Inside the cave at the belly of Chongmei Mountain.
Pu!
A bright yellow light burst forth, and the pitch-black talismans on the cave walls instantly collapsed.
Lian Xi stared at the remaining scorched traces on the cave wall, his face looking terrible.
“How could the restriction collapse?!”
“Was it because of a too forceful hidden move I made earlier, disrupting the balance of the Two Forms Transformation Method Ban? Or… or did Old Ghost Huang realize something was amiss and take some kind of countermeasure?”
“Damn it!”
Amidst flickering firelight, Lian Xi’s figure vanished.
With a muffled bang, the entire cave collapsed.
…
Buzz!
A violent fluctuation suddenly burst forth from beneath the ground.
It was like throwing a huge meteor into a lake, with waves as high as a person, radiating swiftly in all directions from the center of Chongmei Mountain.
At the same time, the surfaces of more than a dozen black light columns standing in all directions were instantly filled with cracks, resembling glazed vases that were shattered and then glued back together. They then exploded into countless fragments with a loud bang.
The fragments fluttered with the wind like the ashes of burned paper and quickly turned into wisps of black ash, disappearing without a trace.
“I… I didn’t do anything,” Chen Mu said guiltily as he looked around, “How could catching a few thousand ghosts cause the restriction to collapse?”
“Ah, certainly there must be some flaw in the restriction itself!” He nodded seriously.
Then he saw a bolt of lightning surge into the sky from the top of Chongmei Mountain. After circling the mountain peak, it headed straight towards his location.
Chen Mu shrank his head, and the Breath Ending Divine Ability immediately activated at full force, tightly concealing his presence.
He then used the Five Elements Escape Technique and quickly dived underwater, following several disciples who were also moving beneath the water to escape, swiftly fleeing towards the farther east.
One must not stay at the scene of the incident; what if someone misunderstood?
Better to run as a sign of respect!
…
As evening approached, seventy li south of Chongmei Mountain on Red Stone Island. The island’s terrain was flat with sparse vegetation, mostly covered with dark red stones of various sizes.
On the edge of Chaotic Stone Beach, clusters of bonfires were lit. Disciples of Yun Chong’s Lower Institute gathered in small groups, each looking shaken and forlorn.
In the past day, a sudden calamity had occurred; many had perished at the initial appearance of the ghosts, and a large number died during the escape, with familiar faces even falling before everyone’s eyes.
Most of the Lower Institute disciples of Yun Chong were Bivalve Cultivators, unaccustomed to conflict in their tranquil lives, never witnessing such a cruel scene.
Even though the calamity had passed for half a day, they still couldn’t help feeling extremely anxious.
At this moment, a streak of firelight crossed the sky, circled above the many disciples, and then quickly flew away.
As they watched the swiftly departing firelight, they couldn’t help but whisper to one another.
“That’s Elder Lian from the Lower Institute by the Dian River, right? Haven’t they found that troublemaking thief yet?”
“What exactly is that strange restriction? How could it drain a person’s flesh and blood?”
“It certainly isn’t anything good…”
“Could it be that the neighboring Feather Spirit Path has attacked?”
“Thank goodness we managed to escape, otherwise…”
Not far off in a corner, Chen Mu, wearing the appearance of Li Moliang, sat with a few unfamiliar Lower Institute disciples around a bonfire.
Listening to the sighs around him, he struggled to suppress a smile and barely managed to appear as somber and distressed.
He too wanted to blend in, expressing an air of doubt and shock. Yet, as soon as he thought about his gains within the Five Ghosts Bag, he couldn’t help feeling joyful.
Four thousand three! There were now no fewer than four thousand three ghosts in the Five Ghosts Bag!
Based on previous experience, it was estimated that just half a day of accumulation would generate enough Primordial Energy from the Five Ghosts Bag to initiate a session of Divine Orifice Refinement.
That is to say, from now on, he could undergo Divine Orifice Refinement once every day.
“`
Given his current pace of cultivation, it would take him only seventy-two days to achieve perfection with the River Chariot, successfully passing the Fourth Level of Qi Cultivation!
Those seasoned Qi Cultivators at the Condensing Aperture stage, which one of them doesn’t need a decade or even decades to accumulate enough Primordial Energy to complete the Divine Orifice Refinement?
Yet now, he only needs less than three months.
“Hmm… that’s only a tiny bit faster than others.”
“There’s really nothing to be excited about.”
“Ha ha!”
…
Three days later, in the early morning at Chaotic Stone Beach. Within a dusty single-person tent, Chen Mu opened his eyes with resignation.
“Got happy too early.”
Inside the Jade Seed, the originally round and plump nine-layer Divine Orifice Talisman now displayed multiple breaks and gaps, resembling a rusty and pitted old wire ball.
“Primordial Energy is indeed sufficient to support daily cultivation, but the recovery speed of the Divine Orifice Talisman isn’t fast enough to sustain such frequent practice. Misjudged!” Chen Mu shook his head.
The Fourth Level of Qi Cultivation involved refining the River Chariot by using Primordial Energy to refine and permeate the Divine Orifice Talisman, causing it to undergo a qualitative transformation.
Each Refinement would corrode and damage the Divine Orifice Talisman. But due to the nature of the talisman, the damaged parts would soon be restored and replenished.
However, these newly repaired talisman parts were like tender new skin on a wound. The slightest contact with Primordial Energy would immediately corrode them.
“The Divine Orifice Talisman doesn’t transform instantly, after the refinement’s completion, it needs time to slowly undergo the qualitative change.” He sighed, a realization dawning on him.
In the past, he would leave at least a month and a half between each Divine Orifice Refinement, so he had never noticed this detail.
“Three months to refine the River Chariot seems impossible now.”
“But at least there’s no need to worry about gathering Primordial Energy, and the total time will definitely not require more than a decade.”
“Far faster than those elders guarding the Buried Spiritual Springs – I have nothing to complain about.” Chen Mu shrugged with a chuckle.
Exiting the tent, he saw the Lower Institute Disciples on Chaotic Stone Beach starting fires and cooking in silence.
Three days had passed, but the atmosphere of bleakness had yet to dissipate.
After the recent calamity, the majority of the Lower Institute Disciples had died or been injured. Many of the survivors had lost friends and relatives three days prior.
“I wonder who is behind the chaos.” Chen Mu frowned, gazing towards Chongmei Mountain.
During these three days, Elder Huang Jiu from the Oversight Courtyard and Elder Lian Xi had been searching far and wide, using Flight and Escaping Earth techniques, while survivors were interrogated several times by the Inspection Courtyard.
Fortunately, with many disciples having survived, using the Shape-shifting Technique and Breath Ending Divine Ability for concealment, Chen Mu easily passed scrutiny under the guise of Li Moliang.
However, there had been no solid leads on the instigator behind the scenes.
“It doesn’t look like Lock Dragon Courtyard’s handiwork,” Chen Mu shook his head, feeling that the Forbidden Law used to manipulate the Ghosts was rather peculiar.
“I wonder which Lower Institute these surviving disciples will be assigned to.” His thoughts drifted as he smelled the smoke from the fires.
Previously, when Dian River Lower Institute was destroyed by the Strange Demon, disrupting its energy veins, the disciples were redistributed to various places, with Yun Chong Lower Institute accepting quite a few.
Chen Mu speculated that he and the other survivors might also be allocated to other Lower Institutes nearby.
…
Half a month later, in the early morning on Chongmei Mountain.
Sitting in front of a Jade Window, Chen Mu slowly opened his eyes, a flicker of joy on his face.
“Seventeen days.”
“If nothing unexpected happens, the period for the qualitative transformation recovery after each Divine Orifice Refinement is approximately between half a month to twenty days.”
“By this calculation, seventy-two transformations would take just over three years, less than four.” Chen Mu couldn’t help but display a satisfied smile.
Even throughout all of Yunzhou, his speed would surely rank among the top.
“Good karma indeed.”
Capturing the Ghosts, indirectly saving hundreds, nearly a thousand Lower Institute Disciples, and acquiring enough Primordial Energy for cultivation – this is a win-win!
As for whether the person behind the scenes wins…
“Well, considering the frantic look on Elders Huang and Lian, I suppose that person behind the scenes can win too… haha!”
“`
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