Throughout history, many supreme treasures for subduing demons, and even the absolute pinnacle Pure Yang treasures of this world, have perished during the Abyssal Cataclysm.
If the Radiant Heaven Mirror were to enter dormancy now and fail to recover its power within a thousand years, it would lose its autonomy and be forced to seek the protection of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
However, for Nascent Soul cultivators, magical treasures are ultimately just external objects. Once under the control of such a cultivator, the Radiant Heaven Mirror would lose its freedom, potentially being sacrificed to shield its owner during a critical moment.
After much deliberation, the Radiant Heaven Mirror made its decision. Its ethereal light swept across the land before addressing Jiang Linglong.
"I will not intervene in this battle, but you must agree to three conditions."
"Please state them," Jiang Linglong replied, nodding respectfully. A supreme treasure for subduing demons was as valuable as half a Nascent Soul cultivator, deserving her respect.
The Radiant Heaven Mirror paused, its gentle light spreading over the heavens and earth like water.
"First: The Qingyang Sect has worshipped me for over a thousand years, establishing a bond of faith. You must not act in complete annihilation."
"Second: If you replace the Qingyang Sect, you must protect the people of Chu Kingdom, taking the extermination of demons and monsters as your responsibility."
"Third: You must offer me tribute, allowing me to draw energy from the underground fire vein beneath Qingyang Mountain to replenish my strength."
The Radiant Heaven Mirror hesitated briefly before continuing, "In return, I will protect your forces when necessary."
"Ancestor, Ancestor!" Patriarch Xu, realizing the Radiant Heaven Mirror was about to abandon him, panicked and rushed forward to plead.
But the Radiant Heaven Mirror's light trembled slightly, blasting him away.
As the natal treasure of a Nascent Soul cultivator, the Radiant Heaven Mirror had inherited some of its creator's strict and righteous character. It had long disapproved of Patriarch Xu for scheming against his senior brother to ascend in power. Now, it finally decided to sever its ties with the Qingyang Sect.
At that moment, Jiang Linglong nodded calmly and said, "Even if you hadn't stated these three conditions, I would have abided by them."
"You have guarded Tianxu Mountain for over two centuries. I am aware of your reputation," the Radiant Heaven Mirror said, its tone softened.
"I will trust you for now."
With Jiang Linglong agreeing to its terms, the Radiant Heaven Mirror chose not to interfere further. It descended into the underground fire vein of Qingyang Mountain to enter dormancy.
In the distance, the Purple Abyss Furnace lingered silently for a moment before disappearing into the horizon in a burst of purple light.
At that moment, Patriarch Xu attempted to flee.
However, Jiang Linglong would not let the tiger return to its mountain. She summoned the Tianxu Immortal-Slaying Sword and pursued him.
Elian did not give chase. Patriarch Xu, already severely injured, stood no chance against Jiang Linglong's pursuit.
After stabilizing his own injuries with a healing pill, Elian led the cultivators to pursue the remnants of the Qingyang Sect. While they would not exterminate every member of the sect, those guilty of heinous crimes would not be spared.
Over the years, the Qingyang Sect had become corrupt to its core. While elders like Elder Mo and Elder Liu had retained some dignity, the younger generation of cultivators had indulged in widespread villainy.
Before the battle began, the various families had already compiled lists of Qingyang Sect members to be eliminated based on past grievances.
As Elian moved through the sect's territories, he killed numerous Qingyang Sect cultivators and secured control over critical resources, including the formation's core, the treasury, the spiritual herb garden, the scripture library, and the underground fire vein. He then organized the cultivators to clean up the battlefield.
Not long after, Jiang Linglong returned, flying her sword through the air.
She looked at Elian with a smile and said, "At last, that villain is dead. One of Chu Kingdom's greatest threats is now eliminated."
Elian nodded, and when no one was looking, he embraced her with a laugh.
"After this battle, we've firmly established ourselves in Chu Kingdom."
"Indeed," Jiang Linglong said, her eyes gleaming with joy. With a fourth-rank spiritual vein and an underground fire vein in hand, her cultivation would proceed much more smoothly.
There was little time for intimacy. Elian began sorting through the spoils from Tianxu Mountain.
Jiang Linglong had few capable subordinates, apart from the few hundred disciples of Tianxu Mountain and the thousand Chen family cultivators who participated in the battle.
These cultivators were distributed across various units, tasked with both fighting and using magical tools to record battle achievements.
The records were crucial for both honoring contributions and preventing anyone from embezzling spoils. With tens of thousands of cultivators involved, proper documentation was necessary to ensure fair distribution.
Elian was kept busy. The Chen family elders at the Foundation Establishment stage tallied the spoils while others inventoried resources from the spiritual herb garden and scripture library. All this information had to be reviewed and approved by Elian.
Fortunately, cultivators had extraordinary vision and memory, which sped up the process significantly.
After half a month of meticulous work, the spoils of war were finally accounted for.
Half a month later, after verifying all materials, achievements, and resources, the Chen family cultivators and those from Tianxu Mountain presented the finalized records to Elian and Jiang Linglong for review.
Although the two already had a general idea of their gains, holding the detailed records still stirred excitement in their hearts.
After reviewing the accounts, Jiang Linglong summoned the Purple Mansion cultivators from the various families and announced:
"In this battle, we lost forty-seven Foundation Establishment cultivators, over 5,600 Qi Refinement cultivators, and one Purple Mansion cultivator."
"Given the success of this battle, we will increase the standard compensation by fifty percent for the families of the deceased."
"Thank you, Lady Jiang," the cultivators responded joyfully.
Despite the significant losses, they were not catastrophic, especially considering the disparity in numbers between the two sides. However, providing half again the standard compensation for over five thousand cultivators would amount to tens of thousands of spirit stones.
Jiang Linglong's eyes flickered as she silenced the crowd, saying:
"Everyone contributed greatly to this battle. Here is the record of spoils and your respective families' merits."
"Review it carefully. If there are no objections, we will proceed with the distribution of treasures."
Each representative took a copy of the records, their faces lighting up with joy.
The victory was overwhelming. The fall of a major force like the Qingyang Sect had yielded enormous gains.
The Qingyang Sect's assets fell into three categories: fixed properties like spiritual mountains, veins, and fields; texts from the scripture library; and liquid assets like spirit stones, magical treasures, and flying swords.
The most valuable were the spiritual mountains and veins. While the loss of Jiaoyang Mountain had reduced their holdings by two or three, thirteen spiritual veins and six veins still remained, forming the sect's largest asset.
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I need POWAAA! Gimme Power Stones :D