Chapter 733: After all, an outsider

As Yin Qingmei was forming her Golden Core, Chen Mobai retreated with Luo Yixuan and Zhuo Ming to the mountainside. Though he was ninety-nine percent sure of her success, seeing the heavenly tribulation dissipate and Yin Qingmei rise from beneath the Jade Phoenix Tree, radiating with renewed vitality, he still let out a subtle sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Sect Master, for your protection; your disciple has successfully formed her Golden Core." After Yin Qingmei stood up, she naturally sought out Chen Mobai first, bowing slightly to him where he stood on the mountainside. For some reason, she seemed to have become even more beautiful after forming her Golden Core. She wore a pristine silver-white long gown, her long hair tied back, accentuating her slender waist. As she flew down from the mountain peak towards Chen Mobai, her figure was graceful and enchanting, as if dancing, as captivating and delicate as a blooming flower. In that moment, even Luo Yixuan, who was always proud of her looks, felt a pang of awe, finding Yin Qingmei as beautiful as a celestial being.

"You have just broken through; your realm still needs further consolidation..." Seeing Yin Qingmei eagerly descend immediately after forming her Golden Core, Chen Mobai shook his head, telling her not to worry too much about formalities.

"Yes, but I feel quite drained today. Further cultivation wouldn't be very effective, so I'll continue to consolidate my realm tomorrow." After forming her Golden Core, Yin Qingmei's speech was much bolder than before. If this were before, facing Chen Mobai's words, she would only nod repeatedly, without any objections. However, what she said was also right; cultivation and consolidation require a balance between work and rest. Furthermore, thanks to her natal spirit plant, Yin Qingmei bypassed the most challenging aspect of Golden Core formation for ordinary cultivators—the refinement of spiritual energy into spiritual power. She simply needed to integrate the vital spiritual power, infused after refining the Jade Phoenix Tree, into her nascent Golden Core without expending any mental effort. The only thing hindering her progress was her divine consciousness realm.

"Give me your hand!" However, Chen Mobai was still a little uneasy and, as a routine, took her pulse. Upon hearing this, Yin Qingmei nodded gently, lifted her light, wide sleeve, and extended her fair, jade-like wrist. After examining her, Chen Mobai found that her realm was already quite stable. The Golden Liquid Jade Return Pill's efficacy had been perfectly utilized, completing the transformation of her essence, qi, and spirit, leaving virtually no possibility of regression.

"Excellent. From now on, my Five Elements Sect's Wood Vein has one more Golden Core cultivator." Chen Mobai's words brought an undisguised excitement and joy to Yin Qingmei's face. She looked at the Sect Master before her, hesitant to speak, as if wanting to say something.

"What's wrong?" Chen Mobai asked, somewhat puzzled, after seeing her expression after his examination.

"Then, should I address you as Senior Brother Sect Master from now on?" Chen Mobai had not expected Yin Qingmei's question. In the Eastern Wilderness, seniority is determined by cultivation realm, and by convention, Yin Qingmei could indeed rise a generation after forming her Golden Core. However, to Chen Mobai, a member of the Immortal Sect, this was not ideal.

"My Five Elements Sect, as a renowned righteous sect, has always determined seniority by hierarchy, starting from Patriarch Yiyuan. Qingmei, though you have formed your Golden Core, you are still Senior Brother Fu's disciple. Since he and I are peers, you should remain in a younger generation." Chen Mobai intended to change this custom, and Zhou Shengqing and others also approved, so even if Yin Qingmei formed her Golden Core, she would still be of the fourth generation in the Five Elements Sect.

When Patriarch Hunyuan was still alive, the spiritual tablet of True Monarch Yiyuan was enshrined in Hunyuan Immortal City. So, according to the rules, the first-generation Patriarch is True Monarch Yiyuan. The second-generation disciple is Li Zhongji alone. The third generation consists of six people including Zhou Shengqing, and after Fu Zongjue and Chen Mobai formed their Golden Cores, they were also elevated to this generation, making a total of eight people. This is also why Chen Mobai did not take Zhou Shengqing as his master back then; otherwise, he would only be ranked in the fourth generation. Now that Yin Qingmei has formed her Golden Core, she is of the fourth generation of the Five Elements Sect. However, she could only rank second among the fourth generation. Luo Yixuan held the first position; though her Golden Core formation was unconventional, the Divine Wood Sect had already proclaimed it throughout the Eastern Wilderness. Even if something unforeseen were to happen to her now, her status as the top fourth-generation disciple of the Five Elements Sect and the Grand Senior Sister of the five lineages was already set in stone. In the future, if Zhuo Ming and others form their Golden Cores, they would also be of the fourth generation, based on Chen Mobai's status.

"Yes, Sect Master Uncle!" After hearing the seniority Chen Mobai had set, Yin Qingmei exclaimed with some disappointment. Luo Yixuan, upon hearing this, felt smug and looked at Yin Qingmei with a slightly unfriendly gaze. Chen Mobai might not have caught on, but Luo Yixuan certainly did; she sensed that Yin Qingmei's intentions were not entirely pure. Luo Yixuan had to admit that Yin Qingmei, with her Heavenly Spiritual Root, celestial beauty, and now her Golden Core, exerted immense pressure on her, sparking an urgent desire to form her own Golden Core as soon as possible.

"Just call me Sect Master." Chen Mobai waved his hand, indicating that Yin Qingmei didn't need to change her address when in front of outsiders.

"Yes, Sect Master. During my Golden Core formation, I gained many insights and also encountered some perplexities. I'd like to share them with you, so that in the future, you can use them to guide other cultivators in the sect." Yin Qingmei's words made Chen Mobai nod. In the Heavenly River Realm, the depth of a sect's foundation is judged by the number of insights gained from various major realm breakthroughs.

As the hegemon of the Eastern Wilderness, the Five Elements Sect had a fair number of Golden Core insights, but in Chen Mobai's view, they were still too meager. He felt that reaching his goal would require at least double-digit Golden Core insights for each of the five elemental attributes. While Yin Qingmei and Chen Mobai discussed the Golden Core formation, Zhuo Ming listened enviously from the side. Among everyone present, her progress was the slowest.

Yin Qingmei quickly finished sharing her Golden Core insights. They were no different from what Chen Mobai had estimated. It could only be said that it was indeed a God Transformation cultivation method, aided by her natal spirit plant and the profound mysteries of the Jade Phoenix Tree, which increased her Golden Core formation success rate by at least thirty percent. Coupled with the Golden Liquid Jade Return Pill and her own foundation, she was able to naturally and successfully form her Golden Core.

"After Qingmei, it will be Xuan'er's turn. I have a Water Elemental Profound Stone here. Later, we'll find a suitable spiritual vein at the furthest extent of the Black Water to place it. Once the Black Water reaches that point, connecting to Yunmengze and Frost County Snow Mountain, it can be transmuted into a fourth-tier water vein." At this point, Chen Mobai had finished speaking with Yin Qingmei and said something that made Luo Yixuan overjoyed. What delighted her wasn't that she would have a fourth-tier water vein, but that Chen Mobai was thinking of her.

"Master, since Senior Sister Yin has just formed her Golden Core, perhaps we should give her some time to consolidate and recuperate. Let's go and finalize the fourth-tier water vein matter first." Luo Yixuan immediately suggested this. Chen Mobai thought about it and agreed, deciding not to delay Yin Qingmei further.

"Then I await the Sect Master's arrival." To this, Yin Qingmei could only say with disappointment. Chen Mobai nodded and immediately left with his two disciples, Zhuo Ming and Luo Yixuan, leaving Liujia Mountain to her.

Finding a location for a fourth-tier water vein was no easy task. First, it had to be a place with a spiritual vein. Second, it was ideally along the path of the Black Water's excavation, making diversion easier later on. Furthermore, it needed to allow for future expansion towards the Endless Sand Sea. Even an excellent geomancer would take a long time to achieve this. However, Chen Mobai, relying on the full strength of the Five Elements Sect, found it not difficult.

He had already informed Yan Yuanhao of this beforehand. As the overseer of Hong County, Yan Yuanhao immediately led the cultivators within the county to survey various oasis water veins and spiritual lands along the Black Water. Besides himself, he also issued orders to all cultivation families within Hong County, and even assigned tasks to rogue cultivators. Whoever presented a suitable water vein location would not only be rewarded with spirit stones, but if it was ultimately chosen by the Sect Master, they would also receive a second-tier cave dwelling in Beiyuan City. Upon the announcement of these generous conditions, the rogue cultivators throughout Hong County immediately went wild. The power of the people proved immense. While Chen Mobai escorted Yin Qingmei for her Golden Core formation, Yan Yuanhao, stationed at the mountain's foot, presented his own meticulously drawn map of Hong County's water veins and spiritual lands.

With the map, it became even simpler. Chen Mobai, accompanied by Zhuo Ming, the most outstanding geomancer, began searching along the course of the Black Water, one by one. Among these, first-tier and most second-tier spiritual veins were directly abandoned, as upgrading them to fourth-tier would require an excessively huge expenditure of manpower and resources. What remained were five high-grade second-tier spiritual veins and two third-tier spiritual veins. Upon seeing this, Chen Mobai once again marveled at the vastness and richness of the Heavenly River Realm. If these spiritual veins were in the Immortal Sect region, they would have long been overcrowded. They inspected them one by one along the way. Among these, both third-tier spiritual veins were already occupied by cultivators. One was the base of the Wen family, a cultivation family in Hong County, and the other was a detached residence of the Deng family, another cultivation family, where they cultivated many medicinal herbs and spirit rice. However, if Chen Mobai were to ask for them, they certainly wouldn't dare refuse.

After inspecting all of them, Chen Mobai found that the best location was an oasis called Hanying Lake, located eight hundred miles from Liujia Mountain. This was a high-grade second-tier water vein, with over a dozen rogue cultivators settled there. The highest cultivated among them was a ninth-level Qi Refining rogue cultivator named Li Lanting. Hanying Lake was situated on the periphery of Hong County; eighty miles further lay the boundless desert. Chen Mobai envisioned the Black Water needing to be channeled to the border between Hong County and the boundless desert. In the future, once Zhuo Ming's cultivation advanced, the oasis could be further expanded to reclaim the barren lands devastated by locusts. Although developing it into a fourth-tier water vein would require more resources compared to a third-tier foundation, as the core of the great project after opening up the Eastern Wilderness Plateau, Chen Mobai felt it was a worthwhile investment. Moreover, those two third-tier water veins had been managed by cultivation families for a long time; it would be a bit improper for him to simply seize them. Here at Hanying Lake, there were only sixteen rogue cultivators, making resettlement relatively easy.

Chen Mobai didn't even need to speak; Luo Yixuan directly stepped forward. After gathering all the rogue cultivators, she offered them an irresistible exchange: first, each person would receive a second-tier cave dwelling in Beiyuan City; second, each person would be granted an additional five hundred spirit stones; and third, if they wished to live in Beiyuan City in the future, they would be given priority for employment in projects like channeling the Black Water, planting trees, and desertification control. With these three conditions, all the rogue cultivators immediately nodded repeatedly to Luo Yixuan, fearing she might change her mind and regret her generosity. Leaving aside other things, a second-tier property in Beiyuan City was something they couldn't afford even if they struggled their whole lives. Who would have thought they could exchange an oasis in a remote, desolate place for such property? This was simply like pie falling from the sky.

After settling this matter, Chen Mobai descended from the sky. The highest-cultivated rogue cultivator among them seemed to recognize him and immediately knelt to perform a grand salute.

Li Lanting: "Greetings, Immortal Venerable Chen!"

Chen Mobai: "Oh, you know me?"

Li Lanting: "Immortal Venerable Chen, during the Battle of Water-Fire Pass, I assisted Grand Preceptor Jiang with Daoist Zhuhua. When the Grand Preceptor summoned you, I was present in his camp, and that's how I recognized True Person Luo."

Daoist Zhuhua was a Foundation Establishment rogue cultivator from Hong County, and his reputation was quite decent. When the Five Elements Sect unified, Chen Mobai provided a high-profile stage for Nu Jiang and Sheng Zhaoxi, personally leading Luo Yixuan and others to break through Water-Fire Pass.

"How serendipitous." Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai nodded gently to the female cultivator. Since upgrading the fourth-tier water vein required someone familiar with the area, he allowed her to stay.

Half a month later, the heads of the Array Formation Department and the Spiritual Vein Department arrived here with their teams, having received his orders. Chen Mobai and Zhuo Ming had already surveyed the area and provided a plan for upgrading the spiritual vein. As this was to be his disciple Luo Yixuan's future cultivation ground, Chen Mobai spared no expense. Besides the Water Element Profound Stone serving as the core of the spiritual vein, he also invested a thousand high-grade spirit stones. Fortunately, he had acquired a sum from Kong Lingling; otherwise, it might not have been enough. Seeing Chen Mobai's substantial expenditure, Luo Yixuan was deeply moved, feeling that her Master was truly good to her.

That day, as Chen Mobai was discussing with Zhuo Ming how to divert the Black Water to eventually converge into Hanying Lake, she immediately brewed a pot of hot tea and eagerly brought it over.

"Master, it's already cooled down. Please drink." Chen Mobai took the cup, drained it in one gulp, and resumed his discussion with Zhuo Ming about establishing a comprehensive geomantic water network spanning the entire Eastern Wilderness, centered around Hanying Lake.

Within the Immortal Sect's geomantic network, the segment pertaining to water sources and rivers is precisely termed "Water Canons." This refers to the major water systems on the earth's surface, which are considered the veins of the land, with water sources being the vital blood of the earth. When he first began developing the Eastern Wilderness Plateau, Chen Mobai had already foreseen this. After successfully channeling the three great rivers—Mo River, Bai River, and Black Water—they would eventually converge into Hanying Lake. Their sources, Yunmengze and Frost County Snow Mountain, are precisely the origins that nourish and foster the entire Eastern Wilderness civilization. If Luo Yixuan's cultivation proved sufficient, she could reside here, using Hanying Lake to absorb the vast water veins of the entire Eastern Wilderness, thereby cultivating the Profound Sea Control Art—a truly fitting purpose.

Luo Yixuan, listening to her Master and Senior Sister discuss, didn't grasp the technical specifics, but she fully understood the implications of what Chen Mobai was saying about her. In that moment, she felt that her position in her Master's heart was the highest. Otherwise, why would he arrange such an excellent cultivation place for her! The more Luo Yixuan thought about it, the happier she became. In that instant, she was radiant, her eyes sparkling, and her brows subtly lifted, unable to contain her joy and delight.

"Hmph, Yin Qingmei is an outsider after all..."