Chapter 45: Returning to Xuantian, the Spirit Covenant Land

On the return journey.

Thanks to the escort of the Clan Head, Ye Yuhong, Ye Qingxuan and his group reached Qingmu Prefecture City in only half a day.

After escorting the three of them to the city, Ye Yuhong departed directly.

Once Ye Yuhong had left, Ye Qingxuan took his two attendants, Ye Zhaoheng and Ye Zhaoyu, and boarded a teleportation array to return to the Xuantian Sect.

Ye Qingxuan was well-acquainted with the route, and no accidents occurred. After several transfers, they successfully arrived back within the Xuantian Sect.

The moment they stepped into the sect, the brothers Ye Zhaoheng and Ye Zhaoyu felt the spiritual qi, which far exceeded that of the outside world, and excitement instantly flashed in their eyes.

Ignoring their excited expressions, Ye Qingxuan first took the two to the Fuxiu Academy upon his return to find the academy's manager, Bai Zichun

"Manager, disciple Ye Qingxuan has returned to report!"

Looking at the timely return of Ye Qingxuan, Bai Zichun smiled with satisfaction and said

"It is good that you have returned safely!"

Then, Bai Zichun turned his gaze toward the two behind Ye Qingxuan

"The two behind you are the attendants you have chosen for yourself?"

Ye Qingxuan nodded and said respectfully

"Yes, Manager. These two are named Ye Zhaoheng and Ye Zhaoyu. I must trouble you to register them!"

Although they were merely attendants, a formal procedure was still required to move freely within the Xuantian Sect.

Bai Zichun nodded slightly and looked at the brothers

"You two, come here! I shall process your registration!"

Hearing Bai Zichun's words, Ye Zhaoheng and Ye Zhaoyu exchanged a glance and looked at Ye Qingxuan. Seeing him nod, they walked toward Bai Zichun.

Though it was a simple registration, the necessary formalities were not skipped.

Under Bai Zichun's guidance, Ye Zhaoheng and Ye Zhaoyu each swore a corresponding Dao oath for attendants, after which their names were recorded by Bai Zichun on a grey jade slip.

This jade slip was different from the one used during Ye Qingxuan's original entrance ceremony.

Once finished, Bai Zichun handed one token each to the two brothers.

One side of the token was inscribed with the words "Qingxuan Blessed Land," while the other side bore the word "Attendant."

After the registration was complete, Ye Qingxuan bowed to Bai Zichun once more to take his leave

"This disciple thanks the Manager. In the future, should you require Qingxuan's assistance, you may send someone to find me at the Qingxuan Blessed Land!"

"It is of no consequence!"

Bai Zichun shook his head slightly. He did not take Ye Qingxuan's words to heart; while he acknowledged Ye Qingxuan's attitude toward cultivation, he did not believe Ye Qingxuan would be able to help him in the future.

Giving Ye Qingxuan one last look, Bai Zichun cautioned

"Ye Qingxuan, I hope you can maintain your current attitude toward cultivation. As long as you do not give up, there is still hope for everything!"

Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan nodded solemnly

"Qingxuan will! Please rest assured, Manager. After I depart, please take care of your health!"

"Hahaha, do not worry. These old bones of mine still have some time left to live. There is no need for concern. Go on!"

With that, Bai Zichun waved his hand, signaling Ye Qingxuan to leave.

After a final bow, Ye Qingxuan led Ye Zhaoheng and Ye Zhaoyu out of the Fuxiu Academy and headed straight toward the spiritual land he had previously selected.

Along the way, the brothers' eyes constantly scanned the surrounding peaks and scenery, which were rich in spiritual qi, with looks of wonder flashing in their eyes from time to time.

Soon, Ye Qingxuan brought them to the mountain where the spiritual land was located.

After placing the brothers at the foot of the mountain, Ye Qingxuan instructed

"Zhaoheng, Zhaoyu, wait here for now. Once I have successfully contracted the spiritual land, I will settle you in!"

Hearing his words, the two withdrew their wandering gazes and said in unison

"Yes, Young Master!"

Once Ye Qingxuan flew toward the mountain peak, Ye Zhaoheng and Ye Zhaoyu began to cultivate on the spot, unable to wait any longer.

They were both disciples whose spiritual roots had only just been detected by the Ye family this year. Their cultivation time was short, currently only at the first layer of Qi Refinement, and they practiced the Ye family's cultivation methods.

Fortunately, as they were to become Ye Qingxuan's attendants and would be far from the family, they had been granted full cultivation manuals ahead of schedule, which were sufficient to carry them to the Nascent Soul stage.

However, the two had also placed a restriction on the manuals to ensure they would not be passed on to outsiders!

While the brothers were eagerly cultivating, Ye Qingxuan had already entered the interior of the mountain, where the spiritual vein was located.

Looking at the core of the spiritual land before him, a strange ripple of emotion flashed in Ye Qingxuan's eyes

"It has been over twenty years. I have finally reached this step!"

The secret method for contracting a spiritual land was contained within the Earth Source Manual he was currently practicing.

However, he did not intend to follow the secret method entirely by splitting his own essence, qi, and spirit to merge with the essence of the spiritual land.

Ye Qingxuan sat cross-legged on the spot, his consciousness converging toward his mental space, fully merging into the Eternal Turtle clone.

Immediately following, Ye Qingxuan's solidified soul essence body stirred slightly, and specks of brown light began to overflow from his essence, qi, and spirit.

This brown light was precisely the Earth Source Qi that Ye Qingxuan had absorbed and integrated into his essence, qi, and spirit through years of practicing the Earth Source Manual.

Since Ye Qingxuan's soul essence had become completely solidified, he was able to control everything about himself.

Therefore, separating this Earth Source Qi from his essence, qi, and spirit was not difficult for him.

After gathering the separated Earth Source Qi in his mental space, Ye Qingxuan controlled his natal clone, the Eternal Turtle, to separate a wisp of the Eternal Turtle's essence and fuse it with the Earth Source Qi.

Under the control of Ye Qingxuan's solidified soul essence, the Eternal Turtle essence and the Earth Source Qi merged smoothly, transforming into a mass of chaotic, ever-changing gas.

Seeing this, Ye Qingxuan felt a surge of joy. Taking a deep breath, he began to follow the secret method in the Earth Source Manual, manipulating this fused essence to fly out of his mental space and descend toward the essence at the core of the spiritual land below.

He had tested this before: although the Eternal Turtle was suppressed and could not manifest in the outside world for the time being, a wisp of its aura or essence was not subject to this restriction.

Under Ye Qingxuan's control, the chaotic essence quickly reached the vicinity of the cyan essence of this first-grade spiritual land and began to merge slowly with it.

Under Ye Qingxuan's tense observation, the fusion process was unexpectedly smooth. The cyan essence of the spiritual land quickly merged completely with the chaotic essence of the Eternal Turtle, and its color was assimilated into the chaotic hue.

Ecstasy surged through Ye Qingxuan's consciousness within his soul body. He had been uncertain about the actual effect of using the Eternal Turtle's essence to replace his own essence, qi, and spirit, but he had not expected it to be so unexpectedly successful.

Subsequently, a look of regret surfaced in his soul's eyes!

It was slightly regrettable that while his plan had succeeded, it was not a complete success.

Although he had successfully used his natal clone, the Eternal Turtle, to contract the Blessed Land in his stead, the Eternal Turtle was still currently within his mental space and could not be released externally. Thus, he could only temporarily be passively bound by the Blessed Land.

"Forget it, I'll find a way later!"

Ye Qingxuan cast these worries aside and began to sense this Blessed Land that now belonged to him.

Having just completed the fusion, the late-stage first-grade spiritual land began to vibrate slightly, and a transparent spatial barrier began to slowly form, enveloping the entire core area of the spiritual land.

The core space inside the mountain was approximately ten miles in diameter, all of which was covered by the barrier.

Ye Qingxuan's physical body in the outside world slowly opened its eyes, a smile of uncontainable joy on its lips. Through his natal clone, the Eternal Turtle, he could fully sense and control this forming Blessed Land.

The natal clone, the Eternal Turtle, was a miraculous existence. It could be viewed as another body for Ye Qingxuan, completely under his control.

Yet, it could also be viewed as an independent entity; any karma it incurred would not be transferred to Ye Qingxuan's main body.

Perhaps this was an effect brought about by the Eternal Turtle's characteristic of being immune to all laws?

Compared to eternal life, Ye Qingxuan valued this aspect of the Eternal Turtle clone even more.

Surveying the forming Blessed Land, Ye Qingxuan slowly embraced the air with his hands and smiled

"This... is truly my real base of operations!"

As Ye Qingxuan observed, the Blessed Land enclosed by the barrier was slowly beginning to detach from the outer mountain, transferring toward the inner space of the Earth-Mystic Realm.

Only when the Blessed Land was fully embedded into the inner space of the Earth-Mystic Realm would the late-stage first-grade Qingxuan Blessed Land be considered completely formed.

At that time, the outer mountain would only serve as an entrance node to the Qingxuan Blessed Land's space and would no longer be the location of the Blessed Land's core essence.

Once the Qingxuan Blessed Land was fully formed, the essence of the Blessed Land would provide feedback, marking the day Ye Qingxuan would break through to the Foundation Establishment stage. In the future, every time the Blessed Land advanced a grade, there would be a feedback of essence to increase the cultivation of the Blessed Land's Master.

After sensing the situation, Ye Qingxuan found that it would take another seven days for the Qingxuan Blessed Land to be fully formed.

Thus, Ye Qingxuan settled his mind, sat cross-legged within the Blessed Land, and began to immerse himself in deep cultivation.