Chapter 332: Five Elements Essence

For young people like Chen Mobai, a small consumption of lifespan was barely noticeable.

However, the effect of the Longevity Tree Fruit was incredibly potent. As drops of spiritual energy formed one after another, his previously vigorous blood and vital essence gradually calmed, as if he had suddenly skipped his youth and transformed into a middle-aged man.

Gradually, his jet-black hair began to show streaks of gray, indicating that too much of his lifespan had been consumed.

At the same time, the amount of Longevity Spiritual Energy in his Dantian Qi Sea had reached 50 drops, truly reaching its limit.

The reduction in his lifespan was finally clearly perceptible to him, manifesting in various ways.

Chen Mobai felt his divine sense fluctuations beginning to stabilize. His vital essence and blood were being drawn out, thread by thread, from hidden parts of his body, merging with the warm current within his internal organs, meridians, and acupoints. This transformed into a mysterious yet powerful force that gradually expanded his Dantian Qi Sea, which had been completely filled by the Longevity Spiritual Energy.

Days passed by.

While Chen Mobai was consuming the fruit to break through his cultivation realm, his opponents were also making their moves.

At the Pure Yang Academy.

Xiahou Weihuan respectfully ushered a man with a sallow complexion and rough skin into a spiritual energy synthesis chamber.

"Master Min, I'm afraid we'll be troubling you again."

The man, Min Fangheng, was a renowned fourth-tier Earth Master in the Immortal Sect. In this modern era where cultivation professions were in decline, he was considered a top expert in the Earth Master field.

"It's no trouble," Min Fangheng replied with a slight smile, revealing two rows of white teeth, as he walked over to the spiritual energy synthesis equipment and began to operate and calibrate it with practiced ease.

"Master Min, this time it's not the Headmaster who wants to customize the 'Fiery Yang Malignity,' but me."

Xiahou Weihuan's words stunned Min Fangheng, who turned his head to scrutinize the former from head to toe, asking with a puzzled expression, "It's very expensive to have me custom-make Earthly Malignancy Qi for private use."

Due to resource shortages, most Earthly Malignancy Qi in the Immortal Sect was a controlled spiritual substance, forbidden from being extracted. However, since many high-level magic arts, such as sword malignity, required it, and given that the authorities did not lift the ban, the Heaven-Mending Daoist Academy developed a method for artificially synthesizing Earthly Malignancy Qi.

Compared to naturally occurring ones, these artificial versions were sometimes more suitable for cultivators. Because they were artificial, during synthesis, the user's requirements were fully considered, allowing the synthesized malignity to be refined most quickly and easily.

Reverend Yuanxu of the Heaven-Mending Daoist Academy received the Immortal Sect's only "Flying Immortal Award" in the past millennium for developing the artificial synthesis of Earthly Malignancy Qi. This was the Immortal Sect's highest award, given for epoch-making, transcendent technologies. After receiving the award, Reverend Yuanxu generously published his paper on the artificial synthesis of Earthly Malignancy Qi for public dissemination.

He studied every type of Earthly Malignancy Qi possessed by the Immortal Sect and arrived at a very common conclusion: that every type of Earthly Malignancy Qi could be broken down into the most basic Five Elements Essence Qi. Five Elements Essence Qi included Yin Five Elements Essence Qi and Yang Five Elements Essence Qi. The Immortal Sect theoretically named them the Ten Heavenly Stems: Jia-Yi Wood, Bing-Ding Fire, Wu-Ji Earth, Geng-Xin Metal, Ren-Gui Water.

Reverend Yuanxu started from this point, breaking down each type of malignity until it could no longer be decomposed further. For example, a trace of Fiery Yang Malignity consists of 2 parts Jia-Wood Essence Qi, 3 parts Bing-Fire Essence Qi, 1 part Ding-Fire Essence Qi, 2 parts Wu-Earth Essence Qi, 1 part Geng-Metal Essence Qi, and 1 part Ren-Water Essence Qi. Cultivators then, using custom-made artifacts, recreate the specific environment where this Earthly Malignancy Qi is naturally generated, and through diligent refining, can ultimately synthesize it artificially.

In the Immortal Sect, those capable of performing this task were "Earth Masters." Min Fangheng was an expert in artificial synthesis of Earthly Malignancy Qi, most skilled in refining Fiery Yang Malignity. Coupled with the Pure Yang Academy's substantial investment in acquiring the necessary artifacts, this enabled Nangong Xuanyu to cultivate nine strands of Prime Yang Sword Malignity even within the Immortal Sect's restrictive environment.

"Rest assured, Master Min. It was the Headmaster who asked me to invite you. The materials are self-provided. Your guidance fee is 100,000 contribution points, your labor fee is 100,000 contribution points, plus 10,000 for travel expenses. A total of 210,000 will be deposited into your account every month on time."

"Alright then. Since you also have experience in refining Five Elements Essence Qi, teaching you won't be too much trouble for me."

After his humiliating defeat to Lan Haitian in the Minor Vermillion Heaven, Xiahou Weihuan reflected deeply and concluded that if he wanted to wipe away this disgrace before forming his Golden Core, he must master the Prime Yang Sword Malignity.

The cost of artificially synthesizing Earthly Malignancy Qi was not high for Xiahou Weihuan, but the critical factor was the Five Elements Essence Qi. The so-called Five Elements Essence Qi was spiritual energy obtained by cultivators practicing single-attribute Five Elements cultivation methods through refining spiritual qi, then transforming it back into spiritual qi by dispersing their cultivation. The result was Five Elements Spiritual Qi of extreme purity, devoid of any impurities.

Those who practiced comprehensive Five Elements cultivation methods had no way to refine Five Elements Essence Qi. Five hundred years ago, when Reverend Yuanxu first published his paper on artificial malignity synthesis, many Earth Masters hired low-level Qi Refining cultivators to refine it. At that time, refining a single strand of Five Elements Essence Qi could be sold for 1,000 contribution points. For many cultivators who had no hope of further advancement, this was a broad path to earning extra income and supporting their families. Therefore, at that time, many ordinary cultivators who practiced comprehensive Five Elements cultivation methods switched en masse to various single-attribute Qi Refining cultivation methods, solely to disperse the spiritual energy they cultivated into Five Elements Essence Qi for sale.

Cultivators in the late Qi Refining stage could refine one strand of Five Elements Essence Qi in three to four days. For those cultivators who no longer hoped for Foundation Establishment, willingly dispersing the spiritual energy they cultivated in exchange for tens of thousands of contribution points was naturally very appealing.

However, soon, as more people refined and sold Five Elements Essence Qi, the price plummeted, reaching as low as 100 contribution points. Furthermore, the Immortal Sect realized that this practice was undermining the foundations of society and quickly issued a prohibition. They even ran propaganda campaigns comparing selling Five Elements Essence Qi to selling blood, urging cultivators not to sacrifice the latter half of their lives for temporary contribution points.

Once the Immortal Sect, this colossal entity, was set in motion, no one could stop it. However, the artificial synthesis of Earthly Malignancy Qi itself was not prohibited by the Immortal Sect. Moreover, as the technology matured, not only could all thirteen types of Earthly Malignancy Qi known to the Immortal Sect be artificially synthesized, but research also extended to reverse-engineering the remaining fifty-nine types, with new groundbreaking papers published every few years.

So, a question arose: since the Immortal Sect prohibited the sale of Five Elements Essence Qi, how then was Earthly Malignancy Qi artificially synthesized? The answer was to refine it oneself. The nine strands of Fiery Yang Malignity that Min Fangheng artificially synthesized for Nangong Xuanyu were painstakingly refined by Nangong Xuanyu himself, strand by strand, through his own cultivation of Five Elements methods. Refining it for one's own use was not regulated by the Immortal Sect, as it was considered part of the cultivation process. Of course, many Golden Core professors ostensibly refined it themselves, but in reality, their students did the work on their behalf.

Nangong Xuanyu was considered fairly upright; among the nine strands of Fiery Yang Malignity, the first five were refined from his own Five Elements Essence Qi, while the latter four were refined by Xiahou Weihuan, Sima Xingyu, and others. It was precisely for this reason that Min Fangheng stated Xiahou Weihuan had experience.

According to Immortal Sect standards, one strand of malignity is divided into ten wisps, one wisp into ten threads, and one thread into ten filaments. If Xiahou Weihuan were to refine the Five Elements Essence Qi alone, even though he was at the perfected Foundation Establishment stage and cultivated Qi Refining methods very quickly, even at a rate of ten strands per day, it would still take 1,000 days. He certainly wouldn't make it in time for the year-end inter-academy and school sparring session.

However, since the person had already been invited, preparations had naturally been made. Xiahou Weihuan opened the cabinet on the wall and took out ten large, multi-colored glass bottles one by one, placing them before Min Fangheng.

"Are you sure these were all refined by you personally?"

Min Fangheng looked at the glass bottles, now filled with Five Elements Essence Qi, with an expression of disbelief, but Xiahou Weihuan nodded, his expression unchanged. "Indeed, these are the fruits of my diligent refining over the past few years."

Min Fangheng rolled his eyes upon hearing this, but he was only concerned with getting paid. Besides, the client had stated that the material source was fine, so even if it was later investigated, it wouldn't concern him. "I'll believe it for now."

"Once I master the Prime Yang Sword Malignity, I'll first use that pretender from the Weapon Daoist Academy, Doufa Sheng, as a sacrifice for my sword, and then challenge Lan Haitian to wipe away my past disgrace."

Seeing Min Fangheng begin to operate the artifact equipment for synthesizing Fiery Yang Malignity, Xiahou Weihuan involuntarily clenched his fists, already compiling a list of his opponents. However, he then recalled that Sima Xingyu, whose cultivation had recovered, had stated he wanted to personally defeat Doufa Sheng from the Weapon Daoist Academy. The battle in the Minor Vermillion Heaven, where Sima Xingyu had deliberately crippled his own cultivation but failed to intercept Chen Mobai from breaking Old Ancestor Yuanyang's record, had become a demonic obsession for Sima Xingyu.

"In that case, I'll leave Chen Mobai to Junior Brother Sima. A mere junior dares to call himself 'Doufa Sheng'? By the end of the year, I'll show you what a true sword cultivator is!" As someone who had also mastered sword light, and furthermore, cultivated the Prime Yang Sword Art, which was the second-ranked sword cultivation method in the Immortal Sect, Xiahou Weihuan felt that Sima Xingyu dealing with Chen Mobai would be as simple as a cat playing with a mouse.

Minor South Mountain.

Chen Mobai opened his eyes. He raised his hand and felt the liquid spiritual energy within his body, condensed like a secluded spring. He couldn't help but cast a spell he rarely used: Divine Wood Lightning!

Back then, he had escaped from Nanshan Dao's grasp using a Divine Wood Lightning Talisman, which made him quite fond of this spell. The first second-tier talisman Chen Mobai learned to draw was the Divine Wood Lightning Talisman. Before drawing the talisman, he naturally had to master the spell itself. However, due to his rather ordinary Wood Spiritual Root, although he had mastered it, its actual power was inferior to his Sword Rainbow.

But now, it was a bit different! A brilliant green lightning bolt shot forth from his palm, like a heaven-cleaving sword, splitting apart the mist and clouds at the mountain peak, revealing a clear sky. Chen Mobai realized that the power of this spell was already three or four-tenths that of his sword light. Was this the improvement in spells that came with a higher cultivation realm?! Indeed, the cultivation realm was the most important. Chen Mobai further solidified his understanding of the importance of cultivation realms.

Just then, a streak of gray caught his eye. The Six Yang Divine Fire Mirror appeared before him. Looking at his long hair, which had turned gray in the mirror, Chen Mobai couldn't help but feel sorry for himself. Decades of lifespan just vanished. Although breaking through a realm felt exhilarating, seeing his once vibrant self suddenly enter middle age still made his youthful heart feel a touch of melancholy.

Fortunately, the consumed lifespan could be replenished. Chen Mobai immediately took a Longevity Supplement Pill whose packaging he had previously torn open. After waiting for a while, he felt absolutely nothing. After all, it could only replenish one year of lifespan, which was truly a drop in the bucket compared to the decades he had lost.

Chen Mobai wasn't anxious, as one could only take one lifespan-extending pill per day. So, he began to experience the sensations after breaking through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. His Dantian Qi Sea had expanded by more than double. Upon inwardly inspecting with his divine sense, he also saw white markings along the edge of his Dantian, resembling the patterns on the Longevity Tree Fruit's shell, like a natural seal. Only by continuing to consume Longevity Tree Fruit could this seal be broken.

After the breakthrough, Chen Mobai's previously overflowing liquid Longevity Spiritual Energy had condensed into a secluded spring, resting in the lower half of his Dantian. In the upper half, 38 drops of Pure Yang Spiritual Energy had converged to form a small sun. Surrounding the small sun were four sword pills, being nourished by a cinnabar-green flame. This formed a five-pointed star pattern, with one large element and four small ones. Once the Longevity Spiritual Energy surged upward, it would be ignited by the Azure Yang Fire, transforming into fuel to enhance Pure Yang Spiritual Energy and Azure Flame Sword Malignity. While linking with the Two-Phase Art, Chen Mobai also used the Six Yang Divine Fire Mirror to isolate the Wood and Fire spiritual energies. The Longevity Spiritual Energy had not yet reached full maturity, so it was not yet time to absorb it.

Next, Chen Mobai practiced various spells from the Longevity Immortal Scripture and even used a Heavenly Wood Talisman to unfurl a tree seed. Unfortunately, the Azure Yang Tree seed he had received during the last war had already been returned. Now, he could only experiment with the Vermillion Yang Spiritual Tree, but even then, Chen Mobai felt the essence of the Divine Wood Sect's combat techniques. The Heavenly Wood Spiritual Light transformed endlessly under the control of the two great cultivation methods. Vaguely, he even grasped a hint of inspiration for cultivating the "Heavenly Wood Divine Light." It seemed Old Ancestor Zhou's words were indeed true. Unfortunately, just as he was about to continue evolving along this spark of inspiration, the Vermillion Yang Spiritual Tree beside him suddenly split apart. A first-tier spiritual tree simply could not withstand such evolution.

Chen Mobai sighed, thinking that when Yue Zutao returned, he would ask him how to refine tree seeds. Buying them directly would be a bit too expensive. After Mu Yuan's reminder, Chen Mobai knew that the Divine Tree Secret Realm surely contained mature Azure Yang Spiritual Trees. Since he had them in his own backyard, why buy them?

Calculating the time, roughly a day had passed. Chen Mobai then took out another Longevity Pill, which he had also previously unsealed, and consumed it. A single spiritual pill that replenished ten years of lifespan finally made him feel something. He felt a cool sensation flow through his meridians and spread throughout his body, giving Chen Mobai the illusion that his youthful self had returned. However, his graying hair wouldn't turn black.

To avoid revealing any clues, Chen Mobai considered asking Luo Yixuan to help him get a haircut, preferably a buzz cut, so that no one could tell he had lost lifespan by looking at his hair. However, cultivators in the Tianhe Realm generally sported long, flowing hair. If he suddenly went bald, it would be extremely difficult to explain. After some thought, Chen Mobai returned to the Immortal Sect and found a high-end hair salon to dye his hair black again.

Since he didn't know exactly how much lifespan he had lost and dared not go to a hospital for examination to avoid leaving any trace, Chen Mobai, to prevent waste, only consumed 2 Longevity Pills and 10 Longevity Supplement Pills. While replenishing thirty years of his lifespan, he finally began the process of degrading a large fruit.