Chapter 431 : A Clan's Fallen Legacy

The Tianlu Continent's premier rogue cultivator, Celestial Star Child [a formidable cultivator known for his ruthless methods], was lamenting his lack of a suitable magical treasure [an enchanted artifact used by cultivators] to face his heavenly tribulation. Upon discovering that Rising Harmony Qian held a vast fortune in Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy, used as currency and for cultivation], he simply decided to eliminate him and seize it.

Rising Harmony Qian had only broken through to the Golden Core [the third major stage of cultivation where one forms a solidified core of spiritual energy] a mere thirty-some years prior. How could he possibly contend with a ruthless character like Celestial Star Child, who stood at the peak of the False Infant Soul Realm [a pseudo-realm just below the true Infant Soul stage]? The battle's outcome was inevitable; he met his end.

Ever ruthless, Celestial Star Child was not satisfied even after plundering Rising Harmony Qian's treasures. Deeming the spoils insufficient, he resolved to see his wicked deed through to its bitter end. He descended upon Chu Nation, slaughtering nearly every cultivator within the ancestral grounds of the Qian Clan, leaving the clan virtually extinct.

The entire fortune of over ten million Spirit Stone painstakingly accumulated by the Qian Immortal Clan was stripped clean. With his ill-gotten gains, he then fled beyond the borders of Ji Continent.

"So that's why he was unwilling to procure Five Elements Essence [a refined spiritual essence containing the power of the five elements] for us," Exquisite Jiang said with a cold, bitter laugh. "He looked down on the paltry stipend we offered."

The Qian Immortal Clan had secretly mined a medium-grade Spirit Stone vein for an entire Sixty-Year Cycle [a cycle of sixty years, also known as a Jiazi], illicitly extracting resources worth eighteen million Spirit Stone. That staggering loss, Exquisite Jiang fumed, should rightfully have been theirs.

"Greed blinds a man to his own doom. This Rising Harmony Qian embezzled the spirit stone vein, foolishly believing that purchasing treasures outside Ji Continent would conceal his crime from us,"

Old Patriarch Wei, standing nearby, shook his head with icy detachment. "Little did he know that for someone of his strength, such wealth was nothing but a death warrant."

Eldrin Chen's gaze turned frosty, his voice laced with anger. "If the Qian Clan hadn't been suddenly exterminated, who knows how long this deception would have continued unnoticed."

"This incident is likely not an isolated one. The Heavenly Ruins Alliance must conduct thorough investigations of all major Immortal Clan [powerful clans with immortal heritage] across both prefectures." This chapter is provided by www . audio-novel.com. Support the original.

It was truly impossible for him not to be furious. The combined area of Heavenly Ruins Prefecture and Earth Lion Prefecture was larger than the entire Chu Nation. Logically, the resources within should have been no less, and likely even more abundant.

He had previously wondered why, after so many years of development, no high-grade Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy] veins had ever been discovered. Now the reason was clear.

The thought that the fruits of the territory he had painstakingly conquered were being stolen by others caused Eldrin Chen's expression to grow even colder as he said:

"Over these years, we have largely refrained from intervening in the distribution of micro and small Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy] veins in the two prefectures, leaving the shares for the various Foundation Establishment and Violet Sanctum Cultivator Immortal Clan [powerful cultivation families] within the Heavenly Ruins Alliance. Yet they still dared to pull such a scheme."

"Investigate. Get to the bottom of this!"

"Pay particular attention to the Immortal Clan [powerful cultivation families] whose strength has surged dramatically in recent years. They must be targeted for investigation."

Old Patriarch nodded, his expression grim as he spoke. "I intend to recall Kael and Lior. Have them conduct thorough investigations into Heavenly Ruins Prefecture and Earth Lion Prefecture, respectively."

"However, the immediate priority is for us to take control of the Medium-Grade Spirit Stone Vein as swiftly as possible."

Mention of the Medium-Grade Spirit Stone Vein finally helped Eldrin Chen suppress some of his rage.

Exchanging a glance with Exquisite Jiang, he stood up and declared, "Let us first go inspect the vein and secure it."

"..."

The three of them directly took a Teleportation Formation to Earth Lion Ridge, rendezvoused with Lila, and then, on the way, mobilized over a dozen Violet Sanctum Cultivators before flying from Earth Lion Ridge towards the Medium-Grade Spirit Stone Vein.

After flying for over two hundred thousand Li-length [one Li-length equals five hundred meters], they found a concealed mine shaft nestled within a range of towering mountains.

At that moment, within this mine shaft, over two thousand Qian Clan cultivators were still excavating Spirit Stones. The leader was a Violet Sanctum Late Stage cultivator named Void Mountain Qian.

As the Qian Clan had been annihilated less than seven days prior, the Qian Clan cultivators in the Spirit Stone vein had not yet received the news.

When Void Mountain Qian saw the several Patriarchs arrive, he thought their secret had been discovered. Terrified, he knelt on the ground, kowtowing and pleading for mercy: "Esteemed Patriarchs, our clandestine mining of this Spirit Stone vein was done under the orders of our Clan Patriarch." "I was merely following commands. I beg you, spare my life."

"I was merely following orders. I beg you, spare my life."

Eternal Profound Chen's expression was icy as he uttered coldly, "Seize them."

Lila and the dozen-plus Violet Sanctum cultivators sprang into action, swiftly securing control of the Spirit Stone vein.

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Eldrin Chen soared into the mine on his flying sword. After a thorough investigation, his expression turned grave. "This Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy] vein should yield around two hundred thousand Spirit Stone annually. Their excessive and illicit mining has caused significant damage," he reported.

"Fortunately, this vein has accumulated over countless years without being tapped. Otherwise, such violent extraction would likely have degraded its grade considerably."

Caleb Chen, who had followed, glared coldly, his voice laced with anger. "The Qian Clan's greed knows no bounds. Having stolen so many Spirit Stone, it is only fitting their clan was nearly wiped out. Truly, men die for wealth as birds perish for food."

The others remained silent. Old Patriarch Chen, his face etched with worry, spoke, "This location is too close to the Demon Race Territory. Without a Fourth-Rank Spiritual Vein [a high-grade source of concentrated spiritual energy] here, we would be vulnerable to demonic assaults."

"Then we shall cultivate a Spiritual Vein [a natural conduit of concentrated spiritual energy]," came the decisive reply.

Exquisite Jiang declared their intention to nurture a Fourth-Rank Spiritual Vein right here at the Spirit Ore Mountain and to establish a protective Fourth-Rank Mountain Protection Formation [a powerful defensive array]. This novel is serialized on audio_novel.com. Visit for updates.

Lila furrowed her brow, her expression turning serious. "Cultivating a single Fourth Rank Low-Grade Spiritual Vein requires a staggering ten million Spirit Stone. The combined reserves of our clan and the Heavenly Ruins Alliance are insufficient."

"Do not worry about the Spirit Stone," Eldrin Chen stated coldly, his gaze steady. "We shall wait for Kael and Uncle Lior to finish their investigation. Let us see who else has been illicitly mining the vein."

Upon hearing this, Caleb Chen and the others exchanged glances, a shared understanding passing between them. They realized that certain clans within the alliance might soon be forced to pay a heavy price.

Although they intended to make some Immortal Clan [a clan with cultivators of significant power] within the Heavenly Ruins Alliance bleed for their transgressions, the work of cultivating the Spiritual Vein could not wait and needed to commence immediately.

Eldrin Chen returned to his clan and, from within the Clan Treasury, found a considerable amount of materials for crafting magical treasures. He forged a set of fourth-rank Spirit Gathering Formation [a formation that concentrates ambient spiritual energy] and then journeyed to Spirit Ore Mountain with over three million Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy] from the Chen Clan.

Upon arriving at Spirit Ore Mountain, the two of them immediately deployed the Spirit Gathering Formation upon the mountain. They then invested the Spirit Stones and began the process of advancing the Spiritual Vein [a subterranean channel of concentrated spiritual energy].

"..."

Meanwhile, Lior Chen and Kael Chen had returned to the Chu Nation.

The pair immediately launched an investigation into the various Immortal Clan [cultivation families] within Heavenly Ruins Prefecture and Earth Lion Prefecture. To uncover the hidden mines and treasures secretly occupied by these clans, they even requested Exquisite Jiang to forge a fourth-rank Heart-Questioning Platform [a magical platform that compels truthful answers].

With the aid of the fourth-rank Heart-Questioning Platform, they toiled for the better part of a year. Finally, they managed to thoroughly investigate over two hundred Foundation Establishment Immortal Clan [clans whose patriarchs have reached the Foundation Establishment realm] and more than twenty Violet Sanctum Immortal Clan [clans whose patriarchs have reached the Violet Sanctum realm] under the Heavenly Ruins Alliance.

Even several high-ranking members of the Xu Clan were summoned to stand upon the Heart-Questioning Platform and undergo interrogation.

The results of this investigation were truly shocking. They compiled a list and presented it to Eldrin Chen.

After reviewing the list, Eldrin Chen immediately convened a meeting of the more than two hundred Immortal Clan within the Heavenly Ruins Alliance whose patriarchs were at or above the Foundation Establishment realm. The assembly was held directly at Earth Lion Ridge.

At the grand assembly, he tossed a copy of the list before the assembled crowd, his expression calm as he declared, "Everyone, take a look at this list."

"This..."

After the assembled crowd reviewed the list, some faces paled with fear, while others twisted with bitter resentment.

Six or seven clan leaders from the Violet Sanctum Immortal Clan looked utterly terrified. The current patriarch of the Fang Immortal Clan stammered, his voice trembling, "We beg for Patriarch's forgiveness. We were merely... momentarily confused."

"Hah—"

Eldrin Chen let out a cold laugh, his gaze sharp as a honed blade. "In Heavenly Ruins Prefecture alone, you concealed seventeen micro and three small Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy] veins, four Third-Rank Earth Vein [a spiritual land formation of the third rank], and dozens of other veins containing various Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures [rare spiritual resources used in cultivation and crafting]."

"You have done exceedingly well." Find thousands of chapters at audi0-n0vel.c0m.