Chapter 98: Red Flame Three Sword Talismans

In no time, Chen Mobai had been battling monsters on Cyanlight Island for a full ten days. From an ancient-style handsome youth who meticulously cared for his appearance, he now sported short sleeves and disheveled hair. If not for the cleansing spell, his current state would likely resemble that of a wild man. The number of people in their small team had also dwindled, leaving only twelve members.

However, those who remained were essentially all elites. Fortunately, everyone Chen Mobai knew had survived.

Luo Lin had already left the team. Being only at the third level of Qi Cultivation, after five consecutive days of fighting, even with the aid of elixirs and talismans, she had fallen into a coma due to the exhaustion of her spiritual energy and physical strength. But she had survived in the end, which was more important than anything.

Three days after Shi Pengyi took Luo Lin away, he rejoined the team. Besides wanting to earn spirit stones, it was also because he had broken through to the sixth level of Qi Cultivation. His spiritual root talent was good, but if he wanted to advance further, or even pursue Foundation Establishment, this island defense battle was his best opportunity for advancement. Not only could he earn spirit stones, but he could also further refine his cultivation techniques. If he could break through to the seventh level of Qi Cultivation in the next few years, then at least before his sixtieth birthday, Shi Pengyi could attempt Foundation Establishment once.

Chen Mobai had never participated in the Immortal Sect's pioneering wars, but he felt that even those wars couldn't have been much more brutal than this. Of the twelve who were still alive and intact, seven were at the late stage of Qi Cultivation, and five were at the sixth level.

A disciple from the Divine Wood Sect also died. Qi Rui personally cremated him, then left the team for a day with the urn. But upon his return the next day, he wholeheartedly resumed his battle against the monsters. Another late-stage Qi Cultivator among the rogue cultivators also died. As for the other rogue cultivators, only three, like Luo Lin, managed to leave alive.

The parting of life and death and the cruelty of battle had made Chen Mobai mature significantly in just ten days.

"Here, Fellow Daoist Chen."

Qi Rui tossed the liquor flask in his hand to Chen Mobai, who took it and naturally took a sip. He originally disliked drinking alcohol; after all, milk tea tasted much better than liquor. But there was no milk tea in this world, so he had no choice but to make do. However, after drinking a lot, he gradually began to appreciate its taste.

According to Qi Rui, this flask of liquor was brewed from jade sprout spirit rice grown in Giant Wood Ridge. It had a rich, smooth taste, and long-term consumption could also promote cultivation. This one flask of liquor cost one spirit stone.

Only after asking Shi Pengyi and the others did he learn that in the Sky River Realm, not every cultivator could eat spirit rice and drink spirit wine with every meal. In response to this, Chen Mobai could only conclude that agriculture in the Sky River Realm was underdeveloped.

Although the Immortal Sect lacked resources, one thing it didn't lack was spirit rice. On Earth Star, any terrain suitable for establishing spirit fields, whether plains or mountains, had been fully developed by the Immortal Sect's spirit farmers. After all, the body was fundamental. If one couldn't even eat enough spirit rice, how could the next generation of children have outstanding talent? The Immortal Sect's spirit rice cultivation techniques had reached their peak. It was precisely because, over thousands of years, every generation had grown up eating spirit rice, that infants with insufficient innate spiritual root attributes were extremely rare in the Immortal Sect.

In contrast, in the Sky River Realm, those with spiritual roots and who could sense spiritual energy for cultivation were surprisingly a minority. The Divine Wood Sect, a major power in the Eastern Barren Lands, when recruiting disciples each year, actually had to send Foundation Establishment cultivators with a group of people to various cities and villages among mortals to measure spiritual roots. Not only was this inefficient, but there was also a high probability of missing individuals with spiritual roots.

Eight years ago, when Mount Liujia recruited disciples in the Eastern Barren Lands, their Spirit-Crossing Emissary surprisingly found a genius with an unusual spiritual root in the Rain Kingdom, which had already been screened by the Divine Wood Sect. When Elder Fu learned of this, he was furious. If the Divine Wood Sect's Spirit-Crossing Emissary from the previous term hadn't secured a Heavenly Spiritual Root, they would likely have been severely punished for this incident.

"It's a shame that with such abundant spiritual energy in the Sky River Realm, they don't cultivate the land." As Chen Mobai sipped his liquor, he was thinking that if he ever joined the Divine Wood Sect, he definitely wouldn't waste such excellent spiritual land resources. Giant Wood Ridge, with its fourth-tier spiritual vein, was said to be the second-largest medicinal field in the Eastern Barren Lands. Converting it to cultivation land would probably be troublesome. But Chen Mobai didn't need such high-quality spiritual land. Qi Rui had mentioned that there were many vacant and abandoned first- and second-tier spirit fields around Giant Wood Ridge. Because the Divine Wood Sect had only branched off less than a century ago, its number of disciples was not yet sufficient. Currently, within the sect's sphere of influence, it was somewhat sparsely populated. Basically, every Qi Cultivation disciple could be allocated a second-tier spiritual vein. If he bought some fast-growing seeds from Earth Star that had high spiritual energy requirements, he could perfectly utilize the abundant spiritual energy of the Sky River Realm.

Chen Mobai's mother, Tang Pancui, hailed from a mountain hollow between Danxia City and Yumugu City. Generations of people in this village had lived by farming. The "Water Clear Rice" they grew was pure white, translucent, and had a unique green leaf fragrance. Foundation Establishment cultivators from Danxia City and Yumugu City basically recognized and preferred the second-tier Water Clear Rice grown here. Chen Mobai had also been taken to the fields as a child, and he felt he had some experience with farming.

"Steward Wang, I'd like to request two days of rest."

After finishing the liquor, Chen Mobai walked up to Wang Yuanwu. The latter was startled upon hearing this, thinking Chen Mobai was tired of fighting and wanted to withdraw.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, if you're not satisfied with the number of spirit stones, we can discuss it further."

"Steward Wang, you've misunderstood," Chen Mobai explained with a wry smile. "These ten days of non-stop fighting, day and night, have truly exhausted my spirit. If I don't go back and rest properly for two days, I'm afraid I might be carelessly killed by those beasts on the battlefield." However, besides this reason, it was also because Danxia City was set to announce the opponent list and detailed rules for the Daoist Academy Entrance Exam tomorrow. He needed to rush back to see his opponents and check if there was anything he should pay attention to.

"I see. It was my misunderstanding, Fellow Daoist." Upon hearing this, Wang Yuanwu immediately apologized. The truth was, his pressure had also been immense during this period. Yesterday, their team's frontline had been lost. If Ning Leshan hadn't repelled the Bird King and arrived with timely support, they might not have been able to recapture the area. Even so, the spirit tree formation flag they were guarding had been destroyed. Although Junior Brother Liu was trying his best to repair it, he was not a spirit farmer, and progress was very slow.

"By the way, Steward Wang, I heard you have a Scarlet Flame Triple Sword Talisman. You also know my yearning for the Divine Wood Sect and that I've decided to cultivate the Evergreen Longevity Scripture and the Scarlet Flame Sword Art. Would you be willing to part with it and sell it to me?"