Chapter 1364: Past Causes, Present Effects

After Cheng Yunlan reined in his inner shock, he teleported in front of Chen Mobai and greeted him warmly, saying, "Congratulations, Fellow Daoist, on reaching the Void Refinement stage. Our Xuanku Daochang now has another distinguished talent who has entered the Innate Great Dao."

Chen Mobai returned the greeting. Although he had already refined the Purple Cloud Palace and no longer held the Void Refinement stage in high regard, he was always humble: "Greetings, Fellow Daoist Cheng. I am grateful for your reminder when I was refining the void."

In just a few words, the two were already chatting and laughing freely.

"If a Void Refinement cultivator joins our Xuanku Daochang, they will be directly assigned a cave residence with a sixth-tier spirit vein, along with numerous benefits. Are you interested, Fellow Daoist?"

Cheng Yunlan did not forget his duty and sought to recruit Chen Mobai into his Daochang.

"I have a temporary household registration in Fushang, so I suppose I am considered a member of the Xuanku Daochang, right?" Chen Mobai said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yunlan feigned surprise and then slightly frowned, turning angrily to Lu Jing, who was not far away, and asked, "What is going on? A genius like Fellow Daoist Chen should fully meet the naturalization requirements for talent introduction in our Xuanku Daochang. Why does he still only have a temporary household registration?"

Lu Jing repeatedly apologized, then pretentiously took out a magic artifact and began to check the situation.

In truth, all of Chen Mobai's information was already known to them, and Fushang Star giving him a temporary household registration was not considered a violation. However, now that Chen Mobai had reached the Void Refinement stage and specifically brought up the matter, it was clear he had a grievance about it. So, they very sensibly pretended not to know, and even felt compelled to provide an explanation that would satisfy Chen Mobai.

At that moment, a silver light flashed, and a tall, slender female cultivator teleported into appearance. On the other side, Lian Xuyuan directly warped through space and then, utilizing a stargate teleportation array, rushed to Feng Zhen at the fastest possible speed.

"That I could attain the Void Refinement stage here shows this is my blessed land, so naturally, I am more than willing." Feng Zhen did not refuse, but since he had already reached the Void Refinement stage, he intended to secure the maximum benefits. So, he continued, "There are a few fellow villagers who came out from the Diyuan Star with me; they, like me, also have temporary household registrations from Fellow Daoist Chen. I wonder if they can also be transferred to Huogao?"

"The temporary household registration for Zhan Fengzhen, was that your decision?" Lian Xuyuan looked at Feng Zhen with burning eyes, knowing that someone with authority would have to take responsibility for this matter before he could return and explain it to Feng Zhen.

The minor character whom he could easily dispatch in the past had now become an existence he had to look up to, which left Zhan Fengzhen feeling very unpleasant.

Hua Yingxue's heart sank. He knew that today's matter was likely significant, but since he was already there, fleeing was no longer an option. He could only approach with a smile and ask, "Senior Brother, why have you suddenly come? Has something happened?"

Hua Yingxue reached out and took it, discovering it was a file containing Chen Mobai's temporary household registration data. With a glance of his spiritual sense, he saw Chen Mobai's photograph.

After all, according to the difficulty of naturalization in Xuanku Seven Stars, even if one met the qualifications, it was common to wait in line for a thousand years. Now, with Chen Mobai offering to resolve it within a hundred years, it was certainly very generous.

"How could that be? I vaguely remember being too lazy to deal with such trivial matters back then. I left it to Gaotian and Yingxue. Yingxue is here now, why don't you explain?"

Lian Xuyuan, his face grim, recounted how Chen Mobai had successfully reached the Void Refinement stage and even stepped into the Innate Great Dao.

Hua Yingxue, a Void Refinement cultivator who governed Zhan Fengzhen, was in the midst of refining a batch of pills when Lian Xuyuan's anger made him startle, causing the furnace flames to go out of control. Lian Xuyuan showed no good countenance to Hua Yingxue, who was also a Void Refinement cultivator. He had already clarified Chen Mobai's situation by then, and he flung the documents in his hand out.

After listening to Chen Mobai's words, Cheng Yunlan showed a troubled expression: "To be frank, Fellow Daoist, Huogao's household registration is the most difficult to obtain within the Xuanku Daochang; the rules were personally set by my master. You are a Void Refinement cultivator, so you meet the conditions for direct naturalization and settlement. For those below the Void Refinement stage, it would take at least a hundred years of residency in Huogao before I can help facilitate this matter."

Wang Xing saw him and his eyes immediately lit up. He directly put the blame on him: "Ball Master, Fellow Daoist Chen is under Lian Xuyuan's command, and since he's here, he should know what's going on."

Hua Yingxue carefully asked a question. After all, according to the rules of the Xuanku Daochang, one cannot settle in the Seven Stars after reaching the Void Refinement stage. Moreover, if the Xuanku Daojun were present, he would certainly personally receive anyone who reached the Innate Great Dao at the Void Refinement stage.

Zhan Fengzhen instructed the female cultivator to go find Lian Xuyuan first, thinking she would let the latter cool down before Zhan Fengzhen herself arrived.

It seems that a Void Refinement cultivator who has entered the Innate Great Dao has even more prestige than I imagined.

After Chen Mobai straightforwardly explained the situation, he sternly questioned them.

"Hmph, tell him to get over here and explain immediately."

"It's a terrible matter, so bad that I've been reprimanded by Senior Brother Cheng and am about to be held accountable!"

"Many thanks, Fellow Daoist Cheng," Hua Yingxue muttered to himself, recalling his conversation with Chen Mobai a hundred years ago. The latter had indeed mentioned his background, but Hua Yingxue had completely disregarded it, carelessly leaving it for two disciples to handle.

At first, Zhan Fengyuan thought it was Hua Yingxue's instruction, but now it seemed it was Gaotian's own doing.

"Hmph, look at the trouble you've caused!"

Seeing Gaotian's appearance, Zhan Fengzhen threatened him with a cold, sharp gaze. That disciple's family was a major medicinal herb merchant in Fellow Daoist Chen's territory, considered a prominent clan, but in the eyes of a Void Refinement cultivator, they were mere ants.

Chen Mobai was somewhat surprised to see Cheng Yunlan give him so much face.

Hua Yingxue had no intention of confronting Feng Zhen for the sake of that disciple. He knew his own capabilities, so he was determined to get to the bottom of the matter.

But that hold-up indicated someone was deliberately obstructing, not wanting Feng Zhen and his group to formally naturalize.

If they had not deliberately obstructed it back then and had proactively helped Feng Zhen and his group, who had just arrived at Fellow Daoist Chen's, to formally naturalize, they might have even obtained a second Xuanku Pill through this favor. Soon, Gaotian, who had received the news, was hastily brought over. He failed in his Void Refinement attempt; although he survived thanks to the power of a pill, his primordial spirit dispersed, and his cultivation was even lower than the Nascent Soul stage. His face had also aged considerably.

After Lian Xuyuan learned the reason, he inwardly cursed the people who handled matters on Fellow Daoist Chen's side, but outwardly still sought an excuse to shirk his own responsibility. "This Cheng Yunlan is Junior Sister Song's friend, and through her, he exchanged for a Xuanku Pill. Didn't you know that?"

"It turns out he really is from the Xuanyang Galaxy."

Gaotian's lips trembled slightly, unsure how to answer. He looked at the head of the Immigration Bureau, who immediately avoided his gaze. Gaotian didn't dare say the latter was spouting nonsense, as a Void Refinement cultivator had means to verify the truth of words.

Zhan Fengzhen offered a tea toast to Chen Mobai.

At that moment, he deeply regretted why, after gaining one merit, he still thought of obtaining more from Chen Mobai.

"Junior Brother Gaotian, please give Cheng Yunlan an explanation."

To his surprise, Feng Yuan stood grim-faced in the hall, unleashing a torrent of rage upon the Soul Transformation cultivators from several departments. Even Fushang Star, which he usually favored greatly, was not spared, being utterly lambasted.

"Why did you process temporary household registrations for Chen Mobai and his group? With their talents, according to the rules, shouldn't they have been directly naturalized through talent introduction?" To avoid responsibility falling on himself, Hua Yingxue directly questioned Gaotian. "Was he a Soul Transformation cultivator who snuck in back then? Did he cause trouble in Huogao and implicate you?" Hua Yingxue saw at the end of Chen Mobai's file a document applying to go to Huogao. Glancing at Lian Xuyuan's furious expression, his heart tightened.

As he prepared to teleport to where Feng Yuan had arrived, considering that the latter was clearly in an enraged mood, Hua Yingxue transmitted a message to his male disciple, Feng Zhen, to avoid being reprimanded himself.

Wind, rain, thunder, and howling gales indicated that this will was enraged.

"Hmph, then I ask you, eight years later, when Chen Mobai and his group's hundred-year temporary period was up and they applied for formal naturalization, why did you instruct the Immigration Bureau to refuse and only renew their temporary household registrations?"

Soon, all cultivators who had reached a certain cultivation realm felt a majestic will covering the entire planet.

Gaotian's Void Refinement memory instantly brought back the scene from a hundred years ago.

After Chen Mobai finished speaking, he further added, "How about this: I will first transfer your fellow Daoist's (Feng Zhen's) compatriots to Feng Zhen's formal household registration, and then arrange for their residency permits in Huogao. After a hundred years, they can then directly transfer their registration to Huogao under the terms for high-tech talents. How does that sound?"

"Confess honestly, or your entire clan will suffer!"

After all, he owed his current status entirely to that person.

Finally, Gaotian let out a bitter laugh and honestly confessed his precise transgressions.

If there hadn't been that deliberate obstruction, he could have returned to Huogao with those files and claimed that Fellow Daoist Chen's side had acted reasonably, or at most, that the subordinates were merely a bit cautious in handling affairs.

Lian Xuyuan's words made Hua Yingxue pause, then he remembered something and opened Chen Mobai's file to confirm his place of origin.

And after hearing the news of Chen Mobai's successful Void Refinement, he stood rooted to the spot, his face pale and cold sweat pouring down, muttering to himself, "How can this be? It's impossible..."

"Reporting to Master, since they were Soul Transformation cultivators of unknown origin, and to avoid any unforeseen incidents, I, as a security officer, thought it best to transition them with temporary household registrations first. Only after they had fully integrated into Fellow Daoist Chen's community would they formally naturalize." Seeing the situation, Gaotian knew that if he handled it improperly today, he might become a scapegoat. He racked his brain, trying to exonerate himself.

After Chen Mobai (the official) finished his instructions, he invited Chen Mobai (the protagonist), who unhesitatingly followed him into Huogao's highest central building. After the pills were ruined, Hua Yingxue's mouth twitched slightly, feeling heartbroken, but he dared not say anything and quickly cleaned up.