Pan Boyuan's expression twisted with rage as he coldly declared, "During the beast invasion, your Qingyang Sect betrayed the Qingyang Alliance. Elder Xu fled without a fight, leading to the near annihilation of my Pan family."
"After the beast invasion ended, not a single spirit stone was provided as compensation."
"Today, I, Pan Boyuan, am here to demand justice for the millions of unjustly slain members of my family."
As soon as these words fell, the defensive formation finally collapsed under the combined assault, shattering completely.
Li Heyuan suffered a backlash, coughing up blood on the spot. His face turned ashen, and he immediately tried to flee, activating a movement technique.
"Not good, he's using an escape technique!"
"Don't let him get away!"
Pan Boyuan reacted the fastest. As a Purple Mansion elder with a lightning spirit root, he possessed a movement technique as well. In a flash, he transformed into a streak of purple lightning, intercepting Li Heyuan.
With a thunderous crack, Pan Boyuan unleashed bolts of lightning, striking Li Heyuan and sending him flying while spitting blood.
Since the decision had been made to sever ties with the Qingyang Sect entirely, the group naturally wouldn't let Li Heyuan escape. Xu Qianyang activated the Flaming Goldfire Dragon Shears, sending them slicing through the air and knocking away Li Heyuan's two magical treasures, forcing him to flee in desperation.
At that moment, Elian seized the opportunity, summoning a bolt of Metal Element Divine Thunder that shattered Li Heyuan's protective barrier.
Poor Li Heyuan, at merely the second stage of the Purple Mansion realm, was utterly outclassed by the combined might of four mid-stage Purple Mansion cultivators. In just a few exchanges, all his defenses were stripped away.
Although Li Heyuan's escape techniques were formidable, they were no match for Pan Boyuan's lightning-speed movement skill. After only a dozen exchanges, Elian found an opening and beheaded him with a single sword strike.
"Daoist Chen, you truly have the makings of a born sword immortal," Xu Qianyang praised, stroking his beard with a serious expression.
"If you had a high-grade third-rank immortal sword, your combat prowess might surpass even mine by threefold."
Elian maintained a calm expression, modestly replying, "It's just a minor technique. With Daoist Xu's skills, a few more moves would've been enough to take him down."
Meanwhile, the battle on the mountain had also concluded. Cangkong Mountain had only housed a dozen or so Foundation Establishment cultivators and a thousand Qi Refining disciples of the Qingyang Sect.
The combined forces of over forty Foundation Establishment cultivators, along with Patriarch Chen Changxuan and Yang Yuanhe, swiftly eradicated the defenders.
The group ascended Cangkong Mountain, set up a new third-rank formation, and proceeded directly to the core of the Earth Vein.
Upon reaching the source of the vein and the Purple Sun Pool, they began their investigation.
After a brief survey, Elian smiled and said, "Congratulations, Daoist Xu. It looks like the next Earth Crystal will be ready within ten years."
Xu Qianyang returned the smile. A female Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Xu family had already achieved a 40% integration with her Purple Mansion path.
With this Earth Crystal and the purchase of a Green Jade Barrier-Breaking Pill, her chances of breaking through to the Purple Mansion realm would exceed 60%.
Furthermore, the acquisition of this earth vein meant that every sixty years, the four major Purple Mansion families would collectively gain an additional Five Elements Crystal, a significant increase in their overall resources.
"And it appears the Purple Sun Pool will take another thirty years to produce its next Purple Sun Jade," Elian added, his gaze lingering on the pool with a hint of desire.
Purple Sun Jade wasn't just an excellent resource for breaking through to the Purple Mansion stage; it was also essential for crafting the Purple Qi Cloud Pattern Pill, a critical pill for advancing beyond the mid-stage Purple Mansion realm. It was no wonder the group coveted it.
Xu Qianyang glanced at the others and suggested, "The Purple Sun Jade is only produced once every hundred years. Rotating its distribution would take too long. How about we refine it into a batch of Purple Qi Cloud Pattern Pill for the four families to share?"
Everyone nodded in agreement, accepting this proposal.
Seeing their approval, Xu Qianyang smiled, his own plans in motion. Having recently advanced to the sixth stage of the Purple Mansion realm, he anticipated reaching the late-stage bottleneck in thirty years. Refining a batch of Purple Qi Cloud Pattern Pill would significantly increase his chances of breaking through to the late Purple Mansion stage.
After inspecting the two most critical resources, the group took two days to rest and tally up the spoils of their conquest.
That day, Patriarch Chen Changxuan, holding a ledger, reported with a smile, "This battle yielded 130,000 spirit stones, two third-rank magical tools, one third-rank formation set, and various second-rank artifacts and resources."
"Additionally, this Earth Vein will produce first- and second-rank materials annually, providing a steady income of 12,000 spirit stones."
After reviewing the ledger, everyone broke into smiles.
Xu Qianyang, setting down the ledger, beamed.
"Based on our prearranged distribution, the spoils and future profits will be divided accordingly. Does anyone have objections?"
The group exchanged glances but found no reason to object. Both Patriarch Chen and Elian wore satisfied expressions.
This allocation meant the Chen family would receive over 30,000 spirit stones immediately, along with various resources. Going forward, they would gain 3,000 spirit stones annually from the earth vein, enough to sustain one Purple Mansion cultivator or ten Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Seeing no dissent, Xu Qianyang continued, "Li Heyuan's two magical tools, combined with the dismantled formation, yielded four third-rank magical tools in total."
"Our Xu and Yang families provided mid-grade third-rank tools for the new formation, so we'll keep the Earth Divine Thunder Flag and Sky-Kun Treasure Seal."
Elian and Patriarch Chen exchanged a glance and readily agreed. The remaining two low-grade third-rank tools were less significant, so the Chen family opted for spirit stones instead, receiving several tens of thousands of additional spirit stones.
The Chen family, having just risen to the status of a Purple Mansion clan, prioritized cultivating their spirit veins. Thanks to Elian's many conquests, they were not short on low-grade third-rank magical tools for the time being.
After distributing the artifacts, the remaining items were few, except for three jade slips that caught Elian's attention.
The first jade slip recorded a cultivation method called the Greenwood True Fire Technique, which could be cultivated up to the seventh stage of the Purple Mansion realm. This dual-attribute wood-fire technique filled a critical gap in the Chen family's repertoire.
The second jade slip contained a blueprint for crafting a life-bound treasure named the Greenwood Core Lantern, a wood-fire dual-attribute tool capable of unleashing a powerful divine ability.
It seemed that Li Heyuan, being a wood-fire dual spirit root cultivator, had tailored his resources accordingly. This alignment was a fortunate boon for Chen Qingwan.
The final jade slip detailed a divine ability known as the Wood Element Divine Thunder, marking the second thunder technique Elian had acquired.
...
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I need POWAAA! Gimme Power Stones :D