Chapter 257: Lonely Soul Ridge

After saying goodbye to Yuan Chizhi, Chen Mobai first went to the Spirit Treasure Pavilion.

As a Foundation Establishment Elder, he naturally differed from the Qi Cultivation disciples who had to accept missions in the main hall and verify their cultivation levels.

“The mission from the Alchemy Department concerning Junior Sister Yan? What bad timing, it was just accepted by a Martial Uncle.”

A Qi Cultivation disciple from the Spirit Treasure Pavilion, specifically assigned to receive Chen Mobai, checked after hearing his request and delivered a surprising result.

It actually existed, and someone else was already interested?

“Oh, which Senior Brother was it?”

“I’m afraid I cannot disclose that. If Martial Uncle truly wishes to know, you may inquire with the Pavilion Master.”

The Qi Cultivation disciple facing him expressed apology. Due to numerous past instances of fellow disciples plotting against each other, like a mantis stalking a cicada unaware of the oriole behind it, the Spirit Treasure Pavilion strictly controlled such information.

If Chen Mobai wanted to know, he could explain the situation to the person in charge of the Spirit Treasure Pavilion, and then wait for approval from higher up.

Chen Mobai naturally wouldn't bother with such a troublesome process.

After leaving the Spirit Treasure Pavilion, he returned to his courtyard in Shenmu City.

Originally, Liu Wenbai was supposed to come along, but considering he had just broken through to Qi Cultivation Level 9 and needed to consolidate his realm, Chen Mobai brought Zhuo Ming instead.

This young disciple had not yet rested and was drawing talismans under the moonlight.

After giving her a few pointers, Chen Mobai spoke to her about Yan Jinye, stating he would find a way to help.

Previously, he certainly wouldn't have cared about Yan Jinye's safety, but after learning from Yuan Chizhi that she possessed an Immortal Tree Fruit, Chen Mobai felt he should try to rescue her.

Although the mission had been accepted, the person who issued it was confirmed to be the head of the Alchemy Department.

Chen Mobai and Zeng Woyou had met once, and the latter was deeply impressed by him as an unparalleled sword dao genius.

The next day, he submitted his visiting card.

Chen Mobai smoothly met the Shenmu Sect's foremost alchemy master.

“Regarding Little Yan, she left a life-token here with me, so for now, she's not in danger. However, I was indeed worried since she hadn't returned for such a long time, so I issued a mission.”

Zeng Woyou still trusted Chen Mobai greatly. After all, as the first unparalleled genius in Shenmu Sect's history to take ten steps before the Grand Dao Tree, he believed this junior brother had a high chance of forming a Core.

Therefore, although he was a Tier 3 alchemist and considered a top figure in the Shenmu Sect, he was very courteous towards Chen Mobai, a junior who had just entered the Foundation Establishment stage.

“Alas, I regret greatly missing Junior Sister Yan’s invitation because I was in seclusion cultivating the sword dao. If I had gone with her then, perhaps with a bit more strength, this wouldn't have happened.”

Chen Mobai's words were also full of regret and remorse.

Zeng Woyou listened and muttered to himself. He wondered if his disciple and this junior were really on such good terms.

“Junior Brother Bi Yiyuan and Junior Brother Shan Hongyi have accepted the mission issued by the Alchemy Department. If Junior Brother Chen also wishes to contribute, I will not refuse.”

Zeng Woyou told Chen Mobai who had accepted the mission; it turned out to be not one person, but two.

He didn't know Bi Yiyuan, but he had met Shan Hongyi once; he had even traveled on Shan Hongyi’s airship from Nanxi Market in Yun Kingdom to Jumu Ridge.

“What are the cultivation levels of these two Senior Brothers?”

Chen Mobai directly asked the most crucial question.

“Junior Brother Bi Yiyuan is at the peak of early Foundation Establishment, but he is a body-refining cultivator whose strength is enough to contend with a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator—not to be underestimated. Junior Brother Shan Hongyi, on the other hand, is genuinely at mid-Foundation Establishment; he wouldn't have been persuaded to leave without wanting me to refine a batch of pills for him.”

In other words, it was equivalent to two mid-Foundation Establishment cultivators going on a rescue mission.

It must be said that Zeng Woyou, as the Shenmu Sect's foremost alchemy master, held significant influence.

“Although your cultivation, Junior Brother Chen, is not as high as theirs, your combat power as a fourth-realm sword cultivator surpasses theirs. If you participate, I am willing to offer a hundred-year-old Sword-shaped Grass from my medicinal field as compensation.”

Sword-shaped Grass? What was that?

Chen Mobai hesitated, thinking it might be something very helpful for sword cultivators, but he wasn't particularly interested in it.

After all, he had no doubts regarding his sword cultivation realm; he only needed to mature his Azure Sun Fire Seed to condense the "Azure Flame Sword Fiend."

If not Sword-shaped Grass, could he choose other spiritual herbs or plants as compensation?

Coincidentally, Chen Mobai had a great need for a certain spiritual medicinal fruit.

“Bamboo Fruit?”

Zeng Woyou was slightly surprised after hearing Chen Mobai's request.

This was a spiritual medicine rarely used in alchemy, typically serving as the main ingredient for detoxification pills or consumed directly to enhance spiritual sense.

However, there were better alternative spiritual medicines for detoxification and spiritual sense enhancement.

Moreover, very few would cultivate jade bamboo for nearly a century just for it to produce a bamboo fruit blossom.

“I don't cultivate that in my medicinal field, but there are plenty of jade bamboos of sufficient age on Qingzhu Mountain in the sect. If ripened with a special secret method, they can produce bamboo fruits.”

As an alchemy master, Zeng Woyou was intimately familiar with what spiritual medicines and herbs were cultivated in which medicinal fields across Jumu Ridge.

He was also an expert in spiritual plants and knew how to induce bamboo fruit growth.

“I wonder if that would be possible?”

Hearing this, Chen Mobai asked.

Half a year had passed, and due to his diligent cultivation of the Insightful Spiritual Eye, only a small amount of Clear-Eyed Bamboo Spirit Dew remained, which was almost depleted.

This spiritual liquid could also enhance spiritual sense. During this time, another young Ailanthus sapling in his Sea of Consciousness had grown two more green sprouts, progressing rapidly.

For Chen Mobai, the Clear-Eyed Bamboo Spirit Dew was arguably the most suitable spiritual medicine for him at this stage.

Therefore, he hoped to maintain a continuous supply.

Unfortunately, his request to purchase bamboo fruits had been posted at the Spirit Treasure Pavilion for half a year without any inquiries.

Today he had only mentioned it casually, not expecting to actually find a lead.

“No problem, I will arrange it with Qingzhu Mountain. The price of bamboo fruit is generally 350 spirit stones. I compensated the other two junior brothers with approximately 1000 spirit stones, so how about three bamboo fruits for your contribution?”

As Zeng Woyou finished speaking, Chen Mobai nodded.

The matter was thus settled.

Solitary Soul Ridge!

It was a very ordinary hill in the eastern part of Yu Kingdom.

If not for confirming that Yan Jinye's life-token pointed here, the three of them—Chen Mobai included—wouldn't have believed that a Foundation Establishment cultivator's cave dwelling was hidden here.

“Master, the Qi-pointing Disk is spinning wildly.”

Above Solitary Soul Ridge, on an airship, a black-clad young man held a brass disc in one hand, and a copper spoon on it began spinning wildly, as if the target were rapidly moving in all directions.

“Hmm, it seems there's a natural topographical formation here, combined with man-made formations and arrays, blocking all earth vein spiritual energy and turning this place into a formidable forbidden zone.”

The speaker was a middle-aged man with a full beard, none other than Shan Hongyi, whom Chen Mobai had met before.

And the black-clad young man beside him was Yu Lian, who had joined the Shenmu Sect with Chen Mobai that year.

He had heard before that Yu Lian had left the New Bud Hall and became Shan Hongyi's disciple, seemingly dedicating himself to arduous cultivation, as he hadn't been seen in the sect's grand competitions for the past few years.

Upon seeing him today, he was surprisingly already at Qi Cultivation Level 9, and it seemed he hadn't just broken through; he might reach the perfection of Qi Cultivation in another year or two.

“So, shall we go straight in?”

The speaker was the other Foundation Establishment cultivator, Bi Yiyuan. He had a rugged face, a bald head, and no eyebrows. Standing there, he resembled a source of heat, full of vibrant qi and blood.

“Junior Sister Yan left the sect with Senior Sister Mei from the Spirit Vein Department. If this Foundation Establishment cave dwelling below can trap both of them, we should proceed with a little more caution.”

As Shan Hongyi spoke, he took out a talisman, infused it with spiritual power, and shot it towards Solitary Soul Ridge below.

Chen Mobai saw that it was a message talisman.

With a slight thought, he couldn't help but admire Shan Hongyi's seasoned experience.

This message talisman could track the Shenmu Sect disciples’ identity plates within a certain range.

If Yan Jinye was indeed trapped in Solitary Soul Ridge below, this was the most convenient and fastest way to establish contact with her.

As expected, the message talisman was not affected by the surrounding earth vein spiritual energy and formations. It flew directly towards Yan Jinye's Shenmu Sect identity plate and disappeared into a hidden mountain cave on the south side of Solitary Soul Ridge.

“What do we do next? Should we just force our way in?”

Bi Yiyuan asked, his words a bit reckless.

However, Chen Mobai felt that someone capable of cultivating to such a realm certainly wouldn't be truly reckless; it might just be a facade.

“Junior Brother Chen, what do you think?”

Bi Yiyuan suddenly turned to ask Chen Mobai.

The three had met under Zeng Woyou’s introduction and had introduced themselves to each other.

After boarding the airship, Chen Mobai refrained from speaking unless necessary, indicating he would defer to the two Senior Brothers.

“Senior Brother Shan can decide.”

Chen Mobai clearly knew that while his combat power might be good, in a place like the Tianhe Realm, where dangers lurked everywhere, he lacked experience. It was better to follow the guidance of seasoned cultivators like Shan Hongyi.

“Let’s wait to see if Junior Sister replies.”

After the two finished speaking, Shan Hongyi finally spoke.

A message talisman could be replied to once. If it truly reached Yan Jinye, they would definitely need to ascertain her situation inside the cave dwelling.

“Alright.”

The three reached an agreement.

“Yu Lian, go ask around nearby and see if there are any legends or strange stories about Solitary Soul Ridge.”

Shan Hongyi instructed his disciple to gather information, and Yu Lian immediately nodded in assent.

“I'll take him along; it will be faster.”

Chen Mobai suddenly spoke, causing everyone present to be slightly startled.

However, considering Yu Lian hadn't yet reached Foundation Establishment and couldn't fly, having Chen Mobai accompany him would indeed be more convenient.

“Then we'll trouble Junior Brother Chen.”

“It's no trouble.”

Chen Mobai smiled and activated his Red Cloud Smoke Robe. A light red mist appeared in mid-air, and he stepped onto it first.

Yu Lian hesitated for a moment but then carefully stepped onto the cloud after him.

“Junior Brother, that magical artifact is quite novel.”

Neither Shan Hongyi nor Bi Yiyuan had ever seen a cloud-like magical artifact that could freely gather and disperse like the Red Cloud Smoke Robe, and they couldn't help but praise it.

Chen Mobai smiled and said nothing.

He took Yu Lian and flew towards areas with spiritual energy nearby.

“Martial... Martial Uncle Chen... do you have something to say to me?”

Standing on the misty cloud, Yu Lian looked at Chen Mobai and spoke with some hesitation.

“After all, we hail from the same region, sharing a bond of fellow-townsmen. Besides, I don't have much to talk about with the two Senior Brothers on the airship, so it's better to come out with you.”

“Martial Uncle Chen, with a single sword, you suppressed three thousand Qi Cultivation disciples in the sect, and you successfully established your Foundation in just four years since joining. You are truly like the sun and moon in the sky; I didn't expect you to remember a small fellow-townsman like me.”

Yu Lian's words were likely meant to express how flattered he was, but his expressionless face and calm tone left Chen Mobai unsure how to respond.

“At that time, our group was assigned to Senior Brother E Yun by the sect. However, after I left New Bud Hall, I went into farming to avoid matters. It's excellent that you became Senior Brother Shan’s disciple. As for the Luo family siblings, their family has Foundation Establishment cultivators within the sect.”

Yu Lian frowned upon hearing this, unsure what Chen Mobai was trying to say.

“If I hadn't broken through to Foundation Establishment first and jumped out, even if I was farming, I would probably have to go to Yunmeng Marsh later to fight for the sect with my life. You are now at Qi Cultivation Level 9, why aren't you participating in the sect's grand competition?”

“To amaze everyone with a single feat.”

Yu Lian said something that slightly surprised Chen Mobai, then he smiled.

“In your case, perhaps you can.”

“Originally, I could have, but with you here, no matter how amazing a feat I perform, I can't reach your level.”

Yu Lian, however, sighed.

Chen Mobai listened, slightly dumbfounded.

Indeed, the standard of advancement he set among the Shenmu Sect's true disciples was practically unreachable, let alone surpassed, by anyone else.

“There's a cultivator there.”

The brass disc in Yu Lian's hand suddenly pointed in a direction, and Chen Mobai immediately carried him and flew there.

“In the future, if you manage to enter the Divine Tree Secret Realm and acquire something good that you don't need, you can sell it to me.”

The two found several nearby cultivators, asked about the situation at Solitary Soul Ridge, and on the way back, Chen Mobai subtly made a suggestion.

Yu Lian looked surprised upon hearing this.

“You think I can successfully establish my Foundation in one go?”

“Among our batch who joined the Shenmu Sect, your talent is widely acknowledged as the most outstanding. If I can do it, you certainly can too.”

Chen Mobai spoke words that caused a slight stir in Yu Lian's expression.

“Junior Sister Yan's reply, Junior Brother Chen, please take a look.”

After the two returned to the airship, Shan Hongyi handed a piece of paper to Chen Mobai.

The owner of the cave dwelling has transformed into a silver-armored corpse. Senior Sister Mei and I cannot leave even half a step to suppress it. Please, three Senior Brothers, prepare some artifacts or talismans of extreme yang and rigid power before entering.