Chapter 1022: Getting the Primordial Inheritance

Jin De attempted to resist further, but under the combined might of Shen Xi and Ni Yuanzhong, he couldn't even block a single move. He was immediately bound by Shen Xi's whisk and subdued.

“The mole has been eliminated. What remains now is an internal matter for the One Yuan Dao Palace,” Shen Xi suddenly declared after these matters were concluded.

“After True Monarch Xuantian ascended, the strength of our righteous path in the Eastern Continent became the weakest within the Heavenly River Realm,” Shen Xi continued. “Fortunately, all the Demonic Path Spirit Transformation cultivators have been eradicated by our righteous path. But even so, if no new Spirit Transformation cultivators emerge to oversee the righteous path's overall situation within the next few centuries, the righteous Path in the Eastern Continent will still gradually weaken. As one of the sacred lands of the Eastern Continent, the One Yuan Dao Palace has failed to fulfill its duty as a Spirit Transformation pillar for the past millennium, which has greatly disappointed us.”

After Shen Xi finished speaking, Earth Virtue and the other two showed expressions of shame.

“For the future of the righteous path, we hope that you will cease internal strife and stop eroding the righteous path's vital forces,” Ni Yuanzhong added. As soon as he said this, Earth Virtue and the other two all looked at Chen Mobai, who was standing nearby.

“Junior Brother Chen and I have already reached an agreement,” Earth Virtue said. “As long as the demonic aura within the Dao Palace is cleansed, our two lineages will share their inheritances from now on, and there will be no more disputes.” Earth Virtue explained that, in terms of strength, the One Yuan Dao Palace was actually still superior to the Five Elements Sect. With its sixth-rank Primal Chaos Bell and sixth-rank spiritual ley line, it was inherently invincible.

The reason Chen Mobai was able to leverage Chen Lingming's situation to force this confrontation was also because Earth Virtue wanted to use external forces to clean up the somewhat out-of-control internal affairs of the Dao Palace. And after the matter concluded, Earth Virtue would, as promised, hand over all inheritances to Chen Mobai. However, there was also a possibility that he might renege on the agreement immediately after and engage in a conflict with the Five Elements Sect. But after Shen Xi and Ni Yuanzhong, the sect leaders of the two sacred lands, spoke, he certainly no longer harbored such thoughts.

He now understood that, compared to himself, the Nine Heavens Demon-Slaying Sect and the Daoist Virtue Sect seemed to have higher hopes for this cultivator from the Five Elements Sect to achieve Spirit Transformation. Thinking of this, Earth Virtue couldn't help but secretly lament the saying, "The waves behind push the waves ahead." To think that such an astonishingly talented individual could emerge from a branch sect in the Eastern Desolate.

“That’s good. Harmony is paramount.” After listening, Shen Xi nodded and said this, then left Five Emperors Mountain with Ni Yuanzhong, taking Jin De with them.

“Junior Brother Chen, I’ll take you to the Inheritance Hall,” Earth Virtue said directly to Chen Mobai, having come to a clear understanding.

“Excellent. By the way, where is Chen Lingming?” Chen Mobai nodded, but quickly realized he wasn't very familiar with the One Yuan Dao Palace’s inheritances. This rare opportunity meant he shouldn't miss out on anything, including the most crucial Void Refinement inheritance, the Ascension Secret Art, and other One Yuan Dao scriptures. After all, his daughter was also cultivating Primal Chaos Qi. According to the rules of the Immortal Sect, she definitely wouldn't be able to utilize the Five Elements Essence. She would only be able to rely on her own diligent cultivation, bit by bit. In that case, the formal inheritances of the One Yuan Dao Palace would be very important. He wasn't very familiar with these, but Chen Lingming would certainly know, as he had cultivated in the One Yuan Dao Palace since childhood.

“Junior Brother Chen, please wait a moment. I have him confined in the back mountain…” Upon hearing this, Earth Virtue also recalled the agreement he had made with Chen Mobai and couldn't help but personally go to fetch him. Chen Lingming was imprisoned by him in a five-colored light cage, and only the Primal Chaos Dao Fruit could release him. Now that all the blame had been shifted to Jin De, the One Yuan Dao Palace's previous declaration of Chen Lingming as a rebel could also be simultaneously explained away. By sacrificing one Jin De, everyone in the One Yuan Dao Palace would be cleared. However, the humiliation of being infiltrated by a demonic mole for centuries, as one of the Eastern Continent's sacred lands, definitely could not be washed away. But for Earth Virtue, none of this mattered. As long as he could achieve Spirit Transformation, then soon after, this incident would also become a commendable tale of him enduring humiliation to eliminate a traitor. It was precisely for this reason that, although Earth Virtue had promised to give all the Dao Palace's inheritances to the Five Elements Sect, he still wanted to plant a spy near Chen Mobai.

“Lingming, I managed to clear your name this time, but I also hope you can do something for the Dao Palace,” Earth Virtue said after releasing Chen Lingming. “Also, when you formed your Nascent Soul, Jin De secretly used demonic arts to try and kill you, and it was I who intervened to stop him. Now that you're taking the Dao Palace's inheritances with you, Chen Guixian will certainly trust you completely. In the future, I hope you can report information about the Five Elements Sect and his cultivation progress to me… If I successfully achieve Spirit Transformation, the Dao Palace's Primal Chaos Dao Fruit will also need a next successor. If you earn this merit, I will certainly grant you this opportunity.” Earth Virtue used both coercion and persuasion, hoping to make him an informant.

“Sect Master Chen’s kindness towards me is as vast as a mountain; I will not do such a thing,” Chen Lingming adamantly refused.

“After you return to the Eastern Desolate with him, think carefully about it,” Earth Virtue urged. “All the cultivation foundations you’ve accumulated so far come from the Dao Palace. In the future, if you wish to achieve Spirit Transformation or even ascension, you will only have a chance by inheriting from this lineage of the Dao Palace…” Since Chen Mobai was still waiting ahead, Earth Virtue couldn't delay too long here. After explaining everything clearly to Chen Lingming, he took him to the One Yuan Hall. Along the way, Chen Lingming frowned deeply, remaining silent. Seeing this, Earth Virtue secretly chuckled inwardly. At the very least, his words had planted a seed in Chen Lingming’s heart. In the future, whether it was to sow discord between Chen Guixian and him, or if Chen Lingming wanted to advance further after reaching the peak of Nascent Soul cultivation, it was all possible for this seed to take root and sprout.

“Are you alright?” In the One Yuan Hall, Chen Mobai saw Chen Lingming enter and asked.

“Reporting, Junior Grandmaster, it’s merely a slight drain on my vitality and spirit.” As expected, Chen Lingming did not reveal Earth Virtue’s words.

“Thank you for your trouble. I need your help with something. Senior Brother Earth Virtue and I have reached an agreement to take all the inheritances from the One Yuan Dao Palace. However, I’m not very familiar with the lower-tier ones, so please help with transporting and copying a set.” As soon as Chen Mobai finished speaking, Chen Lingming naturally nodded in agreement.

“The two of you, please cooperate,” Earth Virtue said to Water Virtue and Wood Virtue, who were standing nearby. Although they were somewhat reluctant, after what had just transpired, they knew this was a major trend they could not stop.

After the three left, only Chen Mobai and Earth Virtue remained in the One Yuan Hall. They began to discuss the most precious inheritances with solemn expressions.

“The Dao Palace’s matters regarding the Primal Chaos Dao Fruit, the Ascension Secret Art, the Void Refinement inheritance, and so on, are all within the Dao Fruit. I will inscribe them onto jade slips and hand them to Junior Brother,” Earth Virtue said, taking out a set of jade slips. Even with his powerful spiritual sense, it took him considerable effort to engrave all of this information onto them. “Junior Brother Chen, my cultivation is limited. For now, the contents of these jade slips can only be passed on to one person. If you wish to pass them on to your disciples in the future, you can have them come to my Five Emperors Mountain for a period of study, and I will personally instruct and teach them.” As Earth Virtue spoke, he handed the set of jade slips he had just finished engraving to Chen Mobai.

Originally, Earth Virtue had expected Chen Mobai to turn hostile, as this was somewhat different from what had been agreed upon. But Chen Mobai’s expression remained unchanged; he simply nodded and accepted them. “Alright.”

“Junior Brother Chen, since that's the case, please wait in the One Yuan Hall. If you need anything, you can speak with Lingming; he is familiar with this place. I expended some vital energy when I forcefully activated the Primal Chaos Bell during my previous battle with Venerable Ming, so I need to enter seclusion to recover as soon as possible…” Seeing that the matter was resolved, and after a slight attempt at provocation, Earth Virtue also rose, ready to leave.

“That reminds me, what about the method for refining the Primal Chaos Bell?” Upon hearing Earth Virtue’s words, Chen Mobai suddenly remembered this and reached out his hand to ask for it.

“Junior Brother Chen, this refining method is not considered a cultivation inheritance.” Upon hearing this, Earth Virtue frowned and couldn't help but refuse.

“The sect masters of both sacred lands said we shouldn’t engage in internal strife…” Chen Mobai said with a clear implication.

“Junior Brother Chen, what do you mean? This is Five Emperors Mountain…” Earth Virtue frowned, speaking with an implied threat.

“It seems, Daoist Brother Earth Virtue, that you are not sincere.” Chen Mobai, however, did not make a move. After all, this was the other party's territory, and the sixth-rank Primal Chaos Bell was suppressing it.

“Since Junior Brother brought it up, there’s no harm in giving it to you.” At this moment, Earth Virtue changed his tone, seemingly recalling what Shen Xi and Ni Yuanzhong had said when they left. Furthermore, the primary condition for refining and activating the Primal Chaos Bell was to refine the Primal Chaos Dao Fruit. Since the Primal Chaos Dao Fruit was currently in his hands, Chen Mobai wouldn't be able to do anything even with the refining method. Thinking this, Earth Virtue felt relieved and inscribed another jade slip.

“It seems I misjudged you, Daoist Brother.” After receiving the jade slip, Chen Mobai couldn't help but say something polite.

“Junior Brother Chen, farewell.” Earth Virtue, however, did not wish to see Chen Mobai any longer. After speaking, he immediately used Earth Evasion Technique to return to his cave mansion and began cultivating in seclusion to recover the vital energy he had expended activating the Primal Chaos Bell. The reason for his haste was that Earth Virtue did not want to be pestered by Chen Mobai. After all, these high-tier inheritances were profound and extensive, and Chen Mobai would certainly not be able to fully comprehend them just by reading them. If he were to then use the two sacred lands as an excuse to demand instruction, Earth Virtue would find it difficult to refuse. But he genuinely did not want to teach. Moreover, he had just cleared his name and become a righteous path patriarch who endured humiliation, so he didn't want to tarnish his reputation by teaching incorrect interpretations. Considering these points, Earth Virtue simply used seclusion as an excuse to withdraw first.

In the One Yuan Hall, only Chen Mobai remained. He first scanned all the surrounding murals, and then used his Heavenly Calculation Orb to copy all the contents of Earth Virtue’s jade slips into it. In the Heavenly River Realm, the transmission of high-tier cultivation methods involved not only textual content but also Dao rhythm and true essence. These were present in the jade slips given by Earth Virtue. All high-tier inheritances required these as references within one's Zifu Sea of Consciousness to be understood, or even to begin cultivating them. This was also a method used in the Heavenly River Realm to control the number of high-tier inheritances. According to the spiritual sense interpretation method here, the jade slips given by Earth Virtue would shatter after being used at most once. After that, Chen Mobai would need to rely on his own talent and effort to cultivate and comprehend them.

However, Chen Mobai was not a native of the Heavenly River Realm. He took out his Heavenly Calculation Orb, copied the textual content of the jade slips, and then comprehended them once, only consuming about one-thousandth of the Dao rhythm and true essence. In other words, Chen Mobai had permanently preserved the textual content of the jade slips given by Earth Virtue. The Dao rhythm and true essence for cultivation reference could still be used about a thousand times. That should be enough, right? Thinking this, Chen Mobai then picked up the jade slip containing the refining method for the Primal Chaos Bell and began to examine it.

Three months passed in the blink of an eye. Although the One Yuan Dao Palace was the least established among the four sacred lands of the Eastern Continent, its various inherited cultivation methods were still as vast as the sea. Some were left by patriarchs like True Monarch One Yuan, but more were collected by the One Yuan Dao Palace over several millennia, relying on its own influence. Under Chen Mobai's strict orders to be thorough and not miss anything, Chen Lingming copied every piece of text and every image on Five Emperors Mountain. Meanwhile, Chen Mobai communicated with the artifact spirit of the Primal Chaos Bell during this period.

“You, a Heavenly Fire spiritual root, can actually cultivate Primal Chaos Qi to such a profound level? I never expected that the path left by my master would be successfully followed by a branch sect…” Initially, the Primal Chaos Bell’s artifact spirit was indifferent, until Chen Mobai displayed his talent.

Chen Mobai: “I merely found a way to cultivate Primal Chaos Qi to great success without relying on other cultivators.”Primal Chaos Bell: “Oh, what path is that?”Chen Mobai: “This concerns a secret. It’s also something I created after spending a century of effort, ever since I came into contact with Primal Chaos Qi. I’ll tell you when you come to the Eastern Desolate in the future.”Primal Chaos Bell: “Then I’ll never know in this lifetime, because I will not leave Five Emperors Mountain.”Chen Mobai: “Nothing is absolute. I think you will come to the Eastern Desolate someday.”Primal Chaos Bell: “…”

Their conversation ended there. No matter what Chen Mobai said next, the Primal Chaos Bell’s artifact spirit stopped responding. This was somewhat unacceptable to Chen Mobai, who had always found it effortless to subdue magical artifacts. One could only say that it truly lived up to being a sixth-rank magical artifact, and the supreme treasure of Five Emperors Mountain, having never lacked spirit stones or spiritual energy in its existence.

Unable to find an entry point, Chen Mobai also tried to use the Cantong Qi. However, without the artifact spirit’s cooperation, this great inherited method of the Pill Cauldron Sect also yielded very little effect. At most, he learned a few things about the artifact's refining process.

“Hmm, it seems you’ve accumulated enough, and are about to advance in rank.” Chen Mobai discovered this after completing his observation with the Cantong Qi. Although this Primal Chaos Bell was sixth-rank, it was only a mid-grade artifact and couldn't compare to the sect-protecting treasures of the Nine Heavens Demon-Slaying Sect or the Daoist Virtue Sect. However, as it was left by True Monarch One Yuan, a grand master of artifact refining, after several millennia, it had already reached the peak of mid-grade sixth-rank. Just one more step, and it could break through to high-grade sixth-rank.