Chapter 671: Extreme Yang Slash Completed

Fang Xuan Yang’s original plan was to wait another twenty or thirty years, until the two great rivers were successfully excavated and the entire East Desolate Plateau was fully developed by the Divine Wood Sect. Only then would the army of Xuanxiao Dao Palace arrive.

Initially, Fang Xuan Yang had great difficulty understanding what Chen, the Sect Master of the Divine Wood Sect, was doing.

Whether it was the Longevity Academy, the real estate in Beiyuan City, or the development of the East Desolate Plateau, to Fang Xuan Yang, a local of the Heaven River Realm, these were all pointless endeavors.

But now, the tangible results forced him to admit his own short-sightedness.

The Restoration Society had the most informants in Beiyuan City. Since property prices and shop rents were transparent, Fang Xuan Yang, with a simple calculation, roughly estimated how many spirit stones the Divine Wood Sect had earned from Beiyuan City.

He grew envious and couldn’t help but imitate them, starting Nanxuan Real Estate in Baose Market.

He did make a good sum of spirit stones from rogue cultivators who needed Foundation Establishment Pills; at least his own coffers were fuller than when he was in Dongyi.

But compared to the Divine Wood Sect, his earnings paled in comparison.

Later, for the massive projects of excavating the two rivers and developing the East Desolate Plateau, Fang Xuan Yang also didn’t understand at first, but he learned to observe patiently.

Now, after over five years, Fang Xuan Yang finally understood.

If the East Desolate Plateau was developed as planned by Sect Master Chen, it would be a veritable cornucopia, equivalent to a large spirit stone mine that could be exploited ceaselessly and would never run dry.

After understanding this, Fang Xuan Yang admired Chen Mobai even more.

This individual was not only an unparalleled genius in cultivation but also a worldly talent in managing a sect.

It was just a pity that in this rural backwater of East Desolate, his vision and scope were still limited.

Fang Xuan Yang still believed that the most important thing for cultivators was to improve their strength and cultivation realm. Chen Mobai wasting his talent on these ventures was a complete waste of time and energy.

The rise of any major sect was always due to the emergence of high-level cultivators; no sect had ever risen just because it had vast spirit fields, abundant spirit stones, or large territories.

In fact, these things could even be sources of disaster. Without powerful cultivators to protect them, no matter how much spirit stone wealth they possessed, it would ultimately become a meal on the plate for larger sects, to be devoured heartily.

Fang Xuan Yang now held this mindset. He admitted he had misjudged before, but now he thought it was actually better.

Because all the fruits of the Divine Wood Sect's painstaking management and development on the East Desolate Plateau over so many years would soon belong entirely to their Xuanxiao Dao Palace.

If not for the great war with Kongsang Valley being about to commence, and having just received accurate intelligence from a Divine Wood Sect informant, Fang Xuan Yang would have even considered writing a letter to persuade Old Ancestor Jinfeng to allow the Divine Wood Sect more time to develop, so that the fruits they would harvest would be even richer.

Thinking this, Fang Xuan Yang took out the precious intelligence report he had kept, looked at it again, and confirmed his thoughts.

The Restoration Society's hidden agent within the Divine Wood Sect had reported some time ago that the Heaven and Earth spiritual energy in Giant Wood Ridge suddenly surged towards the location of the three Longevity Trees.

This was clearly a sign of someone breaking through a realm or mastering a powerful divine ability or spell.

Subsequently, the hidden agent conducted investigations from various sources and finally obtained precise intelligence.

The surge of Heaven and Earth spiritual energy was a phenomenon triggered by Sect Master Chen's breakthrough to the Mid-Core Formation Realm.

When Fang Xuan Yang first saw this intelligence, he was very surprised, as it had only been sixteen years since Chen Mobai formed his core.

He himself, a genius second only to Dao Child Xuan Shu in Xuanxiao Dao Palace, took nearly thirty years to break through to the Mid-Core Formation Realm.

This comparison revealed just how astonishing the talent of Sect Master Chen of the Divine Wood Sect was.

It was precisely for this reason that Fang Xuan Yang made up his mind not to wait any longer, preparing to bring in forces from Xuanxiao Dao Palace to eliminate this most dazzling sword Dao genius in East Desolate in a thousand years.

Chen Mobai naturally had no idea that someone had already set their sights on him.

He had returned to Giant Wood Ridge and begun refining the Nine Fiery Sun Slashes, preparing for them to undergo the "Nine-Nine Return to One" transformation and sublimate into the "Extreme Yang Slash"!

In the Longevity Wood Dao Field, Chen Mobai floated in mid-air. The Nine Fiery Sun Slashes, guided by his divine sense, hung behind him, forming a perfect circle.

Brilliant golden light flickered, partially obscuring his entire figure, making him look like a sun suspended in the air, radiating brightly.

Had he not restrained himself, the sect disciples in Giant Wood Ridge might have looked up and seen two suns in the sky, one large and one small.

It was precisely because the cultivation process generated some disturbance that Chen Mobai chose Giant Wood Ridge rather than the more suitable Danxia Mountain.

A searing white flame burned in his palm; this was the Great Sun Flame.

At his thought, nine golden flames slowly began to rotate around the Great Sun Flame as their center.

Soon, wisps of fire lines overflowed from the golden flames and infused into the Great Sun Flame.

Chen Mobai, who had long comprehended the Extreme Yang Slash thoroughly, immediately infused his Pure Yang spiritual power into it.

This refining process originally required Fiery Flame spiritual power.

According to the records in the Fiery Flame Sword Art, sublimating the Fiery Sun Slash into the Extreme Yang Slash would require at least three years of continuous cultivation flame and refined spiritual power.

But Chen Mobai's Pure Yang spiritual power was of higher quality and encompassed all characteristics of Fiery Flame spiritual power, greatly shortening this step.

The two distinct, incompatible scorching energies in his palm began to slowly merge...

One year later!

A faint white glow, causing space itself to distort, burst forth.

The white glow was like lightning, dazzling and brilliant!

Chen Mobai instinctively grasped it, and the white glow instantly flared. Its terrifying sharpness and searing heat made him lose some control, forcing him to release it and swing it aside.

*Swoosh!*

A branch of the Tier 4 Longevity Wood was cleanly cut off, with a smooth incision, and fell towards the ground.

The power of that white glow was clearly not yet exhausted; it sliced directly into the Longevity Wood's main trunk and, to Chen Mobai's shock, nearly severed the massive trunk.

At this point, the power of that white glow was also depleted.

Chen Mobai flew to the wound on the trunk and saw searing white sparks still burning on it.

However, Longevity Wood was a Tier 4 spiritual plant, a spiritual wood tempered by Qingyang fire for centuries, so its resistance to flame was extremely high. Streams of greenish spiritual currents, accompanied by vibrant Longevity Tree sap, emerged, quickly covering and extinguishing the sparks.

This also made Chen Mobai realize the immense power of his Extreme Yang Slash.

In the East Desolate, Tier 4 and below talismans and artifacts could now be disregarded. For Tier 4 artifacts, unless they specifically countered the Extreme Yang Slash's attribute, they would likely be very difficult to block.

Immediately after the Extreme Yang Slash was perfected, as Chen Mobai pondered how to refine his control over it, a graceful and beautiful female cultivator flew up.

"Sect Master!"

Gu Yan's expression was respectful, her fair, slender hands cradling a branch with a charred incision. It was the very branch just cut by the Extreme Yang Slash, which she had picked up while extracting Longevity Tree sap below.

This was a Tier 4 spiritual material, incredibly precious, so she immediately brought it up.

"I was practicing a sword art, and its power turned out to be a bit unexpectedly strong."

Chen Mobai, seeing it was Gu Yan, didn't hide anything and spoke.

Gu Yan looked up and happened to see the arm-long incision on the main trunk of the Longevity Wood next to Chen Mobai, her face immediately showing shock.

These Foundation Establishment cultivators, even with their full might, couldn't pluck a single leaf from this Tier 4 divine wood.

So even though cutting the bark of the Longevity Wood would yield abundant sap, a secret method was still required for extraction.

Because even Core Formation cultivators couldn't break the bark of this Tier 4 spiritual wood.

At most, they could cut off some small branches or take a few leaves.

But now, Gu Yan saw that this Tier 4 spiritual wood, revered as a divine tree by the sect, not only had its bark been broken but its main trunk seemed to have been deeply cut into.

The Longevity Tree sap oozing from the charred wound on the trunk made Gu Yan worry in her heart whether she would no longer be needed by the Sect Master in the future.

"Has anything major happened in the sect recently?"

Chen Mobai asked. While he was in seclusion, only Gu Yan and the disciples from Xiaonanshan were allowed into this Longevity Wood Dao Field.

Only Gu Yan was here long-term, so usually when Yue Zutao and Liu Wenbai came, they would first brief her on matters.

Every time Chen Mobai finished cultivating and came out for air, Gu Yan would inform him of important matters when she met him.

"Senior Brother Liu came several times, but didn't specify the reason."

Chen Mobai nodded slightly after hearing this, then told Gu Yan to go inform the sect that he had emerged from seclusion.

Soon after, Yue Zutao was the first to arrive.

During Chen Mobai's year in seclusion practicing Extreme Yang Slash, nothing major had happened in East Desolate that warranted his attention, but Yue Zutao still reported something that pleased him.

That was Zheng Deming, the Foundation Establishment cultivator who had long been stationed in Yunmeng Marsh, had reached the perfected Foundation Establishment realm after exchanging for a Tier 3 Immortal Peach Fruit.

Chen Mobai naturally knew this person; after all, when he first came to East Desolate to earn spirit stones in Yunmeng Marsh, he was stationed at Qingguang Island, which was under Zheng Deming's command.

Chen Mobai: "How old is Zheng Deming?"

Yue Zutao: "He is exactly 170 years old this year."

Hearing this, Chen Mobai couldn't help but feel a slight regret. According to immortal sect theories, Foundation Establishment cultivators before the age of 150 were still considered to be at the peak of their essence, qi, and spirit, making breakthroughs to major realms more likely.

Zheng Deming, at 170, had perfected Foundation Establishment and wasn't cultivating a longevity art, so his hope of forming a core was likely slim.

However, having another perfected Foundation Establishment cultivator in the sect was definitely a good thing worth celebrating.

Moreover, Zheng Deming had long been stationed in Yunmeng Marsh, slaying demonic beasts. His accumulated sect contributions could arguably be said to be the highest among Foundation Establishment cultivators. However, lacking the background of Zhou and Fu, his past contributions were exchanged for cultivation resources in the Spirit Treasure Pavilion.

Now that he was at perfected Foundation Establishment, his only goal was Core Formation.

For this, he would surely slay more demonic beasts, further motivating other Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Divine Wood Sect who sought Core Formation spiritual medicines to become more competitive.

"It's a pity Zheng Deming cultivates the Yellow Sand Sword Art, which has a different attribute from my cultivation method..."

Chen Mobai, who enjoyed mentoring others, felt some regret at being unable to guide him.

Zheng Deming entered the sect as a rogue cultivator and didn't change his cultivation method after joining the Divine Wood Sect, so if he were to form a core in the future, he would mostly have to rely on himself.

Despite this, Chen Mobai still asked Yue Zutao to notify Zheng Deming to return to the sect, preparing to impart the Divine Wood Sect's Core Formation insights to him, which would save him many detours.

"Sect Master, should we test him again?"

Yue Zutao hesitated, then couldn't help but ask, reflecting his local mindset.

"Why?"

"Elder Zheng, after all, joined as a rogue cultivator, not a direct descendant of our Divine Wood Sect..."

Before Yue Zutao finished speaking, he saw Chen Mobai shaking his head disappointedly, and he couldn't continue his words.

"I also joined as a rogue cultivator. By your logic, should Senior Brother Fu have tested me before imparting knowledge back then?"

"This..."

Hearing Chen Mobai, Yue Zutao's face turned pale, speechless.

But it wasn't his fault; such were the customs in East Desolate. Insights for breaking through major realms were the fundamental reason why great sects were great.

Rogue cultivators lacked these very things, which is why while many strove to reach perfected Qi Refinement, only one in ten thousand could break through to Foundation Establishment.

And a rogue cultivator forming a core had never appeared in East Desolate to this day.

Zheng Deming couldn't really be considered cultivated by the Divine Wood Sect; he mostly gained his cultivation resources by fighting in Yunmeng Marsh, unlike Xie Yuntian and others who had proper backgrounds.

So Yue Zutao, hearing Chen Mobai wanted to impart Core Formation insights to him, couldn't help but interject.

"Every cultivator in the sect takes a Dao Heart Vow before receiving insights, so there's no need to worry about leakage. Moreover, imparting it to him early will better cultivate his recognition and sense of belonging to the sect."

Hearing Chen Mobai's words, Yue Zutao had a sudden realization. However, this was also because he hadn't experienced such things before; when Core Formation insights were imparted previously, he wasn't qualified to participate.

Just as Yue Zutao personally went to Yunmeng Marsh to notify Zheng Deming, Liu Wenbai, who had received news of Chen Mobai's emergence from seclusion, also returned.

"Greetings, Master!"

Liu Wenbai first greeted him, then reported two matters.

The first matter was that during the year Chen Mobai was in seclusion practicing Extreme Yang Slash, Zhuo Ming's Nine-Edge Dharma Body had broken through to the fourth layer.

This meant her physical strength was equivalent to a Tier 2 high-grade defensive artifact.

Combined with the Myriad Dao Thick Earth Cauldron, Foundation Establishment cultivators were essentially unable to breach her defense.

"That's good news. If Ming'er can cultivate the Nine-Edge Dharma Body to the fifth layer before Core Formation, she should have no problems forming a core."

Chen Mobai was also very happy about this. He calculated with his fingers; Zhuo Ming's Nine-Edge Dharma Body had last broken through with her cultivation realm exactly ten years ago.

This speed was already very fast. Spiritual roots' influence on body tempering cultivation methods wasn't as critical as on spiritual power. Zhuo Ming's rapid breakthrough was mainly because, like her master, she didn't lack resources.

The Tier 3 Pure Tranquility Bamboo spirit rice she cultivated was originally meant for Core Formation cultivators, but Chen Mobai didn't value it and left it all for her body tempering.

Rare Tier 3 spirit rice, coupled with ample Tier 2 high-grade spirit rice, a continuous supply of demonic beast meat from Yunmeng Marsh, and Longevity Tree sap gifted by Chen Mobai — only with all these could Zhuo Ming break through to the fourth layer of Nine-Edge Dharma Body so quickly without consuming pills.

After sharing this good news, Liu Wenbai solemnly spoke of the second matter.