Chapter 841: Returning to the Immortal Sect

After consolidating his growing divine consciousness before the Grand Dao Tree, Chen Mobai left the place.

As he still needed to purify and refine his divine consciousness using the Lamp Lighting Art, Chen Mobai planned to seclude himself in Gigantic Wood Ridge for the upcoming period. This would also allow him to return to the Immortal Sect and deal with accumulated matters.

Upon his return to his Longevity Wood Daoist Temple, Gu Yan, who had received the news, came to pay her respects.

Ever since Zhou Wangshen left Flying Dragon Pond, Gu Yan, who was responsible for contacting him, had no further duties. Everyone in the Wood Vein knew she was close to Chen Mobai and dared not assign her other tasks. Gu Yan usually cultivated in her own cave dwelling. Her only task was to await Chen Mobai's instructions whenever he returned.

"Excellent, your cultivation is almost at the late Foundation Establishment stage."

Chen Mobai nodded slightly upon seeing Gu Yan, then began to offer guidance on her cultivation.

Gu Yan was overjoyed by this. She had entered Foundation Establishment at the same time as Jiang Zongheng; the latter was now close to perfecting his Foundation Establishment, while she was still stuck before the late Foundation Establishment bottleneck. Given Chen Mobai's current realm, even casual guidance, without using the Formless Puppet, could greatly benefit Gu Yan.

"If you wish to achieve Core Formation in the future, it's best to break through this bottleneck yourself. Overcoming it through your own efforts will prove infinitely beneficial to you in the future."

Chen Mobai was sincere with those close to him. Although Gu Yan's chances of achieving Core Formation were slim, he still conveyed this information to her as much as possible.

"Thank you for your guidance, Sect Master."

After Gu Yan left, Chen Mobai realized it was almost the end of the year and time to return to the Immortal Sect.

However, before that, he took some time to visit Beiyuan City.

Soon, news that the Spirit Treasure Pavilion in Beiyuan City had listed ten Core Formation spiritual medicines spread throughout the Eastern Wilderness. Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Five Elements Sect's five lineages, and even those from major powers, began inquiring about the origin and efficacy of these Core Formation spiritual medicines.

The information listed by the Spirit Treasure Pavilion contained only a brief line: "Core Formation spiritual medicine, aids in Core Formation." This brevity was at Chen Mobai's instruction. If the specific effects of the Golden Liquid Jade Return Pills and Five Elements Core Formation Pills became known, the entire Eastern Continent would likely be in an uproar. A 20% success rate was enough to make all Foundation Establishment cultivators who yearned for Core Formation take risks. Although the Five Elements Sect was now a major Nascent Soul sect, Chen Mobai felt it was better to keep their wealth hidden in a place like the Celestial River Realm. Therefore, only the sect's core cultivators knew the detailed information about the Core Formation spiritual medicines.

Such brief information, however, made many Foundation Establishment cultivators hesitate. Many sects in the Celestial River Realm possessed Core Formation spiritual items specifically tailored to their own cultivation techniques, such as Snow Blowing Palace's Ice Marrow Clear Jade and Water Mist Ice Crystals, or Heaven Return Valley's Earth Core Three Fire Pills. They wondered if the Core Formation spiritual medicines listed by the Spirit Treasure Pavilion would be effective for them.

Some Foundation Establishment cultivators, who were great gamblers, wanted to exchange for them but were informed that all the Core Formation spiritual medicines had already been taken. This greatly surprised many, who wondered who these mysterious individuals were. Although those who acquired the Core Formation spiritual medicines wished to remain discreet, the list of names still circulated. After all, there were only so many perfected Foundation Establishment cultivators. Furthermore, many Five Elements Sect cultivators who obtained the Core Formation spiritual medicines directly disappeared into seclusion, which further corroborated the list.

The Five Elements Sect members counted and discovered that, besides the Wood Vein, the other four lineages also had perfected Foundation Establishment cultivators who had obtained the medicines. This greatly excited and invigorated all Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Five Elements Sect. Although they didn't acquire them personally, it at least meant that the Core Formation spiritual medicines refined by the Wood Vein were available to all five lineages. In other words, if they could cultivate to the perfected Foundation Establishment realm in the future, they would also have a chance to acquire them.

The perfected Foundation Establishment cultivators from the other four lineages, after obtaining the Core Formation spiritual medicines, immediately returned to prepare for Core Formation in the spiritual vein most suitable for them.

As the Wood Vein had a relatively large number of people, Chen Mobai made some arrangements.

Jiang Zongheng intended to seclude himself in Loquat Valley, but he had to wait for Yi Shaoqing to complete the formation setup. This period would also allow him to refine the last few drops of liquid spiritual power.

E Yun wished to stay in Beiyuan City, as this immortal city held the fondest memories of his Foundation Establishment years and was where he had diligently strived. Moreover, it was now a fourth-tier spiritual vein with a fourth-tier grand formation, so safety was not a concern. Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai gave him the fourth-tier cave dwelling with the best spiritual energy, located beside the Longevity Wood on the mountaintop.

As for Zhou Wangshen, it went without saying that he would return directly to Gigantic Wood Ridge. He possessed Zhou Shengqing's spiritual talisman, allowing him free access to the latter's Longevity Wood Daoist Temple, which was a top-grade fourth-tier spiritual vein.

Luo Xue'er chose to go to Wind and Rain Dock. The fourth-tier water vein there was more suitable for her. Chen Mobai also connected her with Nu Jiang, as the latter also cultivated the Sky Waterfall technique, hoping he could share his experiences. Nu Jiang was very generous in this regard, personally coming to take Luo Xue'er and two other perfected Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Water Vein back with him.

Finally, only Zheng Deming remained. He was relatively impoverished; if Chen Mobai didn't make arrangements, he would at most be able to rent a third-tier cave dwelling in Beiyuan City. Chen Mobai gave him two options: one was to go with Kong Shanxu to Hunyuan Immortal City, where a low-grade fourth-tier spiritual energy cave dwelling would be arranged for him. The second option was Chen Mobai's Longevity Wood Daoist Temple in Gigantic Wood Ridge. Since Chen Mobai was returning to the Immortal Sect to handle matters and the temple would be empty anyway, allowing Zheng Deming to form his core there would be making the best use of resources.

Ultimately, Zheng Deming chose the second option and returned to Gigantic Wood Ridge with Chen Mobai.

"Thank you, Sect Master, your great kindness and benevolence will never be forgotten!"

Zheng Deming had never experienced top-grade fourth-tier spiritual energy in his life. Upon entering the Longevity Wood Daoist Temple, he bowed deeply to Chen Mobai.

"If you have any needs, just find Gu Yan," Chen Mobai said. Gu Yan was standing beside him as he spoke. Upon hearing this, she gave a slight bow to Zheng Deming.

Under Gu Yan's guidance, Zheng Deming found a secluded corner and built a simple earthen house. Chen Mobai, on the other hand, flew directly into the wooden house in the tree canopy, activated its restrictions, and used Gui Bao to return to the Immortal Sect.

After taking control of the Xuanxiao Dao Palace, he often made time to return to the Eastern Yi region. After all, he was a prominent figure in the Three Great Halls, and many people were watching him. By the end of last year, with the efforts of the Dancing Instruments and Gou Mang lineages, Chen Mobai had been promoted to the head of the Enforcement Department. Butian and Kunpeng did not obstruct his promotion and abstained from voting. Chen Mobai knew that this was primarily because the position of Enforcement Department head was not critical to the Immortal Sect's overall situation. His next step, becoming the Deputy Hall Master of the Zhengfa Hall, was the most crucial.

After his promotion, Chen Mobai did not resign from his position as the general leader of the Butian Group, as Hua Zijing had just returned after achieving Core Formation, and promoting her immediately would seem too hasty. Zhuang Jialan, whom Chen Mobai had brought into the Enforcement Department, was now capable of handling all matters, big and small, on his behalf after a year of familiarization. This was largely because many department members within the Enforcement Department were graduates of the Dancing Instruments Dao Academy. With Wang Shuye's help, Zhuang Jialan found it easy to work with them.

In the Immortal Sect, it was normal for Nascent Soul Venerables not to bother with daily affairs. Thus, everyone readily accepted Chen Mobai's reclusive behavior.

In his fourth-tier courtyard, Chen Mobai met with Wang Shuye, Hua Zijing, Zhuang Jialan, and others. In just a few words, he understood all the year's affairs and then formulated a work plan for the next few years.

"In a few years, I will be promoted to Deputy Hall Master of the Zhengfa Hall. When that happens, Jialan will surely follow me. We need to choose a trustworthy person to cultivate, someone who can take over the position of Enforcement Department head after me."

After Chen Mobai said this, Wang Shuye pondered for a moment and proposed a candidate. "How about Zhongli Tianyu? He has successfully achieved Core Formation, and he has his own connections. If he takes over the Enforcement Department, we won't need to exert too much effort."

Wang Shuye's thoughts aligned perfectly with Chen Mobai's. Given Zhongli Tianyu's talent and family background, staying in Five Peaks Immortal Mountain as a property guard was simply too wasteful. Previously, because he hadn't achieved Core Formation, the Zhongli family was reluctant for him to enter official service, and he himself was also rather lazy. Now that he had achieved Core Formation, he no longer had that luxury.

"Then he's the one."

Chen Mobai nodded and personally called Zhongli Zheng, the head of the Zhongli family. The latter was very pleased upon hearing the news. As one of the two major departments of the Zhengfa Hall, if Zhongli Tianyu performed well, by the time Chen Mobai took charge of the Zhengfa Hall, combined with their family's connections, it was highly probable he could naturally advance to become Deputy Hall Master. In that case, Zhongli Tianyu would be able to obtain a Nascent Soul spiritual medicine from the Immortal Sect, and coupled with his family's inheritance, his chances of achieving Nascent Soul would be very high. In the Immortal Sect, the difference between having a Nascent Soul cultivator and not was immense. Zhongli Tianyu carried the hopes of the Zhongli family to return to its peak.

"Thank you for your cultivation, Venerable Pure Yang."

The next day, Zhongli Zheng personally led Zhongli Tianyu to pay their respects. The latter's expression was a little unnatural. Chen Mobai laughed heartily, invited them to stay for a meal, and then called over Wang Shuye. He left it to them to discuss and handle how to maneuver Zhongli Tianyu into succeeding him as head of the Enforcement Department, as he preferred not to deal with such trivial matters.

After finishing the tasks at hand, Chen Mobai inquired about Yan Bingxuan. He currently had seven Water Elemental Core Formation Pills. While the effects of these pills could be stacked, albeit with greatly diminished returns, Chen Mobai still planned to find an excuse to give one to Yan Bingxuan, in addition to one refined by the Immortal Sect. With two Water Elemental Core Formation Pills, Yan Bingxuan's success in Core Formation should be assured.

After thinking about Yan Bingxuan, Chen Mobai remembered Meng Huang'er. Since she was also undergoing Core Formation, it was inconvenient to call her directly, so he could only inquire with someone from the Dao Academy. Chen Mobai certainly didn't want to trouble Che Yucheng with this, so he asked Bian Jingchun to check on her. Bian Jingchun made a trip to the depths of the Ten Thousand Treasures Cave and reported that there was a violent surge and convergence of spiritual energy, indicating that Core Formation was likely nearing success.

Chen Mobai felt a little relieved after hearing this. Yet, he also found it strange, as in his mind, given Meng Huang'er's aptitude, her chances of achieving Core Formation were not high, even with the Golden Liquid Jade Return Pill.

After making these two calls, Chen Mobai sent Zhuang Jialan to Five Peaks Immortal Mountain to bring back Shi Wanyu and her daughter. They were preparing to celebrate the New Year happily as a family.