Chapter 1246: Meeting Ruan Lilong

In the Yellow Dragon Cave, Chen Mobai soon received a message from Ruan Lilong, who wished to pay him a visit.

Although Yuan Chizhi had brought the news, many details about the destruction of the Myriad Star Alliance were certainly better known by Ruan Lilong, who was directly involved. Moreover, Chen Mobai had some impression of Ruan Lilong as a junior, so he went to Wind and Rain Immortal City to meet him.

“The Great Abyss Grand Canyon, an immortal's secret realm!” Chen Mobai was slightly surprised after listening to Ruan Lilong's explanation.

When Taishi Weiguang led the Myriad Star Alliance army away, he had considered the possibility of something happening to him. Therefore, he had revealed the greatest secret of the Flying Sand Sect to Ruan Lilong, the most outstanding among his juniors. Under the current circumstances, with their sect virtually annihilated, Ruan Lilong directly divulged this information to gain Chen Mobai's trust.

Given Chen Mobai's current cultivation level, only secret realms left behind by ascended cultivators, at the very least, could genuinely pique his interest.

Previously, his second primordial spirit had gained considerable rewards in Lanyuan Valley in the Western Continent.

After Qing Nu obtained the Six Pure Bamboos, her comprehension of the Black Emperor Profound Nether Scripture advanced by leaps and bounds. All other fifth-grade medicinal materials had also been transplanted into the Yellow Dragon Cave. Under Zhuo Ming's personal care, all of them survived and even thrived more vigorously than when they were in Lanyuan Valley.

Thus, upon hearing Ruan Lilong mention the immortal's secret realm, Chen Mobai's heart stirred. He wondered if the Five Elements Sect, as a neighbor to the Myriad Star Alliance, should offer assistance now that the latter was in trouble, to investigate what had truly happened in the Great Abyss Grand Canyon that caused so many Myriad Star Alliance experts to vanish without a trace.

However, no sooner had this thought arisen than his Heaven-Piercing Amulet began to warn him.

It wasn't a subtle warning; it was quite intense.

This indicated the presence of a power capable of threatening Chen Mobai's life, far exceeding even the Essence Severing True Monarch he had encountered, who was at the Void Refinement stage.

Chen Mobai immediately abandoned his intention to help.

“Please, senior, lend a hand and save my Flying Sand Sect,” Ruan Lilong pleaded with a cry. At this moment, Ruan Lilong was crying out in supplication. Although seventy to eighty percent of the soul plaques of the Myriad Star Alliance cultivators Taishi Weiguang had led were shattered, some still remained alive.

For example, the Nascent Soul cultivators Taishi Weiguang and Xiang Chunlei.

If they could be rescued, the Flying Sand Sect could at least maintain its position as the top power within the Myriad Star Alliance.

“The Eastern Continent is also about to face a major tribulation. I am stationed in the three border regions and must protect the billions of lives here. My responsibility is immense, and I truly cannot leave at this time,” Chen Mobai said with a sigh.

Ruan Lilong actually held little hope in his heart, not believing he could persuade Chen Mobai, the foremost Spirit Transformation cultivator in the Eastern Continent.

After all, the desolate sea region was simply too barren, with few fifth-grade resources.

However, he still held onto a sliver of hope, which was why he revealed the news of the immortal's secret realm.

But the Azure Emperor of the Eastern Desolation truly lived up to his reputation as a great sage; he remained unmoved by such temptation.

“Senior, I wonder if it’s still possible to join the Eastern Continent Immortal Alliance? My Flying Sand Sect is willing to lead all forces of the Myriad Star Alliance in the desolate sea to merge into it,” Ruan Lilong stated his true purpose.

If the truth about the Great Abyss Grand Canyon wasn't uncovered, he would never dare to stay in the desolate sea. So now, he only wanted to hide within the territory of the Five Elements Sect. If they could join the Eastern Continent Immortal Alliance, they might even receive the protection of the Four Great Sacred Lands.

“Of course, no problem. However, the Myriad Star Alliance has many factions, and going through the full process would take a lot of time. I’ll call Lingming over, and we can first incorporate your major Nascent Soul sects,” Chen Mobai said. Among the four seas of the Heavenly River Realm, there were numerous demon races. Therefore, in the past, to resist the demon race of the desolate sea, the Myriad Star Alliance had accepted almost anyone; any cultivation force could join, and there were indeed over ten thousand such forces.

Many of these were small cultivation families with only a single spirit island.

The Eastern Continent Immortal Alliance certainly wouldn’t accept them; their standing wasn't sufficient.

Soon after, Chen Lingming, having received Chen Mobai's message, personally rushed over from the Eastern Mausoleum Region.

Incorporating the desolate sea forces into the Eastern Continent Immortal Alliance would undoubtedly be a tremendous achievement for Chen Lingming, perhaps even the largest expansion since the Immortal Alliance's establishment, bringing immense merit.

Moreover, since Chen Lingming was responsible for their recruitment, the cultivation forces from the desolate sea would certainly align themselves with the Five Elements Sect within the Eastern Continent Immortal Alliance in the future.

Ruan Lilong fully cooperated with this. However, because several other Nascent Soul forces within the Myriad Star Alliance had already pledged allegiance to the Five Elements Sect earlier, he did not receive the best treatment. Ruan Lilong didn't mind this and even offered Chen Lingming considerable benefits.

After all, given the current situation, joining the larger family of the Eastern Continent Immortal Alliance was more important.

Chen Lingming, however, was very cautious. He stated that he would handle matters officially and did not accept the fifth-grade spiritual items Ruan Lilong offered. He even turned around and reported the matter to Chen Mobai.

“Taking bribes makes one beholden to others, and in the future, your stance would inevitably become biased, making impartiality impossible. You did well.” Chen Mobai naturally praised such integrity. He then spoke of another reason he had summoned Chen Lingming: “The Myriad Star Alliance in the desolate sea possesses more complete treasure ship manufacturing techniques and experience than the Eastern Continent. You were previously in charge of repairing treasure ships in the Bewildering Mountain secret realm. Take the lead with Ruan Lilong and strive to complete the production of fifth-grade treasure ships.”

As one of the Ten Directions Halls of the Eastern Earth Imperial Court, the Flying Sand Sect was once a confidant of the Empress and had piloted one of the Six-Dragon Treasure Ships. When they decided to leave the Eastern Continent and open up new frontiers in the desolate sea, they naturally took the treasure ship blueprints with them.

On the desolate sea, treasure ship technology was almost constantly in use. Thus, over tens of thousands of years, every force within the Myriad Star Alliance developed a unique understanding of treasure ship manufacturing.

However, the Flying Sand Sect still maintained the most advanced treasure ship blueprints, and throughout the entire desolate sea, they were the only ones with experience in manufacturing fifth-grade treasure ships.

The reason Taishi Weiguang dared to go to the Great Abyss Grand Canyon was that the Flying Sand Sect possessed a fifth-grade treasure ship. He believed that piloting this, combined with the third and fourth-grade treasure ships of other Myriad Star Alliance forces, they could even withstand a Spirit Transformation cultivator.

Who would have thought that they would never return?

“Yes,” Chen Lingming nodded happily after hearing this.

Previously, during the war between the Five Elements Sect and the Black Flood Dragon Royal Court, he and Sheng Zhaoxi were responsible for repairing the dilapidated treasure ships recovered from the Bewildering Mountain secret realm.

Among these, the fourth-grade ships had already been mastered, but there had been no progress on the power furnaces for fifth-grade treasure ships. Later, Chen Lingming was transferred by Chen Mobai to establish the Eastern Continent Immortal Alliance, but he had always wanted to make up for this regret in his heart.

Now, with the Flying Sand Sect's mature experience, they could use it to establish a comprehensive system for the Five Elements Sect to manufacture treasure ships, building an invincible fleet for the sect that could traverse the four seas.

Chen Mobai had mentioned this matter to Ruan Lilong, who was still somewhat hesitant. After all, treasure ship technology was the greatest foundation upon which the Flying Sand Sect stood.

The forces in the Heavenly River Realm were very conservative when it came to the transmission of knowledge.

Understanding Ruan Lilong's concerns, Chen Mobai directly pulled out the blueprints for the Six-Dragon Treasure Ship.

These were copied by him and Jiang Zongheng from a secret realm of the Eastern Earth Imperial Court. The treasure ship blueprints from there were even more complete than those inherited by the Flying Sand Sect.

After all, even though the Flying Sand Sect's ancestor was highly esteemed by the Empress at that time, sixth-grade treasure ships represented the power of the Eastern Earth Imperial Court to suppress the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands; it was certainly impossible for related blueprints to be passed down.

After Ruan Lilong finished viewing the blueprints of the Six-Dragon Treasure Ship, his eyes widened, and his whole body trembled.

With his lifelong experience dealing with treasure ships, he naturally recognized that these were authentic.

What surprised him was that the Azure Emperor of the Eastern Desolation had so easily given him knowledge of the sixth-grade.

Recalling his own hesitation, Ruan Lilong felt deeply ashamed at that moment.

Subsequently, Chen Mobai offered the blueprints of the Six-Dragon Treasure Ship as compensation, inviting technical personnel from the Flying Sand Sect and the Myriad Star Alliance who specialized in treasure ships to join the Five Elements Sect's arsenal. Neither Ruan Lilong nor other Myriad Star Alliance forces could refuse this.

“First, put all your effort into perfecting the fifth-grade treasure ship technology. Don't bother with the sixth-grade for now.”

Seeing Chen Lingming's excited demeanor, Chen Mobai added a few words.

Even during the Eastern Earth Imperial Court's peak, there were only six sixth-grade treasure ships. With the Five Elements Sect's current strength, they would likely go bankrupt just to barely manage to build one.

And even then, they might only be able to complete the hull.

The most crucial component of a treasure ship, however, was its power furnace.

If Chen Mobai were willing to spend decades learning the relevant knowledge, he might be able to construct one, but given the choice, he would rather spend that time on his own cultivation.

Furthermore, for the current Five Elements Sect, fifth-grade treasure ships were already sufficient.

To fully activate a sixth-grade treasure ship, at least a Spirit Transformation stage cultivator was required for control.

It would be better to consider this matter in the future, after Qing Nu and Zhuo Ming had reached the Spirit Transformation stage.

As for the most challenging part, the power furnace, Chen Mobai had already considered a solution.

Previously, when he was traveling through the stars with Qi Yuheng and others, he had encountered a demon-infected planet where he obtained a damaged sixth-grade fortress containing a sixth-grade power furnace.

That item was currently still stored within his Dharma Realm.

He planned to ask Cheng Xuan for help once his work on Fushang Star stabilized.

Given Cheng Xuan's skill in artifact crafting, repairing a sixth-grade power furnace with the relevant data should be no problem. However, the difficulty lay in the possibility that this power furnace might need to be modified to suit the Six-Dragon Treasure Ships of the Heavenly River Realm.

Chen Mobai believed this shouldn't be too difficult for Cheng Xuan.

If that truly didn't work, it might be better to simply modify it according to the blueprints of the Lingxiao Treasure Palace.

Both were sixth-grade, and the fully realized Lingxiao Treasure Palace could even unleash destructive white light, which presumably would make it more powerful than the Six-Dragon Treasure Ship.

Thinking of this, Chen Mobai was very much looking forward to this scenario.

He wondered if the so-called Nine Sons of the Ghost Mother, or the great demon cultivators from outside this realm, could withstand the destructive blow of his Chaotic Primordial Qi Cannon.

After entrusting the matter to Chen Lingming, Chen Mobai simply returned to Fushang Star.