Chapter 427 Opening Stores Across Ji Province

"You have contributed the most in this battle, and this treasure rightfully belongs to you."

Sect Leader Qian gazed at the Star Fragment (Spiritual Object), a trace of reluctance in his voice as he said, "Setting aside the Star Fragment (Spiritual Object) itself, the total value of all treasures within the Demon Ape Mountain wouldn't exceed 10,000,000 spirit stones."

Yet this mere Star Fragment (Spiritual Object) would require at least 60 Heavenly Crystals (Spiritual Object) to purchase. To claim he felt no longing for such a priceless treasure would be nothing but falsehood.

Yet in this battle, the Heavenly Ruins Alliance had contributed the most, while the Azuregreen Immortal Sect had relinquished their claim to the treasures in exchange for a favor from Eldrin (Person Name). With only his own Vast Heaven Sword Sect remaining, they naturally held no grounds to contest the spoils.

However, obtaining the vast treasures of the Demon Ape Mountain left Sect Leader Qian thoroughly satisfied. Even after distributing these resources as compensation for the fallen and rewards for meritorious service, the Azure Sky Sword Sect still reaped bountiful gains.

"Then I thank you."

Eldrin smiled faintly and spoke, then turned his gaze toward the shattered Demonic Spring.

The group exchanged glances, and Chen Changxuan spoke first, "As long as the anchor left by the Demon God remains indestructible, the demonic spring can never be fully eradicated. It seems the spiritual veins of Demon Ape Mountain are beyond recovery."

"Then let us keep it for now. When the Chu Kingdom produces a True Infant Nascent Soul, we shall consider erasing this pathmark."

Grandmaster Taiwu also remarked, "The Demon God's Beacon is difficult to eradicate completely. Although we've captured the spiritual veins of Demon Ape Mountain, demonic energy still lingers. It will be impossible for cultivators to practice here for a long time to come—we have no choice but to abandon it."

Leaving the battlefield to the Firmament Sword Sect for cleanup, Eldrin returned to the Chu Kingdom with the Heavenly Ruins Alliance.

After returning to the Chu Kingdom, Eldrin produced resources worth 5,000,000 spirit stones as compensation and rewards for the major factions of the Sky Ruins Alliance, then departed for Spirit Isle Lake with Lyra.

Upon arriving at Spirit Isle Lake (Location), Eldrin (Person Name) exclaimed excitedly, "With the Star Fragment (Spiritual Object), your Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss (Magic Treasure) can advance to the next level. By then, your strength will likely rival that of a Nascent Soul cultivator."

"The Demon-Subduing Immortal Sword."

Lyra also revealed a look of delight. A Soulbound Artifact-grade Refining Demon Immortal Sword was considered a top-tier treasure even across the entire realm.

Many Nascent Soul, Early Stage (Cultivation Realm) cultivators possessed merely 1 or 2 Demon-Subduing Treasures, for forging such artifacts required sublimation materials of fifth-grade heavenly treasures alongside vast quantities of 5 Elements essence.

Moreover, deducing a single Life-Bound Spiritual Treasure is no easy feat. It demands exceptional enlightenment and a considerable amount of time to continuously refine the artifact's array patterns.

In truth, even with the innate talent and comprehension of Eldrin and Lyra, and despite having precedents for deducing their Natal Magic Treasures, it would still take them 60 years to deduce a single Natal Magic Treasure.

Regardless, once the Heaven's Ruin Immortal-Slaying Sword successfully ascends, Lyra's power will undoubtedly increase dramatically. In all the world, save for a handful of forbidden lands, there would be virtually nowhere she could not go.

At this thought, Eldrin spoke up: "The family's stockpile of 5 Elements Essence has been accumulated over nearly a century, and we've been continuously acquiring more throughout these years. It should barely suffice for your advancement of the Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss."

"If the 5 Elements essence is sufficient, then I can rest assured."

Lyra nodded. The Chen Family had amassed 5 elements essence for over a 100 years. Through continuous acquisitions and their own accumulation, their stockpile nearly equaled the Chu Kingdom's output over a sexagenary cycle.

The value of so much 5 Elements essence exceeded 10 million spirit stones, truly sufficient for her to advance the Heaven's Ruin Immortal-Slaying Sword.

Thinking of advancing the Refining Demon Immortal Sword, Eldrin wasted no more time. That very day, he ordered his clan to gather the 5 Elements Essence worth 10 million spirit stones.

The Heaven-Sundering Immortal Slaying Sword required the dual energies of Geng Metal and Xin Metal. As the attributes of the other elemental essences were incompatible with it, the 5 elemental essences had to be transmuted into these 2 metallic energies.

To this end, several Golden Core cultivators of the Chen family utilized teleportation arrays to travel across the 6 nations of Ji Province. Leveraging the connections of the Chen Immortal Clan (Organization), they spent half a year gathering both the Geng Metal and Xin Metal energies.

That day, Eldrin arrived at Pingyang City and found the old clan leader.

As soon as they met, the Old Clan Leader handed him the Dual Auras of Geng Metal and Xin Metal, then said with a grave expression, "After extracting these 5 Elements Essences this time, the clan treasury has been nearly drained completely."

"A few decades from now, when you advance to the Mirror of Yin, Yang, and Void (Magic Treasure), I'm afraid the 5 Elements essence might still fall somewhat short."

Eldrin's brow furrowed slightly. This was indeed no minor issue, as the output of 5 Elements Essence in Chu Kingdom remained ultimately limited.

The cost to advance a single Life-Bound Spiritual Treasure required the 5 Elements' Essence worth 10 million spirit stones, a quantity that would take the Chu Kingdom decades of effort to accumulate sufficiently.

Though the cultivation world of the Chu Kingdom had grown considerably more prosperous, both he and Lyra possessed 5 soul-bound magic treasures each. Combined, they had a full 10 Demon-Subduing Supreme Treasures requiring advancement—a burden the Chu Kingdom alone could never hope to sustain.

At that thought, Eldrin said, "Then let the family establish merchant guilds in the other nations of Ji Province and begin purchasing the 5 Elements Essence."

"So be it."

The old clan leader nodded, then smiled wryly. "In recent years, the clan exhausted its resources to purchase the Heavenly Crystal (Spiritual Object) for you. We've only just repaid our debt of spirit stones, and now acquiring large quantities of 5 Elements Essence would impose no small burden."

"Running short on spirit stones?" Eldrin frowned slightly, then declared, "Then we shall liquidate some fourth-tier magical artifacts, or perhaps items like the Cyclic Return Tribulation-Transcending Elixir and Golden Core Formation Pill. Acquire as many as we can through these sales."

"This will indeed suffice."

Chen Changxuan also understood the importance of the 5 Elements essence. Compared to advancing a single Demon-Subduing Supreme Treasure, even trading away the Jade of Creation was a necessary sacrifice.

At this thought, the old clan leader poured a cup of tea for Eldrin and continued, "Large-scale, long-term acquisition of the 5 Elements' Essence from other nations involves considerable stakes. It would be best to have a Golden Core realm cultivator oversee the matter."

"Is that so?"

Upon hearing this, Eldrin (Person Name) also showed a contemplative expression. For them to travel to the other 6 Ji Provinces to acquire the 5 Elements Essence—and in massive quantities at that—it would require someone of substantial influence to oversee and coordinate the effort.

With this thought, Eldrin spoke up, "We can leave the matters of Yan Kingdom to Brother Qingci. Having guarded Yan Kingdom for many years, he has become thoroughly familiar with the region. Procuring the 5 Elements Essence shouldn’t pose much difficulty for the others."

"Leave the Qi Kingdom to Uncle Lior. With the assistance of the local branch Chen Clan, we won't need to dispatch too many people to help."

"The remaining Cang, Wei, and Ji Kingdoms also require overseers, and the situations there may prove even more complex."

"Lila, Silas, and Kael possess considerable potential. It would be wasteful to have them occupied with these trivial matters. Let the Qian Clan and Xu Clan provide assistance instead."

The old clan leader also nodded upon hearing this. The Xu Clan now had 2 Golden Core cultivators—Xavier and Xu Daoyuan, while the Qian Clan had also produced a Golden Core cultivator some 20 years ago.

This man was named Qian Xinghe (Person Name), and strictly speaking, he belonged to the same generation as that Qian Xingming (Person Name) from years past, though he was considerably younger in age. It was said he had exhausted his family’s wealth to purchase a Golden Core Formation Pill (Spiritual Object) from beyond the borders of Ji Continent, using it to break through to the Golden Core realm.

"Actually, I was thinking the same thing as you."

Chen Changxuan began to speak, then paused briefly before continuing, "I've consulted the Qian and Xu families. The 2 Xu clansmen raised no objections, but Qian Xinghe mentioned he intended to embark on a journey to broaden his horizons—I politely declined his request."