North of Tongtian Square, Low Mountain.
A cluster of archaic structures made of green brick and black tiles was beautifully scattered across the hillside.
In a spacious courtyard to the west, the interior was filled with lush bamboo.
The bamboo stood as tall as two men and had the thickness of a finger, with a jade-like vibrant green main stem and leaves.
In the midst of the bamboo forest, stood a pavilion with a gray wooden pillar for support and a roof covered in dark green tiles.
Around the open area, the ground was laid with black and white pebbles.
At this moment, within the quiet bamboo court, hundreds of people, some standing, some sitting, were gathered. Explore stories on empire
A middle-aged man in his thirties, tall and slim, with a complexion as white as jade, was sitting cross-legged on a meditation mat under the pavilion, his eyes closed in rest.
In front of him was a long low table, on the left of which was an archaic incense burner sending up tendrils of blue smoke, on the right was a white jade chime engraved with cloud patterns.
Ding!
The jade chime sounded with a clear, crisp ring automatically.
The crowd that had just been whispering suddenly felt a chill in their minds, and their thoughts instantly quieted.
Everyone immediately closed their mouths and looked at the middle-aged man with curiosity, reverence, inquiry, and eagerness.
“Soul Strength is the surface, Divine Will is the root.”
“Both are like mirrors, representing different forms of the essence, Qi, and spirit—the three treasures of the human body.”
“Those born with Daoist Bone have the three treasures concealed within. In the fog of the Sea of Consciousness, Divine Will naturally converges into a cluster.”
“Ordinary people who want to go further must practice Shape Cultivation to gather soul, achieving Spirit and Soul Unification to create the postnatal Jade Seed Daoist Bone.”
“Only then can they use this as a foundation to perceive the Earth Spirit Vital Energy and complete the cultivation of the Spiritual Light…”
The middle-aged man’s face remained undisturbed, completely ignoring the hundreds of meaningful glances below.
He started to explain various phenomena related to Spirit and Soul Unification and the achievement of the Jade Seed on his own.
Chen Mu, hidden in a corner of the crowd, was listening with a focused expression, an epiphany dawning on his face.
He had been silently grinding experience from “Red Falcon Shape Cultivation Technique” all on his own since he started.
No one had ever systematically explained cultivation to him.
Now, hearing the middle-aged man teach about the scriptures and Divine Will, combined with the insights provided by his proficiency, he felt as though his eyes had been wiped clean, allowing him to see everything clearly.
This made Chen Mu immerse himself in the teachings, losing track of time.
…
Low Mountain.
Carrying his head full of perceptions, Chen Mu approached the Yellow Bud Rice Fields.
Seeing the widespread fallen rice, covered with bite marks, he slowly came back to his senses.
“Damn baldy!” Chen Mu exclaimed with distress.
Although he had controlled the Five Ghosts Yin Spirit to devour the white-lined Earth Spirit Mice.
But to avoid startling the enemy, he could only act after the bald strongman left.
This resulted in serious damage to the Yellow Bud Rice Fields located close to Low Mountain, which were the first to be infested with Earth Spirit Mice.
“Need to transplant some Yellow Bud Rice to cover up,” Chen Mu mused with narrowed eyes.
Dong Cheng and the bald strongman, among seven or eight others involved in this matter, had all been taken out in one fell swoop by Chen Mu.
But if someone investigated, it was possible they would trace the clue of the white-lined Earth Spirit Mice.
“There have definitely never been any Earth Spirit Mice here.”
“Nor will the harvest decrease because of them.”
Having no time to reflect on today’s teachings,
under the cover of night, Chen Mu went to the seven or eight unblemished fields.
He randomly dug out mature Yellow Bud Rice and transplanted it to repair the first damaged field.
He swept away broken branches and leaves, erased the traces of the Earth Spirit Mice, and turned the soil over to conceal any signs.
After busily working for an hour, he finally disguised the damage in the fields.
…
Late at night, in the Low Hill Courtyard.
Chen Mu hurriedly prepared a bowl of braised meat, blanched a bowl of green vegetables, and boiled a pot of Yellow Bud Rice.
Sitting at the square table, he sighed, “The local powers are too impolite!”
“To think they would stop at nothing for the sake of money.”
“If I hadn’t discovered it in time, and they were able to surround and attack me, the consequences…” Chen Mu shivered uncontrollably, “Too terrifying!”
Chen Mu fumed with indignation, “No matter where I go I can’t escape these greedy parasites.”
“I’ve certainly kept a low profile.”
“All I want is to practice my cultivation in peace.”
“Since you’re heartless, don’t blame me for being ruthless!”
Chen Mu silently glanced at the Five Ghosts Bag, within contained a Mustard Seed Talisman that could be opened and closed fifty-three times. Beside it lay a small pile of coins mixed with white jade and gold.
“I refuse to accept such ill-gotten gains,” Chen Mu sighed.
“Ah… Forget about it, time to eat!” Chen Mu wiped his face, took a breath, and sternly reminded himself, “These external things are the devils trying to ruin my Daoist heart! Better to ignore them!”
…
In the following days, Chen Mu behaved as if nothing had happened.
Like other outsiders, he eagerly headed to the Lower Courtyard on Jilong Road.
He absorbed the cultivation experiences explained by the indifferent middle-aged Zhuang Fu with an eager thirst.
Tongtian Square, Bamboo Courtyard.
“Enhancing the attractivity of the Divine Intent Diagram is the key to the Spirit and Soul Unification.”
In a corner, Chen Mu listened carefully, gaining sudden insight.
All sorts of Unity Secret Techniques are about altering the structure of the Divine Intent Diagram, making the diagram and Soul Strength attract each other like two levels of a magnetic field.
The True Intent inside the Jade Slips from the Scripture Transmission Institute is a template of this kind of Divine Intent Diagram structure.
By imprinting it into consciousness, through repeated visualizations, imitations, and corrections, the structure of the Divine Intent Diagram is gradually adjusted.
The Curse Words in the annex of the Secret Technique also have the same effect, without which Chen Mu couldn’t have begun practicing the True Sun Scripture.
But the former is like printing a copy, convenient and fast.
Whereas the latter is like drawing with meticulous detail, slow and difficult.
…
Under the cool pavilion, Zhuang Fu had an expressionless face and almost no interaction with the listening crowd.
Regardless of whether people understood or not, he continued to explain in a fixed sequence and rhythm, moving swiftly on.
“The process of Spirit and Soul Unification will cause both the Soul Strength and Divine Will to transform, becoming easier to manipulate.”
“For this reason, countless Jade Seed Secret Methods were created to achieve compression, extension, and transformation of the Soul Strength among various changes.”
“Learning one of them, strengthening the manipulation of Soul Strength, can accelerate the Spirit and Soul Unification.”
“If one is greedy for their power, practicing multiple techniques, it’s putting the cart before the horse, a waste of time.”
Chen Mu’s eyebrows twitched as he listened.
“Back in Da Liang, I heard Jie Jia talking about so-called Soul Strength Secret Techniques.”
“At their strongest, they can even break through a noble family’s Body Protection Aura.”
“Are the Jade Seed Secret Methods here an advanced version of the Soul Strength Secret Techniques?” Chen Mu had a flash of enlightenment.
“This is probably the normal offensive method during the Spirit and Soul Unification phase!”
“Then… How about I find a Secret Technique to practice?”
…
After the lecture, Chen Mu blended into the crowd and slowly left Tongtian Square.
He noticed many familiar figures. They were all newcomers who had arrived this year on the white lozenge shuttle.
The rest were also farmers from the basin plains, mostly from the Da Qian dynasty in Yunzhou.
Through the scattered conversations within the crowd, Chen Mu guessed that Da Qian was the secular nation controlled by Jilong Road, and also the main source of persons for the Lower Courtyard.
As he passed through the residential area, Chen Mu subconsciously looked towards a three-part mansion in the distance.
A Daoist in his forties with thick eyebrows and a stern face was standing quietly at the entrance.
Several other loiterers stood beside him in twos and threes.
Chen Mu recognized the Daoist as a Prefect of the Lower Courtyard, in charge of dozens of patrolling members.
Like any ordinary onlooker, Chen Mu peeked a couple of times, then quickly left with an expression that said he wanted to avoid trouble.
“Any traces I left entering the mansion have been cleaned up.”
“All clothes and masks have been destroyed.”
“All those who knew have been taken care of by me.”
“And I even made sure to disguise and cover up the Yellow Bud Rice Fields.”
“Well… After I return, I should still consume a couple more Solid Fragrance Pills.”
“After changing my scent five times in a row, it should be nearly impossible to detect anything from the smell.”