Chapter 622: The Art is Complete

Yin Qingmei's face was beautiful, and her eyes were like clear springs. After some time, her cultivation had progressed slightly, truly befitting a Heaven-grade Spirit Root.

Chen Mobai took the Haotian Mirror from her, pulled out a spirit-sealing tube, and extracted strands of pure Yang purple qi. Then, he gently cleared his throat and explained the true purpose for which he had summoned her.

"It is my honor to be able to assist adoptive father," Yin Qingmei said, her eyes brightening upon hearing his words. She indicated that she had no objections to whatever Chen Mobai arranged.

The method suggested by Grandma Ming was still that of dual cultivation. In the state of dual cultivation, the spiritual energies between cultivators are shared, essentially allowing one person to wield two different attributes of spiritual power. It was precisely through this method that Chen Mobai was able to help Zhuo Ming, who was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, condense the Ten Thousand Things Thick Virtue Cauldron.

If he and Yin Qingmei were to engage in wood-fire dual cultivation, he could then borrow her spiritual energy derived from the Green Emperor Everlasting Scripture. For this reason, they needed to continuously maintain the wood-fire dual cultivation state until the technique was fully mastered.

For Yin Qingmei, this was a very straightforward matter; she simply needed to continue her cultivation at her usual pace. Chen Mobai, however, needed to control his cultivation level. As a Golden Core cultivator, even one-tenth of his spiritual energy output would be overwhelming for Yin Qingmei. This was unlike his disciple Zhuo Ming, whose every step of advancement, from Qi Cultivation to Foundation Establishment, had been under Chen Mobai's direct supervision. He knew her limits precisely, allowing for perfect control when employing dual cultivation techniques with her.

To prevent Yin Qingmei from being injured by a massive influx of spiritual energy, Chen Mobai only released one percent of his absorption capacity during their first formal dual cultivation session. For a Foundation Establishment cultivator, this was naturally quite meager, and Yin Qingmei even remarked that she felt nothing. Chen Mobai gradually increased the flow, allowing their spiritual energy outputs to slowly align.

After two days of adjustment, Chen Mobai finally grasped Yin Qingmei's limit, which was roughly one-twentieth of his own capacity. However, at this level, Yin Qingmei would need to be in her peak mental state at all times. While manageable for a short period, it would become a tremendous burden in the long run. Therefore, Chen Mobai reduced the flow further, determined to find the most comfortable point for her. At one-twenty-second of his capacity, they finally achieved the most perfectly synchronized dual cultivation state.

However, this was their attempt within the Everlasting Wood Dojo. Practitioners of the Green Emperor Everlasting Scripture could achieve another level of improvement if they were near their lifebound spirit plant. Hearing this from Yin Qingmei, Chen Mobai immediately took her back to Green Eyebrow Mountain.

As expected, with the added support of her lifebound spirit plant, Yin Qingmei could maintain balance with one-fifteenth of his capacity. After another three days of refinement at Green Eyebrow Mountain, they established their most harmonious dual cultivation state.

On this day, the dignified Chen Mobai sat upright beneath the verdant branches of a Jadeite Parasol Tree. In front of him, a beautiful, dignified young girl of extraordinary grace knelt. Her skin was fair, like freshly fallen snow, and her lips were a vibrant cherry red, like cherry blossoms. Her expression was deferential, and she listened intently.

Chen Mobai was in the midst of imparting cultivation methods and wisdom to Yin Qingmei. "Aside from the Five Great Immortal Scriptures, the Everlasting Sect also possesses twenty-four profound arts," Chen Mobai stated. "Since I am borrowing your spiritual energy for my cultivation, I might as well impart them to you as well."

Chen Mobai had always been rather casual about imparting cultivation techniques, but Yin Qingmei, a native of the Eastern Desolation, immediately beamed with joy and performed a deep bow to him upon hearing his words. At that moment, however, Yin Qingmei had no real grasp of what these "profound arts" of the Everlasting Sect entailed, merely assuming they were powerful spells akin to the "Heavenly Wood Divine Needle." But when Chen Mobai finished imparting "A Leaf Obscures the Eye" and "Pulling Sprouts to Help Them Grow," Yin Qingmei was utterly stunned, remaining kneeling beneath the tree in a daze for a long time.

"Such profound and mystical spells actually exist in this world!" Yin Qingmei murmured. "The legendary immortal arts passed down by the Sacred Lands of the upper realms must be just like these!" Yin Qingmei mumbled to herself. As a Heaven-grade Spirit Root, forming a Golden Core was practically guaranteed for her; her only true concern was the heavenly tribulation. However, if she were to master "A Leaf Obscures the Eye," even if it could only delay the tribulation for a few days, her success would be virtually assured.

"Thank you, adoptive father, for bestowing upon me such a profound dao!" Yin Qingmei bowed with unprecedented solemnity; "A Leaf Obscures the Eye" would be a lifelong benefit to her. With this profound art, her path to forming a Golden Core was virtually foolproof. Furthermore, it would increase her chances of forming a Nascent Soul in the future by twenty percent. The mere thought of not having to worry about heavenly tribulation when breaking through to higher realms in the future made Yin Qingmei feel as if a heavy burden had been lifted, relaxing her from the inside out.

"There's no need for such formality," Chen Mobai said. "Just cultivate diligently and do not betray the efforts I and the sect have put into nurturing you." Chen Mobai waved his hand, signaling Yin Qingmei to rise. Although these two profound arts of the Everlasting Sect were extremely valuable, they could only be cultivated by practitioners of the Green Emperor Everlasting Scripture, making her the most suitable recipient.

"Yes, adoptive father," Yin Qingmei responded, "I will never forget your kindness towards me." She spoke these words with genuine sincerity as she rose. In her eyes, Chen Mobai had essentially passed on to her all the foundational knowledge he possessed as the Everlasting Sect's Saint Son, a kindness akin to giving her a new life.

In the following days, Chen Mobai and Yin Qingmei jointly cultivated these two profound arts of the Everlasting Sect through dual cultivation. After resolving the most critical issues, given Chen Mobai's Golden Core cultivation realm, he easily reached the first level of mastery for both profound arts in just one month. Yin Qingmei, however, had not yet mastered them.

Chen Mobai considered that he might be holding her back, so he decided to leave and let her quietly cultivate these two profound arts on her own. Primarily, if he stayed on Green Eyebrow Mountain for an extended period, and considering Yin Qingmei was not his disciple, it could potentially tarnish her reputation if word spread.

"Adoptive father, I will see you off." Hearing that Chen Mobai was leaving, Yin Qingmei's beautiful and dignified face showed a hint of disappointment. She thought she had failed to master the two profound arts and had thus disappointed him.

"You continue practicing on your own for now," Chen Mobai said. "If there's anything you don't understand, you can always contact me via the Clear Heaven Instrument." After saying this, Chen Mobai extracted the pure Yang purple qi that the Haotian Mirror had condensed over the past month, left the artifact with Yin Qingmei, and departed from Green Eyebrow Mountain, where he had spent a month cultivating.

Having mastered "A Leaf Obscures the Eye" and "Pulling Sprouts to Help Them Grow," Chen Mobai immediately sought to test them. He arrived at Little South Mountain, cloaked in invisibility. As expected, neither Zhuo Ming nor Luo Yixuan noticed him at first. However, just as he was about to deactivate "A Leaf Obscures the Eye," Zhuo Ming, who was observing the rice seeds, suddenly exclaimed in surprise. She looked up towards where Chen Mobai was standing, then gazed around with a puzzled expression, finally shaking her head before bending back down to tend to the rice stalks.

"What's wrong, Senior Sister?" Luo Yixuan, who was nearby casting a rain spell to water the acre of spirit rice Zhuo Ming had recently hybridized, found it very odd to see her stand up only to bend back down.

"This patch of land suddenly felt heavier," Zhuo Ming replied. "I thought someone had arrived, but after looking around, I found no one." Zhuo Ming spoke honestly; within the confines of Little South Mountain, she was truly in her element, the "home field of home fields." Although Chen Mobai was invisible, he had only just mastered "A Leaf Obscures the Eye" to the first level, meaning he couldn't completely erase all his traces. Thus, Zhuo Ming, who was exceptionally sensitive to this land, detected something amiss.

No sooner had she finished speaking, and before Luo Yixuan could utter a word, a familiar laugh echoed. The two looked towards the sound and saw the space ripple as if a layer had been peeled back, and Chen Mobai's figure materialized before them out of thin air.

"Greetings, Master!" They quickly bowed, their faces alight with undisguised surprise.

"This is a new spell I recently mastered..." After Chen Mobai explained "A Leaf Obscures the Eye" and "Pulling Sprouts to Help Them Grow," both girls' eyes widened. However, upon learning that they could not cultivate these arts themselves, their faces fell with disappointment.

"Is this a new variety of spirit rice?" Chen Mobai pointed to the jade-green and golden spirit rice stalks beside Zhuo Ming, and the latter nodded gently. This was a hybrid variety of Jade Green Spirit Rice and Cold Jade Spirit Rice. The latter was one of the Five Grains rice seeds Xue Ting had given him during his Golden Core Formation ceremony. This spirit rice grew in the cold lands of the Snow Country and Frost Country, absorbing the essence of frost. It was refreshing to the taste and had a smooth texture. Prolonged consumption by cultivators could help purify their vital energy. However, if one's cultivation was insufficient, it might lead to a chill in the vital energy and a colder constitution. While this Cold Jade Spirit Rice was immensely beneficial for the cultivation of Blizzard Palace disciples, its drawback meant it usually needed to be mixed with Fire Spirit Rice. Before they acquired Fire Spirit Rice, Blizzard Palace cultivators typically consumed it only once every few days.

Only after Zhuo Ming's Ten Thousand Things Mother Qi reached completion was she able to successfully cultivate this Cold Jade Spirit Rice, which typically required the essence of frost to grow, on the soil of Little South Mountain. This newly hybridized spirit rice, despite its primary Jade Green Spirit Rice component being second-tier, had poor compatibility with the Cold Jade Spirit Rice, resulting in it being only first-tier high-grade, with some even just first-tier mid-grade.

"This is a perfect opportunity to test 'Pulling Sprouts to Help Them Grow'," Chen Mobai remarked. He smiled faintly, extending his hand and releasing a stream of greenish-yellow spiritual light from his palm, which quickly enveloped the entire acre of spirit field. Then, as if time had accelerated, the stalks that had already borne rice ears grew noticeably thicker. Luo Yixuan, sensing the moment, promptly summoned spiritual rain, aiding this acre of spirit rice in its transformation and ascension in grade. A gentle breeze stirred, and waves of rice rolled. The initial green hue completely faded, giving way to a golden harvest.

After Chen Mobai withdrew the spiritual light, he saw before him what appeared to be a golden ocean, and the faint fragrance of rice wafting over made him nod in approval.

"Master, most of these have transformed into second-tier..." Zhuo Ming used the Earth Mother Cultivation Method to inspect all the spirit rice across this acre. Over thirty percent of the stalks failed to break through under "Pulling Sprouts to Help Them Grow," withering and falling onto the soil. However, the vast majority, guided by the spiritual light, successfully broke through to the second-tier. Each plump grain of rice floated, emitting a fresh aroma.

Chen Mobai had Zhuo Ming cook a pot, and after the master and his two disciples tasted it, they were met with an unprecedentedly refreshing and crisp flavor, prompting them to praise it endlessly. "Bring some to Xue Ting as well," Chen Mobai casually remarked. "This can be considered a taste of her hometown." Chen Mobai said this casually, and Zhuo Ming immediately nodded. Xue Ting was recuperating in her courtyard mountain, and also helped Zhuo Ming oversee the terraced spirit rice and feed spiritual beasts like the green oxen there.

"Master, if 'Pulling Sprouts to Help Them Grow' is cultivated to the fourth-tier," Zhuo Ming suddenly asked as Chen Mobai was preparing to leave, "would it then be able to elevate the spirit wood I'm tending to the fifth-tier?"

The spirit wood she was tending? Which one? Chen Mobai was momentarily puzzled, then abruptly remembered. Zhou Shengqing's Dharma Body Nascent Soul's Soul-Nourishing Wood! It was precisely a high-grade fourth-tier!