Chapter 840: Cultivating the Divine Swallowing Technique

This branch is the Dao of the Celestial Venerable!

The name "Grand Dao Tree" suddenly made perfect sense to Chen Mobai.

However, he still didn't know if the Longevity Sect's complete disappearance overnight meant they had ascended, led by the Celestial Venerable.

Chen Mobai then used the Violet Lightning Sword to search the side hall. This area should have contained some items, but its restrictions were now completely open, and it was utterly empty.

He could only conclude that the locals had been incredibly thorough!

Chen Mobai cursed inwardly, but there was nothing he could do.

After completing his exploration, it was time to leave.

Although there was virtually no danger inside, provided one didn't deliberately touch the Celestial Venerable's branch, Chen Mobai still preferred not to be there.

His main body, located outside, used the Void Blade and the 'Sound of the Empty Valley' technique to locate a weak point in the space, cutting open a fissure. He then retrieved both the Formless Puppet and the Violet Lightning Sword.

"Master..."

The Violet Lightning Sword somewhat awkwardly accepted the small piece of Fifth-Tier Profound Gold Chen Mobai offered. It had been found in Patriarch Jin Feng's storage bag, likely scraps from his weapon refinement.

"Take it; you were very helpful this time."

Now that the Violet Lightning Sword had ascended to Fifth Tier, only Fifth-Tier materials were beneficial to it. Although it hadn't directly participated in the exploration of the Grand Dao Tree, it had still been helpful and deserved a reward.

"Thank you, Master. I'll return now."

Upon hearing Chen Mobai's words, the Violet Lightning Sword hesitantly accepted the gold, then retreated into the realm to digest the thumb-sized piece of Fifth-Tier Profound Gold.

By this time, Chen Mobai had also finished reviewing the contents of the Formless Puppet, learning that the branch contained the Dao of the Celestial Venerable.

If his spiritual sense became strong enough in the future to fully digest the Celestial Venerable's Dao, all his grand techniques could effortlessly be elevated to Fifth Tier, and potentially even Sixth Tier.

Unfortunately, given his current Nascent Soul realm, this was an impossibility.

Could he devise a method to gradually extract from the Celestial Venerable's Dao?

Chen Mobai began to ponder.

However, his knowledge base contained no information on beings of the Celestial Venerable's caliber, leaving him with no starting point.

After pondering for a long time, he could only set the matter aside for the moment.

Subsequently, Chen Mobai held the Heaven Origin Pearl and gazed at the Grand Dao Tree before him.

He began to recall all information concerning the Soul Devouring Art.

After consuming the loquat fruit, his comprehension had improved, and he slowly began to grasp the contents of the e-book given to him by Patriarch Qianxing.

He had taken an interest in this forbidden art a very long time ago.

Especially considering the slow progress of his Crimson Phoenix Facing the Sun Diagram.

The section on the Soul Devouring Art in the Immortal Sect's library was similar to what Patriarch Qianxing provided, but the insights of a God Transformation Patriarch were far more valuable.

As a secret technique of ancient evil cultivation paths, the Soul Devouring Art was forbidden because it involved transforming one's own spiritual sense into a divine seed to cultivate cauldrons, a process described as "The Dao of Man: sacrificing the deficient to benefit the abundant."

However, the Soul Devouring Art also encompassed a cultivation method known as 'The Dao of Heaven.'

Nascent Soul cultivators within the Immortal Sect could apply to practice this method.

The 'Dao of Heaven' involved perceiving oneself as the deficient part, then drawing from an abundant source, transforming it into one's own spiritual sense for advancement.

Chen Mobai's original plan was to use the 'Dao of Heaven' to establish a bridge between himself and the Jade Phoenix Tree, converting the vast, unconscious spiritual consciousness of this Fourth-Tier spiritual plant for his own use.

Since the Jade Phoenix Tree had long reached the peak of Fourth Tier, the spiritual energy it absorbed and released daily, along with the spiritual sense it generated, would unconsciously dissipate into the world. Therefore, cultivating the 'Dao of Heaven' with it would cause no harm.

However, Chen Mobai knew that the former Blossom Garden Master had secretly used the Jade Phoenix Tree to practice the Soul Devouring Art. For caution's sake, he decided against using it.

More importantly, he possessed numerous peak Fourth-Tier spiritual plants in the Eastern Barrens.

Among them, he had initially believed the most potent was the Five Elements Spirit Tree in the One Yuan Secret Realm, which had fallen in rank. Yet, now it appeared to be the Grand Dao Tree right before his eyes.

This was because the core of the Grand Dao Tree was the Celestial Venerable's branch.

It was even beyond Fifth Tier.

Precisely for this reason, despite its immense power, the Grand Dao Tree lacked a strong independent consciousness, serving merely as a vessel for the Celestial Venerable's Dao.

Absorbing and refining its spiritual consciousness would also be significantly easier for Chen Mobai.

This would save considerable time that would otherwise be spent purifying spiritual sense using the Lamp Lighting Art.

At this moment, Chen Mobai even considered whether, after absorbing the Grand Dao Tree with the Soul Devouring Art, he could then use the same method to ingest and digest the Celestial Venerable's Dao!

After all, he was currently in the Nascent Soul realm. Even if the Grand Dao Tree possessed profound reserves, it could, at most, only support his spiritual sense advancement to the pinnacle of the Nascent Soul stage.

But Chen Mobai quickly suppressed this dangerous thought.

That was, after all, the Celestial Venerable's Dao. The highest probability was that the moment he established a connection using the 'Dao of Heaven,' the Celestial Venerable's vast spiritual consciousness would surge forth, overwhelming all his own thoughts.

It would be better to honestly focus on devouring the Grand Dao Tree first.

With this in mind, Chen Mobai reviewed the cultivation method of the Soul Devouring Art one last time. After confirming everything was in order, he activated his Nascent Soul and began to perform the secret technique.

Aided by the 'Sound of the Empty Valley,' Chen Mobai effortlessly established a 'Dao of Heaven' connection with the Grand Dao Tree.

Soon, a ripple appeared on his brow, then from nothing, a tiny, black-hole-like vortex materialized, beginning to devour and absorb the scattered spiritual consciousness emanating from the Grand Dao Tree.

Gradually, Chen Mobai felt his spiritual sense expand, which filled him with joy.

It was noteworthy that after forming his Nascent Soul, he had required a full month of meditation beside the Jade Phoenix Tree to achieve this level of improvement. Now, it had taken only the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Such a remarkably efficient increase—it truly lived up to the name of the Soul Devouring Art!

Of course, this process was not without risk.

Although the Grand Dao Tree possessed a weak independent consciousness, it was still a peak Fourth-Tier spiritual plant. Even within its scattered spiritual sense, its most instinctive traces were deeply embedded.

As Chen Mobai absorbed and devoured using the Soul Devouring Art, he gradually gained insight into the Grand Dao Tree.

Its accumulated reserves were incredibly profound. If the spiritual veins of this Divine Tree Secret Realm were Fifth Tier, it would likely have already broken through to the Fifth Tier.

Chen Mobai maintained a high degree of vigilance, simultaneously devouring, filtering, and digesting the spiritual consciousness to prevent himself from being corrupted by the Grand Dao Tree's immense spiritual essence.

As his cultivation of the Soul Devouring Art deepened, he felt a strange resonance developing between his spiritual sense and the Grand Dao Tree.

He began to perceive deeper secrets within the Grand Dao Tree and also discovered the Celestial Venerable's Dao, hidden within the core of the space.

However, as long as the Longevity Trial remained unactivated, the Grand Dao Tree was unable to access the Celestial Venerable's Dao. This allowed Chen Mobai to safely practice the Soul Devouring Art.

He didn't have to worry about accidentally consuming the Celestial Venerable's Dao while absorbing.

This discovery also sparked an idea in Chen Mobai's mind: could he utilize this to filter the Celestial Venerable's Dao through the Grand Dao Tree, then gradually consume it?

After this thought emerged, Chen Mobai made a mental note, pondering how to design a perfect strategy for gradually consuming the Celestial Venerable's Dao in the future.

For the remainder of the time, Chen Mobai dedicated himself to cultivating the Soul Devouring Art.

Time passed, bit by bit. He completely established a bridge of spiritual sense with the Grand Dao Tree, and the vast yet weak-willed spiritual essence surrounding him continuously surged towards the vortex on his brow, where it was absorbed and devoured.

He lost track of time, but Chen Mobai felt his spiritual sense had grown by almost a tenth.

The phantom phoenix within his Violet Mansion Sea of Consciousness now shimmered with condensed, substantive colorful spiritual light.

It was precisely at this moment that the morning bell suddenly rang.

Chen Mobai immediately awoke, severing his connection with the Grand Dao Tree.

He slowly opened his eyes, which gleamed with an undeniable, crystal-clear luster.

This indicated that his spiritual sense had significantly improved in a short period, and he couldn't yet fully control it.

Chen Mobai immediately performed the Lamp Lighting Art, igniting some of the scattered Grand Dao Tree spiritual consciousness that had accumulated in his Violet Mansion Sea of Consciousness. He also refined and purified his own integrated spiritual sense, while the morning bell chimed to help him thoroughly absorb and digest it.

It was precisely for this reason that he dared to absorb such a large quantity of the Grand Dao Tree's spiritual consciousness during his first cultivation session.

After fully sensing his increased spiritual sense, a hint of excitement flashed in Chen Mobai's eyes.

At this rate, perhaps by the time he cultivated to the second layer of the Nascent Soul realm, the Crimson Phoenix Facing the Sun Diagram could advance to the next stage, the 'Earth Affinity Spirit' realm.

By then, he would truly be a darling of heaven and earth.

The moment he stepped onto a mountain peak, he would be able to sense all the mineral deposits, spiritual veins, and geological conditions of that entire region.

For example, when excavating spirit stone mines, the greatest challenge was locating the hidden spirit stones underground. A cultivator's spiritual sense became progressively more difficult to extend the deeper it went, with only Earth Masters having a slight advantage.

However, if Chen Mobai attained the 'Earth Affinity Spirit' realm, upon arriving at Duojiu Mountain in the Eastern Yi, he could instantly chart the precise locations of all spirit stone deposits throughout the mountain's underground.

Similarly, during his previous visit to Loquat Valley, he wouldn't have needed such an extensive effort. Upon arrival, he could have directly pinpointed the core gourd vine by sensing the fluctuations of the underground spiritual veins.

'Heaven-Connecting Blessing' would allow him to perceive all things above and below the earth with a heavenly heart, while 'Earth Affinity Spirit' would enable him, the instant he set foot on a location, to discern the countless mysteries that had evolved over eons deep within the earth.

With that realm, his Earth Master skills would instantly advance to Fifth Tier.

This was only because his current Nascent Soul realm capped his abilities at Fifth Tier; if he were at the God Transformation stage, his skills would directly reach Sixth Tier.

Furthermore, the 'Heaven-Connecting Blessing' and 'Earth Affinity Spirit' realms were complementary.

Once mastered, Chen Mobai could easily achieve the rank of a Fifth-Tier Array Master with just a bit more effort in array formations.

However, the first thing Chen Mobai thought of after mastering 'Earth Affinity Spirit' was the joy of being able to teach Zhuo Ming once more.

This beloved disciple, thanks to her 'Spirit Rhinoceros of All Things,' had long surpassed her master in both spiritual plant cultivation and Earth Master techniques. Though Chen Mobai didn't vocalize it, he still felt a slight lingering resentment about this inwardly.