Chapter 877: Building Foundation Three Treasures Launched

Pure Nine-Lotus Lantern: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 9.

After the grand ceremony, Qing Nü officially became a member of the Five Elements Sect.

In the following days, Chen Mobai spent time intimately with Qing Nü while also meeting and seeing off the visiting guests one by one.

Ye Qing bid farewell the very next day. After forming his Nascent Soul, most of the external affairs of the Nine Heavens Demon-Slaying Sect had been entrusted to him, making him extremely busy. When Ye Qing left, Chen Mobai had Yue Zutao accompany him back to the Eastern Land. Since the large-scale teleportation array needed to connect with the Nine Heavens Immortal City there, the Five Elements Sect definitely needed to send someone to manage this connection. After so many years of tempering, Chen Mobai believed in Yue Zutao's ability to handle this matter well.

Zhang Pankong, the Daoist of Grand Void, stayed behind because he needed to further examine various aspects of the large-scale teleportation array's setup. The location chosen was the previously hollowed-out miniature spirit stone mine, but it would need to be filled and reinforced using earth-vein spells. Chen Mobai assigned Yi Shaoqing from the Formation Department to Zhang Pankong, instructing the former to fulfill all of the latter's requirements for setting up the teleportation array.

Ren Qiu of Heavenly Dining Pavilion and Yu Shuji of Stardust Dao Sect departed together. It was said that the Grand Elder of Stardust had brought many delicacies from the Central Plains and overseas, intending to prepare a lavish feast to entertain several Nascent Soul Venerables from the Eastern Land's sacred grounds, and had invited Ren Qiu to be the head chef.

After seeing off the guests one by one, North Abyss City, which had been bustling and lively due to the grand ceremony, gradually began to return to tranquility. However, as construction began on the fourth-tier spiritual vein required for the large-scale teleportation array, the area designated as a new district attracted the attention of all idle cultivators in the Eastern Desolation. The past welfare benefits offered by the Five Elements Sect for various development projects had caused rogue cultivators to flock, eager to become part of this project and offer their labor. Even the major families across the Eastern Desolation were pulling strings, hoping to secure contracts for the most profitable parts in advance.

While Chen Mobai was enjoying his newlywed life with Qing Nü, all these matters fell to E Yun. E Yun, having started his career in North Abyss City, was most familiar with these intricacies. He personally oversaw the development of the new district, attending to every detail himself, and successfully brought the previously somewhat volatile market prices under control. Previously, to quickly develop the Eastern Desolation Plateau, whether it was diverting the two great rivers, afforestation to combat desertification, or opening up spiritual fields, Chen Mobai had offered exceedingly generous spirit stone remunerations to major cultivation families, subcontractors, and even rogue cultivator laborers, all to attract more manpower and resources.

Now, the Five Elements Sect's development had entered a stable phase and no longer needed to rush its progress. Therefore, E Yun felt there was no need to concede such high profits to outsiders any longer. This decision naturally offended many, but the Five Elements Sect was now the undisputed overlord of the Eastern Desolation. Moreover, if the local cultivation families on the plateau found the profits too low and were unwilling to work, cultivation families from the more than a dozen other counties outside the plateau were eagerly awaiting this opportunity to get involved. Some cultivation families were even willing to pay spirit stones just to work for the Five Elements Sect, solely to establish a connection with them.

With internal competition intensifying, many families resorted to various means to secure work. During this period, E Yun faced more temptations than he had encountered in the first hundred years of his life combined. It was precisely then that E Yun truly understood how immense the power and the allocable benefits controlled by the position of Five Elements Sect Master truly were. It was no exaggeration to say that with a single thought, he could make a small family of only a dozen people rise, or cause a large family of several hundred to decline within a few years.

However, E Yun was also very clear that his selection by Chen Mobai as the acting sect master, beyond the gratitude from his youth, was also due to his thoughts and ideas having gradually aligned with Chen Mobai's after so many years by his side. Facing various temptations, E Yun rejected them all, one by one. He knew that his current position was thanks to Chen Mobai's approval. If he were ever to betray Chen Mobai's thoughts and path, that would be the time for him to step down.

Among the hundreds of factions in the Eastern Desolation, E Yun assigned his own Spirit Vein Department to undertake the construction and reinforcement of the main foundation for the large-scale teleportation array. He also selected several of the most suitably priced parties as subcontractors for the above-ground projects. Then, he compiled a list of the rejected major families and gave it to Zhuo Ming. Zhuo Ming was planning to cultivate hundreds of millions of acres of fertile land across the nineteen counties of the Eastern Desolation. To proceed smoothly, she definitely needed the cooperation of local cultivation families, and this was precisely what she lacked.

During this process, the North Abyss City Spirit Treasure Pavilion also put new Foundation Establishment spiritual items on sale. This set of elixirs, known as the 'Three Treasures of Foundation Establishment,' initially drew suspicion from many disciples. However, many former True Disciples of the Five Elements Sect soon returned, demonstrating their Foundation Establishment cultivation in their respective main lineages and personally attesting to the elixirs' efficacy. These were the individuals whom King Zhou Shen had led to condense the Five Elements Essence back at Feilong Pond. Some of them, those with outstanding talent, seized the opportunity and successfully achieved Foundation Establishment.

Previously, due to the need to keep the Three Treasures of Foundation Establishment a secret, these individuals had to remain hidden. Now that they were public, under the sect's instruction, they could finally return to their main lineages and display their Foundation Establishment realm to their relatives and friends. The success stories of this group dispelled all doubts among the Five Elements Sect disciples, who eagerly used their accumulated sect contributions to exchange for the Three Treasures of Foundation Establishment. The Spirit Treasure Pavilion priced each of the Three Treasures of Foundation Establishment at 1,000 sect contributions. Knowing there was no shortage of demand, they offered no discount for exchanging the complete set. Within just half a month, all one thousand sets of the Three Treasures of Foundation Establishment, prepared by the Alchemy Department over the past decade under Qing Nü's guidance, were completely sold out.

Over the next year, every ten days to half a month, signs of successful Foundation Establishment would emerge from the cultivation caves in North Abyss City. Such affordable Foundation Establishment spiritual items made the other cultivation families in the Eastern Desolation restless. They repeatedly requested that the Five Elements Sect also open up eligibility for the Three Treasures of Foundation Establishment, even if the price was higher.

Cultivation families were still relatively well-off, at least capable of conversing and making requests to the Five Elements Sect. Rogue cultivators, however, had no such channels. Yet, this was their only hope for achieving Foundation Establishment. After all, a single Foundation Establishment Pill, even at its lowest original price, cost ten thousand spirit stones. They couldn't afford it even if they worked their entire lives. Even if they couldn't afford the complete set of the Three Treasures of Foundation Establishment, buying just one piece would still be beneficial. At the very least, it would allow them to experience what Foundation Establishment felt like.

It's worth noting that after the Five Elements Sect suppressed the Eastern Desolation and renegade cultivators almost disappeared, the lives of rogue cultivators also steadily improved. With ample spirit rice and spiritual energy, the early residents of North Abyss City who owned property had basically all reached the ninth level of Qi Condensation. If they were willing to mortgage their homes, it wouldn't be a problem for them to take out a loan to buy one of the Three Treasures of Foundation Establishment.

Amidst the fervent public sentiment, many rogue cultivators even went to the foot of North Abyss Mountain to hang banners, pleading with Immortal Venerable Chen to have mercy on all beings and grant rogue cultivators an opportunity for Foundation Establishment.

Chen Mobai, who was currently co-editing textbooks for the Longevity Academy with Qing Nü, listened to the clamor from below the mountain and couldn't help but chuckle.

"What's wrong?" Qing Nü asked curiously after hearing his laughter and putting down her paintbrush. She was working on an alchemy textbook, using the immortal sect's knowledge system as the framework and incorporating the medicinal herbs and alchemy traditions of the Heavenly River Realm. Chen Mobai was also compiling materials on spells, artifact refining, and formation arrangement. The immortal sect's education system was very comprehensive, with four major courses—arts, alchemy, artifacts, and formations—covering almost all fundamentals. Therefore, Chen Mobai planned to first create these basic textbooks with Qing Nü. In the future, the various academies of the Five Elements Sect in the Eastern Desolation would use these textbooks as their model. Only the two of them could undertake this task, as the knowledge system needed to be integrated with the actually existing medicinal herbs, terrain, minerals, spells, and so forth of this world to achieve localization. This was also the foundation for ten thousand generations.

"Do we need to have E Yun open up the Three Treasures of Foundation Establishment to cultivators outside the Five Elements Sect?" Qing Nü asked curiously after hearing Chen Mobai's words. If this were in the immortal sect, they would definitely listen to the public's voice and make these concessions. However, in the Heavenly River Realm, if the Five Elements Sect were to be ruthless, rogue cultivators and renegades would have no recourse.

A short while later, E Yun rushed over.

"I have committed a great sin by disturbing the Sect Master's peaceful cultivation..." E Yun immediately apologized after arriving on the mountain. Chen Mobai listened again with his 'empty valley' sense and found that there was no longer any sound from below the mountain. A sweep of his divine sense showed that Yuan Chiye, accompanied by disciples of the Five Elements Sect, had taken away all the North Abyss City residents who had come to hang banners.

"It's better to guide than to block. We still need to provide them with a path for advancement." Chen Mobai stated, and E Yun immediately nodded, indicating he would go down the mountain to arrange for the opening of the Three Treasures of Foundation Establishment.

"The sect doesn't need to get directly involved. I have other arrangements!" But Chen Mobai shook his head, and E Yun did not question him upon hearing this.

Soon after, Liu Wenbo and Gu Yan also arrived.

"Master, the Mistress's shop locations have all been arranged." Upon arriving, Liu Wenbo immediately reported his work to Chen Mobai.

"What shop locations?" Qing Nü looked bewildered after hearing this.

"After you married me, didn't you acquire ten thousand acres of medicinal fields? Those herbs won't turn into spirit stones just by being in the ground. My intention was to open a shop to sell some elixirs, so I had Wenbo purchase the three best-located storefronts in North Abyss City for you." Chen Mobai said with a smile to Qing Nü, who was drawing medicinal herb patterns. She understood, yet frowned slightly.

"But if I manage a shop, I'll have less time to spend with you."

"Our lives are still very long. Finding something you enjoy doing is also a way to keep things fresh." Chen Mobai articulated his thoughts and arrangements. "Coincidentally, the Three Treasures of Foundation Establishment were also refined under your guidance. When the shop opens, put these on display, and you'll immediately become a living Bodhisattva in the hearts of these Eastern Desolation cultivators. It will certainly be the number one elixir shop in the Eastern Desolation."

Qing Nü was always obedient to Chen Mobai. Hearing him say this, she also felt that running a shop sounded quite good.

"Now, all that's left is the shop name. What do you want to call it?" Seeing Qing Nü nod, Chen Mobai asked again.

"Danxia, how about that?"