Two days later, Chen Mu suddenly felt a surge of clarity, and his mind brimmed with new insights. Enjoy new chapters from empire
The repulsion force beneath his feet suddenly strengthened.
In the fog of his mind, the Divine Will Talisman of the Void Cloak Technique shone even brighter.
Chen Mu looked at the gray walls.
Void Cloak Technique: 2/10000/Fourth Rank;
“Can I briefly hover in the air?” Chen Mu tried a couple of times and nodded in satisfaction.
After reaching the Fourth Rank, the Void Cloak Technique became easier and more delicate to control.
Walking no longer required him to move as though hammering nails with a stop at every step.
Glancing at Shang Huan, who was trudging along, one step deep and the next shallow, clothes soaked with sweat, Chen Mu couldn’t help but smile.
Crossing mountains and ridges was too draining.
Even with everyone possessing a Shell Soul and enduring vitality, a long journey through complex terrain was still exhausting.
With the Fourth Rank Void Cloak Technique, Chen Mu moved with even more ease.
…
The team traveled daily, and the only sights were forests and mountains.
At first, it was somewhat novel, but after spending over a month drilling through the mountains, even the most beautiful scenery lost its appeal.
In the evening, the entire team stopped to rest.
Around a campfire, five or six people gathered in a circle.
An elk-like animal was skinned and gutted, then placed over the flames to roast, accompanied by the sizzling and crackling sounds as drops of fat continuously fell.
Chen Mu stood by, sprinkling seasonings and turning the meat while occasionally making a few cuts.
Feeling the feedback of his knife slicing through skin and flesh, Chen Mu narrowed his eyes: “This elk, it’s not considered an Exotic Beast anymore, is it?”
“Weaker ones are likely to follow.” Old Hao smacked his lips as he puffed on his cigarette: “We’re too far from the Lower Courtyard here.”
“There’s less Earth Spirit Vital Energy, so Exotic Beasts won’t appear in a place like this.”
Chen Mu had a sudden realization.
Just as their group pursued Earth Spirit Vital Energy for cultivation, Exotic Beasts did the same.
“Still no idea where the destination is.” By the campfire, an elder with the surname Li sighed, “If we don’t arrive soon, we’ll miss the best planting season for the Yellow Bud Rice.”
“Why worry so much, the Oversight Courtyard must have already chosen a good location,” Shang Huan said with casual indifference.
“Even if we miss the season, there’s no need to fret. Didn’t the Oversight Courtyard say so? All disciples who came with us will get double wages.”
“Every month, we each get four White Jade Coins.”
The others also showed smiles.
Chen Mu’s lips curled slightly as well.
Because he was now free.
He not only saved six hundred White Jade worth of freedom money, but he would also receive an additional two White Jade Coins as monthly wages.
“At last, I’m no longer a mere servant,” Chen Mu said as he sliced off a piece of crispy skin and popped it into his mouth.
“Dinner’s ready!”
…
The team continued southward, trekking through the mountains for another month.
By this point, Exotic Beasts gradually started to appear more frequently.
The team no longer carried themselves with the casual ease of their initial travels.
Members of the Inspection Courtyard patrolled back and forth.
Others were also required to cooperate in teams as much as possible, staying vigilant to protect themselves in case Exotic Beasts suddenly caused trouble.
…
Another half-month passed, and a nameless Exotic Beast suddenly launched an attack from underground.
It swallowed twenty or thirty people who were on the road in one bite and then turned and burrowed back into the ground, vanishing without a trace.
Even Mo Wuzhou, who arrived quickly piloting his Flying Kite, could not capture that underground burrowing Exotic Beast.
It was impossible to even determine what kind of creature it was.
A mood of tension and fear began to spread through the team.
Even with someone on watch at night, those sleeping kept one eye open.
Just as everyone was overwhelmed with anxiety, the surrounding Exotic Beasts suddenly started to decrease again.
Everyone finally exhaled in relief.
It was at this time that a majestic mountain gradually came into view.
The mountain had two peaks side by side with a bend in the middle, resembling a pair of short, twin-tined forks.
“Over there is our destination, Peng Yue Mountain,” Shang Huan excitedly said, standing next to Chen Mu.
“After nearly three months of trekking through the forest, we’re finally arriving!”
Chen Mu also breathed a sigh of relief.
After such an extended period of relentless mountain drilling, even he, fortified by the Void Cloak Technique to conserve strength, felt physically and mentally worn out.
…
Peng Yue Mountain looked close, but in reality, it was very far away.
After another seven days, they finally reached the foot of the mountain.
From a distance, Peng Yue Mountain was lush and verdant, its summit shrouded in clouds and mist, like a mountain from the realms of the immortals.
But as they drew closer, they discovered large swathes of vegetation on the mountain had been destroyed, revealing pockmarked earth and rocks below, resembling ugly patches.
“Do you know what happened?” Chen Mu nudged the increasingly sturdy Shang Huan with his elbow.
The mountain exhibited vast expanses of trees turned black as if scorched, and huge pits as if made by the impact of massive creatures; all these signs were fresh.
“It was our Director Song,” Shang Huan said with a mysterious smile.
“There’s a Cold Lake between the peaks of Twin Peaks Mountain.”
“Inside lives a Cold Moon Toad, said to be a demon that has developed sentience!”
“Before we came here, Director Song arrived early and fought the demon one-on-one for five days and five nights, eventually slaying the toad and claiming this territory!” Shang Huan said, his face full of admiration.
Fought for five days and five nights?
Could it really be that exaggerated?
Chen Mu shook his head, unable to help himself. Rumors, with their distortions and exaggerations, were inevitable.
However, the presence of Cold Moon Toad was probably not false.
After all, the battleground was right before his eyes.
A demon that had developed sentience…
Chen Mu looked at the patchworked hillside with complex emotions.
It was said that when exotic beasts gained sentience, they could cultivate demonic energy, giving birth to divine skills and manipulation of winds and waves, with the more powerful ones even capable of escaping earth and achieving flight.
He felt some fear in his heart, yet he also longed to witness it with his own eyes.
“Once my strength improves, I must find a sentient demon to see for myself,” Chen Mu thought to himself.
…
They felled trees, opened mountains, constructed water channels, and built terraced fields.
The people from Jilong Road labored for two months in the South Mountain area of Peng Yue Mountain before the initial construction was completed and they gradually settled down.
At the foothill.
A wooden hut stood at the head of a long strip of terraced fields.
The hut was six meters long and four meters wide, divided inside into a bedroom and a living room.
In front of the hut was a two-meter-wide wooden corridor.
A rocking chair was placed on the east side of the corridor.
At the moment, Chen Mu sat in the rocking chair, sipping tea and looking at the lush Yellow Bud Rice Fields beside the hut.
“Finally, we’ve settled down,” Chen Mu sighed with relief.
After nearly half a year, the Lower Courtyard of Jilong Road had finally completed the relocation and reconstruction.
He had once again become a mere farmer for the Lower Courtyard of Jilong Road.
“I still don’t understand the distribution principle of the Earth Spirit Element,” Chen Mu marveled, looking at a small two-meter in diameter pond in front of the wooden corridor.
The pond was man-made, with water flowing from the mid-mountain Cold Moon Pond; it contained a trace amount of Earth Spirit Element, suitable for planting Yellow Bud Rice.
It was said that the concentration of Earth Spirit Element was higher further up the mountain.
Near the Cold Moon Pond, it was even comparable to the practice arenas of the Upper Court.
“What a great place!”
…
Nighttime, with the full moon hanging high.
The sounds of insects and beasts came in waves.
Inside the hut, Chen Mu lay in bed with his eyes closed, sleeping soundly.
At midnight, he slowly opened his eyes.
The Five Ghosts Yin Spirit flew out of the hut to patrol; Chen Mu quietly got up.
He lifted the wooden floorboard beneath the bed to reveal a dark hole one meter in diameter.
Surrounded by billowing black smoke, Chen Mu jumped into the hole without hesitation.
Ten meters underground, a secret chamber about the size of the wooden hut was quietly nestled among the soil.
Chen Mu jumped into the secret chamber and began to install fluorescent algae crystal balls on the walls.
After illuminating the chamber, he started assembling a soft couch and only finished his busy work after a good while.
The stone walls had crystal lights, the couch ends were made from sea-heart pine, and on a short table by his side, Calming Pills were being roasted.
During the days spent opening up the Yellow Bud Rice Fields, Chen Mu had also been busy creating his own underground secret chamber.
Here, he could rest, as well as use the Exquisite Jade Plate to cultivate.
Lying back on the soft couch, Chen Mu sank into the soft bedding.
“Comfortable…”