Chapter 175: Chopping Sword Technique

Over two thousand Red Sunwood logs piled at the entrance immediately captured the attention of all the disciples in New Sprout Hall. Chen Mobai saw Zhuo Ming, Yu Lian, and the Luo siblings emerge from their rooms, all staring at the scene in disbelief.

Even Yuan Chiye was a little stunned. If he had personally done the cutting, he couldn't have gathered so much firewood overnight. Such speed and efficiency could probably only be achieved by a Foundation Establishment stage elder, especially one who had cultivated spells specifically for cutting wood. *Was it purchased with spirit stones from the sect's market?* But Yuan Chiye immediately shook his head. Why dwell on such details? His job was simply to collect the Red Sunwood logs; as long as the quantity was sufficient, that was all that mattered.

After counting and confirming the quantity, Yuan Chiye immediately approved Chen Mobai's request to resume secluded cultivation.

"Junior Brother Chen, could you tell us about your source?" As Chen Mobai was about to slip away back to his room, he was suddenly stopped by the Luo siblings. Luo Yixiu asked with a serious expression.

"What source are you referring to?" Chen Mobai felt utterly baffled.

"Since Junior Brother Chen is unwilling to share, then never mind." Luo Yixiu frowned slightly, directly expressing his displeasure at Chen Mobai's feigned ignorance.

*This pampered noble is annoying!* Just as Chen Mobai was about to turn and leave, Liu Wenbai suddenly approached with a few people.

"Senior Brother Luo, don't you have your own source for buying Red Sunwood logs? Why are you still asking Senior Brother Chen?"

"What do you mean by that?" Luo Yixiu's expression darkened slightly upon hearing Liu Wenbai's words.

"Senior Brother Luo, some things are better left unsaid directly, lest we make things difficult for Senior Brother Yuan." Liu Wenbai spoke calmly, and Yuan Chiye, who was nearby, cast an approving look in his direction.

"Excellent!"

Although Luo Yixiu believed he would one day become a true disciple, he was still just a newly admitted student. In Yuan Chiye's presence, he dared not be overly presumptuous.

After the Luo siblings left, Zhuo Ming and the others, who had been observing, also approached, expressing their resolve to stand with Chen Mobai and Liu Wenbai. Chen Mobai hadn't expected anything from them, but his favorable impression of Liu Wenbai significantly increased.

"Can you actually buy Red Sunwood logs to fulfill the quota?" To express his gratitude, Chen Mobai spoke while inviting Liu Wenbai into his room for tea. Zhuo Ming and the others also unashamedly followed them inside.

"Yes, the Luo siblings and I have both purchased firewood from the sect's market and submitted it to Senior Brother Yuan." Liu Wenbai nodded, admitting it without concealment.

"What was the price?" Zhuo Ming, who was nearby, couldn't help but ask. She had recently switched to cultivating the Longevity Scripture, and her cultivation realm hadn't fully recovered, making her woodcutting efficiency less than ideal. She was still short several hundred logs.

"Five hundred logs for one low-grade spirit stone." Upon hearing this, Zhuo Ming's face showed clear heartache. She decided it would be better to work harder herself, getting up early and staying up late to cut the wood. She also inwardly cursed, thinking how wealthy these aristocratic disciples were, unwilling to even cut wood and instead buying it with precious spirit stones.

"Senior Brother Chen, if we go to the market to buy Red Sunwood, we can only get enough for about two days at most. How did you manage to acquire so much at once?" Liu Wenbai, too, couldn't help but ask Chen Mobai out of curiosity.

*I cut this myself!* But no one would believe that. If he had to prove it, he would need to reveal mechanical artifacts like his chainsaw, which could expose his home planet. Chen Mobai could only maintain a profound expression.

"I have my own channels, but I cannot disclose them."

"In that case, Senior Brother, could you purchase some on my behalf? I don't need much, just enough for seven days." As he spoke, Liu Wenbai took out five spirit stones and placed them on the table.

Chen Mobai paused, silent. In other words, if he helped cut wood for just one night, he could earn five spirit stones. Five for one night! The pay seemed quite good! But Chen Mobai quickly sobered up. He didn't immediately agree, but he didn't refuse either, remembering the favor of Liu Wenbai giving him the handwritten copy of the Longevity Scripture.

"I'll help you make the connection, but whether it works out depends on their willingness. However, I'll do my best to facilitate it for you." Chen Mobai's words were perfectly watertight, making it seem as if a real seller provided him with Red Sunwood.

"In that case, I'll trouble Senior Brother Chen." Chen Mobai stated it was no trouble, returned the five spirit stones on the table to Liu Wenbai, and then exited, acting as if he truly were going to negotiate a business deal.

"Go follow him and see who he's meeting." Luo Yixiu saw Chen Mobai leave and instructed a junior disciple nearby.

"He's in the late Qi Condensation stage; if you try to follow him, you'll easily be discovered." Luo Yixuan stopped the junior disciple who was about to leave and then took an invisibility talisman from her storage pouch. "Take this with you."

"Understood."

Chen Mobai walked a circle in the forest and secretly activated a Spirit-Seeking Talisman. This was a Tier 1 talisman specifically used by the Immortal Sect to locate living beings by targeting biological magnetic fields, rendering invisibility ineffective against it. He immediately detected three people nearby. Although he didn't know if all three were following him, he proceeded as if they were.

After leading them around for half an hour, Chen Mobai returned to New Sprout Hall and shook his head apologetically at Liu Wenbai. He stated that he had bought out all the seller's stock and there would be no Red Sunwood logs available anytime soon. Although Liu Wenbai looked disappointed, he courteously expressed his gratitude.

"What? You didn't see him meet anyone?" Luo Yixiu's eyes widened in disbelief as he heard the report from the person in front of him.

"Alright, you're dismissed." Luo Yixuan waved her hand, dismissing the person. Once only the siblings remained, Luo Yixiu no longer concealed his emotions.

"How useless. It's a shame we can't bring our family retainers here; otherwise, why would we tolerate these useless rogue cultivators?"

"After all, those who can enter the Divine Wood Sect are all cultivators aspiring to Foundation Establishment. They aren't like our family retainers, who would allow us to order them around." Luo Yixuan also wore a helpless expression.

"Where did this 'Chen Turtle Immortal' get so much Red Sunwood? Didn't that person say the Earth Fire Hall only has a daily deficit of about a thousand logs at most?"

The Earth Fire Hall! It was the Divine Wood Sect's dedicated place for alchemy and artifact refining. All the Red Sunwood logs gathered daily by the newly admitted disciples were sent there by Yuan Chiye. The consumption of Red Sunwood during alchemy and artifact refining fluctuated, leading to occasional deficits. These logs, which should have been recorded as burned, were then circulated through internal channels to the Divine Wood Sect's market. Some cultivators specializing in alchemy and artifact refining would purchase them. However, Luo Yixiu had learned of this beforehand through his family's elders in the Divine Wood Sect. He had spent spirit stones to buy these excess Red Sunwood logs, allowing him and his sister more time for cultivation.

"That's a minor detail. The real question is, how did Liu Wenbai know about this?"

"He's from the Liu family, after all; it's normal for him to have some connections."

As the Luo siblings discussed, Liu Wenbai also shared his unwitting discovery.

"You mean, the Red Sunwood logs the Luo siblings submitted to Senior Brother Yuan that day had marks you made while cutting wood?"

"Precisely. It was from that moment that I realized Senior Brother Yuan was also aware. Later, I secretly made contact. Unfortunately, the senior brother I spoke with at the Earth Fire Hall told me that this was the maximum quota they could manage each day." Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai couldn't help but marvel. However, if even the Immortal Sect couldn't prevent corruption, it was even less likely for the Divine Wood Sect.

"By the way, after Senior Brother Chen finishes cutting wood, which of the sect's Three Halls and Twelve Divisions do you plan to join?" Liu Wenbai suddenly posed a question.

"Cultivating spirit fields." Chen Mobai didn't hesitate, announcing a choice that surprised Liu Wenbai and the others. They didn't know that Chen Mobai's sole remaining goal after infiltrating the Divine Wood Sect was the Foundation Establishment Pill, and all he wanted next was to be left undisturbed.

"I truly envy Senior Brother Chen's carefree approach. Unfortunately, I have a family mission that requires me to strive and immerse myself within the sect's halls, paving the way for future generations of my family." Liu Wenbai gave a bitter smile, then bid farewell to Chen Mobai and left.

That evening, Chen Mobai quietly left New Sprout Hall again, but as he prepared to head to the Red Sunwood forest to cut wood, he discovered someone trailing him. He frowned, circled back, and returned.

About fifteen minutes later, Chen Mobai saw Yu Lian enter from outside. Yu Lian hesitated, then surprisingly walked directly towards him.

"If you have any extra Red Sunwood, I am willing to buy it at double the market price." After saying this, Yu Lian turned and walked into his room.

*It felt as if cutting wood was quite profitable.* Chen Mobai realized that his investment of over eight hundred merit points could potentially yield a massive return, dozens of times his initial outlay.

He left again, and this time, finally, no one was following him.

Giant Wood Ridge was vast and sparsely populated; there wasn't much there except an abundance of trees—so many that every year, the Divine Wood Sect had to issue missions to fell various kinds of spiritual wood for cultivating spirit fields. Red Sunwood trees, in particular, were the most numerous and fastest-growing spiritual wood. Yuan Chiye didn't restrict where the new disciples could cut wood, as long as they submitted their required quota.

Previously, Chen Mobai had chosen the area closest to New Sprout Hall, but now, to avoid attracting attention, he had to venture a bit farther. The woodcutting area he chose was twice as far out as Zhuo Ming and the others' usual range, specifically to avoid being discovered by anyone familiar. This, however, would make transportation inconvenient. But Chen Mobai had already devised a solution. Fueled by the motivation to earn spirit stones, he pulled the chainsaw with even greater vigor. For two full days and two nights, without rest, wood chips flew everywhere.

On the evening of the second day, Liu Wenbai received Chen Mobai's sound transmission talisman and guiding talisman, and he hurried over with a few junior disciples. Upon seeing the mountains of ten thousand Red Sunwood logs, he couldn't help but gape.

"While I was cutting wood in this forest, I happened to encounter a senior cultivating his sword art with Red Sunwood..." Chen Mobai fabricated a highly plausible explanation.

After Liu Wenbai heard this, he looked at the neatly sawn tree stumps nearby, which looked as if they had been cut by a chainsaw. He then examined each piece of firewood, noting their remarkably uniform, super-standard size, as if they had been precisely measured before cutting. He immediately believed Chen Mobai's words without a doubt. *That senior's sword art for cutting wood is truly remarkable.*