The weather grew increasingly colder.
In just over ten days, snow had begun to drift around Qingqiu Mountain.
Yet despite the freezing chill, the peach trees scattered across the mountain remained in full bloom.
On this day, Chen Mu braved the biting wind and made his way slowly up the stone steps on the cliffside.
After passing a towering Demon Suppressing Needle that resembled a pillar reaching into the heavens, the Wanjing Cave came into sight.
…
“Greetings, Elder Hu.” Chen Mu arrived at the counter near the entrance of Wanjing Cave and clasped his hands with a bright smile.
“Chen Mu?” Hu Buwei lifted his head and voiced his doubt.
Chen Mu couldn’t help but feel perplexed. He was merely a low-ranking Daoist Soldier Apprentice—how was it possible for this reclusive elder to remember him so well?
“It is truly an honor for me that Elder Hu still remembers,” he ventured cautiously.
Is this scheming old man planning something sinister?
“After all, you were willing to spend thirty-three hundred pieces of White Jade, you blessed… cough, generous benefactor.”
“Of course I would remember you.” Hu Buwei spoke matter-of-factly, exuding an air of nonchalance.
You meant to say ‘fool,’ didn’t you?
You shameless old geezer!
“Speak. What brings you here?” Hu Buwei asked indifferently.
Suppressing the urge to punch the old man square in the face, Chen Mu respectfully inquired, “I wish to know if there are materials other than Moli Silver that can be used to refine the Peach God.”
“In your dreams.” Hu Buwei replied serenely.
Shameless old geezer—if you don’t want to answer, fine, but why must you insult me!
“Of course, you could always just steal someone else’s Peach God.” Hu Buwei suggested casually, as though encouraging mischief.
“Could you, in that case, teach me how to turn someone else’s Peach God into my own?” Chen Mu’s eyes lit up with curiosity.
“Fooling you is far too easy, isn’t it?” Hu Buwei raised an eyebrow, wearing an expression that seemed to mock Chen Mu’s audacity.
Chen Mu: “…”
Do you have no fear of someone throwing a sack over your head one day?
“Alright, I’m done teasing you.” Hu Buwei chuckled mischievously.
“Instead of pondering how to refine more Peach Gods, focus on mastering the Nine-Life Tribulation Splitting Technique.” He offered cryptically.
“The Nine-Life Tribulation Splitting Technique stems from the Divine-Demon Life-saving Divine Skills. While it can’t give you nine lives, mastering it deeply just might grant you half a life more.”
“You’re not lying to me?” Chen Mu asked suspiciously.
This old goat isn’t trying to trick me into leaving faster, is he?
“The better your proficiency with the Tribulation Technique, the stronger your connection with your Peach God becomes. The burdens it can share with you during tribulations will increase correspondingly.”
“Originally, it could only bear one or two parts of a tribulation. Later, it may even help divide the burden equally with you.” Hu Buwei explained earnestly.
“If you practice diligently and grasp the True Intent of the Secret Technique, it absolutely guarantees gaining half a life more!” He vowed solemnly.
What a windfall!
Chen Mu rejoiced inwardly.
Initially, he only inquired about substitutes for Moli Silver out of stubbornness. He had never expected the Nine-Life Tribulation Splitting Technique to harbor such surprises.
Mastering it deeply could lead to unlocking the core truths of the Secret Technique?
Radical self-improvement—I know all about that!
Time to grind!
Without hesitation, he clasped his hands in gratitude and turned to leave.
…
“Kicking him out so quickly? Is there something fishy about that guy?” Inside the cave, Hu Buwei asked the hidden Nine Heads.
“If I gifted you eleven strands of Primordial Qi, would you dare accept?” Nine Heads countered.
“Are you planning on possessing my body?” Hu Buwei raised an eyebrow.
“See? You wouldn’t dare. But that guy just did.” Nine Heads replied, seemingly exasperated.
“Not only did he dare absorb them, but he successfully devoured and assimilated them, without any adverse effects arising afterward.”
“Are the Primordial Qi you’ve lost because of him?” Hu Buwei’s heart trembled in alarm.
Who was this fierce individual, hiding as a Daoist Soldier Apprentice within the Hundred Illusion Sect?
“This is undoubtedly a demon disguised in human skin; otherwise, he couldn’t have swallowed so much Primordial Qi from me.” Nine Heads asserted with certainty.
“Or perhaps he’s a cunning Qi Cultivator infiltrating the Thousand Mechanisms Sect to stir up trouble!” Hu Buwei’s expression turned grim.
It felt as though he’d accidentally uncovered a fragment of a colossal conspiracy; the realization made his heart quake.
“Tell me—could the previous incident with the Inheriting Heaven Law Prohibition have been caused by him?” Hu Buwei asked.
“Hard to say.” Nine Heads shook its head, though it didn’t refute the possibility.
“No matter if it’s related to him or not, we should avoid encountering him moving forward.” Hu Buwei’s brows furrowed deeply.
Nine Heads recalled the multiple setbacks it had suffered at this individual’s hands and nodded in emphatic agreement.
…
Late at night in the cliffside cave.
“For some reason, Elder Hu’s aura feels oddly familiar…”
Chen Mu squinted and contemplated for a while before scratching his head.
“Forget it. My priority is grinding proficiency in the Nine-Life Tribulation Splitting Technique.”
“Although Elder Hu’s greedy and black-hearted, there’s likely some truth to his words.”
“If I master the Tribulation Technique fully, it might not actually grant me half a life more, but at least it’ll ensure maximum value from my Peach God.”
Chen Mu opened the Gray Wall interface and focused on a particular entry.
Nine-Life Tribulation Splitting Technique: 7796/10000;
“The core of the Tribulation Technique lies in crafting the Peach God. Refining it maximizes proficiency in the Secret Technique.”
“Now that I’m out of Peach Wood Core, I may as well attempt a second refinement of the Peach God.”
“Although the proficiency gained is less than the initial level, it’s certainly better than chanting empty Curse Words.”
Resolving to act, Chen Mu immediately retrieved one Peach God from his Five Ghosts Bag and activated his Mana to begin the secondary refinement.
The wooden doll’s overall form remained unchanged, but its minute details gradually evolved into something lifelike and refined.
Its hair strands became distinctly defined, the clothing’s texture sharpened, and even the arrangement of its facial features slowly shifted. Its expression altered as well, becoming… becoming increasingly “harmonious.”
Chen Mu: “…”
Is that supposed to represent me?
I refuse to accept it!
…
Thump, thump, thump…
At the Grinding Stone Workshop by the Spirit Field in Golden Yuan Valley.
Inside a black-tiled room, Chen Mu gripped a long-handled iron hammer and slammed it rhythmically into a stone mortar before him.
Emerald-green sparks flew from the mortar as a fist-sized Demon Qi Stone was quickly reduced to fragments the size of soybeans.
After several more strikes, ensuring the stone couldn’t be crushed further, Chen Mu scooped out the fragments and poured them into the feed chute of the adjacent stone mill.
Grasping the protruding handle of the stone mill, he infused it with Three Yin Slaying Demon Power and began turning it.
The Demon Qi Stone fragments were swiftly ground into fine powder, trickling out of the discharge opening and collecting into a small wooden bucket placed below.
Smashing, grinding—Chen Mu repeated the cycle tirelessly. Within just half an Hour, the bucket beneath the mill had been filled halfway.
Estimating the weight of the contents, Chen Mu deduced the bucket held approximately thirty pounds of Demon Qi Stone Powder, meeting the workshop’s minimum requirement.
Standing by the stone mill, he pretended to be immersed in milling, though his left hand hidden within his sleeve discreetly held a small wooden figure.
Activating his Mana, he resumed the secondary refinement of the Peach God with practiced expertise.
…
A day soon passed.
“Junior Brother, this amount of refined stone powder…” Yang Fu glanced at Chen Mu disapprovingly, his plump face laden with dissatisfaction.
“Senior Brother Yang, do you have any advice?” Chen Mu replied with a cheerful grin.
Yang Fu was about to speak when a chill prickled his scalp, his neck feeling uncomfortably cold, as though someone were breathing icy air down his nape.
He glanced at Chen Mu and the wooden bucket on the floor, the sharp words poised on the tip of his tongue suddenly dissipating, as if swallowed by some invisible force.
He couldn’t help recalling the inexplicable incident of kneeling before Chen Mu previously—it replayed vividly in his mind.
This guy… could he be hiding something sinister?
Yang Fu’s thoughts raced.
He abruptly remembered the upheaval that occurred in the Washing Body Cave earlier this year.
Could it be—this is the elusive, vicious monster responsible for countless killings at such a young age?
“Senior Brother Yang?” Chen Mu’s soft voice called.
Yang Fu snapped back to reality, meeting Chen Mu’s crescent-moon smile. His chubby face instinctively twitched:
“Junior Brother, today’s Demon Qi Stone Powder is much finer than yesterday’s!”
His small eyes widened with feigned seriousness: “Exceptional craftsmanship!”
“Really?”
“Absolutely!”
“Will this suffice for the task?”
“Without a doubt!”
What a shame.
I had my Nightmare Victory Spell fully prepared, yet I couldn’t use it.
This chubby coward—why did he suddenly chicken out for no reason?
Such a pity.
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