After Yuan Chiyi entered closed-door Foundation Establishment, Chen Mobai asked E Yun about the secrets of the Divine Tree Mystic Realm.

“This is a secret passed down orally within our Divine Wood Sect. Now that you’ve reached Foundation Establishment, there’s no harm in telling you.”

“The Divine Tree Mystic Realm is said to have been left by ancient cultivators. In the past, Yuan Zhenjun entered it and took away the greatest opportunity. It should have collapsed and disappeared.”

“However, Yuan Zhenjun pitied all beings and felt that he should give future cultivators a chance. Thus, he spent great effort transplanting three divine trees, connecting them to the ley lines of Giant Wood Ridge, reinforcing the mystic realm, and leaving behind an entrance that could be opened.”

“Once inside, there will be three directions, each representing a different type of trial. The opportunities you can obtain depend on these.”

E Yun no longer treated Chen Mobai as an outsider and shared with him the secret traditions passed down within the Divine Wood Sect.

Ancient cultivators, mystic realms, divine trees, and such—Chen Mobai didn’t have much concept of these.

But Yuan Zhenjun was a renowned figure.

The most recent ascended cultivator of the Tianhe Realm, this Divine Tree Mystic Realm had a connection with him, so the items inside must be extraordinary.

“What exactly are the three trials?”

Chen Mobai asked further, knowing that the more he knew, the better prepared he could be.

E Yun smiled.

“The Great Dao, magical treasures, innate talent!”

“What do they entail?”

E Yun didn’t know the answer to this question either. He shook his head and simply shared his own experience.

“After entering the mystic realm, you actually just need to show your truest self and move towards the three directions.”

“I passed out in front of the Great Dao Tree, obtained the Cicada Spirit Leaf on the Magical Treasure Tree, and received an ancient technique at the Innate Talent Tree.”

“When my fellow disciples and I entered the mystic realm, Zhou Wangshen and I quickly fainted in front of the Great Dao Tree. However, when we passed out, our senior brother Honghe was still advancing steadily; perhaps he knew something.”

Hearing this, Chen Mobai expressed his gratitude to E Yun.

In an environment like the Tianhe Realm, it was commendable for E Yun to selflessly share his experiences and insights.

“Is Senior Brother Honghe at Giant Wood Ridge? Would it be inconvenient for me to visit him?”

In the end, Chen Mobai naturally asked a question.

He had always wanted to meet this peerless genius, who was said to be on par with him, a sword cultivation prodigy.

“Well, since Senior Brother Honghe reached Foundation Establishment, he has been in Dream Swamp and hasn’t returned. If you want to meet him, I’m afraid you’ll have to go to Dream Swamp yourself.”

Unlike Zhou Wangshen and E Yun, Honghe was not a disciple of the sect leader. He had a reclusive personality but was exceptionally talented, proficient in body refining, swordsmanship, formations, and puppetry.

Like Chen Mobai, he was a person focused on cultivation.

Dream Swamp was known as the number one treasure land in the Eastern Desolation. Confident cultivators would often stay there for extended periods.

After all, the major trading companies from the Central State would stay at Wind and Rain Lodge and spend a lot of money to purchase beast cores.

“That’s really too bad.”

Chen Mobai could only sigh and then pretended to be injured, coughing twice.

Dream Swamp was too dangerous, and without a good reason, he definitely wouldn’t go.

Although Yuan Chiyi had entered closed-door cultivation, he had almost finished arranging the tasks E Yun had assigned him before leaving.

The benefits of a Foundation Establishment elder of the Divine Wood Sect had also been claimed for Chen Mobai.

Among the twelve departments was the Spirit Vein Department.

Although this department seemed to be in charge of the sect’s spirit veins, it actually managed the properties, shops, and the sect’s businesses in the markets of the Eastern Desolation, in addition to the spirit veins.

After Chen Mobai advanced to a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the benefits he claimed were distributed by this department.

However, he first needed to go through the procedures at the Hall of Rewarding Virtue.

With E Yun, the disciple of the sect leader, taking action, it took less than a day for Chen Mobai to complete all the procedures.

Inside the grand hall of the Spirit Vein Department, there was a miniature model of Giant Wood Ridge.

“Respected uncles, the ones that are lit up are already taken. You can choose from the remaining ones,” said a tall, ordinary-looking Qi Refining female cultivator respectfully, leading E Yun and Chen Mobai here and pointing to the slightly transparent model floating in mid-air.

Chen Mobai nodded and looked carefully.

He noticed that most of the courtyards and shops within Divine Wood City were already lit up, and there was not a single one left on the busiest street in the city center.

“Our sect shouldn’t have so many Foundation Establishment elders, right?”

E Yun frowned upon seeing that all three hundred shops on the busiest street were lit up.

He himself had directly rented his shop to a senior brother, receiving a thousand spirit stones in rent each year.

“Indeed, we don’t have that many elders, but the ownership of these three hundred shops is without issue. If Uncle E Yun has time, you can talk to our department head,” replied the Qi Refining female cultivator of the Spirit Vein Department, wiping sweat from her forehead and answering E Yun’s question with a lack of confidence.

“Are there any larger shops?”

Chen Mobai spoke up, helping her out of the awkward situation.

“Yes, there are. However, the larger the shop, the more remote the location. Uncle Chen, please take a look here.”

The Qi Refining female cultivator breathed a sigh of relief and immediately pointed to the southern part of Divine Wood City.

“This won’t do. It’s inhabited by mortals. No matter how big the shop is, it won’t earn many spirit stones.”

E Yun immediately shook his head upon seeing this.

Divine Wood City was originally a place for mortals to live. After all, many cultivators had bloodline descendants, and some menial tasks also required mortals, so the sect had opened up a plain here.

However, as time passed and the place became more popular, it turned into the current situation.

“I’ll take the largest one here. I might open a rice shop or a tavern in the future, so I’ll need a warehouse. It doesn’t matter if the location is a bit remote.”

Chen Mobai, however, chose the largest shop in the southern part of the city, nearly a thousand square meters.

“Uncle has good vision. This place was originally a granary, but later, for cleanliness, the sect leader promoted the use of Inedia Pills among mortals, and the granary was left vacant. It was later converted into a shop.”After selecting a shop, Chen Mobai also chose a courtyard, using the excuse of needing to watch over the store, he picked a yard in the southern part of the city that covered more than two hundred square meters.

The main reason was for peace and quiet, after all, he was someone who could disappear at any moment. Although he would only occasionally stay in this yard for a night, if the neighbors were all Foundation Establishment cultivators, over the years, there was still a possibility of exposure.

E Yun, although not optimistic about Chen Mobai’s choice, did not interfere.

Only when it came to the final choice of a cultivation place, specifically the selection of a cave dwelling with a third-grade spiritual vein, did things become serious.

“Junior Brother, the third-grade spiritual veins also have their high, middle, and low distinctions. For the sake of convenient cultivation, you absolutely cannot be careless.”

“Uncle-Master E, the top-quality third-grade spiritual veins were all selected twenty years ago.”

The Qi Refining female cultivator said this with sweat forming on her forehead again.

Everyone wanted the best spiritual veins, and the disciples of the spiritual vein department held high status within the sect precisely because of this privilege.

As a disciple of the sect leader, after reaching Foundation Establishment, Meng Hong had given up his own top-quality third-grade spiritual vein cave dwelling for E Yun. Zhou Wangshen was a descendant of Ancestor Zhou, so there was no need to mention him.

Although Chen Mobai was hailed as a peerless genius, if he wanted a top-quality third-grade spiritual vein, he could only hope for one of the Foundation Establishment elders to give up theirs.

This kind of offense was something the spiritual vein department dared not commit.

“If there are no top-quality ones, there should still be some middle-quality third-grade ones, right?”

E Yun clearly knew the ins and outs of the situation. He felt that if he didn’t accompany his Junior Brother Chen, who was simple-minded and only focused on sword practice and farming, the spiritual vein department might fob him off with a low-quality third-grade cave dwelling.

“Yes, yes, yes, there are still seven middle-quality third-grade cave dwellings. Let me mark them for you two Uncle-Masters, and you can see which one is suitable.”

The Qi Refining female cultivator immediately extended her index finger, casting a light spell, and marked out the seven middle-quality third-grade spiritual vein cave dwellings scattered throughout the Giant Wood Ridge.

“Eh, why are there so many spiritual fields here?”

Chen Mobai looked and looked again, noticing that around one of the spiritual veins, there was a large expanse of open plains that seemed to be abandoned spiritual lands.

“The previous head of the Spirit Planting Department tried to cultivate third-grade spiritual rice here, clearing sixty acres of spiritual fields. After his passing, this place was abandoned.”

The Qi Refining female cultivator, who was on duty in the spiritual vein department, was quite knowledgeable and promptly answered Chen Mobai’s question.

“Third-grade spiritual rice? Could it be that this spiritual vein cave dwelling was more than just middle-quality third-grade before?”

To open up third-grade spiritual fields, some of the essence of the spiritual vein would need to be consumed. If these sixty acres were all third-grade spiritual fields, then the previous grade of this spiritual vein must have been quite high.

“Uncle-Master Chen is indeed from the Spirit Planting Department. This Xiao Nanshan was originally a fourth-grade spiritual vein, but to clear the sixty acres of spiritual fields, its grade dropped to middle-quality third-grade.”

Xiao Nanshan.

Chen Mobai felt that this name was very pleasant to the ear and suited his low-profile nature.

He looked and looked again, feeling that this spiritual vein was a perfect match for him.

“Let’s settle on this one.”

E Yun also knew Chen Mobai’s character, whose heart was set on sword practice and farming. Although the grade of Xiao Nanshan’s spiritual vein was low among the seven middle-quality third-grade ones, who could resist the many spiritual fields nearby!

“Uncle-Master Chen, we will allocate Xiao Nanshan to you, but the cultivation rights for those sixty acres of spiritual fields still need to be processed at the Spirit Planting Department.”

The Qi Refining female cultivator gave a heads-up in advance, and Chen Mobai expressed his gratitude.

At the Spirit Planting Department, he still had some clout.

“Let me accompany you there. I’m somewhat acquainted with Vice Director Jin from your Spirit Planting Department.”

E Yun, going the extra mile, helped Chen Mobai secure Xiao Nanshan and then accompanied him to the grand hall of the Spirit Planting Department.

Upon arrival, E Yun went to find Jin Shanping, while Chen Mobai went to pay a visit to Sun Gaochang.

“Uncle-Master Chen!”

Sun Gaochang was there, and so was Lu Jun, who almost didn’t manage to switch his form of address in time when he saw Chen Mobai.

With the announcement of the Divine Tree Secret Realm’s imminent opening, basically everyone knew that a true disciple had succeeded in Foundation Establishment.

With a little inquiry, they knew who it was.

However, seeing Chen Mobai succeed in Foundation Establishment in person, Lu Jun was still full of emotion.

The image of the young man who had just come out of the Sprout Hall, miserably collecting rice seeds and cultivating spiritual fields, was still in his mind.

In the blink of an eye, this young man had achieved a breakthrough that he could never achieve in his lifetime.

“Brother Lu, long time no see.”

Chen Mobai was not quite used to the practice of addressing others based on cultivation level and still referred to him as Brother, which no one minded. It was common for those who had just broken through to do so, and after a decade or two, they would get used to it.

“Returning home in glory, you’ve finally come. I thought after your Foundation Establishment, you wouldn’t want to stay in the Spirit Planting Department anymore?”

The plump Sun Gaochang was very happy that Chen Mobai visited him first and specially opened a pot of wine to entertain him.

This wine was even bought from Chen Mobai himself.

“Not at all, I have no other hobbies in this life, only farming and brewing. Even if I become the sect leader, I will not leave the Spirit Planting Department.”

Chen Mobai’s words surprised Sun Gaochang a bit, but he took it as a metaphor.

“Have you chosen a spiritual vein? I know of a cave dwelling that is only a lower third-grade, but at the foot of the mountain, twenty acres of medicinal fields have been opened. After you take it over, I can work something out on this end. You’ll get the cave dwelling and the medicinal fields, and even if you don’t manage them yourself, leasing them to sect disciples could earn you at least a thousand sect contributions a year.”

“I was just about to discuss this matter with Inspector Sun…”

Since Sun Gaochang brought it up, Chen Mobai laid out his intentions.

“Xiao Nanshan, indeed, is the most suitable place for you.”

As the inspector of the Spirit Planting Department, Sun Gaochang naturally knew about the abandoned spiritual fields near Xiao Nanshan. After thinking it over, he understood why Chen Mobai chose this place and couldn’t help but applaud.

“Lu Jun, convey my orders and handle this matter. Before Uncle-Master Chen and I finish this pot of wine and leave, transfer the cultivation rights for those sixty acres of spiritual fields to his name for the next ten years.”

“Yes, Inspector.”Sun Gaochang was so forthright that Chen Mobai felt somewhat embarrassed.

Previously, when he lacked enough sect contributions to exchange for Foundation Establishment Pills, it was Sun Gaochang who lent him the difference.

At this point, Chen Mobai no longer harbored any grudges about being tricked by Lu Jun into joining the Spirit Plant Division. Although Sun Gaochang’s attitude had improved only after Chen Mobai’s talents became apparent, Chen Mobai knew that his rapid advancement to true disciple status and acquisition of the Foundation Establishment Pills were thanks to Sun Gaochang’s favor.

He resolved to farm diligently and generate better profits for the Spirit Plant Division.

“By the way, Junior Brother Chen, our Spirit Plant Division is under the Rewarding Virtue Hall. After your Foundation Establishment, if you’re willing, you can also join the Rewarding Virtue Hall.”

Towards the end of their drinking, Sun Gaochang suddenly mentioned this.

Chen Mobai was about to agree casually, but then he remembered E Yun and felt that since he was ostensibly E Yun’s man, he should ask for his opinion.

He told Sun Gaochang the truth, and the latter still smiled amiably, politely seeing him out.

When he left, Lu Jun had already arranged the cultivation rights for sixty acres of spirit farmland.

That evening, when Chen Mobai mentioned this to E Yun, the latter smiled slightly and shared a speculation.

“The master of the Rewarding Virtue Hall and my master are the only two Foundation Establishment completion cultivators in the Shenmu Sect. If my master resigns to pursue Core Formation, the calls for him to take over as sect leader are also quite strong.”

“You mean…”

“If he becomes the sect leader, the Rewarding Virtue Hall will need a successor, and it seems he has his eye on you.”

Chen Mobai fell silent.

Yet inside, he was anxious.

What to do?

It seemed his reputation as a genius was becoming more and more entrenched in people’s hearts.