Chapter 1448: Too Wasteful

After learning that True Lord Beiming had failed in his Spirit Transformation, Chen Mobai felt a deep sense of regret. While the Immortal Sect had many Nascent Soul cultivators, only a few could achieve Spirit Transformation, and each successful transformation represented a significant step forward for his cultivation of Sacred Virtue. Therefore, following Yu Yi's celebration, Chen Mobai personally visited True Lord Beiming's adjacent mountain peak to offer solace and support.

True Lord Beiming was deeply moved by this gesture, especially when Chen Mobai presented him with another set of resources for Spirit Transformation. Even though the Immortal Sect was now generous with resources, according to the simple philosophy prevalent for thousands of years, cultivators like True Lord Beiming, who had repeatedly failed, would typically be deemed to lack potential and no longer be allocated resources. Such resources would instead be reserved for future generations. True Lord Beiming himself felt unworthy and instinctively tried to decline.

"The past is the past, and the present is the present; times have changed," Chen Mobai stated. "Since we have sufficient resources and the Immortal Sect is currently navigating the universe, needing more powerful cultivators to cope with potential wars, prioritizing the cultivation of high-level cultivators is only natural. Just take and use them. Please don't feel embarrassed. Our predecessors already endured the hardship of resource scarcity for us. Now that we have the means, you should enjoy them with peace of mind."

Chen Mobai's generosity with resources was completely at odds with everyone else in the Immortal Sect. Aside from him, even a talent like Qian Xing suffered from resource scarcity. Most high-ranking cultivators constantly worried that if their generation depleted all the resources, what would become of the younger generations? Chen Mobai held a completely different view. Use what's available now; if it's gone, it's gone. If the current generation couldn't live well, how could they talk about the next? Moreover, resources certainly couldn't be saved by mere frugality. It was better to cultivate the current generation to be powerful, empowering them to find ways to acquire more resources. A solution would always emerge.

And now, a solution had presented itself: with 800 Daoist Merit Points in hand, based on the Central Daochang's past experience, these were enough to cultivate a cultivator from Qi Condensation to Dao Integration. Chen Mobai was even looking at elixirs and resources related to Dao Integration flowers, preparing to place an order. Even if he only used 100 Daoist Merit Points from the remaining sum, it would be enough to ensure resource freedom for the Immortal Sect within a thousand years. In Chen Mobai's view, as long as perfected Nascent Soul cultivators like True Lord Beiming didn't die during the breakthrough process, he would continue to supply them with resources.

Chen Mobai also ordered a significant quantity of high-grade beautiful jade, intending to refine Grade Five and Grade Four Jade Pure Glazed Vases. As the Immortal Sect was currently navigating the cosmic starry sky, once the Sky Veil and Earth Network Grand Array was upgraded to the Grade Seven Cosmic River Luo Star Array, the boundless light from the sun, moon, and stars could be used to mass-produce Grade Four and Grade Five Three-Light Divine Water. This water could be supplied to those undergoing Nascent Soul formation or Spirit Transformation, ensuring they could immediately summarize their experiences and attempt another breakthrough if they failed. However, this approach might cause later generations to lose their reverence for breaking through cultivation realms, potentially being detrimental to their future cultivation. But for Chen Mobai, that was a different matter. Not utilizing available resources was akin to suffering needlessly. Since he had prospered, he would absolutely not allow the Immortal Sect's populace to suffer any longer.

"Pure Yang Ancestor, your great kindness and virtue, Beiming gratefully bows!" True Lord Beiming was naturally overwhelmed with gratitude. With both hands, he accepted the Spirit Transformation resources and, despite his injuries, forced himself to stand and perform a grand salute to Chen Mobai.

"Take good care of your injuries. I have already initiated education reform. Kunpeng Daoist Academy cannot always have Yun Hai concurrently serving as principal. You need to put in more effort," Chen Mobai immediately stopped True Lord Beiming, holding his hand and speaking earnestly.

After the education reform, the nominal principal of a Daoist Academy had to be a Spirit Transformation cultivator. Although Chen Mobai was also the honorary principal of Kunpeng Daoist Academy, for insurance, Beiming still responded to the reform, stepping down himself and allowing True Monarch Yun Hai to serve as the current nominal principal of Kunpeng Daoist Academy. However, Yun Hai currently had no time for the academy's affairs. The largest portion of the 800 Daoist Merit Points was spent on purchasing materials for the Grade Seven Cosmic River Luo Star Array. Although most of the crucial materials had not yet arrived, various preliminary preparations had already begun in full swing. For Yun Hai, a Grade Seven grand array was already somewhat beyond his grasp. Among the entire Immortal Sect, only Chen Mobai had previously fully comprehended the Cosmic River Luo Star Array. Fortunately, Qian Xing had reached the Void Refinement stage. With his talent, Chen Mobai's slight guidance allowed him to quickly grasp it as well. Therefore, Qian Xing was the chief engineer for the array upgrade, but Yun Hai was the one actually doing the work.

Considering that Kunpeng Daoist Academy, having the most students, needed to play a leading and proactive role in the education reform, Chen Mobai felt it was essential to have a true leader who could understand and execute his will. With Yun Hai preoccupied with the grand array, Beiming needed to step forward and assume this responsibility.

"I will certainly not disappoint the Ancestor again," Beiming said, patting his chest and declaring that he would follow Pure Yang Ancestor's lead from then on. Chen Mobai didn't particularly need his loyalty; he just needed him to be obedient and get things done. However, winning over his heart like this would certainly make Beiming work harder and more proactively in the future, which was a good thing.

Ye Yun'e, who was serving tea, felt very ashamed of her past actions against Chen Mobai, seeing him so generously help her father despite their previous friction. Although it was wrong for the Ancestor to have a mistress, wasn't he forced by Ancestor Bai Guang? Without Ancestor Bai Guang, wouldn't the Ancestor and Meng Huang'er's relationship be true love, just like hers and Jiang Yuyuan's? Therefore, fundamentally, it was Ancestor Bai Guang's fault; Pure Yang Ancestor was merely forced into making a mistake.

"Ancestor, I was so immature back then..." Chen Mobai looked at Ye Yun'e, who was apologizing to him with a look of guilt, feeling a bit strange. He was magnanimous about those minor past incidents and had long since forgotten them.

After visiting Beiming, Chen Mobai returned to his own mountain peak, the Wuoqi lineage, to discuss with Yu Yi the upgrade of the Heavenly Scripture Academy into a Daoist Academy. Considering that Qian Xing and Spirit Venerable had both reached Void Refinement, and now had Daoist Merit Points, Chen Mobai also bought a boundary gate for each of them. New users received a special benefit: purchasing the Genesis Heavenly Scripture Grand Gift Package cost only 7 Daoist Merit Points. Chen Mobai didn't waste the opportunity and bought two sets directly. One set remained in the Heavenly Scripture Academy for Immortal Sect cultivators to study, and the other was kept as a backup. In case a Void Spirit Body like his own appeared in the Immortal Sect in the future, they could refine one of the sets, complete the Central Conferment, and truly form a Dharma Realm.

Besides the seven great Heavenly Scriptures of Genesis, Chen Mobai also purchased Heavenly Scriptures from other Pure Yang powerful figures, which were simplified basic versions that Nascent Soul and Spirit Transformation cultivators could study. He planned to centralize all of these in the Heavenly Scripture Academy. All high-ranking cultivators in the Immortal Sect strongly supported this. With Qian Xing's successful Void Refinement, the Immortal Sect now nominally had four Void Refinement cultivators, which made many Spirit Transformation cultivators feel they could also achieve it. However, the path of Void Refinement required choosing one's own Great Dao, and having more Heavenly Scriptures to study would provide them with more options. Therefore, after Chen Mobai proposed this, the plan to upgrade the Heavenly Scripture Academy to a Heavenly Scripture Daoist Academy quickly received unanimous approval from the three great hall masters, even skipping the cumbersome voting process of the Kaiyuan Hall. This showed the impatience of the many Nascent Soul cultivators in the Immortal Sect.

A Daoist Academy, besides a Spirit Transformation principal, also required three Nascent Soul cultivators and numerous Core Formation teachers. Under Chen Mobai's instruction, Yu Yi announced job openings to the entire society. Basically, the vast majority of idle Core Formation cultivators sent in their resumes. After all, the news that the Heavenly Scripture Daoist Academy would house many Heavenly Scriptures in the future had spread after Yu Yi's ascension to Spirit Transformation. As teachers of the Daoist Academy, they would naturally get first dibs on the resources.

However, there were no Nascent Soul applicants. After all, most Nascent Soul cultivators in the Immortal Sect belonged to the four great Daoist Academies, or were either in the three great halls or serving as principals of various academies. After the education reform, academies were required to have Nascent Soul cultivators. Although the system was implemented with a 20-year buffer period provided by Chen Mobai, the major Daoist Academies still tried to dispatch their Nascent Soul cultivators as quickly as possible. For instance, Qing Ping returned to Taiyuan Academy as principal, Kunpeng dispatched Zhong Li Tianyu to True Spirit Academy, Jiang Yuyuan went to Five Thunder Academy, and Chen Mobai also appointed Meng Huang'er to serve on the spot as the nominal principal of Shan Hai Academy, and so on. Since Jumang lacked enough Nascent Soul cultivators, Chen Mobai kindly transferred Bian Jingchun to temporarily manage Taiyi Medical Academy. After such a reshuffling, the number of idle Nascent Soul cultivators in Kunpeng and Butian not officially assigned was limited, and they also didn't want to leave their comfort zones.

Since Chen Mobai personally set the specifications for Daoist Academies and instructed the Heavenly Scripture Academy to be the first pilot for the Daoist Academy upgrade, he simply waved his hand and transferred Qin Beichen, Ming Yihua, and Yun Yangbing there. Once the number of Spirit Transformation, Nascent Soul, and Core Formation cultivators met the requirements, the announcement of the Heavenly Scripture Academy's upgrade to a Daoist Academy was immediately communicated to the entire Immortal Sect. This matter naturally caused a huge stir. After all, people grew up hearing legends of the four great Daoist Academies, considering entry into a Daoist Academy as their highest ideal throughout their lives, and this extended to their children's education as well. Now, with the expansion of Daoist Academies, there was one more ideal goal to choose from. Although it was known that the Heavenly Scripture Academy could not yet compare to the four great Daoist Academies, at least it now bore the title of a Daoist Academy. Therefore, the vast majority of Immortal Sect citizens supported this matter. Only a small number of stubborn individuals expressed opposition. But since Chen Mobai personally pushed this matter, these opposing opinions naturally had no effect. Soon after the Heavenly Scripture Academy, a second academy applied to become a Daoist Academy.

It was the Nature Academy, where Yan Bingxuan resided. Yun Hai was the former principal there, and with Yan Qiongzhi and Yan Bingxuan, two Nascent Soul cultivators, they only needed one more to meet the minimum standard for a Daoist Academy. This matter was also instructed by Chen Mobai because Yun Hai discovered that upgrading the Grade Seven Cosmic River Luo Star Array required many array masters, but the Immortal Sect currently lacked sufficient talent in this area. The Nature Academy's upgrade to a Daoist Academy was intended to cultivate numerous array masters for the Immortal Sect, even building it into a specialized university for array formations. Although Yun Hai was nominally the principal of Kunpeng Daoist Academy, there was still Shui Xian (Water Immortal) available. Chen Mobai directly assigned her to the position of principal of Nature Academy. Shui Xian opposed this, but it was ineffective. However, Chen Mobai still appeased her, stating that she didn't need to manage affairs or even go to the office; she just needed to make an appearance at the Nature Daoist Academy's opening ceremony. For this, she would receive ten Water Element Profound Stones as salary annually. Shui Xian finally reluctantly agreed.

Considering that Nature Academy was an affiliated university of Kunpeng Daoist Academy, Chen Mobai notified Beiming about the last Nascent Soul cultivator spot, stating that if Kunpeng couldn't send anyone, he could transfer someone from the Wuoqi lineage. Upon receiving the notification, Beiming intended to send Xiao Yuping. However, when Ye Yun'e learned of this, she immediately stopped him. Years of experience as the Kaiyuan Hall Master had taught Ye Yun'e that Chen Mobai's notification was merely a formality, not an actual desire for them to send someone. After all, Yan Qiongzhi and Yan Bingxuan had long ago transferred to the Wuoqi lineage's mountain peak. Nature Academy was clearly Chen Mobai's territory; sending more people there would only displease the Ancestor. Chen Mobai received Beiming's reply, stating that the Kunpeng lineage had limited teaching staff and genuinely couldn't spare a Nascent Soul cultivator. He nodded in satisfaction and transferred Zhuang Jialan to the Nature Academy.

Soon, the announcement of Nature Academy's upgrade to a Daoist Academy was also published to the entire Immortal Sect. This move, in the new round of admissions, attracted many talented individuals whose comprehensive scores were high enough for the four great Daoist Academies but were rejected due to limited quotas. According to Chen Mobai's instructions, the three great halls transferred the best array formation teachers from all universities in the Immortal Sect to Nature Academy. When Yun Hai and Qian Xing had free time, they would also teach classes and specially cultivate talented array masters. This directly caused the Nature Daoist Academy to overshadow the Heavenly Scripture Academy. Soon, Taiyuan Academy also prepared to apply to become a new Daoist Academy. Amidst all this fervent activity, Chen Mobai's cultivation of Sacred Virtue steadily improved.

Time flowed slowly, and soon thirteen years had passed. One day, Chen Mobai, who was pondering how to consume the Dao Integration flower in his hand, suddenly felt a stir in his mind. He looked up at the Five Peaks Immortal Mountain. A flash of Nascent Spirit light soared into the sky, piercing through the extra-terrestrial starry space. Vaguely, one could see the vast void, like surging tides and waves, undulating above the Wangwu Cave Heaven. This was the manifestation of a Nascent Spirit phenomenon, indicating a successful Spirit Transformation.

Chen Mobai's thoughts swirled. He observed his Sacred Virtue progress, which had again improved, and couldn't help but laugh heartily. Beiming had not disappointed him. After recovering from his injuries, he finally succeeded in his third attempt at Spirit Transformation. With a flash of silver light, Chen Mobai was already back on Wangxian Peak. Soon, Qian Xing and Spirit Venerable also arrived.

"Beiming did well. I hope Meihua can also succeed," Chen Mobai remarked, looking at Beiming's Nascent Spirit Dharma Idol. Qian Xing's disciple, True Lord Meihua, had also failed Spirit Transformation once before and was currently in her second closed-door attempt.

"Too wasteful," Qian Xing simply commented on this. He recalled how, back when he and Bai Guang attempted Spirit Transformation, they had no resources at all, relying solely on their talent. Now, this generation not only had resources but used several portions, which often made Qian Xing sigh, "Each generation is worse than the last."