Chapter 384 : The Hidden Vein's Promise

Lyra Jiang also shook her head, unable to conceal a sigh of resignation. "It is a pity we do not possess a Medium Spirit Stone Mine [a significant deposit of Spirit Stones requiring organized extraction]."

Within the Chu Kingdom, the sole Medium Spirit Stone Mine lay within the territory of the Firmament Sword Sect. That particular Spirit Stone Mine yielded an annual output of one hundred thousand Spirit Stone [minerals that store and radiate spiritual energy, used as currency and for cultivation], its ownership and profits shared between the Violet Abyss Sect and the Firmament Sword Sect.

In the past, to secure the territory of the Green Sun Sect, Lyra Jiang had relinquished her claim to a share of that Spirit Stone Mine. Naturally, they had no stake in it now.

Logically speaking, the newly established Heaven's Ruin Alliance, having carved out the Heaven's Ruin Province and the Earth Lion Province, now controlled a domain vaster than the combined territories of the Firmament Sword Sect and the Violet Abyss Sect. Within such expansive lands, the likelihood of a Spirit Stone Mine forming was considerable.

Yet, Spirit Stone Mine often lay hidden deep beneath the earth, and uncovering them required significant manpower and resources.

Over the years, the Heaven's Ruin Alliance had continuously searched for various mineral veins, but they had never managed to locate a substantial Spirit Stone Mine.

Contemplating this, Eldrin Chen spoke. "Developing new territories is a process; it cannot be rushed. We shall simply allocate more personnel for exploration in the future."

"Moreover, the Spirit Stone before us now is not an insignificant amount."

Lyra Jiang nodded in agreement. Combined with the several million Spirit Stone they already possessed, and the portion of Fifth Rank Treasure [objects of immense power and rarity, corresponding to the Nascent Soul realm] they could sell, they estimated they could gather resources worth fifty million Spirit Stone.

With such treasures, they would have enough to exchange for fifty Heavenly Crystal [a purified, high-density form of Spirit Stone of exceptional quality]. Even accounting for the typical premium when trading Spirit Stone for Heavenly Crystal, they should still be able to secure over forty of them. The complete novel can be found at audio—novel.com.

Now, considering the market value of goods at the Nascent Soul [the stage of cultivation where one forms a spiritual infant] level, the price for a single Fifth Rank [corresponding to the Nascent Soul stage] low-grade Heaven and Earth Treasures [rare natural materials imbued with profound spiritual power] typically starts at around sixty Heavenly Crystal [a highly purified and potent form of spiritual energy crystal].

A single low-grade Demon-Subduing Supreme Treasure [a top-tier enchanted artifact of immense power] requires over a hundred Heavenly Crystal, while a wisp of Earth Mother Qi [the primordial essence of the earth element] also hovers around one hundred Heavenly Crystal.

If the two of them could acquire Heavenly Crystal, they might one day be able to purchase a Fifth Rank Treasure [a treasure of Nascent Soul grade] to use in upgrading their Demon-Subduing Supreme Treasure.

After taking stock of their resources and bidding farewell to Old Patriarch [the venerable leader of their clan], Elara Lin, and several other Golden Core [the stage of cultivation where one forms a solidified golden core] elders, they departed together from the Chu Kingdom.

On the road away from the Chu Kingdom, Eldrin Chen consulted a map and said to Lyra Jiang, "Exchanging Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores spiritual energy, used as currency] for Heavenly Crystal is actually quite difficult."

"Our only option is to visit Golden Core Immortal Clan [powerful clans led by Golden Core cultivators] across each continent one by one, using Spirit Stone at a premium to gather the scattered Heavenly Crystal held by various nations and regions."

Lyra Jiang nodded in agreement. Within Ji Continent, nearly all Heavenly Crystal had fallen into the hands of the Ji Clan, used to bolster Ji Clan Patriarch's chances of breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm.

To obtain Heavenly Crystal, they had no choice but to leave Ji Continent and collect them from the hands of other nations within the Eastern Wastelands [a vast and perilous region].

In truth, the best method to acquire a sufficient amount of Heavenly Crystal in one go would be to exchange for them directly with a Nascent Soul True Lord [a powerful cultivator who has reached the Nascent Soul stage]. Given the wealth of such a figure, they could likely complete the entire transaction in a single meeting.

However, this approach carried significant risk. Once they left Ji Continent, they would be in unfamiliar territory. Producing fifty million Spirit Stone all at once could very well tempt even a Nascent Soul True Lord.

If they collected them one by one from the hands of Golden Core Immortal Clan [a clan with cultivators who have reached the Golden Core Realm], the difficulty would be significantly reduced.

Individual Golden Core Immortal Clan [a clan with cultivators who have reached the Golden Core Realm] do not possess many Heavenly Crystal [a purified and high-density form of Spirit Stone]. By purchasing only a few Heavenly Crystal [a purified and high-density form of Spirit Stone] at a time and visiting several major continents, they could discreetly exchange the required sum of Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy, used as currency and for cultivation].

Although this process would incur a considerable premium on the price of Heavenly Crystal [a purified and high-density form of Spirit Stone], and the Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy, used as currency and for cultivation] used each time would be modest, spreading the transactions across multiple continents would prevent drawing the attention of Nascent Soul [a high-level cultivation realm where one forms a spiritual infant] cultivators.

Given their strength, as long as they did not provoke the greed of a Nascent Soul True Lord [an honorific title for a powerful cultivator in the Nascent Soul Realm], they would have little to fear from any other cultivator.

"For this journey, we will not take the route through Heavenly Abode Continent [a major continent in the cultivation world]. Instead, we will detour eastward from Celestial Star Continent [a major continent known for its celestial phenomena]."

"We will traverse Dawn Continent [a continent named for its eastern position], Desolate Continent [a vast and sparsely populated continent], and five other major continents in succession. Along the way, we will skirt the Heaven's Spine Mountains [a formidable and treacherous mountain range] and cross The Vast Sea [a legendary and perilous ocean] to return."

Eldrin Chen said, studying the map before him. Ancient lore spoke of the Eastern Wastelands [the collective name for the vast eastern territories of the cultivation world] encompassing over eight hundred continents.

These continents varied greatly in size. The larger ones dwarfed even the Ji Continent [a major continent in the cultivation world], while the smaller ones might not surpass the territory of the Chu Kingdom [a powerful kingdom within the cultivation world].

Within such an immense expanse, a sea of formidable experts was nurtured. Heaven-favored talents were as numerous as fish in a river, and Golden Core True Person [an honorific title for a cultivator in the Golden Core Realm] or even Nascent Soul True Lord [an honorific title for a powerful cultivator in the Nascent Soul Realm] were far from rare sights.

Golden Core Cultivator [cultivators who have formed a solidified golden core of power] were scattered across the land. Among the eight hundred continents, some held merely a handful, while others harbored hundreds; their total number was truly beyond measure.

Although the breakthrough to the Nascent Soul True Lord [a cultivator who has formed their Nascent Soul, a powerful spiritual infant] is immensely difficult, the lifespan of a True Lord is so extraordinarily long that the numbers accumulated over millennia become a staggering figure. It is said that the Nascent Soul True Lord within the Eastern Wastelands [a vast and perilous region of the world] must be counted in the thousands,

Although the Superior Golden Core [the highest grade of Golden Core formation, representing immense potential] Eldrin Chen has encountered over the years in Ji Continent [a major continent] can be counted on one hand, from the perspective of the entire Eastern Wastelands, Superior Golden Core cultivators, while rare, do rise to prominence every few years.

It is the chasm of achieving a Heavenly Dao Nascent Soul [a Nascent Soul formed in perfect resonance with the Heavenly Dao, the ultimate path] that presents an incomparably vast threshold. The exceedingly rare Heavenly Dao Qi [a strand of primordial energy aligned with the fundamental laws of heaven] bars the way for over ninety percent of the world's Superior Golden Core cultivators.

And the most difficult to achieve is the rank of Nascent Soul Dao Lord [a Nascent Soul True Lord who has comprehended a profound Dao principle, a master of their path]. Over the past ten thousand years within the Eastern Wastelands, the number of heaven-defying talents who have arisen is almost beyond counting. Yet, the Nascent Soul Dao Lord still alive today number fewer than ten.

Ji Continent, along with the territories of over a hundred nearby great continents, is collectively known as the Boundless Hundred Continents.

This Boundless Hundred Continents region borders the Vast and Boundless Marsh [a legendary and treacherous wetland], forming a large swath of territory in the southeastern part of the Eastern Wastelands. It is considered among the most remote and backwater areas within the Eastern Wastelands. Original publication: audio-novel . com - The source of this chapter.

For this journey, Eldrin Chen planned to traverse seven great continents, including Dawn Continent and Desolate Continent, gathering treasures from each, before finally crossing The Vast Sea [one of the great inland seas] on the return.

The Vast Sea is one of the seven great freshwater lakes within the Eastern Wastelands. Its vast archipelagos at its heart once nurtured a great multitude of Demonic Beast [beasts that have absorbed spiritual energy and gained power] and Human Race cultivators, and it was said to have been the domain of a top-tier Nascent Soul Immortal Clan [a clan led by a Nascent Soul cultivator].

Yet a thousand years ago, for reasons unknown, the Black Dragon Demon Progenitor [an ancient and immensely powerful dragon demon] struck. With a single blow, it obliterated that Nascent Soul Immortal Clan, leaving behind only the shattered ruins of The Vast Sea.

The The Vast Sea of today is a broken and desolate territory, now occupied by numerous Golden Core Demonic Tribe [tribes of demonic beasts led by Golden Core realm beings]. Their decision to ultimately return via The Vast Sea was also driven by the hope of perhaps discovering some legacy treasure left behind from the era of the Nascent Soul [the spiritual infant formed after the Golden Core stage] cultivators.

"Let us first go and see the Celestial Star Continent."

Eldrin Chen murmured this, and together with Lyra Jiang, they steered the Green Sun Treasure Boat across the various nations of the Ji Continent. After a journey of four months, they finally arrived at the continent's edge.

Unlike the Heavenly Abode Continent, the Ji Continent and the Celestial Star Continent were not separated by the Heaven's Spine Mountains. Instead, one had to traverse an immensely vast and treacherous region known as the Demonic Flame Ridge.

"This Demonic Flame Ridge..."

Standing before the Demonic Flame Ridge, Eldrin Chen could not help but reveal a trace of awe and trepidation.

The mountain range stretched before him, vanishing into the horizon. Across its endless, rugged peaks, black flames danced and writhed, transforming the landscape into a scene straight from the Myth of a fiery mountain.

Beside him, Lyra Jiang remained composed. She began to explain in a calm, measured tone, "This Demonic Flame Ridge was once a Demonic Cultivator Forbidden Land, a stronghold guarded by several Nascent Soul Demonic Cultivator."

"They brought calamity upon several surrounding continents, feasting upon the blood and souls of countless millions from the Human Race, committing atrocities that defied all morality."

"Three thousand years ago, the Ji Clan arrived from the Eastern Wastelands. They employed the Immortal-Refining Furnace to scourge this land, incinerating the entire Demonic Flame Ridge and reducing every last Demonic Cultivator within to ashes. This act created this million-*Li*-length [one *Li*-length equals five hundred meters] expanse of flaming mountains."

"However, the power of the Immortal-Refining Furnace was too potent, too overwhelming. Even after three millennia, the fires here have yet to be fully extinguished." Access the full story on audio-novel.com.