Chapter 692: Nirvana Pill, Golden Liquid Jade Return Pill

After the Water and Fire veins of the Five Elements Sect surrendered, the previously unstoppable army of Yan Kingdom was suddenly halted at the border of Ming Kingdom.

Suddenly, Duan Shuyu, who had been riding high on his success, suffered a blow to his reputation and was even impeached in court.

However, this was mainly due to the ongoing, unresolved negotiations between the Divine Wood Sect and the Five Elements Sect.

Jiang Zongheng personally went to the front lines, representing Chen Mobai to negotiate with Chunyu Su, the sect master of the Five Elements Sect.

At first, Chunyu Su's stance was firm: there would be no discussion unless the Divine Wood Sect returned the territories of the Six Kingdoms and released the two elders, Sheng Zhaoxi of the Nu River, who had been "captured" by the Divine Wood Sect.

Jiang Zongheng did not respond to such conditions.

Since the Five Elements Sect was still unwilling to humble itself and recognize reality, it was decided to give them a beating first.

No mortal army, even if Ming Kingdom were ten times stronger, could withstand Duan Shuyu, a peerless general.

With Jiang Zongheng's command, Duan Shuyu was like a tiger unleashed. He swiftly conquered most of Ming Kingdom's territory, bringing his army to the gates of the Ming capital within just one month.

There, the army was halted because the cultivators of the Earth vein of the Five Elements Sect intervened.

Under these circumstances, Jiang Zongheng also personally arrived at the front lines, gathering the immortal cultivators from the Four Mountains and Five Peaks who had surrendered to the Divine Wood Sect, and once again initiated a battle among cultivators.

Although Zhou Ye possessed the Primordial Five Elements Extinction Divine Thunder, it was the only thing that gave the Divine Wood Sect pause.

To maintain this deterrent, Zhou Ye was compelled to remain within Primordial Immortal City.

With no Core Formation cultivators directly intervening, the number and strength of the Five Elements Sect's Earth vein cultivators were slightly inferior to those on Grand Tutor Jiang's side.

This was because Chen Mobai was not so ruthless; he didn't want to give Zhou Ye an opportunity to wipe out decades of his accumulated power in one move, so he did not dispatch any Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Divine Wood Sect.

Except for Jiang Zongheng.

This disciple was crucial for coordinating the front lines; without him, it would have been impossible to gather so many cultivators willing to assist the Divine Wood Sect.

Jiang Zongheng had volunteered for the dangerous mission. Although Chen Mobai could have stopped him, he knew that this was integral to his disciple's Dao heart. If he failed to complete it, he would never overcome the inner demons during the Core Formation tribulation.

After agreeing, Chen Mobai gave Jiang Zongheng a Minor Teleportation Talisman and a Rank 4 Spirit Leaf Talisman infused with his own spiritual power.

Chen Mobai had only heard of the power of the Primordial Five Elements Extinction Divine Thunder, so he didn't know if these talismans would be effective. Nevertheless, they were the best life-saving items he could provide.

Jiang Zongheng decided to risk his life because he understood the situation very clearly.

He knew that Ming Kingdom was the sole and greatest obstacle to unifying the Eastern Barrens, and the sooner it was resolved, the better.

The key to Ming Kingdom was Zhou Ye.

As long as Zhou Ye remained in Primordial Immortal City, none of the Divine Wood Sect's Core Formation cultivators would dare step into Ming Kingdom's territory.

If his life could be traded for Zhou Ye, a Core Formation cultivator, Jiang Zongheng was willing to sacrifice himself for the unprecedented grand unification.

Clearly, Jiang Zongheng's weight was not enough.

Before the Ming capital, cultivators from both sides arrayed themselves for a great battle. Without the aid of the Divine Wood Sect's Foundation Establishment cultivators, the power gap between the two sides was not significant.

However, as time passed, "those who gain the Dao have many helpers." More and more cultivators came to assist Jiang Zongheng.

Soon, cultivation families and sects from more than half of the Eastern Barrens sent people to join Grand Tutor Jiang's ranks. Even cultivators from the territories of Return to Heaven Valley and Blowing Snow Palace traveled thousands of miles to offer their services.

Under these circumstances, the grand formation jointly set up by the Earth vein of the Five Elements Sect lasted only three months before being completely shattered.

After the Ming capital was breached, Jiang Zongheng, seizing the advantage, once again led his army of cultivators to occupy the Five Elements Sect's most crucial medium-sized spirit stone mine.

The Five Elements Sect had two medium-sized spirit stone mines. One was in Yan Kingdom, guarded by Sheng Zhaoxi.

The other was in Ming Kingdom, and it was the largest source of spirit stones for the entire Primordial Immortal City.

Although the Five Elements Sect had accumulated a considerable stock of spirit stones over the years, currently, to prepare for a major war, their Rank 4 grand formation needed to be kept active constantly.

This level of consumption would likely only sustain them for about twenty years at most.

This situation made the Earth vein of the Five Elements Sect realize one thing!

The tide had turned!

They had already been routed in direct combat and now only had the strength to defend their city. Chunyu Su simply dared not lead the Earth vein cultivators to the spirit stone mine.

Unless Zhou Ye made a move!

However, facing Jiang Zongheng's suicidal actions, this Core Formation cultivator of the Five Elements Sect remained indifferent and extremely cautious, not taking a single step outside the city.

A month later, Jiang Zongheng sent another letter to negotiate with Chunyu Su.

By this time, Chunyu Su's attitude was completely different.

He only requested that Ming Kingdom remain independent, conceding the Six Kingdoms and the Water and Fire veins as ceded territory. He even offered to cede everything else if they were allowed to reclaim the medium-sized spirit stone mine within Ming Kingdom itself.

But now it was Jiang Zongheng's turn.

He demanded that the Earth vein of the Five Elements Sect cede Primordial Immortal City and even the entire Ming Kingdom. In exchange, they would be permitted to use the teleportation array to leave the Eastern Barrens.

In other words, he wanted everything!

At this, Chunyu Su was so enraged that he flipped the table.

The stalemate continued for another two months. Not a single cultivator who left Primordial Immortal City was able to return.

Even though the medium-sized teleportation array within the Immortal City was still operational, all accessible markets were controlled by the Divine Wood Sect, preventing them from procuring spirit rice and other essential supplies needed by cultivators.

Although they had fasting pills and the like, these would only last for a few years at most.

Chunyu Su had never regretted so much not stocking more fasting pills; a whole bottle of them could be bought for just one spirit stone.

There were also two secret teleportation arrays as fallback routes, but more than half of the Eastern Barrens had already been taken by the Divine Wood Sect. Even if the Earth vein of the Five Elements Sect could leave Primordial Immortal City, they would still end up in these controlled territories.

Despite this, Chunyu Su still dispatched people, hoping they could evade the Divine Wood Sect's pursuit, enter Return to Heaven Valley's territory, purchase enough fasting pills, and prepare for a prolonged siege.

But reality soon delivered a harsh blow to Chunyu Su.

One of his direct disciples, Feng Zicheng, whom he had sent out, went directly to Jiang Zongheng to pledge allegiance after using the teleportation array to leave.

Subsequently, one of the two teleportation arrays that allowed travel outside Primordial Immortal City was sealed off.

Under these circumstances, Chunyu Su no longer dared to use the other teleportation array.

He believed that if Feng Zicheng could betray them, then no one else could be trusted either.

This desperate predicament left him no choice but to seek out Zhou Ye again.

Didn't Chunyu Su know that facing Jiang Zongheng now meant having no negotiating chips left?

However, without Zhou Ye's nod of approval, any agreement he made would be invalid.

Three times a day, for half a month, Chunyu Su finally received a letter personally written by Zhou Ye.

Afterwards, this letter was personally delivered by Jiang Zongheng to Beiyuan City.

After reading it, Chen Mobai casually handed it to his disciple nearby.

Jiang Zongheng respectfully took it with both hands and read its contents.

"I invite Sect Master Chen to Primordial Immortal City for a discussion!"

After reading, Jiang Zongheng only said, "Master, your esteemed person is invaluable; you must not risk yourself. Whatever demands there are, your disciple is willing to enter Primordial Immortal City and convey them on your behalf!"

After the Water and Fire veins surrendered to the Divine Wood Sect, Zhou Ye no longer had any means of turning the tide.

The only reason he could still sit securely within Primordial Immortal City was the Primordial Five Elements Extinction Divine Thunder.

Jiang Zongheng believed that the immense disparity created by the Five Elements Sect being on the verge of complete subjugation by the Divine Wood Sect might cause Zhou Ye to act irrationally.

Chen Mobai held an extraordinary position, having led the Divine Wood Sect to its peak, potentially even surpassing the Primordial Ancestor.

Even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, his Master's life could not be entrusted to Zhou Ye.

"This is one of my puppet avatars. I can project a portion of my consciousness into it. Take it and deliver it to Primordial Immortal City."

Chen Mobai took out the formless puppet he had long prepared and gave it to Jiang Zongheng, whose eyes lit up. He had never imagined such a mystical puppet existed.

It was well-known in the Eastern Barrens that the further a puppeteer was from their puppet, the more rigid the puppet became. Therefore, when puppeteers engaged in combat, their true bodies would invariably be hidden nearby to allow the puppet to unleash its peak power.

This was precisely why Nan Shidao was cut down by Mo Douguang's sword on the battlefield back then.

Jiang Zongheng had never heard of a puppet like the formless one, which could function normally even across nearly the entire Eastern Barrens.

After Jiang Zongheng left, Chen Mobai received another person.

It was Ye Bogui from Return to Heaven Valley, who had come to deliver medicinal pills.

"Greetings, Sect Master Chen!"

During Chen Mobai's Core Formation grand ceremony, Ye Bogui had represented Return to Heaven Valley to offer congratulations, making him a familiar face to Chen Mobai.

"It's been many years. Nephew Ye has also reached Foundation Establishment Completion. Perhaps soon, you might become one of our Daoist companions."

Unexpectedly, upon hearing Chen Mobai's words, Ye Bogui shook his head with a bitter smile and recounted an old incident of his own.

"I dare not conceal anything from Sect Master Chen. Ten years ago, I already took the Golden Liquid Jade Return Pill, failed to form my core, but fortunately survived."

Hearing Ye Bogui's words, Chen Mobai recalled the batch of Golden Liquid Jade Return Pills that had helped him form his core; four pills were produced from that batch.

The Divine Wood Sect received two pills, which he and Chu Zuoshu took. Of the two pills for Return to Heaven Valley, he only knew that He Jintong used one, while there had been no news of the other.

As more and more cultivators of the Divine Wood Sect reached Foundation Establishment Completion, Chen Mobai had considered purchasing more from Return to Heaven Valley, but he hadn't expected it to have already been used.

"As long as you're alive, there's a chance. Perhaps you can form an unorthodox Golden Core, just like cultivators Meng and Luo from our sect."

Chen Mobai offered a casual word of comfort, but upon hearing it, Ye Bogui's mind stirred, and he began to ponder deeply.

However, since Yan Shaoyin was still present, he suppressed his wild thoughts and handed a bottle of pills to Chen Mobai.

Inside were two Nirvana Pills, which was the stated reason for his visit.

According to the oath between Chen Mobai and Yan Shaoyin, for the three pill formulas obtained from the Longevity Pill Scripture, both sides would contribute half of the materials and equally share the resulting pills.

These Nirvana Pills had been refined long ago, but their toxicity exceeded acceptable levels and they had flaws when formed. Therefore, they needed to be sealed in the furnace using Return to Heaven Valley's secret pill-nurturing technique, only reaching Yan Shaoyin's standards this year.

However, Chen Mobai suspected that these Nirvana Pills had likely been taken out of the furnace much earlier.

It was probably after witnessing the fate of the Five Elements Sect that Yan Shaoyin reluctantly dispatched Ye Bogui to deliver them.

"A bit too much pill toxicity, but barely usable."

After examining the Nirvana Pills, Chen Mobai made a somewhat critical comment.

Nirvana Pills were used in the Immortal Gate to transform a cultivator's physical body. They could not only repair physical defects and remove impurities like pill toxicity, but also elevate the level of a practiced body-refining technique.

However, due to the pill's grade, the physical body's strength could only be enhanced to the peak of Rank 3 at most.

Furthermore, they could only resolve pill toxicity accumulated within the physical body, being ineffective against impurities in spiritual power.

Additionally, Chen Mobai discovered another issue.

That was, even though the Nirvana Pills refined by Yan Shaoyin had relatively little pill toxicity compared to other alchemists in the Eastern Barrens, it was still present.

This meant that even if one used this pill to resolve previously accumulated pill toxicity in the body, they would still contract toxicity from this very pill.

However, this was not a major problem for Chen Mobai.

The pill toxicity of a Rank 3 pill was within the scope of what Green Cicada Spirit Tea could resolve. Moreover, he possessed the Lamp Ignition Art, and if all else failed, he could wait until he achieved immunity to all poisons upon reaching the second layer of the Phoenix Facing the Sun Diagram before taking it.

After more than twenty years of continuous refinement with Longevity Dew, Chen Mobai's Longevity Dao Body had barely advanced to the peak of the mid-Rank 3 level.

Since he no longer possessed wood-attribute spiritual power within his body, the speed at which he cultivated this body-refining technique could not be accelerated.

If he were to cultivate systematically, even with an endless supply of Longevity Dew, it would still take at least another thirty years to reach Rank 3 Completion.

However, taking this Nirvana Pill would directly save him thirty years of cultivation time.

Since Chen Mobai's physical body had no defects or pill toxicity, the full medicinal power of the Nirvana Pill could be utilized solely to enhance his physical strength.

That's why he commented: "Barely usable!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Bogui dared not refute. He was one of those who had personally observed Chen Mobai instructing Yan Shaoyin in alchemy and knew that Sect Master Chen, standing before him, had inherited the true alchemy legacy of the Longevity Sect and was an undisputed grandmaster of alchemy.

"Sect Master Chen, that batch of Golden Liquid Jade Return Pills has also been refined. My master was fortunate this time; six pills were formed, five of perfect quality, and one with minor flaws, requiring a period of sealed nurturing in the furnace."

After delivering the Nirvana Pills, Ye Bogui then brought up the second reason for his visit.

"Master Yan has worked hard."

Chen Mobai's expression remained calm as he spoke a polite remark.

According to the contract, their Divine Wood Sect would receive three pills.

One pill was implicitly designated for Yin Qingmei. If Xie Yuntian and others vied for the remaining two, it could cause considerable internal turmoil within the sect.

If all six pills belonged to their Divine Wood Sect, that would be ideal.

As Chen Mobai pondered this, Ye Bogui had already begun to state the true purpose of his visit.

"After the Golden Liquid Jade Return Pills, my master intends to refine the Infant Nurturing Pills. He hopes Sect Master Chen can help gather the other half of the agreed-upon medicinal ingredients."

Hearing this, Chen Mobai's eyes lit up. This was finally the acceleration he had been hoping for.

If Yan Shaoyin didn't start preparing for Nascent Soul formation soon, Chen Mobai would have been tempted to make Jiang Zongheng act.

"The auxiliary ingredients for the Infant Nurturing Pill are manageable, but the main ingredients are too precious. We cannot afford even a single failed batch..."

But outwardly, Chen Mobai maintained a somber tone, appearing somewhat reluctant.

Ye Bogui: "My master said that if Sect Master Chen is willing to help, he is prepared to offer one Golden Liquid Jade Return Pill as thanks."

Chen Mobai: "In that case, it's not entirely out of the question..."

Ye Bogui: "Two pills."

Chen Mobai: "..."