“`
Qingshan County, East Market, Anle Square.
Suddenly, a large hole exploded on one side of a two-story wooden building. Splinters and stone fragments flew in all directions.
An invisible force shot out from the hole in the wooden building.
The ridge of the house opposite was struck, creating a gaping hole instantaneously.
It was as if some monster had viciously bitten into it.
At the broken hole of the wooden building, a figure in a black cloak violently shook a white jade bracelet in his right hand.
Then, he forcefully grabbed towards the damaged ridge across from him in mid-air.
“Stop!”
Squeak, squeak, squeak…
A piercing screech suddenly rang out.
A massive cloud of black smoke, about four to five meters in diameter, suddenly appeared in mid-air.
The cloaked figure clenched his teeth and exerted all his strength.
The screeching of the black smoke became even more piercing, as it switched between invisibility and visibility without ceasing.
At the same time, it resembled a blot of ink dropped into water, constantly rolling and spreading in all directions.
Regrettably, an invisible force enveloped it from all sides, and no matter how much it struggled, it could not break free.
The person in the cloak grew pale, knowing that a critical moment had arrived.
His right hand trembled fiercely once more, and the teardrop-shaped jade pendant emitted a crisp sound.
“Unfixed!”
Squeak!
A sharp cry soared into the sky.
On the cloud of black smoke, faces showing pain, laughter, terror, and screams flashed rapidly.
Bang!
An explosive sound.
The cloud of black smoke, like a balloon that had been popped, instantly burst into pieces.
Wisps of black smoke drifted in mid-air, and as they drifted, they turned into specks of black light that dissipated into nothingness.
The figure in the cloak thudded to the ground on one knee, his complexion pallid and drenched in sweat.
Below the wooden building, around forty or fifty men in black leather armor lay sprawled on the ground, equally pale and exhausted.
Some had even lost consciousness.
…
At the top floor of Ruyi Residence in Anle Square.
Chen Mu stood amidst swirling black smoke on the overhanging eaves of the building, his expression grave as he watched the distant melee, “Truly hard to kill.”
Recalling the encounter with the ghosts he had stumbled upon last time, Chen Mu broke out in a cold sweat.
If it weren’t for Five Ghosts Moving Mountain, he would have undoubtedly perished that night.
This was already his fifth day since reaching the Perfection of his Shell Soul.
He had begun secretly following the Tangshan Army to observe their operation of cleansing the evil spirits.
“Thousand Mechanism Token is not easy to snatch,” Chen Mu frowned as he looked not too far away.
Four squads were standing by in a tight formation around the shattered wooden building.
Fifty people in each squad, with those at the helm all wearing golden-threaded white jade bracelets, were Shell Soul experts. The rest were at least at major completion of Shape Cultivation.
Chen Mu had observed that, despite wearing soldier’s leather armor, the traces of training were not pronounced.
He speculated that these individuals were martial arts instructors of Jianghu folk summoned by the Shangguan Family.
And there were a total of sixteen such squads under the Shangguan Family’s command.
“Indeed, a fearsome foundation.”
“The essence of the Three Treasures…”
“Who knows how many people had to die for them to amass such formidable power.”
“Go find Zuo Sheng?” Chen Mu shook his head.
Zuo Sheng had already developed the Body Protection Aura, his strength was too formidable, and with his mad ravings, he seemed unstable.
“Too bad the Cloud Mirage Spirit Armor Technique arrived a bit too late,” Chen Mu brought up a grey wall.
Cloud Mirage Spirit Armor Technique: 329/10000/First Rank;
“Five points? Very good,” Chen Mu nodded in satisfaction.
Shape Cultivation became Spirit Armor Technique, and with it, a wealth of understanding followed.
The Breathing Method’s three hundred and sixty variations remained unchanged, but his body underwent subtle transformations.
As long as he breathed naturally, the three hundred and sixty variations would circulate automatically.
Unless he interrupted them, they would continue to cycle all day long.
He didn’t have to cultivate deliberately, as even his breaths could accrue experience!
“`
“It’s just that the points are a bit low,” Chen Mu thought greedily.
He hadn’t figured out the rules for Proficiency of the Spirit Armor Technique yet.
Sometimes it increased by one point in an hour, sometimes by five points, like opening a lucky box.
“If only I had gotten the Cloud Mirage Shape Cultivation Technique earlier,” Chen Mu sighed again.
“If the Spirit Armor Technique is perfected, perhaps I could also cultivate Spiritual Light.”
“Damn layabouts!” Chen Mu silently cursed the noble families three times.
If it weren’t for their monopolizing, deleting, and altering techniques, he could’ve obtained a high-ceiling Shape Cultivation Technique earlier.
With enough Proficiency accumulated, maybe he would’ve already cultivated the Spiritual Light by now.
Enveloped in Spiritual Light Body Protection, grabbing the Thousand Mechanism Token would be much easier.
…
“You really are after the Thousand Mechanism Token.” A figure in an emerald green dress suddenly appeared beside Chen Mu.
Chen Mu was accustomed to Cui Cui’s sudden appearances.
“I’m not, I didn’t, don’t talk nonsense,” Chen Mu denied nonchalantly.
“Do you think I believe you?” Cui Cui chuckled.
Chen Mu earnestly said, “I guess you do.”
Cui Cui laughed, “Stop dreaming. You can’t beat Shangguan Ji anyway.”
Chen Mu looked at Cui Cui helplessly, “You really misunderstand me.”
Cui Cui immediately rolled her eyes.
“Aren’t they afraid of missing some with such piecemeal cleaning?” Chen Mu didn’t understand.
“Once these little darlings gather together, they will spontaneously converge towards the center,” Cui Cui explained.
“Cleaning up bit by bit will eventually get the job done,” Cui Cui said, sitting on the edge of the roof, swinging her legs nonchalantly.
“Don’t you feel anything?” Chen Mu asked Cui Cui, his expression complex.
This was essentially the slaughter of her own kind.
“What feeling?” Cui Cui looked at Chen Mu, puzzled.
“Species empathy?” Cui Cui shook her head indifferently, “We can’t understand the complex emotions of you humans.”
“How to describe it… it’s like hundreds of books on a shelf. Take away some and burn them, or insert new ones. The comings and goings have no effect on the other books on the shelf,” Cui Cui said lightly, swinging her legs.
This emotionless, machine-like cold description sent a chill down Chen Mu’s spine.
Cui Cui’s cheerful demeanor always gave him the false impression that she was human.
Chen Mu shook his head, letting go of the thought.
The species were different; there was no need to measure her…or rather, the ghost, by his own standards.
“The Tangshan Army plans to clear out all the Ghosts, like draining the pond to get all the fish?”
“It’s time-consuming and laborious but simple,” Cui Cui shrugged.
“Sometimes they don’t even need to clear them all to luck out and find it.”
“When the time is ripe, the Thousand Mechanism Token will emerge by itself.”
Chen Mu nodded in understanding.
“How can I make you ignore me?” Chen Mu suddenly asked.
Shangguan Ji hiring Bai Miaojin certainly valued her martial prowess,
but he valued even more Cui Cui’s ability to see through the Ghosts’ invisibility and transformations,
which helped them to quickly locate the Ghosts without blundering around like headless flies.
“You really are after the Thousand Mechanism Token,” Cui Cui laughed as she turned back.
“You’ve misunderstood,” Chen Mu flatly denied.
“Then there’s nothing I can do. I’ve taken the money,” Cui Cui said, noticing the black smoke around Chen Mu and guessing that he intended to meddle using the Ghosts’ invisibility.
“Unless you also have some White Jade Spirit Money.”
“That’s a pity,” Chen Mu shook his head. If he had so-called White Jade Spirit Money, hiring Jie Jia directly would be much simpler.
“The other two families, they don’t have one of your kind, do they?” Chen Mu inquired quietly.
“What are you thinking? I’ve lived so many years and only encountered a weirdo like you,” Cui Cui sneered.
“But honestly, I’m curious, how do you and this guy, who only knows instinct, manage to coexist?” Cui Cui stared at the autumn-character paper figure and the black smoke on Chen Mu.
“Do you have some kind of Innate Bloodline?”
If I had an Innate Bloodline, would I still be worrying about the Thousand Mechanism Token here?
Cui Cui looked Chen Mu up and down with keen interest: “Do you have anything special that is different from ordinary people?”
Chen Mu glanced at her, “Actually, I do?”
“I can eat a lot, does that count?”
Cui Cui: “…”