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Clear Sky Mountain, under a thousand year old pine.
A hale and hearty old man in a green robe played chess sitting under the pine. His opponent was a woman, her yellow robes like a dragon. A golden hairpin dangled from her bun; her eyes were bright and her lips were pink.
Their game was already in the end phase. From a gamestate perspective, the woman surprisingly was in the lead.
“Daoist has left the matter of purchasing the certificate to a disciple. Are you not afraid of mishaps?” The woman gently opened her vermilion lips, and her voice richly entered his ear.
“This Old Man still has some repute in the Cangwu Star Field as the Elder Under The Pine. Your Distinguished Self is oversensitive. Something as minor as an auction can be left to the youngsters.” The old man was none other than Elder Under The Pine, the Cangwu Star Field’s famous Lord Of Heaven
“I only hope that there are no variables.” The woman rolled her sleeve, setting down a piece.
A wonderfully crafted ko.
Elder Under The Pine sunk into contemplation for a long time, his brows tightly wrinkled. “There will not. Those events the Thousand Gold Pavilion holds cannot be hidden from This Old Man. There are four certificates this time. Other than the Lü Spring And Autumn, the Wang Clan of Langya and the Thousand Gold Pavilion themselves, the remaining one belongs to This Old Man.”
“Oh? Can it be no other Lords Of Heaven came to contest it?” The woman continued to ask.
“No need to worry. The Thousand Gold Pavilion will require Astral Crystals for this certificate auction.” The old man considered his moves as he spoke.
“Astral Crystals.”
“Exactly. Your Distinguished Self is also aware of the value of Astral Crystals. This time, I gave Xuesong three Astral Crystals. I believe that success is at hand.”
“Three Astral Crystals. Daoist truly is extravagant.” The woman naturally smiled.
Elder Under The Pine said: “So long as I obtain the certificate. The Astral Crystals can also be retrieved, so this is not considered a loss. I only hope that this Connecting Valley actually has the personal writings of Li Si.”
“Ha, ha, it is rumored that Li Si made the ruler’s seal for the Ancestral Dragon, created the Great Seal, and used Primeval Chaos True Qi to develop the ‘Five Emperors Seal,’ also known as the Official Seal Of The Star Marquis. Even the Sixteen Star Marquis covet it.”
“However, we have agreed that this Five Emperors Seal belongs to me, and Li Si’s personal writings belong to you.” The old man paused before speaking, his gaze like a vulture’s as he stared at this beautiful woman.
Her smile was like a flower: “Of course, I do not value the Five Emperors Seal at all, Daoist. Have you thought of a move.”
Elder Under The Pine sighed, “This Old Man concedes. As it so happens, that disciple of mine has also returned.”
“En.”
“Master.”
Nian Xuesong arrived at Clear Sky Mountain and apprehensively faced the unconcerned master, Elder Under The Pine.
“Have you obtained the certificate?” Elder Under The Pine asked.
“Disciple has.” Nian Xuesong presented the box as well as the Kalpa Heavenly Bottle.
Elder Songxia took them with great satisfaction. He opened the box, “So this is the certificate.” He cast a glance at the woman: “This means that four people are required at the minimum.”
“Yes, four certificates were auctioned this time.” Nian Xuesong spoke forthrightly.
“Hm?” Elder Under THe Pine saw this disciple’s expression was flustered. He felt this quite disgraceful in front of a guest, and he showed displeasure. “What is the matter.”
Nian Xuesong did not dare conceal anything. News that Chen Mo had used merchant tricks to swindle him out of three Astral Crystals was already spreading through the Cangwu Star Field. Before long, this master would find out.
“Disciple was incompetent and was cheated of three Astral Crystals and five hundred thousand Astral Dollars by a scoundrel. Disciple asks Master for punishment!!” Nian Xuesong knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face.
“What???” An ice-cold murderous intent spread through the surrounding pine trees like a cold spring.
Elder Under THe Pine’s gaze was completely cold: “Say that again!”
Nian Xuesong’s whole body quivered in fright. He crept so low that his entire person was nearly buried in the ground.
“Daoist had even just said that everyone in the Cangwu Star Field knows you. Most likely, this is someone from outside the Star Field.” The woman mediated.
Elder Under The Pine retracted his fury and coldly asked: “Be detailed and thorough, do not embellish, just what happened there!”
Three Astral Crystals.
He had cultivated for several centuries and gathered only five Astral Crystals.
Nian Xuesong seemed to have received a reprieve. He hastily informed his master of the full details regarding the events at the auction.
After listening to Nian Xuesong, Elder Under The Pine was taken aback. He shouted: “Was there any lie in what you just said.”
“Disciple absolutely does not dare lie.” Nian Xuesong screamed in terror.
“This cannot be blamed on your disciple.” The woman ruminated: “That cultivator named Chen Mo is a Servant Star. Though his Realm is still not yet Earthly Immortal, he surprisingly was able to bring out two Astral Crystals and three hundred thousand Astral Dollars. This indeed is very difficult to imagine.”
“He is also very audacious. Apparently, he only dared to do this because he knew that your disciple needed to buy it.”
“Courage, spirit, tricks. Although his Realm is weaker than your disciple’s, in other aspects, your disciple nevertheless falls far behind.”
“Your Servant has lost Master face.” Nian Xuesong could only agree with every point of the woman’s criticism.
Although Elder Under The Pine was not very happy that his disciple was being criticized so mercilessly, he had no way to retort. To surprisingly be pilfered of three Astral Crystals and several hundred thousand Astral Dollars, they had already become enemies.
“Will you go retrieve them?” The woman asked.
“Since Lady Wei has guaranteed him peace for five days, forget about it. During these five days, we prepare for Connecting Valley. This Old Man does not wish for any further mishaps. For the time being, This Old Man will spare that brat’s life, let him keep the Astral Crystals and Astral Dollars for a while.”
“Daoist is open-minded.” The woman praised.
“Xuesong.” Elder Under The Pine said in an ice-cold voice.
“Disciple is present.”
“Go monitor that Chen Mo’s whereabouts. Do not allow him to leave your line of sight. If you lose him, then present your head to This Old Man.” Elder Under The Pine strictly said.
“Disciple will definitely not fail this mission.”
Elder Under The Pine waved his hand, granting the Kalpa Heavenly Bottle to him for self-defense. He did not want to see this useless disciple.
Nian Xuesong did not dare delay. After he deferentially bowed, he immediately hurried down Clear Sky Mountain.
“I have let Fellow see something embarrassing.” Elder Under The Pine helplessly smiled.
“The appearances of the Lü Clan and the Wang Clan were within your expectations, but that mystery person’s background is unknown.” The woman wrinkled her brow. She stood on the peak and faced the drifting clouds.
“Likely the one of Thousand Gold Pavilion’s own. They used a hundred years to finally scrape the surface of this Connecting Valley clue. Perhaps they are making us take the lead again, but they cannot possibly remain unmoved and watch from the side. That which is within the Connecting Valley cannot be weighed by a mere few Astral Crystals and hundred thousand Astral Dollars.” Elder Under The Pine disagreed.
“Fine. The more forces there are, the greater our success.”
“If only that were so.”
The woman spoke softly.
…
Verse Pavilion.
“Unknown Literati” Mi Ji was currently dipping her brush in an inkwell while Jiang Kui was to the side, carefully analyzing and researching “Supreme Mad Brush” Zhang Xu’s True Work.
Although the words on the True Work were few, each stroke was sufficient to occupy Clear Empty Shadow for days.
Mi Ji finished dipping her brush, her little hands still spotless. She lifted her head to glance at the mountain behind the Verse Pavilion and recalled the events that happened two days ago at the Thousand Gold Pavilion. She felt like she was dreaming.
“Elder Sister Yuezhuo, just who is your junior brother. He unexpectedly obtained three Astral Crystals and more than two hundred thousand Astral Dollars so easily. His merchant methods are truly too vicious.” Mi Ji herself had participated at the Thousand Gold Pavilion for so many years, yet the rewards she obtained surprisingly were not as plentiful as what Chen Mo had in one auction.
“I heard the senior sisters say that Chen Mo has exceptional skills to be able to pass Mount Hua, and he solved the chess game that Ancestor couldn’t. He possesses power that won’t lose out to a Heavenly Star.” Jiang Yuezhuo put away her thoughts and gazed up the mountain.
Conversing about this junior brother for the past few days, Jiang Yuezhuo felt he was becoming harder and harder to grasp.
It seemed even Star Generals were not as mysterious as he.
“However, offending Elder Under The Pine isn’t something we can handle easily. I’ll be fine since I conduct business with the Thousand Gold Pavilion; he won’t dare cause me trouble, but you two are still in danger.” Mi Ji had a worried frown: “I think we might as well give up on going to the Connecting Valley. Take the opportunity to flee the Cangwu as quickly as possible within the next few days, run away to some other Star Field. No matter how strong that Elder Under The Pine is, he won’t be able to find you in the Three Thousand Star Fields without the ability to cross them.”
Jiang Yuezhuo also considered this.
But looking up the mountain through the changing winds and clouds, Chen Mo was currently in the last stages of ingesting the Five Qi Origin Return Powder to refine his Primordial Spirit into the Earthly Immortal Realm. They feared there was no way to persuade him.
“Junior brother is very smart. He definitely has his own plan.”
Mi Ji shook her head then took out her wolf brush for cleaning.
“We’d still prepare to go to the Connecting Valley. We can probably go the day after tomorrow. Chen Mo’s Primordial Spirit should be more or less done by then.”
“En.”
Atop the mountain.
Chen Mo sat in meditation on top of a boulder. Azure, blue, yellow, red, and green colored True Qi emerged from his apertures. Chen Mo circulated his Divine Soul Nine Turns. He felt the world dim, and in his mind, his Divine Soul endlessly twisted, splitting into countless fragments that reconnected.
After Divine Soul Nine Turn, a cultivator’s Divine Soul was as strong as steel, but to condense it into Primordial Spirit required one to continuously split apart the Divine Soul. Each split was a direct injury to the cultivator themselves.
A kind of pain like the soul was being extracted was enough to make a cultivator beg for death.
This was the most painful step in ascending from Human Immortal to Earthly Immortal. It required splitting the Divine Soul ninety-nine times and continuous tempering, refining, and reassembly to reform the Divine Soul again. This process was long and agonizing. Many cultivators would fail with the slightest bit of complacency. Once in the process of condensing the Primordial Spirit, the cultivator’s vitality would be several injured after the Divine Soul was fragmented.
Although not as bad as having body and soul destroyed like during a tribulation, to attempt the condensation again would often take more than ten years of recovery and become even more challenging.
Even if Chen Mo used the the supreme Soul Technique ability, even when he had a treasure like the Star Manual Of Masters Gan And Shi, condensing the Primordial Spirit and cultivating Star Energy were distinctly opposite systems. Normally, this would require upwards of a decade, at least.
Now, he was forcibly condensing the Primordial Spirit. Chen Mo did not dare be careless. The five True Qi in his body protected the fragmented pieces of his Divine Spirit. Then, the Five Elements would fuse, accelerating the speed of the Divine Spirit’s reassembly.
The Five Qi Origin Return Powder was a Divine Pill for a Human Immortal to enter Earthly Immortal. The most important point was that while the Divine Soul was split apart, the five True Qi were able to very efficiently repair the Divine Soul, softening the tenacious Divine Soul.
Under the tempering of the Five Qi Origin Return Powder, after Chen Mo under went the first pain, splitting apart and cleaving together his Divine Soul became more and more proficient, more and more natural.
The five rainbow-like True Qi gradually condensed into one.
His fragmented Divine Soul began to appear substantial under the True Qi fusion.
Boom.
A massive quake came from inside the forest. Chen Mo was unfazed, for he had established a defensive array; he did not fear a sneak attack. After using the Bodhi Soul Technique, Chen Mo condensed and refined his Primordial Spirit with storm-like progress.
Roar.
A substantive spirit covered his entire body’s meridians and limbs like a membrane.
His eyes glowed.
An enormous breath blow from the ground the instant the Primordial Spirit was formed, making the entire mountain flood with a kind of peculiar Earthly Qi energy.
“The primordial essence of binding the earth, refining the spirit itself, this is Primordial Spirit. The Primordial Spirit succeeds, as if born from the Earth, thus it is called Earthly Immortal.”
A heavenly voice seemed to chant.
This voice was so beautiful and pleasant, even Chen Mo’s boulder-like Daoist mind nearly was enchanted.
CHen Mo opened his eyes and saw through the sea of trees with his Deva Eyes.
He spotted a cloaked woman lazing about, chanting as she walked out of the forest.
“Oh, congratulations, Young Lord Chen Mo, you have entered Earthly Immortal.”
In that instant, the cool breeze of the mountain, the birdsong of the forest, and the graceful gurgle of the spring water incomparably vulgar compared to this smile.
Nothing in nature could surpass this.
Chen Mo was suddenly awed.
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