Chapter 650: Enduring Practice of Immortality

**Pure Nine-Lotus Treasure Lamp**

Chen Mobai stayed in Beiyuan City for a period. After confirming that the remnants of Liujia Mountain posed no significant threat, he prepared to return to the Divine Wood Sect.

However, just as he was about to leave, Zhuo Ming brought him good news. While excavating a river channel, she had found another wisp of Creation Qi.

Chen Mobai was naturally overjoyed upon hearing this, thinking that she truly lived up to her role as his direct disciple. He immediately set off to find her.

The place where the Creation Qi was discovered was called Yanzi Mountain (Swallow Mountain), possessing only a first-tier spiritual vein. It was named for its resemblance to a flying swallow.

Using a co-cultivation method, Chen Mobai helped Zhuo Ming extract the Creation Qi with the Myriad Dao Thick Virtue Cauldron. After taking 10% for himself using a spirit-sealing tube, he instructed Zhuo Ming to immediately refine the rest on Yanzi Mountain.

This was Zhuo Ming's fourth wisp of Creation Qi, and she was already very familiar with the process.

Three days later, she opened her eyes and rose with a joyful expression.

"Ming'er, transfer some of your spiritual power to me."

As was customary, Chen Mobai wanted to check Zhuo Ming's spiritual root values to verify his hypothesis about the Creation Qi.

Gold 3, Wood 22, Water 23, Fire 9, Earth 77.

After a moment, the spiritual root values displayed on the somewhat aged spirit-testing instrument's screen made Chen Mobai take several deep breaths before he could calm himself.

Zhuo Ming was only 3 points away from reaching a Heavenly Earth Spiritual Root. When he first took this disciple under his wing, he never imagined he would be able to cultivate her to such an outstanding level.

"Master, what's wrong?" Seeing Chen Mobai remain silent for a long time, Zhuo Ming thought perhaps something had gone wrong with her refinement of the Creation Qi, and she asked with some concern.

"It's nothing, your master is just a little too happy." Chen Mobai burst out laughing, which left Zhuo Ming somewhat puzzled, but seeing her master laugh, she also grinned.

With Zhuo Ming's current Earth Spiritual Root, giving her three Earth Vein Pills would ensure she surpassed 80 points, even with extremely bad luck where each pill only increased her score by 1 point. Furthermore, with the continuous accumulation of Creation Qi, even if her Earth Spiritual Root value could no longer be increased, it would form the foundation for a true Heavenly Spiritual Root.

Chen Mobai was even considering if he could use nine Earth Vein Pills to cultivate her into a 100-point Immortal Spiritual Root. If she could then obtain the cultivation method for the Primordial Dao Fruit, combined with the merits from river excavation and sand control, his disciple might have a greater chance of forming a Nascent Soul than Yin Qingmei. Thinking of this, Chen Mobai was naturally ecstatic.

He even felt an impulse to have this disciple return to the sect for protection and focused cultivation. But after careful consideration, he realized that for a fledgling to grow, facing trials and tribulations outside was essential. Moreover, how could she find more Creation Qi if she didn't leave the sect?

"Ming'er, should you encounter any dangerous situations in the future, remember that protecting yourself is your utmost priority..." Chen Mobai rattled on for quite a while, and Zhuo Ming diligently noted down everything.

After the master and disciple finished their conversation, Luo Yixuan and Yin Qingmei, who were at the foot of the mountain, also received news of Chen Mobai's departure and flew up.

"The three of you, cultivate diligently, perform meritorious deeds, and the future will be yours." After expressing his sentiments, Chen Mobai directly rode his five-colored cloud-mist and departed from the Eastern Wasteland Plateau.

The three women, Zhuo Ming included, bowed at the mountain peak, respectfully watching him leave.

Upon returning to Giant Wood Ridge, Chen Mobai attended to the accumulated matters of the sect for the year. Due to mobilizing sect cultivators to attack Liujia Mountain, this year's financial expenditures had once again become strained.

After Luo Xueer departed to the Xiao Kingdom to open up the Mo River, Chen Mobai's capable assistant, Yue Zutao, naturally took over as the Deputy Hall Master of the Hall of Merit and Rewards. As a disciple of Chu Zuoshu, he had served in the Hall of Merit and Rewards for over sixty years and was originally groomed to be its future successor. However, his cultivation had become restricted after consuming the Longevity Tree Fruit, which had led to his decline. But this problem had been resolved when the previous batch of Foundation Establishment Pills was successfully refined.

After Chen Mobai became the sect master, the number of Foundation Establishment Pills in the Divine Wood Sect began to surge dramatically. In the decade-long Grand Competition before, eight true disciples had successfully broken through after consuming Foundation Establishment Pills. In the subsequent annual Grand Competitions, the top disciple could receive one Foundation Establishment Pill. The value of disciples who could become top disciples was, of course, beyond doubt. Out of seven top disciples, four successfully established their foundations. This meant that since the generation of Jiang Zongheng and Gu Yan, the Divine Wood Sect had gained twelve new Foundation Establishment cultivators. At its peak, the number of Foundation Establishment cultivators reached ninety. However, this year, one was lost in the Rainbow Kingdom, and another passed away after their lifespan was exhausted, leaving eighty-eight cultivators – which was also considered a very auspicious number.

Among the twelve newly promoted Foundation Establishment cultivators, more than half cultivated the Longevity Scripture. With Chen Mobai's support, Yue Zutao reached an agreement with two of them, paying 50,000 spirit stones each to allow them to use wood spirit talismans to obtain Longevity Tree Fruits from the Divine Tree Secret Realm. After consuming a complete set of tree fruits, combined with what he had collected himself and the longevity-extending elixirs Chen Mobai had bought from the Immortal Sect, Yue Zutao easily broke through to the peak of Foundation Establishment.

However, he quickly used the Two-Phase Reversal Art to dissolve his Longevity Scripture and break the confinement of the Longevity Tree Fruit. Therefore, no one in the sect knew that he had once reached the peak of Foundation Establishment and even attempted to form a Core. Currently, Yue Zutao was re-cultivating the Longevity Scripture. Since there was no bottleneck before forming a Core, he had re-cultivated to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage within just seven years. If not for solidifying his foundation, he would have deliberately suppressed his progress, and he might even be at the late Foundation Establishment stage by now.

Freed from the restrictions of the Longevity Tree Fruit, Yue Zutao's mental obstacles were gone. He displayed charisma and ability no less than that of Zhou Wangshen E Yun. Furthermore, decades of refinement made his methods of handling affairs even more stable and refined. This year, when Chen Mobai and Fu Zongjue led the Divine Wood Sect army to besiege the Liujia Mountain formation, Yue Zutao had full control over the sect's three halls and twelve departments at Giant Wood Ridge. He managed the allocation of various resources and the distribution of benefits and responsibilities, mostly ensuring that all parties found them acceptable.

Upon Chen Mobai's return to the sect, seeing that Yue Zutao had already properly arranged the post-war compensations, he made no further changes, simply signing and stamping them, allowing Yue Zutao to proceed with execution. The main point was to use the sect's finances for the next two years to first distribute various benefits related to this year's war. This would lead to a tightening of the sect's finances for the next two years. Regarding this, Chen Mobai merely instructed Yue Zutao to find ways to increase income and reduce expenditures. Because he had just ordered the development of the Eastern Wasteland Plateau, a massive project that would take several years, possibly more than a decade, to see returns. Although he had made the local garrisons bear most of the costs and had Liu Wenbai use the resources of Xiaonanshan Shop to assist, the Divine Wood Sect would consequently not receive spirit stones from those countries, and might even need to provide subsidies itself. To this, Yue Zutao, who had just become the Deputy Hall Master of the Hall of Merit and Rewards and was in charge of the sect's financial power, could only descend with a wry smile.

Just as Chen Mobai finished handling the sect's affairs and was preparing to enter seclusion to refine the Creation Qi, his eldest disciple Liu Wenbai returned. He presented the Dragon Vein Qi refined this year by Song Huangda and, incidentally, reported with a joyful expression on the earnings of Xiaonanshan Shop. For the entire year, they had, for the first time, achieved their revenue target of one million spirit stones.

Of this, talisman paper produced by the puppet factory naturally accounted for the largest share, selling for 600,000 spirit stones; talisman ink for 100,000; and some previously accumulated defective second-tier talisman paper and ink from Chen Mobai's Flying Talisman Factory were eagerly bought up by Foundation Establishment cultivators from various major families, selling for 120,000 spirit stones. Additionally, various types of spiritual rice and spiritual wine from Xiaonanshan sold for nearly 200,000 spirit stones. Due to the explosive increase in newly advanced Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Divine Wood Sect, the entire Eastern Wasteland began to superstitiously believe in the effect of spiritual rice on breaking through cultivation realms, causing the price of spiritual rice to rise significantly. Among these, the most trusted by Eastern Wasteland cultivators was naturally Chen Mobai's Xiaonanshan Shop. Liu Wenbai even suggested prioritizing the supply of Xiaonanshan's spiritual rice to their own shops. But Chen Mobai was not short on these few spirit stones, so he directly refused. The strength of the Divine Wood Sect was the true foundation for his future advancement.

"Next year, I will provide more talisman paper to the shops." Chen Mobai intended to expand his puppet factory's scale. However, because his factory's annual market output in the Immortal Sect wasn't at full efficiency, he prudently planned to establish a new branch puppet factory within the Divine Tree Secret Realm. Conveniently, the batch of equipment that had been phased out after the last upgrade was still idle. Regarding puppets, with his mature experience, he could directly provide the blueprints and have the Divine Wood Sect's Puppet Department manufacture them. However, he would still need to handle the more advanced components like the subsequent chips, 'Heavenly Calculation Beads,' and equipment connections. But the most troublesome aspect, subsequent maintenance and upkeep, could be entrusted to the Divine Wood Sect's Puppet Department. As a Core Formation Grand Ancestor, as long as he gave the command, the cultivators of the Divine Wood Sect would certainly apply themselves wholeheartedly.

After thinking of this, he immediately called for Li Yixian from the Puppet Department. An Jinghui, the department head, was still in the Rainbow Kingdom. As the head of the Puppet Department, the task of organizing the Liujia Mountain classics naturally fell to him.

"Yes, Sect Master, I will arrange it immediately." Li Yixian's eyes immediately lit up after reviewing the puppet blueprints Chen Mobai provided. Many of the puppet techniques and component assemblies were distinct from the conventional methods in the Eastern Wasteland. He felt that these blueprints could elevate his puppetry skills to a new level.

After arranging these matters, Chen Mobai began his seclusion to refine the Creation Qi.

Gold 23, Wood 45, Water 35, Fire 87, Earth 38.

Glancing at the values slowly appearing on the spirit-testing instrument's screen, Chen Mobai couldn't help but smile. He could still refine Creation Qi one more time to increase his Earth Spiritual Root, reaching 40 points then. Furthermore, with the blessing of the Phoenix Facing the Sun Diagram and consuming nine Earth Vein Pills, he could gain at least 27 points. If he had even better luck, he might not even need to cultivate spiritual root enhancement methods to break through to 80 points.

With this thought, Chen Mobai immediately wanted to return to the Immortal Sect and continue to tinker with refining Earth Vein Pills. However, before returning, he didn't forget to visit the Divine Tree Secret Realm. And this time, within the inheritance space of the Talent Tree, he finally obtained the "Longevity Art."

Unfortunately, the cultivation conditions for this Longevity Art were extremely stringent, requiring cultivators of the Azure Emperor Longevity Scripture to practice it. Furthermore, it required using one's natal spiritual plant to extract the essence of Longevity Wood and refine it into the body, which meant one's natal spiritual plant needed to evolve to at least the fourth tier. Therefore, typically within the Longevity Sect, Nascent Soul cultivators would only begin cultivating this grand art to prepare for the God Transformation stage and increase their lifespan. This grand art, once mastered, could also provide a permanent buff to the cultivator. It could permanently increase a cultivator's lifespan by one-third of their current realm's lifespan. As long as their natal spiritual plant remained intact, even if the cultivator was killed outside, they could regenerate using the essence blood and divine consciousness pre-stored within the spiritual plant.

After reading this, Chen Mobai admired True Monarch Yiyuan even more. To think he could devise a method to split the Longevity Art for cultivation. If he cultivated his Longevity Dao Body to the highest realm, he could then use the co-cultivation method to borrow Yin Qingmei's spiritual power and attempt to cultivate this grand Longevity Art. However, he also needed to find a way to elevate Yin Qingmei's Jade Phoenix Tree to the fourth tier. But at least he had another goal to strive for.

Upon returning to the Immortal Sect, Chen Mobai, utilizing the fourth-tier high-grade spiritual vein in Danxia City, uncharacteristically began by refining Longevity Dew to enhance his Longevity Dao Body, only then proceeding to cultivate the Pure Yang Scroll, Pure Yang Dharma Body, and other techniques. After completing his cultivation, Chen Mobai checked his phone and discovered a long email reply from Qing Nü. The email was sent half a year ago. Chen Mobai at that time had felt a lack of capability while refining Earth Vein Pills and had sought her advice. Of course, when seeking advice, he naturally came up with an excuse, claiming he was trying to refine a second-tier metallic-mineral elixir, and its pill toxicity had consistently exceeded standards.

After reading Qing Nü's email, Chen Mobai learned that metallic-mineral elixirs, being a combination of minerals and gases, would naturally have higher pill toxicity than those refined through conventional water or fire methods. However, the Immortal Sect's standards were applied uniformly, so handling the pill toxicity of metallic-mineral elixirs required higher-level techniques and equipment. At the end of the email, Qing Nü also listed the models and specifications of relevant equipment, and which manufacturers were the best. Inspired by what he read, Chen Mobai immediately placed an order.

Unfortunately, metallic-mineral elixirs were quite niche in the Immortal Sect, so Chen Mobai found that none of the manufacturers Qing Nü recommended had stock; custom orders were required. And customizing equipment capable of handling the pill toxicity of third-tier metallic-mineral elixirs, due to the high standards and requirements, would take at least several years. Although Chen Mobai could wait, he still wanted to refine the Earth Vein Pills as soon as possible. So, he activated his network. He finally approached Zhou Tiangong, who provided a solution. This chief engineer of the Tiangong Instrument Factory, with his background at the Dance of Instruments Daoist Academy, was quite an expert in the field of equipment. Through his network, he located some idle related equipment at a pharmaceutical factory. Chen Mobai paid a million merit points to acquire it.

It could only be said that the reason the Immortal Sect's alchemy vastly surpassed that of the Tianhe Realm was not just due to technology but also because of these various functional pieces of equipment. Chen Mobai used the new equipment along with spirit extracts to process the pill toxicity. The latest refined Earth Vein Pills had their toxicity content reduced to 1.6. Although this was still considered unqualified by the Immortal Sect's standards, in the Eastern Wasteland, it was already considered a top-grade elixir.