“`
Three days later.
Liang Yi finally arrived at Low Mountain.
He also brought out a team of seventy to eighty people.
The members included Prefects and Team Leaders from the Lower Courtyard, the Patrolling Inspector from the Inspection Courtyard, and clerks from the Administrative Affairs Institute.
It was equivalent to bringing out nearly half of the core personnel of the Lower Courtyard.
“Now there should be no need to dissolve the Lower Courtyard,” Chen Mu breathed a sigh of relief.
The ordinary disciples below Jade Seed could be abandoned at any time.
But those above Jade Seed, those with Spiritual Light or Illusion Breaking Cultivation, were all excellent human resources.
As long as a piece of territory was found, with these people, a new Lower Courtyard could be rebuilt at any time.
Naturally, they would not be casually dissolved and discarded.
…
In the following three days, Song Wujie went to Peng Yue Mountain every day to attempt, all ending in failure. No one else came to Low Mountain.
Chen Mu raised the Five Ghosts Yin Spirit and looked out at the snow-white Peng Yue Mountain from afar.
Out of the thousands of Lower Courtyard disciples, fewer than three hundred came out. The rest would become snow puppets, a fate worse than death.
Chen Mu couldn’t help but think back to his time in Da Liang.
To gather the Thousand Mechanism Tokens, the high echelons of Da Liang let war rage, with city slaughters happening frequently, leaving nothing but death in their wake.
“Nowhere in this world is safe!” Chen Mu sighed.
“I must continue to cultivate.”
Only with greater strength could one survive in this tumultuous, chaotic world.
Suddenly, a pair of huge red crystal-like eyes appeared and disappeared in the wind and snow.
Chen Mu’s spirit was startled, his scalp exploded instantaneously, and he immediately withdrew the Five Ghosts Yin Spirit.
The snow demon Qing Liu had grown stronger!
Chen Mu dared not look any further and immediately began to gather supplies, ready to flee at any moment.
Another two days passed, and the temperature near the Low Mountain camp began to drop.
The crowd, joyful and noisy after being rescued, suddenly quieted down, fear and unease appearing in everyone’s eyes.
Obviously, the influence of the snow demon Qing Liu had expanded.
That day, after Song Wujie returned without success again, he finally decided to lead the people away.
…
Nighttime, at the edge of the camp.
Chen Mu sat silently by the bonfire.
Mo Wuzhou suddenly came to visit.
“Junior Brother Gongsun, you’ve kept yourself well hidden,” Mo Wuzhou said with a rigid face that showed no emotion, but his voice was full of playfulness.
Chen Mu’s expression did not change.
When he encountered Song Wujie, his Cultivation couldn’t be hidden.
Seeing Wu Mountain’s six siblings and others around him, Mo Wuzhou could immediately guess that he was Gongsun Sheng.
“It’s just some minor techniques to save my life,” Chen Mu admitted openly, extending his hand and gesturing for Mo Wuzhou to sit down across from him.
“Did Brother Mo come here for…”
“I’m here on behalf of Brother Liang,” Mo Wuzhou sat opposite Chen Mu and said, “Brother Liang knows you dislike attracting attention, and if he came in person to find you, it would draw everyone’s gaze.”
“Brother Liang is very considerate,” Chen Mu said with thanks.
Indeed, he did not wish to become the center of attention.
“Brother said, thank you for your help, you’ve done a big favor for the Oversight Courtyard. He asked me to thank you,” as he spoke, he threw a Mustard Seed Talisman to Chen Mu.
“I’m also a disciple of the Lower Courtyard; it’s my duty to help the Oversight Courtyard,” Chen Mu caught the Mustard Seed Talisman and tucked it into his sleeve without examining it.
Although he initially shouted about “nine out for every thirteen returns,” it was just a moment of jest. Whatever Director Song gave, he had to accept.
“There’s something I would like to ask Brother, I wonder…” Chen Mu hesitated for a moment.
“Is it about the destination after we set off tomorrow?” Mo Wuzhou looked like he understood, “There’s nothing that can’t be said about that.”
“It’s the Heavenly River Water Mansion.”
“We may need to stay temporarily at the Heavenly River Water Mansion for some time,” Mo Wuzhou said straightforwardly.
“If we go to the Heavenly River Water Mansion, our whereabouts will definitely be exposed… Zhongshan Path…” Chen Mu couldn’t help worrying.
“No matter,” Mo Wuzhou waved his hand.
“Sect Master Song said that Sect Master Dong Li and True Man He Bai of the White Tower have been chasing each other and have disappeared for almost a year.”
“No one will act rashly before the final outcome is decided.”
“Moreover, Zhongshan Path’s purpose in coming here was to seize resource-producing territories.”
“They are now busy transforming the resources they snatched. They don’t have the forces to spare to deal with us.”
Chen Mu immediately relaxed.
…
Traversing the jungle was nothing unfamiliar to them.
A year ago, they had crossed mountains and rivers to reach Peng Yue Mountain this way.
With fewer people this time, the journey turned out to be even safer.
With fewer people, the team that Song Wujie had to watch over was smaller, which allowed him to respond to emergencies in the forest in a timely manner.
Besides, there wasn’t only Song Wujie floating above.
Beneath the ground, there was also the Cold Moon Toad.
One a high-level Condensing Aperture expert, and the other a major demon with an Open Aperture; safety was no longer an issue.
“`
Eating had suddenly become a big problem.
Escaping from Peng Yue Mountain was already a stroke of luck, who would have thought to prepare for a long journey?
Hunting wasn’t an issue, but you first had to find something to hunt.
“Oversight Courtyard, even if I take out all the supplies, it won’t last a few days,” Chen Mu said, looking helplessly at the short and plump figure opposite him by the campfire.
“I never expected you, a little greed-devil, to have this trick up your sleeve,” Song Wujie praised with a plate of steamed fish in his hand, smacking his lips.
“You’re eating my food and still want to commandeer my rations, do you think that’s appropriate?” Chen Mu said helplessly.
“And I, a Condensing Aperture expert, am trying to buy some reserve food from you, yet you refuse to sell, do you think that’s appropriate?” Song Wujie glanced at Chen Mu sideways.
This is totally taking advantage of cultivation to act shamelessly!
Chen Mu had no choice. He had to give even if he didn’t want to.
Song Wujie chuckled with a face that looked like butcher’s block fodder.
“I won’t take yours for nothing, three times the market price.”
“In this desolate wilderness, money isn’t as valuable as food,” Chen Mu complained.
“Just say yes or no.”
“Yes!” Chen Mu nodded reluctantly.
Immediately his eyes narrowed, “I don’t want your money, how about you exchange it for something else?”
“What do you want?” Song Wujie eyed Chen Mu suspiciously, “We have a deal first, a little Exotic Beast Meat, however much the price goes up, there’s got to be a limit.”
Chen Mu chuckled, “How about exchanging it for a Secret Technique?”
“What Secret Technique do you want?” Song Wujie felt relieved.
The Scripture Transmission Institute in the Lower Courtyard has always been selling secret techniques, with clear pricing, so he wasn’t afraid of this kid scamming him.
“Alchemy, Artifact Refining, any Secret Technique that can make money,” Chen Mu smiled broadly.
“Impossible!” Song Wujie glared at Chen Mu, “You’ve got fish, not dragon meat!”
Secret Techniques for Alchemy, Artifact Refining?
These were the Secret Techniques many would break their heads over to get. And he wants to exchange a pile of Exotic Beast fish for it?
Daydreaming!
“What if I solve the food problem for the whole team?” Chen Mu smiled slyly.
“You can solve the eating problem for over three hundred people?” Song Wujie was incredulous.
“Just answer whether you’ll exchange it or not,” Chen Mu echoed Song Wujie’s earlier words, putting on a tough face.
“Exchange!” Song Wujie gritted his teeth.
If Jilong Road could overpower Zhongshan Path, he could return to Jilong Mountain and get his fair share of resources.
If things on Jilong Road didn’t go well, these disciples in his hands were his capital for a comeback.
As long as he found a new Earth Spirit Vital Energy node, he could rebuild the Lower Courtyard with these disciples. After developing for ten or eight years, they could bring him a huge amount of resources.
So, the first thing was to ensure these people could survive the Primitive Jungle.
… Your next journey awaits at empire
Having sent Song Wujie away,
Chen Mu called over the six siblings of Wu Mountain.
“Teacher, do you want Shi Xian’s Truthful Listening Secret Technique?” Lu Ku immediately guessed what Chen Mu intended.
Over three hundred fugitives, none of them weak individually, hunting Exotic Beasts wasn’t difficult, the hard part was finding the prey.
The Truthful Listening Secret Technique, with its detailed and wide-ranging detection, was ideal for locating targets.
Such exploration secret techniques were already rare for anyone to cultivate.
And those who cultivated similar techniques had all perished on Peng Yue Mountain.
Song Wujie’s bugs could also scout, but he had never made a move.
Chen Mu guessed, perhaps because the other party had been gravely injured and not yet recovered.
Wasn’t this the perfect opportunity?
“It’ll be quick, I just need to borrow and make a copy,” Chen Mu told Shi Xian.
“No problem,” Shi Xian nodded promptly.
Then, hesitating for a moment, her usually reserved face couldn’t help but show eagerness, “You can take the Secret Technique to use as you like, but could you return it to me a bit later?”
Chen Mu looked at Shi Xian in surprise.
He then turned to look at the six Wu Mountain siblings who all seemed quite agitated.
A thought flashed through Chen Mu’s mind, and he incredulously looked at Xu Rao, “The Triple Yin Slaying Demon Technique I’ve cultivated to the Third Rank, you can use it too?”
“I don’t know the specific rank of the Triple Yin Slaying Demon Technique,” Xu Rao pursed her lips, trying to suppress her mirth for a long time, but couldn’t keep the smile off her face, “After you borrow it, I’ve broken through the bottleneck I had before.”
Chen Mu: “…”
It’s over!
I’ve become an external plug-in!
It took a while for Chen Mu to come back to his senses, envy and resentment apparent as he looked at the six Wu Mountain siblings.
You six must be the real protagonists!
I toil away earning experience points, and you guys can use it right away.
You level up faster than I can add skill points!
Chen Mu extracted the Truthful Listening Secret Technique Talisman from Shi Xian with a face full of grief and indignation.
Shi Xian immediately went limp and leaned on Wu Ruo beside her, yet a smile couldn’t help but surface on her face.
“Roll, roll, roll, roll, roll…”
“Don’t let me see you guys!”
My mindset is collapsing.