Squeak, squeak, creak, creak.
The carriage traveled on a road that wasn’t flat, but still reasonably wide.
Chen Mu leaned against the compartment, daydreaming.
This was their third day since leaving Qingshan County.
The novelty of starting the journey had been numbed by the monotony of the long travel.
Sitting in the carriage every day, though the scenery kept changing, the physical and mental exhaustion still swept over them after a while.
Zhang Ye lifted the curtain of the compartment, resting one hand on it.
Five or six spirited horses galloped head-on, with several Jianghu people spurring their horses fiercely, quickly zipping past them.
Zhang Ye couldn’t help but say sourly, “Another group off treasure hunting.”
No one in the carriage paid him any attention, this was no telling how many times he’d expressed his regret.
“Uncle Zhang, if you want to go, just go.” Cheng Ming said with a giggle.
“Go, go, go, what would a kid like you understand!” Zhang Ye rolled his eyes.
Chen Mu turned his head to look at the Jianghu people disappearing into the dust.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed the Qingshan County refugees following behind the caravan.
Some people were desperately fleeing, while others were eagerly trying to push their way in.
“Who knows how many will die.”
Turning his head back, Chen Mu closed his eyes and no longer paid attention.
The distance from Qingshan County to Nanyang Prefecture was vast.
According to Jie Jia, even if everything went smoothly, it would still take at least one and a half months to travel.
“Such a long time can’t be wasted.”
Chen Mu summoned the gray wall.
Writing: 1666/10000/Second Rank;
Drawing: 1533/10000/Second Rank;
Throwing: 7553/10000/Third Rank;
Red Falcon Shape Cultivation Technique: 5311/10000/Third Rank;
Cooking: 806/10000/Second Rank;
Pharmaceutical Technique: 626/10000/Third Rank;
Sleeve Sword Technique: 816/10000/Third Rank;
Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Curse: 397/10000/Third Rank;
Writing and drawing are not worth mentioning. He hadn’t updated those two skills in a long time.
Small stones were everywhere, so he could practice throwing using the Flying Locust Stone, but it was too noisy, so he had to give it up.
If people saw the Flying Locust Stone, it couldn’t be kept as a trump card.
Cooking didn’t need dedicated practice; he could accumulate experience by cooking every day.
Pharmaceutical Technique was tricky. He had finished reading the medical books. He could also gain experience by preparing medicines.
But, while traveling…
He could practice the Sleeve Sword Technique by practicing drawing and sheathing the sword.
But like before, if too many people knew about it, it couldn’t be counted as a trump card.
Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Curse?
Same as above.
“The breathing method in the Shape Cultivation Technique can be contemplated though.”
Chen Mu leaned against the carriage, his body swaying with the motion of the carriage, gradually adjusting his breathing rhythm to align with the Red Falcon Shape Cultivation Technique.
…
The movements of Shape Cultivation stimulated different muscles.
The breathing method was effective when matched with it.
“If sitting down could engage the corresponding muscles, would it be possible to achieve the combination and get the exercise effect?”
In the following days, following this train of thought, Chen Mu contemplated whenever he had the chance.
Thanks to the proficiency gray wall.
Every time throwing and the Sleeve Sword Technique leveled up, he experienced a qualitative change in his body.
Besides improving physical fitness, it also enhanced control over his entire body.
Also thanks to the proficiency gray wall.
Every attempt brought him a wealth of insights.
It gradually took him further down this path.
…
“Old fellow, what’s up with Brother Chen?” Zhang Ye curiously looked at Chen Mu, who had a blank expression in his eyes.
This state had lasted three or four days.
He often daydreamed, occasionally making strange movements.
He was skittish, at times elated and at times frustrated.
Slow to react, sometimes taking ages just to reply to a question.
Jie Jia glanced at him and said indifferently, “Practicing.”
He was all too familiar with this absorbed state. After living together for over a year, he had seen it more than once.
Whenever the other person immersed himself in practicing a certain skill, he would enter this trance-like state.
Zhang Ye looked surprised, daydreaming was also a way to practice?
How peculiar!
His eyes started wheeling around, and he quietly reached for the package beside Chen Mu.
Bulging, it should be hiding quite a few candied fruits and jerkies inside, right?
Just the smell alone was enough to make one’s stomach churn with anticipation.
Slurp…
What if… he tried…
Just as he was about to act, he noticed two gazes.
Zhang Ye turned to look.
Limp eyelids, narrowed to a slit, with honey-colored eyes revealing no emotion—that was Jie Jia.
Big, bright eyes, flickering with cleverness—that was the little Daoist boy Cheng Ming.
Zhang Ye’s eyebrows twitched, and he made a gesture to both: “If it succeeds, we’ll split it evenly.”
Jie Jia showed no expression and calmly turned his head to look forward.
Cheng Ming snickered and lifted the fabric curtain of the window to look outside.
Zhang Ye excitedly rubbed his hands together.
He had started out as a street ruffian, and although he had become a gang leader, his pickpocketing skills had never waned.
He glanced back at the chubby County Magistrate Du, who was pretending to be asleep.
Good, no one was paying attention, no one to warn.
Today, no matter what, he had to taste what these candied and jerked meats were like!
His rough hand, silent and stealthy, slowly reached into the cloth bag.
Swish!
A sharp sword tip suddenly appeared in front of Zhang Ye’s eyes.
Zhang Ye’s pupils suddenly shrank, and he stiffened.
His right hand tremulously withdrew from the cloth bag.
Whoosh!
The dagger vanished into thin air.
Zhang Ye instantly exhaled a long breath and wiped the cold sweat off his forehead.
He glanced at Chen Mu, whose eyes were still lifeless, as if nothing had happened.
Zhang Ye quickly hid deeper into the carriage.
Unapproachable, truly unapproachable…
“Ha!” Cheng Ming, the young Taoist boy, couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the sight of Zhang Ye’s cowardice.
Then, under Zhang Ye’s dumbfounded expression, he easily pulled out two small cloth bags from his sack.
He handed one to Jie Jia and enjoyed the other himself.
“I paid for them, you know!” Cheng Ming said with a mischievous smile as he stared at Zhang Ye.
Zhang Ye: “…”
…
Qingfeng Observatory, on Little Eastern Mountain.
Before the completion of the altar, the disciples of Qingfeng Observatory were dismissed in batches by Feng Ren.
In front of the Ancestral Master Hall, the bustling martial arts training scene of the past was gone.
Only a row of dark iron-cast figures remained, cold and silent.
Clang!
A pitch-black fist smashed onto one of the iron figures.
Sparks flew in all directions.
Clang clang clang…
Cheng Yi’s fists hammered down like mallets, striking continuously.
Soon, a shattered dent appeared on the iron figure.
Broken iron debris with a dark red heat fell to the ground. Cheng Yi’s fists, however, emitted a faint heat, undamaged.
He was shirtless, with his hair hanging loosely. Both hands and arms were covered with a layer of dark, semi-transparent film.
This was the Soul Strength he had longed for in his dreams.
With the help of the Elixir of Longevity, the Shape Cultivation Technique progressed rapidly. Being stuck at the peak of Marrow Transformation, he quickly cultivated Soul Strength.
The Elixir’s vitality was powerful, enhancing the range of his Wandering Soul quickly and gradually covering both arms.
Once the coverage extended over the entire body, forming an armor-like presence, he would achieve perfection in Soul Strength, achieving the Shell Soul.
But now Cheng Yi felt no joy, continuously pounding the wooden figure as if to vent.
Next to the training ground, Wu Yin sat on a collapsed stone stele.
In one hand, he held a knife, and in the other, a large soy-sauce beef leg.
He sliced off pieces of beef from the leg and placed them on a plate in front of him.
The chubby boy squatted in front of the stele, guarding the white porcelain plate.
Every time Wu Yin cut a piece, the boy grabbed it and stuffed it into his mouth, his face gleaming with grease.
“I heard you had another junior disciple.” Wu Yin casually chatted as he cut meat for his grandson with a relaxed tone.
Clang! Read today on m,v,l,e,mpyr
Cheng Yi’s fist smashed furiously onto the iron figure, his eyes brimming with hatred.
If only the master hadn’t favored his junior disciple. He wouldn’t have killed his own master. Nor would he have drunk the Elixir of Longevity, severing his path to eternal life.
Damned Cheng Ming!
Wu Yin chuckled with interest, “Actually, there is a way.”
Cheng Yi suddenly turned around, his face full of excitement.
Immediately his expression changed.
Wu Yin was his martial uncle, but he was like a sworn enemy to his master, yet they were still brothers in the Dao. He himself had poisoned his master to death.
Thinking of his dream, Cheng Yi forced a smile, “Please enlighten me, martial uncle.”
“Tell me about your junior disciple. He eats quite a lot too?” Wu Yin chuckled, clearly intrigued.
Cheng Yi’s face twisted. Yet, he had no choice but to suppress the hatred in his heart, grinding his teeth as he recounted Cheng Ming’s past.
“Senior brother, truly worthy of coming from the same sect, we think alike,” Wu Yin said with a chuckle after a moment’s silence.
Then he looked at Cheng Yi, “As long as you can take your junior disciple to Shouyang Mountain, you can obtain a Thousand Mechanism Token.”
“With the Thousand Mechanism Token, you can leave this barren land and pursue the path to eternal life.”
“The adverse effects of the Elixir of Longevity might even be resolved in that unknown land.”
Cheng Yi was ecstatic.
Who could have imagined that the junior disciple would be of such use!
“Your master sent away his disciples, leaving only you behind. Obviously planning to take you to Shouyang Mountain.”
“What a pity that you got smart on your own, murdering your master for the mere Elixir of Longevity.
“How wrongful is my senior brother’s death, you tell me?” Wu Yin asked with mockery.
Cheng Yi’s face was as calm as an ancient well. With a new hope in mind, he quickly regained his usual composure.
“I have been preoccupied with the master’s funeral in recent days and failed to attend properly. Please forgive me, martial uncle,” Cheng Yi said apologetically.
“My junior disciple is young and alone in the world. I truly cannot rest easy without looking after him,” Cheng Yi said sincerely. “I am deeply sorry that I cannot serve in front of you, martial uncle.”
Wu Yin pointed at Cheng Yi and laughed loudly, “This pretense of yours, tsk tsk…”
…
Two days later.
On the carriage, Chen Mu’s dilated pupils contracted, and he slowly came to his senses.
Whew!
He opened his mouth and exhaled a long breath.
Then he suddenly began to change his breathing rhythm.
Though he was sitting still, his muscles moved rhythmically with his breathing.
A wave of heat emanated from his body.
In this Southern Country’s cold winter breeze, Chen Mu was like a human furnace.
Cheng Ming, the young Taoist boy, couldn’t resist moving to the carriage entrance, closer to Chen Mu.
It was simply too warm.
A mist rose from the top of Chen Mu’s head, his perspiration steaming.
Chen Mu took a deep breath, completing a cycle of the Breathing Method.
He checked his inner wall.
Red Falcon Shape Cultivation Technique: 5352/10000/Third Rank;
Proficiency increased by one point.
“It turns out I’m just an ordinary person after all.”
“Ordinary people practice shape cultivation for ten years, nurture their soul for a hundred years. At this rate, when will I ever cultivate Soul Strength?”
“Others have an Innate Taoist Bone, practicing shape cultivation for a hundred days and soul cultivation for three years. But when I practice the Breathing Method once, I only gain one point of experience?!”
“At most, I can practice twenty times in one hour.”
“There’s also a limit to the strength of my body.”
“If I’m lucky enough to gain a hundred fifty-six proficiency points a day, it’s already a stroke of fortune!”
“Even if everything goes smoothly, it will still take over a month to achieve great progress in Marrow Transformation?!”
“I really am just a disappointing normal person…”
“Brother Chen, what are you so happy about?” Cheng Ming curiously asked as he looked at Chen Mu.
“Was I happy?”
“You must have seen wrong, right?”
Jie Jia’s amber eyes slowly rotated, glancing at Chen Mu briefly and speaking indifferently, “Your mouth is almost split to your ears.”
“Impossible, absolutely impossible!”
“This is anguish!”
“This is sadness!”
“I’m just an ordinary person with average talent, what reason do I have to be happy?”
“This is sorrow!”