When Chen Jingzhai returned from the Primordial Essence Grotto-heavens, he brought the spirit pearls to the first floor of the pagoda.

“Commandery Prince Hong Yi was rather decisive,” said Sage Qing Mu with a laugh when he saw this.

“Although he had tried to scheme against me, I gained a fateful encounter through this. This can be considered good karma,” Chen Jingzhai said playfully. “In the end, he himself was the one who felt guilty and terminated this relationship between us.”

Although Commandery Prince Hong Yi was in the wrong, he had inadvertently aided Chen Jingzhai, allowing him to have an epiphany.

Not only did he have a breakthrough in his cultivation, but he also established the Foundation Establishment passage.

This was a huge result. Chen Jingzhai would not ignore it and would certainly pay Commandery Prince Hong Yi back.

In the end, the latter took the initiative to apologize and compensate him, using this opportunity to settle things between them.

Chen Jingzhai certainly thought that this was the best outcome. Therefore, Chen Jingzhai did not try to stop him.

“Fortune and disaster go hand-in-hand. Maybe for him, this is the best result,” said Sage Qing Mu as he laughed out loud. “You are the Little Master-Uncle of our sect. If anything were to happen to you, the consequences would be too severe for him to bear.”

Commandery Prince Hong Yi’s choice was not surprising at all.

The Luo Sheng Sword Sect was too powerful. Even the Eastern Ocean Ruler did not dare offend them.

Moreover, any mishap would have severe consequences when it involves the roots of someone’s cultivation.

“Regardless, the score between Commandery Prince Hong Yi and me has been settled. There is no regretting it,” said Chen Jingzhai. He then continued, “Senior brother, please take this chest of spirit pearls. Consider it as my compensation!”

“You do not need to do so. I merely used a few spiritual stones,” said Sage Qing Mu as he shook his head.

“These spirit pearls are useless to me,” said Chen Jingzhai sincerely. “I have already established my Foundation Establishment passage and have an unparalleled foundation. I no longer need spirit pearls of this grade.”

“Even then, what is yours is yours. How can I, as a senior brother, take advantage of that?” Sage Qing Mu said with a straight face. “You have contributed greatly to Puppet Hall. We are not strangers. You do not need to act so polite.”

“Alright!” said Chen Jingzhai after a moment of silence. He then kept the spirit pearls away.

It was unnecessary for such politeness between members of the same sect.

As a Golden Core Sage, Senior Brother Qing Mu did not need these spirit pearls either.

Everyone would undoubtedly become wealthier, especially now that Puppet Hall had become prosperous.

“Since you have not been contaminated by the Dragon Qi, you’d best prepare for the journey to the Eastern Ocean,” said Sage Qing Mu. “I have already received news that the remaining disciples of the sect will meet with you here.”

“Here?” asked Chen Jingzhai. He felt that this was strange.

“You ranked first in the battle forum and are a Master-Uncle. So they are naturally curious about you,” said Sage Qing Mu with a smile. “The disciples coming this time are all genius talents of the various peaks with Advanced Foundation Plane cultivation.”

“Why are they all only at the Advanced Foundation Plane?” asked Chen Jingzhai. “I can understand the secret zone having a limitation, but does the Eastern Ocean Remains also have a cultivation limitation? Why is that?”

“The secret zone is limited to those who can withstand its power. We were careful as we were entering it for the first time,” explained Sage Qing Mu. “As for the cave residence remains, most are going in for the inheritance.”

Be it the Nascent Cave Residence or Spirit Cave Residence, most of them remained because their creators did not want their teachings to die off just like that.

If it weren’t for that, they would definitely not leave behind cave residences for future cultivators to desecrate.

Another reason was that the Eastern Ocean was peaceful and safe.

As long as they did not venture to deeper parts of the ocean, there would not be any safety concerns.

They also did not need to worry about other cultivators ambushing them.

The Eastern Ocean was the territory of three immortal sects: the Mingyuan Dao Sect, Emerald Wave Island, and Mystic Sound Pavilion.

These three immortal sects ruled over the vast ocean region, terrorizing the rogue cultivators of the Eastern Ocean.

They also reached a tacit agreement with the celestial clan of Pulao Kingdom and looked out for each other.

Lots of fighting occurred in the Eastern Ocean. However, no one dared to attack the disciples of these immortal sects.

They would face the wrath of these major sects if they did so.

Unfortunately, this rule only applied to cultivators above the Golden Core Plane.

Those below the Golden Core Plane were excluded. No one would question if a sect disciple of that rank was killed.

“So that is why,” said Chen Jingzhai, as he understood.

“In reality, each genius talent will certainly have a guardian guarding them from the shadows,” Sage Qing Mu said with a smile. “If you feel that it would be dangerous, why don’t I be your guardian?”

“That won’t be necessary,” rejected Chen Jingzhai as he shook his head. “Senior brother still has official business to attend to. The matter of Puppet Hall with Pulao Kingdom needs your attention. I am also confident in my abilities.”

With his current abilities, even if he did not utilize magic treasures, it was possible for him to take down a Golden Core Sage.

With two magic treasures in his possession, Chen Jingzhai was not worried in the slightest.

“A disciple of an immortal sect should be so elegant!” commented Sage Qing Mu.

Disciples of the immortal sects needed such self-confidence.

They needed self-confidence, not blind arrogance. Aside from having the backing of their sects, they also had their own abilities to back up this confidence.

Sage Qing Mu felt this way because Puppet Hall had its fair share of mediocre disciples.

These disciples were limited by their spiritual stone supplies. Therefore, they could not create more puppets.

For many years, they had been scraping by while keeping a low profile, lacking the confidence of immortal sect disciples.

Chen Jingzhai’s appearance helped Puppet Hall overcome this issue, allowing it to be rejuvenated.

A few days later, Donglai County was calm and peaceful once again.

Word of the incident of the gigantic swirl was widespread.

Cultivators also gradually gathered in Donglai County.

However, as Wangdan Pagoda ceased business operations, this passion shifted to Eastern Sun City.

Chen Jingzhai did not pay heed to this at all.

During the day, he guided his four maidservants in their cultivation. At night, he spent his time together with them touring the city.

In his spare time, he researched formations and began delving deeper into the Path of Talisman.

After successfully establishing his Foundation Establishment passage, it wasn’t hard for him to get started on the Path of Talisman.

In just half a month, he could draw 126 different types of Grade 1 talismans, completing most of them in a single stroke.

Aside from talismans, Chen Jingzhai also carefully combed through the techniques he had mastered.

He secretly tried to master the abilities of the 36 official deities.

Due to him still being at the Foundation Establishment Plane, Chen Jingzhai discovered that he could only use the ability of the Supreme Sky Master.

The other official deities were all in a state of deep hibernation.

He did not have to cultivate them deliberately.

The 36 official deities and 108 subordinate deities would automatically absorb essence power from the outside world.

Chen Jingzhai’s body was constantly absorbing free essence power around him.

Even though his cultivation did not increase from this, it allowed his body to be in prime physical condition.

Such absorption of essence power would not take a toll on his body. It was extremely subtle, as though he was just breathing.

Aside from that, Chen Jingzhai also discovered that his blood had become more viscous.

As he scanned his blood carefully with his divine mind, he detected fine golden particles flowing within him.

To experiment with it, he specifically drew a burst of Innate Qi from the cave residence into his body.

Most of it was absorbed by his acupoints, while a very small portion entered his skeleton.

There was no change in his blood. Therefore, Chen Jingzhai could only leave it at that.

He needed time to adapt to the changes in his body. So he didn’t sit around and wait.

At night, he steered a Bamboo Boat and brought his four maidservants to the Eastern Ocean, stopping in the sky above.

He entered the ocean region to seek out sea monsters to hunt.

At the start, for insurance, Chen Jingzhai only attacked Grade 3 sea monsters that were alone.

He did not use magic treasures. He did not even touch the White Jade Sword or the Golden Flame Sword.

In the ocean, he used water techniques to easily capture a Grade 3 sea monster alive.

Then, Chen Jingzhai unleashed his power and began to capture even more Grade 3 sea monsters.

The most dangerous encounter he had was when he had to face six Grade 3 sea monsters alone.

This was a small group of sea monsters. Aside from the six Grade 3 sea monsters, there were also 12 Grade 2 ones as well as 13 Grade 1 offspring.

Chen Jingzhai chose to face them head-on. He attacked and immediately eliminated two Grade 3 sea monsters.

With his water escape spell, Chen Jingzhai used guerilla tactics to capture all the Grade 2 and Grade 1 sea monsters alive.

He eliminated the remaining Grade 3 sea monsters one by one.

After this encounter, Chen Jingzhai realized that Grade 3 sea monsters posed no threat to him.

He got bolder and dived deeper into the ocean, searching for divine treasure.

As he did so, he disturbed a Grade 4 sea monster.

He had to use the power of the Five Bamboo Sword to immediately escape in order to make it out alive.

Grade 4 sea monsters were more than ten times more powerful than Grade 3 ones.

Its unique spiritual pressure alone was enough to leave Chen Jingzhai breathless.

With the power of the Great Heaven Mirror and the Five Bamboo Sword, Chen Jingzhai could indeed overpower it.

However, his chances of winning were slim, especially in the deep ocean.

With this knowledge, Chen Jingzhai did not act presumptuously anymore.

He would avoid Grade 4 sea monsters and slaughter Grade 3 sea monsters, gradually getting used to his newfound power.

When he dived into the ocean to seek treasure, he would remain cautious to ensure that he was not caught off guard.

Chen Jingzhai enjoyed the process of hunting sea monsters and seeking divine treasure very much.

He could move around freely and unrestrained. However, he would occasionally come across unexpected finds.

When the end of summer came, and fall began, Chen Jingzhai even came across an ore vein deep within the Eastern Ocean.

After marking it, Chen Jingzhai brought Sage Qing Mu with him to dig up some ore.

Just simply digging around made the two of them ecstatic.

This was because the ore vein was rather rich. Aside from the main ore of ocean star black metal, there was also warm jade.

Ocean star black metal was a type of Advanced Grade 3 refined steel.

It was a natural, refined steel that could be used to create magic treasures without needing to be further enhanced. It was the main material for water magic treasures and flying swords.

It was pure black on the outside. After its outer layer was cut open, the starfish patterns that gave it its name would become visible.

Chen Jingzhai discovered that this ore vein had extremely high-quality ore with no impurities.

That meant that the ore did not need to be refined. Instead, they were pure deposits of ocean star black metal.

This was incredible. Even the ore veins in the sect’s secret zone rarely had such purity.

However, such a pure ore vein was also very difficult to mine.

If Chen Jingzhai did not have the Five Bamboo Sword in his possession, he would not have been able to mine even a single piece.

Nevertheless, Sage Qing Mu was still the main force behind their mining operation.

In the end, the two of them managed to mine more than 18,900 pieces of ocean star black metal.

Sage Qing Mu distributed the pieces of ore. Chen Jingzhai alone obtained 10,000 pieces.

Sage Qing Mu took 5,000 pieces, and the remaining were delivered to the sect.

Chen Jingzhai wanted to turn down his offer, but Sage Qing Mu did not give him the chance to do so.

According to the sect’s laws, they did not need to share their loot from such a fateful encounter with the sect.

However, first, ocean star black metal ore was extremely valuable. Therefore, the sect needed quite a lot of them.

Second, they still needed the aid of the sect to create magic treasures.

Third, Chen Jingzhai was the person who discovered it and was a disciple who ventured out into the world. Therefore, he had an obligation to offer some to the sect.

As for the allocation quota, Sage Qing Mu stated it very clearly.

According to the law, Chen Jingzhai would get the largest portion as the discoverer.

This law was the same in the entire cultivation world.

Even though Sage Qing Mu contributed the most strength, he would not factor such a miniscule contribution into his calculations.

In the end, Chen Jingzhai accepted this allocation.

All that remained was the warm jade.

The warm jade was also Grade 3, but its quality could not be compared with that of the ocean star black metal.

Warm jade, in general, was abundant in the five states of the Eastern Ocean.

However, Grade 3 warm jade was rare. Therefore, they were considered precious items.

Sage Qing Mu claimed a large portion of the warm jade because he could use it as a raw material for making puppets.

Chen Jingzhai did not mind.

Although the warm jade could also be used to create formation foundations, the best use of it was in creating jade pendants or jade statues.

That was because it had the natural supportive abilities to calm the mind and exorcise evil.

The second best use of it was making it into a jade talisman. However, it required delicate carving skills to make a jade talisman.

In terms of value, warm jade was significantly lower than ocean star black metal.