Qingshan Village is located to the east of the Taixu Mountain Range, and since the first villagers settled here, they have made their living by farming.
The village is situated at the foot of the mountain, and along the slope are wave-like terraced fields.
Above the terraced fields are forests formed by trees, lush and verdant.
After passing through this forest and crossing five mountains, one would see a square temple.
The temple is called “Taixu Temple”, nestled against the mountain and near the water.
Many villages within a radius of ten miles around the Taixu Mountain Range would come here to offer incense whenever something happened.
Chen Mobai got his turtle shell from this temple, and he had always wanted to come back to investigate whether there was any hidden information in this opportunity.
Early in the morning, he and his mother climbed over mountains and ridges, bringing offerings to the Taixu Temple.
However, they found white lanterns hanging from the eaves of the temple.
“Who has passed away?”
Tang Pancui wiped the sweat from her forehead and murmured to herself. Her cultivation was average, and she was a bit tired after crossing five mountains.
“I’ll go ask.”
Chen Mobai, with his bag on his back, was calm and composed. He knocked on the door while letting his mother rest.
Squeak!
Soon, a young monk opened the door.
“Dear benefactors, the elder in charge of fire in our temple passed away last night. We are holding a ceremony for him these few days and are not open to the public. We are truly sorry.”
The young monk apologized after hearing their purpose.
“Respect for the deceased.”
Chen Mobai nodded in understanding, intending to leave with Tang Pancui and return in a few days.
“Since we’ve come all this way, crossing five mountains, why don’t we just offer some incense?”
Tang Pancui casually suggested.
The young monk hesitated for a moment, then went back to ask the abbot for permission. He actually let them in.
The Taixu Temple was neither big nor small.
It had a square layout, with an open courtyard in the middle.
In the center of the courtyard was a three-meter-long bronze cauldron, filled with ashes from burnt incense.
Straight ahead from the entrance was the main hall of the Taixu Temple, where a statue of the Taixu True God of unknown origin was placed. The statue was carried by a giant stone turtle, holding a jade ruler in its left hand. The front of its robe was adorned with the Tai Chi Eight Diagrams, and its sleeves were decorated with a splendid galaxy. Its face was solemn.
Chen Mobai looked at the empty right hand of the statue. There used to be a turtle shell there, but now it was empty.
“Benefactors, please stop here.”
After guiding them in, the young monk pointed to the white lantern hanging in the rear hall, indicating that it was a mourning hall and they should not go there.
“Thank you.”
After thanking him, Chen Mobai donated 1888 Good Deeds through the QR code at the entrance with his phone.
He was quite wealthy now.
He had 200,000 Good Deeds in his account, which was the equivalent of the spirit sand given by Shen Juanxiu. Qing Nv also had 300,000 Good Deeds she had won from betting. However, since her card had a daily transfer limit of 20,000, Chen Mobai told her not to transfer it to him yet.
Recently, he had produced enough “Qi-Replenishing Spirit Water” to last him three months. So, he let Qing Nv use these Good Deeds to buy medicinal materials and auxiliary materials to refine a different kind of elixir.
Since all spirit water elixirs have a shelf life, the effect is better when consumed immediately after production.
As for what kind of elixir to refine, Chen Mobai didn’t know, so he let Qing Nv decide and practice on her own.
After some thought, Qing Nv chose the first-grade top-quality “Fire-Clearing Pill”, considering both aspects.
When there is enough Qi-Replenishing Spirit Water, it is best to enhance one’s divine consciousness.
After all, to succeed in Foundation Establishment, one must be balanced in essence, energy, and spirit. Any deficiency in these aspects would lead to failure.
Among these, enhancing divine consciousness is the most difficult.
However, Danxia City happened to have the resources to refine the “Fire-Clearing Pill”, which mainly uses the flowers and fruits of the Biyu Wutong tree.
Chen Mobai applauded her choice.
However, this kind of elixir is also very precious among the first-grade elixirs. It costs 20,000 Good Deeds to refine a batch.
Although Chen Mobai, who just had some Good Deeds, was a bit heartbroken, he thought that the Good Deeds in Qing Nv’s card were all won from betting. It was worth it if they could be converted into his strength or improve Qing Nv’s alchemy skills.
Moreover, if the Fire-Clearing Pill could be successfully refined, the official price set by the Immortal Gate was 5,000 Good Deeds per pill.
A batch could produce up to ten pills. With the spirit essence provided by Chen Mobai, Qing Nv could quickly earn back the cost once she succeeded in refining it.
Multitasking.
While thinking about Qing Nv, Chen Mobai had already finished offering incense and placed the offerings he brought from his bag on the table in front of the statue.
On the other side, the abbot of the temple came out from the mourning hall and started chatting with Tang Pancui.
“I see, I didn’t expect that among the people of Taixu Mountain, there would be a real dragon from the Four Great Dao Institutes.”
He was shocked and proud when he heard from Tang Pancui that Chen Mobai had been admitted to the Weapon Dance Institute.
“We are here to fulfill our vow thanks to the blessings from this temple. However, since there are matters in the temple, we won’t bother you any longer.”
Seeing that Chen Mobai had placed all the offerings such as melons, fruits, mulberries, and dates, and lit the incense, Tang Pancui smiled and bid farewell to the abbot.
“Could we take a group photo before you leave?”
The abbot was an old man with gray hair. He remembered Tang Pancui and Chen Mobai, as they were the only mother and son who had encountered problems when offering incense over the years.
He shamelessly asked Chen Mobai for a photo, intending to use it to promote Taixu Temple in the future. Chen Mobai did not refuse.
After the photo was taken, Chen Mobai hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he did not ask about the turtle shell.
“Benefactors, it’s noon now. Why don’t you have some vegetarian meals before you leave?”The abbot looked at the photo on his phone, contentedly instructing the young monk to take the mother and son for a vegetarian meal. He still had to go to the memorial hall to chant sutras.
“Thank you, Abbot.”
Under the guidance of the young monk, they headed to the side hall on the right, which was the dining hall.
The three of them started to eat and chat.
“Do you know when this Taixu Temple was built?”
“It’s said to have a long history. Anyway, when our ancestors established villages in the Taixu Mountain Range, this temple was already here.”
“I feel that the spiritual energy in this temple is quite good.”
“Yes, there is a second-order spiritual vein in the Taixu Mountain Range. Although it is also suppressed and collected by the Immortal Gate, if we apply to use it, the loss of spiritual energy transported through the pipeline is relatively small due to the proximity to the source of the spiritual vein. So even though we only purchased mid-grade first-order spiritual energy, it’s actually very close to high-grade first-order.”
Chen Mobai listened to the young monk’s explanation, measured the spiritual energy value with his phone, and nodded slightly.
“Junior brother, the waste collector is about to arrive. You should pack up Elder Liu Yanpei’s relics quickly. These things can’t be cremated in the temple, so let them take them away for disposal.”
Just then, an older monk called out to the young monk from the doorway. The latter immediately put down his chopsticks.
“Please take your time, I’m going to clean up Elder Liu’s relics.”
“Wait, the elder who passed away in your temple today is called Liu Yanpei?”
Chen Mobai widened his eyes and directly called out to the young monk who was about to leave.
“Yes, do you know Elder Liu?”
“I think I saw him when I came to the temple to offer incense as a child. He even gave me a piece of candy.”
Chen Mobai gave a reason, causing the young monk to look puzzled.
“Elder Liu is a loner and never receives visitors.”