Chapter 25: Heavenly River Realm

Besides videos, there were over a thousand articles, all boasting that their method of breaking restrictions was the best.

Chen Mobai set up a filter, first choosing authors with a Nascent Soul cultivation level. Instantly, only two videos and six articles remained.

After carefully reviewing them, he felt dizzy. The content was too advanced; the restriction-breaking techniques that Nascent Soul cultivators considered basic were like an inscrutable text to him.

Left with no choice, he could only search among authors at the Qi Condensation level. However, there were simply too many, so he eventually decided to start by reading those with higher view counts.

Since the Azure Arrow Talismans would take two or three days to arrive, Chen Mobai slowly began to compare the various restriction-breaking methods from the diverse experts on the auxiliary cultivation software, selecting those suitable for his study. If there were parts he truly couldn't understand, he would consult Old Man Ding. The latter always answered his questions thoroughly and without reservation.

By the time the talismans and Qi replenishing spirit water arrived, Chen Mobai was already full of confidence regarding breaking the restrictions.

Inside the Water Mansion. He first manipulated the formation flag to test and ensure that the power of the Azure Water Grand Formation was not connected to the restriction, only then did he activate the Azure Arrow Talismans to begin breaking it.

The results proved that his preparations were quite thorough. After three Azure Arrow Talismans bombarded it, the door of the right side hall shattered with a rumble. This happened because the power of the water ripple restriction had disappeared, but the talismans' might had not yet been exhausted.

Chen Mobai quickly waved the formation flag in his hand, using the Azure Water Grand Formation to lift the broken fragments of the stone door, piece by piece, and stack them in the empty space of the front hall. Then, he used a cleaning spell to clear away all the dust.

Holding a formation flag in one hand and a Wood Armor Talisman in the other, he walked to the now-open doorway.

This side hall was small, arranged like a study. Besides a large wooden table measuring 2 by 3 meters, three walls were lined with bookshelves, filled with rolls of bamboo slips, books, and silk paper.

Chen Mobai flicked six glass beads inside, letting them roll around every corner of the side hall. Only after confirming there was no residual restriction power did he enter.

He approached the large wooden table, where a stack of white paper lay casually, along with a brush holder from which three brushes of varying sizes hung. There was also an inkstone, its ink completely dried, indicating it hadn't been used for a long time.

On the table lay a book with two lines of text on its cover:Azure Wave Mansion Ledger!Year 6425 of the First Yuan Era!In the bottom right corner was the signature: Liu Zengpei of the Five Elements Sect.

After examining the desk, Chen Mobai looked around and noticed that most of the bookshelves were filled with ledgers. A smaller portion contained records of local customs and geography, and there were also miscellaneous books introducing spells, alchemy, artifacts, and formations. He even found the Black Water Art among them.

There was a stool beneath the large wooden table, and Chen Mobai walked over and sat down.

He picked up the ledger from the table and opened it.

January: Purchased a new batch of 200 Azure-Blooded Carp fry from the immortal cultivation family Liu, and seven Silver-Edged Jade Bamboos and two Gold-Edged Jade Bamboos from Green Bamboo Ridge, totaling 370 spirit stones.

February: Purchased 200 catties of fish fry feed and 50 bottles of spirit water for cultivating jade bamboo at Nanxi Market, totaling 120 spirit stones.

March: Purchased 300 catties of fish fry feed at Nanxi Market. Two Silver-Edged Jade Bamboos withered due to poor cultivation. Purchased 5 bottles of spirit water for pest removal, totaling 70 spirit stones.

April: 400 catties of feed, 20 bottles of spirit water, totaling 80 spirit stones.

May: ..., one Gold-Edged Jade Bamboo withered...

The ledger concluded in October, with no income recorded until its end. It seemed the record-keeper had something urgent at that time and left the Azure Wave Mansion.

Chen Mobai rose and went to the bookshelves on the wall. Comparing the dates, he indeed found the ledger from the previous year, 6424 of the First Yuan Era. Not just that year's, but twenty consecutive years of ledgers were all on that shelf.

He took ten books, returned to the table, and began flipping through them from the beginning.

He flipped back three years until he finally saw some income.

August, 6423 of the First Yuan Era: 50 Azure-Blooded Carp matured to first-tier low-grade. 30 were supplied to the sect, and 20 were sold to Heavenly Meal Restaurant in Nanxi Market, generating 200 spirit stones.

September: Sold 70 first-tier low-grade Azure-Blooded Carp, gaining 700 spirit stones.

October: Sold 20 first-tier low-grade Azure-Blooded Carp, gaining 200 spirit stones.

...

After reviewing ten years of ledgers, Chen Mobai had reason to suspect that the record-keeper might have embezzled a significant amount.

It was only then that he learned the blue carp he had been eating was actually called "Azure-Blooded Carp." Each fry cost 1 spirit stone, and after three years of cultivation to maturity, it could be sold for 10 spirit stones.

He then looked through other books and finally learned the origin of this water mansion. Named "Azure Wave Mansion," it was an auxiliary courtyard of the Five Elements Sect, a major power in the Eastern Wilds. The Azure Cloud Lake, where it was located, possessed a second-tier spirit vein, and cultivating Azure-Blooded Carp and jade bamboo there annually could also earn some spirit stones.

However, as a major power in the Eastern Wilds, the primary reason for dispatching disciples to establish a separate residence here was not merely to earn spirit stones, but to satisfy the culinary desires of the high-ranking ancestors.

After being prepared by a master chef, these Azure-Blooded Carp and jade bamboo shoots were considered a delicacy. A Golden Core True Person of the Five Elements Sect had tasted them once and never forgot. Since the Azure Cloud Lake was ideally suited for raising fish and cultivating bamboo, this long-term task was assigned within the sect.

A ninth-level Qi Condensation cultivator named Liu Zengpei accepted this task to accumulate spirit stones for a Foundation Establishment Pill, and thus he was stationed at this Azure Wave Mansion for twenty years.

He was diligent and conscientious, purchasing fish fry and bamboo seeds annually, even learning the skills of a spirit plant master and beast tamer, all just to make an impression on the Golden Core True Person.

After reading the books about local customs and geography on the bookshelf, Chen Mobai finally realized where he was.

This was no longer Earth Star. Instead, it was a cultivation world called "Tianhe."

No wonder his phone couldn't get a signal; he also didn't know how far this "Tianhe Realm" was from Earth Star.

Chen Mobai quickly accepted the concept of another world, as the highest level of Immortal Sect warfare involved opening new worlds. However, such a level of warfare could lead to the destruction of nations and realms with the slightest misstep. Therefore, knowing he was in another cultivation world, he decided to be even more cautious and carefully conceal himself.

But then another question arose. How did he end up in this world? What exactly was that turtle shell?

According to the Flying Needle Sect manual he had read previously, which belonged to the brown-robed youth, the current year should be 6478 of the First Yuan Era. However, the ledger of Liu Zengpei, the Five Elements Sect disciple, stopped at 6425 of the First Yuan Era.

This meant that Liu Zengpei had left this water mansion over fifty years ago. The old man who claimed to be Liu Zengpei's disciple should have known something, but he was already dead.

Chen Mobai saw that dawn was approaching. He took two unread books from the bookshelf, preparing to head home.

Just then, a thought struck him.

"Wait a minute, since I'm no longer on Earth Star, I don't have to fear the Immortal Sect investigating me anymore."