Chapter 20: Peace and Tranquility

Upon checking, Mr. Shi immediately frowned.

“It actually shows it’s not within the Immortal Sect’s territory?”

He reported this result to the boss, who usually remained calm and unperturbed. The boss was momentarily stunned, almost thinking this subordinate was playing a trick on him.

“Our satellite authority can only locate the Immortal Sect’s grotto-heavens and blessed lands. Since we can’t find the address, it must be outside the Immortal Sect’s domain,” Shi explained.

After Shi finished speaking, the boss nodded slightly.

“Alright, I understand. Keep a constant eye on this account, and notify me immediately if there’s any other news.”

Before they could be 100% sure it was a Spirit Transformation Ancestor, they dared not disturb the Nascent Soul Venerable who was in seclusion. They could only proceed this way for now.

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in unison.

***

Chen Mobai was still worried that the “assisted cultivation” service provider might pinpoint his location, attracting cultivators from the Immortal Sect’s public security department for questioning.

It wasn't until two days passed with no one approaching him that he finally relaxed.

That evening, Chen Mobai entered the water mansion again. Feeling the pure spiritual energy permeating the surroundings, he nodded in satisfaction.

Thanks to this second-tier treasure land and his diligent efforts, his cultivation realm steadily improved.

At his current rate of progress, he should be able to attempt breaking through to the sixth level of Qi Condensation in about two more months.

However, this pace was still somewhat insufficient for him.

In his class, Song Zheng and Yan Bingxuan had already reached the seventh level of Qi Condensation. Across the entire grade, there were twelve students at this level, all of whom had already secured early admission to the two local major academies.

Compared to them, Chen Mobai, at the fifth level of Qi Condensation, was completely outmatched.

Not to mention, there were also three academic prodigies at the eighth level of Qi Condensation, who were geniuses with the potential to enter the Four Great Daoist Academies.

And expanding the scope to the entire Danxia City, counting both private and public schools, the number of geniuses was countless.

The Heavenly Spiritual Root holder from the Immortal Sect's First High School was already a given; they had been internally designated by Goumang Daoist Academy upon admission. Additionally, two other geniuses with Variant Spiritual Roots had received exemption from examination notices from the Academy of Nature.

It was rumored that some other high schools even had students at the ninth level of Qi Condensation, but many were hiding their true capabilities, waiting to make a stunning debut during the college entrance examination to be selected by the Four Great Daoist Academies.

“If only my spiritual root talent were better,” Chen Mobai sighed.

Chen Mobai sighed. Although the Immortal Sect’s core principle was “man can conquer heaven”—meaning as long as one possessed outstanding comprehension, astonishing luck, made contributions in pioneering wars, and received rewards from the higher echelons, they could directly transform into a Heavenly Spiritual Root holder, then rapidly advance and become an esteemed ancestor—such stories were broadcast daily on television, but those who truly achieved it were few and far between.

While lamenting, he picked up his chopsticks and put the chilled fish slices next to him into his mouth.

The cool, refreshing sensation left him very satisfied.

He took out his last spiritual power test strip and measured his spiritual root attribute. Sure enough, his water spiritual root had increased by 2 points, though temporarily.

This was the last blue carp he had caught near the water mansion.

He had probably fished too aggressively recently, as no blue carp dared to come within a one-mile radius of this area. This one was still from yesterday, kept chilled until now.

Chen Mobai didn’t feel it was a pity, as these blue carp were delicious and had also improved his spiritual root attribute.

He didn’t waste the fish meat’s efficacy. While his spiritual root was enhanced, he planned to begin cultivating the Five Elements Art.

Ultimately, he still didn’t switch to cultivating the Black Water Art. Besides his water spiritual root points not reaching 33, it was also because this Black Water Art had no subsequent stages.

Although the Five Elements Art was quite ordinary, the spiritual power cultivated from it was balanced and harmonious, allowing for seamless transition to any other cultivation method. Furthermore, if one didn’t mind its weak combat ability, they could use points to exchange for the Five Elements Art’s Foundation Establishment and Core Formation chapters at the Immortal Sect’s National Library.

Historically, the one who cultivated the Five Elements Art to its highest realm was a Nascent Soul Venerable named Qingping from Butian Daoist Academy.

However, after Venerable Qingping broke through to the Nascent Soul stage with the Five Elements Art, he immediately switched to cultivating other methods.

Because at the same realm, he couldn’t defeat anyone.

Chen Mobai recalled the legend of Venerable Qingping’s fondness for picking on weaker opponents. Before cultivating his art, he unexpectedly picked up his phone, opened the assisted cultivation app, and typed “Five Elements Art” into the search bar at the top.

After typing “Five Elements Art,” he remembered that his phone couldn’t receive any signal at all in this water mansion.

He couldn’t help but let out a self-deprecating smile, about to put his phone down and focus on cultivation.

Suddenly, a loading circle appeared on the screen. Then, with a flash, the circle transformed into a tortoise shell, eventually filling the entire interface, as if it had connected to a signal. Over ten thousand pages of search results instantly appeared.

“This…”

Chen Mobai felt a little parched, because on the very first result of the first page, the main title was:

Guaranteed to Teach, Guaranteed to Learn: All Cultivation Insights for Breaking Through to the Nascent Soul Stage with the Five Elements ArtAuthor: Qingping

With trembling fingers, he tapped the screen. At this moment, Chen Mobai didn’t bother to investigate why there was suddenly a signal in the water mansion.

With a whoosh, the internet speed was incredibly fast.

Chen Mobai clicked into an interface resembling a video website, and the title was exactly what he had seen outside.

It was a video collection!

There were a total of twenty-eight videos, each thoughtfully labeled with a subtitle:

Five Elements Art: Qi Condensation First LevelFive Elements Art: Qi Condensation Second LevelFive Elements Art: Qi Condensation Third Level...All the way to the last one: Five Elements Art: Nascent Soul First Level

Chen Mobai eagerly scrolled to the interface for Five Elements Art: Qi Condensation Fifth Level, and clicked to open it.

“Hello, students, this is your Teacher Qingping. Today, we will continue explaining the fifth level of the Five Elements Art.”

“Please open your Five Elements Art textbook to page twenty-six. Before we begin this lesson, I’ll first go over yesterday’s homework.”

“Although this basic Qi Condensation cultivation method is simple, it contains extremely rich knowledge. One could even say it is the Immortal Sect’s foremost Qi Condensation art, and also the very foundation of the Immortal Sect. This is why the Immortal Sect mandates that all cultivators must practice the Five Elements Art when they begin their cultivation.”

“Even cultivators with Heavenly Spiritual Roots must cultivate the Five Elements Art to the seventh level before they can switch to cultivation methods suited for their own attributes. So, what is the reason for this? In this lesson, I, Teacher Qingping, will explain it to you in detail.”

Chen Mobai couldn’t help but set the video playback to two times speed; this Qingping was far too long-winded.

However, after finishing the 45-minute instructional video, Chen Mobai’s eyes lit up. He then listened to Venerable Qingping’s explanation of the Five Elements Art cultivation section again from the beginning, this time at normal speed.

Immediately afterward, he eagerly sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion.

Chen Mobai felt that he could now cultivate to the sixth level of Qi Condensation within a month.