“Scared now, huh?” Shang Huan said with a grin, his right foot on the bench.
“Indeed, it’s quite frightening,” Chen Mu nodded.
In the past, he smoothly cultivated the Spirit Armor Technique, hoping to find the subsequent methods. Who would have thought it was like walking a tightrope!
“That’s why I said they are nothing but heretical paths,” Shang Huan said with a shrug, appearing unconcerned, “Fast to train, fast to go mad, and fast to die.”
“Not like our orthodox Daoist practices, advancing methodically, safely, and reliably.”
Chen Mu silently nodded in agreement.
Shape Cultivation, Shell Soul, Spirit and Soul Unification into Jade Seed, chanting to cultivate Spiritual Light—he’d progressed step by step. Although it was tough, the path was clear and free of dangers.
Demons reincarnating, non-human mutations, fast to go mad, fast to die—one could tell it wasn’t any righteous secret technique.
Someone like me is better suited to be the heir of the orthodox Daoist ways.
…
Two days later, the Scripture Transmission Institute.
Chen Mu walked out of the octagonal wooden tower with a pained expression.
Six hundred White Jade Coins, gone!
“And that was just for the cheapest Hundred Intentions Illusion Breaking Technique,” Chen Mu lamented.
“The seven brothers of Wu Mountain are truly wealthy!” Chen Mu exclaimed with envy.
He also looked at the “Minor Floating Cloud Daoist’s Illusion Breaking Method” bought by Lu Ku—766 White Jade Coins.
Tsk, tsk…
“I really want to pay them a visit…”
…
Under the wooden shelter of Low Hill Courtyard.
Chen Mu sat in the rocking chair, not looking at the newly purchased Illusion Breaking Technique, but instead carefully counting his White Jade Coins.
“One hundred and nineteen…”
Start a side business?
With so little money in hand, he felt uneasy.
Just like in his previous life, with no savings in his account, he didn’t dare to do anything. Otherwise, why would he resign himself to being a homebody? He’d have been out enjoying life long ago.
Cultivate Eggplant Night Grass?
No, selling fake medicine is not a long-term solution.
Hidden Qi Powder?
Also not good, this matter involves the secretive waterways of the Lower Courtyard on Jilong Road. If discovered, it could lead to big trouble.
Miasma that confuses the gods?
This is troublesome, too.
Too concentrated, it could knock down Exotic Beasts and insects, and also the people who farm the land.
I can use it to fend off Exotic Beasts, and the merit of the Five Ghosts Yin Spirit accounts for at least half of that.
Too diluted, and the effect isn’t good enough. It won’t work on slightly larger Exotic Beasts.
“Better sell a few more sets of Calming Pills.” This plan was the safest and most secure.
Add one set of six bottles each for Shang Huan and the Ling Boat. By the end of the month, there should be a surplus of at least ten White Jade Coins.
“Can’t be living from paycheck to paycheck.”
…
Three days later, the Underground Secret Chamber.
On each side of the soft couch, there was a pot of knee-high lush green plants.
Their needles looked like pine but were even finer. They moved rhythmically without wind, undulating as if breathing.
The plant was called Sea-Heart Pine and refreshed the air in a sealed space, ensuring its freshness.
Chen Mu took out a Calming Pill and placed it in the hollow copper sphere of the Incense Burner to roast.
A faint fragrance wafted through the air. Chen Mu took a deep breath to stabilize his spirit and focused on the Jade Slip in his hand.
Golden specks and threads covered the surface of the Jade Slip, and as he gazed upon it, he couldn’t help but sink into it.
Accompanied by a lengthy Curse Words, a vague pure black dot suddenly appeared in the middle of the Jade Seed.
The dot was the size of a sesame seed, tiny upon close inspection, yet seemingly infinite in its expanse.
Chen Mu peered through the Jade Disk, and involuntarily decided to check, but then he felt almost like being sucked into it.
It took quite a while for Chen Mu to snap back to reality. When he looked at the Jade Slip in his hand again, the golden threads had disappeared.
“Is this Illusion Breaking?”
He always felt the black dot was trying to absorb him.
It was like standing on the edge of a cliff, feeling the urge to jump but also fearing it—an instinctual sense of panic and resistance.
Chen Mu summoned the grey wall.
Hundred Intentions Illusion Breaking Technique: 3/10000;
“I didn’t practice it wrong…”
Since the grey wall confirmed the progress, there shouldn’t be any problem.
“Is this fear and resistance a normal reaction?” Chen Mu scratched his head.
For now, just keep practicing.
…
Half a month later.
Chen Mu got up early for his daily routine of washing and eating.
As usual, he went down the mountain to tidy up the Yellow Bud Rice, and after returning, he fertilized and watered the nightshade plants.
After finishing his tasks, he comfortably settled into the rocking chair, took a sip of cool tea, his face expressing complete ease.
“How relaxing…”
Recently, incidents of Exotic Beasts causing trouble had decreased, and it had been a long time since the Five Ghosts Yin Spirit had feasted.
Chen Mu speculated that it was because the Upper Court had sent people into the mountains to clean up the area.
“It’s always good to have a big tree to lean on.”
Experience tales at empire
Wild Cultivators living outside didn’t have anyone to shelter them from the storm; they had to face insect pests and beast calamities on their own.
“I need to find an opportunity to gain my freedom.”
He liked staying in the Lower Courtyard, but he also needed to ensure that he could leave whenever he wanted.
“Six hundred White Jade Coins, that’s really a rip-off!” Chen Mu shook his head.
For these long-term workers from the borderlands who wanted to gain their freedom, there were three choices.
The first was to cultivate Spiritual Light until the Daoist Seal dissipated; just report it, and you’d be free immediately.
But he dared not do that—it was too conspicuous!
The second was to work hard for twenty years until the Daoist Seal naturally dissipated, which also granted freedom.
Chen Mu didn’t mind farming for twenty years, but not just for the sake of becoming free.
The third option was to buy freedom with money, paying six hundred White Jade Coins all at once.
This wouldn’t remove the Daoist Seal but would only change the identity information, allowing free entry and exit from Jilong Road.
“Whichever way you look at it, it seems like a money-making scheme devised by those at the lower levels.” Chen Mu thought to himself.
However, this strategy was actually quite suitable for him.
His Daoist Seal had already dissipated; once he changed his information, he would be truly free.
“Money…” Chen Mu sighed.
Having come to Jilong Road, his only impression was one thing—money! Everywhere demanded White Jade Coins.
“Now there’s also this gold-eating beast of the Hundred Intentions Illusion Breaking Technique.” Chen Mu gave a wry smile as he looked in front of him.
Hundred Intentions Illusion Breaking Technique: 783/10000;
With seven or eight hours of practice every day, he could earn a little over fifty points of experience.
As expected of a secret technique passed down from the Hundred Intentions Spirit Light Technique, it’s slow!
“And it’s expensive to boot!”
Now to cultivate the Illusion Breaking Technique, he would spend about two and a half White Jade Coins a day.
“One step at a time,” Chen Mu repressed his frustration for a while, soon regaining his composure.
“After mixing in for a few more years and getting the lay of the Lower Courtyard, it won’t be too late to slowly find a way to wealth.”
He had the Pharmaceutical Technique and wasn’t worried about making money. What concerned him was how to hold on to the White Jade Coins.
…
Life in the Lower Courtyard was tranquil. Chen Mu worked and practiced his cultivation every day, and occasionally, when the mood struck, he’d prepare himself a lavish feast.
He couldn’t yet pilfer the recipes from the eight delicacies of the Heavenly River Water Mansion.
Yet, he had already learned several dishes from Red Sleeve Square.
This evening, Chen Mu sat at the square table.
A circular depression had been carved out of the middle of the square stone. Covered with an iron mesh, it had become a natural barbecue stove.
Chen Mu held the Fire Cloud Gourd in his right hand, muttering incantations under his breath.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh…
A streak of blue flame the thickness of a thumb jetted out.
With a Black Gourd in hand, Chen Mu was carefully roasting slices of meat.
A tempting aroma instantly filled the courtyard.
After putting away the Black Gourd, Chen Mu couldn’t wait to grab a slice.
Boom!
A muffled sound suddenly erupted in the sky.
A slight tremor passed rapidly underfoot.
An earthquake? No, that’s not it!
Chen Mu’s expression changed. He leaped atop the wall and strained his eyes to the south, but he saw nothing.
Boom boom boom…
The consecutive muffled sounds came again, the pebbles on the ground quivering slightly.
Crack…
It was as though thunder was ripping through the sky—a massive cracking noise suddenly echoed.
Chen Mu faintly saw a black rift appear in the southern sky, which then disappeared in an instant.
“What’s going on?!”
Chen Mu suddenly had an ominous premonition.