Chapter 242: Refining the Azure Wood Spirit Heart

Gong Xiangyu found this meal quite unappetizing.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Chen Mobai, Lu Hongsheng, and others were laughing and chatting, reminiscing about various embarrassing incidents from their high school days.

"You're still amazing. Yuanqing tried to emulate you in attempting Foundation Establishment, but he failed."

Shi Jingjing looked at the radiant Chen Mobai and couldn't help but exclaim.

"Oh, is he alright?"

Chen Mobai had a strong impression of Shi Yuanqing. After all, he was the second most talented student in their graduating class at Immortals' Gate Fifth High School, only behind Chen Mobai himself. His in-combat breakthrough to Qi Condensation Level 9 during a sparring match had greatly impressed the representatives from the Daoist Academies.

"He lost a bit of qi and blood, and Xu Yuan rushed over to take care of him. Fortunately, he didn't drop in cultivation level."

It seemed he hadn't mastered the Critical Art.

After hearing Shi Jingjing's words, Chen Mobai felt a pang of pity for Shi Yuanqing.

Since he had enrolled in Taiyuan Academy, he would certainly have the opportunity to learn the Critical Art. However, this profound technique heavily depended on innate talent; even within the Four Great Daoist Academies, some individuals could not comprehend it.

"By the way, didn't Cao Yaling say she'd come with you? How come I don't see her?"

Chen Mobai walked around, clinked glasses with Song Zheng, who was sitting in the corner, and then, realizing he hadn't found his old classmate, returned to his seat and asked Shi Jingjing.

"She sensed an opportunity for a breakthrough in her Void-Piercing Spiritual Eye cultivation and didn't want to miss it, so she didn't come."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai remembered.

These two top female students from their cohort both cultivated spiritual eye techniques. He was about to refine the Clear Eye Bamboo Spiritual Dew, so perhaps he could also cultivate a related spell while he was at it.

"You want to cultivate it too? It's not impossible, but we only cultivate this to inherit our jade shops. It doesn't really help with cultivation."

Shi Jingjing reminded Chen Mobai with a bit of hesitation, as she didn't want her promising old classmate to waste time on a spell that wasn't very useful.

"Next year, I should be able to enter the back mountain of the Martial Arts Academy and select a suitable magical artifact from the Myriad Treasures Cavern. If I master this spell, it will definitely be very helpful then."

"Myriad Treasures Cavern?"

Many people didn't know about this place.

Chen Mobai was about to explain when Song Zheng, who was sitting in the corner, spoke up.

Having enrolled in the Heavenly Scripture Academy, he had happened to read about the Myriad Treasures Cavern in the school's books.

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone looked at Chen Mobai with even more envy.

"Old Chen, you're so amazing! Will you pick out a Tier 3 magical artifact then?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? How can mere Tier 3 be enough? At least Tier 4!"

"When we started high school, I knew Old Chen was extraordinary. With his purple qi aura and astonishing luck, I wouldn't be surprised if he obtains an unrivaled Tier 5 magical treasure!"

Chen Mobai got a headache hearing this.

These guys were drinking too much and talking increasingly wildly. Out of a thousand students who entered the Myriad Treasures Cavern, over ninety-nine percent only obtained Tier 2 magical artifacts.

On average, only one lucky person every twenty years could obtain a Tier 3 magical artifact.

As for Tier 4 magical artifacts, the last person to obtain one was the current headmaster of the Martial Arts Academy, and that was over six hundred years ago.

Tier 5?

The Myriad Treasures Cavern didn't seem to have artifacts of that level!

Seeing his classmates' boasts about him becoming increasingly unreasonable, Chen Mobai quickly raised his glass and changed the subject.

"Come to my house when you're free. Given your current cultivation level, only my father can discuss spiritual eye techniques with you."

Shi Jingjing left him with this message as they parted ways.

Her father was indeed a master appraiser of jewelry, jade, and ancient magical treasures in Danxia City, and also a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator.

After thanking her, Chen Mobai also asked her to convey his congratulations to Cao Yaling on her breakthrough.

The next day.

In the alchemy room of the Treasure Bottle Pharmacy, Chen Mobai introduced the "Greenwood Spirit Heart" to Yan Bingxuan.

This time, she finally didn't bring Mo Simin, and with no idle people present, Chen Mobai felt a sense of relief.

Meanwhile, Qing Nü was meticulously preparing the Primeval Spirit Water.

"I understand."

After explaining what he needed Yan Bingxuan's help with, she looked enlightened, nodded, and assured him she would complete the task.

"Is this where you usually work?"

Since it would take Qing Nü some more time to prepare the Primeval Spirit Water, Chen Mobai and Yan Bingxuan watched from the side and chatted.

"Back in high school, the reason my cultivation advanced so rapidly before the college entrance exam was thanks to the Qi-Replenishing Spiritual Water refined by Qing Nü. You could say she was the biggest help in getting me into the Martial Arts Academy."

"There were thousands upon thousands of late-stage Qi Condensation cultivators in high school, but only a little over two hundred managed to get into the Four Great Daoist Academies. Your achievements today are entirely your own."

Yan Bingxuan, however, had a serious disposition and shook her head, refuting Chen Mobai's modesty.

"Hahaha, you're going to make me proud."

*Crack!*

The glass container Qing Nü was using for preparation suddenly cracked with a crisp sound, startling Chen Mobai.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"It's nothing. The Primeval Spirit Water is successfully refined, but ordinary containers can't withstand its sealed medicinal power. I just need to transfer it to the Spirit Sealing Bottle you bought."

Qing Nü turned around, smiling with narrowed eyes, then spread her fingers, gathered the shattered glass shards, and dropped them into the specialized waste bin.

With her other hand, she skillfully controlled a ball of blue solution floating in mid-air with exceptional spiritual power, pouring it into a pre-prepared square bottle.

"That's great! Let's start."

Chen Mobai immediately said happily, then eagerly took out the Greenwood Spirit Heart, went to the meditation mat in the corner of the alchemy room, and began to absorb and refine the spiritual item.

Qing Nü took a deep breath, then, with a bright smile, walked over to his side.

Yan Bingxuan also quietly approached.

The two women stood one on each side of the handsome young man, who was sitting cross-legged with the Greenwood Spirit Heart in his hands, watching wisps of emerald-green light drift like willow catkins into Chen Mobai's glabella.

They waited in silence.

In the main hall of Qingyu Hall, Danxia City's largest jewelry and jade establishment, a refined-looking middle-aged man with a handlebar mustache was smilingly conversing with Chen Mobai.

"Nephew, what kind of spiritual eye function do you wish to cultivate?"

"Uncle Shi, it's like this: because I cultivate the Pure Yang Scroll, I need to gaze at flames for long periods, and I've recently noticed my eyesight declining."

"Also, I'm about to go into the Myriad Treasures Cavern, which contains many magical artifacts, and I want to choose one that suits me. To be honest, I'm certainly hoping to pick a Tier 3 one."

"So I wanted to ask you, as an expert, if there's a spiritual eye technique that allows one to comfortably gaze directly at flames and also discern the true nature of magical artifacts."

This middle-aged man was Shi Jingjing's father, named Shi Qujin, one of Danxia City's few Tier 3 artifact appraisers.

"Generally, spiritual eyes focus on a specific function. For instance, my Void-Piercing Spiritual Eye is primarily used to discern the spiritual energy contained within artifacts. If you want to select a magical artifact, you could cultivate this."

"As for flame-related spiritual eyes, there are a few. The most supreme one, if I recall correctly, is the 'Candle Dragon Divine Eye Art' from Kunpeng Academy."

"Once mastered, it allows control over the Grand Sun Fire, Lunar Fire, and Star Fire. I don't know if your Martial Arts Academy has it in its collection."

Shi Qujin, truly a professional Foundation Establishment True Cultivator specialized in spiritual eyes, resolved Chen Mobai's doubts with his very first words.

"Thank you, Uncle. I'll ask my teacher when I return to the academy. But just in case, are there other options besides the Candle Dragon Divine Eye Art?"

As Chen Mobai spoke, he poured Shi Qujin a full cup of tea.

Besides the two of them, Shi Jingjing and Cao Yaling were also present. Cao Yaling's Void-Piercing Spiritual Eye had advanced to a higher level, but perhaps due to her recent breakthrough, her eyes still shimmered with uncontrolled spiritual light.

Chen Mobai also poured for his two old classmates, who immediately thanked him.

"The Star Gazing Art from Star Gazer Academy, the Heavenly Phenomenon Eye from Nature Academy, the Fiery Golden Eyes from Pure Yang Academy, and the Grotto-Heaven Insight from Heavenly Scripture Academy are all viable options."

"When you have time, you can check the descriptions in the Immortal Gate's spell library and compare them, but the Candle Dragon Divine Eye Art is definitely the best."

"Moreover, if you only want to gaze directly at flames, mastering the Void-Piercing Spiritual Eye will suffice, as long as you're not looking directly at high-grade natural spirit fires."

Chen Mobai firmly imprinted Shi Qujin's words in his mind.

The "Clear Eye Bamboo Spiritual Dew" was already being refined, and he didn't want to waste the efficacy of this spiritual water.

Furthermore, he believed he could certainly find good bargains in the Heavenly River Realm in the future, so cultivating the Void-Piercing Spiritual Eye was necessary.

As for the Candle Dragon Divine Eye Art, it sounded very high-end and unsuitable for him, so he wasn't considering it for now.

"Thank you, Uncle. This is spiritual wine brewed in my hometown; please have a taste."

Naturally, Chen Mobai didn't come empty-handed to seek advice, but Shi Qujin still politely refused a couple of times before reluctantly accepting.

"Nephew, do visit often when you have time."

After personally seeing Chen Mobai out, Shi Qujin asked his daughter and disciple, who were by his side.

"Does this classmate of yours have a girlfriend?"

"He already does. They've been dating since high school."

Shi Jingjing naturally understood the meaning behind her father's words and immediately cut off the topic he was about to pursue.

"What a pity. Why didn't either of you seize the opportunity?"

Facing Shi Qujin's regret, Shi Jingjing recounted Chen Mobai's romantic history in an exasperated tone.

"He has two girlfriends! One has a Heavenly Spirit Root, and the other has an Ice Spirit Root..."

"Ah, that won't do. Bigamy is against the law in the Immortal Sect. You two should advise him more; a promising future shouldn't be ruined by such a mistake."

Shi Qujin was greatly surprised upon hearing this.

He truly hadn't realized Chen Mobai was such a person!

"But they aren't married yet, are they?"

Suddenly, Cao Yaling uttered a sentence that made both Shi Qujin and Shi Jingjing look at each other in bewilderment.

"Disciple, it's probably best not to pursue this person."

After learning about Chen Mobai's "romantic history" from his daughter, Shi Qujin retracted his previous statement and advised her tactfully.

"Master, what are you thinking?!"

Cao Yaling realized at this moment that her previous remark was highly ambiguous and immediately clarified.

Meanwhile, Chen Mobai boarded a bus, intending to go to Qing Nü's rented apartment.

However, as soon as he got on, he frowned.

He saw someone who shouldn't have been there.

"Long time no see."

In the last row, Lan Haitian waved at Chen Mobai.

Chen Mobai hesitated, then considering that he had already established his foundation and was a student of the Martial Arts Academy, and also wanting to know what this guy was up to, he walked over.

After getting off the bus, Chen Mobai frowned briefly, then immediately put the matter out of his mind and took the elevator upstairs.

When Kong Feichen opened the door and saw him, he showed no expression.

"How's your sister?"

Chen Mobai walked in, clearly familiar with the place.

Since refining half of the Greenwood Spirit Heart, his Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness had expanded by nearly two times, and his spiritual sense had also increased somewhat.

The remaining half was frozen by Yan Bingxuan and preserved in a container of Primeval Spirit Water.

And after this, Qing Nü also told him what she needed help with.

Because Yang Jing was forced by her adoptive parents to cultivate a two-part divine art, a second personality developed within her when she was young.

However, this personality transformed into a snake due to her childhood aspirations, causing her to unconsciously sleepwalk and writhe every time she fell asleep.

After Yang Jing's adoptive parents were arrested, the Immortal Sect's enforcement cultivators sealed her second personality. However, this seal needed to be constantly reinforced and could not be allowed to weaken.

To help her, Kong Feichen cultivated this sealing art.

However, his cultivation was still too weak. By the time Yang Jing mastered her spiritual sense, his sealing art could no longer control it.

Fortunately, at that time, Qing Nü had become Gu Changfeng's disciple. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Gu Changfeng naturally and easily created a stable seal when he acted.

But Gu Changfeng had been imprisoned for four years of labor reform, and the seal he had originally set was starting to fail.

Cultivating forbidden arts was a discreet matter in the Immortal Sect, and Yang Jing's writhing, snake-like form was also quite unsightly, so Qing Nü and Kong Feichen didn't want anyone else to know about it.

Originally, they thought that if they successfully established their foundations, they could easily resolve this matter themselves.

However, Qing Nü had wasted a lot of time before entering university and was still only at Qi Condensation Level 9. While she could certainly achieve Foundation Establishment by consuming the Three Treasures for Foundation Establishment, her Heavenly Spirit Root talent meant that Jumang Academy would not permit her to do so.

Her mentor hoped that Qing Nü would achieve Foundation Establishment through enlightenment, naturally forming the most perfect Dao foundation when the time was right.

This way, her Core Formation would also proceed smoothly, and with the aid of Core Formation elixirs, success would be almost guaranteed.

Consequently, this matter fell to Kong Feichen. However, the more anxious he became, the less successful he was.

Qing Nü had exchanged for him a Jade Marrow Pill, and Chen Mobai had acquired Profound Fire Spirit Liquid from the Martial Arts Academy. Even with a complete set of the Three Treasures for Foundation Establishment, Kong Feichen still failed.

Just as Qing Nü, out of helplessness, was preparing to come clean to her mentor, they saw Chen Mobai's WeChat Moments post.

He had successfully established his foundation!

Qing Nü felt that heaven itself was helping her; this young man always appeared when she needed help the most.

"Why are you so slow at practicing a sealing art? And you're still a student of the Martial Arts Academy?"

Kong Feichen and Chen Mobai walked into the living room. Yang Jing was sitting quietly on the sofa watching TV. Seeing Chen Mobai enter, she looked up and greeted him.

"I'm doing this to be absolutely foolproof. This is your and Qing Nü's sister, so naturally, I need to be extra cautious. But don't worry, I'm fully confident now; I'll reinforce her seal today."

Chen Mobai naturally wouldn't admit that he had little talent in sealing arts, which was why it took him nearly ten days to learn it.

"Th-Thank you for your hard work."

"Huh."

Chen Mobai thought he had misheard. He turned to look at the blushing Kong Feichen, wanting to hear it again, but Kong Feichen simply turned his head away.

This guy, why had he never noticed how awkward his personality was before?

Chuckling inwardly, Chen Mobai sat down on the sofa and extended his right index finger towards Yang Jing, who was looking at him.

"Relax a bit. I'll try to be quick."

"Okay!"

Yang Jing nodded, then closed her eyes.

Chen Mobai drew a complex pattern in the air with his index finger, then his spiritual sense surged out, forming a shimmering golden rhomboid seal. As his finger descended, it landed on Yang Jing's smooth forehead.

*Clink!*

As the seal settled, Chen Mobai was about to withdraw his finger when Yang Jing suddenly opened her eyes and revealed a strange smile.