Chapter 971: Innate Turbid Yin Qi

Upon returning to the sect, Chen Mobai's first action was to have Zhuo Ming lead the disciples of the formation department on a patrol to pre-activate all the major formations. Although this would consume a significant amount of spirit stones, the ambush by Venerable Ming on Ye Qing would undoubtedly trigger an early war between the righteous and demonic factions. To ensure the safety of their main base in the Eastern Wilderness, these expenditures were necessary. Once the Minor Heavenly Curtain Earth Net Formation in the Eastern Wilderness was pre-activated, it could normally defend against attacks below the fourth-tier. If it encountered an attack reaching the fourth-tier, the formation would be fully activated.

Next, he notified all high-ranking sect members to gather for a grand meeting in Beiyuan City. In recent years, the Five Elements Sect had grown significantly, and many Core Formation cultivators were not in the Eastern Wilderness. These included Chen Mobai's disciples, Liu Wenbai and Luo Yixuan, as well as Chu Zuoshu and Yue Zutao (master and disciple) who managed the Five Elements Chamber of Commerce across the Eastern Continent, and Luo Xue'er who was stationed in Dongyi. However, at Chen Mobai's command, everyone else immediately put aside their tasks and rushed back to the Eastern Wilderness, except for Nu Jiang and Yan Shaoyin, who had already left the Five Elements Sect and could not be contacted.

During this time, Chen Mobai took out the storage bags of Su Zilu and the Radiant Emissary. When the Radiant Emissary was incinerated into ash by Chen Mobai, Chen Mobai specifically controlled the flames to avoid burning the storage bag. Having built the vast foundation of the Five Elements Sect from scratch, he was accustomed to frugality. It had to be said, the Nascent Soul cultivators of the demonic path seemed rather meager compared to those from the righteous major sects.

The Radiant Emissary's storage bag contained only half a supreme-grade spirit stone and over a thousand high-grade spirit stones. However, there was a very large quantity of mid-grade and low-grade spirit stones, totaling nearly twenty million. It was evident these were plundered, but at the Nascent Soul stage, these types of spirit stones were less useful, hence the large accumulation. These were spoils of war, and Chen Mobai instructed E Yun to count them all and deposit them into his account with the Five Elements Sect.

In addition, after verifying that the ten Nascent Soul cultivation techniques he purchased at the Big Dipper Conference were all in order, he had E Yun make copies of each and place them in the library of Beiyuan City. "During the upcoming meeting, I will inform the sect's Core Formation cultivators that each of them can choose one technique for free, but only once. If they wish to read a second one, it will cost 100,000 sect contribution points."

Although Chen Mobai genuinely wanted to make these freely available to the sect's Core Formation cultivators, he understood that such a direct approach wouldn't work. Moreover, cultivators in the Heavenly River Realm tended to trust paid resources more than free ones. 100,000 sect contribution points were not expensive; a Core Formation cultivator could earn that amount with several years of hard work. The fact that they could acquire Nascent Soul cultivation techniques directly with sect contribution points would already delight the sect's Core Formation cultivators and stir envy among cultivators in neighboring areas. E Yun even anticipated that once this news spread, it would significantly enhance the Five Elements Sect's cohesion. In the future, cultivators from within their territory would find ways to join the Five Elements Sect because of this.

"Sect Master, after I leave, I will transfer the cost of purchasing these techniques to your account as well." E Yun, holding the ten Nascent Soul cultivation techniques, was very excited but did not forget to mention this. Chen Mobai nodded. Business was business, and personal matters were personal! For the Five Elements Sect to grow and prosper, public and private matters had to be clearly delineated, and accounts transparent.

"Also, record that Senior Brother Mo and Senior Brother Zhou have both advanced 100 and 50 years of their stipends, respectively, from the sect's account. So, for those years, the Hall of Rewards should not transfer any spirit stones to their accounts." The Golden Light Grass, the final item at the Big Dipper Conference, attracted too many interested parties for Venerable Xingchen to manage, so Mo Douguang's previously advanced 10,000 high-grade spirit stones were returned. E Yun immediately nodded with a wry smile. Only with Chen Mobai in charge would such things be dared. In other major sects in the Eastern Continent, weren't the sect's spirit stones often considered the private property of the Nascent Soul Grand Ancestors?

After E Yun left, Chen Mobai began examining the other items in the Radiant Emissary's storage bag. There were many different types of mineral metals, mostly fourth-tier, and two fifth-tier pieces that gleamed with a dark luster. However, Chen Mobai's appraisal revealed that the spiritual essence within these metals had mostly been partially extracted. This greatly puzzled him, as such extraction effectively rendered the mineral metals useless; even if used for artifact refining, their grade would significantly drop.

However, upon finding a copy of "Golden Brahma Art," Chen Mobai understood why this was the case. It turned out that this demonic cultivation technique practiced by the Radiant Emissary required absorbing the spiritual essence from various metals to condense the most formidable "Golden Brahma Mighty Divine Demon Form." This technique was somewhat akin to an external avatar; upon reaching grand completion, it could condense a Golden Brahma Mighty Divine Demon with fifth-tier power. However, despite this technique circulating in the demonic path for tens of thousands of years, no one had ever achieved Divinity Transformation through it. The Radiant Emissary was considered the closest to success. Unfortunately for him, he died by Chen Mobai's hand.

After reading through the Golden Brahma Art, Chen Mobai felt that with some modifications, it could be transformed into a standard metal-attribute cultivation technique. After all, it was arguably a half-step Divinity Transformation technique. At the Big Dipper Conference, a cultivation technique that could be cultivated to the perfected Nascent Soul realm was worth 10,000 high-grade spirit stones. Considering the Heavenly River Realm's market where knowledge was highly valued, this Golden Brahma Art should be worth several times that amount. Unfortunately, as it was a demonic technique, it would need a complete overhaul to be openly cultivated by the Five Elements Sect. Chen Mobai currently lacked the time, and perhaps even the ability, to do so, so he could only put it aside for now.

This Golden Brahma Art was the most valuable item in the Radiant Emissary's storage bag. Chen Mobai swept his divine sense over the remaining miscellaneous items and placed them all into another storage bag, intending to have the Five Elements Sect find a way to "launder" them and circulate them in the Eastern Wilderness market in the future. Although he didn't care for these items personally, they were still worth millions of spirit stones.

After examining the Radiant Emissary's items, Chen Mobai took out Su Zilu's. The first item he took out, naturally, was the Evil Ghost Path Stone Disc. The stone disc was palm-sized and oddly shaped, an irregular oval with jagged edges, as if naturally fractured rock. It was entirely black, exuding an inexplicable sense of oppression at first glance. Its surface was covered with intricate patterns, resembling mysterious runes or dense spiderweb-like cracks. Staring at it for a while, one could faintly discern grotesque ghostly figures. At the center of the disc was a small indentation, within which a dense black mist roiled and writhed like a black hole, seemingly ready to devour all light. Around this indentation were nine tiny holes, each emitting a faint red glow, like nine crimson eyes of evil spirits, quietly observing everything around.

According to the information provided by Su Zilu, the central indentation represented the Ghost Mother, and the nine crimson holes represented the Ghost Mother's nine sons, also known as the Lords of the Nine Nethers. Legend had it that the Ghost Mother gave birth to nine ghost children in the Underworld's Yellow Springs. Each ghost child was at the Divinity Transformation realm upon birth, and after maturing, possessed boundless divine abilities and endless magical power, presiding over all creation and ruling the Nine Nethers. Even True Immortals from the Upper Realm would not be a match for the Nine Sons Ghost Mother if they fell into the Nine Nethers. And this Evil Ghost Path Disc depicted this very legend. According to demonic path lore, it contained the authority of the Ghost Mother and her nine sons within the Underworld's Yellow Springs. Anyone who refined it and entered could wield the power of the Nine Nethers, comparable to a True Immortal. This Evil Ghost Path Disc was originally in the hands of the Soul-Devouring Demonic Sect. Unfortunately, this major demonic sect was annihilated by the joint forces of the Eastern Earth Imperial Court and the major righteous Holy Lands after the Ghost Mother's Calamity. Afterward, the Underworld-Penetrating Demonic Sect inherited the mantle of the Soul-Devouring Demonic Sect. Venerable Ming's great cultivation achievements, making him the foremost figure in the Underworld-Penetrating Demonic Sect's history, were precisely due to his acquisition of this Evil Ghost Path Disc.

After observing the stone disc, Chen Mobai first entered the Heavenly Connection State. After confirming there were no alarming signs regarding its refinement, he confidently took it into his palm. One must always be wary of others; he still didn't fully trust Su Zilu. The stone disc felt cold to the touch on its surface, but what truly made Chen Mobai feel uneasy was the sinister aura emanating from its one large and nine small holes and indentations.

Chen Mobai used the incantation taught by Su Zilu to refine it, sequentially injecting his divine sense into the patterns on the stone disc. As time passed, one of the red lights in the nine small holes on the stone disc gradually brightened, as if a true evil spirit had opened its eyes and was gazing upon the mortal realm through it! Chen Mobai could feel a truly terrifying aura of the underworld entering the room through this hole, streaming from the Yellow Springs Underworld. For cultivators of the demonic path, especially those practicing ghost arts and particularly the Underworld Scripture, this was an unparalleled treasure. Possessing this meant a continuous supply of the purest Yellow Springs spiritual energy for cultivation. No wonder Venerable Ming, at such a young age, had cultivated to the late Divinity Transformation realm. This was equivalent to carrying a fifth-tier Yellow Springs spiritual vein, at minimum. Venerable Ming had wanted Su Zilu to refine this object precisely so she could constantly draw Yellow Springs Underworld qi to nurture his ghost embryo, aiming for it to become a human ghost child.

Chen Mobai refined it for a while, took out a spirit-sealing tube, and absorbed and preserved the escaping Yellow Springs qi. As time passed, just as the red light in the second small hole on the stone disc began to brighten, his Heavenly Connection State suddenly gave a warning. He immediately stopped. At this point, Chen Mobai was certain that Su Zilu's claim about the seventh-tier Life-Death Disc was not a deception. This Evil Ghost Path Disc contained secrets beyond his imagination. Unfortunately, he did not cultivate any techniques like the Underworld Scripture that could fully integrate with this Evil Ghost Path Disc, preventing him from unleashing its full power.

"This item, after I reach Divinity Transformation, I can take it to the Immortal Sect and let Yuan Xu and the others research it..." Chen Mobai was not overly curious; knowing the extraordinary nature of the Evil Ghost Path Disc, he did not force its further refinement. After playing with it for a while, he made a box from fourth-tier Immortal Wood and sealed the disc within. To prevent accidents, he also drew two talismans, one positive and one negative, and pasted them on the box.

Besides this most valuable stone disc, there was nothing else in Su Zilu's storage bag that Chen Mobai deemed worthwhile. Moreover, he was merely holding it in safekeeping; he had no intention of claiming it for himself until news of Su Zilu's death arrived. He took out the Haotian Mirror and illuminated the room thoroughly with its Profound Yang Divine Light, ensuring no lingering aura of the Yellow Springs Underworld remained before exiting his seclusion.

Thanks to the well-developed teleportation formations, all members of the Five Elements Sect who received the news arrived in Beiyuan City in less than half a month. The summit of Mount Beiyuan was unprecedentedly lively during this period. The immortal caves originally reserved here were for the sect's top cultivators, when Core Formation was the peak of power in the Five Elements Sect. However, because the Five Elements Sect had developed so rapidly, if all the immortal caves on the mountain peak were built for Core Formation cultivators, the area would be almost fully developed and crowded, which would undoubtedly affect the living experience of the Nascent Soul Grand Ancestors. Now, due to the Nine Palaces Reversal Formation, Beiyuan City's spiritual vein had upgraded to fifth-tier spiritual qi, so a new rule was set a few years ago. Only Nascent Soul cultivators of the sect could reside at the mountain summit. Core Formation cultivators were moved down a level, all residing in fourth-tier immortal caves below the summit. No one in the Five Elements Sect dared to voice an opinion against this. Furthermore, the spiritual qi level from the mountain peak to the halfway point had actually increased, from barely fourth-tier to mid-to-peak fourth-tier now. The ten immortal caves initially built on the summit remained. Although only four Nascent Soul Grand Ancestors resided there, Core Formation cultivators constantly came to visit daily, making it very lively.

"Greetings, Master, this disciple is late!" In Chen Mobai's immortal cave courtyard, Luo Yixuan gracefully bowed to him. She was in Mount Fanghuang in Dongyi, which was not considered Five Elements Sect territory, so there was no direct teleportation array. Although she received the news fastest, she was the last Core Formation cultivator to return.

"It's good that you've arrived. Your master has something to ask Granny Ming; please ask her to come out." Chen Mobai had called Luo Yixuan up primarily to inquire about the Yellow Springs qi extracted from the Evil Ghost Path Disc's holes.

"Greetings, Holy Son!" After Granny Ming emerged from Luo Yixuan's shadow, she respectfully bowed to Chen Mobai. Over the years, she had personally witnessed Chen Mobai's step-by-step growth. One could only say that such a cultivation speed was something only Holy Sons possessed by the Heavenly Venerable could achieve during the era of the ancient Longevity Sect. In Granny Ming's eyes, Chen Mobai, having received all the inheritances of the Longevity Sect, was bound to achieve Divinity Transformation. Therefore, she now essentially regarded him as the sect master of the Longevity Sect.

"This is something I obtained after slaying a demonic Nascent Soul cultivator this time. See if you recognize it..." Chen Mobai handed the spirit-sealing tube to Granny Ming. She took it with both hands, gently undid the talisman, took a wisp from it, swallowed it, and then sensed its properties. With that single swallow, Chen Mobai and Luo Yixuan observed that the originally illusory Granny Ming suddenly solidified.

"Reporting to Holy Son, this seems to be the purest Nine Nether Yin Qi from the depths of the Underworld's Yellow Springs." "It is said that when heaven and earth first opened, the primordial turbid yin qi that condensed and settled was precisely this. The so-called seventy-two earthly fiend yin caverns qi in the mortal realm is the acquired yin fiend qi formed after this primordial turbid yin qi dispersed." "The earliest earthly fiend yin caverns in existence were formed by the settling and condensation of this primordial turbid yin qi. However, after eons of evolution, they intermingled and merged with various terrestrial veins, evolving into all sorts of acquired earthly fiend yin caverns..." Granny Ming identified it and spoke with some surprise. It was important to know that even during the era of the ancient Longevity Sect, finding an earthly fiend yin cavern where primordial turbid yin qi had not yet dissipated was exceedingly difficult. For many cultivators practicing yin-attribute techniques, this was almost the foundation for achieving enlightenment. It could transform one's true qi from acquired to primordial.

"It's actually this kind of Nine Nether Yin Qi!" Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai was also greatly astonished. This was equivalent to, or even more precious than, the primordial fire essence inner core that Yu Baiguang had given him. After all, the inner core's power was limited, and with his second Nascent Soul constantly converting primordial pure yang qi, it would eventually run out. But this Evil Ghost Path Disc seemed to lead directly to the Nine Nethers; as long as he held it, he could endlessly draw and absorb power. Unfortunately, within the Immortal Sect, there were only methods for artificially synthesizing earthly fiend qi, but no research on degrading primordial turbid yin qi into earthly fiend qi. Otherwise, Chen Mobai's Myriad Sword Dharma Body would likely be able to perfect the Heavenly Star realm in the shortest amount of time.

However, Chen Mobai immediately thought: if he directly absorbed the primordial turbid yin qi with his Myriad Sword Dharma Body, would that also work? Thinking of this, he felt a faint excitement within him. But at that moment, Zhou Shengqing and the others sent a voice transmission, saying that everyone below had arrived and asking when the meeting would begin. Chen Mobai could only set this matter aside for now. After bestowing the bottle of primordial turbid yin qi to Granny Ming, he took Luo Yixuan to the meeting.

Soon after, streaks of spiritual light descended from Mount Beiyuan, landing in the main hall at the center of the Immortal City. The arrival of the final four Nascent Soul cultivators caused all the cultivators in the entire Immortal City to buzz with discussion. The gathering of the Five Elements Sect's four Nascent Souls in Beiyuan City, along with nearly twenty Core Formation cultivators, was an unprecedented event since the city's establishment. With the entire upper echelon of the Five Elements Sect present, were they perhaps planning to make a move on Dongyi? Many cultivators within the Immortal City began discussing amongst themselves, with quite a few speculating that this was a precursor to the Five Elements Sect uniting the three border regions of the Eastern Continent. After all, the only obstacle currently standing against the Five Elements Sect was Old Ancestor Bai Wu of Bathing Sun Sea. If the Five Elements Sect's entire army moved out, it might very well be able to break through the Golden Crow Immortal City, which possessed a fifth-tier grand formation! As soon as this view emerged, it immediately gained the approval of most people. After all, on the Eastern Continent, the rise of every major sect was accompanied by blood and bones.

Although the Five Elements Sect's rule in the Eastern Wilderness had been relatively gentle in recent years, the older generation of rogue cultivators knew that before Sect Master Chen's emergence, there were seven major sects in the Eastern Wilderness. Now, the other six major sects were merely dust in history. Not only external cultivators, but many of the Five Elements Sect's own Core Formation cultivators also made this conjecture. They had all lived through the era of the seven major sects in the Eastern Wilderness, with an ingrained local mindset, and were long accustomed to war and slaughter.

"Disciples pay respects to the Sect Master, and to the three Grand Ancestors!" As Chen Mobai and the other four Nascent Souls entered, E Yun led the eighteen Core Formation cultivators inside the hall in a grand bow towards them.

"Rise, all of you. I'll be brief..." After Chen Mobai, Zhou Shengqing, and the others took their seats, they wasted no time and directly announced the impending war between the righteous and demonic factions in the Eastern Continent. During the conference, Chen Mobai primarily spoke, while the disciples listened.

Chen Mobai first arranged the sect's logistical work. With war imminent, this was of utmost importance, and he entrusted E Yun with its responsibility. "During the war, some non-essential infrastructure projects within the sect should be temporarily halted. We should first recruit talented rogue cultivators with excellent cultivation and specialized skills into the sect..." This statement meant giving rogue cultivators an opportunity to join the Five Elements Sect. Previously, to implement an elite policy, Chen Mobai had imposed very strict restrictions on rogue cultivators who sought to join with their skills. Only truly talented individuals could be exceptionally granted outer sect disciple certificates of the Five Elements Sect and admitted.

"The sect's grand formations are the barrier for all beings in the Eastern Wilderness. This task will be entrusted to Ming'er..."

"Once the war begins, the prices of artifacts, talismans, pills, and so on will undoubtedly skyrocket. As the lords of the Eastern Wilderness, our Five Elements Sect must control prices and absolutely prevent unscrupulous merchants from disrupting the market. This matter will be the responsibility of Martial Nephew Chu Zuoshu."

"Regarding the sect, we currently have enough disciples to form two sets of Five Elements Dao Soldiers. While the war hasn't fully erupted, lead them to familiarize themselves with these. Besides the Five Elements Dao Soldiers, if the battle lines extend across the entire three border regions of the Eastern Continent, small unit operations will definitely be needed, so other battle formations for ten, hundred, or even thousand individuals must also be mastered..."

These matters had already been discussed by Chen Mobai with Zhou Shengqing and the others. With the three Nascent Soul cultivators not opposing, they naturally passed unanimously. Among these, the most urgent task was to retrain the younger generation of disciples who had lived in peace for years, graduating from the academy into the sect, to meet war standards. These individuals had not experienced blood and fire, but they represented the future of the Five Elements Sect, making up seventy to eighty percent of its members.

Chen Mobai adapted to local conditions, assigning a Core Formation cultivator to oversee each county in the Eastern Wilderness. He then provided each of them with 3,000 sect disciples and the spirit stone resources and authority to recruit 2,000 rogue cultivators. In other words, Chen Mobai hoped that within the next few years, each Core Formation cultivator would have at least 5,000 Qi Condensation cultivators under their command.

At the end of the conference, Chen Mobai also hinted at something. He indicated that Core Formation cultivators who performed well in this war between the righteous and demonic factions would receive focused cultivation support from the sect in the future. For example, at the recent Big Dipper Conference, the Pill Cloud Pavilion and the Star Heaven Dao Sect reached a cooperation agreement, which would potentially allow for the exchange of Three Light Divine Water in the future. Upon hearing this news, everyone who yearned to form their Nascent Soul had their eyes light up!