Chapter 922: Five Elements Coin

“Friend, do you need to carpool?”

After stepping out of the teleportation array in Beiyuan City, Xiao Yuli encountered a friendly cultivator who asked her this question.

"What is carpooling?"

Xiao Yuli looked puzzled. Seeing her expression, the cultivator immediately pointed to the nearby bulletin board.

"The ferry-boat to the main city departs every hour, and a ticket costs ten Five-Element Coins."

"The last ferry-boat just departed. If you're in a hurry to get to the main city, you might consider our ox-cart. It's spacious and fast, and there are only three empty seats left. We'll leave as soon as it's full..."

Listening to the cultivator's lengthy explanation, Xiao Yuli finally understood what carpooling meant. As a Core Formation cultivator, she would normally have flown directly. However, in an unfamiliar environment, and since her primary purpose for this trip was to inquire about meeting Chen Qingdi, she nodded.

"What's the price if I want to charter the whole vehicle?"

But Xiao Yuli had no intention of squeezing into an ox-cart with other rogue cultivators. Her question brought a look of delight to the touting cultivator's face, who thought, "What a big customer from a cultivation family!"

"My name is Niu Jingfa. Our ox-cart has twelve seats in total. The price is the same as the official ferry-boat, but we offer door-to-door service. If you charter the whole vehicle, I'll give you a discount and round it off to one hundred Five-Element Coins."

Niu Jingfa spoke heartily. Their Niu family was a recently rising cultivation family that had made its fortune during the development of the Eastern Wilderness Plateau, specifically by helping the Five Elements Sect herd cattle and sheep, thus accumulating their first spiritual stones. The Niu family patriarch discovered a business opportunity while waiting for a ferry-boat after using a teleportation array. After establishing connections with the Five Elements Sect, they filled the gaps between ferry-boat schedules, leading their family members to earn a significant amount.

"What are Five-Element Coins?" Xiao Yuli asked, looking puzzled after hearing this.

"Friend, you must be from outside this region, right? Five-Element Coins are a currency issued by the Five Elements Sect in the various immortal cities of the Eastern Wilderness. One hundred Five-Element Coins can be exchanged for one low-grade spiritual stone at the Five Elements Sect's spiritual stone shop. Since we're a small business, we usually settle transactions in Five-Element Coins. If you don't have any, a low-grade spiritual stone will suffice."

As soon as Niu Jingfa heard Xiao Yuli's question, he knew she wasn't a cultivator from the Eastern Wilderness. As he spoke, he took out a round coin with a square hole from his storage bag. It was engraved with intricate Five-Element patterns, and its edges were smooth and hard, yet it shimmered with a faint spiritual light.

"Exchange one hundred for me."

Xiao Yuli took out two low-grade spiritual stones: one for the chartered vehicle and one for exchange.

Niu Jingfa immediately exclaimed, "Alright!" and then took out a string of Five-Element Coins tied together, handing them directly to Xiao Yuli. "Please wait a moment, honored guest. Parking here is quite expensive. I'll dispatch your private vehicle right away."

After Niu Jingfa finished speaking, he turned to leave. Xiao Yuli instinctively wanted to stop him. After all, according to the customs of the Tianhe Realm, someone saying that would usually be a swindler who would take the spiritual stones and run. But then she considered it was only two low-grade spiritual stones and didn't bother.

To her surprise, a moment later, Niu Jingfa genuinely returned with an empty six-wheeled ox-cart. However, the one riding the ox was a girl, seemingly thirteen or fourteen years old, with two pigtails pointing skyward.

"Honored guest, this is my daughter, Niu Manfeng. She just got into Changsheng Academy last year and is currently on summer vacation, earning some tuition money..."

After Niu Jingfa's introduction, Xiao Yuli nodded and then got into the ox-cart. As Niu Manfeng swung the whip in her hand, the ox-cart began to move towards the main city district.

Guan Xiaolong, who was in charge of this teleportation array, saw Xiao Yuli leave and immediately picked up his Heaven-Connecting Device to report the news. Although Xiao Yuli was concealing her cultivation, the amount of spiritual stones required for using a teleportation array varied for cultivators of different realms. Thus, as soon as she appeared, Guan Xiaolong knew she was a Core Formation cultivator. While the Five Elements Sect adhered to the principle of treating all visitors as honored guests and wouldn't specifically detain anyone for questioning, they still paid close attention to high-level cultivators. After all, if a Core Formation cultivator went berserk, they could cause immense destruction in Beiyuan City.

Song Huangda, who was responsible for the communication project, immediately reported Guan Xiaolong's message to E Yun.

"Find out where this fellow daoist is staying. Later, send an invitation card and explain the rules of the Eastern Wilderness."

Faced with an unfamiliar Core Formation cultivator, E Yun was naturally on high alert. He intended to meet her in person.

"Understood."

After receiving the instructions, Song Huangda left to handle the matter.

Still in the ox-cart, Xiao Yuli naturally had no idea that she had already been targeted by the Five Elements Sect before even reaching the main city. She sat in the best window seat, observing the independent small courtyards along the way, as well as the many towering buildings rising from the ground, all while toying with a Five-Element Coin in her palm.

It wasn't that no sect forces in the Tianhe Realm had thought of introducing a smaller unit of currency than low-grade spiritual stones. For instance, during the Eastern Earth Imperial Court era, there was a complete system of Human Emperor Coins, which even directly replaced spiritual stones, relying on sheer power. At that time, even the major sacred lands were forced to use Human Emperor Coins.

However, where there are people, there is corruption. The Eastern Earth Imperial Court abused the Human Emperor's authority to vastly over-issue Human Emperor Coins for wealth, causing cultivators from top to bottom in the later period of the Imperial Court to prefer bartering over using Human Emperor Coins for transactions. After the Imperial Court vanished, some sacred lands also issued similar currencies in their own territories. However, spiritual stones had inherent value because cultivators could use them directly, whereas these issued currencies relied on the authority of the sacred land. Moreover, even when the Human Emperor of the Eastern Earth Imperial Court ruled the world, there were audacious individuals who privately minted coins, let alone when it was just a sacred land. Anything can be exploited by a determined person. Even if the currency was engraved with the sacred land's exclusive anti-counterfeiting restrictions, under the temptation of immense profit, some within the sacred land would betray these restrictions, or they would be deciphered and researched by formation masters and artifact refiners. This would lead to a large-scale proliferation of counterfeit currency. To maintain their currency, sacred lands would have to exchange even these counterfeit coins. Even if they killed one person after another, rogue cultivators and plunderers already lived with their lives on the line. Soon, a new batch of people would continue to privately mint coins. Many would simply make a fortune and then flee the sacred land's territory. After repeated occurrences, the sacred lands realized that without the power to suppress the entire Eastern Continent, like the Eastern Earth Imperial Court, managing such currency was not worth the effort, so they quickly abandoned the idea.

As the Saintess of the One-Yuan Dao Palace, Xiao Yuli had heard all this from Grand Elder Wu Ming. Therefore, seeing the mere Five Elements Sect dare to issue new currency, she felt it was quite unbelievable.

"This Five Elements Sect is indeed a rural sect. Their superiors must have thought this up on a whim. In a while, they'll be overwhelmed by rampant counterfeit currency."

Thinking this, Xiao Yuli picked up a Five-Element Coin. As a disciple of the One-Yuan Dao Palace, her artifact refining skills were top-notch, and she quickly discovered the coin's extraordinary qualities. It was alloyed from several different mineral metals, and surprisingly, it even had fragmented spiritual stones integrated within it. She tried to absorb the Five-Element Coin like a spiritual stone. Soon, a wisp of spiritual energy overflowed, which she absorbed into her body for refinement. After the spiritual energy within the Five-Element Coin was absorbed, the surface spiritual light disappeared, and cracks appeared.

Seeing this, Xiao Yuli looked shocked. Because she realized that a problem that had plagued generations of sacred lands seemed to have been solved by the Five Elements Sect. The wisp of spiritual energy contained within this Five-Element Coin was precisely one-hundredth the amount of a low-grade spiritual stone. Was this a coincidence, or did every Five-Element Coin contain precisely this amount of spiritual energy?

Full of doubt, Xiao Yuli picked up ten more Five-Element Coins and absorbed all of them. Sure enough, she found that the amount of spiritual energy in each coin was exactly the same, not differing by a single fraction. How was such precision achieved? Xiao Yuli was utterly perplexed. She knew that the Five-Element Coins contained fragmented spiritual stones. When these fragmented spiritual stones were dug out of a spiritual stone mine, their outer seals were often broken, causing the spiritual energy within to quickly dissipate. While sealing methods could prevent this, only a Foundation Establishment cultivator, at minimum, could achieve that. Moreover, to divide these fragmented spiritual stones so uniformly, perfectly, and precisely, and integrate them into the minted Five-Element Coins, would require at least a third-tier artifact refiner.

In Xiao Yuli's understanding, the difficulty of refining a small Five-Element Coin was equivalent to that of a third-tier magical artifact. With such skill and time, one could directly refine a third-tier magical artifact, which, even as a commission fee, would be worth tens of thousands of spiritual stones. Why waste such craftsmanship like this?

In her confusion, Xiao Yuli flung a handful of the now-cracked, spirit-depleted Five-Element Coins out of the ox-cart window.

"If you collect one hundred Five-Element remnants, you can exchange them for one Five-Element Coin at the Five Elements Sect's spiritual stone shop."

Niu Manfeng, driving the ox-cart in front, saw her wasteful action and couldn't help but remind her.

"Oh, I see. This is my first time in Beiyuan City, so I didn't know."

After hearing this, Xiao Yuli nodded gently and then asked why the Five Elements Sect collected the discarded Five-Element Coins.

"The materials for these Five-Element Coins are a special alloy researched by Immortal Venerable Chen. The Five Elements Sect can re-melt and mint new coins after collecting them, simply by reintegrating fragmented spiritual stones."

After hearing Niu Manfeng's explanation, Xiao Yuli became even more curious: "Is minting these Five-Element Coins very simple?"

"I don't know about that, but I've heard my teacher say that in Huozhen Immortal City in the southern Eastern Wilderness, there's a factory specifically for minting Five-Element Coins. Only Five Elements Sect artifact refiners with a clear background can enter it. Inside, there are many super-large equipment-type magical artifacts refined by Immortal Venerable Chen, specifically for minting Five-Element Coins."

Under Chen Mobai's policies, students from various academies in the Eastern Wilderness held an annual formation master competition, leading to frequent exchanges. It was precisely because of this that Niu Manfeng was aware of the situation in Huozhen Immortal City. Huozhen Academy, being managed by Tan Rong, a disciple of Sheng Zhaoxi, excelled in the cultivation of artifact refiners. After Chen Mobai developed the Five-Element Coin, he surveyed the various academies and, considering that Tan Rong's academy had the most artifact refiners, he built the minting factory there. Of course, minting currency was a significant matter, so he still sent his trusted confidant Yu Lian to oversee the factory.

The minting technology, which required the skill of a third-tier artifact refiner in the Tianhe Realm, was merely a matter of an assembly line and machinery in the Immortal Gate. However, Five-Element Coins were still somewhat special, particularly their requirement for fragmented spiritual stones to be integrated with metal coins, so the equipment needed to be custom-made according to this demand. In the past, Chen Mobai would naturally have had some concerns, but his identity was different now. He directly called Zhou Tiangong of the Tiangong Artifact Factory. The latter didn't ask for the reason and showed him the designs the next day. After Chen Mobai revised a few versions and finalized the design, this batch of equipment was delivered within half a month. Chen Mobai was also very grateful for this and, using the quota from Wuqi Dao Academy, helped Zhou Tiangong reserve a Golden Liquid Jade Returning Pill from that batch at the Immortal Affairs Hall.

After the minting factory was established in Huozhen Immortal City, if the machinery operated at full capacity, it could mint hundreds of millions of Five-Element Coins in a month. However, considering market acceptance, Chen Mobai had only temporarily issued one billion Five-Element Coins. These were initially distributed as monthly allowances to sect disciples, who then set an example by spending them in various immortal cities, gradually promoting the currency throughout the entire Eastern Wilderness over the years. With the endorsement of the Five Elements Sect, and because these Five-Element Coins also contained spiritual energy and could be used for cultivation, they were easily accepted by cultivators in the Eastern Wilderness. It wasn't that no one tried to mint counterfeit coins, but the superior minting techniques directly thwarted their attempts. Artifact refiners with such skill could simply take on any commission and wouldn't have to worry about cultivation resources for several years. Why would they risk offending the Five Elements Sect to do this?

The emergence of Five-Element Coins directly stimulated commercial development throughout the Eastern Wilderness. Previously, many goods were limited to bulk transactions due to payment methods. Rogue cultivators wanting to buy some pills from an apothecary could only purchase enough to amount to one spiritual stone, which was very unfriendly to cultivators with low cultivation levels who could only earn a few spiritual stones a year. This was because many shops did not accept gold. Now, the appearance of Five-Element Coins offered them more options.

Originally, some shops worried that Five-Element Coins would eliminate their bulk transactions and that the small, scattered purchases of rogue cultivators wouldn't be enough to cover their high shop rents in the immortal city. But soon, they discovered that with Five-Element Coins, the market exploded with astonishing vitality. Shops that were previously deserted saw hundreds of times more customers. Although the profit margin was smaller, selling more at lower prices actually led to higher earnings. Furthermore, with more customers using the currency, some reputable stores gradually surpassed unscrupulous merchants and stood out. Their previously problematic inventory was also sold out. When the lower-tier market economy became active, it also stimulated the upper tier. After goods were sold, restocking was naturally required. The forces behind these shops would then purchase raw materials in large quantities. Some shrewd families and sects even used teleportation arrays to travel to territories outside the Eastern Wilderness, comparing prices to procure cheaper resources.

Xiao Yuli sat in the ox-cart, watching the bustling streets on both sides, with various shops crowded with people making purchases, and felt deeply moved. In the more than two years since she left Five Emperors Mountain, she had traveled all over the Eastern Earth, but even in the most prosperous Taixu Immortal City, she had never seen such a bustling scene.

"Senior, we're about to enter the main city. If you're a cultivator from outside this region, you'll need to report to the Five Elements Sect and get an 'outsider's visa' before you can shop or stay at any establishment."

Niu Manfeng's words reached Xiao Yuli's ears, and again she didn't understand the new term. Only after the former explained did she realize that the so-called visa was equivalent to a temporary resident registration for Beiyuan City. Without it, she would be considered an unregistered resident, and legitimate stores wouldn't dare to sell her anything. As for street vendor goods, it didn't matter; stall owners wouldn't check for it.

"However, this visa doesn't qualify you for the lottery..."

"What's the lottery?"

Xiao Yuli felt like a country bumpkin entering the city. Beiyuan City was full of new and strange things she couldn't understand.

"The lottery is for the qualification to purchase the Danxia Pavilion's Three Foundation Establishment Treasures. My father just took out a loan and bought a house in the suburbs where you teleported from, precisely for the lottery. He said he wants to secure a set of the Three Foundation Establishment Treasures for me as a backup. But I'm definitely a genius who will join the Five Elements Sect in the future, so if my performance is excellent, the sect will provide them..."

Niu Manfeng answered every question she had, and as she spoke, she drove the ox-cart directly to the permit office. Xiao Yuli hesitated for a moment, then decided to do as the locals did. Coincidentally, her visit was to find Chen Qingdi, so she might as well announce her identity here.

Song Huangda watched Xiao Yuli walk in, a smile on his face. Issuing permits for foreign cultivators wouldn't normally require a Foundation Establishment cultivator like him to handle, but since the person before him was a Core Formation cultivator, and he had already notified Niu Manfeng to bring her here.

Song Huangda: "Fellow daoist, where are you from?"

Xiao Yuli: "Eastern Earth!"

Song Huangda: "Could you be more specific?"

After a moment of silence, Xiao Yuli uttered three words: "Five Emperors Mountain!"

Song Huangda's right hand, poised to write, trembled slightly. He looked up in shock at the female cultivator before him. After filling in the information, he swallowed, pointed to the next section for 'Sect/Family', and asked again for confirmation. Xiao Yuli frowned and glanced at the seemingly honest Song Huangda, thinking this person was truly ignorant. There was only one sect on Five Emperors Mountain; why did he need to ask?

"One-Yuan Dao Palace." But remembering this was Chen Qingdi's territory, she still stated it.

Hearing this, Song Huangda thought, "As expected!" Meanwhile, Niu Manfeng, who had followed them in, had her mouth agape, her face filled with disbelief. She had heard her teachers talk about the name of the Eastern Earth Sacred Land in her first year at Changsheng Academy. There were also rumors that their Five Elements Sect's Immortal Venerable Chen was the Dao Child cultivated by the One-Yuan Dao Palace in the Eastern Wilderness.

Song Huangda: "Senior, what is your esteemed name?"

After hearing 'One-Yuan Dao Palace', Song Huangda dropped his pretense and immediately became respectful, addressing her as Senior. After filling in all the information, Song Huangda respectfully handed the stamped visa to Xiao Yuli with both hands.

"Senior, do you have a place to stay, or would you like our Five Elements Sect to arrange accommodation?"

"You may."

Xiao Yuli's purpose for coming was to meet Chen Qingdi. Since she had announced her identity, she certainly intended to establish contact with the Five Elements Sect.

Song Huangda immediately stood up and led her to the top of Beiyuan Mountain. There were some vacant fourth-tier cave dwellings there. After greeting E Yun with his Heaven-Connecting Device, he arranged for Xiao Yuli to stay in one of them.

"Senior, the highest point over there is the sect master's private residence. He and his wife occasionally come to stay for a period. That area is also one of the core parts of the formation, with many restrictions, making it quite dangerous..."

Song Huangda pointed to the courtyard beneath the fourth-tier Everlasting Wood not far away, cautioning Xiao Yuli to prevent her from trespassing. The Small Positive-Negative Sumeru Nine Palaces Formation of Beiyuan City had been fully renovated in recent years, personally arranged by Song Huangda and his team. However, the Earth Vein Grand Formation and the fifth-tier spiritual vein were still in progress. After Yi Shaoqing's failed Core Formation, he had been leading the elite of the Five Elements Sect's formation department to manage this.

Xiao Yuli naturally noticed the dense, interwoven restrictions beneath the Everlasting Wood. She felt it was an extremely powerful formation; even if she were to fall into it, she would be completely helpless. At this moment, she felt some regret for having come directly to Beiyuan City. If Chen Qingdi had a negative impression of the One-Yuan Dao Palace, wouldn't she be walking right into a trap?

*Rumbling!*

Just as Xiao Yuli was about to enter her cave dwelling, a muffled rumble of thunder suddenly echoed in the sky. Soon after, dark clouds began to surge from all directions, accompanied by bursts of volatile spiritual energy, forming a scene that made all cultivators in the Tianhe Realm fear it like a tiger.

"Heavenly Tribulation!"

Xiao Yuli frowned, looking at the center of the tribulation clouds, which was surprisingly located right next to a fourth-tier cave dwelling near the Everlasting Wood.

"Who is undergoing tribulation?"

As she wondered, a middle-aged cultivator in a red and black robe flew out of the cave dwelling. Azure, crystal-like scales fluttered all over his body, forming a defense, and above his head, a hairpin-like flying sword shone brightly. But what caught Xiao Yuli's attention was the flying sword surrounded by water-wood spiritual light hovering around the middle-aged cultivator. With her artifact refining skill, she naturally saw that this flying sword was actually the middle-aged cultivator's Natal Artifact. But it was clear that only Core Formation cultivators could refine a Natal Artifact. How could this person, who hadn't even undergone tribulation yet, possess one, and one that was already so perfectly refined? It clearly wasn't something he had stolen.

"Master!"

At this moment, Song Huangda, standing beside Xiao Yuli, exclaimed in surprise, gazing nervously at Liu Wenbai, who was flying in mid-air, directly facing the heavenly tribulation.

"He's your master?"

Xiao Yuli politely asked. Song Huangda nodded, and before he could say more, two streaks of spiritual light flew up—they were the two Core Formation cultivators of the Five Elements Sect stationed in Beiyuan City: E Yun and Luo Yixuan.

"Greetings, fellow daoist. I am E Yun, interim sect master of the Five Elements Sect."

After the two flew up, Luo Yixuan went to guard Liu Wenbai, who was undergoing tribulation, while E Yun approached Xiao Yuli and politely bowed to her.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist E."

Xiao Yuli listened and calmly returned the greeting. Not far away, the heavenly tribulation had already been triggered. Streaks of fiery red lightning flickered on and off, continuously striking down towards Liu Wenbai. The Azure Scale Armguards, a magical artifact, unleashed their full 120% power under Liu Wenbai's Core Formation-level spiritual energy. After blocking six consecutive Bing Fire Heavenly Lightning bolts, all the azure scales on his head finally shattered.

When the seventh heavenly lightning strike fell, Liu Wenbai reached up and touched the Flying Sparrow Hairpin on his head, but after a moment of hesitation, he still chose not to use it. He activated his upgraded third-tier Natal Azure Ripple Sword. Its blade flowed like water, yet carried a clear, divine light of heavenly wood. He employed the sword arts from the Everlasting Life Sutra, shattering bolt after bolt of fire-attributed heavenly lightning. However, Liu Wenbai soon felt waves of mournful cries from the Azure Ripple Sword, indicating that this low-grade third-tier flying sword was struggling to withstand the heavenly tribulation.

He sighed and took out a piece of dark grey fabric from his storage bag. For his eldest disciple's tribulation, Chen Mobai had naturally arranged for him to have a fragment of Qing Nv's Xuan-Light Black Carved Flag. However, Liu Wenbai was a benevolent person. Thinking that the tribulation might damage the spiritual energy of his sect matron's magical artifact, he decided to use his own artifacts first. He also couldn't bear to use the Flying Sparrow Hairpin, which was a symbol of the eldest disciple of the Little Southern Mountain lineage.

After the dark grey fabric was unfurled, Luo Yixuan, who had been frowning nearby, immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She knew the tribulation was now stable. After all, even her own powerful heavenly tribulation hadn't been able to shake this piece of dark grey fabric, let alone Liu Wenbai's tribulation, which was already nearing its end. Soon, after the dark grey fabric blocked the last two waves of tribulation lightning, the dark clouds in the sky dispersed. Liu Wenbai's face showed a look of relief.

He was exactly one hundred and twenty years old this year. He detected his spiritual root at five, entered the Qi Condensation realm at eight, joined the Divine Wood Sect at twenty-five, became Chen Mobai's disciple at thirty, and has diligently cultivated ever since, walking on thin ice. Looking back on his life, when he first embarked on the path of cultivation, he was just a naive child, and his dream was merely to become a Foundation Establishment cultivator like his family's old ancestor, Liu Jingxian. As for Core Formation, that was something he only dared to dream about. And the older he got, the more Liu Wenbai realized that with his talent, merely reaching Foundation Establishment would require immense fortune. Yet now, under Chen Mobai's meticulous guidance, after eighty-five years of diligent cultivation, he had finally achieved Core Formation, realizing his dream. All the hardships, at this moment, Liu Wenbai felt were the most delightful memories.

"Congratulations, Senior Disciple Brother!"

At this moment, Luo Yixuan flew over, congratulating Liu Wenbai with a radiant smile.

"Thank you, Junior Sister Luo, for protecting me during my tribulation."

Seeing her, Liu Wenbai also raised a hand in thanks. The senior and junior disciples had spent decades together. Although their emotional bond wasn't particularly deep, they were the most trustworthy people to each other.

Before the two could exchange more than a couple of words, they saw a familiar five-colored auspicious cloud rising from the direction of the distant teleportation array, arriving shortly.

"Hahahaha..."

Before he even arrived, Chen Mobai's hearty laughter had already reached the ears of everyone on the mountaintop.