Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Jade Phoenix Tree l
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Qing Nu couldn’t resist the allure of the Jade Phoenix Theater Troupe and agreed to Chen Mobai’s proposal.
After exchanging contact information, Chen Mobai went home with his hangover medicine.
At this time, Uncle Wang Jianyuan had already brought his delivery truck over. Chen Xinglan was going to live in the Rank-3 Spiritual Vein Cave Dwelling of Red Dawn Institution for two years, naturally he had a lot of baggage.
By the time Chen Mobai got home, Chen Xinglan and his wife were moving stuff. After drinking the hangover medicine he bought, Chen Xinglan felt more spirited.
“I will never drink again.”
Although he said this, Chen Mobai felt that Chen Xinglan would still drink a lot at their next family reunion.
Many hands make light work, in no time, bedding and clothing were packed and Chen Xinglan, carrying his luggage bag, comforted his wife Tang Panchui whose eyes were slightly red.
“Okay, it’s enough for our son to take me there, you just wait at home with peace of mind.”
After the old couple bid goodbye, Chen Mobai took the passenger seat.
Originally, Chen Xinglan meant that no one from home needed to see him off, he could set off on this journey alone.
However, Tang Panchui was worried and Chen Mobai wanted to get a glimpse of Red Dawn Institution, so he was allowed to join.
Wang Jianyuan’s driving skills were impressive. It took less than an hour to cover the nearly forty-kilometer distance.
“Is this the Red Dawn Institution!”
Chen Mobai, looking at the buildings nestled in a large woodland and inhaling the rich spiritual energy in the air, couldn’t help but sigh deeply.
“Cough cough… cough…”
Then he couldn’t help but cough severely.
The spiritual energy here contained a certain heat, and after entering his system unrefined, his throat couldn’t handle it.
The spiritual vein here was a Fire Vein, naturally, Chen Mobai who had been nourished in the Water Vein recently could not adapt.
“Do you see that Spiritual Peak?”
As Chen Xinglan got out of the car, he pointed towards the deepest part of the sycamore woods, the highest peak. It was majestic, with clouds lingering, but couldn’t hide the towering Azure Jadeite Sycamore Tree at the top, seemingly connecting heaven and earth.
“Is that the Azure Jadeite Sycamore Tree that has been alive for over four thousand years!”
Danxia City, one of the seventy-two blessed lands of the Immortal’s Gate, originated from this Rank-4 high-grade Sycamore Tree. It witnessed the rise of the Immortal’s Gate and it rooted and proliferated on these mountains, gathering spiritual energy, suppressing the earth’s veins, and transforming an ordinary extinct volcano into the current Rank-4 Spirit vein.
You could say, without this spiritual wood, there would be no current Danxia City.
“The peak of the Spiritual Peak is where the great cultivator Shi Qing practices. My Foundation Establishment Cave Dwelling for this time is just at the foot of the mountain.”
Chen Xinglan had already applied to return to school for Foundation Establishment via Red Dawn Institution’s official website and had already received approval. As cars were not allowed in the school, the three of them carried their various pieces of luggage and walked to the foot of the Spiritual Peak.
Before entering the Cave Dwelling, they naturally had to register with the teacher in charge of management. Luckily, that person was Chen Xinglan’s old schoolmate who had stayed at the school after graduation to take care of miscellaneous services.
He read the stamped approval of the school and immediately arranged for an vacant Rank-3 lower-grade Cave Dwelling.
“The school is pretty much the same as thirty years ago, nothing much changed, you know where the cafeteria is. If you want to save some Good Deed Points, you can prepare Fasting Pills yourself.”
With an acquaintance’s help, everything went smoothly. Chen Xinglan got a campus card under his guidance, with it, he could swipe to enter the Cave Dwelling, even use most of the facilities and welfare of the Red Dawn Institution, such as auditing classes, the library, and even the stores inside the campus that offer pills, magic artifacts, spirit talismans specially for students.
“Thank you, Old Yan.”
Chen Xinglan’s old schoolmate, named Yan Xiang, helped him apply for the campus card, and even took a pot of something out of his office and gave it to Chen Mobai.
“This is your son, right? I didn’t prepare anything for our first meeting, please accept this green paulownia sapling.”
Yan Xiang was a very kind middle-aged man. It was a green sycamore sapling with only two leaves. After getting his father’s consent, Chen Mobai reached out and accepted it.
“Upon enrollment in the Red Dawn Institution, all students receive a sycamore branch to cultivate until they graduate. After graduation, they can take it with them or if they don’t wish to spend too much time on its cultivation, they can plant their matured sycamore branch within the school premises. This sycamore forest was formed in this manner.”
Yan Xiang pointed to the richly grown sycamore forest all over the mountain with a proud face. Having said his part, he excused himself to attend to other matters.
“Alright, we won’t disturb you further. Call me if anything comes up, I can drive here easily.”
Wang Jianyuan moved his gift into the Cave Dwelling, noting that it was getting late, he too planned to leave.
“Let’s have a meal together. I’ve got a new meal card and the food in the Red Dawn Institution’s cafeteria is superb.”
Chen Xinglan proposed, but Wang Jianyuan shook his head stating he had business in the afternoon to attend to. Chen Mobai naturally had to leave as well.
As they stood at the school entrance, father and son said their goodbyes. Just as Chen Mobai was about to get into the car, he spotted a familiar face. “Teacher Chan, what brings you here?”
It was Chan Si who taught Formation classes at the institute. Today she was dressed in a red outfit, looking very beautiful. However, Chen Mobai was surprised to see her at the Red Dawn Institution, given she was a student of the Cinnabarite Institute.
But she wasn’t alone; a gentleman clad in cyan was accompanying her.
“You’re here too? Shouldn’t it be class time now?”
Chan Si was also surprised to see Chen Mobai present at the Red Dawn Institution.
“I was escorting my father…”
After explaining his situation, Chan Si gave a sudden nod of understanding. She looked at the Green Paulownia Seedling clutched in Chen Mobai’s hand and wished Chen Xinglan success in his Foundation Establishment.
“I’m here on my mentor’s order, accompanying this elder brother to meet with Real Man Shi Qing.”
The man in cyan smiled and nodded at Chen Mobai, but did not introduce himself.
After exchanging pleasantries, remembering that Wang Jianyuan had to hurry back for some work, Chen Mobai didn’t engage in much conversation with Chan Si. After expressing his gratitude for the previous Azure Water Formation incident, he got back in the car.
“Is he your student?”
The man in cyan asked Chan Si after watching Chen Mobai leave.
“Yes, he’s a good character, just with average aptitude.”
“Oh, really? Did I see it wrong?”
“What do you mean?”
Chan Si couldn’t comprehend the significance of the Azure-clad man’s words. The man practiced a secret technique that could sense the fluctuations of Divine Sense. He had sensed a sense of familiarity – a lively but chaotic feeling from Chen Mobai.
This was a typical feeling of a cultivator who had just broken through the latter stages of Qi Cultivation and still hadn’t accurately controlled their Divine Sense.
He assumed that at such a young age, Chen Mobai had already reached the seventh level of Qi Cultivation.
“I remember when he joined this semester, he had just broken through to the fifth level of Qi Cultivation. Based on his Spirit Root Aptitude, reaching the seventh level in just a month seems improbable?”
Chan Si pondered upon hearing this, recalled Chen Mobai’s aptitude, and expressed her skepticism. The Azure-clad man found it plausible and didn’t ponder any further.
“As I select students for the path of immortality, I’ve become a bit sensitive about these things. It’s quite possible I was mistaken.”
After explaining himself, the Azure-clad man shook his head; these past few days he had been continuously contemplating what questions should be set for this year’s college entrance examination, so much that his sensitivity might be off.
“Let’s go. You’ll be sequestered from now on, only emerging after the college entrance examination is over.”
“To enjoy the Rank-4 Spirit Vein, I couldn’t ask for more.”
Chan Si led him to a mountainside Cave Dwelling near the location of the Azure Jadeite Sycamore Tree. There were eight lower-grade Rank-4 Cave Dwellings here and he, as this year’s enlisted exam question setter, would be isolated in one of them.
“I wonder when the representatives from the Daoist Academy and the College Palace will arrive? Even after I set the examination questions, they still need to audit them.”
Upon hearing this, Chan Si smiled but refrained from commenting..