Chapter 488: Domain, Dan Formation

Under Chen Mobai's careful guidance, Meng Huang'er finally broke through to Foundation Establishment Layer Seven.

Of course, the Great Obstruction-Breaking Pill was primarily responsible for this breakthrough.

Although resources were scarce in the Immortal Sect, any elixirs that survived under such conditions were the most effective of their kind.

However, it was only because Meng Huang'er was eager to help Chen Mobai that she would have spent so many contribution points.

After all, in the Immortal Sect, she had a full sixty years to achieve Foundation Establishment perfection.

Nevertheless, a breakthrough in cultivation was always a cause for celebration.

Chen Mobai naturally celebrated with her.

This also provided a good opportunity to familiarize themselves with the proper steps of dual cultivation. Since both could seal their respective primordial yin and yang, they could take turns enjoying the process to their heart's content.

Undisturbed, the two began this unique cultivation method.

Of course, Chen Mobai's primary goal was to help Meng Huang'er consolidate her newly broken-through realm.

As her breakthrough was achieved through elixirs, her foundation was unstable. Without his experienced guidance and hands-on assistance to compensate, she might have regressed.

One Great Obstruction-Breaking Pill cost thirty million, and Chen Mobai didn't have enough contribution points to buy her a second one in a short time.

It was better for him to put in some extra effort himself.

After Chen Mobai's disappearance, the excitement surrounding his creation of the Golden Core Domain didn't diminish; instead, it began to surge in a peculiar way.

This was primarily due to Nie Wenzhan's proposal, which caused an unexpected stir. Many talented Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Four Great Daoist Academies sought to use this opportunity to change the Immortal Sect's system.

They believed that geniuses should receive preferential treatment, and in times of resource scarcity, resources should be concentrated and provided to those most capable of making breakthroughs.

These individuals were graduates of the Daoist Academies, boasting significant fan bases. Some were even civil servants holding important positions within the Immortal Sect. Once they united to voice their opinions, their influence was naturally immense.

However, the public's opposition was equally strong.

Both sides engaged in heated debates online. All news videos during this period capitalized on the trending topic, further escalating the issue.

Most people in the Immortal Sect were enlightened and rational. The more the elite geniuses from the Daoist Academies argued, the more they found themselves alienated by the public.

Realizing the situation was turning unfavorable, many tried to contact Chen Mobai, hoping he would personally intervene and take a side.

As the current top Foundation Establishment cultivator in the Immortal Sect, and the public face of the two major powers, the Wuqi Daoist Academy and the Butian Daoist Academy, his involvement might have turned the tide.

However, no one could reach him.

Some highly capable individuals investigated the Immortal Sect's transportation system and found no record of Chen Mobai leaving Wangwu Blessed Land.

Paparazzi also uncovered records of Chen Mobai checking into a room, but found that he had checked out three days after creating his Golden Core Domain.

Did he fly back himself?

Or was he hiding in a rented place within Wangwu Blessed Land?

After investigation, Nie Wenzhan was found to have long violated our television station's regulations, extensively accepting valuable items from fans of artists appearing on programs. His deplorable conduct created a negative impact. Therefore, he will no longer serve as a host for our station, and this public announcement is hereby issued.

That day, Chen Mobai saw a news alert pop up on the television and was slightly surprised.

"That guy said things he shouldn't have just to stir up hatred for you. His future is pretty much ruined."

Meng Huang'er, who had just walked out of the bathroom after washing her hair, saw the news and shared some insider information about the entertainment industry.

Besides being fired from the television station, Nie Wenzhan was also blacklisted by the Immortal Sect's entertainment industry magnates for inciting public resentment. From now on, no one in the industry would dare invite him to appear on a show.

"Anyway, you won't be seeing him on screen anymore."

As Meng Huang'er spoke, still in her bathrobe, she naturally sat beside Chen Mobai and asked him to help dry her hair.

It was something that could be instantly accomplished with a cleansing spell, yet she insisted on taking her time.

Chen Mobai didn't understand it at all, but it seemed female cultivators were often like this; his two disciples also frequently made plans to soak in the hot springs of Dishan after planting and fertilizing.

Nevertheless, he skillfully activated his Pure Yang spiritual power, transforming it into a warm breeze to meticulously dry Meng Huang'er's damp long hair.

This was the apartment Meng Huang'er had bought in Wangwu Blessed Land. She had purchased it after graduation, considering she would be living there for the next sixty years.

This was also why she hadn't had enough contribution points to purchase the Great Obstruction-Breaking Pill.

Chen Mobai had been living in seclusion here for half a year.

Besides guiding Meng Huang'er in her cultivation, his main focus was to familiarize himself with his newly created Golden Core Domain.

He could now download Daoist scriptures related to domains from the Immortal Sect's National Library.

The source of these scriptures was the heavenly book, "The Cosmos."

They contained the experiences and insights countless cultivators had gained over thousands of years in the Immortal Sect, by exploring the heavenly book and establishing domains.

In the Tianhe Realm, these would be considered sect-guarding secret techniques, only passed down by the elder generation before their demise.

Yet, in the Immortal Sect, Chen Mobai was free to download and study them.

He had become immersed in this ocean of knowledge.

Gradually, he progressed from a partial understanding of the Golden Core Domain to complete mastery.

Due to his profound foundation in void power, the domain he created was almost twice as large as Wenren Xuewei's.

Wenren Xuewei's was approximately half a meter square, perfectly sized for planting a small tea tree and storing personal items.

Chen Mobai's, however, was one cubic meter, and its size within this range could expand and contract freely, easily concealing a person.

This void domain could grow in two ways: by refining void power or by expanding with the cultivator's breakthrough in cultivation realms.

Among these, a breakthrough to a major realm brought about a significant qualitative change.

For example, if Chen Mobai's domain was currently one cubic meter, it would surge to ten cubic meters after he formed his Golden Core.

This unreasonable surge appeared to be a law of space.

For this very reason, many cultivators who had cultivated domains would try to refine void power and expand their domain's size before breaking through to a new realm.

When breaking through minor realms, the domain would also expand, though only by a factor of two, unlike the tenfold increase seen with major realm breakthroughs.

Even so, it greatly facilitated the Golden Core Perfected Ones of the Immortal Sect.

Essentially, cultivators around Golden Core Layer Three could possess their own portable dwelling.

However, one thing filled Chen Mobai with regret.

The extent to which a cultivator could refine void power to expand their domain depended on the amount of void power they had mastered at the time of its creation.

Each cluster counted as a percentage.

For instance, Chen Mobai possessed one hundred clusters of void power, which corresponded to a factor of one.

This meant that, without breaking through a realm, he could refine void power to expand his domain by one hundred percent, which was the upper limit.

Although he already had the deepest potential compared to others in the Immortal Sect, if Chen Mobai had used all the Void Stones in his storage bag, his potential could have been nearly doubled again.

While a single doubling might not seem like much, after the cumulative effects of minor and major realm breakthroughs, it would have resulted in an exponential explosion.

When he reached the Soul Transformation stage in the future, his domain might truly become a complete small world!

After all, with the Tianhe Realm as his backing, he was not short of Void Stones.

This was Chen Mobai's greatest frustration over the past six months. However, he later read in another Daoist scripture interpreting "The Cosmos" that a Nascent Soul Grandmaster from Kunpeng Daoist Academy, who had mastered the Six Imperial Scriptures, speculated that a domain's creation might only utilize a maximum of one hundred clusters of void power.

This was considered the most profound foundation for a small world; any more would result in a domain of the same size.

Upon reading this, Chen Mobai's mind was somewhat put at ease.

"Don't move around too much."

While Chen Mobai was drying Meng Huang'er's hair, she rested her long, straight, fair legs, still under her bathrobe, on his lap, swinging them occasionally.

Since they had already done this once before, Chen Mobai was now calm; otherwise, he would have definitely guided her in further cultivation.

Meng Huang'er listened and, as expected, stopped moving obediently.

Within these six months, she had already consolidated her Foundation Establishment Layer Seven realm.

From now on, as long as she steadily consumed Qi-replenishing spiritual water and cultivated, she should be able to advance to Foundation Establishment Layer Nine within six or seven years.

To be honest, during her time at the Wuqi Daoist Academy, she couldn't have imagined reaching such a realm at this point.

Back then, even achieving Foundation Establishment seemed like a pipe dream.

She knew very well the reason for her current achievements.

Precisely because of this, as Chen Mobai's reputation in the Immortal Sect grew stronger and he opened his Golden Core Domain, she desired even more to tie herself completely to him.

Consequently, she had become even more docile and sensible in front of Chen Mobai, especially during these past six months.

"I've booked a flight for the day after tomorrow."

After drying her hair, Chen Mobai spoke words that caused Meng Huang'er's expression to dim slightly.

Although she had long known a day of parting would come, when it actually arrived, she still felt a pang of reluctance.

Before their departure, they acted more like lovers. Meng Huang'er prepared a delicious dinner, and Chen Mobai brought out the spiritual wine he had originally intended for Grandmaster Qingping.

After drinking, they fell asleep in each other's arms.

Because of their sensitive identities, Meng Huang'er did not see Chen Mobai off at the airport when he left.

She left her home alone, carrying Chen Mobai's Golden Core Domain. Then, in an empty alley, Chen Mobai stepped out of his domain and, looking at the slightly reluctant celebrity, couldn't help but say,

"I'll come to see you when I have time."

"Okay."

After a soft single-word reply, Chen Mobai nodded to her and left the capital blessed land.

After returning to Danxia City, he was invited by Qin Baipeng, who had heard of his return, to be interviewed by official media. He then gave a speech at the high school. Chen Mobai was already quite accustomed to such matters.

Dealing with these miscellaneous tasks, including calls from friends, took another half a month.

Afterward, he left behind a Faceless Puppet and went to the Tianhe Realm in his true form.

"Greetings, Master."

Zhuo Ming, having received a message via the Omniscient Compass, immediately came to the Longevity Wood Daoist Temple. Chen Mobai dug out the Enlightenment White Tea seeds he had planted in his domain and handed them to her.

"These are Grade-3 tea seeds that I found in a secret realm. I'll have to trouble you to cultivate them carefully."

Zhuo Ming's eyes lit up when she heard "Grade-3" and she immediately took them with both hands carefully. However, since they were not yet planted in the soil of Mount Xiaonan, her Myriad Spirit Connection ability could not yet be used on the Enlightenment White Tea.

"Master, are there truly such precious spiritual plants in the secret realm?"

After Zhuo Ming reached Foundation Establishment, Chen Mobai had told her that he could sometimes freely enter and exit the Divine Tree Secret Realm, so she had no doubts about the origin of the Grade-3 tea seeds.

"After all, it's a secret realm of the ancient Longevity Sect. Since there's even Grade-4 Longevity Wood, Grade-3 tea seeds are nothing. I'll explore more when I go in next time; perhaps I can find thousand-year-old medicinal herbs."

It was much easier for Chen Mobai to legitimize items from the Immortal Sect here in the Eastern Barrens; he could simply attribute everything to the Divine Tree Secret Realm and the Longevity Sect.

As long as the two Grand Ancestors remained silent, those below would certainly not suspect anything.

Once he formed his Golden Core, he wouldn't even need excuses; the Divine Wood Sect members would simply take it for granted.

"By the way, Ming'er, are you confident that you can successfully transplant the Grade-3 Immortal Peach Tree from Black Cloud Mountain?"

Chen Mobai asked another question. Zhuo Ming shook her head, stating that she would need to personally visit Black Cloud Mountain to inspect the Immortal Peach Tree before she could give an answer.

Her Myriad Spirit Connection ability could operate at one hundred percent effectiveness within the territory of Mount Xiaonan.

However, its power would weaken outside Mount Xiaonan, becoming weaker the further she was from it.

Nevertheless, if she was willing to spend time communicating with a local leyline for an extended period, she could gradually achieve the same effect as within Mount Xiaonan's territory.

"If you have time, you can go. I'll inform the Spiritual Plant Department."

After Yuan Hongyuan's death, all properties on Black Cloud Mountain went to the Divine Wood Sect, and the Grade-3 Immortal Peach Tree naturally fell under the Spiritual Plant Department's care.

"Master, do you intend to transplant the Immortal Peach Tree to Mount Xiaonan?"

Zhuo Ming asked. Chen Mobai nodded, then shook his head.

He was thinking of transplanting it into his own domain. A domain's growth required a core spiritual item, and the grade of this item influenced the domain's future scale.

Generally, cultivators in the Immortal Sect would choose a spiritual plant.

For example, Wenren Xuewei had carefully cultivated a Grade-3 high-grade tea tree herself. This way, when refining void power, the core spiritual plant could help share the burden.

If the spiritual plant was powerful enough, the domain's owner could even leave it to operate fully automatically.

Chen Mobai couldn't use the Grade-4 Longevity Wood. After much consideration, only the Grade-3 high-grade Immortal Peach Tree from Black Cloud Mountain seemed suitable, but he was merely contemplating it.

Still, he could have Zhuo Ming prepare for it in advance.

"Yes, Master!"

As Zhuo Ming was about to leave, Chen Mobai called out to her again and handed her another one of his Faceless Puppets.

"Release this puppet if you encounter danger."

With one disciple already missing, Chen Mobai was even more concerned about his remaining Foundation Establishment disciple.

Although Black Cloud Mountain was under the watchful eye of the Divine Wood Sect and probably safe, for extra caution, he also refined an Azure Flame Sword Talisman for Zhuo Ming, in addition to the Faceless Puppet.

After seeing Zhuo Ming off, Chen Mobai checked Luo Yixuan's soul lamp. He breathed a sigh of relief upon confirming that her life was not in danger.

He then went to find Fu Zongjue, wanting to inquire if the Five Elements Sect had any news of Luo Yixuan.

The answer was no.

However, he received another piece of good news.

Yan Shaoyin of Return to Heaven Valley finally succeeded in refining the Golden Liquid Jade Restoration Pill after two failures!