"Compensation."
Pan Boyuan frowned deeply. The Pan Clan had recently upgraded the spiritual vein of Green Ink Mountain to mid-grade third rank and clearly couldn't afford this expense. He glanced at Elian, about to speak, when a streak of light shot in from outside.
Elian caught the light and read its contents, his expression immediately darkening.
Seeing his change in demeanor, the Patriarch asked, "What happened?"
Elian handed the message talisman to the group, his gaze cold as he said, "Ancestor Jiang sent word—Yan Clan has also been wiped out."
"What?"
Everyone who read the message was shocked, their faces filled with disbelief.
According to Jiang Linglong's message, Yan Mingxu, now revealed as a demonic cultivator, had reached a terrifying level of madness. The prestigious Purple Mansion clan, Yan Clan, had been entirely eradicated. Thousands of cultivators and millions of mortals had all been slaughtered, leaving no survivors.
Whether mortal or cultivator, all had been sacrificed by Yan Mingxu in a blood ritual. Not even a warning was sent out. His horrific actions resulted in the tremendous power-up of his Seven Souls Demon Banner, elevating it to nearly 80% of the power of a fourth-rank demonic treasure.
More terrifyingly, he used the ritual to cultivate three Blood Demon Avatars. The Blood Demon Avatar was the Demon Lair's supreme technique, with each avatar possessing 50% of the original's combat power. In critical moments, these avatars could be sacrificed to perform the "Blood Demon Rebirth Technique" to evade death.
This technique required incredible talent and compatibility to master. Over the past thousand years, the Demon Lair had produced seven or eight Golden Core demonic cultivators, but none had managed to cultivate this supreme demonic technique.
Even the infamous Bone Elder, who once terrorized the Chu Kingdom over a century ago, had failed to master it, underscoring Yan Mingxu's unparalleled aptitude for demonic cultivation.
Using this legendary technique, Yan Mingxu narrowly escaped Jiang Linglong's pursuit, reaching the aid of two Golden Core demonic cultivators from the Demon Lair.
"This Yan Mingxu is ruthless beyond measure, not sparing even his own clan," the Patriarch said gravely.
"His talent and cruelty surpass even the Bone Elder. He's certain to become a major threat to the Chu Kingdom's cultivation world in the future."
The Patriarch's face was full of concern. Someone as ruthless as Yan Mingxu was the perfect candidate for demonic cultivation. With his means and talent, he had an 80-90% chance of breaking through to Golden Core. Once he did, even early-stage Golden Core cultivators might not match him without specialized treasures to counter demonic cultivators.
If he reached late-stage Golden Core , his Blood Demon Avatars could attain Golden Core strength. Theoretically, he could cultivate up to eight such avatars, creating a formidable force of eight Golden Core entities.
Legends even spoke of a ninth Blood Demon Avatar. However, since the Blood Demon Dao Sovereign, no one in history had ever cultivated a ninth Blood Demon Avatar.
The Demon Lair only preserved the methods to cultivate up to five Blood Demon Avatars. With Yan Mingxu's talent, he could potentially reach four or five, effectively wielding the power of four or five Golden Core entities.
Such an achievement would inevitably plunge the Chu Kingdom into chaos, surpassing even the devastation wrought by the Bone Elder.
Xu Daoyuan furrowed his brow and asked anxiously, "The Demon Lair has been a scourge for millennia. Why doesn't the Ji Clan intervene?"
"The thoughts of Nascent Soul clans are beyond our comprehension," Xu Qianyang replied, shaking his head.
"Moreover, the Ji Clan has its own enemies. As we're on the fringes of Ji Continent, their attention rarely reaches us."
Seeing the group's low spirits, Elian spoke calmly, "There's no need to worry. Yan Mingxu nearly perished to Senior Jiang. He expended a Blood Demon Avatar to escape using the Blood Demon Rebirth Technique."
"Although he survived, his injuries will take decades to heal. Even after recovering and surviving his tribulation to break through to Golden Core, he'll need another twenty years to stabilize his cultivation."
The group nodded, reassured that Yan Mingxu wouldn't pose a threat for at least fifty or sixty years.
Putting this matter aside, Elian turned the discussion back to the Yang Clan. "The valuable assets left by the Yang Clan include their mid-grade third-rank spiritual vein, the underground fire vein, their stake in Bianzhou's spirit stone mines, and shares in two other veins."
"I have a proposal. Let me know if you find it acceptable."
The group turned their attention to Elian, waiting for him to continue.
Elian maintained a calm expression and explained, "My Chen Clan is willing to take over the mid-grade third-rank spiritual vein and the underground fire vein of the Yang Clan, as well as assume full responsibility for compensating the Yang Clan."
"In exchange, the Yang Clan's shares in Bianzhou's spirit stone mines and the Gold Earth Vein will go to the Pan Clan, while their share in Cangkun Mountain will go to the Xu Clan."
Hearing this, the others smiled in satisfaction.
Given Elian's near-late-stage Purple Mansion combat power and the Chen Clan's growing strength, it was only natural for them to take the largest share of Bianzhou's resources. The Pan Clan, being the weakest, benefitted greatly from acquiring shares in the spirit stone mines and the Gold Earth Vein.
The Xu Clan was also pleased. Cangkun Mountain not only had a third-rank spiritual vein but also produced Purple Sun Jade from its high-grade Gold Earth Vein every hundred years. With the Yang Clan's share, the Xu Clan would now hold 55% of Cangkun Mountain's profits.
Satisfied, Xu Qianyang nodded and said, "In that case, the Yang Clan's compensation will be left in your capable hands."
After the meeting, Elian summoned the three surviving members of the Yang Clan.
The strongest among them, Yang Yanxing, was only at the mid-stage Foundation Establishment level. Their survival was due to a stroke of luck—they had been stationed at the Cangkun Mountain vein on routine duty when the massacre occurred.
Seeing Elian, Yang Yanxing choked up and fell to his knees.
"Ancestor Chen, you must seek justice for us!"
"Sigh."
Elian felt a pang of emotion. Memories of Yang Zhengyuan's assistance and their shared battles were still fresh in his mind. Out of respect for Yang Zhengyuan, Elian had refrained from targeting Yang Yuanhe, even after their dispute over the Creation Cloud Pills. He had even intended to support the Yang Clan if Yang Yuanhe faced trouble.
...
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I need POWAAA! Gimme Power Stones :D