Chapter 501 : A Desperate Sacrifice and Vengeful Escape

Behold, Eldrin Chen unleashed his full power, suppressing the two Lifebound Demonic Treasure with his Spiritual Treasure [an enchanted artifact of immense power used by cultivators] immortal sword.

Freed from her previous bindings, Lyra Jiang seized the moment. She channeled her Divine Light of the Five Void Tribulations [a supreme cultivation art manifesting divine radiance capable of annihilating tribulations], sending it crashing down like a celestial judgment upon the Twin Kalo Demons [a pair of powerful, symbiotic demonic entities] who were still pinned beneath the Void-Refining Divine Flame [a divine ability that conjures flames potent enough to refine even the void itself].

By now, the Twin Kalo Demons were at the end of their strength, a spent force. To suffer this final blow would surely spell their utter ruin.

At this critical juncture, a rare moment of lucidity dawned upon the male Garuda [a powerful race of avian demons]. With a desperate roar, he mustered every last drop of his Mana [the spiritual energy cultivated and wielded by practitioners], forcefully pushing back the searing cage of Void-Refining Divine Flame. In one final, decisive motion, he thrust his Demonic Trident [a three-pronged polearm imbued with demonic power] through the fabric of space itself, creating a rift to hurl the female Garuda to safety.

"No—!"

Emerging from her stupor, the female Garuda jolted back to full awareness.

Her eyes snapped open, meeting his gaze for a fleeting instant—just in time to witness the Divine Light of the Five Void Tribulations strike with annihilating force, tearing the male Garuda asunder.

"Aaaaaagh—!"

An ocean of hatred and boundless killing intent surged within her. She cast one last, venomous glare at the two cultivators, then turned without a backward glance, fleeing toward the distant horizon until she vanished from sight.

Eldrin Chen moved to pursue, but Lyra Jiang stayed his hand. "A being of that caliber, determined to flee, is beyond our reach to catch," she said, her voice firm with finality. Join our community of readers at audio-novel-dot-com.

"It seems we still underestimated them," she said with a sigh.

Hearing her words, Eldrin Chen let out a sigh. This time, with the aid of their Formation, he had not expected one of the Garuda Demon Monarchs to still manage to escape. However, he quickly gathered his focus and began searching the island for the relics of the Ethereal Void Sect.

At this moment, the Demonic Cultivators on the island were beginning to flee. To prevent the Demonic Monsters from destroying the heritage of the Ethereal Void Sect, the two immediately acted, securing the Treasure Vault and Scripture Repository on Kalo Demon Isle. They swept away all the treasures within, then dismantled the two Formation Tools.

After completing this, they dared not linger. Hastily, they summoned the Celestial Crane Treasure Boat and flew towards the direction of Demon-Suppressing Island.

Aboard the Treasure Boat, Eldrin Chen took stock of their spoils. A look of joy could not help but spread across his face. "This time, we have finally achieved our wish and amassed a formidable foundation," he declared.

Their gains from this battle were immense. They had captured several Fifth Rank Demonic Treasures. Apart from the two Lifebound Demonic Treasures that escaped, all the other Fifth Rank Demonic Treasures had fallen into their hands.

These included a fiery-red demonic sword, a pitch-black demonic spear, the central Starry Small Bell, the Ethereal Void Cauldron, the Vast Sleeve Long Silk, the Ancient Vast Sea Formation Plate, the Void-Refining Furnace, and several other treasures.

Among these treasures, the fiery-red demonic sword was named the 'Bloodthirsty Demonic Sword', and the pitch-black spear was called the 'Soul-Devouring Spear'. Both were extremely malevolent Demonic Treasures that Righteous Path Cultivators simply could not wield.

The Vast Sleeve Long Silk was a treasure specifically requested by Celestia, Spirit Sovereign, so Eldrin Chen set it aside separately.

Of the remaining three treasures, the Ethereal Void Cauldron was the sect-suppressing supreme treasure of the Ethereal Void Sect. However, it had been corrupted and refined by the Twin Kalo Demons through blood sacrifice rituals and infused with vast amounts of Demonic Fiend Qi [the malevolent energy cultivated by demonic beings], thus transforming into a Demonic Treasure.

Such Demonic Treasure [an artifact forged with demonic energy, often malevolent in nature] cannot be used even by a Righteous Path Cultivator [a practitioner who follows the orthodox, virtuous path of cultivation]. Eldrin Chen planned to wait until he broke through to the Nascent Soul [the realm where a cultivator's spirit forms a nascent soul, a major leap in power] realm, then use the Solar True Flame [a divine flame of pure solar essence, capable of purifying corruption] to refine the blood malignancy and Demonic Fiend Qi [the corrupt, malevolent energy associated with demons and fiends] within it. Only then could this precious Spiritual Treasure [a treasure of immense power, often with its own sentience or spirit] be utilized.

For them, only two items held true value: the Ancient Vast Sea Formation Plate and the Void-Refining Furnace [a furnace capable of refining materials using the power of the void].

These two treasures were both pure Spiritual Treasure [a treasure of immense power, often with its own sentience or spirit]. Having always served as Formation Tool [a tool specifically designed to anchor or power a formation], they had not been tainted by the aura of Demonic Fiend Qi [the corrupt, malevolent energy associated with demons and fiends].

Eldrin Chen stored these treasures away, then took out the Starry Small Bell [a small bell imbued with the essence of stars] that had served as the formation's anchor. "This Demonic Treasure [an artifact forged with demonic energy, often malevolent in nature] was the demonic tribe's anchor treasure," he said. "It holds little use for us."

"I intend to reforge it in the future into Star Fragment [a fragment of celestial material containing condensed stellar essence], to be used in crafting the Astral Computator of the Great Deduction [a legendary treasure said to be capable of vast celestial calculations and divination]."

Lyra Jiang nodded upon hearing this, a smile gracing her lips. "The Astral Computator of the Great Deduction [a legendary treasure said to be capable of vast celestial calculations and divination] requires nine Star Fragment [fragments of celestial material containing condensed stellar essence] to forge. This Starry Small Bell [a small bell imbued with the essence of stars] can be refined into three Star Fragment [fragments of celestial material containing condensed stellar essence]. It's a promising start."

"Indeed," Eldrin agreed. "If we can fully assimilate the opportunities from this venture, it should be enough to allow our Deep-Seated Foundation [the profound and unshakable foundation of one's cultivation, crucial for future advancement] to reach perfect completion before the Nascent Soul [the realm where a cultivator's spirit forms a nascent soul, a major leap in power] realm."

As he spoke, Eldrin Chen brought out the two treasures obtained from the Treasure Vault [a secure chamber for storing valuable items].

One of these treasures was a piece of water-blue Treasure Metal [a rare and spiritually potent metal used in crafting high-grade artifacts]; the other was a wisp of chaotic, heavy Mother Qi.

"Fifth Rank Flood Water Treasure Gold [a fifth-rank precious metal imbued with the essence of flood waters], and Earth Mother Qi [the primordial, nurturing essence of the earth itself]," Lyra Jiang murmured, her eyes alight with joy. "The key materials for your Heavenly River Flood Water Sword [a sword imbued with the power of the heavenly river's flood waters] to advance, and the Earth Mother Qi [the primordial, nurturing essence of the earth itself] needed for your Nascent Soul [the realm where a cultivator's spirit forms a nascent soul, a major leap in power] breakthrough... we've finally gathered them all."

"Hmm."

Eldrin Chen smiled. While the Kalo Demon IsleTreasure Vault held many treasures, only these two items truly stirred his heart.

Thinking of his soon-to-be-completed Heavenly River Flood Water Sword, Eldrin Chen said with a smile, "After we return this time, we plan to trade out some of the Spiritual Treasure [enchanted artifacts of immense power] in our possession. Let's see if we can acquire the materials needed for your own Spiritual Treasure to advance."

"Indeed, it is worth an attempt."

As she spoke, Lyra Jiang also began organizing the heritage cultivation arts of the Ethereal Void Sect.

This time, they had seized the complete heritage of the Ethereal Void Sect, which included five sets of Nascent Soul Cultivation Art [esoteric methods for cultivating the Nascent Soul realm] and their associated legacies, along with over thirty different Golden Core [the third major stage of cultivation, where one forms a solidified core of spiritual power] cultivation art transmissions. Continue your cultivation journey at audio-novel . com.

Beyond the cultivation arts, they had also obtained the Nascent Soul Chapter [the highest-level teachings] for the four great heritages of the Ethereal Void Sect: 'Alchemy, Formation Tool [specialized magical treasures used to construct and power formations], Talismans, and Artificing.'

Among these, the most precious were several Fifth Rank [a grade denoting power suitable for Nascent Soul stage cultivators] pill formulas. These formulas were: the 'Five Veins Heaven-Sculpting Pill', the 'Fifth Rank Essence Restoration Pill', the 'Earthly Dao Pill', the 'Tribulation-Transforming Calamity-Transcending Pill', and also the 'Golden Lotus Demon-Subduing Pill'.

Among these four formulas, the Five Veins Heaven-Sculpting Pill could assist a Golden Core Cultivator in purifying their Mana [the spiritual energy cultivated and wielded by practitioners], increasing their chances of a Nascent Soul [the fourth major stage of cultivation, where one's spirit forms an independent entity] breakthrough. Its effect was not inferior to the feedback from a Lifebound Spiritual Treasure [a spiritual treasure intimately connected to its owner's life force], and thus its value was truly inestimable.

The Fifth Rank Essence Restoration Pill was a Pill [a refined medicinal elixir] for restoring True Essence [the refined and potent spiritual energy of a high-level cultivator]. This formula was not overly difficult to refine and was one of the least costly Fifth Rank pill formulas to produce.

The Earthly Dao Pill [a pill that aids in breaking through to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm] is a key treasure for breaking through to the Nascent Soul, Mid Stage. This pill can increase a cultivator's chances of a successful breakthrough by thirty percent. Even a cultivator with a shallow foundation, such as one who formed a Mortal Dao Nascent Soul, would have a ten percent chance of breaking through to the Nascent Soul, Mid Stage after consuming this pill.

However, refining the Earthly Dao Pill is extremely difficult and requires the consumption of the exceedingly precious Earth Mother Qi [the primordial, nurturing essence of the earth]. Consequently, this pill is incredibly valuable, with each one worth as much as an Inferior Grade Demon-Subduing Supreme Treasure.

The 'Tribulation-Transforming Calamity-Transcending Pill' [a pill that transforms tribulation and transcends calamity] is a type of Healing Pill. This pill can purge Demonic Fiend Qi [the corrupting energy of demonic fiends] and other foreign energies at the Nascent Soul level, and can heal the injuries of Nascent Soul Cultivators.

Back when Nine Rivers True Lord's physical body was contaminated by Demonic Fiend Qi, had he possessed this pill then, he would not have been forced to abandon his fleshly form.

Finally, the 'Golden Lotus Demon-Subduing Pill' [a golden lotus pill for subduing demons] is a Treasure Pill that specifically counters heart demons. When a Golden Core Cultivator attempts to break through to Nascent Soul, they face a terrifying invasion of heart demons.

Those with an unsteady Dao-heart, or who harbor deep regrets, are highly likely to fall beneath the Heart Demon Tribulation [the inner tribulation of facing one's own demons and regrets], becoming mere nourishment for the heart demon's ascension.

The 'Golden Lotus Demon-Subduing Pill' is a Treasure Pill specially crafted to subdue these heart demons. It is refined using the Lotus Seed of the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Root known as the 'Primordial Golden Lotus' [a primordial spiritual plant of immense purity] as the primary ingredient, combined with three thousand six hundred other types of Spirit Medicine.

It is said that after consuming this pill, one can suppress the demonic whispers in their heart, weakening the power of the heart demon by seventy to eighty percent, thereby greatly increasing the odds of successfully weathering the Heart Demon Tribulation. Discover more cultivation stories at audio–novel.com.