Perhaps sensing that this might be their last meeting, the old patriarch and Chen Changyan, his similarly aged clansman, talked for a long time. They reminisced about their youth, recounting stories and reflecting on the joys and sorrows of bygone days.
Elian quietly listened and watched. Though he was still young, he couldn't help but feel the weight of time emanating from the two elders.
"Without achieving immortality, one will ultimately face this fate," he thought.
Chen Changyan sighed, but there was a trace of comfort in his gaze as he looked at Elian. "At least, as I near the end of my life, I can spend my final days in this paradise-like Linghu Isle. And there's someone to stay by my side, to fulfill the duty of filial piety and see me off."
"Even if I were to die now, I would have no regrets."
Elian chuckled and shook his head. "Don't say that. I'm planning to celebrate your 120th birthday in a couple of years."
Due to his age and frailty, Chen Changyan had become prone to drowsiness. After chatting for half an hour, he retired to his room to rest.
With that, Elian and the old patriarch began planning the island's protective formation.
Chen Changxuan first surveyed Linghu Isle and dismantled the Two Elements Sunlight Formation. As he worked, he laughed. "I set this formation up over twenty years ago."
"At the time, I was only a mid-grade second-tier formation master, and my skills were lacking. Now that I look at it, I see there were many flaws in my design."
"Oh?" Elian raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "What do you mean?"
The old patriarch shook his head with a faint smile. "Linghu Isle is rich in water-element energy. The Two Elements Sunlight Formation didn't make good use of that at all."
"Looking at it now, if I rely on the spiritual vein and the water energy of the lake, I can set up a mid-grade second-tier water-element formation. Its power could rival several mid-to-late Foundation Establishment cultivators."
With that, he took out the Blue Pattern Steel and began crafting the formation plate.
Crafting a formation plate requires not only forging skills but also mastery of formations.
With his profound cultivation and skill as a high-grade second-tier formation master, the old patriarch completed a mid-grade second-tier formation plate in just seven days.
After completing it, he smiled and said, "It's a pity the Blue Pattern Steel is somewhat inferior. Mid-grade second-tier is its limit. If the material were better, I could have made a high-grade second-tier plate, which would have had an entirely different level of power."
Elian inspected the plate and nodded in satisfaction. "The power of formations far exceeds that of ordinary artifacts. A high-grade second-tier formation, coupled with Linghu Isle's spiritual vein and water energy, could even resist a Purple Mansion cultivator for a while."
"I'm already quite satisfied with mid-grade second-tier," he added.
The old patriarch nodded. Holding the formation plate, he explained, "Once this is set up, it will gather the water energy of Linghu Isle to form a defensive barrier. With your cultivation, it could withstand attacks from late Foundation Establishment cultivators for several days."
"However, being purely defensive isn't wise. To fully utilize Linghu Isle's water vein, you'll need a water-element offensive formation artifact."
"A water-element offensive artifact?"
Elian frowned, then decided to use the Mingxu Sword as the formation's core.
Seeing the sword, the old patriarch nodded.
"With this sword as the core, and you activating it, you might even be able to kill a late Foundation Establishment cultivator."
With the sword in hand, the old patriarch began setting up the formation. It took him three days to complete the task.
When Elian tested it, the formation activated perfectly, and a smile appeared on his face. With this formation, Linghu Isle was now well-protected.
After finishing the setup, the old patriarch departed the same day, as he needed to oversee Pingyang City and could no longer leave it easily.
In the days that followed, Elian spent his time on Linghu Isle refining Primordial Purple Qi and tempering his natal artifact.
The young siblings Xianling and Xianyan grew quickly, learning to cultivate the spiritual fields and care for the Azure Spirit Fish and Purple Striped Geese.
With their help, Elian had more leisure time. Between his cultivation, he played the zither, tended to the fish and geese, and lived a peaceful and carefree life.
Time passed swiftly, and before he knew it, another year had gone by.
One day, in his secluded chamber on Linghu Isle, Elian slowly opened his eyes from his meditation.
"Good progress."
His eyes gleamed with delight.
Over the past year, his strength had improved considerably. Most notably, his natal celestial sword had reached mid-grade second-tier.
The Fiery Void Sword lived up to its reputation as a superior celestial sword. After advancing, its sword aura extended to six zhang, and its offensive power now rivaled that of ordinary high-grade second-tier artifacts.
In addition, his understanding of the Heavenly Flame Swort Art had deepened. At this rate, he estimated he would soon grasp its basics and begin refining the Gold and Fire elements required to master this powerful offensive divine ability.
"I'll continue my seclusion and focus on mastering this divine ability in one go."
Just as he resolved to stay in seclusion, a knock came at the door of his chamber.
To his surprise, Chen Changyan entered, his face filled with urgency and his bloodshot eyes betraying his distress.
Seeing his expression, Elian immediately sensed something was wrong. Chen Changyan would never disturb him during his seclusion unless something serious had happened—certainly not in such a state of agitation.
"What happened, Uncle?" Elian asked, rising to support him.
Chen Changyan handed him a letter.
"News from Pingyang City."
"The town of Pingling seems to have been attacked by demonic cultivators. All 8,000 residents were slaughtered."
Boom!
Elian's face turned pale. Without hesitation, he summoned his flying sword and set off for Pingyang City.
Linghu Isle was over 6,000 li from Pingyang City, but with his upgraded natal celestial sword, which was now 30% faster, he covered the distance in less than a day.
When he arrived in Pingling Town, the air was thick with the stench of blood, and corpses littered the streets. Black-armored soldiers were cleaning up the site, while the old patriarch and Chen Qinghao had arrived ahead of him and were investigating.
Finding the two, Elian approached with red eyes and asked, "Who did this?"
"We're not certain yet," Chen Qinghao replied grimly.
"Whoever did it must be a late Foundation Establishment cultivator. Otherwise, they couldn't have wiped out the town before the patriarch could respond."
"Could it be Old Demon Hong?" the old patriarch murmured, his tone carrying a hint of certainty.
Among the Chen family's enemies, only the demonic cultivator known as Old Demon Hong had the strength to commit such an atrocity.
...
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