"This..."
Chen Nianfu's face lit up with joy, but she hesitated.
The Meridian Refinement Pill, a low-tier second-rank elixir, could help Foundation Establishment cultivators temper their meridians. It was incredibly valuable, often costing over a thousand spirit stones. It would undoubtedly allow her to complete her meridian tempering, but it was far too expensive.
Seeing her hesitation, Elian said, "Take it to break through to Foundation Establishment first. Once your salary increases after reaching Foundation Establishment, you can repay me."
Hearing this, Chen Nianfu finally accepted the Meridian Refinement Pill, her determination to break through deepening even further.
"Thank you, Brother Elian."
After expressing her gratitude, she retreated to the spiritual spring in the back mountain to begin her secluded cultivation.
To ensure she wouldn't be disturbed, Elian remained outside the spring to personally guard her while cultivating nearby.
Two months passed in the blink of an eye. One day, Elian sensed a powerful aura rising and then condensing within the spring. A smile crept onto his face.
"She succeeded."
Chen Nianfu emerged from her seclusion, having successfully broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage, becoming the fifth Foundation Establishment cultivator in the Chen family.
This great achievement was a cause for celebration. Elian brought Chen Nianfu to Pingyang City to see the patriarch and summoned Chen Qinghao to join them.
When the patriarch saw Chen Nianfu, he laughed heartily and said, "It seems our Chen family is destined to prosper!"
Everyone was filled with joy. With five Foundation Establishment cultivators and control of four second-rank spiritual veins, the Chen family now ranked among the top three Foundation Establishment clans in the entire region.
Having just broken through, Chen Nianfu was penniless and lacked any second-rank artifacts. The patriarch gifted her a second-rank artifact, the Crimson Flame Immortal Sword.
The Third Elder gave Chen Nianfu his discarded Golden Light Shield as a congratulatory gift.
Elian, as always, was the most generous. He presented her with a mid-tier second-rank artifact, the Black Iron Bracelet. Over the years, he had melted down seven thousand pounds of black iron from the Golden-Eater Beast to improve his artifact-refining skills.
Despite considerable material loss during repeated forging, he had achieved the skill level of a mid-tier second-rank artifact refiner. The Black Iron Bracelet was his first successful mid-tier second-rank artifact, inscribed with Vajra Runes.
When activated, it could become as heavy as ten thousand pounds, capable of destroying a massive city wall or breaking the bones of a Foundation Establishment demon beast with one strike.
Chen Nianfu, delighted, thanked him repeatedly.
After a brief reunion and receiving the gifts, Chen Nianfu headed to guard the Black Iron Mountain outpost. Chen Qinghao, needed at Qingyuan Mountain for family affairs, left her in charge of the outpost.
Elian didn't linger either. Before leaving, he gave the patriarch a Condensed Focus Pill and placed another in the family treasury. Then, he returned to Linghu Isle to continue his cultivation.
Time flowed like water, passing swiftly.
Two years later, with the help of spiritual peaches, Elian's cultivation advanced another level, reaching the fifth level of Foundation Establishment.
In that time, the spiritual peach tree's quality also improved. Now producing seventy-two spiritual peaches every three years, it followed the number of earthly stars, further enriching the family's cultivation resources.
A year later, the family began preparing for their Five Elements essence trade, prompting Elian to emerge from seclusion. The trade at Tianxu Mountain required his personal oversight for the best results.
As per tradition, the caravan traveled under Elian's leadership. After several months, they arrived at Tianxu Mountain.
Upon arrival, they were greeted by an old acquaintance, Liu Rumeng, who warmly said, "Daoist Chen, your cultivation has grown so profound that even I can no longer see through it."
"Liu Fairy, you flatter me. My cultivation is nothing compared to yours," Elian replied with a smile. Over the years, Liu Rumeng's cultivation had also advanced significantly, from the fifth to the seventh level of Foundation Establishment, making her one of the rare late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.
The Chen family traded Five Elements essence at Tianxu Mountain every six years. This was Elian's fourth time managing the trade.
Having established his Foundation at twenty-two, his first trip to Tianxu Mountain for the trade had been eighteen years ago. Now forty years old, he marveled at how time in cultivation seemed to vanish.
According to the agreement between the Ji Immortal Clan, the overlords of the Six Nations, and the Demon Emperor, only fifteen years remained until the next beast tide.
After completing the trade, Elian stayed at Tianxu Mountain for half a month before leading the caravan back to Qingyuan Mountain. However, less than three months after returning to Yu County, explosive news spread across the three counties of the border province.
Elian interrupted his cultivation and met with the patriarch and the Third Elder in Pingyang City.
Chen Changxuan turned to Chen Qinghao and asked, "Is this true?"
"I investigated it. Even the Purple Mansion elder from Tianxu Mountain got involved," the Third Elder confirmed with a nod.
"Then it must be true," Elian said, his expression both serious and excited.
Recently, a piece of news had leaked from the itinerant cultivators of Tianxu Mountain.
The Purple Mansion demon beast, the Golden Lion Mastiff, had unexpectedly attacked the Thunder Roc's territory, clashing with the Thunder Roc clan.
The Golden Lion Mastiff, a subordinate of the Earth Lion Demon King, was a third-rank high-tier demon beast.
Although the Thunder Roc clan was backed by Sky Python Lake, they were significantly weaker. Furthermore, their strength had been greatly diminished after losing two Purple Mansion members in a battle against Demon Wolf Mountain eighteen years ago. They couldn't withstand the Golden Lion Mastiff's assault.
After a fierce battle, the Thunder Roc clan was nearly wiped out, and even their third-rank spiritual vein, Thunder Valley, fell into the hands of the Golden Lion Mastiff's forces.
Only two Purple Mansion Thunder Rocs escaped. One of them, a third-rank low-tier roc, fled deep into the wilderness, crossing Tianxu Mountain to the vast wilderness of the Ten Thousand Mile Barrens to escape pursuit.
With Jiang Linglong guarding Tianxu Mountain, the Golden Lion Mastiff didn't dare follow into the wilderness, allowing the Thunder Roc to escape.
This news caused an uproar among the Immortal Clans of the border province.
A solitary, severely injured Purple Mansion demon beast was incredibly valuable. Its demon core could be refined into a batch of Foundation Establishment Pills, while its bones and hide could create third-rank artifacts and talismans, making it a treasure trove for Purple Mansion cultivators.
As a result, not only did itinerant cultivators from Tianxu Mountain mobilize, but the Immortal Clans of the border province also joined the hunt, eager to locate and kill the Thunder Roc for its demon core.
Sharing the news, Chen Qinghao said excitedly, "That Thunder Roc has only recently broken through to the Purple Mansion Stage and was heavily injured by the Golden Lion Mastiff. It's currently at its weakest."
"If we can find and kill it, its demon core would be enough to refine a batch of Foundation Establishment Pills."
Elian nodded but spoke cautiously.
"Purple Mansion demon beasts are powerful. Even heavily injured, we may not be able to handle it. Moreover, the patriarch must remain in Pingyang City and cannot leave for long periods."
"Let's do this. I'll head to the Ten Thousand Mile Barrens first and see if I can locate the Thunder Roc's hiding place."
...
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I need POWAAA! Gimme Power Stones :D