Chapter 1191: Return to Tianhe Realm

Chen Mobai felt a slight twinge of guilt for using the Seven Great Heavenly Books within his own Dharma Realm. After all, these were public assets of the Immortal Gate, purchased by the Five Ancestors of the Immortal Gate at great cost.

He mentioned this matter to Qi Yuheng and others. Although the people of the Immortal Gate felt it was a pity, they were also pleased that Chen Mobai could comprehend the true usage of the Heavenly Books. After witnessing the vastness of the cosmos and star sea, their focus had shifted outwards. If Chen Mobai could break through to the Void Refinement stage, they would truly have no worries when exploring the galaxy.

Nevertheless, Chen Mobai made a mental note: he owed the Immortal Gate 7 Dao Merits. With this debt in mind, Chen Mobai's desire to earn Dao Merits became even more urgent.

However, there had been no response from the Purple Heaven Palace, so he couldn't use the Turtle Treasure to descend upon the Three-Eyed Race's planet for reconnaissance. He couldn't just go deliver packages, could he?

Just as Chen Mobai was steeling himself to use the Boundary Gate to discuss the specific matters of opening a Void Relay Station with Xu Sijiu, news arrived from the Tianhe Realm. There was a matter that required his immediate return to handle.

Chen Mobai immediately announced his seclusion in the Immortal Gate, then clicked on the Turtle Treasure to teleport.

"True Lord Wuchen has successfully refined the Tong Sheng Zhen Ling Dan. As he predicted, there are four pills, and they have all been nurtured to completion." Inside the Yellow Dragon Cave, after Chen Mobai "emerged from seclusion," Qing Nü, who had been waiting for him, briefly explained the situation.

Previously, Chen Mobai had slain the old Flood Dragon, contributing half of its Xuan Jiao essence blood. Following that, the Daoist Sect and three other factions provided personnel, effort, and other materials to refine the Spirit Transformation pills once more. As agreed before, each of the Four Great Sacred Lands would receive one pill.

Among them, the Nine Heavens Demon Extermination Sect was the most eager, as Ye Qing only needed one Tong Sheng Zhen Ling Dan. With his talent, the probability of him achieving Spirit Transformation was very high. However, this batch of Tong Sheng Zhen Ling Dan was a joint investment by the Four Great Sacred Lands. Therefore, True Lord Wuchen needed to wait until representatives from all four factions were present before opening the furnace to prove that only four pills had been successfully refined. It was for this reason that Chen Mobai needed to make the trip. He was doing it for his good friend, Ye Qing.

"Let's go explore the Eastern Continent together. The Daoist Sect, as a sacred land for alchemy, might have many things worth learning," Chen Mobai said to his long-unseen wife after listening to Qing Nü's explanation.

"Alright, it's been a long time since I've seen fellow Daoist Qijian Su as well." Qing Nü nodded gently. Due to her origins, the farthest she had traveled with Chen Mobai before was to the Star Heaven Dao Sect to participate in the Big Dipper Assembly. Although the Five Elements Sect had been promoted to a Sacred Land of the Eastern Continent over the years, she had only patrolled the three border regions of the Eastern Continent and the borders of the Mysterious Sea and Desolate Sea. She had always been very curious about the Eastern Continent's central land, Dongtu. However, the customs there were exceptionally rough, and Qing Nü wasn't very confident in her own combat abilities. With Chen Mobai accompanying her this time, it was a good opportunity to see the world.

"How about we bring another group of alchemists from the sect for an exchange?" Qing Nü suggested. Such exchange activities were common in the Immortal Gate, with various academies participating. It was at one such exchange event that Chen Mobai single-handedly suppressed all the prodigies from the Daoist academies, establishing his reputation as a potential Spirit Transformation cultivator.

"Just bring one or two to broaden their horizons. Any more, and it might arouse suspicion from the Daoist Sect," Chen Mobai replied. He understood the local customs very well, knowing that what was called an "exchange" was often perceived by local forces as a challenge, an attempt to show off that one's own disciples were superior. In Chen Mobai's opinion, the quality of the Five Elements Sect disciples was merely average, incomparable to the prodigies from the Immortal Gate's Daoist academies.

"Alright, I'll see who would be suitable to bring," Qing Nü said, understanding that her idea had been too simplistic. She nodded.

Next, Chen Mobai recounted the events that had occurred in the Immortal Gate over the past years.

"It's a pity I couldn't witness the firing of the Chaos Primordial Qi Cannon..." Qing Nü said with a look of regret after listening. Although she knew Pluto was a great enemy of the Immortal Gate, hearing Chen Mobai say it was easily resolved with a single shot from him, she felt no particular worry.

"If there's an opportunity in the future, I'll set up a shot for you to see here in the Tianhe Realm," Chen Mobai responded. After undergoing the baptism of the Grand Dao of Destruction, he had completely mastered the principles of the Chaos Primordial Qi Cannon. Even without the Lingxiao Palace and the Four Images Dao Palace, he could compensate using array formations and other magical artifacts. There were many ownerless spirit veins in the Eastern Continent and the sea regions, making it easier to accumulate spiritual energy than in the Immortal Gate.

Moreover, Chen Mobai also wanted to see what the third phase of the Chaos Primordial Qi Cannon, as envisioned in its final design, would entail. Phase two was capable of destroying planets; phase three would likely be able to destroy a star system. However, for phase three, the Universal River Luo Star Dou Formation would be necessary.

Thinking of this, Chen Mobai inquired about the deployment progress of the Five Elements Sect's Heavenly Canopy Earth Net over the years. Although Qing Nü was in charge of pills, she paid considerable attention to the reappearance of this top Immortal Gate formation in the Eastern Wasteland and had been following its development.

After the old Flood Dragon of the Xuan Jiao Royal Court was slain, the Five Elements Sect had subtly become the leader of the righteous path in the Eastern Continent. One hundred and eight spiritual hubs had already been established along the Eastern Continent's border, and with the addition of the second-hand satellites Chen Mobai acquired from the Immortal Gate, the Heavenly Canopy Earth Net Grand Formation could be said to be complete. However, it was definitely incomparable to the Immortal Gate's version, as there was no sixth-tier spiritual plant to suppress its core.

"This can only be done slowly. I hope that after the Sun Divine Tree recovers, it will have even greater potential," Chen Mobai said. For now, he had no other solution. He couldn't possibly use his own sixth-tier magical artifacts as the core of the grand formation.

Next, Qing Nü shared some good news from the Five Elements Sect. Among them, Mo Douguang and Yin Qingmei had both successfully broken through to the mid-Nascent Soul stage. Zhuo Ming also felt her cultivation was complete and was preparing to form her Nascent Soul. Three new Core Formation cultivators had emerged, two of whom were external Golden Cores, not worth mentioning. The other truly successful Core Formation cultivator was Song Huangda, Liu Wenbai's disciple.

All these developments made Chen Mobai very happy. They signified the thriving prosperity of the Five Elements Sect and the Small South Mountain lineage.

"How is Ming'er doing now?" Chen Mobai first asked about his precious disciple.

"She's currently regulating her Qi. I've already prepared all the spiritual materials for her Nascent Soul formation; she can take that step at any time," Qing Nü replied. Zhuo Ming's foundation was arguably the most profound in the Five Elements Sect. The sect currently didn't lack Nascent Soul cultivators, so Chen Mobai's guidance for her was to break through naturally. Therefore, although she had long since perfected her Core Formation and even reached the fourth tier in body refinement, she had never actively triggered a breakthrough with her true Qi, waiting for the opportunity when her realm would naturally overflow. Over the past decade, within the sixth-tier spiritual vein of Roaming Mountain, she finally felt the time was ripe.

"Good, good. Before we go to the Eastern Continent, let's go see her," Chen Mobai said, nodding with satisfaction. Zhuo Ming was someone he had watched cultivate step by step to her current realm, and she was also his recognized successor. Now, she had finally reached the step of forming her Nascent Soul.

At this point, Chen Mobai immediately rose, taking Qing Nü with him, and teleported to Beiyuan City. There, he met with many key figures of the Five Elements Sect. After all, having finally emerged from seclusion, it was good to meet them and prevent estrangement.

Before leaving Beiyuan City, Chen Mobai summoned Song Huangda. As a third-generation disciple of the Small South Mountain lineage, he was relatively low-key compared to the renowned Han Zhiling, yet he accomplished no less; indeed, he could be described as diligent. Besides being responsible for the liaison department, he also handled many issues related to array formations within the Five Elements Sect. The Heavenly Canopy Earth Net formations in the East Barbarians region were completed under his leadership of the Five Elements Sect's array masters. He could also be considered someone personally nurtured by Chen Mobai. Now that he had formed his Core, he was even more capable of great use.

Just as Zhuo Ming was preparing for her Nascent Soul formation, Chen Mobai decided to entrust him with all the preliminary work for setting up the Universal River Luo Star Dou Formation. Song Huangda felt greatly honored by this and declared that he would certainly live up to his grand-master's expectations.

"Just do your best. This formation is quite difficult, but I believe you are experienced, and the foundational work will surely be fine..." Chen Mobai first tried to alleviate Song Huangda's pressure. After all, the Universal River Luo Star Dou Formation was a seventh-tier array, and even though its diagrams had been broken down into 360 basic pieces, it was still not something ordinary array masters could comprehend.

He stayed in Beiyuan City for two days, handling sect affairs. While there, he also used the Five Elements Sect's map to instruct Song Huangda on how to expand the grand formation's coverage. Within the current three border regions of the Eastern Continent, 108 spiritual hubs had already been established. With some effort, a few dozens more could barely be utilized, but beyond that, expansion would only be possible into territories outside the sect's current domain. There were mainly four directions for outward expansion: the Boundless Sand Sea, the Desolate Ruins, the Mysterious Sea, and the Desolate Sea.

Of these, the Boundless Sand Sea was an area where the Five Elements Sect invested resources and manpower annually. To date, they had expanded their territory by an area equivalent to three Rainbow Commanderies. As long as Chen Mobai and his disciple Zhuo Ming remained in the Five Elements Sect, this policy would not cease. Chen Mobai reserved a dozen spiritual hubs for the direction of the Sand Sea, to facilitate future coverage by the formation.

Next was the Desolate Ruins, which was currently the direction among the four that required the most cultivators. After all, any forces in the Mysterious Sea and Desolate Sea that dared to obstruct the Five Elements Sect had largely been dealt with by Chen Mobai already.

Chen Mobai entrusted this matter to Er Yun. Er Yun happened to be planning his retirement and intended to step down from his position as Sect Master. Moreover, Er Yun was currently nearing the completion of his Core Formation and could prepare for Nascent Soul formation. Chen Mobai instructed him to clear out a section of the Desolate Ruins adjacent to the Five Elements Sect's territory. If he could accomplish this, it would be a great merit, allowing him to naturally take over as the new Sect Master of the Five Elements Sect. Er Yun was very excited about this. He had served as the interim Sect Master for a hundred years and could finally be formally appointed. With the Five Elements Sect's current strength, opening up a section of the Desolate Ruins would be an easy task.

"Your disciple will surely not fail this mission." After accepting the task, Er Yun was full of ambition, ready to mobilize personnel. The Desolate Ruins adjacent to the Five Elements Sect certainly had no fifth-tier demonic beasts, but there were some fourth-tier ones, such as the Golden-eyed Blue Toad, which Chen Mobai had briefly exchanged blows with from a distance back then. With Chen Mobai's current strength, he could easily slay it, but he had too many other matters and had not found the time. Furthermore, this demonic beast possessed the ability to conceal its aura. Chen Mobai had once searched for it with his divine sense when passing by, but failing to find it, he had left it until now. As one of Chen Mobai's trusted people, and given Er Yun's minor grudge with the Golden-eyed Blue Toad, Chen Mobai naturally made suitable arrangements.

He retrieved a long-unused gourd-shaped magical artifact from his Dharma Realm and handed it to Er Yun: "Take this. Inside is a fifth-tier Yuan Yang Sword Fiend that I refined. If you encounter a demonic beast you cannot defeat, just activate it to slay it."

"Thank you, Sect Master, for bestowing this treasure." Er Yun was arguably the most long-standing direct subordinate of Chen Mobai in the Five Elements Sect, and he was very familiar with the famous Sword Gourd. Countless powerful cultivators and demonic beasts had met their end beneath this gourd. Now, seeing Chen Mobai bestow this treasure upon him, his confidence in this pioneering expedition was greatly boosted.

After imparting the incantation for refining the Sword Gourd, Chen Mobai and Qing Nü departed from Beiyuan City. For this trip to the Eastern Continent, besides the young Yellow Dragon girl who served as their representative, Qing Nü also brought her disciple Jin Ling'er and Yan Jinye, the head of the Five Elements Sect's Alchemy Department. Chen Mobai, on the other hand, brought his young disciple Jiang Zongheng and his grand-disciple Duan Shuyu.

The main purpose was to take them to see the ruins of the Eastern Continent Imperial Court as a cautionary example. Another reason was to provide guidance to Duan Shuyu. As he had started on the path of cultivation at a relatively advanced age, even with his exceptional talent, his lifespan was somewhat insufficient. Fortunately, Qing Nü had comprehended the formula for the Mysterious Heaven Dark Gold Pill through her Myriad Transformations and Dark Harmony technique and had refined a batch of longevity pills for him. However, even so, it would still be somewhat difficult for Duan Shuyu to form his Core before his lifespan ran out. After all, he cultivated the profound Longevity Sect's Metal Element Immortal Sutra, for which there was no prior experience. Fortunately, after Chen Mobai comprehended the Primal Chaos Grand Dao, by referencing the Primal Chaos Dao Fruit and Five Elements Dao Fruit left by True Lord Yiyuan, he had thoroughly integrated the Five Elements Immortal Sutra and could now provide guidance. Therefore, upon learning about Duan Shuyu's situation, he decided to take advantage of this trip to the Eastern Continent to provide direct guidance and instruction along the way. Coincidentally, Jin Ling'er was also accompanying them, so both disciples cultivating the Metal Element Immortal Sutra were taught together.

After their group arrived in the East Barbarians via a teleportation array, they first detoured to Roaming Mountain.

"Greetings, Master! Greetings, Madam!" Zhuo Ming and Luo Yixuan, who had remained there, immediately bowed when they saw the group descend from the sky. Chen Mobai waved his hand, signaling them not to be overly formal, and then dismounted from the Yellow Dragon's back.

"When do you plan to form your Nascent Soul?" Chen Mobai asked as soon as he saw Zhuo Ming, noticing that her Qi was perfectly harmonized, her divine sense crystal clear, and her physical body filled with incredibly vibrant vitality, leaving no possibility of failure in forming her Nascent Soul.

"I was just waiting to inform Master," Zhuo Ming replied respectfully, nodding. She had already grasped the opportunity for breakthrough a year ago. But she still felt more at ease after informing Chen Mobai.

"Then let it be today. I will leave my second Nascent Soul here to protect you."

As soon as these words fell, Luo Yixuan, standing nearby, looked envious. Once Zhuo Ming formed her Nascent Soul, the lineage of the Small South Mountain would be completely established, and she would no longer have any hope of inheriting the orthodox succession.