Chapter 586 : A Bitter Harvest of War

"Hahaha, I was waiting for you to say exactly that."

Everyone shared a hearty laugh. The banquet concluded with both hosts and guests thoroughly satisfied.

After the guests had departed, Eldrin Chen retrieved two pieces of Five Veins Precious Jade from the captured resources and had them sent to the Ji Immortal Clan to repay the two pieces of Fire Vein Spirit Jade borrowed earlier.

He then transplanted the Purple Marrow Divine Fruit Tree and several Spirit Herb into the Hundred-Thousand-Mile Great Wasteland. Only after this did he convene a meeting with the several True Lord of the Chen Clan.

"..."

Within the Great Hall of Immortal Apricot Island, Eldrin Chen looked at the Old Patriarch and inquired, "You oversaw the overall strategy for this campaign, Old Granduncle. Please tell us how it went."

"This battle..."

Eternal Profound Chen nodded, distributing a ledger to the others before speaking with a bitter smile, "The casualties were severe."

As they examined the ledger, solemn expressions settled upon everyone's faces.

The first ten years of this conflict could be described as the most frustrating battle in the entire history of the Chen Clan. Find this and other novels at audi0-n0vel.c0m.

In the initial five years of this great war, the conflict was confined to those below the Infant Soul realm. Both sides exercised considerable restraint, yet the Vast Sea still suffered grievous losses, with several Golden Core patriarchs falling one after another.

It was only after the Human Race suffered repeated defeats, culminating in the fall of even Star Grace Meng, that Kael Chen, in a towering rage, disregarded all caution and struck down the Greenjade Demon Emperor.

Thereafter, the war escalated to the Infant Soul level. The Chen Clan could only hold fast to Immortal Apricot Island, while the Vast Sea Cultivation World was utterly routed. Nearly half of the Vast Sea was completely overrun. Countless Human Race cultivators perished, and innumerable mortals became mere blood sacrifices for the Demon Race.

To make matters worse, Demonic Cultivator [cultivators who follow a dark, blood-soaked path] seized the chaos to wreak havoc, turning countless cultivation islands into lifeless wastelands. In total, the Vast Sea lost a staggering four-tenths of its cultivators and mortal populace.

For many regions of the Vast Sea Cultivation World, this was not a case of nine houses out of ten being empty; it was the complete extinction of entire Immortal Clan [a clan with a long history of cultivation] lineages and whole Spirit Island [islands rich in spiritual energy] populations.

"Over one million three hundred thousand cultivators of the Vast Sea fell in battle," he reported, his voice heavy. "The exact count of those below the Foundation Establishment realm remains unclear, but more than six hundred cultivators of the Violet Sanctum Realm perished, and forty-seven Golden Core Cultivator met their end."

Eternal Profound Chen let out a sigh, his expression etched with pain. "It is the failure of our Chen Clan," he said, "that we could not protect the hundreds of millions of the Human Race within the Vast Sea."

Hearing this, Eldrin Chen felt a profound tremor in his heart. The Vast Sea had endured a millennium of demonic turmoil, had only just begun to recover over the past few decades, and now, in a single stroke, it had been plunged back into the horrors of the past.

He sighed deeply, and after a long silence, asked, "What of our spoils? How many Violet Sanctum Demon Core [the crystallized core of a Violet Sanctum realm demonic beast] and Demon King Golden Core [the golden core of a Demon King] did we secure?"

"We slew sixty-three Demon King and over eight hundred Violet Sanctum Great Monster. The number of lower-tier Demon Beasts [beasts tainted by demonic energy] we eliminated is beyond count."

At the mention of the spoils of war, Old Patriarch perked up with rare enthusiasm, recounting them in detail as if enumerating family treasures.

Eldrin Chen listened intently and, after a long while, spoke: "This battle was also initiated because of our Chen Clan. We should provide more generous compensation to the cultivators who fell in battle."

"Let it be this way," he continued. "For each fallen Golden Core Cultivator, compensate with three Golden Core Formation Pill [a precious pill that aids in forming the Golden Core]. For each perished Violet Sanctum Cultivator, compensate with the equivalent of three Five Elements Treasure Crystal [a rare crystal containing the essence of the five elements]."

The others nodded in agreement, but Old Patriarch frowned and said, "If we do that, I fear we will incur a loss. Moreover, our reserves of Heavenly Heart Grass [a spiritual herb crucial for alchemy] are somewhat insufficient."

"I will refine the Golden Core Formation Pill," Eldrin Chen declared. Then he explained, "With my alchemical skill, the success rate for refining Golden Core Formation Pill will far surpass that of a Fourth-Rank Alchemist. Thus, there will be no loss."

"As for the Heavenly Heart Grass, I will have someone purchase it from the Featherflight Pavilion in Azure Luan Province. Their Featherflight Pavilion possesses a Grotto-Heaven Spiritual Treasure [a mystical artifact containing a pocket dimension] that serves as a Spirit Herb Garden [a garden for cultivating spiritual herbs], where they grow vast quantities of Spirit Herb [plants imbued with spiritual energy] as part of their foundation. Procuring enough for several dozen batches of Golden Core Formation Pill should be well within their capability."

Only then did Eternal Profound Chen nod in assent. Having Eldrin Chen refine the Golden Core Formation Pill was undoubtedly the best choice, though it would require him to sacrifice a precious stretch of his time.

After settling the matter of compensation, Eldrin Chen pondered for a moment and spoke again: "In this battle, both the Vast Sea region and the Chen Nation Cultivation World contributed greatly, and all have suffered heavy losses."

"I intend to offer one or two Nascent Soul Formation Pill [an even rarer pill that aids in forming the Nascent Soul] as rewards. Consider it 'buying a horse bone with a thousand pieces of gold'—a gesture to motivate and enhance the loyalty of the various Immortal Clan [powerful cultivation families] towards us, and to encourage their active participation in future conflicts."

"Do any of you have suitable candidates in mind?"

The few of them exchanged glances. Eternal Profound Chen spoke, "The Clan Patriarch of the Qiu family from Vast Sea, and Xavier Xu are both rather suitable candidates."

The others nodded upon hearing this. Kael Chen spoke up, "That Qiu Immortal Clan had eight Golden Core cultivators in their lineage. In this battle, they lost five in succession."

"Their Clan Patriarch, Path One Qiu, is also a False Infant Soul Realm Cultivator. When I slew the Greenjade Demon Emperor, he lent a crucial hand."

It turned out that Path One Qiu cultivated a Great God Ability known as the Six Harmonies Spatial Seal Divine Ability. At the critical moment, he sealed off the Greenjade Demon Emperor's path of retreat.

The situation with the Shyu Immortal Clan was similar. In this battle, the Shyu Clan suffered grievous casualties. Even Path Abyss Xu perished, and Xavier Xu was severely wounded.

After listening, Eldrin Chen sighed softly and said, "Then the matter is settled. We shall summon them here shortly." Support the author by reading on audio novel.com.

He paused, then asked, "Has Elder Brother of the Elegant Verse not returned yet?"

"No," Eternal Profound Chen shook his head. After a long moment, he continued, "He left Ji Continent to travel more than twenty years ago. There has been no word from him since."

Eldrin Chen remained silent for a long while before speaking. "He is a Middle-Tier Golden Core cultivator and a guest elder of our Chen Clan. We shall reserve a Nascent Soul Formation Pill for him."

Having settled these matters, Eldrin Chen began to take stock of the gains from this expedition.

After several major battles, he had accumulated a considerable amount of Spiritual Object [enchanted artifacts and treasures used by cultivators], making his personal wealth exceptionally abundant even among Infant Soul True Lord [cultivators who have formed their Primordial Infant, a core spiritual entity].

During this venture into Violet Jade Lake, they had successively obtained three stalks of Tribulation Crossing Flower [a rare spiritual herb crucial for surviving cultivation tribulations], two stalks of Myriad Poison Fruit [a fruit containing myriad potent toxins, used in poison-based cultivation arts], and several other Fifth Rank Spirit Herb [spiritual plants of the fifth grade, denoting high rarity and potency].

Only one of the Tribulation Crossing Flower was mature; the other two had already been transplanted to the clan's Spirit Mountain [a mountain imbued with dense spiritual energy, ideal for cultivation and growing spiritual plants].

Gazing at this mature Tribulation Crossing Flower, Eldrin Chen pondered for a moment before speaking. "This Tribulation Crossing Flower is the key ingredient for cultivating the Nirvana Tribulation Transmigration Art [a profound art focused on rebirth and transcending heavenly tribulations]. Old Granduncle, you should take it."

Eternal Profound Chen shook his head, his tone resolute. "I remain within the clan's grounds year-round. This Tribulation Crossing Flower holds little immediate use for me. We can wait for the next Barter Convention [a grand gathering where cultivators trade rare resources] to purchase one. You should keep it for yourself."

Upon hearing this, Eldrin Chen fell into brief contemplation, acknowledging the logic in Eternal Profound Chen's words. "The clan is currently cultivating several stalks of Tribulation Crossing Flower," he said. "The fastest among them will mature within three hundred years."

"The next Barter Convention is merely a few decades away. I will procure one for you as swiftly as possible."

Despite his words, he still handed this particular Tribulation Crossing Flower to Lila.

Having settled the matter of the Tribulation Crossing Flower, Eldrin Chen searched through the several Fifth Rank Spirit Herb and retrieved a single Fire Element Ginseng [a ginseng imbued with potent fire-attribute spiritual energy]. A smile touched his lips. "I obtained a Snow Element Ginseng [a ginseng imbued with potent snow-attribute spiritual energy] in the Far North Icy Plains. Now, with this Fire Element Ginseng, it seems I can finally refine the Dual Polarity Treasure Ginseng Pill [a precious elixir that harmonizes opposing elemental forces to boost cultivation]."

Hearing this, everyone's expressions brightened with subtle delight. Consuming the Dual Polarity Treasure Ginseng Pill could enhance the cultivation base of an Infant Soul Cultivator, making it a greatly beneficial Precious Pill [a term for exceptionally rare and potent elixirs] for all of them. Enjoyed this chapter? Read more at audio–novel.com.