Chapter 384 : A Clan's Buried Fortune

Exquisite Jiang also shook her head, unable to suppress a sigh of helplessness. "It is a pity we do not possess a medium-grade Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy] mine," she said.

Within the borders of Chu Nation, the sole medium-grade Spirit Stone mine lay within the territory of the Firmament Sword Sect. That mine yielded one hundred thousand Spirit Stones annually and was jointly controlled by the Purple Abyss Sect and the Firmament Sword Sect.

In the past, to secure the lands of the Verdant Sun Sect, Exquisite Jiang had relinquished her claim to a share of that mine. Naturally, they had no stake in it now.

Logically speaking, the newly established Heavenly Ruins Alliance, having opened up both Heavenly Ruins Prefecture and Earth Lion Prefecture, now controlled a territory larger than the combined holdings of the Firmament Sword Sect and the Purple Abyss Sect. Such vast lands held a significant probability of nurturing Spirit Stone deposits.

Unfortunately, Spirit Stone veins often lay buried deep within the earth, requiring considerable manpower and resources to locate.

Over the years, the Heavenly Ruins Alliance had continuously searched for various mineral veins, yet they had never managed to discover a sufficient Spirit Stone deposit.

Contemplating this, Eldrin Chen spoke, "Developing new territories is a process; it cannot be rushed. We shall simply assign more hands to the task of exploration in the future."

"Moreover, the Spirit Stones before us now are not an insignificant amount."

Exquisite Jiang nodded in agreement. Combined with the several million Spirit Stones they already possessed and the portion of fourth-rank treasures they could sell, they estimated they could gather resources worth fifty million Spirit Stones.

With this wealth, they would have enough to exchange for fifty Heavenly Crystal [a purified, high-density form of spiritual energy crystal, far more potent than a Spirit Stone]. Even accounting for the premium typically paid when trading Spirit Stones for Heavenly Crystals, they should still be able to acquire over forty of them. Discover more cultivation stories at audio-novel dot com.

According to the prevailing market rates among Infant Soul cultivators, the value of a single Fifth Rank Low-Grade Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures [rare spiritual resources of exceptional quality] 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 powerful enchanted artifact capable of subduing demons] requires over one hundred Heavenly Crystal, while a strand of Earth Mother Energy [a pure, nurturing energy essence from the earth] also costs roughly 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 the fifth rank] to use in upgrading their Demon-Subduing Supreme Treasure.

After taking stock of their resources and bidding farewell to Old Patriarch Wei, Elara Lin, and the other Golden Core elders, they departed together from the Chu Nation.

On the road away from Chu Nation, Eldrin Chen consulted a map and said to Exquisite Jiang, "Exchanging Spirit Stones for Heavenly Crystal will be no simple task."

"Our only recourse is to visit Golden Core Immortal Clan [immortal clans led by Golden Core cultivators] across each continent and nation one by one, using Spirit Stones to purchase their scattered Heavenly Crystal at a premium."

Exquisite Jiang nodded in agreement. Within Ji Continent, nearly all Heavenly Crystal had fallen into the hands of the Ji Clan, used to bolster the Ji Clan Patriarch's chances of a breakthrough to the Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core realm of a cultivator].

To obtain Heavenly Crystal, they had no choice but to leave Ji Continent and gather them from the various nations across the Eastern Region Great Wasteland.

In truth, the most efficient method to acquire a sufficient quantity of Heavenly Crystal in one go would be to trade with an Infant Soul True Lord [a powerful cultivator of the Infant Soul realm]. Given their wealth, a single True Lord could likely complete the entire transaction for them.

However, such an approach carried significant risk. Once they left the familiar territory of Ji Continent, they would be strangers in a strange land. Presenting a fortune of fifty million Spirit Stones at once might very well tempt the greed of an Infant Soul True Lord.

If they collected them one by one from the hands of the Golden Core Immortal Clan [a clan or family with cultivators at the Golden Core realm and above], the difficulty would be significantly reduced.

Each Golden Core Immortal Clan held only a few Heavenly Crystal [a high-grade, purified form of Spirit Stone used by high-level cultivators]. By purchasing just a few Heavenly Crystal at a time and traveling across several great continents, they could gather the required amount of Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy, used as currency and for cultivation] without raising alarms.

Although this process would incur a notable premium on the price of the Heavenly Crystal, the sums involved in each transaction were small and spread across vast distances. This strategy ensured they would not attract the attention of any Infant Soul Cultivator [a cultivator who has formed their Infant Soul, the stage above Golden Core].

With their combined strength, as long as they did not provoke the greed of an Infant Soul True Lord [an honorific title for a powerful cultivator at the Infant Soul realm], they feared no other cultivator.

"For this journey, we will not take the route through the Tianlu Continent. Instead, we will detour via the Heavenly Star Continent and head east from there,"

"traversing the Celestial Dawn Province, the Celestial Barrens Province, and five other great provinces along the way. We will skirt the Heavenly Ridge Mountain Range and finally cross the Vast Sea to return home."

Eldrin Chen declared, his gaze fixed on the map before him. Ancient lore spoke of the Eastern Region Great Wasteland [a vast, ancient wilderness region] containing over eight hundred great continents.

These continents varied immensely in size. The larger ones dwarfed even the Ji Continent, while the smallest might not surpass the territory of the Chu Nation.

Within such an immense expanse, a sea of powerful experts was nurtured. Prodigies were as numerous as fish in a river, and Golden Core True Person [an honorific title for a cultivator at the Golden Core realm] or even Infant Soul True Lord were far from rare sights.

Golden Core Cultivator [cultivators at the Golden Core realm] were scattered across the land. Among the eight hundred continents, some held only a handful, others numbered in the hundreds—their total count was truly beyond measure.

Although the breakthrough to the Infant Soul True Lord realm is immensely difficult, the lifespan of a True Lord is so extraordinarily long that the number accumulated over millennia is still astonishing. It is said that the Infant Soul True Lord cultivators within the Eastern Region Great Wasteland number in the thousands.

Although Eldrin Chen has encountered only a handful of Superior-Tier Golden Core cultivators on Ji Continent over the years, from the perspective of the entire Eastern Region Great Wasteland, Superior-Tier Golden Core cultivators, while rare, do rise to prominence every few years.

It is the chasm of the Heavenly Path Infant Soul that presents an almost insurmountable barrier. The exceedingly rare Heavenly Path Energy [a supreme spiritual energy required for a specific, heaven-defying breakthrough] blocks over ninety percent of all Superior-Tier Golden Core cultivators in the world.

And the Primordial Spirit Path Lord realm is the most difficult to achieve. Over the past ten thousand years within the Eastern Region Great Wasteland, prodigies have emerged in numbers almost beyond counting, yet the Primordial Spirit Path Lord cultivators still alive today number fewer than ten.

Ji Continent, together with the territories of over a hundred nearby great provinces, is collectively known as the Boundless Hundred Provinces.

This Boundless Hundred Provinces borders the Vast and Misty Marsh and constitutes a vast swathe of territory in the southeastern part of the Eastern Region Great Wasteland, considered one of its most remote regions. Enjoyed this chapter? Read more at site: audio-novel.com.

Eldrin Chen planned to traverse seven great provinces on this journey, including Celestial Dawn Province and Celestial Barrens Province, gathering treasures from each, before crossing the Vast Sea to return.

The Vast Sea is one of the seven great freshwater lakes within the Eastern Region Great Wasteland. Its vast central archipelago once nurtured a multitude of demonic beasts and Human Race cultivators, and was reportedly the territory of a top-tier Infant Soul Immortal Clan.

However, a millennium ago, the Black Dragon Demon Ancestor struck for unknown reasons, obliterating that Infant Soul Immortal Clan with a single blow and leaving behind a shattered Vast Sea.

The Vast Sea today is a broken territory, occupied by numerous Golden Core-level Demon Race factions. Their decision to return via the Vast Sea was partly to see if they could discover any legacy treasures from the fallen Infant Soul clan.

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

Eldrin Chen murmured. Together with Exquisite Jiang, he piloted the Green Sun Treasure Ark across the various nations of the Ji Continent. After a journey of four months, they finally arrived at the continent's edge.

Unlike the Tianlu Continent, the Ji Continent was not separated from the Heavenly Star Continent by the Heavenly Ridge Mountain Range. 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 felt a tremor of awe.

The mountain range stretched before them, vanishing into the horizon. Across its endless peaks and valleys raged pitch-black flames, resembling a mythical mountain of fire from ancient legends.

Beside him, Exquisite Jiang remained composed. She began to explain calmly, "This Demonic Flame Ridge was once a Forbidden Land for Demonic Cultivator [cultivators who pursue power through dark, often sacrificial means]. It was guarded by several Infant Soul [the stage of cultivation where one's nascent soul is formed] realm Demonic Cultivator."

"They brought calamity to several surrounding continents, feasting upon the blood and essence of countless millions of the Human Race, committing atrocities that defied heaven and earth."

"Three thousand years ago, the Ji Clan arrived from the Eastern Region Great Wasteland. They used the Immortal Refining Furnace [a legendary artifact capable of refining even immortals] to incinerate the entire Demonic Flame Ridge, reducing all the Demonic Cultivator within to ashes. This cataclysm formed this mountain range of eternal fire, spanning hundreds of thousands of Li-length [one Li-length equals five hundred meters]."

"However, the power of the Immortal Refining Furnace was too potent, too absolute. Even after three millennia, the flames here have never fully died out." Official source: audio-novel`com. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.