After seeing Shang Huan off, Chen Mu tidied up the pots and pans, finished his washing up, and then crawled into the tent.
Inside the tent, the ground was covered with dry straw, on top of which lay a simple bed made from bedding and pillows.
Chen Mu sat cross-legged with his eyes closed.
The Illusion Breaking Talisman was activated, and strands of Earth Spirit Vital Energy were drawn in, passing through the skin, through the Primordial Talisman, piercing the barrier between reality and illusion, entering the Jade Seed space, and naturally achieving the Three Elements Unification to transform into Mana.
During the period of clearing the land and cutting trees, Chen Mu worked during the day, and every night he made sure to set aside time to accumulate Mana.
At this moment, the Mana within the Jade Seed formed clusters like schools of fish in the ocean.
“I wonder when it will be full,” Chen Mu sighed as he looked at the Mana occupying one-tenth of the Jade Seed space.
“Without the Exquisite Jade Plate to assist, the accumulation of Mana is indeed slow.”
He complained out of habit.
Then immediately he focused his attention and continued to draw in the Earth Spirit Vital Energy from the air.
After cultivating for an hour straight, Chen Mu stopped.
He fell backward, half-reclining on the soft bedding, stretching his legs out and resting his spirit mindlessly.
“I wonder when the reclamation will finally be over.”
Due to Cold Moon Pond, there was Earth Spirit Vital Energy around Peng Yue Mountain.
But the concentration was about the same as at the Lower Courtyard of the Tongtian River.
It was fine for growing Yellow Bud Rice, but far from sufficient for condensing Mana.
And the further away from Peng Yue Mountain, the lower the concentration of Earth Spirit Vital Energy became.
“Could it be that Exotic Beasts are also chasing Mana, which is why they keep converging towards Peng Yue Mountain?” Chen Mu guessed, which was the reason for this reclamation and Exotic Beast hunting expedition.
Unlike Jilong Road, which had measures to block Exotic Beasts.
Here, one could only rely on manpower to kill them in advance.
…
After mulling over the Mana cultivation for a while, Chen Mu put it aside for the moment.
Black smoke filled his hands, and a little black wooden horse emerged.
He summoned the gray wall.
Artifact Refining (Wood Spirit Boy): 6539/10000;
He had seen and used many Magic Artifacts.
But this was the first time he had seen a method of refining them, and he was quite interested.
For over a month, when not busy clearing land or cutting trees, Chen Mu would think about the Wood Spirit Boy whenever he had the chance.
With a thought, the structure of the Wood Spirit Talisman emerged in his mind.
The Primordial Talisman vibrated, and the Mana that had been freely floating suddenly surged.
Gathering, integrating, transforming, twisting—a silver-colored Talisman rapidly formed inside the Jade Seed.
Recalling the refining technique carefully, Chen Mu gained some insight.
“The wooden horse serves as the carrier, but the Talisman is the core.”
“To refine the Wood Spirit Boy is to infuse the Wood Spirit Talisman, which possesses unique abilities, into the wooden horse.”
“The treatment of the wooden horse and the integrity of the Talisman, along with the timing of their integration, are all crucial to the success or failure of refining a Magic Artifact.”
Due to his Proficiency, his Talisman condensed completely and quickly.
And after a single use, with just a thought, he could condense another identical complete Talisman.
“So, the key lies in the material treatment and the timing of fusing the Talisman.”
He looked again at the Proficiency of the Wood Spirit Boy’s Artifact Refining Technique.
Though not at its limit, he had a feeling that the time to refine his first Wood Spirit Boy was not far off.
With that in mind, Chen Mu placed his right hand on the center of the horse’s forehead.
Hiss!
A sound akin to a hot iron searing pig skin rang out.
Hum!
The expected reactionary force did not happen.
Instead, it was a sensation of cutting into flesh, or poking into dough.
Opening his eyes, Chen Mu found the little horse still standing obediently in front of him, unscattered.
“Did it work?!”
Staring at the horse’s forehead, now resembling a white drop-shaped vertical eye, Chen Mu couldn’t help but smile.
After nearly two months of pondering, he had finally refined his first Wood Spirit Boy.
…
The sky was cloudless, with the full moon hanging high.
Beneath it, the dense forest was filled with the alternating sounds of insects and birds, yet there was a sense of tranquility.
Suddenly, a pitter-patter noise eerily emerged in the tranquil woods.
A black wooden horse, hopping and leaping, dashed into the bushes.
It was all in one piece, with no moving joints, alternating its front and back legs to bounce off the ground clumsily but swiftly disappearing into the trees.
In the camp, inside the tent.
Chen Mu’s eyes were closed.
The Wood Spirit Talisman within the Jade Seed shone brightly, and a low-angle view appeared in Chen Mu’s mind.
Having long been accustomed to the Five Ghosts Yin Spirit, he easily accepted this external viewpoint and effortlessly manipulated it.
“A remote-controlled moveable surveillance device?” Chen Mu realized.
“Just don’t know how far the control range is.”
Likely not beyond that of the Five Ghosts Yin Spirit. So far, he hadn’t tested the limit of the Five Ghosts Soul Summoning.
But in this wilderness, it was more than enough for scouting and guarding.
“During logging and hunting Exotic Beasts, without good scouting methods, accidents are likely to happen, causing injury or death.”
“With the Wood Spirit Boy’s assistance, scouting and guarding would become much safer and simpler,” Chen Mu’s mouth curled into a smile.
“Such a good item, selling it for a hundred White Jade wouldn’t be too much, right?”
The cost?
Centuries-old Wood Hearts were everywhere, what cost to worry about?
The medicine for treating the Wood Heart? One vat of medical solution could process thirty to fifty little wooden horses, and the total value wasn’t more than five White Jade Coins.
“If I could sell hundreds, even thousands… Sheesh!”
The money to buy the Condense Aperture Secret Method wasn’t that hard to gather after all, hehe!
“Too bad…”
After indulging in this fantasy for a while, Chen Mu couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh.
The profit was visible to the naked eye, but he dared not sell in large quantities—it was too dangerous!
If only Shang Huan could strike up an association with Mo Wuzhou… that was something to consider!
A thought struck Chen Mu.
Even if he gave up half the profits, he would still be making a fortune.
“Mo Wuzhou seems to be saving up money, too.”
The other party also needed to buy the Condense Aperture Secret Method.
Chen Mu’s eyes narrowed.
This could actually work!
“Go and find Shang Huan.” With that thought, Chen Mu controlled the little black horse and headed straight for Shang Huan’s location.