Chapter 518 : A Frozen Legacy's Fortune

To avoid unforeseen complications, Eldrin Chen wasted no further time.

After entrusting the Vast Sea to Kael Chen and the others, he and Exquisite Jiang immediately took to their flying swords, soaring towards the Tianlu Continent.

Upon their flying swords, the two opened the Storage Bag belonging to the Frostriver Path Master [a powerful cultivator known for his mastery of icy techniques] and began examining his treasures.

As the Lord of the Vast Sea, the Frostriver Path Master had held dominion over the Vast Sea for nearly three centuries. Over these long years, through his command of the Glacier Alliance, he had amassed a truly staggering fortune.

However, this vast wealth had been nearly exhausted after the Frostriver Path Master purchased the Earth Mother Energy [a rare and potent spiritual essence linked to the earth element].

Within the Frostriver Path Master's Storage Ring [a spatial artifact for storing items], aside from a single Infant Soul [the Primordial Spirit stage] cultivation legacy and thirteen Frigid River Immortal Swords, there were no other exceptionally precious treasures.

There were, however, a vast number of Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy]—over one hundred million, far exceeding Eldrin Chen's expectations.

"This person only broke through to the Infant Soul realm a few decades ago. How could he possess so many Spirit Stones?"

Gazing at the mountain of Spirit Stones within the Storage Bag, Eldrin Chen voiced his confusion.

One hundred million Spirit Stones was no small sum. For the Chen Immortal Clan, which now controlled several high-grade Spiritual Vein [a natural conduit of concentrated spiritual energy] and Spirit Stone mines, and managed extensive business ventures, it was a colossal amount. Dive deeper into the Dao at audio-novel dot com.

The annual revenue had long since surpassed that of most Infant Soul Immortal Clan [a clan or sect led by cultivators who have formed their Infant Soul], yet accumulating one hundred million Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy, used as currency and for cultivation] would likely still take several centuries.

The reason for this was the immense expenditure required for the material stipends of the clan's cultivators and the procurement of Five Elements Essence [a refined spiritual essence containing the power of the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth].

The annual stipend expenditure of the Chen Immortal Clan alone exceeded one million Spirit Stone, and the cost of procuring Five Elements Essence for Eldrin Chen also surpassed one million Spirit Stone.

Such colossal expenditures were like a bottomless pit, making it difficult for the clan to amass its Spirit Stone reserves.

Yet these outlays were all necessary. Without sufficient stipends, most of the clan's cultivators would see their Path [the lifelong pursuit of cultivation and enlightenment] severed. Without the Five Elements Essence, Eldrin Chen would not have been able to consecutively advance his Spiritual Treasure [an enchanted artifact of immense power, superior to ordinary magical treasures].

In the future, he would still need to cultivate his Innate Great God Ability [a supreme divine power innate to a cultivator, often awakened through profound cultivation], and the Five Elements Essence consumed for that would start at tens of millions of Spirit Stone. It could be said that every single Spiritual Treasure and Divine Ability [a supernatural power mastered through cultivation] would be a monstrous devourer of wealth, consuming a staggering amount of resources.

Take a newly ascended Infant Soul True Lord [a cultivator who has formed their Infant Soul, the nascent form of their Primordial Spirit, granting them the title of True Lord] like Frostriver Path Master; the resource consumption for their cultivation is also immense. How could they possibly have managed to save up over one hundred million Spirit Stone?

Eldrin Chen pondered for a long time, a cold smile curling on his lips as a suspicion formed in his heart. "I think I understand now," he said.

"What do you mean?" Exquisite Jiang asked, her eyes flickering with thought.

Eldrin Chen gave a firm nod. "The Qin Clan!"

The Tianlu Continent [a major continent in this world] was not far from the Vast Sea [a vast oceanic region], merely a distance of over ten million Li-length [one Li-length equals five hundred meters]. A mid-grade Demon-Slaying Immortal Sword [a flying sword artifact] could traverse two million Li-length in a single day. Thus, after only a few days' journey, they arrived within the borders of the Tianlu Continent.

"..."

At the same moment, on the Tianlu Continent, within the Yuan Nation [a nation-state on the Tianlu Continent]...

Deep within a majestic Spirit Mountain [a mountain rich in spiritual energy] that served as a Path-Field [a cultivation site or estate], a gaunt figure opened his eyes.

This person was the Qin Clan Patriarch, Lonely Void Qin. At this moment, his brow was shadowed with gloom, and a flicker of unease passed through his pupils.

A burly figure beside him noticed this and asked with some confusion, "Elder Brother, what troubles you today?"

"I feel inexplicably unsettled today, as if something is amiss."

Lonely Void Qin stood up and began to pace restlessly within the great hall.

That burly figure was named Lonely Honor Qin. He was the Second Ancestor of Qin Clan and also the sworn enemy who had slain the mother of Eldrin Chen.

Seeing his elder brother's disturbed expression, Lonely Honor Qin quickly rose to his feet and said, "Could it be that Eldrin Chen has come seeking trouble with us?"

"Let's not bring him up again."

Lonely Void Qin's expression shifted slightly, a flicker of annoyance crossing his face as he said, "If you had handled things cleanly back then, we wouldn't have such a formidable enemy now."

"You can't blame me for that," Lonely Honor Qin replied with a bitter smile, his voice tinged with lingering fear. "At that moment, I had already been detected by that supreme existence. If I had forced the issue and attacked, not only would I have failed to kill him, but I would have been utterly annihilated on the spot."

Mentioning that past event, a trace of terror surfaced in Lonely Honor Qin's eyes.

The might of that Primordial Solar Supreme Treasure was like a Path Lord descending upon the mortal world. Had it truly struck, forget his mere Golden Core Perfection cultivation back then, even an Infant Soul Mid Stage cultivator would have had no hope of survival.

Thinking of this, Lonely Honor Qin's face twisted with renewed frustration. "That Frostriver Path Master was utterly useless. We tasked him with capturing Eternal Profound Chen to force Eldrin Chen out, yet all he managed to steal was a single Ancient Spirit Apricot Tree." The story continues at audio_novel.com.

"If he had brought us Eternal Profound Chen, we could have lured Eldrin Chen out and ambushed him long before he ever broke through to the Infant Soul realm."

Mention of Frostriver Path Master made the two Qin Clan elders gnash their teeth. "To rope him into this, we lent him the Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy] our Qin Clan had painstakingly accumulated over ten Sixty-Year Cycle [a sixty-year cycle in the Chinese calendar]."

"That was a full three hundred million Spirit Stone! Now that he's failed to deliver, can we even get them back?"

"I'm afraid that's impossible now."

Lonely Void Qin shook his head and said helplessly, "Frostriver's Spirit Island is only halfway through its advancement. Most of the Spirit Stones [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy] have likely already been spent. At this point, he probably has none left to repay us."

The reason why Frostriver Path Master dared to break with Eldrin Chen was not only due to past Karma [the cosmic principle of cause and effect governing actions and their consequences] but also because the Qin Immortal Clan had offered him a substantial reward.

The key reason Frostriver Path Master had the capability to nurture a Fifth Rank Spiritual Vein [a powerful, high-grade ley line of concentrated spiritual energy] was precisely because the Qin Immortal Clan had supported him with a massive loan of Spirit Stones, helping him to advance a single Fifth Rank Spiritual Vein.

The condition for this exchange was an alliance between the two parties to jointly deal with Eldrin Chen.

Unfortunately, they gravely underestimated Eldrin Chen and his wife. A single avatar of Exquisite Jiang had already managed to hold off Frostriver Path Master back then, not to mention the two supreme Sun and Moon Twin Wheels [a pair of legendary enchanted artifacts] guarding their stronghold.

Having failed to abduct Eternal Profound Chen, the plan by Frostriver Path Master and the Qin Clan to lure their enemy into a trap collapsed at the final moment.

Even so, they would not have been completely at a disadvantage, as their combined strength was not weak.

However, after Eldrin Chen and his wife obtained the Heavenly Path Energy [a primordial spiritual essence of immense power], the situation changed drastically. Even if they were only two newly ascended Heavenly Path Infant Soul [a high stage of spiritual cultivation where one's soul achieves a nascent, independent form], they would be utterly suppressed, forced to barely hold out even while entrenched within their Spirit Mountain.

What they never anticipated was that the couple would forge a Great Encompassing Infant Soul [an exceptionally rare and powerful form of the nascent soul stage]. The might of such an Infant Soul was anything but ordinary. The moment Eldrin Chen made his move, it was earth-shattering, resulting in the slaying of Frostriver Path Master.

At this moment, Lonely Void Qin had not yet received the news of Frostriver Path Master's demise. Yet, as a practitioner of the Celestial Mechanism Secret Art [a profound divination technique], he sensed an ominous shift in the unseen currents of fate.

A profound and nameless dread surged within his heart, causing his brow to furrow and a chill to creep down his spine.

"Something is wrong."

Sensing the anomaly, Lonely Void Qin produced a tortoise shell. This treasure, a Divination Tortoise Shell [a mystical artifact used for divination and fate-reading], was forged from the carapace of a spiritual turtle at the Demon Emperor [the sovereign ruler of a demon race] realm, making it an exceptionally rare type of Celestial Mechanism Spiritual Treasure [a treasure attuned to the workings of fate and celestial patterns].

Lonely Void Qin first attempted to divine the fate of Eldrin Chen, but found the Celestial Mechanism [the cosmic tapestry of fate and destiny] shrouded in utter darkness, rendering any clear result impossible to discern.

"A pity."

Lonely Void Qin sighed. Eldrin Chen was shielded by multiple Spiritual Treasure [powerful enchanted artifacts] and had cultivated Celestial Mechanism Secret Art [esoteric arts for obscuring one's fate from divination]. Without his birth details or a drop of his essence-blood, divination was futile.

Left with no choice, he could only settle for the next best option and turned his divination towards Frostriver Path Master. The moment the calculation concluded, his heart turned to ice.

"Dire. Catastrophic. Utterly and completely fatal!"

"Disaster!"

Lonely Void Qin's face paled with sudden, stark terror. He jerked his head up, his gaze piercing across tens of thousands of Li-lengths [one Li-length equals five hundred meters]. There, in the distant heavens, an unbearably brilliant radiance ignited and descended, cleaving through the vast expanse towards him.

Sword energy [the sharp, condensed force projected by a sword cultivator] crisscrossed for thirty thousand Li-length [one Li-length equals five hundred meters], a single blade's radiance chilling nineteen continents.

What a dazzling, resplendent sword light it was! Even separated by tens of thousands of Li-length [one Li-length equals five hundred meters] of mountains and rivers, it descended like nine Celestial Silver rivers cleaving the heavens. Published by audio . novel . com. All rights reserved.