Proofreader & Editor:Peter Pan
In the following days, Chen Mobai waited for the student council to contact him while continuing to farm on the Treasure Tree.
When his water-based technique yielded the sap of the Immortality Tree, he tried to see what kind of minimal guaranteed fruits the other four elemental energies could produce.
After numerous attempts, he found that metal energy could produce a grain of metal essence, wood energy a withered leaf, earth energy a clump of soil, and fire energy a spark.
Among these, the metal essence was identified as pure iron.
This second-tier material was essential for the forging of most magical instruments.
If refined with alchemical fire, it could even reach third-tier quality, enhancing both the power and grade of a flying sword when incorporated.
Unfortunately, the metal essence Chen Mobai obtained was only the size of a grain of rice. To collect a sufficient amount, he had no idea how many metal-based techniques he would need to practice.
The withered leaf was just an ordinary leaf from the Qingyang Spirit Tree, suitable for making second-tier talisman paper.
The clump of soil was quite special, containing a powerful vitality, surpassing even the most fertile second-tier fields of Xiao Nanshan. He guessed it might be the spirit soil of a third-tier field or higher.
Regrettably, when spread out, it was only a thin layer in his palm, not even enough to plant flowers. Chen Mobai poured it into the pot of a Qingtong sapling he had been nurturing for years and left it at that.
The most useful to him was the spark.
The moment the fruit opened, the spark flickered and nearly went out.
Chen Mobai immediately absorbed it with his own Qingyang fire seed.
Since it was of the same origin, it merged effortlessly.
This spark was also Qingyang fire.
Compared to his fist-sized fire seed, this spark was like a lit matchstick, insignificant.
But no matter how small, it was still Qingyang fire.
After absorbing it with the Pure Qing Technique, he felt his Qingyang fire seed had noticeably improved.
Chen Mobai estimated that if he could absorb a hundred more Qingyang sparks, his fire seed could fully evolve into "Qingyang Fire."
He knew from his experience in the Myriad Treasures Grotto that absorbing the fiery spiritual essence of Chicheng Mountain with the Pure Qing Technique for a year was equivalent to refining about five Qingyang sparks.
One Qingyang spark could save him over two months of hard cultivation.
Looking at the towering Treasure Tree, Chen Mobai's eyes shone with excitement.
This was truly a treasure tree.
Compared to the Talent Tree that only provided techniques, the Treasure Tree was like a vast treasury waiting to be explored.
It was just too stingy, offering only a little bit each time.
After grumbling to himself, Chen Mobai practiced the spells from the Immortality Technique once more, then returned to the Myriad Treasures Grotto.
***
Today marked the official end of the semester.
Chen Mobai passed all his course exams with high scores, earning all the credits, plus the 48 credits he got for free from the Sword Control Department.
Not one to hoard, he exchanged two coveted Zhu Fruits he had his eye on, and with the remaining 8 credits plus 2 from previous years, he exchanged a total of 10 credits for a second-tier "Return Spirit Pill."
This pill, a product of the Weaponry Dao Institute's Alchemy Department, was specifically for healing spiritual consciousness injuries.
Chen Mobai's consciousness was not injured, but he had practiced the Divine Control Technique and, after a year of continuous use of the Qingmu Bamboo Spirit Dew, the other Qingtong sapling that he had split from his consciousness had finally bloomed and bore fruit.
This indicated that the second layer of the Divine Control Technique, "Divide Spirit into Thoughts," was complete, and he could attempt the third layer, "Merge Spirit into One."
Honestly, he had estimated that even with the Qingmu Bamboo Spirit Dew, it would take two years to reach this stage.
But after infusing the Immortality Tree sap into his 23 skull bones, he found his efficiency in cultivating spiritual consciousness had greatly increased.
Even under the enhancement of the Lamp Lighting Technique, the combination of Qingmu Bamboo Spirit Dew and Immortality Tree sap had an effect greater than the sum of their parts.
Not only did his Hollow Spiritual Eyes advance by leaps and bounds, but his spiritual consciousness also reached the level to "Merge Spirit into One" within a year.
He searched for advanced insights on this technique in the cultivation aid software and found that among the many recommended miraculous pills, "Return Spirit Pill" was mentioned third most often. It was conveniently in stock at the Weaponry Dao Institute, so Chen Mobai directly exchanged it for credits.
The other two best pills were "Five Mushrooms Hundred Flowers Paste" and "Heavenly Fragrance Eight Treasures Pill," both third-tier.
The "Five Mushrooms Hundred Flowers Paste" is a signature product of the Sentence Mang Dao Institute and the Medical Academy, requiring five kinds of hundred-year-old Ganoderma and a hundred different spiritual flower essences, which can instantly heal any injury to spirit, energy, or soul.
The "Heavenly Fragrance Eight Treasures Pill" is specifically for spiritual consciousness injuries, and for anyone below the Foundation Establishment stage, it can cure the problem and restore peak condition immediately upon ingestion.
Six years ago, under the leadership of the head of the Alchemy Department, the Weaponry Dao Institute had refined it once, and there were still three pills in stock. However, Chen Mobai shook his head at the cost of exchange credits and gave up on the idea.
***
After exchanging his credits for the year, Chen Mobai immediately delivered the two Zhu Fruits to Wang Xingyu, along with the spirit essence, auxiliary herbs, and two other bamboo fruits. The latter assured him that this time he would definitely produce a Clear Eye Bamboo Spirit Dew without any pill poison.
He was different from half a year ago; he had experience now.
Chen Mobai just smiled at this. The slight pill poison was negligible to him with the enhancement of the Lamp Lighting Technique.
This year, he didn't return to Danxia City. After calling his parents and grandfather, Chen Mobai found a place in the Myriad Treasures Grotto to set up a restriction, then teleported to the Divine Tree Secret Realm.
***
In this small world where he was alone, Chen Mobai sat under the towering Treasure Tree and took the "Return Spirit Pill."
Three days later, he opened his eyes, a hint of regret flashing in them.
The "Return Spirit Pill" was indeed effective, but unfortunately, it was slightly insufficient to fully merge the two strands of his divided consciousness.
One more pill would surely have been successful.
Even so, he had already merged a great deal.
With the initial boost from the Return Spirit Pill, the rest was just a matter of grinding it out.
The difficulty of the Divine Control Technique was somewhat unexpected, but the results were astonishing.
His spiritual consciousness had increased by 1.6 times, and when he used the "Search Heaven and Earth Technique" obtained from the Talent Tree, his out-of-body consciousness could now cover a range of 20 meters, up from the previous 12 meters.
If he could fully merge, he felt he could reach 30 meters.
Chen Mobai began to look forward to that day.
Because once he completed the first Merge Spirit into One, he could practice the "Divine Control Slash."
This move was a sure kill against those of lower realms.
Just as he returned to the Myriad Treasures Grotto and habitually checked his phone, his face suddenly lit up with joy.
Ming Yihua had successfully established his foundation.
His good friend had spent almost the entire year in seclusion, and under various conditions, finally emerged triumphantly at the end of the year.
As the second in the Divine Transformation class to succeed, he was even more exuberant than Chen Mobai, generously inviting everyone for drinks, bursting with enthusiasm and soaring spirits, almost ready to post announcements on every teaching building in the institute.
This year, four more people in the Divine Transformation class grasped the critical technique, namely Gong Ranran, Li Zimo, Fan Yuanpu, and Jin Shuwei.
Daring to practice the Divine Transformation Technique, aside from Chen Mobai who had cheats, the rest were all exceptionally talented and supremely confident in themselves. Grasping the critical technique in the fifth grade was above the institute's average.
Stimulated by this, they declared on the spot that they would go into seclusion and if they didn't establish their foundation by this time next year, they wouldn't come for drinks.
Lan Yufan, another practitioner who had mastered the critical technique last year, sat quietly in the corner, drinking silently.
If it weren't for Ming Yihua's success, he could have remained calm, but now he was somewhat anxious.
He glanced at his girlfriend Lu Zixuan, feeling that dating might have affected his cultivation progress.
At this moment, the triumphant Ming Yihua levitated, slowly flying up to show off the flight technique unique to Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Eventually, unable to bear it, the crowd pulled him down and took turns toasting until he was completely drunk.
This semester, apart from Ming Yihua, there was another person in the 5012 class who had also successfully established his foundation.
However, this person was not part of the small Divine Transformation class group.
It was Zhai Jianbai from the Sword Control Department, a true swordsmanship genius who was also diligent in his practice.
After serving as a teaching assistant for a year, with a solid foundation, he embraced the sword on the field for seven days. When he opened his eyes, his gaze was like a shooting star, and he had succeeded in establishing his foundation.
After the small gathering of the Divine Transformation class at the end of the year, Chen Mobai returned to his wooden house off-campus and gave himself a rare day off.
***
That night, as he read the book on the Underworld Formation, a clear voice like spring water suddenly came from above, sweet and melodious.
"The Point Guard is Here."
Chen Mobai closed his eyes, indulging in the enchanting opera singing.
Since enrolling at the Weaponry Dao Institute, he had been neighbors with Meng Huang'er for five years, but this was the first time he enjoyed the heavenly voice of the big star.
It had to be said, being chosen by the higher-ups of the Immortal Gate to cultivate the astonishing music of the Divine Melody, her voice was indeed mesmerizing and comfortable.
For a long time, the clear voice faded, and a refreshed Chen Mobai opened his eyes, feeling an unprecedented ease and pleasure in his consciousness.
A smile of joy appeared on his face.
The third layer of the Divine Control Technique, "Merge Spirit into One," had made progress during the opera singing.
If he could listen a few more times, perhaps it would be completed.
Unconsciously, Chen Mobai recalled the dream he had when he first saw the Jade Phoenix troupe perform.
[To listen to Meng Huang'er sing for him every day.]
Five years ago, when he rented this wooden house, apart from its seclusion, part of it was this wish.
Unfortunately, over the past five years, he had been busy obtaining Foundation Establishment pills during the Qi Refining stage and then busy acquiring resources to cultivate various spells after Foundation Establishment. Only today did he manage to start fulfilling this dream.
Chen Mobai took out his phone. He had encountered Meng Huang'er once after establishing his foundation, and she had taken the initiative to add him as a friend.
[Meng Senior, the "Lingering Charm of the River" you sang was really beautiful.]
He tentatively sent a message of praise.
Two minutes passed without a response.
Just as Chen Mobai thought the big star might not have seen it, calculating that enough time had passed and she couldn't pretend anymore, Meng Huang'er finally replied.
The notification sound chimed.
[Thank you, are you down the mountain?]
[Yes, my good brother established his foundation today, and I had some drinks, so I didn't plan to return to the Myriad Treasures Grotto for cultivation. I'm resting here for the night.]
Chatting with women, Chen Mobai had an innate talent, and soon the two were chatting back and forth for half an hour.
Meng Huang'er expressed her envy of her juniors who had established their foundations one after another, while she, a seventh-grade senior, had yet to grasp the critical technique and dared not take that step.
Chen Mobai immediately comforted her, saying that with her talent, it was only a matter of time.
Then, he wanted to share his insights and tricks on grasping the critical technique, but he realized he had achieved it through drugs and had no insights.
Never mind, change the topic.
Chen Mobai mentioned that he had recently met Meng Huang'er's teacher, Bian Yiqing, in Che Yucheng's office. Bian was responsible for leading this year's students from the Weaponry Dao Institute to the Chicheng Cave Heaven University Alliance exchange meeting, and he was fortunate to be a member of the team.
Meng Huang'er: [I'm going to perform on stage during the millennium celebration, and I'm also on the institute's list. It seems we're teammates then.]
The topic shift was successful, and Meng Huang'er immediately began talking about the hardships of her daily rehearsals and tours.
When she first enrolled, she hadn't completed Qi Refining, and with her attention divided between coursework, cultivation, and touring the country to help sentient beings awaken their spirits, she failed two elective courses and was laughed at by her peers for a long time.
Once this topic opened up, Chen Mobai didn't need to guide the conversation anymore. Meng Huang'er became an automatic chatterbox, no longer typing but sending long voice messages.
Chen Mobai played them, listening to her clear voice with a satisfied expression.
***
The next morning, he planned to visit his neighbor on the mountain for five years and casually inquire about Meng Huang'er's singing habits, preparing to stake out regularly in the future.
However, before he could leave, a red spiritual light descended from the sky.
This little wooden house had never been visited by a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and Chen Mobai almost thought he was back in Xiao Nanshan.
Upon closer inspection, he realized it was Ming Yihua.
After sobering up from the drinks, he came running over, eager to check out the Myriad Treasures Grotto.
Unlike Chen Mobai, who had accumulated over 100 credits during his five years at the institute, Ming Yihua met the requirements.
However, since his mentor, Qin Beichen, was still in seclusion, Ming Yihua could only come to Chen Mobai, who had been in the Myriad Treasures Grotto for a year, for guidance.
With his good friend rarely asking for help, Chen Mobai reluctantly gave up on visiting his neighbor and took him to the Myriad Treasures Grotto to get acquainted.