Chapter 549 : A Bargain of Enlightenment and Power

Eldrin Chen closed the Treasure Box, his eyes thoughtful as he fell into contemplation.

After a moment of silence, he looked at Ancestor Mo and said, "The Starry Enlightenment Stone possesses unique and wondrous properties. If you encounter a Nascent Soul True Lord in desperate need of it, it might be worth as much as a Demon-Subduing Supreme Treasure."

"However, our Chen Clan possesses the Enlightenment Tea Tree, so we are not in urgent need of this Starry Enlightenment Stone. I'm afraid I can only offer you a base price of sixty Heavenly Crystal [a highly refined and potent form of spiritual crystal]."

Ancestor Mo had anticipated this outcome, yet his mind still churned with calculations. "I don't know many True Lord [a title for powerful cultivators], and among them, there is hardly anyone I can truly trust."

"With my current level of cultivation, even if I tried to sell this item to other True Lord, I would likely be pressured into accepting an extremely low price, or worse, it might provoke them to simply take it by force."

"This True Lord Chen, however, is known for his hatred of evil and his fair dealings. Furthermore, sixty Heavenly Crystal should be sufficient for me to forge the foundation needed to attempt a breakthrough to the Nascent Soul [the stage where a cultivator forms a spiritual infant within their dantian] realm."

Having reached this conclusion, Ancestor Mo spoke, "I shall accept your price, Senior."

Eldrin Chen took out a Nascent Soul Formation Pill [a precious elixir that aids in the formation of the Nascent Soul] and handed it to Ancestor Mo, then said calmly, "I will sell you this Nascent Soul Formation Pill for thirty-five Heavenly Crystal. For the remaining twenty-five Heavenly Crystal, would you prefer the crystals themselves or other treasures?"

Taking the Nascent Soul Formation Pill, Ancestor Mo clasped his hands and replied, "This junior has already considered this. I wish to use the remaining Heavenly Crystal to rent a Fifth Rank Spirit Vein [a powerful ley line of spiritual energy] for my Nascent Soul breakthrough. I wonder if you, Senior, would be willing to lease one to me."

"Rent a Spirit Vein [a natural conduit of concentrated spiritual energy]?" Dive deeper into the Dao at (audio-novel.com).

Eldrin Chen furrowed his brow. For a cultivator to achieve a breakthrough into the Nascent Soul [the stage where one's spiritual essence condenses into an infant-like soul form] required a vast consumption of spiritual energy.

If the spiritual energy was insufficient, failure was highly likely. Even if one barely managed to break through, their foundation would be unstable, requiring a recuperation period of three hundred years to fully consolidate their cultivation.

The reason why Astrael of the past was slain by Eldrin Chen and Lyra Jiang, who were of a lower cultivation realm, was not solely due to their possession of several Demon-Subduing Supreme Treasure [peerless artifacts specifically designed to suppress demonic forces]. The primary factor was Astrael's own unstable foundation.

However, attempting to stabilize a Nascent Soul foundation with the spiritual energy provided by a mere Fourth Rank Spirit Vein [a spiritual energy ley line of the fourth rank] would be as futile as trying to extinguish a wildfire with a cup of water.

If Ancestor Mo wished to attempt his breakthrough within a Fourth Rank High Grade Spirit Vein, he would likely need to consume a staggering fifty million Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy, used as currency and for cultivation] to supplement the energy and truly solidify his cultivation base.

The expenditure of such a quantity of Spirit Stone would be far more economical if one were to rent a Spirit Mountain [a mountain imbued with a powerful spiritual energy ley line] for the purpose.

Yet, renting a Spirit Mountain for a breakthrough required absolute trust. Ancestor Mo's resolve to rent the Chen Clan's Spirit Mountain stemmed from his faith in Eldrin Chen's character.

Given the history of enmity between Ancestor Mo and the Chen Clan, had Eldrin Chen truly wished to deal with him in the past, Ancestor Mo likely would not have survived to see this day.

With this thought, Eldrin Chen smiled. "Renting the Spirit Vein is of little consequence. This seat can even lend you a Spiritual Treasure [a sentient, high-grade enchanted artifact] to aid you in weathering the heavenly tribulation."

"However, upon your successful breakthrough, you shall owe me a favor."

Ancestor Mo revealed a trace of delight. If he could use a Spiritual Treasure [an enchanted artifact of immense power] to weather the tribulation, his chances of a successful breakthrough to the True Lord [a powerful cultivation realm] would be considered extremely high. "If the True Lord is willing to lend me a Spiritual Treasure to face the tribulation, this junior will naturally follow your lead after my breakthrough."

"There is no need for such formalities. After your breakthrough, we shall be peers."

Eldrin Chen spoke calmly, lending the Sovereign Sword [a legendary spiritual sword] to Ancestor Mo before saying, "Go and prepare for your breakthrough."

That Ancestor Mo, having received the Spiritual Treasure, offered his thanks repeatedly before departing from the Grand Hall.

After he left, Thalion Chen entered from outside. He looked at Eldrin Chen and pondered, "Now that Ancestor Mo has obtained the Nascent Soul Formation Pill [a supreme elixir for forming the Nascent Soul] and borrowed the Sovereign Sword, his chances of successfully breaking through to Nascent Soul [the soul projection realm] this time must be exceedingly great."

"However, using a Spiritual Treasure to weather a tribulation also drains its potency. After lending it to him to survive the Heavenly Thunder Tribulation [a cataclysmic trial of heavenly lightning], the Spiritual Treasure will likely need two or three Jiazi-time [a cycle of sixty years] to fully recover."

Eldrin Chen's expression remained serene. He shook his head and said, "My actions are not merely to secure a favor from him, but also for the sake of our clan and the Human Race."

"The Demonic Abyss Cataclysm [a prophesied invasion from the demonic abyss] draws ever nearer. Every additional True Lord our Human Race gains adds another sliver of strength, increasing our chances of withstanding the calamity."

"Moreover, when the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken. By befriending another True Lord today, our Chen Clan gains another potential ally for the future."

Upon hearing this, the Old Patriarch also nodded. Exchanging favors and building connections among cultivators was indeed a necessary practice.

The reason Ji Clan Patriarch was able to prove his path to the Pure Yang realm, aside from his own personal connections, was largely due to the favors owed to the former Ji Clan.

Within the Eastern Wastelands today, whether it is Riverlord Chang, who founded the Long River Sacred Land, the Lin Clan, the Premier Immortal Clan of the Eastern Wastelands, or even the Nascent Soul Dao Lord from the Star Palace—

when they made their breakthroughs in the past, many of them had received support from the Nascent Soul Dao Lord of the Ji Clan.

Precisely because of this, when Dorian Ji was breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm, these Dao Lord extended their protection, shielding him from the prying eyes of the Demonic Monsters' Nascent Soul powerhouses.

Eldrin Chen's act of lending the Spiritual Treasure to Ancestor Mo today was also to forge a karmic bond [a metaphysical connection of cause and effect, often significant in cultivation]. After all, Ancestor Mo is at the Middle Golden Core realm and has an extremely high chance of breaking through to Nascent Soul.

The karmic bond of a True Lord would, in the future, bring considerable benefits to the junior cultivators of the Chen Clan, even if Eldrin Chen himself paid it no mind. Your portal to cultivation novels: www . audio-novel.com.

Thinking of this, Old Patriarch sighed and said, "In the past, I only focused on the Chen Clan's small patch of land, fearing others would take advantage. Today, I realize this was still the mindset of a small household."

"You have finally grown, becoming a pillar of strength for the Human Race and beginning to consider the overall interests of our kind."

Eldrin Chen smiled faintly before replying, "Magnus the Virtuous lectured on the Dao at Heaven's Spine Mountain for many years, benefiting countless cultivators. That is the mark of a true great power of the Human Race."

"I intend to follow his example. Starting Three Years Later, I will hold a Dao lecture on the Azure Lotus Continent once every century, elucidating the path ahead and expounding upon the profound mysteries of cultivation's bottlenecks for the Cultivators of the World."

Ancestor Mo possessed a Middle Golden Core [the third major stage of the Golden Core realm] foundation, so his chances of breaking through to Nascent Soul [the stage where a cultivator forms an independent spiritual infant within their dantian] were already not insignificant. After obtaining the Nascent Soul Formation Pill [a supreme elixir that dramatically increases the success rate of forming a Nascent Soul], his confidence soared even greater.

Thus, his breakthrough to Nascent Soul this time, while tense, ultimately proceeded without major disaster. After waiting approximately half a month, he finally managed to weather the Nascent Soul Heavenly Thunder Tribulation [the catastrophic lightning tribulation one must survive to solidify a Nascent Soul] by leveraging the power of his Spiritual Treasure [a treasure of immense power, often possessing sentience or a powerful artifact spirit].

After surviving the tribulation, Ancestor Mo was naturally overflowing with gratitude. Without the aid of the Spiritual Treasure, even if he had barely succeeded in his breakthrough, his two Life-Bound Magical Treasures [magical treasures personally refined and bound to a cultivator's life force, growing with them] would likely have been destroyed within the Heavenly Thunder Tribulation [the divine punishment of heavenly lightning that tests cultivators at major breakthroughs].

Now that his Life-Bound Magical Treasures remained intact, it saved him the immense effort of reforging them from scratch. Furthermore, it significantly increased his future chances of elevating them into full-fledged Spiritual Treasures.

Following Ancestor Mo's breakthrough, Eldrin Chen's cultivation journey returned to a state of profound tranquility. In the blink of an eye, three years passed.

Heaven's Ruin Province, Heaven's Fate County, Clear River Island.

Over one hundred and thirty years had passed since the Chen Nation Cultivation World [the realm of cultivators within the borders of the Chen Nation] was first established. Compared to the barren wilderness of yesteryear, the present-day Chen Nation now hosted a considerable number of Immortal Clans [families whose lineage and power are rooted in cultivation].

The Chen Nation was divided into nine provinces and thirty-six counties, within which sat Immortal Clans of all sizes. Among them were five major Golden Core [the stage where a cultivator condenses a golden spiritual core] powers and sixty-three Purple Mansion Immortal Clans [clans powerful enough to have at least one cultivator at the Purple Mansion realm].

Beyond these, thousands upon thousands of Foundation Establishment [the stage where a cultivator lays a solid foundation for their future path] and Qi Refinement Immortal Clans [the most basic clan units, built around Qi Refinement stage cultivators] thrived and multiplied within its borders, ultimately weaving together a vibrant and prosperous Cultivation World.

And this Lu Clan of Clear River Island, was one of the thirteen great Foundation Establishment Immortal Clans within Heaven's Fate County.

Deep within the Grand Hall on Clear River Island, two figures, one old and one young, sat facing each other.

The youth gazed at the elder, a trace of confusion on his face as he inquired, "For what purpose have you summoned me today, Ancient Ancestor?" This novel is serialized on audio-novel . com. Visit for updates.