Chapter 162: Flying Artifact

Water Mansion.

Chen Mobai looked at the green paulownia seedling on his desk. In this place abundant with spiritual energy, this spiritual wood had already grown its third leaf. It was just about the same as the jasper parasol tree he visualized in his Sea of Consciousness.

The effect of the "Fire Cleansing Pill" was indeed extraordinary. After Chen Mobai took one pill, his originally stable spiritual sense grew by a fifth, and the third green sprout of the paulownia seedling he was visualizing rapidly unfurled and matured under the pill's amplified power. His spiritual sense directly broke through a level, advancing early to a state equivalent to an eighth-level Qi Cultivator. Now, his spiritual sense could not only observe his dantian and Qi Sea, but also extend to his internal organs. However, it still wasn't strong enough to trace along all the meridians and inspect every corner of his body.

The "Fire Cleansing Pill" was so miraculous that Chen Mobai was tempted to swallow and refine the entire bottle that Qing Nü had given him. Unfortunately, although the pill had no side effects, it could only be taken once every seven days. Chen Mobai could only suppress his inner excitement and watered the green paulownia seedling.

This spiritual wood could continuously grow as long as it was placed in a place with spiritual energy. He hadn't moved it since bringing it to the Water Mansion. However, its growth was indeed very slow; it had only grown one additional leaf in a whole year. Chen Mobai wondered if he should transplant it from its pot into the pile of red soil in the side hall. But after thinking about it, he decided not to risk damaging the jade bamboo's growth environment by forcefully transplanting a new spiritual wood.

Just as Chen Mobai was preparing to return to the Immortal Sect, suddenly, there was a disturbance in the Azure Water Formation. The entire formation seemed to ripple slightly, as if someone was knocking on it. Chen Mobai was startled and immediately rushed out of his study, picking up a formation flag in one hand and his phone in the other. He thought it might be the Nanshan Bandits coming for him, but being protected by a second-tier grand formation, and knowing the formation's spiritual power source was a high-grade spirit stone, he felt confident and didn't directly retreat to the Immortal Sect to hide.

"Who's there?" Chen Mobai held the formation flag and walked out of the Water Mansion's main gate. Through the thick water ripples on the lake, he could only see a blurry figure standing on the water's surface. The person seemed to have a way to see Chen Mobai through the formation's barrier and sent a voice transmission talisman towards him. Chen Mobai initially didn't want the talisman to enter the formation, but he found its design a bit familiar. "Why is it identical to the voice transmission talisman Yuan Chiye used before?" He thought of something else and immediately waved the formation flag to receive the talisman.

The talisman's message read: "We're just waiting for you here. We're heading back to Giant Wood Ridge tomorrow. Have you regretted joining our sect?" Indeed, it was a true disciple of the Divine Wood Sect. Chen Mobai slapped his forehead. He had never imagined that people from the Divine Wood Sect would be the first to seek him out. Waving the formation flag to part the water, he stood inside the mansion and looked at the person on the lake. It was Senior Sister Ding, who appeared quite young.

"I apologize, Senior Sister. I was pursued by the Nanshan Bandits recently and only managed to escape back here with great difficulty. I was afraid of being ambushed on the way back to the market, so I didn't dare to leave." Once Chen Mobai confirmed it was a true disciple of the Divine Wood Sect, he immediately began to lament his misfortune. Ding Ying listened, tilted her head, smiled, then brought out her right hand from behind her back and tossed two severed heads she was carrying in front of Chen Mobai.

"This..." Chen Mobai looked closely and saw that they were indeed two of the Nanshan Bandits who had pursued him. One of them was He Qun, whose eyes were wide open, dying with unfulfilled wishes. "Thank you, Senior Sister Ding, for standing up for me. Words cannot express my gratitude. Please don't hesitate to command me if there's anything I can do for the sect in the future." Chen Mobai was overwhelmed with gratitude; at least he had made his stance clear. However, Ding Ying, opposite him, waved her hand, indicating it wasn't her achievement.

"It was Senior Brother E who personally intervened to eliminate your troubles. However, Lei Tao, their leader, had a precious second-tier, mid-grade spiritual talisman and managed to escape with his life," she explained. "But you don't need to worry about Lei Tao coming back for revenge. Senior Brother E is someone who highly values his reputation. After Lei Tao escaped from him, it actually piqued his competitive spirit. It seems Senior Brother E considers this matter his final worldly engagement before establishing his foundation, and he's currently pursuing the Nanshan Bandit leader across a thousand miles."

Chen Mobai was utterly dumbfounded after hearing this. Although he knew that joining a major sect meant enjoying the benefits of being under a big tree, he never expected that Senior Brother E Yun, the third-ranked true disciple, would personally eliminate his troubles. Nevertheless, this was certainly a good thing. Before, he had been thinking of crossing the Yun Kingdom to get to Giant Wood Ridge, but now it was fine; he could just follow the main group. "Thank you for your assistance, Senior Brother E." Chen Mobai bowed towards the empty space, ensuring he fulfilled all the proper courtesies.

"Hurry up and pack your things and come with me. Everyone else arrived at Nanxi Market three or four days ago. If your spiritual root talent wasn't exceptional, I definitely wouldn't have made a special trip to inform you." Ding Ying rolled her eyes, as if implying Chen Mobai shouldn't have made her work so hard. "Yes, Senior Sister Ding." Chen Mobai didn't think of inviting Ding Ying into the Water Mansion for tea, as there were many valuable items inside, and it was best not to reveal them to outsiders. After coming down, he only grabbed his backpack, then immediately closed the Water Mansion and set the Azure Water Formation to its maximum power.

"Let's go." Ding Ying didn't care what Chen Mobai's dwelling looked like. After seeing him come up, she took out a green leaf from her waist storage bag. She pursed her cherry lips and gently blew. The green leaf grew with the wind, transforming into a green boat. "Get on." Ding Ying leaped onto it first. Chen Mobai initially thought it was a magical artifact for crossing the lake, but once he got on, he realized he had underestimated it. This green leaf boat actually carried both of them into the air. It was fortunate that he wasn't afraid of heights and had taken an airplane before. After taking a couple of deep breaths in mid-air, he got used to the sensation of suddenly flying.

Ding Ying looked at this scene with a strange expression. One should know that even among the true disciples of the Divine Wood Sect, not everyone possessed a flying artifact. A cultivator flying for the first time would at least be so scared their body would tremble. For someone as composed as Chen Mobai, could it be that he had experienced flying artifacts before? But she was too lazy to ponder it further. Chen Mobai, also afraid of saying too much and making mistakes, kept his mouth shut throughout the journey. The two traveled in silence, and after about half an hour, they landed within the vicinity of Nanxi Market.

Ding Ying retracted the green leaf boat in advance and landed on a barren mountain in front of the market. "Don't reveal that I have a flying artifact." After saying this, she led the way towards the market. "Yes, Senior Sister Ding." Chen Mobai immediately nodded in affirmation and followed her.

Indeed, Nanxi Market now had many unfamiliar rogue cultivators. These were the new batch of disciples recruited into the Divine Wood Sect's mountain gate by Yuan Chiye and Ding Ying after the spiritual root assessment in the Yun Kingdom over the past month. Chen Mobai counted, and there were roughly close to a hundred people. Among them, they were clearly divided into four groups, standing in the central plaza of the market. Seeing him approach, one of the groups immediately surrounded him. "Senior Brother Chen, you've finally arrived."