Chapter 413: Red Cherry Blossoms with White Snow, Singing Yangguan Amid Heartbreak

In the morning, Chen Mobai emerged from his bedroom, wearing only an outer robe.

Standing on the balcony, he faced the rising sun and breathed in the mountain air, squinting as he savored the memories of last night's "guidance." Unfortunately, Meng Huang'er's willpower proved insufficient. Shortly after they began, she repeatedly waved her hands, declaring the first attempt to cultivate the Jade Lock Golden Gate Art a failure.

However, Chen Mobai was patient. After she had rested, he tirelessly continued to guide her through the second round of cultivation. This time, because he lowered his demands and Meng Huang'er had previous experience, she managed to persist a little longer. But it was only for a brief moment. As soon as Chen Mobai increased the intensity slightly, Meng Huang'er felt her body couldn't take it anymore, and she failed again amidst whimpering sobs.

Seeing this, Chen Mobai initially wanted to slow down and let Meng Huang'er adapt. But unexpectedly, during this unprecedented experience, Meng Huang'er actually entered a supreme realm of the Profound Sound Esoteric Method. Unconsciously, she spontaneously sang out her most ardent Heart's Pure Sound.

Chen Mobai, caught off guard, had his body's acupuncture points resonate with her Profound Sound Esoteric Method. The last remaining bottleneck in his Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness was forcefully broken through. Not only did he advance from Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer to Seventh Layer, but even subsequent minor bottlenecks, from Seventh Layer to Eighth Layer, also began to open and expand with the aid of Meng Huang'er's Profound Sound Esoteric Method.

Such an opportunity was rare. Under these circumstances, Chen Mobai could only temporarily set aside the guidance of cultivation and meditate on the Divine Control Art to expand his Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness. After an unknown number of cultivation cycles, Chen Mobai felt that his Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness had been expanded to the vastness of Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer, not far from Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer.

However, by this time, Meng Huang'er had exhausted her strength during the arduous cultivation and had fallen into a deep slumber. Chen Mobai felt pity for her immense effort in cultivating the Jade Lock Golden Gate Art. After waking up, he guarded her by the bed all night. Only when dawn broke did he finally come out.

Sitting on the balcony, enjoying the mountain breeze, Chen Mobai checked information about the Profound Sound Esoteric Method on his phone while sensing the expansion of his Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness. He felt even more motivated for his upcoming guidance of Meng Huang'er in cultivating the Jade Lock Golden Gate Art. Over the course of this year, even if Meng Huang'er didn't succeed, he could at least use the Profound Sound Esoteric Method to expand his Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness to the peak of Foundation Establishment.

After all, spiritual sense is easy to improve, but bottlenecks are difficult to break. In the Immortal Sect, there are countless elixirs and miraculous medicines for improving spiritual energy and spiritual sense, but only a few, like Barrier-Breaking Pills, can help overcome bottlenecks, and they are all extremely expensive. For Chen Mobai, gaining such benefits while guiding Meng Huang'er's cultivation was an unexpected bonus.

However, after last night, he looked forward even more to their true union once Meng Huang'er reached the peak of Foundation Establishment. Last night's "incorrect" cultivation method yielded such results; what would happen if it were "correct"? Perhaps it could truly help him expand his Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness to the Core Formation stage!

Just as Chen Mobai was considering how to use the resources from the Eastern Wasteland to refine a furnace of Golden Liquid Jade Return Pills, the sound of the bedroom door opening caught his attention. He turned his head and saw Meng Huang'er, her face rosy, her charm even more captivating between her brows, yet slightly furrowed, and her movements appearing somewhat unnatural. Upon seeing him, she seemed to recall something, her fair, tender cheeks flushed red again, and she lowered her head.

"You worked hard cultivating last night. You should rest a bit more, lie down." Chen Mobai walked over and naturally took her hand, leading her to sit on the living room sofa.

Meng Huang'er was only wearing a thin, silky white nightgown. As she sat down, it clung tightly to her curvaceous figure, outlining her slender waist and perky buttocks. Combined with the lustrous glow between her brows, she seemed even more alluringly sensuous than last night.

Sitting side by side, Meng Huang'er's pretty face flushed, and she lowered her head, beginning to apologize. "I'm sorry. I was so useless last night. I couldn't even complete one full cultivation session."

"It's alright. If it were that easy to master, wouldn't everyone in the Immortal Sect achieve Foundation Establishment? Don't worry. Once your body recovers, I'll come back and guide your cultivation." Chen Mobai's comforting words slightly reassured Meng Huang'er; she had been afraid that this man would lose interest after achieving his goal.

"Thank you." Listening to her soft murmur by his ear, Chen Mobai felt as if he was back to last night, with the superstar beside him, performing that sweet, melodious, yet heartbreaking tune with her Profound Sound Esoteric Method.

To be honest, Chen Mobai felt that this cultivation process was quite tormenting for Meng Huang'er. After all, he had already mastered it and only needed to guide, but Meng Huang'er had to forcibly endure the feeling of her consciousness and body collapsing, which was truly a torment. But for cultivation, there was no choice. Who made her unable to master this Jade Lock Golden Gate Art on her own?

"What do you want to eat? I'll take care of you today." Although Chen Mobai wanted to return to meditate and stabilize his newly broken through and expanded Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness, he still had basic emotional intelligence. Given how arduous Meng Huang'er's cultivation of the Jade Lock Golden Gate Art was, it would be better to stay and take care of her for a couple more days.

"Anything is fine. Can you cook? Or perhaps I should do it." Meng Huang'er thought for a moment. She felt that Chen Mobai was a guest, and she had invited him to help with her cultivation, so it wasn't good to make him cook. She struggled to stand up, her exquisitely beautiful face flushed crimson, and she walked ahead towards the kitchen.

Chen Mobai's cooking skills were decent. When his parents worked overtime as a child, he often cooked for himself. However, compared to Meng Huang'er, he was definitely inferior. Watching her walk into the kitchen with her fair, smooth, beautiful legs, Chen Mobai felt she had worked very hard cultivating last night, and it would be better for him to go in and help her.

After a long while, a simple breakfast was finally ready. The two of them no longer sat facing each other but side by side, the atmosphere intimate. After eating for an unknown period and the table was clean, Chen Mobai and Meng Huang'er looked at each other. Having little in common besides cultivation, they found themselves in an awkward silence.

"How about I guide you again?" Chen Mobai tentatively suggested. Meng Huang'er's pretty face flushed red again, and she lowered her head. But after a long silence, she softly whispered one word. "Mm."

A month later, Chen Mobai finally left Meng Huang'er's hilltop villa. Under his tireless, day-and-night guidance, Meng Huang'er was finally able to occasionally endure. However, this was also because Chen Mobai had not pushed the intensity during their practice, holding back; if he had gone all out, she still wouldn't have been able to endure. But after several experiences of locking in during intense moments, Meng Huang'er, who had previously been clueless about the critical method, suddenly had a flash of insight last night.

Such insight is extremely rare for cultivators and can even lead to an epiphany. Upon learning this, Chen Mobai immediately bid farewell, telling her to focus on seclusion to grasp this insight and not miss the opportunity. Meng Huang'er thought he was genuinely considering her well-being and was even somewhat moved. In reality, Chen Mobai's Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness had already expanded to Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer with the help of Meng Huang'er's Heart's Pure Sound, and further progress would yield diminishing returns.

However, this month of cultivation also made Chen Mobai realize that while Heart's Pure Sound was very useful for cultivators, its effects would continuously decrease. The first time he guided Meng Huang'er in cultivation, he immediately used it to expand to Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer, but it took nearly a month afterwards to make another breakthrough and expand to Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer.

Having just left the "land of tenderness," Chen Mobai, midway through his flight, suddenly felt a pang of nostalgia. Although guiding Meng Huang'er's cultivation could no longer help him expand his Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness, her excellent "cries" could still enhance his spiritual sense. However, he was a person of firm resolve and did not return to disturb Meng Huang'er's cultivation. To avoid dwelling on memories and experiencing emotional fluctuations, Chen Mobai simply teleported to Mount Xiaonan to recuperate his body and mind. This entire month of "guidance" had been very taxing for him, a pure-hearted youth.

Coincidentally, Zhuo Ming had by this time completed the cultivation of all the terraced fields under his name. Chen Mobai emerged from seclusion to inspect his domain. Looking at the golden spirit oil cabbage covering the mountains and plains, like waves of golden light, Chen Mobai couldn't help but praise his second disciple profusely.

"Are those mortals managing the spirit fields and spirit rice well?" With 520 acres of spirit fields, Chen Mobai and his two disciples certainly couldn't manage everything perfectly. They could only teach those mortals how to operate agricultural puppets to handle the tilling, sowing, and care processes.

"They are all good common folk. They treat our words as divine, and they care more for the spirit fields allocated to them than their own lives." Luo Yixuan immediately replied. The management of mortals had been handed over to her at the beginning of this year, and after several inspections, she was very satisfied with this group of mortal tribes sent by the aristocratic cultivation families of the founding nation.

"That's good. In your daily interactions, pay more attention to them. If any of their descendants develop spiritual roots, you can promise them the opportunity to learn cultivation methods. If their backgrounds are clear, they can also join the sect." Chen Mobai's ideology was somewhat different from that of the cultivators in the Eastern Wasteland. He believed that there was essentially no difference between mortals and cultivators; they shouldn't just be driven but also given some spiritual and material motivation.

"Yes, Master." Although Luo Yixuan didn't quite understand, Chen Mobai's words were law to her, and she merely complied.

After the inspection, Chen Mobai went to ripen two more Jade Bamboo Spirit Rice for Zhuo Ming. She had been cultivating the Nine-Footed Body Transformation Art for two years, and with a continuous supply of spirit rice, she finally showed signs of initial mastery recently. One could only say that this famous body-refining technique from the Eastern Wasteland was indeed somewhat difficult to cultivate. Before initial mastery, it required strong physique and vital energy, and after mastery, it also required consuming various potent tonics and spiritual beast meat. If Zhuo Ming hadn't had the second-tier Jade Bamboo Spirit Rice given by Chen Mobai, she probably wouldn't have found the threshold even now.

Happily taking the Jade Bamboo Spirit Rice, the two disciples skillfully began to draw spring water from the mountain and cook the spirit rice. Chen Mobai treated it as a relaxing outing, lying on a large rock, watching his two disciples busy themselves. When Zhuo Ming served the split Jade Bamboo Spirit Rice and Luo Yixuan handed over the cooked mountain spring water, he suddenly became interested and started asking about their cultivation progress again.

"Master, today during meditation, images of Mount Xiaonan and nearby Mount Ting and Mount Miao often appeared in my mind. Is my cultivation progressing too fast, perhaps leading to some cultivation deviation?" Zhuo Ming hesitated for a moment, then spoke of her recent cultivation dilemma.

"Oh, give me your hand." Chen Mobai was somewhat perplexed by this situation, as he had not cultivated the Earth Mother Art. However, he trusted Zhuo Ming implicitly. Because under his direct guidance, this second disciple, after switching to cultivate the Earth Mother Art, had not taken any elixirs to improve her cultivation other than spirit wine. Her foundation was the most solid among his three disciples.

After his spiritual sense entered her body and circulated once, Chen Mobai found no issues. Zhuo Ming's spiritual energy in her Dantian and Qi Sea was pure and rich, and following his guidance, it had roughly condensed into a nascent vortex. Moreover, due to continuously consuming spirit rice, her vital energy was tremendously strong compared to other cultivators of the Divine Wood Sect. Observing her spiritual energy fluctuations, she would likely break through to Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer in about two to three years.

"Recall the images that appeared in your mind during meditation." Zhuo Ming nodded, took out paper and brush for drawing talismans from her storage bag, and drew the faint mountain images that constantly appeared in her Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness while cultivating the Earth Mother Art.

After Chen Mobai finished looking, he first thought, then realized, and a faint smile appeared on his face. "Ming'er, this is the unity of knowledge and action. In the process of cultivating the spirit fields, you have aligned with the essence of the Earth Mother Art. These images are not actually mountains, but the 520 acres of spirit fields under my name that you personally managed. It's just that these terraced fields are more prominent than flat plains, so you mistakenly thought they were mountains."

Although he had not cultivated the Earth Mother Art, Chen Mobai was present when this cultivation method was chosen. Hu Jinshan from the library had said that if one had vast fertile lands or medicinal fields to apply the knowledge, the cultivation speed of the Earth Mother Art was the fastest among earth-attributed cultivation methods. After Zhuo Ming completed the cultivation of all the spirit fields, although she herself was vaguely aware, she had aligned with the essence of this cultivation method. During meditation, her spiritual sense perceived the Earth Mother Qi from these 520 acres of spirit fields, and during Qi Cultivation, she began to comprehend the subtle natural phenomena that could only be sensed after spiritual sense left the body.

"However, your spiritual sense is still a bit weak. If you immerse yourself in the profound subtleties of earth qi for too long, you might not be able to maintain the purity of your thoughts. I will teach you a formula for a 'Thought-Calming Incense.' When lit during cultivation, it can help keep your mind clear." If possible, Chen Mobai wanted to teach Zhuo Ming the "Nurturing Thought and Forging Spirit Art," but this cultivation method belonged to the Immortal Sect. Fortunately, the Immortal Sect's elixir formulas were all publicly available and not restricted from being taught.

Chen Mobai thought of a Thought-Calming Incense formula for calming the mind, took the paper and brush from Zhuo Ming, and wrote it down on the spot. It consisted of common herbs and spices, and the refining method was simple. Because Zhuo Ming had long brewed spirit wine and had connections with Yan Jinye, she had friendships with many Qi Cultivation disciples in the Alchemy Department and had learned some herbal processing skills herself. She could try to make this Thought-Calming Incense herself.

"Thank you, Master. This disciple swears this formula will be used by me alone." After receiving the formula, Zhuo Ming immediately made a solemn Dao Heart Oath. In the Eastern Wasteland, elixir formulas were valued even more than cultivation legacies. Luo Yixuan, beside her, also knelt down and swore an oath. She couldn't resist her curiosity earlier and watched Chen Mobai transcribe the formula, having memorized it all.

Chen Mobai was helpless with this custom and wryly motioned for both of them to rise. "Get up. Ming'er is also a fortunate person. You sensed the Earth Mother Qi during Qi Cultivation. This will be of great help for the final step of Foundation Establishment, when your spiritual sense leaves the body. It seems choosing this Earth Mother Art was indeed the right choice."

As a cultivation method practiced by many spirit plant farmers in the Divine Wood Sect, the Earth Mother Art was well-known within the sect. However, due to its low combat ability, many people only practiced it as a secondary cultivation method to their two-phase techniques. But Zhuo Ming was pure-minded. After following Chen Mobai's advice to switch cultivation methods, coupled with the numerous spirit fields on Mount Xiaonan, cultivating the Earth Mother Art was uniquely advantageous for her. Chen Mobai even felt that among his three disciples, if they were to take Foundation Establishment Pills simultaneously, Zhuo Ming might be the quickest and easiest one to achieve Foundation Establishment.

"It's all because Master taught me well." Zhuo Ming also knew how to offer such simple compliments. Chen Mobai smiled, picked up a Jade Bamboo Spirit Rice, and began to eat it. While eating, he wondered if he should acquire more spirit fields to help his second disciple with her cultivation.

Action followed thought. After finishing the spirit rice, Chen Mobai left Zhuo Ming to guard the home and departed Mount Xiaonan with Luo Yixuan. He first visited Meng Hong. This former sect master had failed in Core Formation and was greatly weakened, but he took it in stride and spent his days fishing throughout Giant Wood Ridge. If it weren't for Mu Yuan leading him, Chen Mobai might not have found him.

"This wine is a bit strong." A visit naturally wasn't empty-handed. Chen Mobai brought spirit wine brewed by Zhuo Ming last year using Green Jade Spirit Rice. Meng Huang'er had also tasted it; it was considered the strongest wine produced by Mount Xiaonan's shop.

"Try this Jade Bamboo Spirit Rice. Its delicate bamboo fragrance is perfect for sobering up." Chen Mobai also brought a ripened Jade Bamboo Spirit Rice plant. Mu Yuan and Luo Yixuan had already cooked it while they were drinking.

Meng Hong didn't decline, eating a mouthful of spirit rice and taking a sip of strong wine, completely neglecting his fishing rod, enjoying himself immensely. After eating, Chen Mobai brought up the matter of spirit fields. Last year, the 500 acres of land Meng Hong had coordinated for him from various departments had all been converted into spirit fields. It was estimated that by the end of the year, he would see fire spirit rice covering the mountains and plains. This proved that Chen Mobai's idea was sound; according to his plan, it was possible to plant spirit rice throughout Giant Wood Ridge, allowing Divine Wood Sect disciples to eat spirit rice at every meal.

"What's on your mind, kid?"

"Could you give me another 500 acres of land, making it a round 1000 acres?" Chen Mobai spoke frankly. The improved fire spirit rice could be harvested twice a year, and 1000 acres of spirit fields could yield 300,000 jin annually. While distributed among each Qi Cultivation disciple, it would only be 100 jin, it would at least ensure their continuous intake of spirit rice. With strong physique and vital energy, their essence, qi, and spirit would also be abundant, making cultivation breakthroughs easier. What Chen Mobai wanted to do was to enhance the overall strength of the Divine Wood Sect.

Meng Hong naturally supported him. So after eating the spirit rice and spirit wine, he had Mu Yuan help pack up his fishing rod, and he went with Chen Mobai to Divine Wood City to consult with the Spirit Plant and Spirit Beast Departments.

Shi Fengping and others from the Spirit Plant Department, upon hearing that Chen Mobai wanted to expand the scale of spirit rice cultivation again, grimaced. Even if acquired at market price, the high yield of fire spirit rice would be a huge burden for their Spirit Plant Department. Moreover, the more spirit fields there were, the more troublesome it would be for them to harvest, as most disciples in the Spirit Plant Department were more skilled at tending medicinal fields than spirit fields. But the Spirit Plant Department couldn't easily offend Chen Mobai and Meng Hong, so they pushed the problem elsewhere.

Eventually, after running around to several departments, the relevant individuals were invited to the Divine Wood Hall. Sect Master Chu Zuoshu sat at the head of the table with a troubled expression, with the heads of the Spirit Plant Department, Formation Department, Spirit Beast Department, and Spirit Vein Department standing below. Regarding Chen Mobai's desire to expand spirit rice cultivation, these four departments had different opinions. Among them, the Spirit Beast Department was the most vehemently opposed.

The uncultivated mountain forests and wildlands of Giant Wood Ridge were all their grazing grounds. Previously, they had raised some *Yu* in Mount Miao, white apes in Mount Ting, spirit snakes in Mount Yi, and on the north side of Mount Shuyang, there was a strange water body where many *Xuan Gui* were kept. The *Xuan Gui*'s carapace was a valuable medicinal material, and its meat also had an excellent taste, highly favored by disciples of the Body Refining Department. Not to mention the spirit snake's gallbladders, which improved vision and cleared the mind, also medicinal materials. But because Chen Mobai wanted to plant fields, the Spirit Beast Department had to send people to relocate all these creatures and find suitable new locations, leading to widespread complaints among the department's disciples.

Once, it could be reluctantly tolerated, after all, besides Chen Mobai, the sect's top sword cultivator, there was also the former sect master Meng Hong's prestige. But if they agreed a second time, it would obviously lead to a third and fourth time. So this time, the head of the Spirit Beast Department, Ma Wuniang, was absolutely unwilling.

With the Spirit Beast Department leading the opposition, Spirit Plant Department Head Shi Fengping immediately watched from the side with a smile, though he still stated his position: as long as the sect was willing to allocate additional spirit stones for this portion annually, he would not object in principle. The other Spirit Vein Department and Formation Department stated that if spirit veins were dispersed to cultivate spirit fields, the power of Giant Wood Ridge's mountain-protecting formation would be weakened, and the more land cultivated, the greater the impact, so it was best to maintain the status quo. This implied opposition.

Although Chu Zuoshu was the sect master, he was somewhat undecided on this matter. Planting more spirit rice was certainly good for the sect, but an annual expenditure of tens of thousands of spirit stones was indeed quite a lot. Moreover, the sect's grand formation could not be ignored, especially since a major war was likely to occur in the next few years. Of course, inwardly, Chu Zuoshu still favored Chen Mobai, as he was his direct subordinate, and the expenditure came from the sect's spirit stones, not his own pocket. But as sect master, it might not be worth it to forcibly suppress the Spirit Beast and other departments over this matter.

Finally, Chu Zuoshu decided to convene the three Halls and twelve Departments to collectively vote on the matter. As he expected, the Transmission Department and Divination Department, being Meng Hong's direct subordinates, directly cast affirmative votes. Zeng Woyou from the Alchemy Department and An Jinghui from the Puppet Department, owing favors to Chen Mobai, also agreed without hesitation. The Spirit Beast Department, Formation Department, and Spirit Vein Department expressed clear opposition. Shi Fengping from the Spirit Plant Department, seeing four votes in favor, stopped pretending and also opposed. This made it four votes against four votes. The remaining Sword Cultivation Department, Artifact Refining Department, Talisman Department, and Body Refining Department all abstained, not wishing to offend either side. This was four against four against four, perfectly balanced. At this point, the three Great Halls needed to express their opinions.

"In favor." Luo Xue'er, the acting head of the Hall of Commendation, was also Meng Hong's direct subordinate, and Chen Mobai was considered under her command. Both for personal reasons and for principles, she had to support him. Everyone looked at Quan Shanlin from the Hall of Punishment. Since the Spirit Beast Department was directly under the Hall of Punishment, everyone present assumed Quan Shanlin would oppose.

"Abstain." But under Ma Wuniang's incredulous gaze, Quan Shanlin calmly uttered these two words.

"Then my vote is also unimportant. Consider it an abstention. You four departments should cooperate well and release another 500 acres of land." Chu Zuoshu, hearing Quan Shanlin's abstention, chuckled and stepped forward, summarizing the voting results of the three Halls and twelve Departments. His abstention also saved Ma Wuniang some face.

"Why?" After the vote, Ma Wuniang was furious. She rushed out and intercepted Quan Shanlin in mid-air as he was flying away, demanding an explanation.

"This is Ancestor Fu's intention. Are you going to defy it?" Quan Shanlin, being intercepted, also looked displeased and retorted irritably.

"Impossible. How could an esteemed figure like the Ancestor concern himself with such trivial matters?" Ma Wuniang listened, then blurted out in disbelief.

"You also know it's a small matter. A great sect war is imminent, and Junior Brother Chen has mastered Sword Shroud, essentially making him the strongest Foundation Establishment combatant. The sect will rely on him even more in the future. Don't even mention 500 acres; even if it went before the two Ancestors, they would probably give him another 1000 acres until he's satisfied with planting." Quan Shanlin saw that Ma Wuniang was still somewhat deluded. After all, she was his subordinate, so he decided to lay it out clearly for her.

"This kid, even if he has mastered Sword Shroud..." Ma Wuniang initially wanted to say, "What's so great about Sword Shroud?" But after thinking carefully, it seemed that there was indeed no other Foundation Establishment cultivator in the sect who dared to claim confidence in dealing with Sword Shroud. In recent decades, no one in the Divine Wood Sect had mastered Sword Shroud, which had made her forget what it truly represented: Invincible among Foundation Establishment cultivators.

"In the Eastern Wasteland, strength always speaks. With Junior Brother Chen's talent, he might very well become our sect's third Core Formation True Immortal. Your attitude towards him today was a bit problematic. Find an opportunity to apologize properly." After saying this, Quan Shanlin bypassed Ma Wuniang and flew towards his Hall of Punishment. Ancestor Fu Zongjue's appreciation for Chen Mobai was already well-known within their lineage, which was why Quan Shanlin had abstained in the three Halls and twelve Departments' vote.

Chen Mobai at this time was thanking Zeng Woyou and An Jinghui. If not for their help, he probably wouldn't have acquired these 500 acres of spiritual land today. "Just treat us to a drink another day." After a brief conversation, since Chen Mobai still needed to meet with Meng Hong to discuss the handover of the spiritual land with the Spirit Beast and other four departments, Zeng Woyou and An Jinghui politely took their leave. Before leaving, Chen Mobai also thanked Chu Zuoshu and Luo Xue'er. These two leaders didn't say much, simply nodding with smiles.

On the other side, Meng Hong was thanking Cang Qi and Lu Yi. After all the pleasantries, Ma Wuniang also returned at this time. Shi Fengping and others from the Spirit Plant Department had initially hoped she would stand up for them and see if they could feign compliance, but they were surprised to see her walk up to Chen Mobai, bow, and apologize.

"Junior Brother Chen, my previous opposition was due to the considerable resentment from relocating the spiritual beasts from those four mountains last year. As a departmental head, I had to express something. But I wholeheartedly agree with your idea; after all, only when the sect's disciples as a whole are strong can the sect grow stronger." Ma Wuniang's completely different attitude left Shi Fengping and the other three gaping, utterly incredulous. Was this still the Sister Ma known for her fierce and cold demeanor?

With Ma Wuniang yielding, things became much simpler. After all, the unclaimed lands in Giant Wood Ridge were nominally the grazing grounds of the Spirit Beast Department. As long as the Spirit Beast Department agreed, Chen Mobai could rightfully take over the other spiritual mountains and lands bordering Mount Xiaonan.

Deputy Head of the Spirit Vein Department, Deng Dajin, sighed and shook his head, walking away. This matter was no longer relevant to him. The next step was for the Formation Department to transplant the two Green Sun Spirit Trees. However, Chen Mobai proposed another idea: not to alter the formation.

The newly acquired 500 acres of spiritual land included three spiritual mountains. The mountains with Green Sun Spirit Trees, Mount Shan and Mount Ji, had second-tier high-grade spirit veins. But Chen Mobai could use his precise control to disperse the spirit veins for the spirit fields while keeping the spirit veins at the second-tier low-grade level. After all, the fire spirit rice he planted only required first-tier spiritual energy initially. If spiritual energy was insufficient, he could use other methods to enhance soil fertility. The Immortal Sect was most adept at such things. Green Sun Spirit Trees could survive as long as there was a second-tier spirit vein, thus saving the Formation Department trouble. Upon hearing Chen Mobai's suggestion, Formation Department Head Yi Shaoqing's expression also softened, indicating he had no objections.

The three spiritual mountains in the new spiritual land were named Mount Di, Mount Shan, and Mount Ji, respectively. On Mount Di, the Spirit Beast Department raised a type of fish called *Kui*. This fish lived in hills, had a snake-like tail, wings under its ribs, and cried like a cow. Its flesh was an antidote spirit medicine. On Mount Shan, there was a type of wildcat called *Li*, which had once produced a second-tier beast, so many beast-taming disciples would go there to capture them. Mount Ji had a spirit chicken with three heads, six eyes, six legs, and six wings. The meat of this spirit chicken was exceptionally delicious and filling, and it was an ingredient for refining Grain Abstinence Pills, also a favorite of the Body Refining Department's body cultivators.

After talking with Ma Wuniang, Chen Mobai realized that Giant Wood Ridge actually contained such a wide variety of spiritual beasts. These would probably be protected spiritual beasts in the Immortal Sect, but here they could be openly consumed. Remembering that he had once increased his water spiritual root significantly by eating Blood-Jade Carp, and that Zhuo Ming would require large amounts of spiritual beast meat after mastering the Nine-Footed Body Transformation Art, Chen Mobai suddenly developed a strong interest in these.