“Jie Jia said the Shape Cultivation Technique is complete.”
“The Red Falcon Shape Cultivation Technique has reached its limit.”
“Continuing to increase proficiency, there’s a high chance of understanding the extensions of the Divine Intent Diagram.”
Chen Mu calmly analyzed the reasons for the boost in the Red Falcon Shape Cultivation Technique.
“Proficiency allows the Divine Intent Diagram to draw closer to the Hundred Intentions Spirit Light Spell.”
“Since all Shape Cultivation Techniques originate from the Spiritual Light Spell, comprehending one leads to understanding all. Improving one leads to the improvement of the others.” Chen Mu had a rough guess.
“If I can catch a breakthrough, I should also be able to cultivate the Shell Soul.”
After all, cultivating the Divine Intent Diagram isn’t difficult; just use the improved Breathing Method. Find your next adventure on m_v l|e-NovelFull.net
Even while walking, sitting, or lying down, it can be maintained. It also saves the trouble of searching everywhere for Shape Cultivation Techniques.”
“Those sons of bitches from the noble families aren’t worth shit! They hoard all the good stuff for themselves.” Chen Mu couldn’t help but curse under his breath.
“If only I had an advanced Shape Cultivation Technique that could cover half of my body with the Wandering Soul, just one breakthrough would suffice for the Shell Soul to form!”
The area covered by the Wandering Soul in the Red Falcon Shape Cultivation Technique is too small. Just a fat soybean? Hah…
Even if I train with that fat soybean and follow the progression of two, four, eight soybeans and so on, with a breakthrough each month, it would still take nearly twelve years to cover the entire body.
If there’s a breakthrough every three months, that’s thirty-six years.
“Such a long time… actually… it’s still alright, huh.” Chen Mu suddenly felt cheerful.
Just follow a steady progression, no fighting or scrambling, and by fifty years old, I could cultivate the Shell Soul. That’s not bad at all.
Old man Ge is seventy-five and has only just fully mastered his Shape Cultivation. Compared to him, I can be considered a genius!
If I were to stack the effects with the Blue-eyed Golden Monkey, I would achieve it even faster!
Maybe it could be done in just one or two years!
“It’s a pity that it’s just wishful thinking.” After being happy for a while, Chen Mu stopped.
He wasn’t sure if the Divine Intent Diagram could keep breaking through.
He also had no assurance about the effects of each breakthrough.
What if each time it only added one soybean’s worth of progress?
“I still need to keep accumulating Shape Cultivation Techniques.” Chen Mu made a decision.
…
The future is bright; it’s just a matter of walking the path step by step.
Chen Mu hid at home, paying no heed to the tumult of the outside world.
Five days later.
The Black Tiger Shape Cultivation Technique smoothly reached its peak.
In his mind, another cluster of star-like dots and connecting threads formed a Divine Intent Diagram.
In the palms of his hands, Wandering Souls the size of quail eggs emerged.
He pulled out a piece of firewood from the stove and, with a fierce grip, it crumbled and burst like a soft cake.
“The grip strength of my fingers has noticeably increased.”
His right hand gently brushed over the green brick stove, and five distinct scrape marks appeared.
“The bones, skin, and nails of my fingers also seem to have become tougher.”
“Not bad.”
Chen Mu returned to the low table under the eaves.
He took out the White Jade Toad Shape Cultivation Technique that he had read over several times.
This was a high-end Shape Cultivation Technique, and he was hopeful about the area it covered with the Wandering Soul.
Reviewing the breathing and motion postures again, Chen Mu stood up to practice.
It didn’t take long for him to find the right feeling, as a vast insight rushed into his mind.
Another Shape Cultivation Technique had completed Muscle Transformation.
…
In the evening, while having dinner, Chen Mu strolled to Chunfeng Tower in North Market, planning to treat himself to an extra meal.
He practiced several kinds of Shape Cultivation Techniques, and even without being able to add to his Shell Soul, his physical condition was far superior to that of an average Martial Artist. With a fast digestion, eating two additional meals was no problem.
As he entered the hall on the first floor, the dim lights shone on an endless stream of happy voices and laughter.
Chen Mu was taken aback. This was quite different from a month ago.
Back then, the Startling Swan Gang and Tangshan Camp had taken away many wandering folks from Jianghu.
The streets had been quiet, and Chunfeng Tower wasn’t very lively.
Now, it was even busier than before the Startling Swan Gang had headed north!
As usual, he took a seat in a corner, ordered a table full of generous dishes, turned away a sister trying to mooch a meal, and released small paper figures all around.
Chen Mu listened for news while enjoying the performances on stage.
…
“Old brother, you’ve come from the north, could you tell us what the situation is really like over there?” Inside a partition on the eastern side of the hall, five or six people gathered to drink and chat.
“Just one word—chaos,” a lean elder in his fifties shook his head and sighed.
“There are thirteen so-called rebel kings that are known by name.”
“As for the lesser-known grassroot kings, their number is countless.”
“They’re fighting the Imperial Court, the local clans, and even other rebel kings.”
“A rebel king who is known today might be gone by tomorrow.”
“The most pitiful are the commoners, repeatedly plundered.”
“When I was coming here, I even encountered several counties that had been completely slaughtered.”
The elder shuddered, as if recalling some terrifying thing.
“That’s too tragic, isn’t it?!” Those around him couldn’t help but feel alarmed upon hearing this.
“It’s worse than that, with ghosts looming even in broad daylight, and evil spirits running rampant,” the elder exclaimed with lingering fear, “Compared to that, Nanyang Prefecture is truly a paradise!”
“I hope Tangshan Camp can eradicate the bandits and stop the refugees and the chaotic armies,” someone next to him prayed worriedly.
The elder thought for a moment and said, “The closest rebel king is called Chao Tianwang. No one knows where he came from. He has twelve brothers, all proficient in Shape Cultivation.”
“Fortunately, this person occupies the north of Liangyue Prefecture and has no intention of invading the south. With him as Nanyang’s barrier, this place is still very safe.”
“Since ancient times, wars have not spread past Jinshui River. This place is too remote, not a land of success. That’s why I ran all the way here to seek refuge.”
“Our Nanyang Prefecture City is not so remote. Look at the treatment offered by our Startling Swan Gang,” another person said with a wink and a smug expression.
“Don’t be so smug. The northern clans are also recruiting, offering five yellow bud pills as a sign-on bonus, similar to the Startling Swan Gang’s Dragon Transformation Pills. How about that for a reward?” the elder said with a squint and a smile.
“That good?!” The other few suddenly envied to the point of questioning life.
The Startling Swan Gang only offered two pills.
“You might not live to enjoy them,” the elder said meaningfully, “with the chaos up north, it’s too common for ten or eight proficient Shape Cultivation experts to die in one conflict.”
If it wasn’t that dangerous, why would he have come to Nanyang?
Several men who had at most achieved Bone Transformation felt a chill on their scalp.
Forget it, staying in Nanyang was more comfortable.
…
In a corner, Chen Mu listened to the conversation and couldn’t help but feel a chill.
“Thank goodness I ended up in Qingshan County of Nanyang Prefecture.”
“If I had been even slightly northward, I might not have lived to see today!”
He had been staying in Nanyang the whole time. Even when Qingshan County was once breached by bandits and chaotic soldiers, he wasn’t hurt.
Compared to the turmoil in the heartland of Da Liang, that chaos was nothing.
“Those northern clans are also recruiting to fight Ghosts?”
“The allure of the Thousand Mechanism Token is indeed great,” Chen Mu thought with schadenfreude, “Let them fight, it’s best if it knocks some sense into those clan descendants’ dog heads.”
…
On the way home, Chen Mu mulled over what he had just seen and heard.
“No wonder there are so many people coming. They all ran here to escape the chaos of the north.”
“I wonder how long this turmoil will last.”
Chen Mu felt worried.
“I’ll stock up on more supplies tomorrow.”
He had a feeling that more people would flood into Nanyang Prefecture and prices would soon rise.
“I’ll try to reduce how often I go out.”
With a mix of people, disputes might arise.
Where there are disputes, trouble could follow.
…
At night, after Chen Mu washed up, he went to bed.
Half-asleep and half-awake, he faintly heard a melodious voice.
This song was so beautiful it was indescribable and yet seemed oddly familiar.
Chen Mu suddenly woke up with a start.
Three strange syllables quickly left his mouth.
Five little paper figures whooshed onto his face all at once.
The icy touch made him shiver, and his groggy state quickly faded.
Chen Mu hurriedly got out of bed and climbed onto the roof.
Hundreds of meters away on the Luo River, a red ship was faintly visible amid the white mist.
Several hazy figures stood by the ship’s window, quietly looking this way as the Red Ship slowly receded into the distance.
“Fuck!”
“Are they actually targeting me now?!”