Chapter 784: Bi Luo Palace Master

With a glimmer of hope for survival, Yan Shaoyin immediately abandoned his previous unyielding stance.

Chen Mobai smiled and asked him to extend his hand, then performed the Lantern Lighting Art on him. Yan Shaoyin felt most of the toxins and impurities in his spiritual power being cleared, experiencing a profound lightness as if a chronic ailment had been lifted from his body.

"Keep your cultivation level below Foundation Establishment," Chen Mobai instructed. "This spell of mine can last for one or two years. However, to completely resolve the hidden dangers in your body, we need to target the toxins that have permeated deep into your bones..."

Chen Mobai's Lantern Lighting Art, if Yan Shaoyin could cultivate it persistently, might genuinely purify and resolve his condition one day.

However, most of Yan Shaoyin's body had been reshaped by the pseudo-Three Luminaries Divine Water, and the pill toxins were now considered part of his very being. Consequently, even the spiritual power he cultivated himself contained these toxins.

Even in the Immortal Sect, this would be considered a difficult and complicated illness; only a medical master like Grandmaster Sanjue could potentially provide a complete cure.

After Yan Shaoyin experienced the miraculous effects of the Lantern Lighting Art, he no longer harbored any doubts about what Chen Mobai had said.

Or rather, he saw no other path to survival apart from this.

"Why didn't you acquire the true Three Luminaries Divine Water?" Chen Mobai asked, voicing the question that had been on his mind now that their new relationship had settled and the atmosphere was much more relaxed.

"The Stellar Heavenly Dao Sect itself doesn't have enough for its own use," Yan Shaoyin explained with a sigh. "Although technically, guest elders with merit can exchange for or purchase it, that's like a carrot dangling for a donkey; it was never truly within my reach. For outsiders who want the Three Luminaries Divine Water, the only channel is the Big Dipper Convention. However, this is a compromise the Stellar Heavenly Dao Sect was forced to make under pressure from the Sacred Lands. Essentially, it's only the nascent soul seeds from major powers that compete for it. The fact that I could even acquire a pseudo-Three Luminaries Divine Water was due to my extensive service, having refined elixirs for the Stellar Heavens Grand Chamber of Commerce for over a hundred years. And even if I had been qualified to buy it, I couldn't afford it!"

"Your Revival Valley possesses eight thousand mu of medicinal fields, almost monopolizing the entire Eastern Desolation's alchemy industry," Chen Mobai said, surprised. "Your accumulation of spirit stones is probably comparable to the combined wealth of the other six major sects in the Eastern Desolation. With such a fortune, you couldn't afford a single portion of the Three Luminaries Divine Water?"

"Alas, Sect Master, you don't know the full story," Yan Shaoyin sighed. "While Revival Valley is indeed a considerable estate in the Eastern Desolation, it couldn't withstand my extravagance over the years. Most of our family's accumulated wealth was spent on my attempt to form a Nascent Soul. Otherwise, after my failure, I wouldn't have moved out of my Tier 4 cave-dwelling and come to the outskirts of this stone city to await death."

Upon hearing Yan Shaoyin's words, Chen Mobai felt a bit embarrassed, as he had indirectly pushed Yan Shaoyin towards his Nascent Soul formation attempt.

"Among these, the largest transaction was exchanging for that Tier 5 Solar Sacred Fruit with the Sunbath Sea," Yan Shaoyin continued. "I used ten Tier 4 herbs from the sect, including a top-grade Tier 4 Earth Fire Red Lotus. Even then, it was only with the Stellar Heavens Grand Chamber of Commerce's intervention that they reluctantly agreed to the exchange."

Hearing this, Chen Mobai finally understood: his acceleration plan had not only crippled Yan Shaoyin but had also unexpectedly drained Revival Valley's accumulated wealth of over a millennium.

Whether it was the Golden Liquid Jade Restoration Pill, the True Origin Pill, the Nirvana Pill, or even the Infant Nurturing Pill, a single failed refinement of such elixirs would cause significant financial strain, even for major sects in the Eastern Desolation like theirs.

In recent decades, Yan Shaoyin had attempted to refine these elixirs more than once for his Nascent Soul formation.

If the Five Elements Sect hadn't borne half the cost, his pockets would have been empty long ago.

But even so, he was now virtually penniless, arguably the poorest Core Formation Ancestor of any sect.

"Can you still refine pills?" Chen Mobai asked, remembering Yan Shaoyin's specialty.

"Because my spiritual power contains pill toxins, I can only refine pills using external flames," Yan Shaoyin replied. "Ordinary Tier 1 or Tier 2 pills are fine, but for Tier 3 and above, without personal control over alchemy fire, the probability of failure is very high."

Yan Shaoyin was honest to avoid making a fool of himself if Chen Mobai took him back and asked him to refine pills later.

External flames refer to fires from burning spiritual wood, ground fire, and similar sources. Chen Mobai's Tushita Fire could also be considered external.

Thinking of this, Chen Mobai nodded slightly.

He then inquired about the Big Dipper Convention, wanting to know what kind of offer he would likely need to prepare if he wanted to acquire the Three Luminaries Divine Water.

"That's hard to say, Sect Master. You know the format of the auction," Yan Shaoyin replied. "It all depends on who has the greatest need and offers the highest price. Furthermore, after each successful transaction, the Stellar Heavenly Dao Sect never discloses the reserve price. Plus, I've never been officially qualified to participate before; I'm an outsider."

Yan Shaoyin shook his head, refraining from random guesses to avoid influencing Chen Mobai's judgment.

"It seems I'll need to ask someone from the Stellar Heavenly Dao Sect," Chen Mobai mused, remembering He Sui.

The next day, when He Sui arrived, he saw Chen Mobai emerging from Yan Shaoyin's courtyard, with Yan Shaoyin following behind him like a mere attendant. This sight momentarily stunned He Sui, but he quickly approached respectfully, relieved that at least there hadn't been a murder.

"Senior, where would you like to visit today?" He Sui asked. "At Crimson Moon Market, our Grandmaster Xinghuo recently refined a new Tier 4 magic artifact. It's currently absorbing starlight essence to awaken its spirit, and this is open to the public. If you're interested, I can take you to see it."

Chen Mobai was very curious after hearing this. After all, in the Immortal Sect, he was a graduate of the Artifact Dance Academy. Coupled with his mastery of the 'Cantong Qi' and the 'Treasure Refinement Golden Light,' he could be considered an absolute expert in the field of magic artifacts, especially in the Celestial River Realm.

"Then let's go see it," Chen Mobai said. "Oh, by the way, there's something I'd like to ask you about..."

"Not at all, senior, please feel free to ask," He Sui said, waving his hand courteously to indicate he was not qualified to give advice.

Chen Mobai then asked about the bidding for the Three Luminaries Divine Water at the Big Dipper Convention.

"Regarding this matter, I can indeed tell senior a few things."

After hearing this, He Sui thought for a moment, organized his thoughts, and then specifically cast a soundproofing barrier to prevent others from overhearing.

"The price of the Three Luminaries Divine Water actually depends on who is participating," He Sui explained. "If Daoists and Saintesses from the Sacred Lands participate, that's when the price is lowest. Because at that time, no matter how high others bid, the sect's higher-ups, to save face for the Sacred Lands, will generally reluctantly sell the Three Luminaries Divine Water to them."

"If there are no Daoists or Saintesses from the Sacred Lands, or if the Sacred Land cultivators who come are not of such esteemed status, that's when the competition is most intense. Our sect will then sell the Three Luminaries Divine Water based on our own needs or to the highest bidder."

"However, even Daoists and Saintesses from the Sacred Lands, at the Big Dipper Convention, must offer at least Tier 5 resources to exchange for the Three Luminaries Divine Water. Otherwise, our sect will arrange for internal personnel to reclaim the Three Luminaries Divine Water."

Hearing this, Chen Mobai once again marveled at the auction format. As long as it wasn't public, the Stellar Heavenly Dao Sect retained the power to decide.

Whether it was to grant favor to the Sacred Lands or reclaim the item at a low price for themselves, they were essentially always in an unbeatable position.

Hearing this, Chen Mobai sighed. He certainly didn't possess anything of Tier 5 that he could exchange for it.

"It seems the Three Luminaries Divine Water is not destined for me."

Hearing Chen Mobai's words, He Sui offered comfort, stating that besides the Three Luminaries Divine Water, their Stellar Heavenly Dao Sect possessed many other resources useful to Core Formation cultivators.

Such as Tier 3 magic artifacts, Tier 3 elixirs, and even medium-sized teleportation arrays.

Hearing this, Chen Mobai nodded slightly.

He was basically not lacking in magic artifacts or elixirs. Furthermore, with Qing Nyu present, he was confident consuming those he refined himself.

However, if he could acquire medium-sized teleportation arrays, he could completely integrate the unified Eastern Desolation.

He had already calculated that with just three more medium-sized teleportation arrays, he could cover all nineteen counties of the Eastern Desolation.

By then, connecting them with the two existing ones at Hunyuan Immortal City and Fengyu Dock, he would be able to rapidly mobilize cultivators from all over the Eastern Desolation.

Even if Nascent Soul cultivators were to attack again, the Five Elements' Five Veins would be able to assemble the Five Elements Dao Soldiers more quickly.

Moreover, if a beast tide occurred in the Cloud Dream Marsh, cultivators from across the Eastern Desolation could quickly reinforce the area, ensuring that the counties surrounding the great marsh would not be overrun by beasts.

Soon, the three of them arrived at Crimson Moon Market.

As he entered, Chen Mobai saw a bright silver star ring floating in the very center of the market. Wisps of faint stellar true fire, as if possessing sentience, coiled and refined like fiery serpents. During this process, pure and vast streams of spiritual energy shot forth from a towering stone pagoda nearby, which were then refined by the fiery-serpent-like stellar true fire and continuously merged into the star ring.

"Is this the Stellar Heavenly Dao Sect's process for tempering and awakening the spirit of a magic artifact?" Chen Mobai wondered, watching the scene with envy.

The material of this star ring was clearly extraordinary; by his estimation, it should be top-grade Tier 4.

In the Immortal Sect, if an artifact craftsman like Hong Mengkui were to refine it, he would likely use at most a thumb-sized piece of such material, filling the rest with ordinary Tier 4 or even Tier 3 materials, which would generally be enough to ensure the creation of a Tier 4 artifact.

The artifact craftsmen here are truly fortunate.

"Senior, those are stellar essences," He Sui introduced, pointing to the pure spiritual energy. "They are considered our sect's Tier 5 spiritual energy and are also one of the raw materials for the starlight spiritual liquid you exchanged for yesterday."

For the disciples of the Stellar Heavenly Dao Sect, these spiritual energies can significantly accelerate their accumulation of spiritual power without any side effects.

They can be refined by cultivators from Qi Refinement to Nascent Soul stages, though the higher the cultivation, the less apparent the effect becomes.

Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai realized, 'Isn't this just like Vitality Replenishing Spiritual Water?'

The difference is that the Immortal Sect's Vitality Replenishing Spiritual Water is truly attribute-less, and cultivators of any cultivation method can refine it to improve.

The Stellar Heavenly Dao Sect's version, however, is only suitable for disciples who cultivate their sect's methods.

"Grandmaster Xinghuo is coming out!" Just then, Chen Mobai saw a burly figure fly out from the stone pagoda.

This was the Stellar Heavenly Dao Sect's youngest Nascent Soul Grandmaster. He strode through the void, bright silver flames igniting in his wake. With a clench of his five fingers, all the starlight from the stone pagoda seemed to be gathered in his hand, as if he held a dazzling star, which he then pressed heavily onto the star ring suspended in mid-air.

At this moment, Chen Mobai's eyes narrowed, and he imperceptibly shook his head.

Accompanying a dazzling burst of brilliant silver light, the star ring suddenly began to flicker, sometimes bright, sometimes dim. Although it was ultimately forced to brighten under Grandmaster Xinghuo's powerful cultivation, the faint spiritual essence it originally possessed had now completely dissipated.

The spirit awakening failed!

In the Celestial River Realm, there was also a set of standards for evaluating magic artifacts.

The simplest criterion was that if a Tier 4 magic artifact developed a spirit upon successful refinement, it had the potential to be upgraded to Tier 5 in the future.

But this was virtually one in ten thousand; an ordinary Tier 4 artifact craftsman might not be able to refine even one in a lifetime.

If one could achieve this, they would be considered a quasi-Tier 5 artifact craftsman.

Essentially, they would be a paragon of artifact refining among Nascent Soul cultivators.

If other Nascent Soul cultivators wished to enlist such a person to refine artifacts, the latter could even put on airs and decide whether to accept the commission based on their mood.

"Alas..." The spirit awakening of this star ring failed. Although it could still be considered a premium Tier 4 artifact, Grandmaster Xinghuo was clearly not satisfied. After a long sigh, he returned to his cultivation pagoda.

"What a pity," Chen Mobai thought. "If he had studied at my Artifact Dance Academy for ten years, he might have had a chance to elevate his artifact refining skills to Tier 5."

Although Chen Mobai's artifact refining skill was generally average, his insight surpassed that of this realm. The star ring had indeed possessed a faint spiritual essence at the beginning.

While this was mainly due to the excellent material, it was undeniable that Grandmaster Xinghuo's artifact refining skill was at least top-tier in the Celestial River Realm.

However, he was self-taught, and his artifact refining techniques had deficiencies in various aspects.

Unless these were addressed, there would certainly be no way to advance further in artifact refining.

Of course, by the standards of the Celestial River Realm, it was still possible. If he could refine a Tier 5 artifact using Tier 5 materials, then Grandmaster Xinghuo would also be considered a Tier 5 artifact craftsman.

But Chen Mobai certainly wouldn't acknowledge that.

As a member of the Immortal Sect, he always held himself to high standards and strict requirements. He even planned to promote the Immortal Sect's standards and requirements for the hundred arts of cultivation throughout the Eastern Desolation in the future.

"Senior, would you like to see more..." He Sui was just about to say something after the star ring's tempering and spirit awakening concluded, when suddenly, the sky abruptly darkened.

Chen Mobai immediately looked up and saw a dark fissure suddenly opening in the firmament. Then, an aerial pavilion drifted out from the crack.

It descended, circling like a wandering dragon, adorned with delicate flowing ribbons, suspended amidst the clouds, elegant and mysterious. Most astonishingly, the pavilion's rooftop was filled with colorful flowers, dancing lightly in the wind, as if bringing spring itself to this place. The previously cold air suddenly began to warm the moment it descended.

At the same time, Chen Mobai saw bright silver starlight illuminating the towering stone pagodas of the stone city. Soon after, he saw Grandmaster Xinghuo fly into the air, arriving before the aerial pavilion with two other Nascent Soul Grandmasters from the Stellar Heavenly Dao Sect.

Just as he was about to get a closer look, faint clouds drifted up, already obscuring the sky.

Approximately half a quarter of an hour later, Chen Mobai felt the grand formation surrounding the entire divine mountain open. Subsequently, the obscuring clouds dissipated.

The aerial pavilion was naturally no longer in its original spot; it had clearly been welcomed inside by the Nascent Soul Grandmasters of the Stellar Heavenly Dao Sect.

And the fissure that had originally opened at this moment completely closed and disappeared as a youth in a dark robe clasped his hands together.

After the dark-robed youth completed these actions, his sleeves fluttered, and he shimmered with a silvery-white light, vanishing from his spot.

Seeing this scene, Chen Mobai's pupils constricted.

"This is... a spell similar to Void Walking?"

He immediately cast the 'Echoes of the Empty Valley' spell, listening to the as-yet-unsettled void energy in mid-air left behind by the dark-robed youth's instant movement, confirming that his judgment was correct.

"May I ask who arrived," Chen Mobai inquired of He Sui, "to warrant three of your sect's Nascent Soul Grandmasters greeting them together?"

"It should be an important figure from the Grand Void Ethereal Palace," He Sui replied. "Judging by that flying magic artifact, it might even be Palace Master Biluo."

The Grand Void Ethereal Palace, one of the four Sacred Lands, controlled all the teleportation arrays across the Five Continents and Four Seas. In the Eastern Continent, apart from the Transformation God True Monarch stationed there, Palace Master Biluo was the most renowned.

How many teleportation arrays the Stellar Heavenly Dao Sect could acquire for sale depended entirely on her.

Hearing this, Chen Mobai's mind, however, still recalled the dark-robed youth who had closed the spatial fissure.

"Could he be the Dao Child of the Grand Void Ethereal Palace?"

However, He Sui did not know the answer to this question, as he had never met such an important figure himself.

"Senior, would you like to explore more?"

Chen Mobai nodded and had He Sui guide him through Crimson Moon Market first.

The Big Dipper Convention truly lived up to its reputation as a top-tier event across the entire Eastern Continent, as he encountered many stalls with materials that even he found appealing.

For example, several other Tier 3 materials capable of upgrading the Scarlet Cloud Mist Gauze.

This magic artifact was considered the signature piece of the Artifact Dance lineage.

Unfortunately, Chen Mobai had previously only had Ming Yihua help refine Tier 3 Water Mist Ice Crystals into it, barely upgrading it to Tier 3 quality.

If he wanted to upgrade it again, he would need to find four other Tier 3 materials and refine them into it in a specific sequence.

Now that Chen Mobai had mastered the 'Cantong Qi,' he no longer needed Ming Yihua's help. He could use the Art of Promotion himself to integrate higher-grade materials with lower-grade ones to complete the upgrade.

In Crimson Moon Market, he had already found all four types. For one of them, the vendor even had a Tier 4 version.

Chen Mobai negotiated for each one individually, and the four Tier 3 materials were easily acquired.

Unfortunately, for the Tier 4 material, the vendor stated that they were only accepting offers at the moment.

After all, the Big Dipper Convention had just begun, and Tier 4 materials were considered precious treasures for Core Formation cultivators. The vendor would surely wait longer, hoping to sell at a higher price.

Perhaps they would encounter a cultivator who desired the material even more and would offer a higher price.

Although Chen Mobai regretted this, he could only accept it.

After exchanging communication talismans with the Core Formation cultivator named Yu Shantou, Chen Mobai collected some other useful Tier 3 materials. Only when he saw that it was getting dark did he reluctantly leave Crimson Moon Market.

After the day concluded, Chen Mobai rented a Tier 3 cave-dwelling.

He Sui was unable to secure the cave-dwelling business, and although he was somewhat disappointed, he could only accept it.

Over the next seven days, Chen Mobai spent his time, under He Sui's guidance, visiting all the publicly accessible areas of the stone city.

He discovered many more valuable items.

For example, a jar of refined Tier 3 Fire Yang Demonic Qi.

With this, he would be able to advance his Primordial Yang Sword Fiend by a small level.

"Tier 4 Fire Yang Demonic Qi isn't unavailable," the vendor said. "But my Geomancy Master level isn't high enough to condense demonic qi of that grade. If Fellow Daoist truly needs it, you can come find me at Mount Huoyun in the Eastern Lands in the future..."

After Chen Mobai purchased the Tier 3 Fire Yang Demonic Qi, he had a brief chat with the vendor and received another piece of good news.

It was just a pity that he would have to travel to the Eastern Lands.

After thinking it over, he decided it wasn't necessary, as the Primordial Yang Sword Fiend was merely an optional means for him.

It would be better to wait until he formed his Nascent Soul; if it was on his way to the One Yuan Dao Palace, he could visit Mount Huoyun then.

After taking a communication talisman from the Fire Yang Demonic Qi vendor, Chen Mobai went to Yan Shaoyin's Tier 2 courtyard.

Since it was located in a secluded area, its footprint was quite substantial.

Chen Mobai made the best use of everyone. He had Yan Shaoyin liaise with Lü Huixin to purchase the auxiliary herbs needed for refining the Golden Liquid Jade Restoration Pill, Five Elements Golden Core Pill, True Origin Pill, Spirit Origin Pill, and the three Nascent Soul-forming spiritual medicines.

Although many of these auxiliary herbs could be found in the Eastern Desolation, the full range of varieties was not available.

In the past, when Yan Shaoyin refined pills, he would seek assistance from the Stellar Heavens Grand Chamber of Commerce's channels.

Since Chen Mobai was here this time, it was definitely best to collect everything in one go.

Besides the auxiliary herbs, the most crucial items were naturally the main ingredients.

These were extremely precious and could only be acquired through bartering.

For instance, today, Yan Shaoyin found a main ingredient for refining the Infant Nurturing Pill.