Chapter 526 Reconnecting the Subterranean Fire Vein

The old clan leader rambled on excitedly for a long while, describing various local specialties of The Vast Sea (Location).

The Vast Sea (Location) boasted resources far more abundant than those in Ji Province. Many treasures considered priceless back in Ji Province were remarkably affordable here.

After the old clan leader finished speaking, Eldrin closed the account book with a smile and said, "You’ve worked hard these past days, Uncle."

"However, Lyra and I have only recently made our breakthrough, and there are still far too many matters requiring our attention. We must trouble you, Elder, to preside over the specific affairs here at The Vast Sea."

"You may discuss with them the matter of the 20-3 Golden Core immortal clans joining the Heaven's Ruins Alliance."

"Leave it to me."

The old clan leader smiled faintly. Governing a newly conquered continent was no simple matter.

Not only does it require profound cultivation to command respect from the masses, but it also demands considerable political acumen and ample time and energy to manage affairs effectively.

Eldrin naturally had no time to waste on trivial matters. On the contrary, the old clan leader had only recently broken through to the False Infant realm and required several more years of consolidation before attempting another breakthrough. This period presented the perfect opportunity for him to manage affairs in The Vast Sea.

Watching the elder’s flustered state, Eldrin (Person Name) chuckled and said, “Let’s go set up the teleportation array first.”

Next, Eldrin and several other formation masters personally took action. Within just a few days, they had laid Teleportation Array Disks across all 7 spirit islands under their control.

Then, he discovered that 3 formation disks remained. Eldrin personally ventured into the depths of The Vast Sea, slayed 3 of the most powerful demon kings, and laid down both a defensive array and a teleportation formation.

The Golden Cores of the Chen Immortal Clan (Organization) seized the opportunity to strike, driving the demons of The Vast Sea (Location) into chaotic flight. Those demonic entities at or above the Golden Core realm began fleeing The Vast Sea (Location) altogether.

At this stage, the Chen Family had gained preliminary control over The Vast Sea (Location). Even if the demons of The Vast Sea (Location) attempted to make a comeback in the future, they would find themselves powerless against the spirit islands interconnected by teleportation arrays.

"After a 1000 years, we humans have finally driven back the demons once more."

"Will The Vast Sea (Location) finally regain its peace?"

As the demonic hordes retreated and humanity regained control of The Vast Sea (Location), countless cultivators dwelling within its expanse wept with overwhelming relief. Never again would they have to live each day uncertain of seeing the next.

A Golden Core elder who had lived for over a 1000 years wept bitterly, tears streaming down his aged face. He recalled bygone eras when he personally raised his sword and followed the cultivators of Chen Immortal Clan into the demonic territories, fighting to reclaim the ancestral lands for humankind.

Countless human cultivators also seized this golden opportunity to take action, spontaneously contributing their efforts to hunt down demons and monsters. A great war erupted against the hundreds of millions of fiends upon The Vast Sea (Location).

At this moment, Eldrin (Person Name) concealed his achievements and fame, striding back to the Coldstream Isle.

He went straight into the subterranean fire veins beneath Hanchuan Island, his brow slightly furrowed as he gazed upon the fractured and scattered 9 Grade-4 fire veins.

After watching for a long while, Lyra (Person Name) who stood nearby asked, "Well? Can it be repaired?"

"If it were before, I wouldn't be too confident, but now it's no longer a problem."

Eldrin's eyes held a trace of detachment as he spoke, for he now resided in a perpetual state of Heavenly Resonance—a realm only a Pure Yang Dao Lord could attain.

Even a half-step Dao Monarch like the Patriarch of the Ji Clan required the support of a special environment to briefly enter the state of Heaven-Man Communion.

With the empowerment of Heaven-Man Resonance, Eldrin's already astonishing comprehension was pushed to its very limits, as if he were in a near-constant state of enlightenment.

After a moment of observation, he remarked calmly, "Magnus the Virtuous Lord once attempted to reconnect the severed spiritual veins of Heaven's Spine Mountains. Though he has yet to succeed, the endeavor has yielded truly extraordinary effects."

"This underground fire vein is far inferior to the 1 at Heaven's Spine Mountains (Location), but it's more than sufficient for my current abilities."

As his voice faded, he began deducing the method to reconnect the meridians.

Eldrin spent 1 full year emulating the methods of Magnus the Virtuous Lord, extracting their essence while adapting them to local conditions. Through careful modification, he ultimately forged a meridian-reconnecting technique.

He engraved the vein-mending technique into a jade slip, then said to Lyra (Person Name), "This method of mine originates from the techniques of Magnus the Virtuous Lord (Person Name), with only minor modifications. There is still a long road ahead before 1 can truly surpass him."

Lyra took the jade slip and perused it, then remarked with a smile, "To innovate and devise the most optimal meridian-reconnection technique for this subterranean fire vein in merely 1 year—this is truly an achievement rarely seen across ages."

Eldrin smiled faintly, offering no further explanation as he instructed attendants to bring forth the treasures and began arranging the formation.

After 3 months of arduous work, he finally completed the arrangement of the Meridian Restoration Method. The underground fire vein before him now appeared to be drawn by some mysterious force, gradually converging toward the core.

Seeing this, he nodded in satisfaction. "The formation is now complete. In just 60 years, the fractured earth veins will merge into a single fifth-tier subterranean fire vein."

As he spoke, he pondered for a moment before retrieving the Bloodthirsty Demon Sword and the Soul-Devouring Spear from his storage pouch. With a decisive motion, he cast both demonic treasures into the subterranean fire vein below.

Seeing this, Lyra (Person Name) couldn't help but ask, "Are you throwing these 2 demonic treasures into the furnace to smelt them into precious metal?"

"Exactly so." Eldrin nodded. "Both this Bloodthirsty Demon Sword and the Soul-Devouring Spear are fifth-tier demonic treasures, containing deeply entrenched demonic energy."

"Even if it were refined and destroyed with Solar True Fire, it would still require a considerable amount of time to reforge the precious metal."

"Rather than letting all that time go to waste, we should harness the fire vein's power to smelt this demonic energy and refine a fifth-grade precious metal."

Whether refined by a True Monarch or aided by the power of subterranean fire veins, smelting a single demonic treasure would require a full cycle of 60 years.

Though refining it with his Solar True Fire would be considerably faster, since the underground fire vein was readily available, why not make use of it?

To return to our story, with the teleportation array now set up, all the trivial matters here were finally settled.

After all the busywork, Eldrin (Person Name) was finally ready to return to Jizhou to consolidate the gains from his breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage.

After bidding farewell to the old clan leader, the 2 flew straight back to Green Lotus Isle. No sooner had they arrived than Chen Xuling from Verdant Chariot Mountain (Location) came rushing over with ecstatic excitement to deliver his report.

"Ancestor, the breakthrough has occurred! The spirit vein has ascended to the next tier!"

"You've broken through?"

A wild ecstasy swept across Eldrin’s face. Ever since Verdant Chariot Mountain had lost its Spirit Apricot Tree, the spiritual energy there had been waning year by year. Now that they could sense the spirit vein advancing, there was only 1 possible explanation.

The spirit peach tree at Spirit Isle Lake (Location) had finally advanced in rank, causing the spiritual energy field around Spirit Isle Lake (Location) to expand further. It now enveloped Verdant Chariot Mountain (Location), some 3,000 li away, within its spiritual vein's reach.

With this thought, Eldrin immediately boarded the teleportation array and flew toward Spirit Isle Lake.

Upon arriving at Spirit Isle Lake (Location), Eldrin (Person Name) immediately felt a vast surge of spiritual energy wash over him and couldn't resist taking a deep breath.

He took a few strides and immediately arrived beside the Heaven-Earth Spirit Peach Tree, discovering that every peach tree in the 10-mile peach grove was laden with fruit, and each 1 was a genuine spirit tree.

3 1000 First-Rank Spirit Peach Trees (Spiritual Object), 3 100 Second-Rank Spirit Peach Trees (Spiritual Object), 30-some Third-Rank Spirit Peach Trees (Spiritual Object), and 3 Fourth-Rank Spirit Peach Trees (Spiritual Object).

Chapter 1: The Reborn Youth The biting cold wind swept across the mountain ridge, carrying with it the scent of frozen earth and withered grass. On the jagged cliffs, a frail figure in tattered blue robes trembled as he struggled to maintain his footing. This was Lin Xuan, an outer sect disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect, now clinging to the precipice of both the physical cliff and his own mortality. "To think I, Lin Xuan, would meet my end in this manner," he murmured, his breath forming pale clouds in the frigid air. His fingers, numb from the cold, barely maintained their grip on the frost-covered rock. Just 3 days prior, he had been ambushed while gathering spirit herbs by the very senior brother he trusted most. The memory of that betrayal burned brighter than the fading warmth in his limbs. "For a mere Grade-2 spirit herb—the Snowlotus Root—he would sacrifice a fellow disciple?" The bitterness in his heart outweighed the mountain's chill. Suddenly, a brilliant purple light erupted from the heavens, piercing through the heavy clouds like divine judgment. Before Lin Xuan could comprehend what was happening, the light struck him with the force of a 1000 thunderbolts. His consciousness faded, the last thing he felt being the strange warmth spreading through his dying body. *** When Lin Xuan opened his eyes again, the world had transformed. The biting cold was gone, replaced by the gentle warmth of morning sunlight filtering through bamboo leaves. He found himself lying on a simple bed within a modest wooden hut. "This is... my old room in the Lin Family residence?" He stared at his hands—no longer calloused and scarred from years of training, but smooth and youthful. Rushing to a bronze mirror, he saw reflected a face he hadn't seen in decades: his own 15-year-old self. Memories flooded back—not just of his previous life as a cultivator, but of this earlier time when he was still a young master of the Lin Family, before joining the Azure Cloud Sect. He had returned to the day before the sect's recruitment trial. A complex array of emotions washed over him—shock, disbelief, then dawning realization. "The Heavenly Lightning... it didn't destroy me. It sent me back!" His eyes narrowed with newfound determination. "This time, things will be different." He remembered everything: the sect's internal conflicts, the upcoming competition for resources, and most importantly—the hidden legacy waiting to be discovered in the back mountains of Azure Cloud Sect. A legacy that in his previous life, he had learned about too late. "My cultivation is only at the third level of Body Refinement now," he assessed his current state. "But I know techniques and secrets that could take me straight to the Foundation Establishment stage." A faint smile touched his lips. "Senior Brother Zhao... we shall meet again. But this time, the outcome will be rather different." Outside his window, the morning bell began to toll, signaling the start of the recruitment day. Lin Xuan straightened his robes, his eyes gleaming with a wisdom far beyond his years. The game had begun anew, and this time, he held all the best cards. (Note: All special terms like "Body Refinement" and "Foundation Establishment" are maintained as cultivation stages without additional translation, as they are standard terms in xianxia literature.)