Chapter 526 : A New Sea of Riches

Old Patriarch [the venerable leader of the Chen Clan] spoke with great excitement for a long while, detailing the various specialties of the Vast Sea [a vast and resource-rich oceanic region].

The bounty of the Vast Sea far surpassed that of the Ji Continent [a major continent in the cultivation world]. Many treasures considered pricelessly rare on the Ji Continent were remarkably affordable and abundant here.

After the Old Patriarch finished speaking, Eldrin Chen [the protagonist, a powerful cultivator] smiled and closed the ledger. "You have worked hard these past days, Old Granduncle [a respectful term for a senior elder]," he said warmly.

"However, Exquisite [Eldrin's cultivation partner, Jiang Linglong] and I have only recently achieved our breakthroughs. We have many pressing matters to attend to. The day-to-day governance of the Vast Sea will still require your esteemed guidance."

"The matter of the twenty-three Golden Core Immortal Clan [powerful clans led by Golden Core Realm cultivators] joining the Heavenly Ruins Alliance [a major coalition of cultivation forces]—you may negotiate the terms with them directly."

"Leave it to me," the Old Patriarch replied.

The Old Patriarch smiled. Governing a newly acquired great continent was no simple task.

It required not only profound cultivation strength to command respect but also considerable political skill and a vast investment of time and energy to manage effectively.

Eldrin Chen naturally had little time to waste on such administrative minutiae. In contrast, the Old Patriarch had only recently broken through to the False Infant Soul Realm [a pseudo-advanced stage just below the true Infant Soul Realm] and needed several years of consolidation before attempting his next advancement. This period was the perfect opportunity for him to oversee the Vast Sea.

Seeing the Old Granduncle already bustling with purpose, Eldrin Chen chuckled. "Let us first go and establish the Teleportation Formation [a magical array for instantaneous long-distance travel]," he suggested. The complete novel can be found at audio-novel . com.

Following this, Eldrin Chen and several other Formation Masters personally took action. Within mere days, they had deployed Teleportation Formation Disks [enchanted disks that can instantly create a portal between two distant points] across the seven Spirit Islands [islands rich in spiritual energy, often used as cultivation bases] under their control.

Discovering three formation disks remained unused, Eldrin Chen ventured deep into the Vast Sea. There, he slew the three most formidable Demon Kings [powerful demonic rulers, equivalent to the Golden Core realm in cultivation] and established Teleportation Formations at their former strongholds.

Seizing the opportunity, the Golden Core cultivators of the Chen Immortal Clan also launched their assault. They sent the demons and monsters of the Vast Sea fleeing in disarray, with those at the Golden Core Realm and above beginning to abandon the sea entirely.

At this juncture, the Chen Clan had achieved preliminary dominion over the Vast Sea. Even if the demonic forces of the Future Vast Sea harbored thoughts of a resurgence, they would find it nearly impossible to overturn the situation, faced with the Spirit Islands now interconnected by the Teleportation Formations.

"After a millennium, our Human Race has finally driven back the demons and monsters once more."

"Will peace finally return to our Vast Sea?"

Witnessing the retreat of the demonic hordes and the Human Race reclaiming sovereignty over the Vast Sea, countless cultivators living upon its waters wept with emotion. The days of living in constant peril were, at long last, behind them.

An elder Golden Core cultivator, over a thousand years old, shed tears of profound feeling. Recalling the trials of the past, he took up his sword and joined the cultivators of the Chen Immortal Clan in charging into the demonic territories, determined to reclaim the ancestral lands for the Human Race.

Seizing this auspicious moment, innumerable Human Race cultivators rallied of their own accord, contributing their strength and manpower to hunt down the remaining fiends. A great war erupted across the Vast Sea against its billions of demonic inhabitants.

Meanwhile, Eldrin Chen, his deeds accomplished and his name unsung, turned his steps and quietly returned to Frigid Stream Island.

He proceeded directly into the Underground Fire Vein [a subterranean channel of concentrated fire-attribute spiritual energy] beneath Frigid Stream Island, his brow furrowing slightly as he observed the nine fractured and scattered fourth-rank Fire Vein [a concentrated vein of fire-attribute spiritual energy].

After watching for a long while, Exquisite Jiang at his side finally asked, "What do you think? Can it be repaired?"

"If it were before, I would have had little confidence. But now, it is no longer a problem."

Eldrin Chen stated with calm assurance in his eyes. He now permanently resided in a state of Celestial-Mortal Symbiosis [a profound state of harmony between the celestial and mortal aspects of one's being, greatly enhancing comprehension], a state typically only accessible to a Primordial Solar Path Lord [a supreme cultivator who has mastered the Path of the Primal Sun].

Even a half-step Path Lord like the Ji Clan Patriarch required special environmental conditions to briefly enter such a state of Celestial-Mortal Symbiosis.

Bolstered by Celestial-Mortal Symbiosis, Eldrin Chen's already astonishing aptitude for enlightenment was pushed to its very limits. Every moment felt akin to being in a state of profound insight.

After observing for a time, he spoke with quiet certainty. "The Vast Righteousness True Lord once attempted to reconnect the severed spiritual veins of the Heavenly Ridge Mountain Range. Though he did not fully succeed, his methods were remarkably effective."

"This Underground Fire Vein before us is far less complex than the Heavenly Ridge Mountain Range. My abilities are more than sufficient for the task."

With those words, he began to deduce and formulate a method for reconnecting the spiritual veins.

Eldrin Chen spent a full year on the endeavor. He studied the essence of the Vast Righteousness True Lord's method, adapted its principles, and made necessary modifications based on the local conditions. In the end, he successfully created his own unique technique for spiritual vein restoration.

He inscribed the Meridian-Reconnection Method [a technique for repairing and reconnecting damaged spiritual energy channels] into a jade slip, then said to Exquisite Jiang, "This method of mine originates from the techniques of Vast Righteousness True Lord, though I have made only minor modifications. To truly surpass him one day, there is still a long road ahead."

Exquisite Jiang took the jade slip and examined it, then said with a smile, "In merely a single year, you have been able to innovate and create a meridian-reconnection method most suited to this Underground Fire Vein [a subterranean vein of concentrated fire-attribute spiritual energy]. That alone is a feat rarely seen throughout the ages."

Eldrin Chen smiled faintly, offering no further comment. He instructed others to bring the necessary materials and began setting up the Formation [a complex array of symbols and energy channels used to manipulate ambient spiritual power].

After three months of diligent work, he completed the setup of the reconnection method. Before their eyes, the Underground Fire Vein seemed to be drawn by some unseen force, its scattered energies slowly converging towards a central core.

Seeing this, he nodded in satisfaction. "The Formation is now complete. It will take one full Sixty-Year Cycle [a complete cycle of sixty years, a significant unit of time in cultivation] for the severed Earth Vein [a terrestrial vein of concentrated earth-attribute spiritual energy] to fully fuse, merging into a single Fifth Rank Underground Fire Vein [a high-grade subterranean vein of fire energy, classified as fifth rank]."

As he spoke, he pondered for a moment, then retrieved the Bloodthirsty Demon Sword and the Soul Devourer Spear from his Storage Bag [a spatial artifact capable of holding vast quantities of items]. He tossed these two Demonic Treasure [an enchanted artifact forged with or tainted by demonic energy] directly into the heart of the Underground Fire Vein. Published by audio-novel dot com. All rights reserved.

Exquisite Jiang, witnessing this, could not help but ask, "You're throwing these two Demonic Treasure in there to smelt them down for Precious Metal [rare and spiritually conductive metals used in forging magical artifacts]?"

"Precisely," Eldrin Chen affirmed with a nod. "Both the Bloodthirsty Demon Sword and the Soul Devourer Spear are Fifth Rank Demonic Treasure. The demonic energy within them is deeply entrenched."

"Even if we were to use the Solar True Flame [a pure yang flame of immense purifying power] to incinerate and destroy them, re-smelting the Precious Metal would still consume a vast amount of time."

"It is better to harness the power of the Fire Vein to melt away the demonic energy and refine Fifth Rank Treasure Metal [high-grade ore suitable for crafting fifth-rank treasures]. This way, we avoid wasting a great deal of our own time and effort."

Whether refined by a True Lord [a cultivator who has attained the True Lord realm] or with the aid of an Underground Fire Vein [a subterranean channel of concentrated fire energy], melting down a Demonic Treasure [a powerful artifact forged with demonic energy] would invariably consume the span of a full Sixty-Year Cycle [a complete cycle of sixty years, a significant unit of time in fate and cultivation].

While using his Solar True Flame [a divine flame born of solar essence] for refinement would be considerably faster, since the assistance of the Underground Fire Vein was readily available, why not make use of it?

Returning to the main thread, with the Teleportation Formation [a magical array enabling instantaneous travel over vast distances] now established, the miscellaneous affairs of this place were finally settled.

Eldrin Chen was at last free from his busy tasks and prepared to return to Ji Continent to assimilate the gains from his breakthrough into the Infant Soul realm [the stage where a cultivator's nascent soul is formed].

After bidding farewell to the Old Patriarch, the two of them flew straight back to Verdant Lotus Isle. However, the moment they arrived at Verdant Lotus Isle, Void Spirit Chen from Green Chariot Mountain rushed over in a state of ecstatic excitement to deliver his report.

"Patriarch, it has advanced! The Spiritual Vein [a subterranean conduit of concentrated spiritual energy that nourishes the land] has advanced!"

"It has ascended?"

Eldrin Chen's face lit up with wild joy. Ever since Green Chariot Mountain lost its Spirit Apricot Tree [a mystical tree that gathers and radiates spiritual energy], the ambient spiritual energy there had been declining year by year. For them to now sense the Spiritual Vein advancing, there could only be one explanation.

That explanation was that the Spiritual Peach Tree [a divine peach tree of immense spiritual potency] at Spirit Isle Lake had finally advanced in grade. This caused the area of spiritual influence emanating from Spirit Isle Lake to expand further, finally enveloping Green Chariot Mountain, which lay three thousand Li-lengths away, within the reach of its Spiritual Vein.

The moment this thought crystallized, Eldrin Chen immediately boarded the Teleportation Formation and sped towards Spirit Isle Lake.

"..."

Upon arriving at Spirit Isle Lake, Eldrin Chen was immediately met by a wave of vast and potent spiritual energy [the vital force that permeates the world and fuels cultivation]. He couldn't help but take a deep, invigorating breath.

In a few swift strides, he reached the side of the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Peach Tree. He observed that every peach tree within the Ten-Mile Peach Grove was laden with fruit, and each one was a genuine Spiritual Tree [a tree that has absorbed spiritual energy and bears spiritually nourishing fruit].

"Three thousand First Rank Spiritual Peach Spiritual Trees, three hundred Second Rank Spiritual Peach trees, over thirty third-rank Spiritual Peach Trees, and three fourth-rank Spiritual Peach Trees." Original publication: http://www . audio-novel.com - The source of this chapter.