Chapter 333 : A Golden Core Alliance Forged

"That is indeed a sound strategy."

Eldrin Chen nodded in agreement. This approach would not only secure control over the two Spirit Mountains and the Earth Vein [a vein of concentrated earth-element spiritual energy within the earth], but it would also conveniently lend a hand to Xavier Xu.

Xavier Xu had only recently broken through to the Golden Core realm [the third major stage of cultivation, where one's spiritual energy condenses into a solid golden core]. His clan was currently impoverished, so much so that they lacked even sufficient spiritual energy for basic cultivation.

Although Earth Lion Ridge, Green Sun Mountain, and Heaven's Ruin Lake were all Fourth Rank Spirit Veins [sites with spiritual energy veins powerful enough to support Golden Core cultivators], Green Sun Mountain and Heaven's Ruin Lake belonged to Lyra Jiang and Eldrin Chen. His contribution at Earth Lion Ridge had been minimal, granting him no claim to it. Furthermore, the immense karmic debt he owed the pair for aiding his Golden Core breakthrough could not be ignored.

If he could come to Yan Kingdom to garrison a Fourth Rank Spirit Mountain, he would not only solve his cultivation energy problem but also receive an annual stipend of fifty thousand Spirit Stones [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy]. He would be overjoyed and unlikely to refuse such an offer.

For the Heaven's Ruin Alliance, establishing a foothold on a Fourth Rank Spirit Mountain in Yan Kingdom would extend the alliance's influence into the kingdom. This would allow numerous Golden Core cultivators and Purple Mansion Immortal Clans [powerful clans led by cultivators at the Purple Mansion realm] to join the Heaven's Ruin Alliance.

This gathered strength would serve as a reserve force for the Heaven's Ruin Alliance, potentially proving useful in the future.

Contemplating this, Eldrin Chen spoke again, "I obtained a Void Gem [a rare spatial-aligned crystal used in teleportation formations] from the Yuan Clan. Should we deploy a Teleportation Formation [a magical array for instantaneous travel over vast distances] to link this Spirit Island with Green Sun Mountain?"

The distance between Green Sun Mountain and this Spirit Island was roughly two million seven hundred thousand Li-lengths [one Li-length equals five hundred meters]. With the short-range Teleportation Array Disk's [a portable magical treasure used to anchor teleportation formations] maximum range of three million Li-lengths, connecting the two locations was more than feasible.

Upon hearing about the Void Gem, Lyra Jiang's eyes lit up, yet she shook her head. "Yan Kingdom lies deep within the continent's heartland and is safeguarded by the Ji Clan True Lord. It is far more secure than Chu Kingdom." Immerse yourself in the complete world at audio~novel.com.

"We shall deploy this Teleportation Array Disk at Earth Lion Ridge, forging Heaven's Ruin Lake, Earth Lion Ridge, and Green Sun Mountain into an unbreakable iron triangle first."

"As for the two Spirit Island here in Yan Kingdom, let Xavier Xu oversee them for us for now. We can deploy others once we find more Void Gem [a rare gemstone capable of stabilizing spatial energies] in the future."

With her words, the matter was settled.

The group moved past this topic, and the Old Patriarch inquired further, "And what of the mortal populace of the Deng Clan?"

"That is simple," Lyra Jiang stated calmly after a moment of contemplation. "I shall have my disciples establish a sect here—the Heaven's Ruin Sect [the Heaven's Ruin Sect]—using the mortals as its foundation and legacy."

"That is feasible," Eldrin Chen remarked with a slight smile, "though the mortals of the Deng Clan must change their family names."

With the cultivators of the Deng Clan completely gone, dealing with the remaining mortal populace would be straightforward.

Simply have them adopt several dozen different surnames. Within a century, after a few generations when the elders have passed, the memory of the Deng Immortal Clan would fade into oblivion.

New cultivators, trained from the age of six with proper guidance, would naturally become disciples of the Heaven's Ruin Sect.

Lyra Jiang no longer accepted personal disciples. She would leave the management of the Heaven's Ruin Sect to her followers, who would in time become a capable force under her command.

With a few words exchanged among them, the affairs of the Deng Clan were settled, and then they departed from the Yan Kingdom.

The spoils from the previous battle at Earth Lion Ridge had yet to be fully digested. Eldrin Chen and Lyra Jiang needed to refine pills and forge treasures, converting part of their gains, and naturally had no time for lengthy delays.

One month later, the pair returned to the Chu Kingdom and informed Xavier Xu of the task to garrison the Yan Kingdom.

Suddenly receiving such a favorable assignment, Xavier Xu was overjoyed and accepted the task with elation.

With the Golden Core Cultivator [a cultivator who has formed a Golden Core, a major milestone] to garrison the Yan Kingdom decided, a large number of mid and low-level cultivators were still needed to fully activate the two Spirit Vein [a natural conduit of concentrated spiritual energy within the earth]. However, such matters would naturally be handled by the disciples and descendants of the Chen Immortal Clan and Lyra Jiang, requiring no further attention from the pair.

Eldrin Chen and Lyra Jiang returned to Green Sun Mountain, gathered materials to complete the crafting of the Teleportation Array Disk [a disk-shaped artifact used to anchor a teleportation formation], and then set up the Teleportation Formation [a magical array enabling instantaneous travel over vast distances] at Earth Lion Ridge.

Only then did the two breathe a sigh of relief. With the successful deployment of the Teleportation Formation, the security of the several Spirit Vein was greatly enhanced for the future.

The pair stepped into the Teleportation Formation and instantly traversed back to Green Sun Mountain, then proceeded to the Earthfire Artificer's Workshop [a specialized workshop harnessing geothermal fire for crafting], preparing to begin digesting some of the spoils from this campaign.

Their task this time was considerable. Besides several Fourth Rank Spirit Pill [a high-grade pill containing potent spiritual energy], there were also some highly valuable Third Rank Pill [a mid-grade pill] that would be most cost-effective if refined by them personally.

"We shall be quite busy for a time," one of them remarked.

Within the Fourth Rank Earthfire Chamber [a specialized chamber harnessing powerful underground fire veins for high-level crafting], Lyra Jiang spoke with a gentle smile gracing her lips.

Eldrin Chen also allowed a smile to surface. This kind of busyness born of fruitful harvest was the most gratifying labor of all.

He produced two pieces of Celestial Star Jadeite [a rare, star-patterned jade of exceptional spiritual conductivity] and declared, "Let us first refine this Celestial Star Jadeite into a Fourth Rank Jade Box [a jade container capable of preserving the potency of high-grade spiritual items] and a Jade Vial [a jade vessel for storing precious liquids or pills]. They will serve perfectly to house our Fourth Rank [the Golden Core Realm] Spirit Pill [a pill refined from spiritual materials, used to aid cultivation]."

"A wise course," she agreed.

Lyra Jiang gave a nod of assent, then took one piece of the Celestial Star Jadeite and placed it within the Alchemy Furnace [a specialized furnace used for pill refining and artifact crafting].

Specialized Magical Treasure [an enchanted artifact imbued with spiritual power] like a Fourth Rank storage Jade Box were not overly complex to craft. Working in tandem, Eldrin Chen and Lyra Jiang succeeded in forging the two treasures in the span of a fortnight. Support the author by reading on audio-novel`com.

The interior space of the Jade Box measured a mere three Chi-length [one Chi-length equals one third of a meter], yet it could preserve the efficacy of three Fourth Rank Spirit Medicine [a plant imbued with potent spiritual energy, used in alchemy].

Lyra Jiang took the Nirvana Fruit [a legendary fruit said to grant a form of rebirth or profound healing] and carefully placed it inside. Preserved thus, its medicinal power would remain intact until their Alchemy [the art of refining spiritual materials into pills and elixirs] advanced sufficiently to attempt the legendary Nirvana Pill [a mythic pill capable of reversing severe damage or granting a second chance at life].

With such a Nirvana Pill in their possession, their future safety would gain an invaluable layer of assurance.

The Jade Vial, meanwhile, could hold ten Fourth Rank Spirit Pill, though only of a single variety. It was a superior vessel for storing something as precious as the Golden Core Formation Pill [a pinnacle-grade pill that aids in the formation of a cultivator's Golden Core].

"With these two treasures, the efficacy of Spirit Pills and Spirit Medicines can be increased by three hundred years."

"Once I refine the Golden Core Formation Pill [a supreme pill that aids in forming the Golden Core], there will be no need to rush to sell it."

After successfully refining the two storage treasures, Eldrin Chen spoke with joy.

The Golden Core Formation Pill is exceedingly precious. According to Eldrin Chen's estimation, after the battle at Earth Lion Ridge, it would likely be difficult to obtain a Demon King Inner Core for a century.

The Chen Clan has many Purple Mansion Cultivators. Lior Chen, Elara Chen, Kael Chen, Caleb Chen, Silas Chen, Ethan Chen, Lila Chen, and others are expected to reach Purple Mansion Great Perfection within one or two Jiazi-time [a sixty-year cycle]. Several disciples and grand-disciples under Lyra Jiang will also have need of it.

It is better to prepare some for them in advance, rather than later desperately seeking the Golden Core Formation Pill in vain and meeting a lonely end, sitting in meditation until their life force extinguishes.

From this battle, we obtained three Demon King Inner Cores. Combined with Lyra Jiang's Alchemy [the art of refining spiritual pills], we should be able to refine more than ten Golden Core Formation Pills.

"Let us begin the furnace."

Seeing that the Jade Box had been successfully refined, the two of them delayed no longer.

Lyra Jiang took out the Inner Core of the Golden Lion Mastiff and then retrieved a Heavenly Heart Herb [a rare spiritual herb that nourishes the heart and mind], beginning the refinement of the Golden Core Formation Pill.

This pill refinement session was led by Lyra Jiang and Eldrin Chen, with Su Mingwei, Silas Chen, and three or four other Third Rank Alchemists [alchemists capable of refining third-rank pills] serving as assistants, tasked with processing the hundreds of required supplementary herbs.

After more than a month of continuous labor, the cauldron's batch of Golden Core Formation Pills [supreme pills that aid in the formation of a cultivator's Golden Core] was finally completed, yielding three of these precious pills.

Lyra Jiang collected the pills into a Celestial Star Jade Vial and shook her head. "Only three Golden Core Formation Pills were produced this time. It seems my Alchemy still has some flaws."

"It is not a flaw in your Alchemy," Eldrin Chen countered calmly, shaking his head with serene composure. "The Golden Lion Mastiff Inner Core simply contained insufficient Creation Qi [the primordial energy of creation and transformation]."

He spoke with a tone of tranquil acceptance. Dive deeper into the Dao at audio–novel.com.