Chapter 401 Hugo

It is done.

After this strike, a look of joy appeared on Eldrin's face. Having broken through this formation, they were like a trapped dragon soaring to the heavens—free to advance or retreat at will.

Hugo's expression shifted repeatedly as he watched them fight their way out, until finally, the intention to retreat surfaced in his eyes.

"Don't let him get away."

In the blink of an eye, Lyra (Person Name) reached a decision.

This Hugo (Person Name) was not far from reaching the Nascent Soul stage. If such a formidable enemy were to escape, the threat he posed would likely surpass that of 10-some Golden Core cultivators.

If we don't eliminate him today, should Hugo ever break through to the Nascent Soul realm, it will be the Chen Immortal Clan that suffers misfortune.

With this thought, Lyra no longer hesitated to use her precious treasure and immediately summoned the Demonflame Yin Thunder Pearl.

No—

Seeing the Demonic Flame Yin Thunder Pearl hurtling toward him, Hugo wore a look of utter despair.

This treasure was comparable to the full-force strike of a Nascent Soul cultivator. Even at his peak, he might not withstand it, let alone now when his formation had been shattered and his spiritual power was more than half depleted.

Without any suspense, even though Hugo resisted with all his might, he was still utterly annihilated under the force of this Fifth-Rank Thunder Pearl.

Patriarch.

Witnessing Huo Zhen's demise, the Golden Core cultivators of the Huo Clan exchanged looks of sheer terror.

They could never have imagined that after years of preparation for this battle, they would not only fail to achieve a decisive victory, but also suffer devastating losses.

In their panic, they hastily led their clansmen back to the spirit mountain. Guided by their kin, they activated the Mountain Protection Array.

Eldrin and Lyra did not give chase, for their opponents were fighting right at their doorstep. It would take only a brief moment to retreat back into the spirit mountain.

Unless they possessed a Fifth-Rank Thunder Pearl (Magic Treasure) or had a formation array enveloping the area, they would find it nearly impossible to eliminate all 5 Golden Core cultivators in such a short time.

Moreover, in this battle, the 2 of them were pitted against an entire clan, which had taken a tremendous toll. Continuing the fight would risk severe depletion of their vital essence.

After achieving total victory in this battle, the 2 did not depart.

Lyra gently traced the sword scars on his body while applying spiritual ointment, her voice filled with anguish as she said, "Your injuries..."

"I have the 5 Thunders Body Refining Art to temper my physique. These are merely superficial wounds."

Eldrin shook his head, swallowed a healing elixir, and began circulating his spiritual energy to mend his wounds.

Applied externally, ingested internally, and supplemented with magical healing, the sword qi within this wound was drawn out before long.

Freed from the corrosion of the Bone-Eroding Sword Intent, such superficial wounds were nothing to a high-level cultivator. A mere 2 cycles of nourishing with spiritual power would suffice for complete recovery.

After her injuries had fully healed, Lyra surveyed the battlefield and collected Hugo's Mountain-River Fan, the 4 Symbols Flag Formation, and the Blue-Gold Glazed Armor.

She said with a hint of regret, "What a pity that Hugo's storage pouch, along with his physical body, was destroyed by the Demonic Flame Yin Thunder Bead."

"Being able to slay this man is already an achievement. The destruction of the storage pouch was to be expected."

Eldrin sighed and said, "We only managed to slay Hugo with the aid of the Fifth-Rank Thunder Pearl. We simply had no strength left to retrieve the storage pouch."

In truth, Hugo (Person Name) never anticipated his own demise. The site of this battle was less than a 1000 miles from the Hugo Clan's spirit mountain.

He had thought that even if he lost this battle, as long as he retreated to the spirit mountain and activated the Mountain Protection Array, Eldrin (Person Name) would be unable to do anything to him.

By then, he could simply retreat for a full 60-year cycle. Once his spiritual power was restored, he would attempt the Nascent Soul breakthrough again—this time seizing the initiative to turn the tables.

Moreover, there was no spiritual energy outside the Spirit Mountain for Eldrin and Lyra to cultivate. They could not afford to waste vast amounts of time abstaining from cultivation just to guard the Spirit Mountain and gamble on his return.

It was precisely his confidence in his own strength, coupled with the temptation of the Demon-Subduing Supreme Treasure, that drove him to risk confronting both Eldrin and his companion as enemies.

Little did he expect that Eldrin's physical body would rival that of a Nascent Soul cultivator. None of the trump cards he had meticulously prepared were able to severely injure Eldrin.

Yet the Fifth-Rank Thunder Pearl (Magic Treasure) in Lyra (Person Name)'s hand had completely defied his expectations. Never could he have imagined that he would meet his end beneath the might of this Fifth-Rank Thunder Pearl (Magic Treasure).

"This battle, who knows if it was a victory or a loss."

Lyra let out a soft sigh, her gaze fixed upon the Blue Gold Lapis Armor.

Among the 3 treasures left by Hugo (Person Name), the Mountains and Rivers Fan had been severely damaged and required 2 sexagenary cycles of nurturing to recover.

The 4 Symbols Flag Formation (Formation) had also sustained some damage, but the power of this treasure was exceptionally formidable, making it potent enough to serve as a trump card. Its value was likely around 10 million spirit stones.

The only treasure that truly stirred their hearts was the Blue Gold Glazed Armor, a peerless magical artifact valued at over 5,000,000 spirit stones.

But when fused with the Crimson-Gold Glazed Armor (Magic Treasure) and Purple-Gold Liuli Armor in their possession, it could forge the legendary demon-refining treasure—the Glazed Armor of the 3 Treasures (Magic Treasure).

At this thought, Eldrin said, "A Fifth-Rank Thunder Pearl starts at a value of 30 Heavenly Crystals, whereas a demon-refining treasure is worth over a 100 Heavenly Crystals."

"This battle has yielded us the Blue Gold Glazed Armor, capable of fusing into a Demon-Subduing Supreme Treasure. Truly, our gains are immense."

"That makes sense."

Lyra nodded thoughtfully and said, "To fuse the Glazed Armor of the 3 Treasures, aside from the 3 treasured armors, 1 would also require a Dao Pattern Gem and a fifth-order spirit vein to supply the spiritual energy."

Dao Pattern Gem (Spiritual Object), along with spiritual energy...

Eldrin pondered for a long moment before speaking, "We don't possess a fifth-grade spirit vein, but we do have 8 fourth-grade spirit veins available. Having the Glazed Armor of the 3 Treasures absorb spiritual energy from each in sequence should prove sufficient."

"However, the Dao Pattern Gem (Spiritual Object) is relatively scarce."

The Dao Pattern Gem (Spiritual Object) stands as the most precious natural treasure among the fourth-tier spiritual artifacts, valued at 10,000,000 spirit stones—truly comparable to the Creation Jade (Spiritual Object).

Such a rare treasure would likely require a high price to acquire.

"Not right." Lyra's eyes suddenly lit up as she spoke. "Since the Huo Family has been scheming for the Glazed Armor of the 3 Treasures for years, they must likely possess Dao Pattern Gems in their hands."

The Huo Clan?

Eldrin's eyes also lit up as he rose to his feet, gazing at the Huo Family's spirit mountain. After a long while, he shook his head and said, "They have cultivated this spirit mountain for thousands of years. It is protected by a fourth-tier, superior-grade spiritual vein and defensive formations."

"With our strength, even if the Celestial Ruins Alliance were to mobilize across multiple continents, it would likely take them over a decade to breach our defenses."

"A direct assault is out of the question."

Lyra also remarked, "The Chu Kingdom is separated from the Tianming Continent by several major realms, with a few exceptionally rare forbidden lands still lying between them."

Under such circumstances, it was utterly impossible to mobilize a large army. With no supply lines or spiritual vein support along the journey, and the high likelihood of encountering attacks from high-level demon tribes, the slightest misstep could lead to the complete annihilation of the entire force.

Moreover, with the Chu Kingdom's current 2 fourth-grade treasure ships and the 2 additional fourth-grade vessels under construction, the number of cultivators they could transport in a single operation would still be insufficient to breach the protective formations of the Huo Family's spirit mountain.

At this thought, Eldrin furrowed his brow. After a long moment, he sighed and said, "Then let us negotiate peace. Since the chief culprit has been executed, we have no time to waste here. Let them pay war reparations."

"That is also a sound approach." Lyra (Person Name) nodded in agreement as well.

Since they had decided on peace talks, Eldrin did not delay any further. That very day, he sent a message to the Huo family’s spirit mountain using a spirit talisman.