Chapter 263: Herbal Prescription for Exchanging Tree Fruit

"Brother Chen, your great kindness is something I will never forget in this life," Yan Jinye said. After receiving the pill formula, Yan Jinye excitedly poured out all the spirit stones from her storage bag. Chen Mobai still looked troubled, as if he had suffered a great loss, sweeping Yan Jinye's dozen mid-grade spirit stones and a large pile of low-grade spirit stones into his own storage bag.

"Sister Yan, at this price, this pill formula is for your personal study and refinement only. You must never pass it on to anyone else," Chen Mobai instructed. As an insider, Yan Jinye immediately made a solemn Dao Heart vow. Her teacher, Zeng Woyou, was also bound by similar rules; although he had inherited all the pill formulas of the Divine Wood Sect, he could only study and decipher them himself. Therefore, if Yan Jinye wanted any pill formula, she had to acquire it through purchase or trade. In the Sky River Realm, knowledge was indeed that valuable.

After seeing off Yan Jinye, who was delighted with her acquisition but had an empty spirit stone pouch and was eager to study her three new pill formulas, Chen Mobai turned and smiled, picking up the jade box from the table. Upon opening it, a fist-sized, gray-skinned fruit with a single white mark came into view. This was the Longevity Tree Fruit. As Chen Mobai picked it up, he felt as if he was holding an an incredibly dense and immense ball of energy. According to the description of the Two-Phase Reversion Art, a single white mark indicated it was a small fruit, which was perfectly suitable. If he were to consume it now, he could break through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage within a short period. However, Chen Mobai was not so reckless. As long as its outer shell remained intact, the fruit could be preserved for a long time. He carefully placed the Longevity Tree Fruit back into the jade box. A towering building starts from the ground; having the first fruit was at least a good beginning. If he could truly collect a set of three fruits, he would consider consuming them; otherwise, he would simply regard it as a rare treasure he had collected. However, with the first fruit in hand, he also needed to start considering how to replenish his lifespan.

Naturally, he wouldn't seek a solution for this in the Sky River Realm. In the Scarlet City Grotto-Heaven, there was a Longevity College, a university specializing in this field. It so happened that there would be an event later in the year, which all universities in the grotto-heaven would attend. He could try to represent the Dance-Weapons Dao Academy and then speak with students from the Longevity College. It was a pity that Kong Feichen had joined the Ascension Sect; otherwise, he could have asked him to look up relevant information at the Imperial Medical Academy. However, since the origin of alchemy in the Immortal Sect was the Jumang Dao Academy, perhaps he could also ask Qing Nü.

With these thoughts in mind, Chen Mobai left a message token for Zhuo Ming, indicating he was going into seclusion, and then once again sealed off the summit of Mount Xiaonan. Having obtained the Longevity Tree Fruit from Yan Jinye, his purpose for staying in the Sky River Realm during this period had been achieved. He could now return to the Immortal Sect to attend to the matters he had considered. Amidst a flash of silver light, Chen Mobai opened his eyes, finding himself back in the Myriad Treasures Cave.

He first called Qing Nü, wanting to strengthen their friendship while also asking if she would be available at the end of the year. His Clarifying Eye Bamboo Spirit Dew was running out, and he wished to commission Qing Nü to refine two more batches. Since Vermillion Fruits could only be exchanged with academic credits at the end of the year, he merely wanted to schedule her time in advance. He also intended to inquire about replenishing lifespan during the call. However, the call didn't go through; only an automated text message replied. It turned out that Qing Nü had recently felt her destiny approaching, vaguely grasped the profound essence of the Dao, and had already entered seclusion for Foundation Establishment. Not just Chen Mobai, but no one could reach her by phone. After reading the message, Chen Mobai was genuinely happy for Qing Nü. After all, he hadn't made many friends along his journey, and Qing Nü was one of his best. In the long future, if he truly managed to form a Gold Core, Qing Nü, with her Heavenly Spiritual Root, would likely be one of the few friends still by his side. "You can definitely succeed," he texted back. After sending the message, Chen Mobai left the Myriad Treasures Cave.

If Qing Nü was temporarily unavailable, Chen Mobai still had another good friend, Wang Xingyu. As the top alchemist of the Class of 5012, he had also passed his Level 2 Alchemist certification and was a true genius. Furthermore, it was Wang Xingyu who had helped Chen Mobai select an excellent Vermillion Fruit last year, contributing to the success of Qing Nü's Clarifying Eye Bamboo Spirit Dew. However, Chen Mobai felt a bit worried, realizing he now had three bamboo fruits but insufficient academic credits to exchange for three Vermillion Fruits by the end of the year. A Level 2 Vermillion Fruit cost 20 academic credits. If he hadn't gotten free academic credits from ten semesters in the Sword Control Department this year, he likely would only be able to exchange for one by year-end. After flying out of the Myriad Treasures Cave, Chen Mobai immediately called Wang Xingyu.

"Old Chen, well, this is rare!" Wang Xingyu's surprised voice came through the phone. "Brother, the merchant who grows bamboo had three more bamboo fruits ripen last year. Can you help me pick three good quality Vermillion Fruits again?" "No problem, but do you have enough academic credits?" "Enough for two." Wang Xingyu was also a very loyal person. After the call ended, he immediately asked Chen Mobai to come to Building 3, where he led him to a Vermillion Fruit tree with gnarled branches and lush foliage. On its thickest brown branch, three fiery red fruits hung, looking like red jade from a distance, brimming with spiritual energy. "The quality of these three fruits is absolutely excellent," Wang Xingyu declared. Chen Mobai nodded after hearing this, then asked Wang Xingyu if he was confident in refining the Clarifying Eye Bamboo Spirit Dew. "I *can* refine it, but to say I'm completely confident would be lying. This stuff is quite obscure; unless it's a Level 3 Alchemist or someone highly specialized, the resulting pill toxicity will almost certainly be too high." As good brothers, Wang Xingyu spoke honestly. "What if I have spiritual extracts?" "If we add that treasure, I could try, but there'd still be a 50% chance of the toxicity exceeding the limit." In other words, he still wasn't very confident, unlike Qing Nü, who had succeeded on her first attempt. Chen Mobai secretly made a comparison. However, even with some toxicity, as long as it wasn't excessively high, Chen Mobai wasn't afraid. His recently mastered Lamp Lighting Art would find a use. "I happen to have some spiritual extracts. Can you help me refine it? Just name your price." Chen Mobai was always direct, stating his business upfront. "You have some? That stuff is very rare! Our mentors say it's to train our alchemy skills under extremely difficult conditions, so they hardly ever distribute spiritual extracts to us. In reality, aren't they just withholding our shares for themselves?" Wang Xingyu complained, indicating that the alchemy department's mentors weren't as affectionate with their students as those in other departments. "By the way, where did you get your spiritual extracts? Isn't the monthly quota for that exclusively supplied to our alchemy department?" Chen Mobai, unperturbed, presented the excuse he had prepared earlier. "You know I'm from the Puppet Department. Spirit stones, as activation energy, are easily scrapped after repeated recharging and frequent use." "That's true," Wang Xingyu acknowledged, then, thinking of Chen Mobai's bamboo fruits, he added, "Oh right, Old Chen, do you have a lot of spiritual extracts?" This made Chen Mobai hesitate. He had more than he could ever use. The Immortal Sect's pill formulas and the Sky River Realm's spiritual extracts were inexhaustible treasures to him. But one should not show off wealth, and even with his good brother, some things had to be kept private. "I have some, but not a lot." Hearing this, Wang Xingyu shook his head regretfully. "If you had a lot, I could help you connect with someone." "A senior in our alchemy department exchanged for a Vermillion Fruit at the end of last year, intending to refine Fire Essence Pills. But because one of the crucial main ingredients was poorly cultivated by the merchant, its potency wasn't up to standard, so the Vermillion Fruit has been sitting idle until now." "If you're willing to trade spiritual extracts for it, he'd definitely agree." Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai's tone immediately changed. "I don't have much on me, but my teacher has accumulated quite a bit." "Director Che!?" It was well-known among their class that Chen Mobai had become a disciple of Che Yucheng. Wang Xingyu had no doubts. "Brother, please help me ask. A Vermillion Fruit can only be stored for one or two years at most after being picked. It would be a win-win for me to take it off his hands and for him to get rid of it." Chen Mobai's words made perfect sense, and Wang Xingyu immediately made the call. With both parties interested, a deal was quickly struck. Chen Mobai pretended to have gone to Che Yucheng's office and returned, handing a bulging bag of spiritual extracts to Wang Xingyu. The latter, holding the bag, confidently walked off as a middleman. Half an hour later, Chen Mobai was very satisfied looking at the Vermillion Fruit Wang Xingyu brought back.

This way, he wouldn't run out of his medicine. He could continue using the Clarifying Eye Bamboo Spirit Dew until the end of the year, and then exchange for two more Vermillion Fruits, providing another year's supply. However, while the two main ingredients were complete, the auxiliary ingredients still needed to be purchased from the Sky River Realm. Chen Mobai hadn't anticipated getting the Vermillion Fruits so quickly. Having gained experience and having studied medicinal herb identification this year, Chen Mobai was now able to accurately translate all twenty-four auxiliary ingredients into their Sky River Realm names. He entrusted this task to his eldest disciple, Liu Wenbai, who had just come out of seclusion after consolidating his Level 9 Qi Refining realm and confidently stated he would complete the task within three days. Soon, Chen Mobai handed over the two main ingredients and all twenty-four auxiliary ingredients for a full batch of Clarifying Eye Bamboo Spirit Dew to Wang Xingyu. As for the alchemy fee, at Wang Xingyu's strong insistence, it changed from merit points to two spiritual extracts. Chen Mobai would never shortchange his good brother, so he immediately gave him three spiritual extracts, much to Wang Xingyu's excitement.

After completing this matter, Chen Mobai also took a basket of fruit to visit his teacher, Che Yucheng. Having spent a long time in the Myriad Treasures Cave, he hadn't attended his puppet lessons in a while, but fortunately, the knowledge was now his own, so he wouldn't be rusty. Che Yucheng had essentially passed on his entire puppetry inheritance to Chen Mobai; all that remained was practice and production. This was generally how things were in the Immortal Sect. After reaching Foundation Establishment, with powerful spiritual sense, one could largely self-study knowledge, the difference being whether one dedicated time to diligently improve. Chen Mobai felt a little ashamed; busy honing his spells, he hadn't really put much effort into puppetry. However, Che Yucheng didn't criticize him. After all, Chen Mobai had just entered Foundation Establishment and still had over two hundred years ahead of him. Typically, Foundation Establishment cultivators only dedicated time to the myriad arts of cultivation when their cultivation reached a bottleneck and couldn't advance further. Although Che Yucheng didn't say anything, Chen Mobai secretly resolved to seriously practice puppetry whenever he had the time.

"By the way, Teacher, I heard there's some kind of Scarlet City Grotto-Heaven University Alliance Exchange Conference at the end of the year?" Chen Mobai inquired about the event he had heard about. "That's right. Why, are you interested?" "Well, my Pure Yang Scroll is stuck at the peak of Qi Refining, and I haven't been able to grasp the opportunity for Foundation Establishment for a long time. I was thinking of exchanging ideas with geniuses from other universities to see if I could gain some insight." In reality, he wanted to talk to a student from the Longevity College, but he couldn't reveal that he might need to expend lifespan, so Chen Mobai dared not speak too explicitly. "This year's Scarlet City Grotto-Heaven University Alliance Exchange Conference will be a bit different. Our Dao Academy might send some senior students." "How is it different?" Chen Mobai was a little curious. "It happens to be the six-thousand-year anniversary of the establishment of Scarlet City Grotto-Heaven as an immortal city. Important figures from the Immortal Sect will be attending, and besides our Dance-Weapons Dao Academy, the other three major Dao Academies might also send people to join the fun." Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai felt it might be a bit troublesome. He thought about it and decided to give up on the idea for now; anyway, he hadn't gathered all the Longevity Tree Fruits yet, so he could wait for the next session. "However, since you're interested, as your teacher, I will definitely arrange it properly for you. Don't worry, you'll certainly have a spot from our Dao Academy this time." But to his surprise, Che Yucheng misunderstood, believing he genuinely wanted to seek an opportunity for Foundation Establishment through enlightenment, and readily took the matter upon himself. At this point, if Chen Mobai were to refuse, he would not only be embarrassing himself. He could only force a smile through gritted teeth and thank Che Yucheng.

After leaving the office, Chen Mobai felt a bit depressed, having accidentally complicated things. Thinking it had been a while since he contacted his good friends, he invited Ming Yihua and Yun Yangbing out for drinks. Unfortunately, Ming Yihua didn't answer his call either. After calling Yun Yangbing, he learned that Ming Yihua had also gone into seclusion for Foundation Establishment. Ever since successfully cultivating the Critical State Art, Ming Yihua had no other thoughts but to establish his Foundation; feeling his essence, qi, and spirit had returned to their peak state, he once again plunged into his cultivation chamber. Although Chen Mobai knew other people in the God Transformation Class, he usually only communicated more with Wang Xingyu, who had also turned off his phone to focus on refining the Clarifying Eye Bamboo Spirit Dew. Thus, Chen Mobai could only drink with Yun Yangbing. It was also a good opportunity to ask about integrating formations into the body. He discovered that similar cultivation methods existed in the Immortal Sect as well. "Look," Yun Yangbing said, showing Chen Mobai his right pinky finger. The fingernail was black, making it quite noticeable. "Did you get a manicure?" Chen Mobai quipped. "Nonsense! This is a formation integrated into my body. It's just that my cultivation is weak, so I could only try a Spirit Gathering Array here first. Don't underestimate this small fingernail; it can upgrade a Level 1 spiritual vein to Level 2." Hearing Yun Yangbing's words, Chen Mobai couldn't help but marvel. Indeed, the Immortal Sect truly had all sorts of cultivation systems.