Nanyang Prefecture, Shanglin Neighborhood.
A spacious estate to the west housed an octagonal pavilion, surrounded by a man-made pond.
The pond was connected to the not-too-distant Luo River by an underground channel, flowing gently.
The water quality was excellent, crystal clear to the bottom where one could occasionally see fish darting around.
Chen Mu wore a grey long robe and had his hair bound up with a grey cloth.
He leaned against a pillar, sitting on a bench at the edge of the pavilion, his right leg draped over his left knee.
He then held his right foot and went through a series of gestures.
After picking at his right foot, then his left, Chen Mu sighed “Soul Strength is not easy to cultivate.”
Since he had developed Soul Strength, his daily intake of food was balanced, with continuous nourishment from medicinal meals and he occasionally drank specially prepared dairy products. Moreover, the Divine Intent Diagram combined with the Breathing Method had been unceasing.
Yet a month had passed, and the bean-sized Soul Strength had not increased at all.
By the stone table under the pavilion, Jie Jia looked disgusted “Soul Strength can travel throughout the body, why do you insist on sticking to watching your feet?!”
Chen Mu was startled and said with an embarrassed face, “I forgot!”
Jie Jia: “…”
Casually, Chen Mu put on his shoes and socks, transferred the Soul Strength to his palm, and continued his observation.
“Can one really cultivate Soul Strength to completion in a hundred years?” Chen Mu doubted deeply “By that time, you’d be close to death, right?”
“You can.” Jie Jia said indifferently, looking down, “Whether you die or not, you’ll know once you succeed.”
“Could Shell Soul actually extend one’s lifespan?” Chen Mu became interested.
But Jie Jia did not respond.
Chen Mu shrugged his shoulders and didn’t mind. Such thoughts were still too far off. Right now, he was more concerned with how to cultivate his Soul Strength.
“Is it only during the early stages of Wandering Soul that the accumulation is so slow? Does it require a lot of accumulation before a breakthrough?”
“It’s always this slow.” Jie Jia said lazily while rolling a silver bead “Yours is slow on top of slow.”
“The Red Falcon Shape Cultivation Technique really isn’t great, is it?” Chen Mu sighed in disappointment.
Wandering Soul is the source of Shell Soul. If the Shape Cultivation Technique is poor, so is the Wandering Soul. With low efficacy, the accumulation speed is slow. Without Secret Medicine to shorten the accumulation period, it’s impossible to develop Shell Soul within a century.
“There’s another point.” Jie Jia glanced at Chen Mu “The meaning of cultivating Soul Strength in a hundred years is that you must achieve Shell Soul before you turn a hundred years old. It’s not about merely cultivating for a hundred years to achieve Shell Soul.”
“It’s not a description, it’s a requirement, a condition.”
Chen Mu suddenly became stunned.
He had always thought that this phrase was a summary of cultivation.
It takes ten years to achieve great success in Shape Cultivation, and a hundred years for Soul Cultivation.
But according to Jie Jia’s words, that meant Martial Artists had to complete Shape Cultivation and achieve Shell Soul before turning a hundred!
Even given Jie Jia’s attitude, that only seemed to be the passing mark!
Looking at the Soul Strength that showed no progress, Chen Mu had a face of absurdity. That’s too preposterous!
“Do you know how long it takes for ordinary Martial Artists to achieve great success in Shape Cultivation?” Jie Jia asked calmly.
“In thirty years, two hundred and forty-six people who had achieved great success in Shape Cultivation died by my hand.”
“Twenty-six years, that’s the average time for achieving great success in Shape Cultivation.”
“The shortest was five years, a direct descendant of a noble family.”
“The longest was forty-seven years, a lone wanderer in the Jianghu.”
“Unless you have a Daoist Bone.”
Chen Mu was frozen on the spot.
Twenty-six years? That long?!
And that’s just to achieve great success in Shape Cultivation. After that, there’s a hundred years for Soul Cultivation!
No, that should be called cultivation by the age of a hundred. The actual time for Soul Cultivation is at most seventy to eighty years!
“The way you put it, achieving Shell Soul is as difficult as reaching the heavens!” Chen Mu looked at him with an expression that seemed to say ‘are you pulling my leg?’ “Has anyone actually succeeded?!”
Jie Jia’s bead-rolling hand paused, his bright yellow eyes shifted to look at Chen Mu.
“Yes.”
“Have you seen it?” Chen Mu was skeptical.
“Me.” Jie Jia said with an air of nonchalance.
Chen Mu: “…”
Fuck!
All that buildup for this revelation!
This Versailles-style bragging… so unexpected.
…
Chen Mu didn’t want to deal with this smug old man.
He took out a white porcelain bottle the size of a fist from his sleeve and handed it to Jie Jia “Do you recognize this medicine?”
Jie Jia looked at Chen Mu’s hand but didn’t take it.
Chen Mu rolled his eyes and placed the porcelain bottle on the stone table.
Jie Jia, using a white handkerchief as a barrier, pulled the cork and peered inside.
“You didn’t eat any, did you?” Jie Jia looked sideways at Chen Mu.
I’m not stupid! Why would I dare to casually consume medicine that’s unclear?
Although the ingredients have not been fully deciphered, it certainly replenishes Qi and Blood. But looking at Jie Jia’s attitude…
Chen Mu suspiciously eyed the white porcelain bottle “Is there something wrong with it?”
“It’s called the Dragon Transformation Pill. It nurtures the primal essence, solidifies one’s foundation, and accelerates the accumulation of blood and Qi. It can shorten the time for Shape Cultivation. It also increases the chances of Wandering Soul emerging.” Jie Jia stated blandly.
That sounds great, so why…
“The medicine contains a trace of Palatial Saffron, which contains vitality and is the main ingredient for accelerating Shape Cultivation,”
“Consuming Palatial Saffron will contaminate the Essence, Qi, and Spirit, causing the Shell Soul to become impure and mixed.”
“If the Shell Soul is not pure, there is no way to open the Heavenly Gate.”
“Similar elixirs in Jianghu include the Marrow Extracting Pill and the Yellow Sprout Pill. Zhu Yi Pavilion sells them, do you want some?”
Chen Mu immediately shook his head.
Knowing the risks, he would not recklessly consume them.
However, open the Heavenly Gate? What is opening the Heavenly Gate?
“You can learn about it after you turn a hundred years old,” Jie Jia said indifferently.
Is it a realm of cultivation beyond Shell Soul? Chen Mu pondered thoughtfully.
“Are there any medicines in Jianghu that are free of contamination and can still accelerate soul nurturing?” Chen Mu was not content.
“Do you know who spread the likes of Dragon Transformation Pills, Marrow Extracting Pills and others?” Jie Jia asked instead of answering.
“Clans?” Chen Mu guessed tentatively with a frown.
Jie Jia nodded calmly.
“Isn’t this poisoning Jianghu?!” Chen Mu was shockingly struck by the thought.
With these kinds of quick-profit but dangerous pills, not only do they drive martial artists of Jianghu to risk their lives, but they also cap their potential!
“Just a petty trick to ensure their own status,” Jie Jia said dismissively.
Chen Mu once again felt the cruelty of this world.
Developing a soul-nurturing Secret Medicine takes time and effort.
However, with enough money and risk, one can obtain Marrow Extracting Pills and Yellow Sprout Pills from the clans.
If unaware of the risks, who would bother studying soul-nurturing recipes?
And even if they knew of the risks, who could resist the temptation of nurturing the soul?
Over time, bad money drives out good. All harmless Secret Medicines are concentrated in the hands of the clans. The path for independent fighters in Jianghu to rise is gradually cut off.
Chen Mu lamented, “Truly ruthless.”
Thankfully he had asked Jie Jia.
Otherwise, if he blindly bought pills to speed up his cultivation, wouldn’t that mean stepping into the huge trap set by the clans!
But without the Secret Medicine to accelerate, when would he be able to cultivate his Shell Soul? Chen Mu was not in a good mood.
…
After a while, Chen Mu adjusted his mindset. Watching Jie Jia, who was still kneading a silver pearl, he couldn’t help but exclaim, “Worthy of being a Shell Soul expert, so knowledgeable and experienced.”
Recalling another unidentified stone, he immediately stood up, went back to his room, and brought it out, “Do you recognize this stone?” Only on m v|le|mp|yr
“Ebony Wood?” Jie Jia did not even bother to lift his eyelids too much, picked it up, and carefully examined it, “Unfortunately, it’s not the heartwood, no wonder…”
“Something good?” Chen Mu’s heart leapt with joy, but he quickly realized and asked in amazement, “This thing is wood?”
Regardless of its rough appearance or its weight and texture, it looked exactly like a piece of dusty gray stone. It was astonishing to find out it was actually wood. Incredible!
“A type of tree that only sprouts and grows in the crater of a volcano.”
“Legend has it that mature Ebony Woods penetrate heaven and earth, drinking magma below and basking in thunder above. A single tree is home to hundreds of species.”
“You believe it?” Chen Mu looked skeptical.
Jie Jia stared at the Ebony Wood and shrugged, “Legend, huh…”
Chen Mu curled his lips with disbelief; legends are always exaggerated, “What can it be used for?”
“Weapon forging,” Jie Jia put down the Ebony Wood and said.
“It’s not afraid of fire?” Chen Mu asked, puzzled.
“It grew up eating magma,” Jie Jia remarked indifferently.
“Isn’t that a legend?” Chen Mu was surprised.
Jie Jia didn’t bother explaining further.
Chen Mu looked suspicious; the old man was not clear in his words. Trees that drink magma and bathe in thunder, do they exist in the world?
“Do you want to forge weapons?”
Chen Mu snapped back to reality, “Of course!”
He had been wanting to forge two new daggers for a long time.
The power of the Sleeve Sword Technique was getting stronger, and the previous pair of daggers could no longer withstand a full-force burst.
The Sleeve Sword was already damaged after forcibly breaking Lin Que’s dagger last time.
Now that he had Ebony Wood, a forging material that even Jie Jia took seriously, of course, he wanted to forge two new blades.
“I have a few knives and swords with decent quality at hand, which could be melted down for materials.”
The items were all taken from the White Tiger Hall’s warehouse, originally intended to be sold for money.
“This alone is enough,” Jie Jia pointed to the Ebony Wood.
Then he glanced at Chen Mu again, “It’s best not to bring out items marked by White Tiger Hall.”
“What White Tiger Hall?” Chen Mu looked completely clueless.
Still not admitting it?
Jie Jia pursed his lips and shook his head, “Startling Swan Gang has put out a reward, offering ten thousand taels for information regarding Lin Que’s death, twenty thousand for finding the murderer, and fifty thousand for the culprits’ head.”
“I’m not a bounty hunter, why are you telling me this?” Chen Mu frowned, looking puzzled.
“Wasn’t it you who did it?” Jie Jia eyes rolled as he glanced at Chen Mu.
“Old Jie, we’ve known each other for such a long time, do I seem that untrustworthy to you?” Chen Mu’s eyes carried a hint of disappointment, and he then emphasized with a sincere expression, “I’m just an honest scholar keeping to himself; how could I possibly be involved with such a heinous crime?!”
“You really misunderstand me deeply,” Chen Mu said, his whole body exuding dejection.
Jie Jia’s skin twitched at the shamelessness, which was consistently reliable.