The crowd exchanged glances, clearly moved by the extraordinary value of the Purple Qi Cloud Pattern Pills.
With two pills available, they could give a Purple Mansion cultivator a 60-70% chance of advancing to the later stage of the Purple Mansion realm.
Elder Qian gazed at the pills and pondered silently: "My lifespan is nearing its end. It's time to cultivate a second late-stage Purple Mansion cultivator in the family. Since I have no hope of breaking through to the Golden Core stage, it would be better to exchange this treasure with the Chen family."
With this thought, he produced a purple-green gourd and said, "I would like to exchange this item with you. What do you think?"
"The Purple-Green Tribulation-Averting Gourd!"
The crowd was visibly taken aback, their expressions showing their shock.
The Purple-Green Tribulation-Averting Gourd was a special third-tier treasure. It could release a single Purple-Green Divine Lightning bolt with immense power, almost rivaling that of a fourth-tier treasure.
However, the gourd had a significant limitation: it could only generate one bolt of Purple-Green Divine Lightning every hundred years. This made it a situational and impractical weapon, suitable only as a last-resort trump card.
During the monster invasion, Elder Qian had already used one Purple-Green Divine Lightning bolt. It would take another sixty to seventy years to recharge, making its current combat capability inferior to even a lower third-tier treasure.
Nonetheless, the gourd had another significant function: mitigating tribulation lightning. When cultivators faced the Golden Core Tribulation, the Purple-Green Tribulation-Averting Gourd could absorb a portion of the lightning, improving their chances of survival.
This unique utility made the treasure difficult to appraise, but its value was undoubtedly high.
Elder Qian possessed three family-guarding treasures. Of the other two, one was his natal treasure, and the other was his primary defensive artifact. Reluctant to part with those, he had brought this gourd for the exchange.
Elian exchanged glances with the Patriarch, both clearly intrigued.
Many cultivators, despite reaching the Golden Core realm, ultimately perished under the tribulation lightning. This demonstrated how formidable the lightning tribulation could be. With the Purple-Green Tribulation-Averting Gourd, the family would gain a powerful tool to improve their odds of surviving the Golden Core Tribulation.
"This Purple-Green Tribulation-Averting Gourd is indeed remarkable," Elian said.
"I accept your offer."
Elian handed over the Purple Qi Cloud Pattern Pills, completing the transaction with Elder Qian.
After acquiring the gourd, Elian traded the remaining five Creation Cloud Pills.
In total, the pills were exchanged for a Wood Crystal, a lower third-tier celestial sword, and a mid third-tier defensive artifact.
The celestial sword was intended for Chen Qinghao, while the defensive artifact was given to the Patriarch. Elian decided to reserve the Wood Crystal for Chen Qingwan.
Following these trades, Elian also purchased two of the main ingredients needed to refine Qi Replenishment Returning Essence Pills. Beyond that, there wasn't much else that piqued his interest. At his current level of cultivation and resources, few treasures could truly move him.
With the meeting concluded, everyone returned to Tianxu Mountain to gather their forces for the final preparations for battle.
Elian, however, lingered to meet with Jiang Linglong, expressing his concerns: "The Radiant Heaven Mirror is a demon-suppressing treasure. Are you confident in handling it?"
"Don't worry," she said confidently with a smile.
"Yan Ziji and I have already discussed this. We'll be bringing the Purple Abyss Furnace with us."
"That's reassuring," Elian said with a sigh of relief.
Due to time constraints, Elian didn't stay long at Tianxu Mountain and returned to his family's base.
As with the previous monster invasion, facing a longstanding and powerful force like Qingyang Sect required more than just a single Golden Core cultivator. A large number of cultivators would be necessary to weaken the sect's protective array through sheer numbers.
To ensure the successful breach of Qingyang Sect's defenses, all clans across the three Regions were ordered to send more than half of their cultivators to participate in the assault.
Qingyang Sect had long lost its popular support. The various clans had suffered under its dominance for years. This campaign was as much about revenge as it was about profit.
Once Qingyang Sect—a massive force—was toppled, the clans stood to gain significantly through the war merit system Jiang Linglong had promised.
The Chen family utilized the Seven-Star Demon-Slaying Vessel to mobilize personnel. After three months of effort, they managed to assemble 20 Foundation Establishment cultivators and 1,000 Qi Refining cultivators.
Including the Pan family and numerous smaller clans, Yu County alone contributed over 8,000 Qi Refining cultivators.
Altogether, across the three regions and eight counties, more than 60,000 cultivators were mobilized for the campaign.
Facing this massive coalition, Qingyang Sect was powerless to resist. Elder Xu remained in seclusion to heal, and the sect's nine Purple Mansion cultivators were forced to stay holed up in Qingyang Mountain, unable to make a move under the tight surveillance of Elder Qian, Elian, Xu Qianyang, and other powerhouses.
One day, as Elian returned to Qingyuan Mountain by sword, the Patriarch asked, "What's the situation in Yang Region?"
Elian shook his head and replied, "Perhaps because of the contract established by the Ji clan, there has been no movement from Jiaoyang Mountain for now. Qingyang Sect has also abandoned its properties in Yang Region, with its main force retreating to Qingyang Mountain."
The Patriarch nodded. Yang Region had long been a lifeline for Qingyang Sect.
In addition to Jiaoyang Mountain, it included Yunyang Ridge, which housed a superior third-tier metal vein. Qingyang Sect's loss of Jiaoyang Mountain and voluntary abandonment of Yunyang Ridge were decisive moves.
The sect now only controlled Qingyang Mountain and two other third-tier spiritual veins nearby.
"I heard that Elder Liu's vitality is deteriorating, and he is nearing his end," the Patriarch said, his tone grave.
"It seems this decision likely came from Elder Mo. He will be a formidable opponent."
As they discussed the situation, a massive treasure ship, over a hundred feet long, appeared in the distant sky.
The ship, named the Ethereal Vessel, was forged by Jiang Linglong using the bones of the Sky Python King as its keel, along with a vast number of spiritual materials.
The construction of this ship cost over two million spirit stones and required the purchase of over 10,000 first-tier spiritual woods. Tianxu Mountain and various clans worked together to engrave array patterns on each plank.
This artifact was essentially a fusion of countless first-tier treasures and a fourth-tier keel. Array power unified them into a single entity, giving the vessel astonishing might.
The ship housed four fourth-tier arrays, including one called the Netherworld Celestial Formation. This array amplified the Sky Python King's defensive abilities to the utmost.
With 3,000 cultivators operating the vessel and a Golden Core cultivator leading, the Ethereal Vessel could withstand even the full-force attack of a late Golden Core cultivator.
...
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I need POWAAA! Gimme Power Stones :D