I am grinding experience in another world-Chapter 572 - 561: Plotting

Divine Statue Cave Heaven.

A finger-length black thread materialized in front of Chen Mu.

As he concentrated, he performed Five Ghosts Moving Mountain, and a surge of black smoke appeared and swallowed the thread-like Netherworld Worm into the Five Ghosts Bag.

Chen Mu’s spirit delved inside with eager expectation, looking around.

It wasn’t long before a human head-sized black mist appeared within the Five Ghosts Bag.

"Is this... successful?" Chen Mu rejoiced inwardly.

But in the next moment, the human head-sized black mist began to tremble incessantly and then, right there, started to shrink and expand repeatedly.

Then, under Chen Mu’s anxious gaze, it popped with a sound, like a bubble being burst, breaking into specks of luminescence before disappearing completely.

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Joy on Chen Mu’s face instantly stiffened.

The Netherworld Worm’s death transforming into Ghosts, that process was correct, so why did it fail?

...

Half a month later, Divine Statue Cave Heaven.

Beneath a large tree by the Moon Gate of East Straddling Courtyard, Chen Mu lay in a rocking chair, opening his pale eyes.

After nearly two months, he had completed another Divine Orifice Refinement.

Replacing a fresh White Jade Coin on the stone table beside him, Chen Mu absorbed Earth Spirit Elemental Energy to restore his mana while experiencing the changes brought by the refinement of his Divine Orifice.

Though he had only completed three refinements, his body had already undergone noticeable changes, slowly transforming into a more vibrant state. Like a newly sprouted seed, like a newborn baby, there was a fresh sense of vitality.

"Qi Cultivators’ fourth stage practices River Chariot, ultimately aiming to cultivate Innate Primordial Qi. These changes are clearly laying the foundation for cultivating Innate Primordial Qi," Chen Mu realized.

"It’s just a pity that there are too few Ghosts, not enough to speed up the refinement."

Chen Mu pulled out the Five Ghosts Bag once more, his spirit sinking into the bag’s space.

Originally, the Five Ghosts Bag was only as large as a bedroom.

Over the years, nourished by various Exotic Beast Blood and Flesh and mana, the internal space had expanded continuously, now comparable to a soccer stadium.

Chen Mu glanced at the Ghosts floating at the edge and shifted his focus to the center of the Five Ghosts Bag.

There, a person-height black wooden stake stood upright on the ground.

Three human head-sized black mist clusters, like kittens huddling near a stove, were squeezed obediently beside the pole.

"Four more have died, it’s still a failure," Chen Mu sighed.

He had never stopped cultivating the Ghosts. The original Ghosts he created would entirely dissipate. It was only after he accidentally discovered this black column that there became slight changes.

The pillar, called a Soul-Calming Stake, came from the Frontier Wilderness Great Beam over a decade ago. It was a Magic Artifact that matched the Raising Ghosts strategy, also from a secret scroll of Thousand Mountains Sutra.

Since it was ice-cold throughout, he had used it as an air conditioner and refrigerator, never expecting it could delay the death of the Ghosts.

"It’s a pity it can only delay, not completely prevent the early death of these newborn Ghosts," Chen Mu shook his head in resignation.

"Is it because there are too few Soul-Calming Stakes? Or are these Netherworld Worms inherently deficient?"

"It looks like the plan to cultivate Ghosts is not going to work out."

"I really wish a Strange Demon would appear."

Those creatures are surrounded by numerous Netherworld Worms. If even one appeared, he could use Five Ghosts Moving Mountain to consume it and convert it into hundreds of Silver Soul Monsters.

What a pity...

Lost in thought.

A light sound came from beside him.

Chen Mu came back to his senses and skillfully replaced the White Jade Coin on the Exquisite Jade Plate.

While fidgeting with the blank White Jade, he pondered over his subsequent cultivation plans.

"Gathering Ghosts will still have to rely on Li Buxian and the others."

"The White Jade Coins probably won’t last until I complete Divine Orifice Refinement."

Sun Ke left twenty thousand White Jade Coins, but they would only last two years at most. Based on his current rate, the shortest Divine Orifice Refinement would take fourteen years.

"There’s no use thinking about Luandu Jiangyang and other counties; Qi Cultivators have long been cleaned out by the Lock Dragon Institute. But Southern Shu, recently occupied by Da Qian, might still have some Wild Cultivators hanging on."

"While they haven’t been captured by the Lock Dragon Institute, perhaps I could sell some Elixirs to earn more White Jade Coins," Chen Mu planned in his mind.

...

In the following days, Chen Mu stayed in Divine Statue Cave Heaven, using the Cave Heaven Water Curtain to carefully explore the two counties of Qutian and Yongmian.

These counties were originally part of Southern Shu, particularly since the upgrade of Spiritual Treasure Pivot Scripture, included in the Dojo’s influence range as two new counties.

Yet, after several days, Chen Mu hadn’t spotted a single Qi Cultivator.

"This isn’t right!"

"Southern Shu was just conquered, there should be a few Qi Cultivators remaining at least; how could they disappear so cleanly?"

"Should I continue further into Southern Shu, into the counties outside the Dojo’s range to find Qi Cultivators?" Chen Mu felt troubled.

Within the Dojo’s range, he could quickly investigate using the Cave Heaven Water Curtain.

But beyond the Dojo’s power, he could only aimlessly search using the Truthful Listening Technique and at most, use the unreliable method of the Nine Cups Calculation Scripture to make a guess.

"This is difficult..."

...

Time flowed.

This day, at Qiluo Mountain City Divine Temple East Straddling Courtyard.

Inside the main house on the north side, Chen Mu sat on a circular chair to the left. Beside him, a tea table held a wooden box filled with White Jade Coins, easily amounting to thirty thousand.

Chen Mu raised an eyebrow and looked at Yuan Xian across from him.

"This is..."

"Sir’s Seven Emotions Curse has helped me extract the hidden dangers of the Celestial Capital Transformation backlash. A few White Jade Coins are trivial," Yuan Xian smiled and cupped his hands in thanks.

"It’s a pity that there are too few Qi Cultivators around Yiyang Commandery; otherwise, I could have gathered more White Jade Coins for you." He expressed his regret.

Were all the White Jade Coins collected from nearby Qi Cultivators?

Chen Mu looked at the wooden box again and indeed saw that most of the White Jade was ancient and worn, and a few even had faint bloodstains on them.

Behind this box of White Jade, who knows how many Qi Cultivators were buried underground as pulse points!

Chen Mu’s expression subtly changed.

No wonder he couldn’t find Qi Cultivators in the surrounding counties—it turned out Yuan Xian had eradicated them!

Such over-harvesting meant that for thousands of miles around, there were no Qi Cultivators left. His own plan to sell elixirs and earn White Jade Coins was nipped in the bud.

Yuan Xian noticed the change in Chen Mu’s expression, his lips slightly curving up, then his face immediately became stern again.

"I’ve stayed in Luandu County for too long and will soon head to the Great Li frontier."

"There, the battle is fierce, with constant deaths and injuries, and a lot of Ghosts appear."

"Why don’t you leave Luandu County with me? It would be safer to leave Daqian with my personal escort. And it would be more convenient to gather a large number of Ghosts near the battlefield." Yuan Xian looked at Chen Mu, his tone calm yet clearly articulate, persuading him.

"You want to drive me out of Daqian?" Chen Mu raised an eyebrow, his gaze towards Yuan Xian filled with amusement.

The farewells and thanks were genuine, but leveraging the frontline Ghosts to make him leave Daqian was likely the old man’s main objective in this visit!

"No, no, no, I just want to repay your kindness to me," Yuan Xian replied smoothly, smiling.

"Was it you who arranged the migration of the villagers around Luandu County to Southern Shu?" Chen Mu narrowed his eyes.

"That’s impossible. It was an Imperial Court decree. How could I influence that?" Yuan Xian’s face was full of smiles.

"You also intentionally exterminated the Qi Cultivators from the surrounding counties, didn’t you? Was it to prevent me from obtaining more White Jade Coins?" Chen Mu’s right hand clenched the White Jade Coins inside the box, making a rustling sound, yet his eyes kept a wary watch on Yuan Xian.

"You misunderstood. The Dojo in Luandu County is undergoing transformation, but it’s still new and needs more Qi Cultivators to build pulse points."

"As the head of the Lock Dragon Institute, capturing Qi Cultivators and maintaining the City God Dojo, isn’t that natural?" Yuan Xian shrugged nonchalantly with a relaxed face.

Ha!

First reduce the number of Ghosts, then reveal the location on the Great Li frontline that produces many Ghost Monsters.

Eliminate all Qi Cultivators to ensure I can’t get more White Jade Coins.

As a Qi Cultivator myself, I can’t cultivate without Earth Spirit Vital Energy. These White Jade Coins in the box could last at most two or three years, and that’s only because I have the Exquisite Jade Plate.

Looking at it comprehensively, if I want to cultivate, I must leave Daqian as soon as possible.

What a scheme!

"Is it because of the Heavenly Demon Spirit Seed?" Chen Mu understood.

"I just think that the Goose Sheep Path in Great Li might be more suitable for your cultivation," Yuan Xian’s expression became neutral.

Chen Mu’s eyes shifted, peering through slightly squinted eyelids at Yuan Xian. "Tell me, what are your plans?"

"I have a way for you to enter the Upper Court of Goose Sheep Path," Yuan Xian said calmly: "The land veins in Yunzhou are changing, and you must admit, it’s no longer a haven for Qi Cultivators here."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mu became silent.

"The Goose Sheep Path will soon relocate; they’ll pass through Tongtian River to Hai Province."

"It’s said that the place is rich in Earth Spirit Vital Energy, more suitable for Qi Cultivation and cultivating immortality."

Chen Mu sighed lightly.

Though Divine Statue Cave Heaven is safe and one can slowly accumulate Ghosts, the lack of Earth Spirit Vital Energy is an issue he can’t solve.

Daqian’s extermination of Qi Cultivators, even if not targeted by Yuan Xian, made it hard for him to find more White Jade Coins in the area. Leaving Daqian was just a matter of time.

Yuan Xian had pinpointed his weakness.

"Are you so sure the Goose Sheep Path is relocating?"

Yuan Xian smiled slightly: "My trip to Great Li is exactly to drive away the Strange Demons ruining their mountain gate’s land veins; for the sake of their tradition, they have no choice but to move!"

Chen Mu was startled and suddenly remembered Jilong Mountain.

Initially, Strange Demons appeared on Jilong Mountain, leading to the dissipation of Earth Spirit Vital Energy.

Also, the initial changes in the mountain gate’s land veins at Chongshan Dojo might well have been the meddling of these Underworld God Transformation Warriors!

Seeing Chen Mu’s expression change, Yuan Xian continued to persuade, "You are a Qi Cultivator, you need to think about the long term…"

"Fine, let’s do it your way," Chen Mu waved his hand, cutting off the dialogue, somewhat dispirited.

Even if he guessed Daqian’s conspiracy, what of it?

On the surface, it was the martial artists from Daqian causing chaos, but behind them stood the entire Netherworld.

Natural disasters, man-made miseries, man-made miseries...

"Looking at it this way, going to the Upper Court of Goose Sheep Path in Great Li doesn’t seem too bad."

Yuan Xian’s lips couldn’t help curling up: "Good, I will make arrangements; we’ll head to the Great Li frontline first, then go…"

"No, let’s just go straight to Goose Sheep Path," Chen Mu shook his head.

"You’re not going to the frontline to collect Ghosts?" Yuan Xian asked, puzzled.

"I’ve found something better." Chen Mu suddenly smiled mischievously.

Old man, you better work hard, try to drive more Strange Demons to Goose Sheep Mountain.

As for the task of destroying the land veins of Goose Sheep Path… that’s none of my business since I’m not from the Daqian Lock Dragon Institute!

Thinking this, Chen Mu looked at Yuan Xian, his smile growing brighter.

Yuan Xian felt a chill run down his spine, suddenly having a bad premonition.