Chapter 432 : Ancestral Wrath Over Stolen Veins

Many of the Purple Mansion Ancestor wore faces etched with murderous intent. These territories had been won through their collective bloodshed. By all rights, the resources within should have been shared among them all.

Yet now, a handful of Immortal Clan had monopolized them, secretly mining for decades, even a century. How could this injustice sit well with the others?

"What," Eldrin Chen's voice was icy, his killing intent sharpening with each word, "should be done about this?"

His gaze swept the hall, cold and unyielding.

Percival Pan rose to his feet, fury palpable. He bowed towards Eldrin Chen. "These clans have seized the resources we fought so hard to secure. It is an affront to heaven and a grievance to the people. I implore you, Ancient Ancestor, to punish them severely. Show no leniency."

"The fruits of our conquest, stolen by a few." The speaker was Celestia Meng, Clan Patriarch of the Meng Immortal Clan. Her voice rang out, clear and forceful. "If they are not made an example of, others will follow, hiding veins for themselves."

"And those of us who bleed for the Heaven's Ruin Alliance will see no reward. Who then would be willing to fight and die for the Alliance?"

As one Purple Mansion Ancestor after another voiced their condemnation, the representatives of the six or seven implicated Purple Mansion Immortal Clan and several dozen Foundation Establishment Immortal Clan paled with terror.

Discarding all dignity befitting a Purple Mansion Ancestor, Fang the Ancient Ancestor threw himself to his knees. "Ancient Ancestor!" he pleaded, "I have seen my error! I beg you, consider the years my Fang Clan has fought and bled for the Heaven's Ruin Alliance. Spare our lives, I implore you!"

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Eldrin Chen's countenance was icy, a glint of stern resolve flashing in his eyes.

His gaze sent shivers down the spines of all present. After a long silence, he finally spoke, "In consideration of your service to the Heaven's Ruin Alliance [a major alliance of cultivator clans] over these years, your lives may be spared."

"However, for the crime of betraying your Immortal Clan [a clan of cultivators with a long heritage], you shall forfeit all resources gained from your illicit mining, and all your assets within Heaven's Ruin Province and Earth Lion Province—your Spirit Mountain [a mountain imbued with concentrated spiritual energy], Earth Vein [a subterranean channel of concentrated earth-element spiritual energy], and all other holdings—are hereby confiscated."

Among the seated cultivators, Fang the Ancient Ancestor and the others let out a heavy sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Although losing their assets in the two provinces and the illicitly mined resources would shrink their clans' wealth by more than half, this outcome was already within their expectations.

To have their lives spared was an unexpected mercy, and they nodded fervently, their agitation palpable.

Fang the Ancient Ancestor promptly kowtowed in gratitude, his voice trembling with emotion, "We thank the Ancient Ancestor [a venerable title for a senior, powerful cultivator] for his mercy. This junior will remember this lesson and never repeat such a transgression."

"Do not thank me yet."

Eldrin Chen snorted coldly. With a flick of his hand, he sent several Spirit Talisman [enchanted paper slips imbued with spiritual power] flying into the bodies of the seven Purple Mansion [the third major realm of cultivation] Clan Lord. Simultaneously, he released dozens of strands of Sword Intent [the conceptual will and power of a master swordsman, made manifest] and drove them into the foreheads of the several dozen Foundation Establishment [the second major realm of cultivation] Clan Lord.

Once this was done, before the terrified assembly could utter a word, he declared with chilling finality, "These Sword Talisman [a talisman that stores and releases a potent sword technique] were personally forged by me. With but a single thought from Eldrin, they can end your lives."

"If you wish to avoid death, you must atone for your crimes through meritorious deeds," he declared, his voice resonating with finality. "Each of you must slay a Demonic Beast [a monstrous creature that has absorbed spiritual energy and gained power] of equivalent rank to your own and bring back its Demonic Beast Inner Core [the condensed spiritual core of a demonic beast, a valuable cultivation resource]. Only then will I remove the Sword Talisman [a talisman imbued with sword energy, used for tracking or punishment] from you."

"This..."

They could feel the Sword Intent [the conceptual will and sharpness of a master swordsman, capable of inflicting spiritual damage] and the Sword Talisman [a talisman imbued with sword energy, used for tracking or punishment] coiled within their bodies, and a pallor of dread washed over their faces.

For the Foundation Establishment Cultivator [practitioners who have solidified their spiritual foundation, the second major realm], the task was daunting but conceivable. However, the seven Purple Mansion [the third major cultivation realm, where one opens a spiritual palace within] representatives present felt their scalps prickle with terror. Within the territories of Heaven's Ruin Province and Earth Lion Province now, Demonic Beast [monstrous creatures that have absorbed spiritual energy and gained power] of the Purple Mansion Realm [the third major cultivation realm] were virtually extinct.

To atone, they would have to venture deep into the Demonic Tribe Territory [lands dominated by tribes of intelligent demonic beings] to hunt down Great Demons. The peril involved was immense.

Though fear gripped their hearts, they understood there was no room for dissent here.

They could only prostrate themselves, voices trembling as they pledged, "Esteemed True Person, be assured. We will return with the heads of Demonic Beast [monstrous creatures that have absorbed spiritual energy and gained power]."

"You may leave."

Eldrin Chen waved his hand dismissively, signaling for the group to depart.

After the offending Immortal Clan [powerful families whose lineage and strength are rooted in cultivation] representatives had filed out, he turned his gaze to the remaining clans. "The assets these families held within the two provinces will be confiscated," he stated. "They will then be appraised and sold off at a discounted price."

"If you are interested, you may seek out the elders of the Chen Clan to discuss the matter."

After speaking, Eldrin Chen rose and departed from the Grand Hall.

As for the minor tasks of negotiating the sale of Spirit Mountain [a mountain imbued with spiritual energy] and confiscating Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy] from those families, there was no need for Eldrin Chen to handle them personally.

Eldrin Chen returned to the Spirit Ore Mountain and continued his work of nurturing the Spirit Vein [a subterranean channel of concentrated spiritual energy], while Lior Chen and Kael Chen began leading others in handling the finer details.

After nearly a full year of busy work, they had confiscated over three million Spirit Stone from the various families. Furthermore, by selling off those Spirit Mountain and ore veins, they obtained another three million-plus Spirit Stone.

In total, they had acquired close to seven million Spirit Stone, directly covering the major expenses required for nurturing the Fourth Rank Spirit Vein. For the best reading experience, visit audio-novel dot com.

With the Spirit Stone secured, the process of nurturing the Fourth Rank Spirit Vein accelerated significantly. After nearly two years of concerted effort by the Chen Clan, the Fourth Rank Spirit Vein was finally successfully advanced.

Following the vein's advancement, Lyra Jiang personally laid down a Fourth Rank Mountain Guardian Grand Formation [a powerful defensive array]. With evident satisfaction, she remarked, "With the Spirit Mountain and this Formation [a structured arrangement of energy for specific effects] standing guard, the safety of this Spirit Stone Mine vein should be assured."

Eldrin Chen nodded in agreement, yet added, "The clan still possesses two pieces of Void Gem [a rare crystal attuned to spatial energies]. We should deploy another Teleportation Array Disk [a disc-shaped artifact that facilitates instantaneous travel over distance]. That would provide an additional layer of security."

"That would be wise," she agreed.

Lyra Jiang [the Immortal Maiden Lyra] spoke, then mobilized personnel to refine the Teleportation Array Disk [a formation plate used to establish teleportation arrays]. After three months of busy work, the Formation Plate [the core tool for setting up formations] was successfully deployed.

After setting up the Teleportation Formation [a magical formation that allows instantaneous travel between two points], they left Kael Chen [the cultivator Kael of the Chen Clan] to guard the location and returned to Spirit Isle Lake [a lake containing a spirit-rich island] to resume their secluded cultivation.

Time flowed by like water, and in the blink of an eye, more than a dozen years had passed.

On this day, Eldrin Chen [the cultivator Eldrin of the Chen Clan] opened his eyes within the Seclusion Chamber [a specially designed room for undisturbed meditation]. He took a slow, deep breath, sensing the surge of his spiritual power, which had increased by a full twenty percent. A flicker of joy passed through his eyes.

Not long before, he had finally completed his cultivation cycle and touched the threshold of the Golden Core [the third major realm of cultivation where one forms a solidified spiritual core] sixth layer. This period of seclusion had indeed allowed him to smoothly break through to the realm of Golden Core Sixth Layer.

The current year was the nineteenth thousand five hundred and twenty-second year of the Dao Calendar [the calendar system used by cultivators, marking eras since a significant Daoist event]. Calculating carefully, Eldrin Chen was just over three hundred and twenty years old. To have cultivated to the Golden Core sixth layer at this age meant he could likely reach Golden Core Great Perfection [the pinnacle of the Golden Core realm] shortly after four hundred years of age.

Suppressing the joy in his heart, Eldrin Chen emerged from the Seclusion Chamber.

Lyra Jiang, who had been guarding outside the door, saw him and asked with delight, "You broke through?"

"It went smoothly enough,"

Eldrin Chen nodded, but his gaze drifted towards the nearby Spirit Peach Tree [a mystical tree that bears fruit imbued with spiritual energy].

This year's Heaven and Earth Spirit Peach [a mystical fruit born from the convergence of heaven and earth's spiritual essence] differed from previous years; their number had increased significantly, with a full twenty-seven fruits hanging from the boughs.

The Heaven and Earth Spirit Peach possesses wondrous properties. It takes ten years to blossom, another ten to bear fruit, and a final ten to ripen. Once matured, a cultivator can refine and consume one Spirit Peach every ten years, gaining thirty years' worth of cultivation [a measure of accumulated spiritual power and progress].

Over the years, Eldrin Chen and Lyra Jiang had relied entirely on these Heaven and Earth Spirit Peach to rapidly increase their mana reserves, allowing them to advance one cultivation layer every thirty years.

He recalled that a Spirit Peach Tree at the Fourth Rank Low Grade [a specific tier of power and quality for spiritual objects] would yield only nine Spirit Peach each cycle. After they consumed their share, scarcely any remained.

Later, when it grew to the Fourth Rank Middle Grade, it produced eighteen Spirit Peach per cycle. Only then did they have a surplus of over a dozen fruits to nurture disciples like Lila and Kael.

Now, with nine additional Heaven and Earth Spirit Peach, they could cultivate three more Golden Core Cultivator [practitioners who have formed a solidified core of spiritual energy, a major milestone]. Join our community of readers at audio–novel.com.