Chapter 301 : A Message from Distant Realms

Thinking of this, Eldrin Chen smiled and said, "Considering this, procuring Void Gem [a rare gemstone that can store spatial energy] truly is 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 Jade Talisman [a jade slip used for transmitting messages over long distances].

Exquisite Jiang caught the light, glanced at it, a slight frown creasing her brow. She then handed it to Eldrin Chen and said, "A message from Freya Ji. Many have perished over in Qi Nation."

"It's rather brutal."

After reading it, Eldrin Chen sighed, his brow furrowed.

This letter was a battle report from other regions within Ji Continent. Within Ji Continent, it wasn't just Chu Nation that bordered the Demon Race [a collective term for monstrous, often hostile, non-human races].

To the southwest of Chu Nation lay Ji Nation and the Western Spiritual Lake, while to the northeast was Qi Nation. In truth, all of them shared borders with the Demon Race.

In fact, among these three nations, the pressure faced by Chu Nation was actually the least severe. This was because Chu Nation possessed neither a Fifth Rank Spiritual Vein [a powerful, high-grade natural conduit of spiritual energy] nor an Earth Vein [a powerful, high-grade natural conduit of earthly energy].

By comparison, since Chu Nation lacked such critical resources as a Fifth Rank Spiritual Vein or a Fifth Rank Earth Vein, and with the vast Verdant Azure Mountains serving as a buffer, Chu Nation was essentially the most expendable territory for the Ji Clan.

Even if Chu Nation were to fall, the expansive Verdant Azure Mountains would remain as a formidable buffer. The impact on the Ji Clan would not be particularly significant. Support the author by reading on *audio-novel.com*.

In truth, Ji Nation had never occupied a single Spirit Mountain within Chu Nation. The present Chu Nation Cultivation World was established two thousand years ago by a rogue cultivator who had attained the Infant Soul True Lord realm.

That rogue True Lord bore the surname Chu. He was known as the Violet Azure True Lord, and the very name of Chu Nation was derived from his legacy.

In his time, the Violet Azure True Lord was the direct disciple of the previous Clan Patriarch of the Ji Clan. Following the Ji Clan to Ji Continent, he swept through the demonic beasts of Chu Nation in a single campaign, carving out the Chu Nation Cultivation World, and founded the Infant Soul Sect known as the Violet Azure Sword Sect.

Later, the Violet Azure True Lord passed away during the Demonic Abyss Cataclysm. He left behind three Demon-Subduing Supreme Treasure: the Heaven's Vault Mirror, the Purple Abyss Furnace, and the Vault Heaven Immortal Sword.

Subsequent turmoil led his three main disciples to splinter the Violet Azure Sword Sect, giving rise to the Verdant Sun Sect, the Violet Sun Sect, and the Firmament Sword Sect.

Today, the Verdant Sun Sect has fallen. The legacy of the Violet Sun Sect was inherited by the Purple Abyss Sect, leaving only the Firmament Sword Sect to barely uphold a fragment of the true teachings of the Violet Azure True Lord.

To return to the main point, compared to Chu Nation, Qi Nation possesses a Fifth Rank Great Earth Origin Vein [a major spiritual vein of earth origin]. Furthermore, the Western Spiritual Lake is guarded by two Fifth Rank Spiritual Vein.

These two locations are the primary targets of this Beast Tide [a massive assault by demonic beasts]. The battle there has already drawn dozens of Demon King and Golden Core True Person into a fierce struggle across both nations.

The conflict has raged to this day, claiming the lives of over ten Golden Core Grade powerhouses. Both sides are on the verge of unleashing their full fury.

With the exception of the Infant Soul True Lord and the Demon Emperor who have yet to make a move, the opposing forces are teetering on the precipice of all-out war.

The Demon Emperors and True Lords on both sides were already exercising great restraint. To strike first would mean tearing up the pact prematurely, inevitably incurring the backlash of the Heart Demon Blood Oath [a binding magical oath where breaking one's word inflicts severe spiritual and physical harm], 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. "The Ji Clan was once a Path Lord Sacred Land [a holy land founded and ruled by a Path Lord, a pinnacle cultivator]. Surely they should be able to suppress the Azure Wave Lake?"

"The Ji Clan..."

Exquisite 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 at its most destitute ebb."

"..."

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 had been one of the mere handful of Path Lord Sacred Lands in the Eastern Sea, and one of the most glorious holy lands within the Purple Seal Realm.

They boasted three Path Lords within a single clan. Their previous Clan Patriarch even possessed the potential to ascend to immortality. In terms of power, they rivaled the Kiang Clan left behind by Imperial Sovereign Jiang.

Alas, three millennia past, after Imperial Sovereign Jiang achieved immortality and ventured alone, sword in hand, into the Demonic Abyss never to return, the previous Clan Patriarch of the Ji Clan led the clan's elite forces to investigate his fate.

That expedition was led by the Kiang Clan and the Ji Clan, involving dozens of Path Lord [a cultivator who has comprehended a profound path of cultivation] and top-tier Infant Soul [the nascent soul stage of cultivation] cultivators. In the end, not a single one returned to the Purple Seal Realm.

Coinciding with the eruption of the Demonic Abyss Cataclysm [a cataclysmic event where demonic energy surges from a great abyss], the ancestral lands of the Ji Immortal Clan were destroyed. The sole remaining Primordial Spirit Path Lord [a cultivator who has merged their nascent soul with their path to form a primordial spirit] led their elite forces, suffering near-total losses. Only the current Clan Patriarch of the Ji Clan, along with a remnant of clansmen, managed to reach the Eastern Region Great Wasteland.

Compared to the once-majestic Ji Immortal Clan that stood tall and dominated the Eastern Sea for countless Li-lengths [one Li-length equals five hundred meters], the territory the present-day Ji Clan occupies is less than one-hundredth of its former glory.

Two thousand years ago, the Demonic Abyss Cataclysm erupted once more. Three Infant Soul True Lord [a powerful cultivator at the nascent soul stage] of the Ji Clan performed a blood sacrifice with their Infant Soul cores to empower the Primordial Solar Supreme Treasure [a supreme artifact of primordial solar essence], managing to slay an Outer Realm Heavenly Demon [a powerful demon from beyond this realm] whose power rivaled a Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core of a cultivator, a higher stage of existence].

One thousand years ago, the Grand Elder of the Ji Immortal Clan, who was at the Half-Step Primordial Spirit [a transitional state between nascent soul and primordial spirit] realm, also fell within the Demonic Abyss Cataclysm.

Three hundred years ago, the Demonic Abyss Cataclysm struck again. That time, the Ji Immortal Clan lost seven Infant Soul True Lord in battle. Visit audio-novel`com to enjoy the complete series.

Even their foundational clan treasure, the Primordial Solar Supreme Treasure Immortal Refining Furnace [a supreme furnace capable of refining immortal essence], was severely damaged. It could be said the strength of the Ji Clan was now less than one-tenth of its former might.

The remaining Infant Soul True Lord numbered only five or six, and they still had to guard against threats from the Black Fiend Patriarch and Azure Wave Lake.

If the Ji Clan Patriarch failed to break through to the Primordial Spirit Realm [the realm of the primordial spirit], it was feared that within the next millennium, the Ji Clan would either have to abstain from the conflict or face the peril of utter annihilation should they choose to fight.

As a supreme Immortal Clan [a clan that has produced a true immortal] that once gave birth to an Immortal [a being who has ascended to immortality], over tens of thousands of years, the Ji Clan had slain far too many Extraterrestrial Evil Demons [malevolent demons from beyond this world]. An undying, relentless hatred had long since been forged between them.

The Outer Realm Heavenly Demon had always regarded them as a thorn in their side and would never let them go.

What would it matter even if they did not join the battle? If the Eastern Sea Cultivation World, which had fought the Demonic Cultivator for tens of thousands of years, were to be utterly annihilated, and its most valiant and combative generation were all wiped out, how long could the Eastern Region Great Wasteland possibly hold out?

With this thought, Eldrin Chen looked towards Exquisite Jiang. Although Exquisite Jiang had never spoken of it directly, he had long since guessed the truth of her background.

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

He remembered clearly the words Exquisite Jiang had spoken that year on Heavenly Ruins Mountain, when they had stood face to face and laid bare their hearts.

"I am the last of the Kiang Clan. From now on, with you by my side on this path, I need not walk alone..."

"I think it will be good!"

The last one, with only me...

What exactly had happened three hundred years ago to cause a Kiang Clan that had once given birth to an Immortal to vanish from existence?

Calculating it this way, could the Eastern Sea Cultivation World withstand the next Demonic Abyss Cataclysm? And when that time came, what would become of the Eastern Region Great Wasteland?

Eldrin Chen's heart and spirit trembled violently, a wave of profound terror washing over him. His heart ached for Exquisite Jiang, yet a sense of helplessness also gnawed at him.

He fell silent, his gaze finally hardening with resolve. Then, he pulled Exquisite Jiang into a firm embrace.

"Exquisite…"

"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 clearing the low-tier demonic beasts from Heavenly Ruins Lake.

The number of low-tier demonic beasts within this Spiritual Lake [a body of water imbued with dense spiritual energy] was nearly endless; to eradicate them all would require decades.

However, with Eldrin Chen and several of the clan's Violet Sanctum [the third major realm of cultivation, where one opens a mystical palace within the dantian] experts taking action, they managed to cleanse the lake of all its Foundation Establishment [the second major realm of cultivation, where one builds a solid foundation for the path ahead] demonic beasts within a few months.

The remaining low-tier beasts were not an urgent concern; they could be left for the clan's cultivators to handle gradually in the future.

From this point forward, the assets of Heavenly Ruins Lake would be considered the joint property of the Dao companions Exquisite Jiang and Eldrin Chen. Cultivators from their clan and Heavenly Ruins Mountain would be entrusted with managing the Spirit Mountain operations. In return, the couple would only need to provide a set stipend. Discover more cultivation stories at audio-novel dot com.