Hearing Liu Jueran's words, Elian smiled.
Unlike the Purple Mansion clans, these Foundation Establishment clans had limited ability to defend themselves. To increase their chances of surviving the beast chaos, they needed to support one another.
"In that case, I'll get straight to the point," Elian said, his expression turning serious.
"Yu County has already discussed forming a mutual defense and assistance pact with Feng and Ling Counties."
"After the Qingyang Sect forcibly seized the Zhang Clan's Crystal of Blazing Flame in Yang Region, their actions have become widely known, and they can no longer be trusted."
"So we plan to break away from the Qingyang Sect and go to Tianxu Mountain to form a blood pact alliance."
Liu Jueran nodded in agreement, saying earnestly, "The Qingyang Sect is no longer reliable. To survive, we must turn to Tianxu Mountain."
"In fact, even the Xu Clan, a Purple Mansion family in Feng County, has been working toward the same goal and is preparing to go to Tianxu Mountain to sign an alliance."
The two spent the entire afternoon at the guest pavilion discussing the alliance between the three counties. After hashing out the details, Elian took his leave.
The Liu Clan of Feng County would convey Yu County's proposal to the other families. Once intentions were confirmed, a mutual defense and assistance agreement would be signed.
It took nearly two years of negotiations and back-and-forth meetings among dozens of immortal clans across the border provinces to finalize the alliance.
The agreement stipulated that during the beast chaos, the clans of the counties would act as one, setting aside past grievances to collectively resist the beasts. To prevent demonic cultivators from exploiting the chaos, the pact also required nearby clans to assist any clan under attack.
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, five years had gone by.
"Phew—"
One day, Elian finished refining the last Spirit Peach in his possession and slowly opened his eyes.
Taking a deep breath, he reflected on his years of hard cultivation, which had finally brought his spiritual energy to completion, pushing him to the limit of the sixth level of Foundation Establishment.
"It's finally time to break through to the late Foundation Establishment stage."
With a hint of excitement, Elian retrieved a Green Yuan Pill from his storage bag.
Five years ago, under Jiang Linglong's guidance, he had successfully refined two Green Yuan Pills. With these treasures in hand, his chances of breaking through to the late stage were almost certain.
The old patriarch had once relied on a mature Green Yuan Ganoderma to refine a batch of Green Yuan Pills, which had allowed him to achieve the late Foundation Establishment stage.
Elian took a deep breath and consumed the Green Yuan Pill, feeling a vast surge of spiritual energy rushing into his meridians. The immense force ignited the abundant energy within him.
Although Elian was at the sixth level of Foundation Establishment, years of refinement by the Primordial Purple Qi had made his meridians far more resilient and spacious than those of his peers.
Moreover, his self-crafted Foundation Establishment process had resulted in sharper spiritual energy, granting him superior combat power and body refinement effects.
Thus, by the time the Green Yuan Pill's energy erupted within him, it flowed like a mighty torrent, breaking through the bottleneck to the late Foundation Establishment stage with unstoppable momentum.
"It's done."
Feeling the explosive increase in his spiritual energy, Elian smiled.
After breaking through to the seventh level, refining his spiritual energy would be much easier. Within a few months, he could complete the process.
"Time to refine my natal sword."
Without delay, Elian summoned the Fiery Void Sword and began the process of upgrading it.
Using the Metal Essence and Fiery Flame energy he had accumulated, he painstakingly tempered the sword. While a third-tier lower-grade artifact typically cost at least 30,000 spirit stones, upgrading a natal sword required only Five Elemental Energy, making it comparatively inexpensive.
Elian's Fiery Void Sword needed 49,000 strands of Metal Essence and Fiery Flame energy for the upgrade. Although the materials cost him over 10,000 spirit stones, it was still a bargain compared to crafting a third-tier artifact from scratch.
Refining the sword was a grueling process. Over the course of three months, Elian meticulously integrated the Metal Essence and Fiery Flame energy into the sword.
"Clang—"
At last, after three months, a sword hum echoed through the air.
The Fiery Void Sword radiated a dazzling blue light, its sword energy extending over 30 meters and illuminating Linghu Isle. The spectacular phenomenon stirred the surrounding area for miles.
In the night sky, a vibrant blue sword beam shot into the heavens, piercing through the clouds and scattering its brilliance across the misty night.
"What's happening?"
Chen Xianyan, startled by the extraordinary sight, looked up at the azure light piercing the sky and gasped in awe.
At that moment, Elian stepped out, gazing at the sword light traversing the heavens with a smile.
"Come back!"
A natal sword possesses a spirit of its own. It's said that the sixth-tier natal sword of a Sword Saint Dao Sovereign can even fight independently against a Nascent Soul cultivator.
The Fiery Void Sword, though far from such heights, exhibited extraordinary intelligence after advancing to the third tier.
The blue sword light descended from the sky, circling Elian affectionately before transforming into a beam of light and entering his brow.
"Uncle Elian!"
Chen Xianyan, filled with excitement, exclaimed, "Your Fiery Void Sword… could it be?"
"Yes," Elian replied with a slight nod.
"I never imagined upgrading a natal sword would create such a spectacular phenomenon."
Elian smiled faintly.
"Fortunately, Linghu Isle is remote. If I had done this on Qingyuan Mountain, it would have attracted too much attention."
"Keep what happened today to yourself. Don't speak of it to anyone."
"I understand." Chen Xianyan's face lit up with joy.
"Congratulations, Uncle Elian. With a third-tier immortal sword in your hand, you're now among the upper echelons of Chu Kingdom's cultivators."
Elian smiled at her remark. Having broken through to the late Foundation Establishment stage, he could further enhance his spiritual energy with the Xuanyu Pill, making it comparable to that of most Purple Mansion cultivators.
With his natal sword and the Thunderfire Sword, he believed he could challenge an early Purple Mansion cultivator. Even if he couldn't win, he could at least rely on his natal sword to escape.
In the Qingyang Sect's three regions, including the seven or eight Purple Mansion clans, there were only about 30 Purple Mansion cultivators in total.
"I'll be entering seclusion now. Watch over things in my stead and don't disturb me," Elian instructed before turning to return to his secluded chamber.
Once back at the spiritual spring, he consumed a Xuanyu Pill. Feeling his spiritual energy surge by another 30%, he smiled in satisfaction.
Closing his eyes, he sensed his natal sword within his body, discovering how it absorbed his spiritual energy and refined it into a more concentrated and potent form.
...
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I need POWAAA! Gimme Power Stones :D