After discussing with the various families, the preparations to raise the spiritual vein of Yuyang Market began.
The Chen family, however, didn't have enough spirit stones on hand. The recent demon beast chaos had left them with an overwhelming surplus of low-level demon beast materials and flesh, much of which remained unprocessed.
Jiang Linglong distributed a significant portion of these as rewards to the participating cultivators, with the Chen Immortal Clan receiving a generous share. After the family's cultivators refined these materials into talismans and artifacts, they managed to amass tens of thousands of spirit stones.
With this windfall, along with additional contributions from the Foundation Establishment elders, the Chen family managed to contribute 40,000 spirit stones.
After three months of hard work, the families pooled their resources to set up a third-rank vein-nurturing formation in Yuyang Market. This effort successfully upgraded the spiritual vein to the third rank.
With the new third-rank spiritual vein, seven Foundation Establishment families from Yang Region settled in Yu County. The weaker families took temporary refuge in Yuyang Market, while three more well-established families selected spiritual mountains within Yu County and began cultivating second-rank spiritual veins at great expense.
These seven families, having lost much of their foundation, were merely establishing a foothold in Yu County. Restoring their former glory would take at least a century—a matter of little concern to Elian.
With the matters surrounding Yuyang Market's upgrade resolved, Elian prepared to depart for Yan Kingdom.
Before leaving, he instructed the siblings Chen Xianyan and Chen Xianye, "I will be traveling to Yan Kingdom, and it will likely take one to two years. Guarding Linghu Isle is a great responsibility—prioritize its safety above all else."
Chen Xianyan nodded solemnly.
"Rest assured, we will protect it well."
Elian nodded in acknowledgment. Linghu Isle was only about 6,000 miles from Pingyang City. With the Patriarch's cultivation, he could fly there in half a day, and the island was protected by a second-rank high-grade formation, ensuring its safety.
After bidding farewell to the siblings, Elian flew southeast on his Fiery Void Sword.
…
The Eastern Wasteland was vast, so much so that even Golden Core cultivators might not fully grasp its size. The immense Swamp, spanning billions of miles, was just one part of this colossal region, measured in millions of miles, underscoring the unfathomable breadth of the Eastern Wasteland.
Not all areas of the Eastern Wasteland were suitable for habitation. Regions like Chu Kingdom were considered relatively flat and mild compared to the towering mountain ranges and immense rivers that stretched for tens of thousands or even millions of miles elsewhere.
As far as Elian knew, the Eastern Wasteland contained mountains spanning millions of miles, reaching heights of tens of thousands of miles. There were also rivers so vast that even ancient stars measuring thousands of miles seemed insignificant by comparison.
Legends spoke of immovable primordial mountains in the depths of the Eastern Wasteland, comparable in scale to the Swamp—spanning billions of miles. Such immense terrain not only divided nations but also served as havens for countless demon beasts. Even cultivators had to navigate these areas cautiously, and mortals could scarcely hope to glimpse their entirety.
During his past life, Elian enjoyed reading about such places, but even the grandest descriptions in books failed to capture the sheer scale of a cultivation world.
It wasn't until now, after flying through Ling County, Qingzhou Region, and the territory of the Celestial Sky Sword Sect—covering over 600,000 miles and crossing vast mountain ranges to Chu Kingdom's border—that he truly grasped the world's immensity.
"The Azuregreen Mountains" Elian murmured as he gazed at the towering range ahead.
This mountain range was beyond comprehension. When Elian had flown across Qingzhou Region a month ago, the range had already appeared at the horizon, like a massive dragon coiled in the wilderness. After traveling tens of thousands of miles over a month, the mountains still dominated the landscape, growing even more imposing.
The world described in books often used hundreds of thousands or millions of miles to measure length but rarely mentioned the heights reaching tens of thousands of miles, a scale unimaginable until witnessed firsthand.
This world was no mere flat plane. Elian couldn't help but wonder: if he flew millions, even billions of miles upward, could he reach the fabled nine heavens at the world's edge?
Suppressing this thought, Elian continued flying deeper into the wilderness on his sword.
The Azuregreen Mountains stretched over three million miles, dividing the territories of Yan, Chu, Qi, and Wei. Within the range, there were rogue cultivators occupying spiritual mountains, demon clans ruling their own domains, the Golden Core sect Azuregreen Sect, and even demonic forces like the Demon Lair.
The complex terrain and harsh environment made the area inhospitable to mortals. However, for rogue cultivators and demon beasts from neighboring countries, it was an ideal refuge. No one could accurately estimate how many cultivators lived within this vast mountain range.
It was said that deep within the range, the Azuregreen Sect controlled two fourth-rank spiritual veins and two fourth-rank earth veins, making its strength comparable to Chu Kingdom's three great sects.
The region's chaotic mix of factions led to constant battles and treasure thefts. The absence of water veins added to the difficulty of survival. For these reasons, Elian planned to avoid the area as much as possible.
Carefully steering clear of areas with third-rank spiritual veins, Elian flew southeast for over a month, finally reaching the halfway point of the Azuregreen Mountains.
"Finally," he sighed, descending from his sword to survey the towering peaks ahead.
After flying for hundreds of thousands of miles, the terrain grew increasingly elevated, with mountain peaks now reaching over 20,000 miles high. Flying at such altitudes doubled the spiritual energy consumption required for flight.
Even with Elian's cultivation, prolonged sword flight under such conditions was exhausting.
"Up ahead is Blackhawk Ridge," he muttered, studying his map with a wary expression.
Blackhawk Ridge was the domain of the Blackhawk Demon King, known for its incredible speed and formidable cultivation. Its territory spanned a million miles in length and over 300,000 miles in width, encompassing more than 10% of the Azuregreen Mountains. Even the Azuregreen Sect struggled to contend with it.
Crossing the 300,000-mile-wide Blackhawk Ridge was a perilous endeavor for any cultivator. Foundation Establishment cultivators had to stick to the periphery, carefully avoiding the core area dominated by the Blackhawk Demon King.
Fortunately, the complex terrain provided opportunities for Foundation Establishment cultivators to evade pursuit. With a decent flying sword or evasion technique, one could hide within the endless mountains to escape demon beasts.
Still, it remained a dangerous journey, and Elian dared not be careless.
...
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I need POWAAA! Gimme Power Stones :D