Chapter 574: Dan Scripture

As a member of the Immortal Sect, Chen Mobai naturally named the school according to the Sect's traditions.

Academy, Palace of Learning, Daoist Institute! Among these, Chen Mobai felt that the Divine Wood Sect wasn't quite worthy of being designated a Daoist Institute, the highest grade. Although they could loosely claim True Monarch Yiyuan as their patriarch, without a Nascent Soul cultivator presiding over it, a more moderate designation was appropriate.

A Palace of Learning was perfect!

After confirming the name, Chen Mobai waved his hand. A lump of earth from the ground was drawn up, and a golden flame burst forth, instantly melting the earth and reshaping it into a nine-zhang tall brown stone tablet. With a flick of his finger, sword energy surged forth, carving the four characters "Everlasting Palace of Learning" onto the stone tablet from top to bottom.

After completing this, Chen Mobai discussed the general guidelines for the Palace of Learning with E Yun. Grades one to four would cover basic education, following the Immortal Sect's curriculum of "Arts, Alchemy, Artifact Forging, and Formations." By the fifth and sixth grades, students could choose their specializations. If the institution grew larger and stronger in the future, Chen Mobai also planned to establish a university department within the Everlasting Palace of Learning. However, as the conditions were not yet met, the sect would temporarily fill that role.

However, after teaching for a period, it was discovered that even if the cultivators from the Heavenly River Realm understood the literal meaning of the Immortal Sect's educational system, there were still many deviations when it came to practical implementation. Chen Mobai had no choice but to stay for a while longer and personally take charge of the matter. Fortunately, as the current Sect Master and a Core Formation Patriarch, his word was law in the Divine Wood Sect. With a single command, the Sect's Transmission of Skills Department immediately dispatched many experienced cultivators to assist.

Most of these cultivators were former true disciples of the sect who had failed to advance after taking Foundation Establishment Pills and were advanced in age. Wishing to spend the rest of their lives in peace, they had chosen to join the Transmission of Skills Department. Since they had been true disciples, they were naturally once among the elites of the twelve departments, some even serving as the Qi Cultivation chief of their respective departments. At least in one of the hundred immortal cultivation arts, they were at the second-tier level.

After Chen Mobai looked into it, he found that their teaching experience did not quite meet his requirements. For instance, one person had extremely high proficiency in talisman arts. He instantly drew a second-tier Spirit Leaf Talisman, flowing like clouds and water, completing it in one go. His foundational brushwork was also very solid; even in the Immortal Sect, he would likely pass the second-tier certification. However, his lectures on talismans were extremely dry and difficult to understand. Even when he used what he considered simple and easy-to-understand language, the Qi Cultivation cultivators listening below were all completely confused, as if listening to an incomprehensible text.

Left with no choice, Chen Mobai had to first teach these individuals how to deliver an effective lecture. What he didn't expect was that as soon as word spread that he was going to teach, all the Divine Wood Sect Qi Cultivation disciples in Beiyuan City submitted applications to E Yun, Yuan Chizhi, and others, hoping to attend as auditors.

Sect Master Chen's esteemed title of "Great Sage and Benevolent Teacher" was renowned throughout the entire Eastern Desolation. His three disciples all successfully established their foundations, and Yu Lian, Mu Yuan, Li Yixian, Xi Jinghuo, and others guided by him were also rising stars among the new generation of Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Eastern Desolation. Furthermore, the three Foundation Establishment stages he organized and pioneered allowed Eastern Desolation cultivators to gain the clearest and most detailed understanding of the chasm that is Foundation Establishment. Every ambitious cultivator took pride in receiving guidance from Chen Mobai, the Great Sage and Benevolent Teacher!

So, as soon as the news of his lecture spread, it attracted everyone nearby, even though it wasn't about cultivation. Not only in Beiyuan City of Yan Country, but also from Xiao Country, Hong Country, and Lei Country, many Divine Wood Sect disciples spared no expense of spirit stones to use teleportation arrays to come, just to attend this lecture. Seeing such enthusiasm, Chen Mobai, who had always loved the cause of education, naturally did not decline. Furthermore, to establish the reputation of the Everlasting Palace of Learning, he even instructed E Yun not to stop non-Divine Wood Sect members from attending. Of course, the best front-row seats were reserved for sect members, while outsiders could only be at the furthest spots.

Half a month later, the Everlasting Palace of Learning was completed under E Yun's direction. Only the cultivation rooms, which were arranged according to his requirements and involved formations and spirit veins, were still under construction, with the sect's Formation Department and Spirit Vein Department working overtime to finish them. But these did not affect the educational activities.

On this day, Chen Mobai stood directly on the stone tablet at the entrance of the Everlasting Palace of Learning, facing the plains playground packed with people below, and began to lecture on how to conduct education effectively.

"The highest form is to establish virtue; next is to establish merit; next is to establish doctrines. Though long past, these do not decay; this is called immortality!" He first quoted a well-known saying from the Immortal Sect. Even if one cultivates to the Soul Transformation stage, even cultivators of the Everlasting Spring Technique will one day reach the end of their lifespan and pass away. But if one establishes virtue, builds achievements, and creates doctrines, even after one dies, one will become eternally immortal and be passed down forever. What Chen Mobai was doing now was "establishing doctrines"!

He lectured for a full day and night. Although he spoke about how to become an excellent teacher, he made learning enjoyable by providing examples from the four aspects of Arts, Alchemy, Artifact Forging, and Formations. He even randomly selected Zhou Bingyan and other true disciples of the sect to come up, and on the spot, from scratch, after just one lesson, enabled them to master a spell they had never learned before! Following his teaching methods, some of the astute and clever rogue cultivators listening below also learned it on the spot.

Such results utterly astonished the cultivators of the Eastern Desolation, who had never received a systematic education. If they could continuously attend lectures under Sect Master Chen, even the most difficult cultivation knowledge could probably be learned with ease... At this moment, the rogue cultivators who had originally been somewhat skeptical of Chen Mobai's esteemed title of Great Sage and Benevolent Teacher were completely convinced. They even began to ponder how they could join the Divine Wood Sect and become disciples of Sect Master Chen!

Meanwhile, Chen Mobai was already riding on multicolored clouds and gracefully departed.

"Truly the bearing of an immortal!"

The admiring rogue cultivator was named Han Tingfeng. He was a ninth-level Qi Cultivation alchemist, considered among the wealthiest class of rogue cultivators, and had extensive connections. Sometimes, even the Foundation Establishment families from Lei Country needed his help to refine pills. Before his lifespan ended, he wanted to make one final attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm, leaving no regrets. The Foundation Establishment Pill was already prepared, acquired from the Baose Market of the Southern Xuan Sect.

During the preparation phase, he heard that the Divine Wood Sect's Great Sage and Benevolent Teacher was going to give lectures in Yan Country, teaching without discrimination and open to all. He immediately set aside the batch of pills he was refining and rushed over, hoping to hear something related to Foundation Establishment. Although Chen Mobai's lecture on Arts, Alchemy, Artifact Forging, and Formations this time was unrelated to Foundation Establishment, it allowed Han Tingfeng to gain a deeper understanding of his own cultivation method. He cultivated a Pill Scripture and considered himself an outstanding second-tier alchemist in the Eastern Desolation. This time, regarding the alchemy content, although Chen Mobai only provided an outline, it made him feel that Sect Master Chen of the Divine Wood Sect was an alchemy grandmaster superior to him. This person truly deserves to be called the foremost genius of the Eastern Desolation in a millennium!

"Do you know? This place is about to become a branch institute of the Divine Wood Sect!" Just as Han Tingfeng was filled with admiration for Chen Mobai, his friend, who resided in Beiyuan City, pointed at the Everlasting Palace of Learning stone tablet and said to him.

"The Divine Wood Sect has hundreds of branch institutes spread across the Seven Countries of the Eastern Desolation. What's so special about that?"

"Hehe, you wouldn't know this, would you? Let me tell you..."

After Han Tingfeng learned the true meaning of the four characters "Everlasting Palace of Learning," his eyes widened instantly, and his beard trembled with excitement.

"Is that really true!"

He had just celebrated his hundredth birthday two years ago and had only a few years left to live. However, he had many cultivation partners and more than a dozen children, among whom one son and one daughter possessed spiritual roots. Because he only started having children after deeming his own Foundation Establishment hopeless, neither of these children had yet exceeded the enrollment age limit of thirty.

After learning about the function of the Everlasting Palace of Learning from his friend, Han Tingfeng then sought out several other friends in Beiyuan City to confirm. Once he confirmed it was true, he could no longer hold back and used his connection with Lian Chenghai, a Foundation Establishment cultivator from Lei Country, to approach E Yun.

"This is unfortunate," E Yun said. "The second-tier cave dwellings are already sold out. However, the second phase is already under development. You can pre-pay with spirit stones, and I guarantee to reserve two for you."

E Yun had also heard of Han Tingfeng; he was an alchemy genius who had even obtained a Pill Scripture. His proficiency in Qi Transformation Pills and True Force Pills even surpassed Zeng Woyou.

Han Tingfeng asked, "Are there any first-tier cave dwellings left?"

E Yun replied, "They also sold out recently!"

Han Tingfeng was still too conservative. Ever since Chen Mobai lectured for a day at the entrance of the Everlasting Palace of Learning, rogue cultivators and various families who had originally been observing in Beiyuan City no longer had any doubts. Even if they already had their own cave dwellings, they all rushed to buy the remaining ones. Even when E Yun doubled the price, it could not stop the surging enthusiasm of those who wanted to buy school district properties. After selling out, E Yun slammed the table again and cried out with a pained expression, "We sold them too cheaply!"

"Well... Overseer E," Han Tingfeng began, "I wonder if you could help me? I am willing to pay three times the price for one first-tier and one second-tier cave dwelling." Han Tingfeng's daughter had excellent spiritual root talent, but his son was average. So he planned to buy a second-tier cave dwelling to guarantee his son's admission and a first-tier cave dwelling for his daughter's enrollment.

As he spoke, he quietly slipped a bottle of pills into E Yun's sleeve, but the latter righteously refused. "For second-hand property transactions, we have specifically opened a shop in Beiyuan City. You just need to register there. However, the transfer of ownership requires a payment of ten percent of the spirit stones to our Divine Wood Sect; otherwise, we will not recognize the enrollment qualification." Ever since Chen Mobai popularized the dangers of excessive pill toxicity, those with ambition in the Divine Wood Sect would basically only use the power of pills to assist during critical realm breakthroughs. Although Han Tingfeng's pills were highly reputed, E Yun still did not want them.

"Thank you, Overseer E, for your guidance," Han Tingfeng said. "In the future, if my children enroll and join your esteemed sect, they will still need your continued care and support." For the sake of his son and daughter, Han Tingfeng was willing to set aside his old pride. He thought E Yun didn't want the pills because he looked down on them, so with a pained heart, he once again took out his most precious bottle of pills. This was something he had obtained along with the Pill Scripture, named "Golden Crow Holding Sun Pill." Seeing that E Yun seemed about to refuse again, Han Tingfeng immediately opened the bottle cap slightly.

The aura unique to a third-tier pill made E Yun stop his gesture of refusal. He asked about the origin of the pill. Han Tingfeng explained briefly, and E Yun's eyes immediately lit up.

"Ah, the devotion of parents," E Yun sighed. "Since Fellow Daoist Han has put it that way, then I will give you an opportunity today." He then took out a stack of special property deeds from his drawer and handed one to Han Tingfeng.

"This is..." Han Tingfeng was initially puzzled after receiving it, but after E Yun finished explaining the benefits of these third-tier cave dwellings, his eyes immediately widened and his breathing quickened.

"These are third-tier cave dwellings not yet open for sale. Patriarch Chen personally decreed..." E Yun explained.

Throughout his life, his greatest worry was that after his death, his lifelong savings from alchemy would be plundered by his neighbors in Lei Country, who had long been eyeing them. So long ago, he had been trying to find a way to arrange marriages for his children, but those cultivation families would only agree if there was a bride price or dowry. While there were connections to Foundation Establishment cultivators, he disdained Qi Cultivation patrons and even Foundation Establishment cultivators still demanded all his assets and the Pill Scripture inheritance before agreeing to take one of his children as a disciple. And now, these third-tier cave dwellings could perfectly solve this problem.

"Overseer E," Han Tingfeng said, "to prepare for Foundation Establishment, I currently only have 50,000 spirit stones in savings. I wonder if this Pill Scripture can be mortgaged to your esteemed sect?" He felt it was entirely worth using his lifelong savings to ensure his children had a Foundation Establishment Pill and could enter the Divine Wood Sect, protected by the Eastern Desolation's foremost great sect. So he took out the Pill Scripture he had originally intended to pass on to his son only before his death.

"This..." E Yun was also somewhat surprised after hearing this. He took it and roughly examined it, discovering that it actually recorded seven different pill formulas, including the third-tier "Golden Crow Holding Sun Pill." These pill formulas alone were worth 50,000 spirit stones. One must know, the Divine Wood Sect only had twenty-four pill formula inheritances.

E Yun's expression changed, and he immediately wanted to agree. But he was not an alchemist after all and still needed a professional to confirm the content of the Pill Scripture and the formulas. Soon after, Yin Shuming, a true disciple from the Alchemy Department who had come to Yan Country with him, rushed over. But he was only at the Qi Cultivation stage and was also unsure about pill formulas above the second-tier and the cultivation method of this Pill Scripture.

"How about, we consult the Sect Master?" Yin Shuming said somewhat awkwardly. As soon as Chen Mobai finished lecturing on the four subjects of Arts, Alchemy, Artifact Forging, and Formations, everyone believed he was an all-rounder in immortal cultivation, with his alchemy proficiency being at least second-tier.

"The Sect Master is busy with myriad affairs daily," E Yun said. "We shouldn't bother him with such a minor matter. I remember Junior Sister Yin is also an alchemist; I'll go invite her over."

When Yin Qingmei received the communication talisman, she didn't pay much attention at first, but after seeing the name of the Pill Scripture, she immediately got up and rushed out of her room.

(End of chapter)