Chapter 161: Taking the Cool Fire Pill

Chen Mobai opened his eyes. He picked up his phone, which he had set aside, and opened the spiritual energy measurement app.

The spiritual energy reading was 89. "How is this possible? This value is already characteristic of a high-grade second-tier spiritual vein."

Chen Mobai thought the software was malfunctioning. After restarting his phone and placing it on his crossed legs, he measured again. This time, the reading actually increased by two points. His eyes widened. He immediately stood up, phone in hand, and walked a circuit around the side hall designated for cultivation.

He eventually discovered that the closer he got to the meditation mat, the higher the spiritual energy reading. The peak value was almost 100.

"Could this meditation mat be a treasure?" Chen Mobai murmured to himself. Not daring to delay, he carefully picked up the mat. He then placed it on the floor of the main hall outside and measured again with his phone. The spiritual energy reading was 60.

It wasn't the mat. That meant there was something mysterious within the side hall itself. After systematically controlling variables and verifying, Chen Mobai realized he was close to the truth.

He returned to the side hall, placed his phone where the meditation mat had been, and measured the spiritual energy. The reading was 93.

"This is it," Chen Mobai confirmed. The abundant spiritual energy, nearly at the third-tier level, was emanating from this exact spot. It was clear that Liu Lengpei knew about this, which was why he had placed the meditation mat there. It was even possible that this cultivation room had been specifically created for this purpose.

So, what was the reason? What caused the spiritual energy to be so dense in this place?

Driven by a spirit of exploration, Chen Mobai gently extended a finger and tapped the floor tile at that spot. *Thump-thump-thump, rap-rap-rap...* He found a hollow-sounding floor tile and lifted it with a Spirit-Grasping Art.

In an instant, an even more abundant and powerful surge of spiritual energy gushed forth, even transforming into a visible white mist that rose like a spiritual serpent. Chen Mobai lifted his phone to look at the screen. The spiritual energy reading was 112.

It had actually reached the low-grade third-tier level. Could this be the source of the entire water mansion's spiritual vein?

He squatted down. After the white spiritual mist dissipated and the spiritual energy reading dropped back to the second-tier level, Chen Mobai finally saw the full view beneath the floor tile. It was a hollow space containing a palm-sized, round black iron plate. Embedded in the center of the iron plate was a crystal-clear spiritual stone.

Chen Mobai recognized it; this iron plate must be the core array plate of the Azure Water Array. He hadn't expected it to be hidden here. The Azure Water Array had a "spirit-gathering" effect, but even so, it couldn't cause a mere second-tier spiritual vein to jump to a third-tier spiritual energy concentration. The reason had to be the spiritual stone embedded in the array plate.

After confirming the array plate was fine, Chen Mobai reached out and placed his hand on the clear spiritual stone, within which faint seven-colored light could be seen flowing. The moment he touched it, he felt an astonishing sensation. A powerful spiritual energy, unlike anything he had ever felt before, surged into the meridians and acupoints of his arm, causing the skin on his arm to redden. This was a phenomenon caused by his body's inability to withstand such potent spiritual energy.

Chen Mobai immediately released his grip, feeling the numbness in his arm's meridians after being saturated with the powerful spiritual energy. He gazed intently at the spiritual stone embedded in the array plate. If he wasn't mistaken, this had to be a high-grade spiritual stone. Only the spiritual energy contained within a high-grade spiritual stone could be so potent. After all, one high-grade spiritual stone was equivalent to ten thousand low-grade spiritual stones.

This meant that the source of the water mansion's spiritual vein, and even the spiritual energy powering the Azure Water Array, originated from this high-grade spiritual stone embedded in the array plate. "Just for some fish and bamboo shoots, was it really necessary to invest such a huge amount?"

Given Liu Lengpei's status, he certainly couldn't have applied for resources like a high-grade spiritual stone. Only that gluttonous Golden Core Perfected Person from the Five Elements Sect could have provided a high-grade spiritual stone specifically to create an environment suitable for raising Azureblood Carp and Jade Bamboo Shoots in Biyun Lake.

Chen Mobai hesitated for a long time, but in the end, he replaced the floor tile. He really wanted to pry out the high-grade spiritual stone, but doing so would essentially render the entire water mansion useless. He estimated that the jade bamboos in the adjacent side hall would also stop growing due to insufficient spiritual energy, and the power of the entire Azure Water Array would sharply diminish without its spiritual energy source. He had some attachment to this water mansion and couldn't bear to ruin it like that.

There was also another primary reason: this high-grade spiritual stone had already been activated, and its spiritual energy was continuously leaking out. However, due to the restraint of the Azure Water Array's plate, the rate of this leakage was kept within a controlled range, creating a beneficial interaction with the water veins of the entire Azure Wave Lake. Perhaps in a hundred years, it might truly foster a high-grade second-tier spiritual vein.

If Chen Mobai were to pry this high-grade spiritual stone from the array plate, it would lose the restraint of the entire Azure Water Array, making it like carrying a portable spiritual vein. Walking around, especially in an environment like the Celestial River Realm, would be like openly declaring to rogue cultivators that he possessed a great treasure, inviting them to quickly come and ambush him.

"I need to go back and check some records to see if there's a way to re-seal this activated high-grade spiritual stone," he muttered to himself.

Muttering to himself, Chen Mobai brought the meditation mat back in and placed it over the array plate. He sat down cross-legged and took a bottle of Qi Replenishing Spiritual Water. Spiritual energy, more concentrated and pure than before, continuously surged from beneath him. He refined it using the Five Elements Art cultivation path, integrating it into the large spiritual energy vortex within his Dantian Qihai.

Half a day later, after completing his Five Elements Art cultivation, Chen Mobai once again activated the transformation method taught by the Crimson Robe Perfected Person, beginning to convert the Five Elements Art spiritual power into Pure Yang Scroll spiritual power. During this process, he found that the efficiency had indeed improved compared to before. The increase in his Fire Spiritual Root significantly sped up his conversion of Five Elements spiritual power.

Almost two more hours passed before Chen Mobai slowly concluded his cultivation. Feeling his Five Elements Art cultivation maintaining at the seventh layer of Qi Condensation, he contentedly took out the "Fire Cleansing Pill" refined by Qing Nü. This was one of the very few spiritual pills in the immortal sect that could enhance the divine sense of Qi Condensation cultivators.

Qing Nü had long since informed him of all the taboos and refining methods for taking the pill. After mentally reviewing them and ensuring his mind and body were in peak condition, Chen Mobai opened the bottle and poured out one pill. It was a jade-green pill. However, it was originally pure white; Qing Nü knew Chen Mobai disliked the taste of medicine, so after refining it, she deliberately coated it with a layer of sugar, which sealed the medicinal taste and improved its otherwise ordinary texture. Chen Mobai, of course, was unaware of this. He merely felt that the name "Fire Cleansing Pill" was indeed apt, given its green color.

He opened his mouth and took the pill, swallowing it with warm water he had brought from home. The medicinal properties of the Fire Cleansing Pill needed to slowly take effect on an empty stomach within half an hour. Chen Mobai closed his eyes and used his divine sense to carefully observe.

Before long, he felt waves of cool energy rising from his abdomen, surging into his heart region. After being refined by his heart fire, it then seeped into his Sea of Consciousness. The Mind Nurturing and Spirit Forging Art began to operate. During his meditation, the young Qingtong sapling, which originally had only two tender leaves, seemed to be nourished by a fine drizzle, and another green sprout unfurled.