Low Hill Courtyard.
Chen Mu stood in front of a waist-high water vat.
The vat was filled with grey-brown viscous mud.
The secret technique Qi Forbidden Hundred Miles activated, invisible exotic force surged into the mud, causing it to slowly rotate.
Threads of black smoke from spiritual armor infiltrated the vat, slowly evaporating the moisture, turning the mud into a play-doh-like consistency.
He then controlled it to fly up, drilling into wooden molds, compressed into pills.
After busying himself for an hour, looking at nearly two thousand Calming Pills lined up on three wooden racks, Chen Mu couldn’t help but feel grateful, “Thank goodness for Qi Forbidden Hundred Miles, otherwise, this would have been really difficult to handle.”
“It’s a pity that the Heavenly Demon Reincarnation Technique can easily drive one mad,” Chen Mu shook his head helplessly.
“Besides, even if I wanted to practice it, I couldn’t find a Heavenly Demon Pill tailored with Ghosts.”
He had asked the owner of the Imperial Goods Pavilion, Le Yang’an.
Different Heavenly Demon Pills required different types of Heavenly Demon Refined Blood to concoct.
Creatures of legend like dragons and phoenixes existed, but he had never heard of a Heavenly Demon Rebirth Pill made with Ghosts.
“Bai Miaojin?” Chen Mu had some speculations.
“Probably only by coexisting with Ghosts is it possible to practice the Ghost-version of Heavenly Demon Reincarnation Technique.”
The condition was truly harsh.
“Five Ghosts Yin Spirit is probably difficult to achieve.”
Chen Mu thought of the Five Ghosts Possession Technique.
Once it was deployed, he would turn into a fierce little blue figure, which wasn’t a normal manifestation of coexisting with Ghosts.
Moreover, the Heavenly Demon Reincarnation Technique had its limits. If the refined blood within the Heavenly Demon Pill was of poor quality, the cultivator would hit a bottleneck and could progress no further.
“Can’t cut off my own path just for a momentary boost in speed,” Chen Mu shook his head.
“I’d better diligently practice my Illusion Breaking Technique,” Chen Mu shrugged his shoulders.
Black smoke shrouded the area, the Five Ghosts Bag doubling as a dishwasher and vacuum cleaner came online.
The residues inside the vat were swept clean in the blink of an eye. The scattered bits of medicinal powder on the ground were also swept clean.
Then he put the remaining Tubegen Night Grass into the Five Ghosts Bag. Chen Mu dusted off his hands, preparing to make lunch.
But just as he stepped out of the wooden shed, he suddenly froze.
“The Five Ghosts Bag… has gotten bigger?!”
He hastily focused his attention inside the bag.
The egg-shaped wooden frame fit snugly within the Five Ghosts Bag, which should have been very stable.
But when he put the Tubegen Night Grass in just now, the frame swayed slightly.
Chen Mu examined it closely.
On the edge of the wooden frame, a gap as wide as a palm appeared between the frame and the Five Ghosts Bag.
“When did this happen?!” Chen Mu was both surprised and delighted.
If he hadn’t noticed the anomaly with the wooden frame today, he would never have known the Five Ghosts Bag had grown.
“Is it because of the Exotic Beast Meat?”
It was indeed mentioned in the Thousand Mountains Sutra that feeding blood and vital energy to the Five Ghosts Bag would allow it to grow and expand.
But, in Da Liang, he had fed it countless live fish without seeing any change in the Five Ghosts Bag.
Chen Mu had always considered those claims in the Thousand Mountains Sutra to be customary exaggerations and fluff, similar to how it said that a Five Ghosts Bag could move mountains and fill seas — part of the product’s overhyped marketing to fool people.
“I didn’t expect it to be true!” Chen Mu’s eyes couldn’t help but shine.
…
At the western end of Tongtian Square.
Walking south from the Ling Boat docking point.
Turning past a mountainside junction, a natural harbor that caved inward appeared.
As he approached, a cacophony was heard, and a fishy stench mixed with a damp river smell filled the surroundings.
This was the true location of the Tongtian Square docks.
“A small fishbone boat costs one hundred taels of gold per day, or one White Jade Coin for ten days,” said a tall, skinny old man with a goat beard, emotionlessly looking at Chen Mu, “You’re a Lower Courtyard disciple, still in the service term, have you paid the deposit?”
“I have, I have,” Chen Mu quickly nodded, his face wincing as he took out the certificate to show the goatee old man.
That was fifty White Jade Coins he was unsure if the Lower Courtyard would refuse to refund.
“I’ll rent it for just one day,” Chen Mu said as he took out the gold he had exchanged and handed it to the man.
Having not used gold or silver for a long time, he found it somewhat novel.
“Boat number D36, go find it yourself,” the old man said as he handed Chen Mu an iron plaque without further ado.
Holding the smooth-edged, palm-sized, well-worn iron plaque, Chen Mu bowed and left.
…
The docks were lined with densely packed boats. The ships’ bodies were made of wood as well as gray-white bone parts, exuding a wild charm.
The people on the ship wore simple grey clothes and had dark skin, resembling ordinary fishermen.
But these individuals didn’t walk when boarding or disembarking the ship; they all used leaps, bounding dozens of meters and carrying marine produce four or five times larger than themselves.
There was a small marketplace to the east of the dock.
Beyond the sounds of buying and selling, the most eye-catching feature was the variety of strange and unusual aquatic products.
He spotted a bizarre fish about a meter in diameter and seven to eight meters long, covered in black scales.
A butcher was lifting a large iron hammer, vigorously descaling the fish, creating a shower of sparks in the process.
A black-scaled snapper?
…
While looking around with great interest, Chen Mu found boat number 36.
The so-called small boat was actually seven to eight meters long and three to four meters wide.
After handing over his iron plaque to the guards, Chen Mu jumped onto the boat.
The bottom of the ship had a grey-white spine running from bow to stern, with ribs on both sides.
Wooden planks were fitted into the gaps, and the exterior was covered with black exotic beast skin.
Chen Mu was amazed, “This really is a fish bone ship.”
As he approached the stern canopy, a cockpit with a steering wheel and bone pedals caught Chen Mu’s attention.
Glancing at the stern, Chen Mu was full of surprise, “Human-powered propeller?”
“What a brilliant idea!”
Turning his head, he saw many others like him manipulating fish bone boats to depart.
Everyone was pedaling vigorously, splashing water all around the stern.
The seven to eight meters long fish bone boat seemed to ride like a motorboat.
This is… really fun!
Eager to join in, Chen Mu seated himself and stamped down forcefully, accompanied by the whoosh of the water.
The fish bone boat carved an arc, and with a whoosh, it shot out onto the boundless surface of the Tongtian River.
In the blink of an eye, it became a mere speck.
…
After zipping across the water for half an hour and thoroughly enjoying himself, Chen Mu finally turned the boat around, heading toward the bank of the Tongtian River.
Away from the Tongtian Square dock, he found a recessed bay along the southern section of the Tongtian River.
Chen Mu anchored near the edge and stopped the fish bone boat.
Black smoke billowed as the improved drunk bait was scattered into the bay.
With the Heartless Bell in hand, the Five Ghosts Yin Spirits appeared. Chen Mu slowly rose and flew toward the bay.
Knowing that the Five Ghosts Bag could grow, Chen Mu naturally took care of it.
This excursion was specifically to catch exotic beast fish to feed the Five Ghosts Bag.
“Just wait.”
Experience tales at empire
…
Two quarters of an hour later.
Dark shapes began to emerge under the calm water, and Chen Mu timely shook the Heartless Bell.
Hum!
It sounded like the deep tolling of a bronze bell.
Light ripples emanated in circles from where Chen Mu was at the center of the now undisturbed water surface.
Gurgle.
With a soft noise, a fish half a meter long with silver scales surfaced.
As if someone had pressed the start button, one after another, large river fish quickly filled the water’s surface.
Chen Mu’s mouth turned up slightly, “Five Ghosts Moving Mountain!”
Black smoke soared as five dragon-like figures violently burst into the water.
…
“Seems like there’s no change.”
At noon, Chen Mu, having prepared roasted meat wraps in advance, closely inspected the Five Ghosts Bag.
“Fed too little?”
“Then let’s feed it more for a few days and see.”
After lunch, he captured another batch of fish, filling five large bamboo baskets in the cabin as a disguise.
Chen Mu then started the boat for his return trip.
There was plenty of time; he had no plans to spend the entire day on the Tongtian River.