NOVEL NEXT Chapter 450: Change
In the Underground Secret Chamber of Yi San Banner.
A low square table was placed in the middle of the soft couch, upon which an Exquisite Jade Plate rested. A piece of White Jade was embedded in the center, with specks of silver light twinkling on the Jade Plate, and Earth Spirit Vital Energy began to emerge within the secret chamber.
Chen Mu strolled along the edge of the chamber. The eight-layer Divine Orifice Talismans nested within his body rotated chaotically, drawing the Earth Spirit Vital Energy into his body, and the Mana he had expended in last night's cultivation slowly began to recover.
After a glance at the state inside the Jade Seed, he nodded in satisfaction and then turned his attention to the smooth, cylindrical walls of the secret chamber.
Now, after several expansions and reconstructions, the chamber's floor space was about half the size of a basketball court, and its height had nearly reached five meters.
"Although the secret chamber has been moved down twenty meters underground, it would be best to add a Forbidden Law to conceal it."
At the thought, centered around the soft couch, five pillars rose along the walls. Scarlet patterns like flowing magma slowly climbed up from the base, covering the surface of the pillars.
Accompanied by a force of Mana injected into the pillars, an invisible power emerged, instantly covering every inch of space in the chamber.
Chen Mu looked around and smiled.
Unable to use the Exquisite Jade Plate within Thousand Lanterns City, he had to spend some time in the secret chamber every day to recover his Mana. With the Light Law Prohibition for concealment, it was even safer.
...
He spent most of his days grinding for experience in Thousand Lanterns City, and seven or eight days passed in the blink of an eye.
The situation in Hai Character Camp also gradually became clear.
That night, he used the Truthful Listening Technique to thoroughly explore the surroundings of Yi San Banner's camp and, after confirming there were no issues, Chen Mu pulled Shi Dechun into the secret chamber.
"The military orders say that the hidden water apes have been exterminated, and tomorrow the Yin soldiers will go to Blood River to hunt the water apes," he said.
"However, to prevent the water apes from attacking again, the camp is still under lockdown, and the soldiers inside cannot move around at will. They can only stay near their barracks."
"Our Flame Moving Division's job of cleaning the battlefield has also been taken over by the official Yin soldiers," Shi Dechun discussed the camp's changes.
Chen Mu nodded silently.
There had indeed been fewer disappearances of Yin Spirits lately. And the chaos should be settled by now. If not, the anxiety within the camp might lead to an uprising.
"I even saw the General Banner of Shi, he has been transferred to the Netherworld Division. He said his disappearance was to assist the Yin soldiers in capturing the water apes," Shi Dechun scratched his head, "Did we maybe think too much before? The midnight summons to take him away was actually to prevent sneak attacks by the water apes, not some kind of conspiracy or trouble?"
It's good to overthink!
Chen Mu sighed with relief.
If there really were problems inside the military camp, that would be the true danger.
"Anyhow, the issues with the Netherworld Division should be considered over," Shi Dechun said. "Brother Chen, don't you plan on showing yourself?"
"Forget it, I'm good hiding here," Chen Mu shook his head. Enjoy exclusive chapters from My Virtual Library Empire
Before, he had no choice; simply hiding underground was not safe. Now he had Thousand Lanterns City, and it was a good opportunity to hide due to the incident with the water apes. He didn't plan to show himself again for a while.
If there wasn't any major change, he intended to stay hidden until the day Hai Character Camp was withdrawn.
...
Time flowed like water.
Half a month whisked by.
All around Thousand Lanterns City was darkness, and a brightly lit mud-sculpted small courtyard stood alone in the middle, like a solitary sail in a black ocean.
Chen Mu lay in a rocking chair, looking up at the pitch-black sky.
"It's a pity it lacks a sky full of stars," he said with some regret.
"If I have a chance in the future, I must learn the Lesser Heaven Star Constellation Forbidden Law," he mused.
"The ancient texts record that it can gather starlight, and then it could also adorn this pitch-dark sky."
With a thought, a gray wall appeared before his eyes, and he looked at one of its sections.
Netherworld Guide: 2/10000/Fourth Rank;
"Not bad," Chen Mu smiled.
During this period, unless he had expended over half his Mana, he would go to the secret chamber to recover using the Exquisite Jade Plate. The rest of the time, he stayed in Thousand Lanterns City practicing his techniques and grinding for experience.
With White Jade Coins being limited, to save Mana, he only pursued Condensing Aperture cultivation. The remaining effort was mostly spent on cultivating the Netherworld Guide.
Even if he was lax and casual about it, treating the practice as a form of entertainment, the accumulated experience was still considerable, and the Netherworld Guide had entered a new phase.
Feeling the various insights coming from the gray wall, Chen Mu's face was one of enlightenment.
"The Netherworld Guide can not only draw in the waters of the River of Oblivion but also the blue flames from the Nine Serenities Abyss, no wonder achieving Perfection in the Flight of Flame Scripture could enhance the experience of the Netherworld Guide."
His right hand turned, and a cluster of black flames suddenly emerged in his palm.
The Flight of Flame Scripture attracted green flames with black seeds interwoven with red threads; the flames he now held, however, were pitch-black like ink. The green flames of the Flight of Flame Scripture were generally used for self-cultivation and relatively mild and controllable. In contrast, the flames summoned by the Netherworld Guide could refine others, possessing greater power but also being more unruly and difficult to tame.
"I still need to continue practicing the Netherworld Guide," he said.
"The River of Oblivion is the origin of the Yin Spirits, and legend has it that the Nine Serenities Abyss is their ultimate destination, filled with endless green flames."
"If I bring the Netherworld Guide to its peak, even if it's not very profound, at least I'll have a better understanding of these two elements."
Chen Mu clenched his palm lightly; the black flames suddenly extinguished, and he turned his gaze to another section on the grey wall.
Netherworld Grand Summary: 9914/10000/Eighth Rank:
"It's not easy; I'm almost at the end of the Eighth Rank. It's a pity I'm not in the Thirteen States, or I would have mastered it by now."
"I still don't understand what Earth Spirit Vital Energy is, and why can't it be found in neither the Nether Yin Underworld nor Beyond Heaven?"
"Could it be due to different ley lines?"
Chen Mu shook his head, banishing the distracting thoughts, and sunk his spirit into the Jade Seed.
He deftly maneuvered his mana to create intricate, twisted lines that interconnected and eventually spread out to form a hollow orb.
The orb slowly spun, its silver brilliance twinkling ceaselessly until it suddenly shattered with a pop, disappearing without a trace in sparkles.
Chen Mu was not bothered, having grown accustomed to the collapse of the talisman; once his boiling mana had somewhat stabilized, he began to gather it again.
As time passed, after countless attempts, the Eighth Layer Divine Orifice Talisman was finally pieced together. Then, with a jolt, the entirety of the loose talisman gained a sense of solidity.
Chen Mu's eyes suddenly lit up.
The next moment, an invisible fluctuation spread from the talisman.
The calm mana within the Jade Seed was affected, surging like waves, battering the inner walls of the Jade Seed and causing it to expand and widen at a visible rate.
"Success!" he exclaimed.
"Just the last layer left."
"It's a pity I can't continue practicing," Chen Mu shook his head.
He had less than six thousand White Jade remaining on his person, and he dared not squander them recklessly.
Unsure of how much longer he would have to stay in the Netherworld, mana was his trump card, and he needed to preserve enough White Jade Coins to respond to unforeseen circumstances.
"I wonder when I'll be able to return to the Yang Realm." Chen Mu's thoughts once again drifted to Jilong Road.
…
In the center of the Hai Character Camp's Stone Temple.
Lan Zhang appeared as if he had never moved, still sitting lazily in his stone chair.
His blood-red pupils were even more translucent; on closer inspection, it seemed as if countless mists of blood swirled within them.
In a certain moment, his eyeballs shifted slightly, and his gaze turned to the vast shadows on the left side of the stone temple as he let out a light chuckle, "Failed again, have you, Wu Mu?"
"Shut up! I'll definitely find that Shen Yan by tomorrow night!" An angry, ringing child's voice echoed, resonating with rage, as countless eyes suddenly opened within the shadows.
Yet the smile on Lan Zhang's face deepened, "Yes, yes, I believe you."
Whoosh!
A multitude of pitch-black shadow blades suddenly appeared, cleaving through the air and viciously lunging at Lan Zhang.
Clang! Sparks flew.
A blood-colored light shield spontaneously manifested, securely shielding Lan Zhang within it.
After several collisions, both the blood light and the black shadows shattered into sparkles and faded away.
"Don't be so irritable," Lan Zhang said with a light laugh, "Shen Yan's Life-Nature Dharma Aspect is a wind-birthed raccoon, adept at listening. Where there's wind, he can hide. It's normal that you can't find him."
"Aren't you afraid that he'll mess up our big plan?" Wu Mu, the child, snorted coldly.
"I advise you to be more cautious. Every additional day he's alive, the likelihood of us being exposed increases!"
Lan Zhang's smile grew wistful, the corner of his mouth tilted up, "Don't you think the sensation of a blade hanging over your head, is quite thrilling?"
Wu Mu, the child: "..."
Damn it! Madman!