Chapter 903: Yes, I Have a Daughter

In the Immortal Sect, only two Fifth-Tier Talisman Masters existed: True Lord Yu Yi and Grand Ancestor Qianxing.

Chen Mobai's relationship with these two was not as close as with Wenren Xuewei. If he had to choose, Chen Mobai would definitely pick True Lord Yu Yi. After all, the latter was merely a Nascent Soul True Lord and wasn't affiliated with the Four Great Daoist Academies within the Immortal Sect, making him easier to handle. Although Chen Mobai intended to lead the Immortal Sect's main forces to the Celestial River Realm to assist with development and infrastructure after he achieved Divine Transformation, it wasn't time to reveal his plans yet, so it was better for Grand Ancestor Qianxing not to know for now.

"There's no need to rush this matter. I'll first study your Jumang Daoist Academy's Water Spirit Talismans. Perhaps in a while, I'll be able to draw them myself."

However, Chen Mobai played it safe, planning to do this after Wenren Xuewei obtained the Sixth-Tier Great Toon Tree Heart Talisman Plate. Moreover, he believed that with his current learning ability, coupled with the assistance of the Inches Scroll, focusing on a Fifth-Tier Water Spirit Talisman made it possible to master it.

"That's true." Wenren Xuewei nodded gently in agreement after hearing this. She even sensed Chen Mobai's reluctance to involve a third party and offered to invite True Lord Yu Yi on behalf of Jumang Daoist Academy to help refine the Fifth-Tier Water Spirit Talismans. This suggestion greatly tempted Chen Mobai, who thought he could proceed this way if he failed to master the Fifth-Tier Water Spirit Talismans himself.

After their discussion, Wenren Xuewei proactively sent him an e-book. It was one of Jumang Daoist Academy's talisman textbooks. Earth Spirit Talismans, Wood Spirit Talismans, and Water Spirit Talismans each had their own dedicated chapters, detailing refining techniques from the First-Tier to the Sixth-Tier.

"There are Sixth-Tier ones too?" Chen Mobai was greatly surprised after reading through it.

"Naturally. Grand Ancestor Changchun was a Sixth-Tier Talisman Master. Your Wuqi Daoist Academy is the ancestral hall for artifact refining, while our Jumang Daoist Academy is for talismans. However, Grand Ancestor Changchun primarily established the academy to care for precious spiritual plants like the Great Toon and Flat Peach, so the knowledge passed down was mostly related to spiritual plants. Later, due to thousands of years of strong support from the Immortal Sect to the Celestial Book Academy, and our own academy's lack of ambition, our talisman-making fell into decline." Wenren Xuewei revealed another secret, which Chen Mobai found quite remarkable. He then simply asked her for all of Jumang Daoist Academy's talisman textbooks.

That was quite a lot, but he could save them and study them thoroughly when he had time in the future. After all, when he specialized in high school, he chose the path of talismans. This was called 'never forgetting his original aspiration'.

"Have some tea!" While Chen Mobai was looking at Jumang Daoist Academy's talisman textbooks, Wenren Xuewei had already taken the initiative, picking up his tea set and leaves in the study. She began brewing tea and naturally handed him a cup.

"Thank you." Chen Mobai took it readily. Chatting and spending time with Wenren Xuewei gave Chen Mobai a long-lost sense of ease, like meeting an old friend. As his cultivation and status grew higher, the number of friends he could confide in grew fewer and fewer. In the future, she would likely be the only friend who could keep pace with him. This made Chen Mobai very fortunate. At least, for the next thousand years, he would have her as a confidante.

Halfway through their tea, Shi Wanyu came in to call them for dinner. After dinner, Wenren Xuewei bid farewell. Chen Mobai symbolically tried to keep her, knowing that Yan Bingxuan would arrive at Linwu Grotto-Heaven that afternoon and he would rely on her arrangements.

"Welcome to visit again." Chen Mobai personally escorted Wenren Xuewei to the door. She smiled gently and nodded, then transformed into a silver light and vanished.

After seeing her off, Chen Mobai returned to his study and began experimenting with Water Spirit Talismans. With his current foundation, First- to Third-Tier Water Spirit Talismans were all easily completed in one go, and their quality was flawless. However, when it came to Fourth-Tier Water Spirit Talismans, he failed repeatedly. If it were other Immortal Sect talisman masters, such a loss of Fourth-Tier talisman paper and ink would likely cause them heartache to the point of being unable to breathe. But Chen Mobai had an abundance of resources, if nothing else. These Fourth-Tier talisman papers were made by drying leaves from the peak Fourth-Tier Longevity Trees of Giantwood Ridge, and the talisman ink was personally mixed and produced by him after the Five Elements Sect collected various Fourth-Tier mineral spiritual plants. In his storage bag, he now had a full three hundred sheets of Fourth-Tier talisman paper and two large blocks of Fourth-Tier talisman ink.

Originally, these were mainly for drawing the Great Yang Sword Talismans. After he formed his Nascent Soul, he gave one to everyone close to him. When activated, they could unleash the power of the original Extreme Yang Slash from the Scarlet Flame Sword Art. Although it was only a low-grade Fourth-Tier technique, it was virtually invincible as long as it wasn't used against a Nascent Soul cultivator. Chen Mobai even specifically drew ten complete sets of sword talismans related to the Scarlet Flame Sword Art, from First-Tier Scarlet Flame Sword Talismans to Fourth-Tier Great Yang Sword Talismans, and sent Yue Zutao to sell them in the Eastern Lands. He also specially drew his own mark and serial number on each set, intending to use them for speculation once his status and achievements were higher. As long as the price could be hyped up, he would release special editions, collector's editions, gilded editions, and so on, every so often. This was also an extremely successful commercial operation case in the Immortal Sect.

Although Chen Mobai's talisman-making level was ordinary in the Immortal Sect, in the Celestial River Realm, he was absolutely head and shoulders above the rest, a master among masters. He intended to apply this commercial speculation to the Eastern Lands, as the Eastern Desolation was full of poor people and lacked sufficient understanding of his talisman-making level. So when Yue Zutao returned this time, Chen Mobai told him about it. In the Eastern Lands, the Five Elements Chamber of Commerce had basically captured the low-end market. Now it was time to enter the high-end market. However, because the Five Elements Chamber of Commerce was already synonymous with low-end in the Eastern Lands, Chen Mobai, who had studied various business cases at the Mending Heaven Daoist Academy, planned to send his own Xiaonanshan Shop there to specialize in high-end products. Since Liu Wenbo hadn't formed his Golden Core yet, Chen Mobai first had Yue Zutao rent a shop in the Eastern Lands to establish the reputation of Xiaonanshan Shop, focusing on extremely high prices, two to three times more expensive than similar talismans on the Eastern Lands market. He wasn't afraid that no one would buy. The main thing was to first establish the 'expensive' label.

Thanks to the full assistance of the Inches Scroll, Chen Mobai was able to correct every mistake he made during talisman drawing in the next attempt. So, on the twelfth try, he finally completed a Fourth-Tier Water Spirit Talisman. Although its quality was ordinary, it could be successfully used. After appraisal, it was found that the person blessed by this Fourth-Tier Water Spirit Talisman would have a month-long Heavenly Water Spirit Root enhancement. As the talisman's quality increased, its duration would also gradually lengthen. From low-grade Fourth-Tier to mid-grade Fourth-Tier, it had already increased to forty-five days.

Just as Chen Mobai was attempting to draw a high-grade Fourth-Tier Water Spirit Talisman, Wenren Xuewei sent him a text message. Qiongzhi's junior had been arranged. After arriving at the location, she immediately entered and activated the restrictions, likely to fully focus on breaking through to the Golden Core realm. Seeing this, Chen Mobai breathed a sigh of relief. He picked up his phone to thank Wenren Xuewei and asked her to keep an eye on Yan Bingxuan's progress during her Golden Core formation.

"Also, regarding the Sixth-Tier tree heart, the Great Toon Divine Tree said it could give it to you, but if you achieve success in your cultivation in the future, you'll need to help it with something using Daolü Fire." After discussing Yan Bingxuan, Wenren Xuewei brought up another matter. Although the Sixth-Tier Great Toon Divine Tree was nominally a spiritual plant of the Immortal Sect, at the Sixth-Tier level, even the Immortal Sect's Twin Sages couldn't restrain it. Therefore, trading for its tree heart only required its consent.

"What kind of help?" Chen Mobai was very cautious and didn't agree immediately.

"The Great Toon Divine Tree needed to suppress the telluric magnetism of the Terrestrial Star and even served as the core spiritual pivot of the Heavenly Screen Earth Veins. Thus, it had been unable to take human form and leave. So, it hoped that if you had the ability in the future, you could find another spiritual plant or object that could replace it, helping it achieve liberation." This request was very broad for Chen Mobai; after all, if he couldn't do it, he wouldn't have to worry about it. However, Chen Mobai felt that given the current development of events, he might indeed be able to help the Great Toon Divine Tree. After all, once he cultivated to the Divine Transformation realm, he could try to cultivate 'Forced Growth' to the Fifth-Tier. In that case, he could attempt to enlighten peak Fifth-Tier spiritual plants. For example, the Vermilion Fruit Tree deep within the Ten Thousand Treasures Cave, Chen Mobai thought, would be quite suitable. However, this matter could only be undertaken when he held absolute authority within the Immortal Sect. After all, replacing the Great Toon Tree with another Sixth-Tier spiritual plant would be like performing a super-major operation on the Heavenly Screen Earth Veins Grand Array, essentially a core replacement. He would at least need to become a Sixth-Tier Formation Master. That wouldn't be difficult, as with the blessings of his 'Reaching Heavenly Bliss' and 'Responding to Earth's Spirit' realms, he could directly advance to a Sixth-Tier Formation Master once he achieved Divine Transformation.

"Does the Great Toon Divine Tree have any other conditions?" After thinking about it, Chen Mobai felt that exchanging a Sixth-Tier tree heart for his promise seemed a bit disadvantageous, so he couldn't help but send a message back.

"No, the Divine Tree only has this one request." Wenren Xuewei immediately replied, but she had misunderstood.

"What I mean is, is the Divine Tree only giving me the tree heart as a condition?" Chen Mobai felt he was getting the short end of the stick. After all, he was very confident about his Divine Transformation. Once he made this promise, it was essentially a commitment. While the Sixth-Tier tree heart was precious, he felt it wasn't enough.

Wenren Xuewei replied with a question mark emoji.

"Could you ask again? I'm certain to achieve Divine Transformation. When the two Grand Ancestors leave, I'll be in charge of the Immortal Sect. If I agree to this, changing the core of the Heavenly Screen Earth Veins will be a super-major, very troublesome project." Chen Mobai's words finally made Wenren Xuewei understand his meaning. If anyone else had said that, Wenren Xuewei would have simply found them arrogant. But Chen Mobai's words... seemed to have some truth to them. Wenren Xuewei thought about it carefully again, and indeed it was true.

According to the general perception in the Immortal Sect, both Chen Mobai and Wenren Xuewei had the potential for Divine Transformation, but Wenren Xuewei herself knew that her talent was still a notch below his. After Chen Mobai comprehended the Celestial Tome, he had even been upgraded to having the potential for Immortality, and achieving Divine Transformation was widely recognized as only a matter of time. And once he achieved Divine Transformation, if the Expansion War no longer threatened the Immortal Sect, the Immortal Sect's Twin Sages might very well leave, pursuing higher realms in the depths of the starry sky during their remaining lifespans. At that time, he would truly be in charge of the Immortal Sect.

Thinking of this, Wenren Xuewei hesitated, then returned to the Great Toon Divine Tree and conveyed Chen Mobai's words. After she finished speaking, the Great Toon Divine Tree, which had been silent for thousands of years, suddenly trembled slightly. If the Divine Tree hadn't controlled itself, perhaps a quarter of the Immortal Sect's territory would have experienced an earthquake.

"The Divine Tree said that any part of its body you fancy can be discussed." Chen Mobai, who was in the midst of drawing a high-grade Fourth-Tier Water Spirit Talisman, suddenly saw his phone screen light up, displaying a text message from Wenren Xuewei.

The Immortal Sect's Sixth-Tier spiritual plant, the Great Toon Divine Tree, every part of it is a treasure. But the most precious thing is its fruit.

"Then let it be the Great Toon Fruit." Chen Mobai replied directly with that sentence.

"Alright then. The Divine Tree said to let it know in advance when you need it, and it will condense its vital energy to mature one for you at that time." Seeing Wenren Xuewei's message, Chen Mobai knew she had misunderstood again.

"A Fifth-Tier Great Toon Fruit is useless to me. With my cultivation speed, I won't run out of lifespan in this lifetime." Chen Mobai subtly sent another message.

This time, Wenren Xuewei replied with three question mark emojis, expressing her uncontrollable shock after finally understanding.

"Could you ask the Divine Tree if it can save a Sixth-Tier Great Toon Fruit for me before it takes human form and leaves?" The reason Chen Mobai brazenly asked this, besides the difficulty of the Great Toon Divine Tree's matter, was also because of Qing Nu. He had heard from Pei Qingshuang that practitioners of the Evergreen Art could be aided in their Void Refinement by consuming a Sixth-Tier Great Toon Fruit. Although Qing Nu might not necessarily follow the path of the Evergreen Art, Chen Mobai still wanted to reserve this for his Daoist companion if possible. Besides, even if Qing Nu didn't use it, he could still eat it himself. That's eight thousand years of lifespan. With such a long time, even if he remained in the Eastern Desolation his entire life, he could still rely on the resources of the Immortal Sect and the Celestial River Realm to elevate himself to the peak of Divine Transformation, or even Void Refinement and Ascension! With such a rare opportunity before him, Chen Mobai definitely had to strive for it. Whether it succeeded or not was another matter. After all, even if it failed, at most the Great Toon Tree would have a bad impression of him.

"The Divine Tree said that condensing a Sixth-Tier Great Toon Fruit would require draining the essence of half the Terrestrial Star. Even if you become the master in the future, you can't be so wasteful." Wenren Xuewei conveyed this, somewhat numbly acting as an intermediary.

Chen Mobai never expected that the Great Toon Tree's ideological awareness was quite high. "Alright then, when it comes to condensing the essence for a Sixth-Tier Great Toon Fruit, I'll figure out a way, guaranteeing not to use a single wisp of the Immortal Sect's spiritual energy." Chen Mobai stated his condition again. After reading it, Wenren Xuewei thought he wanted to use the Expansion War to intercept spiritual essence from other worlds.

"The Divine Tree said to discuss this matter later. After you achieve Divine Transformation, and it assesses you have the capability, then we can restart today's negotiation." Ultimately, the Great Toon Divine Tree remained very conservative and didn't directly agree. Chen Mobai felt it was a great pity. However, this was how things were in the Immortal Sect; they would only proceed with something if they had over ninety percent certainty. Even the Sixth-Tier Great Toon Divine Tree was no exception.

"What about the tree heart?" After the big transaction was shelved, Chen Mobai didn't forget his main objective this time.

Wenren Xuewei: "The Divine Tree said it's giving it to you now, no strings attached."

Chen Mobai: "How can I accept this?"

Wenren Xuewei: "It's fine. After all, our Jumang Daoist Academy will benefit in the future, and perhaps we can rely on this to have Evergreen Art practitioners for generations." Hearing this, Chen Mobai felt reassured.

The Sixth-Tier tree heart was soon personally delivered by Wenren Xuewei, thoughtfully shaped into a palm-sized talisman plate. This was Chen Mobai's first time holding a Sixth-Tier spiritual material. His heart was very excited as he took it. It looked like a piece of deep green wood, with golden lines for its growth rings. An aura of ancient age and profound wisdom made even a Nascent Soul cultivator like him feel a deep resonance. Upon holding the Sixth-Tier tree heart, Chen Mobai even felt his divine sense suddenly become twenty percent more active. One must know that his Danfeng Chaoyang Diagram was already at the 'Responding to Earth's Spirit' realm, equivalent to the divine sense strength of a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator. Such an improvement, for an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator not relying on the Soul Devouring Art, would likely take around twenty years to achieve. It could only be said that it truly lived up to its reputation as one of the Immortal Sect's few Sixth-Tier spiritual materials, imbued with the characteristics of time.

In these past few days, Chen Mobai, by exclusively cultivating Water Spirit Talismans, also understood why a Sixth-Tier tree heart was needed for eternal enchantment. Ordinary Fifth-Tier talisman papers, when used to refine Fifth-Tier Water Spirit Talismans, would at most last for several years or even decades before slowly dissipating. Only a Sixth-Tier material, combined with the Great Toon Tree's unique properties, could ensure eternal preservation.

After receiving the Sixth-Tier tree heart, Chen Mobai chatted with Wenren Xuewei for a while longer and invited her to dinner. This time, Chen Xiaohei was also present. She was very curious about Wenren Xuewei, as she was the only genius in the Immortal Sect whose talent could rival Chen Mobai's. The two girls quickly hit it off and exchanged contact information. That evening, while seeing Wenren Xuewei off, Chen Mobai learned that she would also be attending Ye Yun'e's wedding. The invitation had been sent to Jumang Daoist Academy, and True Lord Taohua was too lazy to go, so only Wenren Xuewei, as the Vice Principal, could attend.

"True Lord Taohua is truly quite lazy. If she doesn't go, then at the Nascent Soul table, there won't be anyone from your Jumang Academy, wouldn't that cause a lot of gossip among the attendees?" Chen Mobai expressed his opinion on this. As a Nascent Soul cultivator, Deputy Head of Kaiyuan Palace, and daughter of True Lord Beiming, Ye Yun'e's wedding surely invited all Nascent Soul cultivators in the Immortal Sect. While some Nascent Soul True Lords might not attend, the Four Great Daoist Academies would certainly have representatives. If the Nascent Soul table lacked a representative from Jumang at that time, and the media reported it, Jumang Daoist Academy's enrollment rate would likely drop significantly for the next few years.

"I'll have Cui'er try to persuade her again. If that fails, then I'll ask Teacher Sanjue to make an appearance and stabilize the situation." Wenren Xuewei thought Chen Mobai made a lot of sense, but if True Lord Taohua and True Lord Sanjue were determined not to go, she couldn't do anything about it either.

Time quickly approached three days before the wedding. By this time, Ye Yun'e and Jiang Yuyuan's wedding had already become a sensation in the Immortal Sect. Although the Immortal Sect's official channels could control some media, many independent media outlets reported with the sole purpose of attracting attention, emphasizing the significant age difference between the couple. Furthermore, Jiang Yuyuan was the 'older brother' figure in the hearts of most young female cultivators in the Immortal Sect, so the majority were unilaterally criticizing Ye Yun'e. "Sugar baby," "under-the-table deals," "bullying the younger," "old hags"... All sorts of news reports were predominantly satirical and critical. Occasionally, there were a few blessings, but they were rare and clearly from media outlets controlled by the Kunpeng lineage.

Jiang Yuyuan was also subjected to extreme ridicule. His decades of accumulated good reputation collapsed overnight after the wedding announcement. His own fans were the first to turn against him, with countless female fans angrily denouncing their 'good older brother' for relying on looks instead of talent, and even filing complaints with relevant departments, believing he was leading the Immortal Sect's future towards negative ideologies. In response, Chen Mobai also had Wuqi Daoist Academy's media participate, beginning to spin the narrative for Ye Yun'e and Jiang Yuyuan's wedding, stating that they were truly in love. After Ye Yun'e learned of this, she even specifically called him to express her gratitude. However, the combined efforts of the Wuqi lineage's media and Kunpeng to whitewash the situation instead provoked public defiance. Coupled with the Mending Heaven lineage secretly stepping in to guide Jiang Yuyuan's fans to rally, and various onlookers, the wedding was guaranteed to be the top trending topic for the next half-month.

At this time, Chen Mobai, with a radiant Shi Wanyu, arrived at the Immortal Political Bureau. The two received a marriage certificate that was decades overdue. Chen Xiaohei also excitedly took photos of her parents. After registering the mother and daughter's household registrations under Chen Mobai's name, he discreetly announced the news on his social media: "Yes, I have a daughter." Besides this message, Chen Mobai also uploaded a photo of their family of three. Of course, apart from himself, Shi Wanyu and her daughter were blurred out.

As soon as this message was released, it immediately helped draw some attention away from Ye Yun'e and Jiang Yuyuan. However, the media quickly realized that True Lord Chunyang's announcement had no real explosive point. At most, it was about having a child out of wedlock, but this was very common in the Immortal Sect. Due to the Immortal Sect's policy of exemption from military service for pregnancy, many university students would choose their partners before even graduating. Many people's weddings were only held after the groom completed his ten years of military service in the military department. Moreover, although Chen Mobai blurred out Shi Wanyu and Chen Xiaohei, their family's information was already registered with the Immortal Political Bureau. Wuqi couldn't yet control everything. Internal civil servants from Mending Heaven and the other three lineages could retrieve and view this information.

A background check on Shi Wanyu would reveal that she was just a very ordinary Qi Cultivating female cultivator in the Immortal Sect. The time she became pregnant was right after graduating from university, clearly to avoid military service. Shi Wanyu graduated from the Flowing Light Academy, which was also in Chicheng Grotto-Heaven, suggesting she was dating True Lord Chunyang during her university days. Now that Chen Mobai had already formed his Nascent Soul, he still hadn't abandoned his former girlfriend and even publicly announced their relationship, showing great responsibility and even true love. This news, under normal circumstances, would naturally have value for hype and attracting attention. But in front of the explosive and highly discussed news of Ye Yun'e and Jiang Yuyuan, many media professionals instinctively made their choice. Furthermore, the Mending Heaven lineage, which was likely the main source of directed criticism, and the Kunpeng lineage, which wanted to divert attention from Ye Yun'e's wedding, had all their subordinate media outlets suppressed by the will from the highest level after seeing the female party on the marriage certificate.

As a result, Ye Yun'e, whose burden of criticism had just been partially alleviated by Chen Mobai, once again found herself in a difficult situation. However, while public discussion somewhat displeased Ye Yun'e, at her cultivation realm, she no longer cared about such things. She was only worried that the young Jiang Yuyuan might not be able to withstand the pressure. But Jiang Yuyuan had been involved in the entertainment industry since his teens, so he was no stranger to such matters. Despite facing criticism and mockery from the vast majority of the Immortal Sect's media, the couple proceeded with the wedding according to plan.

"Congratulations, congratulations!" On the wedding day, Chen Mobai personally brought Shi Wanyu and their daughter to attend. He saw Jiang Yuyuan and Ye Yun'e standing at the entrance to greet guests and extended his hand with a smile.

"True Lord Chunyang, what a clever move!" When Ye Yun'e saw Chen Mobai, she thought of Meng Huang'er and felt like spitting at him, denouncing him as a scumbag. But seeing Shi Wanyu beside him, she held back. She had also realized that her wedding had helped him draw away most of the public's attention; otherwise, the news of Chen Mobai having an unmarried daughter would have been a top trending topic for at least a week.

"Thank you, True Lord, for attending my wedding." In contrast, Jiang Yuyuan's expression was much more normal. He politely shook Chen Mobai's hand, then pointed towards their seats.

"A small token of my regard, nothing too special!" After Chen Mobai smiled and let go, he gestured for Zhuang Jialan to present the small gift box she was carrying. The person responsible for recording immediately took it, and after opening it, their eyes widened. "True Lord Chunyang presents one Youth-Preserving Bead!" Soon, this entry was recorded in black ink on red paper by the recorder. Those nearby who saw it all looked at Jiang Yuyuan with envy. With Ye Yun'e's eternal youth, the biggest beneficiary would naturally be him, the groom.

As expected, Jiang Yuyuan's lips curled into a wide smile, unable to contain his joy. Not only him, but even Ye Yun'e, who had been full of resentment just moments ago, decided to forgive Chen Mobai at this point. After all, she had just heard something from True Lord Yunhai.

"Madam Chen, hello." Thinking of this, Ye Yun'e politely greeted Shi Wanyu. The latter was very surprised but assumed it was due to her husband Chen Mobai's prestige and responded in kind. After the two women exchanged a few polite words, Chen Mobai led Shi Wanyu and their daughter, following an usher into the grand hall. Soon, they arrived at the table closest to the stage. Qi Yuheng, True Lord Beiming, and True Lord Yunhai were already seated there. These were all Nascent Soul cultivators from the Kunpeng lineage. Chen Mobai greeted the three of them, then grandly introduced the people beside him.

"This is my wife and my little daughter." No sooner had he spoken than he saw Qi Yuheng and the other two abruptly stand up in unison.