Proofreader & Editor:Peter Pan
"Good day, Teacher Qin."
Chen Mobai greeted politely.
"Come with me. The Formation at the site of the Myriad Treasures Grotto is quite powerful. It requires the lead of a Golden Elixir Taoist master to enter."
Qin Beichen sized up Chen Mobai, nodded slightly, and turned to walk ahead.
The two arrived one after the other at the back mountain of Chicheng.
Here, nestled among the mountains, was a gorge. Looking around, streams flowed down from the mountaintops, and lush trees dotted the landscape. Amidst the green grass, colorful flowers could be spotted.
"We're here."
Qin Beichen led Chen Mobai to the very center of the gorge.
Looking down, there was a huge, bottomless pit.
The mouth of the pit was about a hundred meters in diameter, with steep walls. One could see tunnels carved out, their destinations unknown.
"Is this the Myriad Treasures Grotto?"
The place was legendary online, with no actual footage. Seeing it for the first time, Chen Mobai found it somewhat ordinary.
"This was originally an abandoned spirit stone mine from ancient times. Although rich in spiritual energy, it initially only had a third-grade spirit vein."
"One of the five ancestors of the Immortal Gate, Ancestor Yunya, discovered this place. He sensed a mystery beneath the spirit stone mine and used a heaven-reaching method to break through the mine layer, reaching an underground current where he found the first Zhu fruit tree."
"Below the current, he discovered a red iron mine. Unsatisfied, Ancestor Yunya kept drilling through the crust until he finally reached the core of the Chicheng Mountain spirit vein, where he found a fifth-grade earth vein spirit pearl."
"Subsequently, Ancestor Yunya established the Weapon Dancing Academy here to pass on his teachings and great methods."
As Qin Beichen spoke, he spread a cloud of mist, enveloping both himself and Chen Mobai, and then they flew up, descending into the underground cave.
At that moment, a crimson light soared from the depths of the Myriad Treasures Grotto, and Chen Mobai felt a terrifying heat that could turn him to ash.
"This is the Fire Element Divine Light, a defensive prohibition personally set up by a Divine Transformation ancestor of our academy. Even an Elemental Infant expert wouldn't dare to intrude rashly."
As Qin Beichen spoke, the crimson divine light fell upon them.
He flashed his teacher's badge, and Chen Mobai quickly took out his student ID from his bag.
After the Fire Element Divine Light scanned their identities, it paused in front of them.
Qin Beichen immediately took out the stamped recommendation form. The light, seemingly sentient, scanned the document and confirmed its accuracy before slowly dissipating.
A spark ignited with a "sizzle."
Chen Mobai saw the recommendation form in Qin Beichen's hand suddenly catch fire, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
This meant his identity had been imprinted in the Fire Element Divine Light, and he could freely enter and exit the Myriad Treasures Grotto for the next year with his student ID.
"Let's go, I'll take you to meet the manager of the Myriad Treasures Grotto."
***
Qin Beichen wrapped them in his misty light and began to descend. Chen Mobai felt the spiritual energy growing denser around them. After descending three hundred meters, his gold-rimmed glasses showed they were at the third-grade level.
And this was just the beginning.
They continued to descend. At one thousand meters, the spiritual energy value on the glasses showed mid-third-grade…
Until they reached three thousand meters, where the value hit lower fourth-grade.
The temperature outside was rising, and even with Qin Beichen's misty light as a barrier, Chen Mobai couldn't help but sweat.
And they hadn't even reached the bottom yet. At twenty-eight thousand meters, the right lens of Chen Mobai's glasses suddenly cracked down the middle.
The glasses' limit for measuring spiritual energy was upper fourth-grade.
Clearly, the concentration here exceeded the fourth-grade, reaching the fifth.
Chen Mobai dared not act rashly, staying safely under Qin Beichen's protection, only watching as the crack in the lens grew longer.
"We've arrived."
Finally, Qin Beichen's voice sounded.
Chen Mobai relaxed, about to take off his glasses when—
"Crack!"
The lens finally shattered under the strain, half of it flying into the misty clouds outside.
Then, Chen Mobai saw the lens instantly vaporize.
The temperature outside was unbearable for the human body.
He floated in mid-air, looking down at the rolling magma below, the scorching breath filling the surroundings.
Chen Mobai finally understood why a Golden Elixir Taoist master was needed to descend here.
If one wasn't careful in the depths of the Myriad Treasures Grotto, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator could be in danger.
Qin Beichen used his misty clouds to carry Chen Mobai towards the center of the magma, and soon they arrived above a dark red island standing amidst the lava.
Strangely enough, Chen Mobai, who had felt somewhat warm, felt a cool breeze upon stepping onto the island.
Looking around, the island wasn't large, about two to three thousand square meters in size.
At the center was a fiery red Zhu fruit tree, laden with plump fruits, which left Chen Mobai in awe.
Was this the only fifth-grade Zhu fruit tree of the Weapon Dancing Academy?
He followed Qin Beichen to a stone house under the tree.
A woman with fiery red hair stood there.
Seeing her, Qin Beichen bowed respectfully.
"Teacher Duanmu, long time no see."
The woman with fiery red hair had an ordinary face and slightly dark skin, but she had a curvaceous figure, a slender waist, long legs, and was almost as tall as Qin Beichen.
She was the manager of the Myriad Treasures Grotto, as well as the vice principal of the Weapon Dancing Academy, Duanmu Longrong.
"Ah, this must be your student."
Duanmu Longrong turned around, sized up Chen Mobai, and he immediately greeted her respectfully.
"Take this."
A dark red iron piece the size of a thumb flew from Duanmu Longrong's hand, landing in front of Chen Mobai, who quickly accepted it with thanks.
This was an "Artifact Chip."
It was a key, used to unlock the magical weapons nurtured within the Myriad Treasures Grotto.
One "Artifact Chip" could unlock one magical weapon.
As for what kind of magical weapon it would unlock, it all depended on luck and opportunity.
"Thank you, Teacher Duanmu. I'll take him up now."
Having completed his task, Qin Beichen didn't linger. He spread his misty clouds again, wrapping Chen Mobai and returning the way they came, flying up to the cave entrance at the back mountain of Chicheng.
"Since I am your mentor, and today's opportunity is rare, I shall fulfill my responsibilities."
Qin Beichen took Chen Mobai to a pavilion on the back mountain. After sitting down, he proactively asked if the latter had any questions.
"Aren't there supposed to be tens of thousands of magical weapons nurtured in the Myriad Treasures Grotto? Why didn't I see any?"
Chen Mobai immediately asked. Before coming, Che Yucheng had only told him the most basic things, like "Artifact Chips" and "Fire Element Divine Light."
His mentor was clearly a long-time resident of the back mountain, and this was not an opportunity to miss for asking questions.
"Do you know the origin of the Myriad Treasures Grotto?"
Chen Mobai nodded, and Qin Beichen pulled out a white jade ball the size of a human head from thin air and handed it to him.
It seemed his mentor also had a storage space.
Whether it was a magical tool or directly refined from void stone was unknown.
While thinking of other things, Chen Mobai curiously inquired about the origin of the white jade ball.
"What is this?"
"An Artifact Nurturing Sphere, made from spirit stone debris mixed with other spiritual minerals. After sealing in specially treated Spirit Water and placing a magical weapon inside, it can prevent the weapon from decaying or dropping in grade without a cultivator's refinement."
Chen Mobai was seeing such an object for the first time. He took it and turned it in his hand, indeed finding a notch the size of a fingernail.
It was the perfect size for the Artifact Chip to fit into.
"The magical weapons in the Myriad Treasures Grotto are left by graduating cultivators of the Weapon Dancing Academy who seal their prized weapons before their life's end and personally place them inside."
"As for where exactly the weapons are placed within the Myriad Treasures Grotto, the academy does not actively search. So over the centuries, any part of the Myriad Treasures Grotto could potentially contain an Artifact Nurturing Sphere."
"The way to unlock the Artifact Nurturing Sphere is with an 'Artifact Chip.' You can search as many times as you can withstand within the year. However, you only have one opportunity, and you must make a choice before you can take away the Artifact Nurturing Sphere you wish to open."
Chen Mobai listened and nodded in understanding.
But then another question arose in his mind.
"This Artifact Chip doesn't look hard to counterfeit, has anyone tried?"
Based on the experience of the academy's predecessors, a Foundation Establishment cultivator could usually find four or five Artifact Nurturing Spheres within the Myriad Treasures Grotto in a year. Many would choose to take away the one they felt most confident about at the end of the term.
So, had anyone cracked the secret of the Artifact Chip?
"Do you think it's the Artifact Chip that opens the Artifact Nurturing Sphere?"
Qin Beichen shook his head, suddenly producing an Artifact Chip similar to Chen Mobai's and inserted it into the Artifact Nurturing Sphere in front of him.
Click!
A crimson glow rose from afar, like a flame dragon, entering the Artifact Nurturing Sphere.
Then, in an instant, the head-sized white jade sphere turned to ash, scattering on the ground and revealing a palm-sized crimson mist.
"Another 'Crimson Mist Luo'."
As Qin Beichen sighed, Chen Mobai was stunned.
"Teacher, what was that just now?"
If he hadn't seen wrong, the Artifact Chip was real, and the Artifact Nurturing Sphere he had been playing with was also real?
"Regular professors at the academy receive twenty credits a year. I saved up for five years to exchange for an Artifact Chip. But it seems my luck is average; I got a duplicate magical weapon."
To demonstrate the principle of opening an Artifact Nurturing Sphere with an Artifact Chip, Qin Beichen performed a live demonstration.
Within the Weapon Dancing Academy, Artifact Chips could also be exchanged for credits, valued at 100 credits each.
"The Artifact Nurturing Sphere is one of the masterpieces of our academy's Artificing Department. However, most of the prohibitions inside are set by the cultivators who sealed the magical weapons, and they are varied and bizarre. So after inserting the Artifact Chip, it attracts the Fire Element Divine Light from the back mountain to come and sweep away the prohibitions inside."
"Immortal Wood Strange Encounter"
With that, Qin Beichen scooped up the crimson mist and tossed it to Chen Mobai.
"Take it, I already have a better one."
"How could I possibly accept this!"
Though he said so, Chen Mobai's hands involuntarily reached out to catch the mist, but the heat made him retract them quickly.
"'Crimson Mist Luo' is also one of the signature magical weapons of our academy. It is made from the spiritual steam erupting from the magma at the bottom of the Myriad Treasures Grotto, red iron blocks, fire jade shards, and lava. Besides serving as a flying tool, it also has considerable defensive power, especially against fire spells, which it can almost entirely block."
After Qin Beichen finished speaking, Chen Mobai recalled the misty clouds that had carried him to the bottom of the Myriad Treasures Grotto.
At the depths of over twenty thousand meters, the terrifying high temperatures were kept at bay, making him only slightly sweaty, which spoke volumes about the power of this magical weapon.
"Thank you, Teacher."
He said the word "teacher" with particular emphasis.
Qin Beichen nodded and gave a few more instructions.
"When you went down, you should have seen the tunnels carved into the cave walls. They were excavated by ancient cultivators when this place was still a spirit stone mine, sprawling like a spider web over the three thousand meters above the Myriad Treasures Grotto."
"Generally, the area where you students are active is here. Going below three thousand meters requires you to carve out your own path, and it's not guaranteed you'll find anything."
"You can choose a tunnel as your resting place. If you're thirsty, come up for some spring water; if you're hungry, eat some fasting pills."
"The spiritual energy here is the most abundant in the entire Chicheng Mountain. The principal signed a six-hundred-year lease renewal contract with the Immortal Gate a hundred years ago. Since you are cultivating the Pure Yang Volume, don't waste the powerful fire vein spiritual energy here."
After saying this, Qin Beichen stood up ready to leave.
"Teacher, let's add each other as friends."
Chen Mobai immediately took out his phone, saved Qin Beichen's contact information, and then the latter disappeared from the spot.
He was off to continue his closed-door cultivation of the Pure Yang Body.
***
Chen Mobai looked at the "Crimson Mist Luo" in his hand, feeling a bit guilty.
After all, he was currently using the Longevity Scripture for Foundation Establishment, and the Pure Yang Volume was still at the peak of Qi Refining.
It was fortunate that the Immortal Gate valued personal privacy and didn't actively probe others' cultivation levels and techniques, so Qin Beichen still thought Chen Mobai had used the Pure Yang Volume for Foundation Establishment.
Speaking of the Pure Yang Volume, Ming Yihua had attempted to condense ten drops of liquid spiritual energy for Foundation Establishment at the end of last year, but had to use a critical technique to halt the breakthrough.
Compared to Chen Mobai, Ming Yihua truly had exceptional talent.
Chen Mobai's first attempt at Foundation Establishment had only condensed two drops of liquid spiritual energy.
The Pure Yang Volume required the condensation of fifteen drops of liquid spiritual energy to complete the step of turning qi into liquid.
Compared to him, if Ming Yihua hadn't cultivated the Divine Transformation technique of the Pure Yang Volume, he could have at least reached the step of projecting his consciousness, perhaps succeeding in one go.
Thinking of this, Chen Mobai called Ming Yihua.
He shared the situation at the Myriad Treasures Grotto with him, and Ming Yihua, being an artificer, was itching to come over and open an Artifact Nurturing Sphere right away.
Unfortunately, he couldn't enter.
"By the way, brother, how do you refine the 'Crimson Mist Luo'?"
Finally, Chen Mobai asked the main reason for the call.