to the Purple Realm.

It coincided with the outbreak of the Demonic Abyss Cataclysm. The ancestral lands of the Ji Immortal Clan were destroyed. The sole remaining Nascent Soul True Lord led the elite forces, suffering near-total losses. Only the Ji Clan Patriarch, along with a portion of the clan members, managed to reach the Eastern Wastelands.

Compared to the once-majestic Ji Immortal Clan that stood proudly, dominating the Eastern Sea for countless Li-lengths [one Li-length equals five hundred meters], the territory currently held by the Ji Clan is less than one percent of its former glory.

Two thousand years ago, the Demonic Abyss Cataclysm erupted once more. Three Nascent Soul True Lord of the Ji Clan performed a blood sacrifice with their Nascent Soul cores to empower the Supreme Treasure of Pure Yang, slaying a foreign demonic entity whose power rivaled that of a Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core of a cultivator].

One thousand years ago, the Grand Elder of the Ji Immortal Clan, who had reached the Half-Step Primordial Spirit realm, also fell within the chaos of the Demonic Abyss Cataclysm.

Three hundred years ago, the Demonic Abyss Cataclysm returned. That time, the Ji Immortal Clan lost seven of its Nascent Soul True Lord in battle.

Even their clan-suppressing foundation, the Supreme Treasure of Pure Yang known as the Immortal-Refining Furnace, was severely damaged. It could be said the strength of the Ji Clan was now less than one-tenth of its former might. Experience the full epic at http://www . audio-novel.com.

The remaining Nascent Soul True Lord numbered only five or six, and they still had to guard against threats from Black Malignancy Ancient Ancestor and the denizens of Azure Wave Lake.

If the Ji Clan Patriarch failed to break through to the Primordial Spirit realm, the Ji Clan would face grave peril in the next millennium. Should they choose to participate in the coming conflict, the risk of utter annihilation would be imminent.

As a supreme Immortal Clan that had once given birth to a true immortal, over tens of thousands of years, the Ji Clan had slain countless foreign demonic fiends, forging a hatred with them that was utterly irreconcilable.

The foreign demonic entities had long regarded them as a thorn in their side and would never let them go.

What would it truly matter if one chose not to join the war? If the Eastern Sea Cultivation World [the vast maritime realm of cultivators], which had battled the Demonic Cultivator [practitioners of dark, soul-consuming arts] for tens of thousands of years, were to be utterly annihilated—if its most valiant and battle-hardened souls were all spent—then how long could the Eastern Wastelands [the vast, untamed frontier lands to the east] possibly endure in their stead?

With this thought, Eldrin Chen turned his gaze toward Lyra Jiang. Though Lyra Jiang had never spoken of it directly, he had long since pieced together the truth of her origins.

A sudden, wrenching pain seized his heart, and a sense of suffocation welled up within him.

He remembered, always, the words Lyra Jiang had spoken that year on Celestial Ruins Mountain, when they had stood before each other with hearts laid bare.

"The Jiang Clan... only I remain. From now on, with you walking this path beside me, I need not journey alone..."

"I think... it will be good."

Only I remain...

What cataclysm had occurred three centuries ago, to erase a clan like the Jiang, one that had once given birth to a true Immortal?

Calculating thus, could the Eastern Sea Cultivation World even withstand the next Demonic Abyss Cataclysm [a periodic, world-shaking invasion from the depths of the demonic realm]? And when that time came, what would become of the Eastern Wastelands?

Eldrin Chen's spirit trembled violently. A profound and chilling terror surged through him—a heartache for Lyra Jiang, mingled with a crushing sense of helplessness.

He fell silent, his gaze finally settling into firm resolve. Then, in one decisive motion, he drew Lyra Jiang into a tight embrace.

"Lyra..."

"Mm."

"No matter what comes, from now on, I will face it by your side!"

Eldrin Chen mobilized five thousand cultivators from the clan to begin cleansing the Heaven's Ruin Lake of its Low-Rank Demonic Beast [lesser demonic creatures].

The Low-Rank Demonic Beast within this spirit lake were nearly countless; to eradicate them all would require decades, at the very least.

However, with Eldrin Chen and several of the clan's Purple Mansion [a major stage of cultivation] experts taking action, they managed to purge the lake of all Foundation Establishment Demonic Beast [demonic beasts of the Foundation Establishment realm] within a few months.

The remaining Low-Rank Demonic Beast were not an urgent concern; they could be left for the clan's cultivators to handle gradually in the years to come.

Henceforth, the enterprises of the Heaven's Ruin Lake would be considered the shared property of the Dao-companions Lyra Jiang and Eldrin Chen. Cultivators from both the clan and Celestial Ruins Mountain would be tasked with managing the Spirit Mountain [a mountain imbued with spiritual energy], requiring only the payment of stipends from the couple. Join our community of readers at audio~novel.com.