“Indeed, the Zhu Fruit is truly a specialty of Chicheng Mountain, its fire spirit energy is warm and moist.”

In the alchemy room of Danxia City’s Baoping Medicine Shop, Qing Nv took the jade box handed over by Chen Mobai and opened it to look inside, nodding in satisfaction.

“This item can only be picked after confirmation of exchange. As soon as I heard your request, I took Wang Xingyu, the top alchemist of our class, to search every mountaintop in Chicheng Mountain for Zhu Fruit trees, selecting the best quality one among the second-tier fruits.”

For this matter, Chen Mobai even took a week off at the end of the term to tutor Wang Xingyu.

“Let me take a look at your Bamboo Fruit.”

Qing Nv opened another jade box on the table, and the pure and cool spirit energy made her squint her eyes and nod slightly.

“With both main ingredients ready, we still need twenty-four auxiliary herbs. Are you prepared?”

They were planning to concoct a type of Spirit Water called “Clear Vision Bamboo Spirit Dew,” which was used for cultivating the eyes and enhancing spiritual consciousness.

Chen Mobai’s vision had slightly declined due to long periods of staring at the Qingyang Fire while cultivating the Chiyang Sword Art.

So he consulted Qing Nv for a miraculous elixir for this condition.

Fortunately, Bamboo Fruit had the effect of clearing the eyes and refreshing the spirit. Qing Nv consulted many records from the Sentence Mang Dao Institute and found the recipe for “Clear Vision Bamboo Spirit Dew.”

The nature of Bamboo Fruit is cold, so it requires another warm and yang-type spirit fruit as the main ingredient to neutralize it.

The Zhu Fruit from the Weapon Dancing Dao Institute was a perfect match.

And the twenty-four auxiliary herbs were even simpler.

The disciple is willing to undertake the task.

For this matter, Chen Mobai made a special trip back to the Tianhe Realm, then came out of seclusion to call his eldest disciple and entrusted the task to him.

Liu Wenbo did not disappoint, and despite the different names of spiritual herbs in the two realms, he managed to collect eighteen types based on Chen Mobai’s hand-drawn patterns and descriptions of their properties.

The remaining six could also be acquired given time.

But Chen Mobai didn’t want to trouble his disciple further.

He went back to the Immortal Gate and spent two hundred thousand Good Deeds to purchase the remaining six types online.

For concocting the “Clear Vision Bamboo Spirit Dew,” Chen Mobai invested over a hundred spirit stones and two hundred thousand Good Deeds on auxiliary herbs alone. Fortunately, the Bamboo Fruit was an unexpected gain, and the Zhu Fruit could be exchanged with academic credits.

Otherwise, in the Tianhe Realm, it would take at least a thousand spirit stones to gather the materials for one concoction.

“The extraction of the medicinal properties of these two main ingredients will take half a month. It seems this year’s holiday is ruined.”

Qing Nv seemed to complain, and Chen Mobai could only offer a sheepish smile.

“It’s no trouble, just help me guide the cultivation of my younger brothers and sisters.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai immediately patted his chest, promising to complete the task.

Kong Feichen and Yang Jing also returned this year, probably summoned by Qing Nv.

“By the way, what’s the best way to handle this ‘Greenwood Spirit Core’?”

After discussing the minor matters, Chen Mobai and Qing Nv moved on to the main topic.

“Clear Vision Bamboo Spirit Dew” was only a second-tier Spirit Water. After the second term at the Sentence Mang Dao Institute, Qing Nv passed the second-tier alchemist assessment, and there was basically no chance of failure in concocting this type of Spirit Water.

But the “Greenwood Spirit Core” was different. Chen Mobai had checked, and in the Immortal Gate, any spiritual object capable of opening the Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness was at least third-tier.

Although Qing Nv was also studying the knowledge of third-tier alchemists, there was still a possibility of failure in concocting third-tier elixirs.

“I’ve checked the records, and it’s actually best to refine and assimilate the Greenwood Spirit Core in its original form. However, with your current Foundation Establishment first layer realm, it’s indeed impossible to perfectly absorb the efficacy of the Greenwood Spirit Core all at once.”

“It just so happens you have an old classmate who cultivated Ice Spirit Power, right? You can absorb a part of it first, then let her cast an Ice Sealing Spell to reseal the opened Greenwood Spirit Core.”

“I’ll prepare a batch of Prime Spirit Water and buy a sealed container. With triple-sealed nurturing, we can ensure that the spirit essence of the Greenwood Spirit Core doesn’t dissipate.”

After listening to Qing Nv’s plan, Chen Mobai couldn’t help but give her a thumbs up.

She was indeed a professional.

There’s no time like the present, and after hearing Qing Nv’s plan, he immediately picked up his phone and called Yan Bingxuan.

“Hello, hello, hello, old classmate, have you returned?”

“I arrived yesterday! Why didn’t you tell me? I would have picked you up at the station.”

“It’s okay, we haven’t seen each other for a long time. How about we go out for a meal together?”

“No one’s a stranger.”

“Alright, see you tonight.”

After making arrangements with the beautiful Yan, Chen Mobai gestured to Qing Nv that everything was settled, completely unaware of the slight twitch at the corner of the beautiful girl’s mouth in front of him.

“By the way, where are your younger brothers and sisters? Do they want to come too? I brought two of the purest tasting Green Blood Carps from my hometown. They’re absolutely a delicacy you’ve never tasted before.”

Chen Mobai’s eldest disciple’s family’s main business was fishing. At the end of the year, his teacher expressed great longing for the taste of Green Blood Carp.

When Liu Wenbo sent New Year’s goods, he specifically brought a tank with nine carps, one of which was even a second-tier Green Blood Carp King.

Qing Nv was initially a bit upset, but thinking of the delicious fish Chen Mobai had brought before, she swallowed her saliva and nodded involuntarily.

【At least he remembers I like to eat fish!】

Two carps seemed just enough for five people, so Chen Mobai didn’t call anyone else.

“Eh, class president, why are you here?”

When Yan Bingxuan arrived, she brought Mo Simin with her, and Chen Mobai wondered if there would be enough to eat.

“Just on the way.”

Mo Simin saw Chen Mobai and Qing Nv already seated, and her mouth twitched too, but she didn’t trust her simple-minded best friend Yan Bingxuan to go into battle alone. With a “if I don’t enter hell, who will” attitude, she resolutely followed.

“Alright then, boss, serve the dishes.”After all, he was an old classmate, Chen Mobai wouldn’t send anyone away. It was still the same restaurant they had eaten at when they parted ways four years ago. He had already sent two Bi Xue carp to the restaurant, and now they were grilled to perfection.

“Where are your brother and sister? Why haven’t they come over yet?”

After the dishes were served, Chen Mobai, not seeing Kong Feichen and Yang Jing, asked Qing Nv who was beside him.

“They got held up by some matters, but they’ll be here soon.”

The wait turned out to be half an hour, and by the time Chen Mobai and the others had finished one of the carps, the two arrived.

“Hurry up, we’ve been waiting for you. Luckily, I had the foresight to save one.”

A year had passed, and Kong Feichen had become even more mature. Dressed in a white coat and sporting a middle-parted hairstyle, he greeted everyone upon arrival before sitting down.

Yang Jing was different; he sat down without a word and started eating right away.

“Didn’t they say that those with an unusual spiritual root have a high success rate in Foundation Establishment? How did you fail?”

Chen Mobai bluntly brought up the sensitive topic, causing Kong Feichen to glare at him. The delicacy in his mouth suddenly lost its flavor.

“He has a knot in his heart, or in ancient terms, a demon in his heart. Without breaking the demon, he cannot advance further.”

Qing Nv didn’t hide anything, quickly picking at the fish while talking about her brother’s issues.

“A heart demon?”

Chen Mobai glanced at Yang Jing, who had been eating non-stop since sitting down.

“It’s pretty much what you’re thinking, so we might need your help.”

“How can I help?”

Not to mention his relationship with Qing Nv, Kong Feichen had also run errands for them a couple of times over the past two years, so it was only right for him to help.

“Let’s talk about it later, let’s eat first.”

After saying this, Qing Nv bowed her head and started attacking the fish again.

“The taste of this fish is even better than last time.”

After finishing her meal, Yan Bingxuan elegantly put down her chopsticks and wiped her mouth.

“That’s for sure, it’s a specialty of my hometown, not found anywhere else.”

“I’ve been to your hometown, and there’s no such fish there.”

“Eh?”

Hearing this, Chen Mobai showed a look of surprise. He stared blankly at Yan Bingxuan, not understanding how someone could travel so far just for a fish.

“Really?”

Everyone was shocked by Yan Bingxuan’s words and stopped their chopsticks, with Mo Simin unable to help but ask.

“During the second year’s holiday, I came back, but none of you were around, and I didn’t know how to pass the time, so I went on a spontaneous trip and visited Qingshan Village. Their wine is good, but they don’t have this kind of fish.”

Yan Bingxuan’s clear gaze was fixed on Chen Mobai, who couldn’t help but look away, but quickly came up with an excuse.

“I didn’t make it clear. The Tai Xu mountain range is vast. In fact, three mountains away from Qingshan Village, there is a lake that connects directly to an underground river, and the fish that live there are the ones we’re eating.”

“Take me there when you have time.”

“Sure… but I’ll be busy with Qing Nv making Qing Mu Bamboo Spirit Dew for the next while, so it might be half a month before I’m free.”

As he said this, Chen Mobai pretended to be overwhelmed, shaking his head and sighing.

“Oh, is that so.”

When she said this, Yan Bingxuan’s tone didn’t fluctuate, but Chen Mobai felt inexplicably guilty.

“Really, I’m not lying to you. I actually need your help to freeze a spiritual herb.”

“Is that so? Then okay, I’ll help you.”

Chen Mobai couldn’t tell if it was an illusion, but he felt that Yan Bingxuan’s last sentence revealed a different kind of emotion.

Qing Nv just wanted to say one thing.

[What does alchemy have to do with you guys? I’m enough on my own, are you just here to cause trouble?!]

But considering Chen Mobai might have difficulties, she pouted and went back to eating her fish.

Kong Feichen clenched his fists tightly; if he didn’t know he couldn’t win, he would have been tempted to start a fight.

After settling the bill, everyone went their separate ways.

When Chen Mobai got home, his parents were sitting in the living room watching TV.

“Son, your uncle is arriving tomorrow night. Go pick him up from the airport, and then call your aunt’s family over. We’ll all have dinner together.”

“Alright, Mom, do you have any plans to go back to Qingshan Village recently?”

“No, why?”

Chen Mobai shook his head to indicate it was nothing; he couldn’t very well say he needed to set up the scene to prove that the Bi Xue carp really was a specialty of the Tai Xu mountain range.

Forget it, he’d take it one step at a time. If worst came to worst, he’d just say he had to go back to school early for some reason and really didn’t have the time.

Thinking this, Chen Mobai returned to his room.

Strangely enough, after his Foundation Establishment and return to his hometown, those annoying paparazzi had disappeared without a trace, not one appearing before him.

Perhaps this was the benefit of reaching a higher realm.

With that thought, Chen Mobai sat cross-legged on his bed, holding a spirit stone and began cultivating his Pure Yang Body.

Today was the day he would complete the Three Yang Body.

In the middle of the night, after the spirit stone in his palm had dried up, Chen Mobai completed his cultivation, the tri-colored spiritual light within him receded, and he opened his eyes.

[Spiritual Root: Gold 23, Wood 31, Water 21, Fire 44, Earth 10]

Looking at the results displayed on the spirit testing device’s screen, Chen Mobai couldn’t help but sigh.

At last, there was something worth seeing.

Thanks to eating Jade Bamboo Shoots, his Wood spiritual root had increased again previously.

However, after raising his Wood spiritual root to 33 points, the Jade Bamboo Shoots had no more effect on him; it seemed he had reached a bottleneck. This time, after completing the Three Yang Body, he lost two points again, and he wondered if he could recover them by eating more shoots.

As for the Water spiritual root, there was no need to think about it; the Bi Xue carp had been ineffective for him a long time ago, and after completing the Three Yang Body, this aspect of his spiritual root value plummeted.

Once he reached the Four Yang realm, it would fall below 20.However, this meant that he had once again returned to the realm of a true spiritual root, which could be considered good news that wasn’t exactly good news.

But the best news was that he could now attempt to establish his Foundation with the Pure Yang manual.

With the high vantage point of his current Foundation Establishment realm, revisiting the Qi Refining chapter of the Pure Yang manual was a breeze. In just half a year, he had brought his Pure Yang spiritual power to the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining.

Had it not been for waiting for the completion of his Tri-Yang constitution, he could have already lifted the critical threshold and started the dual-phase rotation.

But this was also good; it was the perfect opportunity to give a live demonstration of Foundation Establishment.

The next day, Chen Mobai went to the airport to pick up Chen Baolan, and then met up with his aunt’s family, celebrating his successful Foundation Establishment.

After the family celebration, the principal of Immortal Gate Fifth High School paid a visit.

Naturally, he wanted to invite Chen Mobai, the well-known alumnus, to take a few photos and, while at it, ask for a handwritten inscription to hang on a banner.

There was no delaying it; he could only go with a wry smile.

With the principal’s arrangements, reporters finally dared to take photos.

On the walls of the corridors of Immortal Gate Fifth High School, there was now a photo of Chen Mobai gazing into the distance.

After the news spread, his former classmates, who knew that he had been admitted to the Dance Instrument Academy and had successfully established his Foundation, and that he would return home in glory this year, couldn’t help but invite Chen Mobai to catch up.

With no other choice, he had Mo Simin, the old class president, help organize a gathering.

It was still at the restaurant where they had their graduation dinner. Chen Mobai and his group ran into Gong Xiangyu and his group; it was an old classmates’ dinner, naturally centered around Qing Nv, the heavenly spiritual root of the Sentence Mang Academy.

“Eh, what a coincidence.”

Gong Xiangyu’s face was a mix of green and red. He knew he couldn’t confront Chen Mobai, a true Foundation Establishment cultivator, face to face, but with so many classmates behind him and being the organizer, he couldn’t back down.

“Right, don’t forget to come over tomorrow. I’ll be waiting for you at the usual place.”

Just as he was about to step forward and respond, a crisp voice rang out from behind.

Without turning around, he knew it was Qing Nv’s voice.

At that moment, Gong Xiangyu realized that he no longer had the qualifications to speak with Chen Mobai.

“Do you want me to come and help tomorrow?”

The one asking was Yan Bingxuan, who stood beside Chen Mobai. He had mentioned a few days ago that he needed her help with something.

“That works.”

Chen Mobai seemed to agree somewhat reluctantly.

Witnessing this scene, everyone had only one thought in their minds.

Is this what a winner in life looks like?

Damn, how envious!