Chapter 366. Raiding the Demon Cave Again

This resulted in few clan members actually using the Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object). Many Foundation Establishment Pills (Spiritual Object) were sold off in exchange for high-grade treasures like Li Fire Crystals (Spiritual Object) to assist cultivators in breaking through to the Purple Mansion realm.

The decrease in the number of Foundation Establishment cultivators has led to a concentration of resources within the family. The stipends for the Chen Clan’s self-established Foundation Establishment cultivators are now twice that of other families.

A vast quantity of second-tier treasures proved useless to the high-ranking cultivators of the clan. Even precious items like the Li Fire Crystal (Spiritual Object) ended up in the hands of self-established Foundation Establishment cultivators in great numbers.

According to the ironclad rule established by Eldrin (Person Name), opportunities to break through to the Violet Mansion realm were primarily reserved for those who achieved Foundation Establishment through self-cultivation. Practitioners who relied on the Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object) were almost never allocated resources for Violet Mansion breakthrough.

This was also 1 of the reasons why Chen Siting and Chen Niandao met their demise. Even for those with an Alternate Spirit Root, within the Chen Family, if 1 failed to achieve Foundation Establishment on their own, obtaining the 5 Elements Treasure Crystal would place them behind those who had successfully self-established their foundation.

However, with far too many clan members attempting Foundation Establishment on their own, it had become nearly impossible for them to obtain the pills through the clan's channels.

When all these factors were taken together, although the number of Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Chen Clan was quite small, a considerable portion of them possessed significant potential to break through to the Purple Mansion realm.

Such a tremendous disparity meant that the Chen Clan's cultivators possessed potential far surpassing that of the Heavenly Ruins Sect, to the extent that almost no 1 could be considered their equal.

For Lyra (Person Name), she couldn't spare much energy to manage the affairs of the Heavenly Ruins Sect either—otherwise, she'd have no chance to focus on her cultivation.

For her, establishing the Heaven's Ruin Sect was primarily about obtaining the 5 Elements Essence, as well as managing her several spirit mountain enterprises to earn resources for herself.

This is the very foundation upon which nearly all sects and clans are built. The fundamental purpose behind the existence of any immortal clan or sect lies in generating resources for the upper echelons, rather than requiring those in power to expend their own resources to nurture them.

To obtain more resources, the only path was to break through in cultivation, ascending step by step to become a high-ranking member of the sect.

If there were any promising young cultivators, Elara and the others might offer some guidance, but Lyra would not take on any more disciples.

In her earlier years, while she was stuck at the Purple Mansion Realm mending her spiritual roots, she had taken on over 20 nominal disciples. Yet now, barely 3 remained, including Elara (Person Name). Watching her disciples enter eternal rest 1 after another was hardly a joyous experience.

Unless she encountered a truly heaven-defying prodigy blessed with a Dao Body capable of inheriting her legacy, she would not entertain the thought again.

Eldrin thought exactly the same. He would never take on a disciple lightly, unless the candidate's innate talent satisfied him and proved worthy of inheriting his legacy.

To get back to the main story, after concocting 2 batches of pills, the 2 of them emerged from the alchemy chamber.

At this moment, the Tianxu Alliance had already mobilized 2 fourth-grade war treasure ships, gathering over 50 Purple Mansion cultivators, 5 100 Foundation Establishment experts, and 20,000 Qi Refinement, Late Stage (Cultivation Realm) practitioners.

For this very war, Eldrin had even invited Xavier and the Carefree Versemaster from the Yan Kingdom.

A group of people boarded the treasure ship. Eldrin’s expression was grave as he solemnly reminded them, "This battle is of utmost importance. I hope everyone will give their all and completely eradicate the Demonic Abyss Cave."

Everyone present nodded upon hearing this, understanding the significance of this battle.

Over the years, the strength of the Chu Kingdom (Location) had been consistently restrained by the Demon Abyss Cave. Since the great defeat 1 100 years ago, every major immortal clan had to spend a sum of spirit stones each year to secure Freya (Person Name)'s presence guarding the entrance to the Demon Abyss Cave.

This was an unavoidable necessity, for if the demonic cultivators within the Devil's Abyss Cavern were to emerge, the entire Chu Kingdom would be plunged into a calamity of demonic scourge.

The great immortal clans faced the constant threat of attacks from demonic cultivators, forcing them to deploy substantial forces to guard against the Demonic Abyss Cave. This required expending vast amounts of manpower, resources, and spirit stones.

Once the Demon Cave is cleared out, we can destroy the demonic spring within. Without the demonic spring, there will be no more Demonic Fiend Qi (Spiritual Root), making it difficult for mid-to-high-level demonic cultivators to achieve breakthroughs and leaving them without shelter or refuge.

By then, at least until the next Abyssal Cataclysm erupted, they would no longer need to fear attacks from both front and rear. With the demonic spring destroyed, its revival could only be achieved by harnessing the power of the Abyssal Cataclysm.

The next Abyssal Cataclysm would not arrive for nearly 6 100 years—more than enough time for both Eldrin and Lyra to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.

By then, the demonic cultivators would be like rootless duckweed—each 1 slain would mean 1 less. At the very least, within the borders of Chu Kingdom (Location), the soil that gave rise to demonic cultivators would cease to exist.

By then, the security of the Chu Kingdom's cultivation world would be greatly enhanced, and the freed-up forces could even consider launching further assaults on several demon king territories—the Demon Ape Mountain, the Crimson Scorpion Ridge, and the Ancient Plains of the Savage Bull.

Thus, for this battle, every major immortal clan in the Chu Kingdom's cultivation world contributed either manpower or resources, aiming to concentrate their strength and completely eradicate the Demonic Abyss Caverns in 1 decisive campaign.

In the realm of spirit stones alone, thousands of weaker Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment immortal clans from the Chu Kingdom pooled together 5,000,000 spirit stones for compensation and rewards.

Xavier (Person Name) beamed with radiance at this moment, his face brimming with delight as he exclaimed, "For the merits earned in this battle, might there be a Golden Core Formation Pill (Spiritual Object) or the 5-Element Treasure Orb?"

"The major factions will each contribute a Core Formation treasure as the reward."

Eldrin said calmly, fully aware that Xavier intended to mentor Xu Daoyuan.

Although the Xu family now had a Golden Core Elder, they still lacked a fourth-grade earth vein, and thus had no stable means of producing Golden Core treasures.

For a Golden Core immortal clan like this, procuring a Golden Core Formation Pill (Spiritual Object) from the outside world would incur exorbitant price surges. A single Golden Core Formation Pill (Spiritual Object) would often cost over 1,000,000 extra spirit stones.

Xu Daoyuan was of similar age to the old clan leader, now over 3 100 years old. Some years ago, he attempted a breakthrough to the Golden Core realm, yet ended up trapped in the False Core stage.

Judging by his remaining lifespan, Xu Daoyuan's (Person Name) chances of breaking through to the Golden Core realm were actually not insignificant—provided they could obtain the Golden Core Formation Pill (Spiritual Object).

"Excellent, there is a Golden Core Formation Pill (Spiritual Object)."

A look of delight crossed Xavier's face, his heart brimming with confidence for this battle.

Eldrin also nodded. Although the major Golden Core sects and immortal clans had produced Core Formation treasures, such resources were already scarce within their own ranks, making it exceptionally rare for them to circulate beyond their confines.

These few Core Formation treasures would most likely circulate within the major Golden Core factions that participated in the battle.

To obtain the Golden Core Formation Pill (Spiritual Object), the Xu family would either need to perform a great meritorious deed or offer an exorbitant sum of valuables to cover the price difference.

Without another word, the Sky Python Treasure Ship and the Black Flood Dragon (Demon Beast) Treasure Ship rose into the air with these 20,000 cultivators, soaring directly toward the Cerulean Peaks Range (Location).

By the time they arrived before the Devil's Cave Abyss, they discovered that the Cyanwood Immortal Sect and the Skyvault Sword Sect located relatively closer had already reached the location.

This time, the Violet Abyss Sect had once again arrived before them. Leading the group were Spirit Enchantress—who had recently broken through to Golden Core, 4th Tier (Cultivation Realm)—and Woodbloom Fairy, who had just formed her core.

As for Yan Zi Ji, he had to guard against the Demon Ape Mountain, so he did not take action personally.

"Esteemed colleagues, it has been a long time."

Eldrin and Lyra disembarked from the treasure ship, their gazes sweeping over the several Golden Core cultivators present.

The cultivator from the Cangqing Immortal Sect was Elder Taiwu, an ancient sage whose lifespan approached 9 100 years, and whose cultivation had reached the Golden Core, 5th Tier (Cultivation Realm).

From the Vaulting Sky Sect came Sect Master Qian and Ling Changxu. 2 of their 3 Golden Core Elders had arrived at once, demonstrating their all-out commitment.

With the addition of Spirit Enchantress and Hibiscus Enchantress from the Violet Abyss Sect, along with Freya (Person Name), there were a full 6 Golden Core cultivators.