“`
Early in the morning, the Dingyou Camp’s Logistics Army got up bright and early.
They went to the storeroom to collect the day’s supplies and then began washing vegetables and rinsing rice to prepare lunch, just like any other day.
The ten of them had to cook for over two hundred people in the Dingyou Camp. They had to start working from dawn.
Chen Mu chopped vegetables absentmindedly, not even bothering to maintain the Cloud Mirage Breathing Method.
“Cui Cui is a Ghost?”
Chen Mu still couldn’t believe it.
After the last encounter with Ghosts, and considering the Five Ghosts Paper Man’s form, Chen Mu had thought that Ghosts were just a mass of black smoke monsters.
They only knew to possess bodies and devour Vital Energy, incapable of communication, utterly devoid of intelligence.
But…
“Is my understanding of Ghosts too limited?”
Possession, symbiosis…
Bai Miaojin and Cui Cui seemed to have misunderstood something. They took the Five Ghosts Yin Spirit for a symbiotic Ghost.
“However, could my previous life really have been possessed by a Ghost?” Chen Mu couldn’t help but shudder.
His previous life might have ended that way.
“Qingfeng Observatory…”
“Cheng Yi might know something,” Chen Mu narrowed his eyes.
“Forget it.” After a long while, Chen Mu let out a long breath.
No matter what his previous life had encountered, it doesn’t affect him now.
In fact, Chen Mu even owed a debt of gratitude to his former life’s experiences, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to return in another’s body.
“Dwelling on the past is pointless. Living well in the present is my duty,” Chen Mu resolved in his mind.
“Symbiosis…” Chen Mu searched his memory.
Jie Jia seemed to have mentioned this state of symbiosis with Ghosts.
Back then, he didn’t believe it and thought it was more like parasitism.
It was his lack of knowledge.
“Two beings… one human, one Ghost, seemed to have regarded me as their kind, a being coexisting with a Ghost.”
“Although their intentions are unclear, they are probably not malicious,” Chen Mu breathed a sigh of relief. At least the other party hadn’t exposed him.
The Tangshan Army’s search for personnel had been led astray by him using the gold-threaded white jade bracelet.
“Then I’ll continue to hide in the Laborer Camp.” Chen Mu thought to himself.
“Even if Bai Miaojin harbors malice, I am not afraid!”
Bai Miaojin may be strong and powerful, but he is no slouch either!
Last night, the two of them exchanged blows ninety-three times in a very short period of time… ending in a draw!
Not only that, but Chen Mu checked his Proficiency.
Cloud Mirage Shape Cultivation Technique: 5655/10000/Fifth Rank;
The Cloud Mirage Shape Cultivation Technique indeed hadn’t resulted in a Shell Soul.
But… he had layered six shells!
He was only a pair of lower legs away from having Soul Strength form a Shell!
Thinking of this, Chen Mu snapped out of his daze.
He stealthily popped a Bigu Pill into his mouth and slowly spread open the Cloud Mirage Breathing Method.
“Let’s train.”
…
Two days later.
The strict scrutiny of the laborers in the Ding region was lifted.
Chen Mu let out a breath of relief.
However, the frequency of collecting Netherworld Thread was increasing.
On average, it happened every other day.
The laborers were eating more, yet their bodies were becoming thinner.
The Dingyou Camp was silent deep into the night.
Only the patrol personnel, holding torches, moved through the camp.
On the riverside’s rocky beach, Chen Mu sat cross-legged on a smooth boulder, bathed in the gentle moonlight.
After a while, Chen Mu opened his eyes and let out a long breath, ending his breathing cycle.
Not far away, a stone had a square indentation chiseled into it.
Charcoal, an iron grate, roasted fish, and a wooden platter were all ready.
Four Logistics Army officers brought rice in big wooden buckets, placed beside them.
On the nearby lake surface, plenty of fish were floating belly-up.
“You’re up in the middle of the night just to eat roasted fish?”
Cui Cui appeared out of nowhere beside Chen Mu.
At the same time, a robust figure, hands behind his back, silently emerged from the night.
Chen Mu’s eyes shifted, glancing briefly at the two without speaking.
But inside his sleeve, five Five Ghosts Paper Men emerged at once.
I hope I won’t be forced to used Five Ghosts Moving Mountain.
He transformed the Qiuzi paper figure into a Ghost’s form. Controlling it, he plunged into the water, scooping the drunken fish into the bucket next to him.
He then disguised his motions with his sleeve, opened the Five Ghosts Bag and threw the Netherworld Thread into the bucket.
In the blink of an eye, the bucket of fish was drained by the Netherworld Thread.
Then he threw the Netherworld Thread into another bucket.
“`
And so, repetitively, the four large barrels of fish all turned into dried fish.
The Netherworld Thread, which once extended only to the length of his forearm, suddenly grew to the length of his arm.
Cui Cui looked at Chen Mu with surprise, “Controlling Netherworld Thread? You’ve got some skills, huh…”
Chen Mu casually sprinkled seasoning on the grilled fish, took out two and placed them on a wooden plate, then, raising his hand, he said indifferently to one person and one ghost, “Eat?”
Bai Miaojin, resembling a fierce general, was startled, but soon smiled faintly, “Of course!”
…
At the Logistics Army’s station in Dingyou Camp.
Chen Mu quietly lifted the tent flap and walked in.
Thunderous snoring sounds rose and fell in waves.
Chen Mu moved in the dark to the bedroll near the entrance and lay down.
A turn of his body and he came face to face with a pair of bright, gleaming little eyes.
“I never slept, watching out for you the whole time, making absolutely sure no one noticed you were gone,” Zheng Yuan whispered confidently.
“Oh,” Chen Mu replied indifferently.
Zheng Yuan glared at Chen Mu. “I stood guard for you the whole night, and all I get is an ‘oh’?”
Chen Mu’s eyebrows slightly furrowed as he tentatively said, “Um, thank you?”
Zheng Yuan: “…”
Seeing the other’s confused look, Chen Mu cheerfully passed him a wooden plate, “I saved it for you earlier.”
Since his Iron Bracelet had to be checked, he had to hide the live fish infested with Netherworld Thread on his body.
This fatty had too keen a nose; he’d always sniff it out.
There was no fooling him; he could only stuff his mouth.
Otherwise, he would have knocked him out with Mesmerizing Divine Smoke long ago.
Zheng Yuan was instantly overjoyed, reaching out to grab the plate and start shoveling it into his mouth.
“Cough cough… Wang ah, I also kept watch for you for half the night; shouldn’t you show some appreciation?”
Chen Mu looked up, completely baffled.
There, lying in the innermost part of the sleeping area, was Sun Enqi, propping himself up on his bedroll and looking at Chen Mu with a grin.
Chen Mu stiffened all over.
Just now, you were the one snoring the loudest.
So you were pretending to be asleep?!
Before Chen Mu could say a word, the fellow soldiers who had just been sound asleep suddenly rolled over and looked up.
One by one, they propped themselves up on their bedrolls, grinning cheekily at Chen Mu.
“Wang ah, we were keeping an eye out for you too.”
Chen Mu: “…”
He had not anticipated this; the Logistics Army had actually pretended to sleep.
This shorty was unreliable!
Chen Mu looked at Zheng Yuan expressionlessly, “You watched out for half the night, huh?”
“No one discovered anything, huh?”
Zheng Yuan looked incredulous at all his laughing and joking comrades.
You’re actually playing me!
…
Days passed by, one after another.
At the Tangshan Camp, halfway up Yunzhan Mountain, the news of deaths would occasionally emerge.
There were even deserters turned into mummies hung on flagpoles.
Yet the Laborer Camp remained stable.
Every day was bustling with activity: eating heartily, cutting timber, building military camps, repairing logistics tools, gleefully busy.
Chen Mu hid inside the Logistics Army in Dingyou Camp.
Morning and evening, he took a Bigu Pill, maintaining the Cloud Mirage Breathing Method all day without change.
As his proficiency increased, Soul Strength began to flow from the back of his skull, continuous and unending.
“No wonder they say the Wandering Soul is the source of Soul Strength.”
The previous six Shape Cultivation Techniques had all been castrated versions.
Now that he had encountered the Cloud Mirage Shape Cultivation Technique, he finally experienced the so-called source.
Hum!
Chen Mu, who was chopping vegetables, suddenly trembled.
The Cloud Mirage Breathing Method, which had nearly blended into his daily routine, was abruptly interrupted.
A cool sensation spread across his skin all at once.
His mind instantly became several degrees clearer.
He felt a sense of safety bubbling up from within, as if walking from the frigid arctic into a warm room.
“Shell Soul…” Chen Mu’s lips curled up, unable not to smile.
Nearly four years since arriving in this strange world.
Finally… he had finally cultivated the Shell Soul.
A tremendous sense of fulfillment instantly filled Chen Mu’s heart. Your journey continues at M-V-L
It’s a pity that Jie Jia was not there.
“Ten years for Shape Cultivation, a hundred years to nurture the soul?”
“Ha!”