Chapter 597: Jade Parasol Advancement, Nourishing Vitality

Pure Nine Gates Treasure Lamp.

After Zhuo Ming arrived, Chen Mobai told her everything he knew about the Vermilion Jade Parasol Tree's advancement. Although this was not the territory of Xiaonanshan, after she broke through to the Mid-Foundation Establishment stage, her Earth Mother Skill became even more powerful. Coupled with the fact that she had previously communed with the local earth veins when transplanting the Vermilion Jade Parasol Tree, she easily used her Universal Affinity ability to gain control over the entire mountain and all the spiritual plants growing on it.

“Prepare some ice-infused pure water. I remember there’s still plenty of sweet dew at the Spiritual Treasure Pavilion, Senior Sister Yin, you can make a trip to exchange for all of it…”

After Zhuo Ming achieved communion through Universal Affinity, she began to give commands calmly. Upon hearing this, Yin Qingmei did not hesitate, immediately riding her escape light to purchase the sweet dew. As for the ice-infused pure water, it required the help of a cultivator practicing a water-attribute cultivation method. Zhuo Ming initially intended to call Luo Yixuan, but Chen Mobai felt it would be too slow, so he handled it himself. During his college entrance examination, he had used the Black Water Skill to defeat all his peers in Danxia City. Although he had neglected it for decades, with his current cultivation level, performing the Ice Breath was easily enough to meet Zhuo Ming's requirements.

Soon after, Yin Qingmei also returned. Seeing Chen Mobai, her esteemed ancestor, personally draw lake water to irrigate and cool the Vermilion Jade Parasol Tree, she couldn't help but feel a touch of emotion.

After taking the sweet dew, Zhuo Ming meticulously used Water Control Art to apply it drop by drop onto the critical points where the Vermilion Jade Parasol Tree's trunk conduits were overheating. Her Universal Affinity ability played a crucial role at this moment, acting like a plant doctor, gradually helping the spiritual plant to disperse the unevenly distributed solar qi accumulated within its body throughout its trunk. She then guided the earth vein spiritual energy upwards, neutralizing and softening the scorching solar qi. With ice-infused pure water also falling from the outside, the Vermilion Jade Parasol Tree quickly passed its most dangerous advancement hurdle.

Yin Qingmei felt Mount Qingdai beneath her feet tremble slightly twice. Then, the Vermilion Jade Parasol Tree suddenly expanded by a full circle, its roots cracking open the ground and revealing dark yellow soil. This was an unconscious action of the spiritual plant after its advancement. Zhuo Ming even helped loosen its roots to prevent the soil from compressing it too tightly as its root system and trunk expanded.

Seeing this meticulous detail from Zhuo Ming, Chen Mobai nodded slightly. This disciple has truly been cultivated well; she is truly reassuring.

Six days later, the trembling of Mount Qingdai ceased. This indicated that the Vermilion Jade Parasol Tree had successfully advanced and stabilized its realm. From then on, it would continuously absorb earth vein spiritual energy, essence of the sun and moon, and other energies, embarking on the path of longevity.

Moreover, after the Vermilion Jade Parasol Tree's advancement, Yin Qingmei, as its symbiotic partner, felt an extremely pure life force surge throughout her entire body. She involuntarily sat cross-legged beneath the symbiotic spiritual plant, falling into a mysterious meditative state. Chen Mobai knew this was due to her cultivation of the Azure Emperor Longevity Scripture, but since he had not practiced it himself, he didn't know how to help and could only observe quietly. Fortunately, Zhuo Ming was there to observe the Vermilion Jade Parasol Tree's condition. She noticed a marvelous cycle forming between Yin Qingmei and the spiritual plant, where they exchanged things that were insignificant to one but highly beneficial to the other.

Three days later, Yin Qingmei opened her eyes. Her already fair skin now had an additional layer of dewy radiance, and her entire being exuded a vibrant vitality from within, as if she had become several years younger.

“Sect Master, my cultivation hasn't improved much, but I feel my body is much lighter.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai gestured for Yin Qingmei to extend her hand. He checked her pulse and indeed found that her physical meridians were as if they had undergone rejuvenation. Chen Mobai himself had experienced a similar situation.

“Your lifespan has increased. Based on your age, it's probably by an additional ten years.”

Hearing this, a hint of pleasant surprise flashed across Yin Qingmei's delicate face. Among all elixirs, those capable of increasing lifespan were known to be the most precious. The renowned Profound Heaven Black Gold Elixir of the Profound Exalt Dao Palace, capable of extending lifespan by twenty years, was hailed as the foremost spiritual elixir in the Eastern Yi region. Whenever Old Ancestor Jinfeng refined it, cultivators seeking to purchase it in advance would flock to his doorstep. Now, Yin Qingmei, merely by being a symbiotic cultivator of the Azure Emperor Longevity Scripture, was reciprocated with ten years of lifespan just because the Vermilion Jade Parasol Tree advanced.

With her Celestial Spirit Root aptitude, she was practically guaranteed to form a Golden Core, and could at least continue to symbiosis with this Vermilion Jade Parasol Tree for over four hundred years. With so many years, if her lifespan could continue to increase, she might genuinely succeed in forming a Nascent Soul in the future.

Chen Mobai was also very pleased about this. He had initially been worried that Yin Qingmei might not live as long as the Vermilion Jade Parasol Tree, which would mean he might have to find someone else to take over her role in caring for the tree in the future. Now that Yin Qingmei's Azure Emperor Longevity Scripture had begun to show initial results, allowing her to receive the life force reciprocated by her natal spiritual plant, it signified the establishment of a foundation for cultivating longevity arts. The next time his own spiritual roots changed, he could enter the inheritance space of the Divine Tree Secret Realm and extract this longevity art from the twenty-four great arts, allowing Yin Qingmei to begin practicing it. This was a technique that even True Monarch Yiyuan had specifically expended great effort to cultivate, arguably the top-tier lifespan-extending divine ability in the Tianhe Realm.

No one would ever complain about having too much lifespan. Especially for Chen Mobai, cultivating the Pure Yang Scroll consumed the most resources and time. Now, resources were essentially abundant; he only hoped his lifespan could also grow longer and longer. In the future, if Chen Mobai cultivated his Longevity Dao Body to perfection, he could also use a co-cultivation technique to have Yin Qingmei use her longevity spiritual energy to help him cultivate this very longevity art!

Thinking of this, his gaze towards Yin Qingmei grew increasingly benevolent. She truly is a treasure girl! Not only can she nurture trees, but she can also guide the Haotian Mirror to condense Pure Yang Purple Qi. In the future, as her cultivation grows, she can protect the sect and even assist in his own cultivation. He had initially found having an adopted daughter a bit awkward, but now Chen Mobai felt that he wouldn't mind having a few more like her.

“This time, we truly owe it to Sect Master and Junior Sister Zhuo…” At this moment, Yin Qingmei, on the other hand, continuously thanked both Chen Mobai and Zhuo Ming. If they hadn't provided assistance, she might have mishandled the situation, and the Vermilion Jade Parasol Tree's advancement could have failed. In that case, not only would she not receive this life force reciprocation, but she might also suffer severe vital energy damage due to the symbiotic relationship.

“Qingmei, after the Vermilion Jade Parasol Tree has advanced, it will need a large amount of energy. I will temporarily entrust this Haotian Mirror to you. Each day, at the moment of sunrise, position it in the sky according to today's angle…”

After Chen Mobai clearly understood Yin Qingmei's value, he decided to elevate her training to the next level, lending her his newly configured and upgraded natal magical artifact.

“Thank you, Sect Master!”

Yin Qingmei's hands trembled as she received the Haotian Mirror. This was her adopted father's most renowned magical artifact, second only to the Longevity Sect's Holy Sword. Back during his Foundation Establishment, it had already displayed immense power on the battlefield, killing Mu Hanxiong, one of the nine peak lords of Mount Hanshan.

“I will impart a set of incantations to you; remember them carefully…”

At this moment, Chen Mobai's voice transmission sounded in her ear, instructing her on how to operate the Haotian Mirror.

“Adopted father, I've committed it to memory!”

As a natal magical artifact of the same origin as the Longevity Sect, Yin Qingmei quickly comprehended it after listening and responded to Chen Mobai with a voice transmission of her own.

“Alright, if you feel anything unusual during your cultivation practice in the coming period, you can contact me directly using the Sky-Reaching Device.” After all, the Azure Emperor Longevity Scripture was an ancient method, and Yin Qingmei's symbiotic natal spiritual plant was not from the traditional Longevity Spiritual Wood lineage of the Longevity Sect. Chen Mobai deeply feared she might encounter problems in her cultivation, so he specifically reminded her again before leaving.

“Yes, Sect Master!”

Chen Mobai ascended into the sky with Zhuo Ming, taking the opportunity to send his cherished disciple back on the way.

On the way, Zhuo Ming remarked enviously, “Senior Sister Yin's cultivation seems to be on the verge of a breakthrough; she truly lives up to her Celestial Spirit Root aptitude.” Earlier, when Yin Qingmei was reciprocated by the Vermilion Jade Parasol Tree, the connected qi between them allowed Zhuo Ming, in her Universal Affinity state, to perceive her fundamental nature.

“Reaching the late-Foundation Establishment stage in twenty-five years is just barely acceptable, I suppose,” Chen Mobai calculated the time it took Yin Qingmei to reach Foundation Establishment and nodded slightly, expressing his opinion. Zhuo Ming was quite used to this. After all, the Master beside her had taken less than twenty-five years to go from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core.

“How is the refining of your Myriad Virtues Cauldron progressing?” As they approached the border of Xiaonanshan, Chen Mobai asked about his cherished disciple's natal magical artifact.

“For the initial refining with earth spiritual energy, ninety-nine different ores are required. I've posted tasks through the Spiritual Treasure Pavilion and visited the Spiritual Vein Department, but I've only managed to find fifty-six pieces so far.” At this, Zhuo Ming looked a bit dejected. She had initially thought collecting ores would be very easy, but unexpectedly, she was stuck at the very first step.

“Have you approached Wang Tingbo?” Chen Mobai asked another question that made Zhuo Ming scratch her head; she really hadn't.

“The Artifact Forging Department has many precious minerals, possibly even more types than the Spiritual Vein Department. I'll put in a word for you; you can go directly to him tomorrow.” As he spoke, Chen Mobai had already delivered Zhuo Ming to her residence on Mount Ting. After landing, he looked around and couldn't help but marvel. A wooden house in their lineage's style stood on the mountaintop. At its entrance was a transplanted Azure Sun Spiritual Tree, and a green ox, with a nose ring and rope tied to the tree trunk, stood in the shade, grazing on the grass. Perched on the longest branch of the tree was a large bird with azure feathers, preening its bright plumage with its beak.

At the wooden house entrance, there was also a mountain civet with glowing green eyes and black-and-grey fur. It had been lazily lying on the steps but instantly sprang up upon seeing Zhuo Ming descend from the sky, intending to jump over directly, but then noticed Chen Mobai beside her. The spirit beast's instinct made it feel as if it were seeing a blazing inferno. Its fur stood on end, and it cautiously approached step by step.

“This creature is quite loyal to you.” After Chen Mobai formed his Golden Core, the spiritual pressure he unconsciously exuded was enough to make demonic beasts retreat, yet this mountain civet still stubbornly pushed forward to Zhuo Ming's side, showing its regard for her.

“You caught it on Mount Shan back then for me to form a contract with,” Zhuo Ming said. “Its fear of you might be because it remembers that time.” As Zhuo Ming spoke, she bent down and hugged the black-and-grey mottled, round-headed, large-tailed creature into her embrace.

“Of course I remember,” said Chen Mobai. “This green ox was given to you by Wenbai, wasn't it? And this Azure Grandeur Bird was a gift from the Liang family back then. They’ve all grown so big now…” Chen Mobai recounted these details as if they were his most precious possessions. Zhuo Ming nodded with a smile, yet also felt a hint of regret.

“It’s just a pity that since this Azure Grandeur Bird came into my care, it hasn't been able to spread its wings and soar freely.” Giant Wood Ridge was entirely enveloped by the Myriad Woods Grand Formation. The Azure Grandeur Bird's demonic qi could easily trigger a reaction from the formation, so cultivators in the Divine Wood Sect who raised flying spiritual beasts were careful not to let them fly too high or too far.

“Ming’er, would you like to go out for a stroll?”

Updates during work hours will mostly be concentrated in the evening, after all, there's only so much I can write while slacking off, but I will still ensure updates. Please vote for monthly tickets, otherwise, today's extra chapter for monthly tickets will be finished.

(End of Chapter)

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