Chapter 402: After Forming the Core Settlement

“Junior Martial Brother Chen, I’ll need your considerable help with this matter.” Jin Shanping, the deputy head of the Spiritual Plant Department, amiably saw Chen Mobai to the door. Chen Mobai nodded and then went to Sun Gaochang’s place.

“Senior Martial Brother Sun, how do you think we should handle this?” Chen Mobai sat down opposite him. Sun Gaochang offered him a cup of clear tea and, after hearing him out, wore a helpless, wry smile.

“Junior Martial Brother Chen, the Spiritual Plant Department’s annual sect-approved budget is only 100,000 spirit stones and 100,000 sect contribution points. If your hundred acres of Fire Spirit Rice are all acquired by the Spiritual Plant Department after ripening, according to the ten-fold subsidy policy, it would require 200,000 sect contribution points. Even if I approved it here, when it reaches the Hall of Merit and Punishment, Deputy Hall Master Luo would likely disapprove. Then it would be reported further up to the Sect Master, which would only make things difficult for him.”

Although Sun Gaochang had invited Chen Mobai over today, the matter had already been broached by Jin Shanping, the deputy head of the Spiritual Plant Department. Six months ago, through Meng Hong’s connection, Chen Mobai had obtained five hundred acres of spiritual land to grow spirit rice. Everyone had initially thought this undertaking impossible, as there wasn’t nearly enough manpower or spiritual fields.

However, no one knew that Chen Mobai had acquired the Puppet Arts legacy from the Longevity Sect. He used Azure Sun Spirit Wood to commission the Puppet Department to create numerous agricultural puppets, instantly solving the two most critical problems. Subsequently, he addressed the manpower issue by relocating a large number of mortal descendants from various cultivation families without spiritual roots, through the founding cultivation families, to the vicinity of Xiaonan Mountain.

A few days prior, nearly two hundred acres of spirit rice under Chen Mobai’s name had matured. He invited members of the Spiritual Plant Department to conduct a pre-harvest inspection and prepare for the year-end harvest. Of these, Chen Mobai planned to keep the sixty acres of crops from Xiaonan Mountain’s spiritual fields for himself. The remaining hundred acres of spirit rice from Xiaoyang Ridge and those spread across the other four spiritual mountains, he declared to the Spiritual Plant Department, intending to sell them to the sect.

Initially, when the Spiritual Plant Department staff came for the inspection, they lavished praise on the harvest from these more than one hundred acres of spiritual fields, commending the Xiaonan Mountain lineage as truly deserving of its reputation as the best spirit rice cultivators in the Divine Wood Sect. However, upon returning and calculating the sect contribution points required to acquire this spirit rice, the three heads of the Spiritual Plant Department became crestfallen.

Fire Spirit Rice, a hybrid spirit rice developed by Chen Mobai, was dry and hard to the taste, yet its spiritual energy and nutrients were almost identical to those of Jade Bud Spirit Rice, and it could be harvested twice a year. This type of spirit rice yielded 150 catties per acre. If Chen Mobai were to sell all 130 acres of spirit rice to the Spiritual Plant Department, the latter would need to provide 200,000 sect contribution points to acquire it all. Such a massive expenditure far exceeded the Spiritual Plant Department’s entire annual budget. Even if Sun Gaochang, as the inspector, were to approve it, the deputy head and head above him would certainly disagree. If they actually went through with it, the Spiritual Plant Department would be living on meager resources for the next two or three years.

Therefore, after internal discussions, they invited Chen Mobai over to bring up the matter. The implication was that the Spiritual Plant Department would at most acquire the thirty acres of Jade Bud Spirit Rice from Xiaoyang Ridge. As for the remaining Fire Spirit Rice, since there was no precedent within the sect for it, Chen Mobai would have to keep it himself. If the Spiritual Plant Department were to acquire it, they would send people to harvest and tally the quantity and yield of the spiritual plants on site. Chen Mobai had originally thought this would save him effort. Little did he know, he had planted so much that the Spiritual Plant Department didn’t dare acquire it.

“Does the Sect Master know about this?” Chen Mobai asked after listening to Sun Gaochang’s complaints. Sun Gaochang shook his head slightly, indicating that he had not yet reported the matter to Chu Zuochu.

“It still needs to be mentioned to him.” Chen Mobai pondered for a moment and then said something that surprised Sun Gaochang. However, Sun Gaochang immediately understood Chen Mobai’s intent: as a subordinate, sometimes one needs to know how to “cry poor.”

Divine Wood Hall. After hearing Chen Mobai’s request, Chu Zuochu also developed a headache. This should have clearly been a good thing, but the problem was that Chen Mobai had cultivated too much spirit rice. If it were acquired at market price, the sect could easily take it all. However, to support spirit rice cultivation, when the sect was first established, Old Ancestor Zhou had set this ten-fold subsidy policy. Because the effort put into cultivating spirit rice was disproportionate to the yield, even with this subsidy policy, the sect’s spirit rice production was always insufficient, requiring annual purchases from external cultivation families. But who would have thought that a farming genius like Chen Mobai would emerge, suddenly increasing spirit rice production to a level the sect could barely afford?

“Junior Martial Brother Chen, since you’ve brought this to me, I can approve the acquisition of this spirit rice for this year. However, if the amount remains this large next year, I’m afraid I’ll need to report it to the two Old Ancestors.” Chu Zuochu thought for a moment, deciding he couldn’t let Chen Mobai, a direct descendant, feel disheartened. He proposed a solution: the sect could bear this massive contribution this year, but if it happened every year, he, as the Sect Master, wouldn’t be able to stay in his position. At that point, he would have no choice but to escalate the matter, letting the two Old Ancestors themselves abolish the policy.

“Sect Master, I have a suggestion.” Chen Mobai believed there was a solution that would benefit both parties: it would allow the sect to acquire the spirit rice at ten times the contribution, without making the sect feel the pinch.

“Junior Brother, please state it.”

“The sect can acquire it as usual. Since my Fire Spirit Rice is a new variety, this contribution can be held in the sect’s account as a quality guarantee deposit. After a few years, once the spirit rice is confirmed to be without issues, this contribution can then be gradually released into my account.”

“Junior Brother, wouldn’t that be the same in the end?” Chu Zuochu didn’t understand the implication of Chen Mobai’s suggestion. Even if the sect contribution points weren’t used for a few years, wouldn’t they still need to be paid out eventually?

“Sect Master, I can also sign an agreement with the sect that I will withdraw no more than one-tenth of the previous year’s sect contribution income annually.” This way, although the Divine Wood Sect would nominally still be supporting spirit rice cultivation with ten times the contribution, the actual expenditure would only be the normal market price.

“Junior Brother, wouldn’t you be at a loss then?”

“Sect Master, if I were to form my Core, wouldn’t the contribution points held in the sect’s account become truly mine?” Chen Mobai said with a smile, making Chu Zuochu suddenly understand. Indeed, if Chen Mobai were to form his Core, the Divine Wood Sect would certainly acknowledge the remaining nine-tenths of the contribution points, which otherwise would have been impossible to withdraw.

“Junior Brother, then why don’t you just cultivate diligently and strive to form your Core? Why go through such a roundabout way?” Chu Zuochu, as Sect Master, had heard about Chen Mobai’s devotion to farming over the years. He shared Meng Hong’s view: why spend this time farming instead of cultivating? After forming your Core, anything you desire within the sect would be available for your use at any time.

“Sect Master, my strength alone cannot compare to the overall strength of the Divine Wood Sect. This spirit rice is primarily intended to strengthen the physiques of our sect’s Qi Cultivation disciples.” Chen Mobai reiterated his ideals. He also clearly understood that if the Divine Wood Sect genuinely acquired his spirit rice at ten times the contribution every year, the two Old Ancestors would step in to abolish the policy within two years at most. It would be better to reach an agreement with Chu Zuochu: the sect would actually acquire his spirit rice at market price, and the remaining ninety percent would be temporarily held in the sect’s account, becoming truly his upon his formation of the Core. If he didn’t form his Core, then this account would effectively cease to exist.

After pondering for a moment, Chu Zuochu immediately nodded in agreement. He then summoned Luo Xue’er from the Hall of Merit and Punishment, and Shi Fengping, the head of the Spiritual Plant Department. With the Sect Master’s intervention, both naturally had no objections and readily agreed. In fact, the Spiritual Plant Department gained a significant advantage from this, as they could now acquire Chen Mobai’s spirit rice at its normal market price.

Ultimately, after tallying the harvest from the 130 acres of spiritual fields, Chen Mobai’s personal account was credited with 20,000 sect contribution points. The Hall of Merit and Punishment, which managed the sect’s accounts, also recorded an outstanding debt of 180,000 sect contribution points to Chen Mobai.

“Master, Miaoshan and Tingshan have been largely reclaimed. Next spring, we can sow some simple spiritual plants there.” While the Divine Wood Sect’s Spiritual Plant Department was bustling with people harvesting spirit rice, Chen Mobai took Zhuo Ming to the terraced fields that had been reclaimed this year. The two spiritual mountains with the best topographical conditions out of the four had been leveled tier by tier by Zhuo Ming, leading mortals and using puppets, over the past six months. This added over a hundred acres of spiritual land.

However, these terraced fields lacked sufficient fertility and had soil that wasn’t loose enough, so they needed to be cultivated with a round of spirit oil yellow vegetables first. This was an experience Zhuo Ming had gained from her years of farming. This crop was a spiritual plant used by the sect to extract oil. It was easy to grow, and after harvesting, it could be refined into a gentle spiritual oil. This spiritual oil, when combined with Scarlet Sun Spirit Wood, was an excellent pairing for low-level alchemists of the Divine Wood Sect. After harvesting the yellow vegetables for oil extraction, the remaining stalks and other debris would be left in the terraced fields to nourish the earth, ensuring the spiritual fields’ fertility.

“I’ll leave this matter to you. Take your time with the rest; strive to fill all five hundred acres of spiritual land with the scent of rice blossoms within five years.” Chen Mobai had been busy working hard for the past six months, leading Zhuo Ming in both sowing and reclaiming barren land using puppets. However, once his disciples were trained, he could relax. The three types of agricultural puppets were now sufficient. Anyway, the sect would arrange for the Spiritual Plant Department to handle the harvesting, so their Xiaonan Mountain lineage only needed to focus on sowing and reclamation.

“Master, I feel my cultivation is about to break through. Farming and reclaiming barren land seem to align perfectly with the cultivation of Earth Mother Art, but it also feels too fast, as if my foundation might be unstable, and I fear it might affect my future Qi Condensation to Liquid.” Zhuo Ming fidgeted slightly before reporting her situation to Chen Mobai.

“Oh, extend your hand. I’ll take your pulse.” Chen Mobai reached out and placed his hand on Zhuo Ming’s wrist. After examining his disciple’s cultivation, he found that she was indeed about to break through to the eighth level of Qi Cultivation. However, since Zhuo Ming had only just broken through to the seventh level of Qi Cultivation last year, she was somewhat apprehensive about this speed of progress and had deliberately suppressed her cultivation, not daring to advance.

“Hahaha, this is a natural progression and breakthrough for you. Don’t worry, there’s absolutely no problem.” Zhuo Ming, believing her spiritual root talent was mediocre, felt a bit anxious about breaking through a level each year. She even wondered if she was suffering from qi deviation or if something had gone wrong with her cultivation. But Chen Mobai knew that this second disciple possessed the most outstanding innate spiritual roots among his lineage. Under his guidance, with no shortage of spiritual energy, the ideal environment for cultivating Earth Mother Art, and a constant diet of spirit rice, it would be surprising if she *didn’t* progress at this speed.

After hearing Chen Mobai’s words, Zhuo Ming finally felt relieved. Guided by her intuition, she simply sat down, took out a spirit stone from her storage bag, and immediately broke through on Tingshan Mountain itself. Tingshan Mountain also possessed a Class 2 high-grade spiritual vein. However, Chen Mobai and Zhuo Ming, master and disciple, had dispersed most of its energy to convert it into spiritual fields, leaving only a Class 2 low-grade spiritual vein. Nevertheless, for Qi Cultivation cultivators, it was still an excellent treasure land. Chen Mobai also drew a Class 2 Spirit Gathering Talisman to help. Before long, the spiritual energy at the mountain peak began to converge towards the seated Zhuo Ming. About half an hour later, enveloped in a misty aura as if exhaling clouds, Zhuo Ming successfully broke through her bottleneck and advanced to the eighth level of Qi Cultivation.

“Thank you, Master, for protecting me.” After the breakthrough, Zhuo Ming opened her eyes and bowed deeply to Chen Mobai.

“Rise. This Tingshan Mountain is also fated to you. From now on, let it be your cultivation ground.” Chen Mobai waved his sleeve, and a gentle aura lifted Zhuo Ming. He then pointed to the spiritual mountain beneath their feet, presenting it as a gift for Zhuo Ming’s breakthrough.

“Thank you, Master. I will certainly manage the spiritual fields here well.” Zhuo Ming’s face was full of gratitude. At this moment, Chen Mobai noticed Luo Yixuan also looking envious. He decided to seize the opportunity today to distribute properties to all three of his disciples.

“Let the adjacent Miaoshan Mountain be for Xuan’er. It’s convenient since you two martial sisters are close, making visits easier in the future.”

“Yishan Mountain goes to Wenbai. In the future, if he gets too drunk to return to Divine Wood City, he’ll at least have a place to stay.” Each of the four, master and disciples, of the Xiaonan Mountain lineage received a spiritual mountain. However, although Luo Yixuan thanked him verbally, she still harbored a slight dissatisfaction in her heart because her Miaoshan Mountain was the furthest from Xiaonan Mountain. But there was nothing she could do; once her Master’s golden words were spoken, she could only bow her head in thanks.

“Seeing Ming’er’s breakthrough, I’ve had new insights and need to enter seclusion for a period. I won’t participate in this year’s sect competition, but you three should do your best.” After resolving matters with the Divine Wood Sect, Chen Mobai realized he hadn’t returned to the Immortal Sect side for half a year. He decided to go back and deal with the accumulated affairs of the student union and his own factory.

“Congratulations, Master.” Zhuo Ming and Luo Yixuan listened, their eyes filled with admiration. For their Master, breakthroughs and insights seemed as simple as eating and drinking. And every time he emerged from seclusion, he truly had made a breakthrough.

Leaving his two disciples on Tingshan Mountain, Chen Mobai returned to the peak of Xiaonan Mountain. After activating the Cloud Mist Grand Formation, he left the Formless Effigy there to regularly refine Pure Yang Purple Qi. As for himself, he returned to the Immortal Sect via the Turtle Treasure. Unexpectedly, upon his return, he received good news: Che Yucheng, after working through his connections at the Daoist Academy of Martial Arts for a long time, had finally cleared the way with all the forces related to the Purple Lightning Sword.