Chapter 1198: The Essence of a Comeback

The Five Elements Sect and the Immortal Gate were previously the two main sources of Chen Mobai’s deepest connections.

His connections with the Immortal Gate had largely diminished after he stepped down as the Master of the Orthodox Law Hall. Once he resigns as the Headmaster of the Dancing Weapon Dao Academy, he will essentially only have ties with close friends and family remaining.

According to the experience left by Bai Guang, to cultivate to the Void Refinement stage, one still needs to retain some connections. These connections can help pull one’s true self back from the boundless void at the most critical moment.

Although Chen Mobai is currently only at the mid-stage of Soul Transformation, for him, this realm no longer presents any bottlenecks. He simply needs to wait for time to pass and take the Flying Immortal Dragon Gall Pill to naturally achieve perfection.

Therefore, arranging the transfer of his connections now is not too early.

“Master, there are still some places...”

After receiving the inheritance of the Heavenly Emperor Scroll, Jiang Zongheng was even more eager to explore other areas in this secret realm that triggered a reaction from the Small Dragon Catching Cauldron.

Chen Mobai felt the same way and followed him to each location.

They arrived at a waterside pavilion. In its center, a round jade table, carved with dragons and phoenixes, was set, flanked by several emerald jade stools, showcasing the opulence of the imperial court.

As his Primordial Chaos True Qi descended, Chen Mobai quickly sensed a hidden restriction beneath the round table, resembling a miniature rockery.

With the cleansing power of the Primordial Chaos Bell, this restriction was naturally dispelled by him.

Inside, to his surprise, was yet another jade box.

Within the box was also a jade scroll.

Just as Chen Mobai thought the Heavenly Emperor Scroll might have upper and lower volumes, his Rainbow Serpent avatar lifted the scroll, revealing different characters at its beginning: "Map of the Eastern Continent Dragon Veins."

Chen Mobai immediately showed a look of disappointment.

The dragon veins of the Eastern Continent had long ago, during the scattering of the Eastern Earth Imperial Court, been transformed by the Moral Sect into the largest medicinal field in the Eastern Earth. The lowest grade there was Rank 5 spirit fields, and the very center even reached Rank 6, cultivating almost all exotic flowers, rare herbs, and ten-thousand-year-old medicinal ingredients of the Eastern Continent.

However, for something to be left here by the Eastern Earth Imperial Court, it surely contained more than just dragon veins.

After Chen Mobai infused his dragon spiritual power, he quickly discovered that although it was named "Map of Dragon Veins," it actually recorded the distribution of all spiritual veins and mineral deposits across the Eastern Continent that were under the control of the Eastern Earth Imperial Court.

This included not only those within the Eastern Earth but also those beyond it.

Chen Mobai found on it the Panghuang Mountain, already under the Five Elements Sect’s jurisdiction, as well as some spiritual veins in the desolate ruins detected by the imperial geomancers, such as the Eastern Tomb Domain spiritual vein, only recently opened for a few decades, and the Shetuo Ridge, among others.

Any spiritual vein marked on this map was at least Rank 4 or higher.

For example, the annotation for the Eastern Wilderness read: “Yunmeng Great River, Yellow Dragon Manor!”

During the era of the Eastern Earth Imperial Court, the Eastern Wilderness was still the territory of the true spirit Yellow Dragon.

At the end of the map, Chen Mobai saw the units responsible for its creation: Jiangshan Pavilion and Zhidi Monastery.

These were two of the Ten Directions Halls, famous for their array formations and geomancy. It was likely these two entities, commissioned by the Human Emperor, who drew this resource distribution map of the Eastern Continent. However, these two great powers have now vanished into history with the passage of time.

“Master, this place actually has a large spirit stone mine?”

Jiang Zongheng, looking at the distribution map with Chen Mobai, quickly cross-referenced it with the Five Elements Sect’s current territory and pointed to a circled red area.

According to the annotation, this was a spirit stone mine.

Moreover, it was not far from the Eastern Wilderness, equivalent to about a hundred miles deeper into the desolate ruins from the illusory mist where Chen Mobai and Ye Qing once slew demon cultivators. This was precisely an area O Yun needed to develop next.

In a large spirit stone mine, the central ore vein regions would be entirely composed of high-grade spirit stones, and at the core, even supreme-grade spirit stones could be easily extracted.

When the Five Elements Sect broke through the Xuanxiao Dao Palace, they inherited its assets in Dongyi, which included a large spirit stone mine at Duojiu Mountain shared by three factions.

That spirit stone mine, after a hundred years of extraction by the three factions, was already nearing exhaustion.

Even so, the Five Elements Sect still extracted hundreds of millions of spirit stones.

From this, one can imagine the immense value of a complete, untouched spirit stone mine. It would be worth at least several billion, or even tens of billions, of spirit stones.

“You take this. From now on, the matters of the Five Elements Sect will be left to you younger generations.”

After Chen Mobai scanned the "Map of the Eastern Continent Dragon Veins" in his hand using the Heavenly Computing Bead, he handed it to Jiang Zongheng, who immediately nodded and accepted it with both hands.

Next, they went to other locations.

Most were jade boxes containing inherited content such as texts and diagrams. What surprised Chen Mobai the most were dozens of jade slips recording the "Hundred Arts of Cultivation." These encompassed everything: alchemy, artifact refining, array formations, talisman crafting, puppetry, and more, all complete from Rank 1 to Rank 6.

This made Chen Mobai lament that this region truly valued knowledge above all else.

Clearly, in the view of the Eastern Earth Imperial Court, as long as these inheritances remained, even if they declined in the future, there would always be a day for a resurgence.

Unfortunately, now all of it belonged to the Five Elements Sect.

After Chen Mobai scanned them with the Heavenly Computing Bead, he had Jiang Zongheng put them into a storage bag.

Soon, the two arrived at the last location where the Small Dragon Catching Cauldron showed a reaction.

It was inside a palace hall.

It appeared to be a cultivation chamber.

After Chen Mobai melted away one of the floor tiles, he found that this time he didn't get knowledge, but a small cauldron.

After taking it out and inspecting it, he realized this was also a Small Dragon Catching Cauldron.

It seemed this item was very important to the Eastern Earth Imperial Court.

Just as Chen Mobai thought of this, suddenly, the cauldron in Jiang Zongheng's hand emitted a rich spiritual light, creating a wondrous resonance with the Small Dragon Catching Cauldron in Chen Mobai's own hand.

Then, to his surprise, the two cauldrons automatically flew up and crashed into each other.

Chen Mobai thought for a moment and did not intervene to stop the collision.

Accompanied by a dull thud, the two cauldrons burst forth with brilliant radiance. A dragon-shaped phantom flew out from each cauldron, seemingly engaged in a beast fight, constantly tearing at and devouring each other.

Chen Mobai was surprised to find that the dragon-shaped phantom emerging from the cauldron he had re-refined was somewhat at a disadvantage.

Evidently, although the cauldron found in the imperial secret realm had not been refined by anyone for a long time, it had continuously been nourished by the spiritual veins here. Its vital energy was much more abundant than the cauldron that had lain derelict in the wild mountains of the Eastern Wilderness for an unknown number of years.

Furthermore, this cauldron was merely an expendable artifact for Jiang Zongheng. Most of his time was spent refining the Path-Walking Ruler, his true spirit artifact that Chen Mobai had crafted for him.

Out of curiosity, Chen Mobai immediately used the Can Tong Qi to simultaneously comprehend both cauldrons, quickly discerning the situation.

These Small Dragon Catching Cauldrons were actually merging.

Moreover, as the fusion progressed, a hidden power slowly seeped from the depths of the void within the secret realm, flowing into the cauldron and elevating it.

In his state of simultaneous comprehension, Chen Mobai instantly followed the river of time and witnessed the birth of these two cauldrons.

According to legend, after the Dragon Catching Cauldron, the inherited treasure of the Eastern Earth Imperial Court, disappeared, the Eastern Earth Imperial Court re-refined nine Small Dragon Catching Cauldrons as replicas.

However, what Chen Mobai saw was quite different.

In the past, these nine Small Dragon Catching Cauldrons had actually split from a single large cauldron.

That large cauldron had four legs and two ears, emanating vast vital energy that seemed to swallow the boundless and refine nine layers of heavenly tribulation. Figures, whose faces and forms were indistinct, sat before the cauldron, using secret techniques to unleash its power to the extreme.

Soon, a true dragon, as if substantial, flew out of the cauldron and transformed into a small cauldron.

Eight true dragons, each of a different shape and color, flew out from it, becoming the eight Small Dragon Catching Cauldrons.

After expelling the eight small cauldrons, the large cauldron also seemed to have exhausted its vital energy and began to shrink.

This was the origin of the nine Small Dragon Catching Cauldrons.

They had actually originated from the division of a single large cauldron.

And that large cauldron was clearly the legendary peak Rank 6 Dragon Catching Cauldron.

But wasn't it stolen by a true spirit of the demon race?

Chen Mobai was filled with shock and doubt.

However, compared to rumors, he had more faith in the past scenes he witnessed using the Can Tong Qi.

This meant that in the distant past, although the Eastern Earth Imperial Court had suffered great losses in strength and sensed the impending collapse of their dynasty, they still laid out preparations for a future resurgence.

Everything within this secret realm, from cultivation techniques of the Heavenly Emperor Scroll to maps of spiritual vein and mineral resource distribution, and various inheritances of the Hundred Arts of Cultivation, was all-encompassing and complete.

Additionally, there was the possibility of reassembling the Dragon Catching Cauldron.

If this was the truth, then what was the true spirit of the demon race that attacked the Eastern Earth Imperial Court back then?

Chen Mobai's mind was full of questions.

In that battle, what exactly did the Eastern Earth Imperial Court lose that led to its ultimate and complete collapse? And why had no one come to this secret realm to claim these inheritances until now?

Or perhaps, the Moral Sect's guardianship was too strong, preventing those who wished to rebuild the Eastern Earth Imperial Court from finding an opportunity to enter?

After all, not everyone possessed a Turtle Treasure.

Even if a Soul Transformation stage cultivator from the Grand Void Ethereal Palace could enter, Grand Empyrean Da Kong would absolutely not help restore the Eastern Earth Imperial Court. Even the Purple Cloud Heavenly Abode was subordinate to the Grand Void Ethereal Palace in the Central Continent.

It couldn't be that the Eastern Earth Imperial Court staged this themselves, could it?

Chen Mobai considered another possibility.

But he quickly shook his head.

At this moment, the cauldron belonging to Jiang Zongheng was being suppressed by the cauldron unearthed from this grand hall. Chen Mobai felt this might be the Dragon Catching Cauldron instinctively reassembling, so he did not interfere with the process.

After all, it wasn't a true spirit artifact, so even if it was absorbed, it wouldn't significantly affect Jiang Zongheng.

Soon, under the watchful eyes of master and disciple, the two cauldrons, after a burst of dazzling spiritual light, merged into a single cauldron that looked identical to the previous one but was a circle larger.

Its grade, however, had increased, now being a mid-grade Rank 4 artifact.

After the fusion was complete, Chen Mobai extended his hand and held the cauldron in his palm. Under the influence of the Can Tong Qi, all the mysteries of this artifact were revealed to him.

As expected, after the nine Small Dragon Catching Cauldrons merged, they would form the complete Rank 6 Dragon Catching Cauldron.

However, it would only have the cauldron's form but lack its spirit.

The cauldron spirit, meanwhile, had already been taken by the Human Emperor before the cauldron was fragmented into nine small cauldrons.

Chen Mobai could not use the Can Tong Qi to see the whereabouts of the "cauldron spirit," but for him, this information was already sufficient.

This was because after the nine Dragon Catching Cauldrons merged, they would instinctively sense the cauldron spirit and return to their peak.

A peak Rank 6 artifact was still somewhat appealing to Chen Mobai.

After all, his strongest Primordial Chaos Bell was only a high-grade Rank 6 artifact.

If it weren't for attribute suppression back then, it might not have been able to subdue the peak Rank 6 Deep Abyss Sea-Suppressing Pearl.

However, it would be an impossible task for Chen Mobai to go around the world collecting all nine dispersed Small Dragon Catching Cauldrons himself.

He didn't even have enough time for cultivation.

It was better to let his disciple do it.

“Disciple, these are two of the Dragon Catching Cauldron’s fragments merging...”

After Chen Mobai explained the situation to Jiang Zongheng, he handed the cauldron in his hand to the latter, who looked on with surprise.

“You will cultivate the Heavenly Emperor Scroll in the future, so it seems you have some destiny with this cauldron. If you get the chance, you can try to find the other seven. If you can reassemble it, I believe you will gain the recognition of this Rank 6 artifact.”

“Thank you, Master!”

Jiang Zongheng thanked him again, taking the cauldron with both hands. In this imperial secret realm, he had received virtually all the benefits, making him realize how fortunate he was that Chen Mobai was his master.

If it were according to local customs, a disciple like him would already be considered favored to receive even one scroll of the Hundred Arts of Cultivation inheritance.

“When the Dragon Catching Cauldron was originally fragmented, most of its power was dispersed into this secret realm, so if you wish to reassemble it, it must be done here. Also, after this cauldron merges, its refining incantation will change...”

Jiang Zongheng nodded, committing every word he said to memory.

After sweeping through all the remaining items left by the Eastern Earth Imperial Court in the secret realm, Chen Mobai, thoroughly satisfied, returned to the Eastern Wilderness with Jiang Zongheng.

“Next, you should focus on your cultivation. Strive to form your Nascent Soul first; it will still be timely to switch to cultivating the Heavenly Emperor Scroll after that. According to my estimation, by then, the dragon veins of the Eastern Wilderness will have almost developed sentience. And I will also need some time to prepare the Six Dragon Essence Blood for you.”

Inside the main hall of Beiyuan City, Chen Mobai instructed Jiang Zongheng, guiding his future cultivation path, while the latter listened respectfully.

“Thank you, Master. I’ll go find Senior Brother O now.”

Jiang Zongheng's storage bag contained the Eastern Earth Imperial Court's most precious inherited knowledge. These were certainly meant for the Five Elements Sect, but to avoid detection by the Moral Sect and others, they would need to be gradually legitimized.

And most importantly, the large spirit stone mine would definitely need to be surveyed in advance, just in case the Eastern Earth Imperial Court had already exhausted it!

Chen Mobai certainly wouldn't bother with such minor matters, leaving Jiang Zongheng and O Yun to figure them out.

After staying in Beiyuan City for some time, Chen Mobai waited for Zhang Pankong.

Zhang Pankong, utilizing the Grand Void Ethereal Palace’s connections and channels, had gathered all the remaining minerals required to upgrade the Myriad Creation Virtue Cauldron to Rank 5, and even more than a dozen additional types.

Chen Mobai accepted them all and gave him an additional two taels of Enlightenment Tea.

After finishing their business, Chen Mobai was about to head to Panghuang Mountain to guard his precious disciple, Zhuo Ming, as she formed her Nascent Soul. Unexpectedly, Zhang Pankong looked troubled and did not take his leave, instead slowly sipping his tea.