“`
In the year 640 of Da Liang, on the fifth day of June.
The weather was clear, Chen Mu’s knees slightly bent, his hands raised to the sky, his eyes squinted to a slit, as he slowly and lengthily exhaled.
The next moment, a wave of heat fiercely radiated from within his body.
His muscles twitched in a small range and expanded at a visible speed.
In just three breaths, Chen Mu had transformed from a tall and thin figure to a burly one with an inverted triangle-shaped torso and legs like pillars.
The next moment, his fierce and formidable figure quickly shrank back.
It seemed as if an invisible force was compressing everything inward. Before long, Chen Mu had reverted to his tall and thin appearance, albeit slightly more muscular than before.
After a good while, Chen Mu took a deep breath and stood up.
“It’s done!”
After practicing the Blue-eyed Golden Ape Shape Cultivation Technique and achieving Muscle Transformation for over a month, he had just now thoroughly remolded his physique.
From that enormous size back to slim, Chen Mu felt even stronger.
This was the marvel of the Shape Cultivation Technique, genuinely transforming the microstructure of the muscles. The muscle fibers didn’t bulk up much, but the strength had multiplied, and agility had increased instead of decreased.
“With the foundation of the Red Falcon Shape Cultivation Technique, the path of the Blue-eyed Golden Ape Shape Cultivation Technique is smooth.”
“Once I practice it to the peak, with Proficiency aiding me, the Wandering Soul is within reach.”
“The path of stacking Shape Cultivation Techniques seems the correct one.”
Chen Mu clenched his fists and stretched his legs, slowly savoring the changes in his body. Don’t miss chapters on m v l e m p y r
“As long as the Wandering Soul isn’t just a tiny spot, that will be fine,” Chen Mu prayed reluctantly.
In the Jianghu, it was rumored that the Shape Cultivation Techniques were too simple, resulting in Wandering Souls with limited coverage. The smaller the coverage of the Wandering Soul, the poorer the quality and the slower the accumulation.
“If they’re all that little, how many Shape Cultivation Techniques would I need to practice to truly cover the entire body?” Chen Mu felt a tingling in his scalp just contemplating it.
But on closer thought, it seemed not so bad.
He had Proficiency and the foundation of a great achievement in Shape Cultivation, which meant he could quickly reach great achievement in learning new skills. His innate time consumption was shorter than others.
“After all, it’s about nurturing the Soul for a hundred years.”
He was only twenty years old now.
Eighty years were left before the centenary.
If he were to practice a new Shape Cultivation Technique every year, barring time lost, he could conservatively estimate that he would achieve at least seventy by the deadline.
With that thought, Chen Mu’s mood immediately relaxed.
“There’s no need to rush forward in a panic. Slower and more meticulous progress is more stable.”
As for the issue of lifespan limitation, Chen Mu had some inkling.
With the emergence of his Wandering Soul, his vitality was increasingly robust, a sign of a powerful life force.
“What if the entire Shell Soul becomes powerful? Would my life force be even stronger?”
Whether it was his own feeling or the ambiguous description of the Jie Jia, Chen Mu was full of anticipation for the Shell Soul.
“Tonight, I must go to the Ghost Market and make sure to buy the White Ape Shape Cultivation Technique!”
Now he was not short on money; it was better to secure the technique sooner rather than later.
Having spent five or six months in Nanyang Prefecture, he increasingly realized the preciousness of Shape Cultivation Techniques.
The black market had only those three books over and over.
Even the civilian martial arts schools were vague at best.
Thinking back, having encountered Sheng Hong, that greedy ghost, was truly lucky.
It was just a pity that he was a bit too greedy. In the end, he lost his life before spending the money.
Right, he was dead, but the money was still there!
I knew where his family lived; how could I forget to reclaim the gift?!
A miscalculation indeed!
Only because I was not familiar with the business at the time.
Who knows who reaped the benefits in the end?
…
As dusk fell, Chen Mu had an early dinner.
Donning his grey cloak with a yin and yang face, he once again wore Yang Zhi’s vest.
Under the cover of night, he crossed the Luo River floating bridge and arrived at a secluded pier on the south bank of the Luo River.
He deliberately chose this place, far from his residence, to board the boat, fearing someone would trace him to his doorstep.
The pitch-black canopy boat, the masked boatman, and the blackwood token; Chen Mu sat at the prow, passing through the misty vapor, boarding the Ghost Market’s large boat.
He did not wander much, heading straight for the Red Knotweed Study. Slightly altering his voice, he got straight to the point, “I want the White Ape Shape Cultivation Technique.”
“`
The shopkeeper in the malevolent ghost mask was taken aback, and then his mild and polite voice couldn’t help but grow three degrees warmer.
This decisive tone indicated a big spender!
“Please have a look, sir. This is the White Ape Shape Cultivation Technique, with a complete inheritance and clear annotations, all for eight hundred taels!”
Chen Mu lifted his head to look at the shopkeeper with the malevolent ghost mask and slowly took out six hundred taels in silver notes from his bosom to give to the other party.
The ghost-faced shopkeeper stiffened.
He listed his price at six hundred taels at Red Knotweed Study. He asked for eight hundred taels hoping to make some extra profit but didn’t expect this extravagant customer to be so well-informed about the prices.
Immediately afterward, as if nothing had happened, he exuded a helpless tone, “Sir, you really know how to drive a hard bargain.”
“Since the customer is so straightforward, I can’t be petty. Six hundred it is!” The ghost-faced shopkeeper waved his hand generously.
Chen Mu sneered. Still trying to scam my money? Aren’t you afraid I’ll gift wrap an iron lotus seed for you!
With that, he picked up the manual and was ready to leave.
“Please wait, kind sir.”
Chen Mu turned around abruptly, his eyes under the hat staring intently at the shopkeeper.
What now? Really looking for trouble!
The demon-masked shopkeeper suddenly felt his scalp go numb. Was this guy bad luck personified?!
The cautious shopkeeper recommended, “I’ve just acquired a few precious secret techniques, would you like to take a look at them too?”
Being a black market dealer is hard work!
Secret techniques?
Chen Mu became interested.
That Lin Que, the head of the sect previously, seemed to have a secret technique that could burst forth with attack speed in an instant.
If it hadn’t been for the Soul Strength he cultivated, giving him the speed to slip away quickly, he really might not have been able to evade.
“Let’s have a look,” Chen Mu’s eyes lit up and he sat back down at the table.
“Please wait a moment, kind sir,” the ghost-faced shopkeeper, full of joy, walked into the back room.
He soon returned, carrying a wooden box about three inches thick.
“Please appraise it,” the shopkeeper said confidently as he opened the wooden box.
Chen Mu looked on curiously.
There were three booklets in total inside the wooden box, which Chen Mu picked up one by one.
The Phoenix and Luan Technique, the Extreme Bliss Scripture, the Golden Wind Jade Dew Secret Method.
“Hiss!” These are not the secret techniques I was looking for.
The shopkeeper’s voice carried a hint of mischief, “How about them?”
“Are these books serious?” Chen Mu questioned, admitting his ignorance but feeling utterly shocked.
“They’re indeed not very serious,” the shopkeeper chuckled with a hehe.
Chen Mu gave a knowing look, his right hand itching uncontrollably.
I’m just going to look, just a look, strictly for educational purposes!
Having successfully persuaded himself, Chen Mu eagerly flipped open the Phoenix and Luan Technique.
“Every morning upon rising, take Clear Sound Powder (see the appendix for recipe) with warm water, then immediately begin chanting the following Command Mantra, at least twenty-three times…”
“The bird’s song must be clear and crisp, controlling the speed of exhalation, not too fast nor too slow…”
“Human voices are complex, one should select an old, middle-aged, young, and a child to converse with daily, constantly imitating them…”
Chen Mu looked up, completely bewildered, at the shopkeeper.
“This Oral Skill Secret Technique is a Jianghu secret passage, and at the end, there’s even the Ventriloquism Secret Technique, a rare and valuable method!”
Chen Mu: “…”
This isn’t the kind of ‘not serious’ I was thinking of!
Cheater! A complete swindler! Deceiving the consumers’ feelings!
With a sliver of hope, Chen Mu opened the other two books.
Well I’ll be, the Extreme Bliss Scripture is actually a manual for sleeping. All sorts of detailed methods are just to help one fall asleep quickly and comfortably.
The book repeatedly claims that by following its methods, one can achieve extreme bliss in dreams.
I’ll buy that for a dollar!
The last book is even more outrageous; it’s about beauty routines!
Adjusting muscle shape, tightening the skin, and even formulas for skin whitening and blackhead removal?
Chen Mu looked at the opposite ghost-faced mask wordlessly.
These secret techniques are indeed frivolous.