After hosting a banquet for E Yun and others, Chen Mobai invited Qi Rui, Xi Jinghuo, Qi Hou and other friends from the sect the next day.
They each had a glass of second-grade Yuzhu spirit wine, and they were all full of praise.
Before leaving, Chen Mobai asked Zhuo Ming to send everyone to the first level of the altar.
On the third day, Chen Mobai took wine and visited the three foundation building leaders of the Spiritual Planting Department.
Inspector Sun Gaochang, an old leader, presented two jars. Although the other ministers and deputy ministers were not familiar with each other, they also personally presented one jar, both of which were second-grade Yuzhu spirit wine.
"Do you still have the wine? I bought it all."
Sun Gaochang was addicted to alcohol. After taking a sip, he couldn't stop, and he and Chen Mobai finished it in a short while. After finishing the drink, I was still unsatisfied, but I still had sense, so I kept the remaining jar of wine and did not open it again.
"There are still some, but they haven't been sent to the head yet. I have something to ask from Director Zeng of the Alchemy Department, and I need to send them to two altars."
Chen Mobai answered truthfully, indicating that this second-level spiritual wine can only be tasted internally. If he really wants to brew it on a large scale and sell it on the shelves, he has to wait until the first batch of sown Polygonatum odorifera spiritual rice matures.
"Pity."
Sun Gaochang sighed, and heard that the first-level Yuzhu spirit wine was sufficient, so he immediately paid a deposit of one thousand spirit stones and reserved a large vat.
Chen Mobai was not polite and said he would ask his apprentice to deliver it later.
"Junior Brother Chen, speaking of which, you are still in the establishment of our Spiritual Planting Department."
After giving the gift, when Chen Mobai was about to say goodbye and leave, Sun Gaochang stopped him and said something very abrupt.
"Yes, if you hadn't given me the Shenmu Sword, Inspector Sun, I wouldn't have won the first place so easily during the sect competition. If I hadn't won the first place, I wouldn't have been able to get the Foundation Establishment Pill. Maybe I still have it now. At the ninth level of Qi training, I am waiting hard for the next batch of chalcedony and golden zhi to mature."
Chen Mobai did not understand the meaning of Sun Gaochang's words, but as a child, he went to his grandfather's house to live for a period of time every year. He was very familiar with the clichés in these scenes, and he expressed the Ministry of Spiritual Planting's interest in him as soon as he opened his mouth. The grace of reinvention.
"It's like this, Junior Brother Chen, you also know that each of the twelve sects has only three foundation-building monks. If the three of us don't leave, you will always be able to receive ordinary foundation-building elders. Do you have any plans to take the benefits further?"
Sun Gaochang was kind to Chen Mobai and knew the latter's character, so he went straight to the point.
"Inspector, do you mean to ask me to leave the Spiritual Planting Department?"
"Oh, that's wrong. I want you to be promoted. The Master Chu of Shanshan Hall admires you very much. In two years, there will be some changes in the upper level of the sect, and there will be many vacancies. You should go to Shanshan Hall in advance. Become a gilded inspector, and when the inspector's position among the twelve departments becomes available, you can be promoted again."
What Sun Gaochang said is very interesting. Is there going to be a change in the upper echelons of the sect? Chen Mobai looked at him and knew that no matter how deep the words were, this guy would definitely not say it again.
"The Romance of Fairy Wood"
Although on the surface Chen Mobai was promoted by Sun Gaochang, in fact the two of them had a friendship between gentlemen.
Unlike E Yun and Yuan Chi Ye, who had been close friends since their early days, Sun Gaochang had a circle of his own that was a decade older than him. Unless Chen Mobai was completely devoted to his disciples, both of them would be the same. Unable to be honest with one another.
He suddenly said these words this time. It was definitely not Sun Gaochang's own intention. It should be that some changes were going to happen in the upper echelon of Shenmu Sect, and someone wanted to win over his combat power in advance.
That person, Sun Gaochang, also proposed that he should be the master of the Hall of Rewarding Goodness and serve as the chief minister.
There are twelve departments in the three halls of Shenmu Sect, and the Lingzhi Department happens to be under the command of Shanshan Hall.
If Chu Zuoshu transferred Chen Mobai up, it would be considered in compliance with the rules, but he still asked Sun Gaochang to tell him in advance that Chen Mobai would at least not conflict with the method of doing things.
"Thank you very much, Inspector Sun and Palace Master Chu, for your kindness. I will go back and think about it carefully."
Chen Mobai was obsessed with practice on weekdays, and spent most of his time in the Shenmu Sect in Xiaonan Mountain, so he was confused about the situation at the top and did not dare to agree rashly.
"Okay, okay, Junior Brother Chen, don't forget my vat of wine."
Sun Gaochang personally sent Chen Mobai out of the door with a smile on his chubby face. At least in front of outsiders, the two of them seemed like real close friends.
"must."
After greeting several other acquaintances from the Lingzhi Department, Chen Mobai came to the Divine Tree Hall.
Since E Yun had greeted him in advance, Meng Hong did not go fishing today and waited for him to come.
"Well, this wine is pretty good. Don't you guys still have a jar? Why did you only give me two jars?"
Meng Hong took it unceremoniously and opened a jar. After taking a sip, his face was rosy and his whole face was radiant. He looked as if he was two years younger.
"If Master needs it, I will dig out the vat and bring it to you later."
Chen Mobai still respected Meng Hong very much. After all, when he first established the foundation, he gave him a flying bird hairpin, a sacred wood sword, and ten thousand spiritual stones. He always kept this kindness in his heart.
"Forget it, I'll just say it and send Wu Tan over."
Meng Hong shook his head, and then signaled to Chen Mobai to leave, he was going fishing.
"Master, it's like this..."
Chen Mobai did not dare to waste Meng Hong's time and repeated what Sun Gaochang said to him. The man in front of him was the head of the Shenmu Sect, and the upper core must know the meaning.
Chen Mobai is still from his apprentice E Yun, so it is right to ask him.
"That guy Chu Zuoshu has been suppressed by me all his life. As soon as he heard that I was going to abdicate, he couldn't wait."
Meng Hong smiled dumbly after hearing this.
"Oh, the leader wants to abdicate?!"
When Chen Mobai heard this, he looked shocked. Although he had heard about this incident a long time ago, he did not expect it to happen so quickly.
Eyun, Zhou Wangshen and others have only established the foundation for a few years. If Meng Hong abdicates at this time, they may not be able to take over the position of leader due to insufficient cultivation.
"I will be one hundred and eighty years old soon. If I don't form an elixir, I probably won't have a chance in this life."
Meng Hong calmly explained the reason.
In fact, as long as anyone is interested in calculating his age, he can basically know that the best age for a foundation-building monk to form an elixir is before half of his lifespan, which is 120 years old.
But Meng Hong practiced the Sutra of Immortality and increased his life span by a decade, so he was able to live to the age of 180.
It is precisely because of this that when he completed the foundation building twenty years ago, many people had already thought of this.
After all, compared to Jiedan, the position of head of the Shenmu Sect seems too frivolous.
The other six major sects in Donghuang are actually paying attention to this matter.
They all thought that Meng Hong would immediately step down from the position of leader after the foundation was completed to prepare for the formation of the core. Who knew that he would actually stay in charge for another twenty years.
"This matter has been reported to the two ancestors. I will officially abdicate in two years."
"If there are no accidents, Chu Zuoshu should be allowed to take over. However, he has also completed the foundation building. He only became the leader to obtain the pill-forming elixir. When you people grow up, he will step down and prepare to form pills."
"But he has a stronger desire for power than me. Among the next generation, Hong He and Yin Qingmei are disciples of Patriarch Fu. Zhou Wangshen and E Yun are my disciples. However, his direct descendant Yue Zutao became disabled because of taking the fruit of the longevity tree. , so he should be planning to train you to be a representative of his lineage."
Chen Mobai was slightly surprised when he heard this, but he did not expect that Yue Zutao was actually Chu Zuoshu's disciple.
After Meng Hong confirmed that he wanted to retire and form pills, he relaxed and told Chen Mobai some more about the personnel relations of the three palaces and twelve departments.
"You may as well go to the Shanshan Hall to balance the strength of the three major halls. After Chu Zuoshu of the province retreated, the Shanshan Palace will be in ruins."
With Meng Hong's words, Chen Mobai felt relieved.
After leaving the Shenmu Temple, he went to the Alchemy Department.
Yan Jinye had already made an appointment with Zeng Woyou in advance, and the latter had even prepared dinner in advance.
Chen Mobai presented two jars of Yuzhu spirit wine. Although Zeng Woyou didn't drink, he still praised the second-level spirit wine improved by his apprentice.
However, the environment in Tianhe Realm is to keep good things to yourself first, so Zeng Woyou didn't say anything about the medicinal wine and elixir recipe.
"Minister Zeng, it's like this. Because I practice a skill of spiritual consciousness, I need bamboo fruits as the main medicine to refine an elixir. The three bamboo fruits last time were very effective. I wonder if you can arrange it again. Give me a few."
After drinking and eating, Chen Mobai made his request.
The two copies of Qingmu Bamboo Spirit Dew refined by Wang Xingyu at the end of last year have been used up this year. He can redeem Zhu Guo with credits, but bamboo fruit is very rare in Xianmen, and if you buy it, you need to at least buy it. Millions of good deeds.
Chen Mobai now has many spiritual stones and few good deeds, so he decided to go to Tianhe Realm.
Last time, Zeng Woyou asked him to rescue Yan Jinye, and he gave him three bamboo fruits. With the mentality of giving it a try, Chen Mobai came to deliver two jars of wine.
"How much do you want?"
"Three a year."
With the improvement of his cultivation, especially the advancement of divine control skills, Chen Mobai's demand for Qingmu Bamboo Spirit Dew is also increasing, but three bamboo fruits can completely satisfy him.
"Only a dozen or so spiritual bamboos can ripen and produce bamboo fruits. There are still forty-six of them in Qingzhu Mountain. I can get you six more bamboo fruits at most. If there are any more, I, the head of the Alchemy Department, can't afford them. live."
Zeng Woyou also told the truth. He could use the excuse of alchemy needs to catalyze the spirit bamboo into bamboo fruit, but the indicators were also limited.
After all, he is not the two ancestors who can cover the sky with one hand within the sect.
"Thank you so much, Senior Brother Zeng."
After hearing this, Chen Mobai was already very satisfied. It could at least guarantee that he would not lack the Clear Eyes Bamboo Spirit Dew in the past two years.
Two years later, the leader will be transferred, and we will take a look at the situation then.
Anyway, he was already thinking about it. There were 40 second-level spiritual bamboos on the other side of Qingzhu Mountain.
The next day, Yan Jinye came to the door in person and presented a jade box.
Inside were three newly ripened bamboo fruits.
The elixirs are most effective when they are just picked, so Chen Mobai did not ask for six at a time. He gave the thousand spirit stones that Sun Gaochang bought for wine to Yan Jinye as payment for the bamboo fruit.
After Yan Jinye sat for a while, E Yun and Yuan Chiye also came over.
"Then I'll take my leave first."
Although Yan Jinye had a close relationship with Chen Mobai, he did not want to label himself as part of the Eyun faction.
"Junior Brother Chen, do you want to go to Shanshan Hall?"
When there were only three people left, Yuan Chiye asked. Chen Mobai had already informed them of the matter using a messenger talisman, and he called them over just to discuss the matter.
"The leader means that I was very good in the past."
Chen Mobai's words meant that he wanted to go.
"Shan, if Junior Brother Chen can take charge of Shanshan Temple in the future, I will have more confidence to speak in Shenmu Temple."
After E Yun understood his hint, he did not stop him and nodded lightly.
"Whether Chu Zuoshu takes over as the leader, Zhou Wangshen has obtained enough longevity tree sap. It is estimated that the first level of the immortal body will be completed after leaving seclusion. By then, I am afraid that only those in the late stage of foundation building will be able to deal with him."
As soon as Yuan Chiye finished his words, E Yun glanced at him with an unhappy look. The reason why Zhou Wangshen was able to achieve great Taoism was not because of the longevity tree sap you gave him.
"It's not my fault. He gave too much, and the leader also hinted that if you get the longevity tree sap, it's best to give it to Zhou Wangshen, and concentrate your efforts on building an immortal body. It's better than two half-hearted ones."
Yuan Chiye defended himself and told the truth.
On the Shenmu Sect, there is at least some sect centripetal force. Zhou Wangshen himself got a gourd of immortality tree sap in the secret realm of the sacred tree, plus a gourd from Yuanchi Ye, which together is just enough for one person to practice the Tao of Immortality. body.
As the leader, Meng Hong considered the overall situation of the sect and must have favored his apprentice Zhou Wangshen.
Yuan Chiye happened to be short of spiritual stones, so he just followed the trend.
E Yun couldn't blame him for this. After all, he still agreed with Meng Hong's point of view in his heart. Although he competed with Zhou Wangshen, he would not escalate the competition to internal friction.
"Why did the leader call you out of seclusion this time?"
After the three of them talked about Chen Mobai going to Shanshan Temple to serve as the inspector, the topic returned to Yuan Chiye. He originally felt ashamed of Eyun. After selling the longevity tree sap, he planned to live in seclusion for ten years. He came out after eight years, but he didn't know that he was called out by the leader in just over a year.
"Something went wrong in the spirit stone mine before Lei Kingdom. There is a deficit of eight thousand spirit stones. I need to go over and investigate."
"Eight thousand spiritual stones? I remember that the spiritual stone mine can only mine 20,000 spiritual stones a year. Such a huge deficit could be due to the local immortal cultivating families colluding with each other to deceive our Shenmu Sect."
As soon as E Yun heard this, he realized the problem.
"That's why you need to send me over to investigate. The report submitted by Senior Brother Luo is also vague. We need to consider the possibility that he may be bribed, so I will act quietly this time."
After listening to Yuan Chiye's words, Chen Mobai thought of another thing.
He didn't know if the Luo Yixuan he had his eye on last year could become a true successor in this year's sect competition.
Although she had been hiding her own light and letting Luo Yixiu shine, Chen Mobai could still see at a glance that her talent and realm were superior to Luo Yixiu's.
Among the people who worshiped the Shenmu Sect in the same group, Luo Yixuan was estimated to be second only to herself, no worse than Yu Lian.
