I am grinding experience in another world

Three months later, at dusk.

In a small town called Sparrow City, situated in the far south of Hai Province, wisps of smoke were rising from chimneys.

In a certain alleyway, a short and plump middle-aged man carried a piece of cured meat in his right hand, humming a tune as he cheerfully made his way home.

Suddenly, an intense itch arose on the back of his hand, prompting him to reflexively slap his right hand with his left.

“Whenever the weather gets hot, these mosquitoes come to harass people,” the man grumbled, looking down at the squashed mosquito on his hand.

However…

“Why is the mosquito completely blood-red? I’ve never seen anything like this before.” Just as he was puzzling over it, a loud buzzing sound came from above.

Curious, he looked up, only to see a massive blood-red mist rapidly descending into the alley.

Looking closer, he realized that it wasn’t mist at all—it was a swarm of blood-red mosquitoes.

Before he could wave his hand to shoo them away, the swarm surged forward, enveloping him completely.

After a brief, agonized scream, the middle-aged man fell to the ground, struggled for a couple of moments, then stopped moving entirely.

In the span of a single breath, the blood-red mist buzzed and rose back into the sky. The short and plump man was now reduced to a dried-up corpse of skin and bones.

Buzzz… buzzz…

A crimson cloud surged from the north, plunging straight into the heart of Sparrow City.

Instantly, screams of horror filled the air, one following another in chaotic succession.

…

The next day, thousands of Daoist soldiers appeared at the gates of Sparrow City.

Leading them was Hu Buwei, who waved a small purple flag with a stern expression.

From the bodies of the thousands of Daoist soldiers, countless jade-white butterflies emerged, forming organized clusters as they ascended into the sky. In the blink of an eye, they transformed into specks of spiritual light and scattered throughout the city.

Bzzz!

It was as though a beehive had been disturbed—countless blood-red mosquitoes swarmed out in all directions, rushing towards the thousands of soldiers.

But as soon as they advanced halfway, it was as if they’d been sprayed with insecticide; they dropped to the ground in droves, raining down midway through their flight.

Soon, a thick layer of red mosquitoes piled up on the ground.

“We still arrived too late,” someone muttered.

Twenty miles away, Chen Mu furrowed his brow as he walked slowly alongside Lu Han and others.

Using his Truthful Listening Divine Power, he had already surveyed Sparrow City from a distance. The city, originally home to tens of thousands of people, now had only a handful of survivors left.

With the heavenly rift mended, the source of the demons was severed, and they scattered across Hai Province.

Over the past three months, Chen Mu had been traveling nonstop with the Hundred Illusion Sect, tirelessly exterminating demons and exotic beasts.

The gathering points for Qi cultivators fared slightly better, but the regions populated by ordinary people were nearly desolate—most places had nine out of ten households empty.

Countless towns and cities shared Sparrow City’s tragic fate.

“Let’s go; it’s time to attend to that bell-revered ancestor.” Not far away, Lu Han called out to Chen Mu wearily.

The formerly brawny and robust man now walked with faltering steps.

Chen Mu twitched the corner of his mouth.

In the past two months, aside from traveling and resting, nearly all of their time had been spent on producing Sealing Demon Power.

Drain mana, recover mana, then drain mana again—this repeated cycle was enough to make even Chen Mu, with his strong cultivation, feel mentally drained. The other Daoist soldiers and Qi cultivators were all severely depleted in vital energy.

“At least we don’t have to face those strange demons directly,” Lu Han said, with surprising optimism.

“After a few days, we’ll return to Qingqiu Mountain and eat plenty of food from Golden Yuan Valley to recover,” he said cheerily.

“Did senior brother hear some news?”

Chen Mu raised his eyebrows slightly.

“It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?”

“Sparrow City is already at the southernmost edge of Hai Province. Beyond that lies the boundless sea, which isn’t under our jurisdiction.”

“The work is done, so naturally, it’s time to return to the mountain,” Lu Han explained.

Chen Mu nodded faintly.

Over the course of three months, the Thousand Mechanisms Sect had led the ninety-nine sects within Hai Province in a sprawling campaign against demons.

By now, it seemed the time had come for the efforts to conclude.

…

More than ten days later.

At the peak of Qingqiu Mountain.

The original Qingqiu Palace was nowhere to be seen. In its place, there now stood a refined Daoist temple, adorned with white walls and black tiles.

Not far from the temple, two octagonal pavilions had been constructed on the open ground.

A crowd of people lined up, entering the pavilions one by one.

With the chaos caused by the demons in Hai Province largely quelled, Chen Mu and the others had been summoned here today to receive commendations for their contributions.

“Five hundred and forty-five Daoist merit points, three thousand two hundred and seventy liang of white jade, and one Spirit Fox Secret Scripture—take care of them.” The elderly Daoist surnamed Mao, with hair and beard all white, handed Chen Mu a wooden box.

“Thank you, senior brother.” Chen Mu stepped forward respectfully, accepting the box without even glancing at its contents, holding it close to his chest.

The elder before him was the Daoist Mao from Taoshan Temple, who had once recruited him.

He had managed to survive this calamity, though…

Chen Mu’s gaze fell on the empty sleeve where the elder’s left arm had once been.

“Surviving this disaster is already a blessing,” the Daoist Mao noticed Chen Mu’s gaze and shook his head with a sigh.

This was their third meeting, and reflecting on the dramatic changes of the past year, he couldn’t help but lament the unpredictability of life.

“Now that you’re fully a member of Taoshan Temple, we’re part of the same family. Once you’re assigned to the Thousand Mechanisms Sect, you must work hard,” Daoist Mao encouraged him before turning to summon the next person in line.

Chen Mu bowed slightly once again. Then, holding the wooden box, he descended the mountain steps.

This marked his third day back in Qingqiu Mountain.

The Hundred Illusion Sect Master, Zheng Bailian, remained missing. The sect was left with only one elder, Hu Buwei, and less than a hundred disciples—hardly enough to sustain its existence.

Under the oversight of Thousand Mechanisms Sect Elder Yan Ming, the remnants of the Hundred Illusion Sect—alongside those who had participated in the demon extermination—had formed the newly established Taoshan Temple, now stationed at Qingqiu Mountain.

…

Inside a cliffside cave mansion.

Chen Mu opened the wooden box, placed the white jade inside his Five Ghosts Bag, and pulled out the Spirit Fox Secret Scripture jade slip to begin reading.

The scripture belonged to the Hundred Illusion Sect and had been one of the conditions for recruiting Daoist soldiers.

Originally, it should have been distributed on the day of signing the Daoist Soldier Contract, but the demon calamity delayed it until now.

“Sure enough, it only contains methods for the Condensing the Nascent Soul and River Chariot steps—nothing related to the Daoist Foundation Atlas.” After a while, Chen Mu withdrew his focus and sighed.

Fortunately, he had already expected this, so he wasn’t particularly disappointed.

The ninety-nine sects of Hai Province were subordinate to the Thousand Mechanisms Sect, and without its permission, they dared not—and could not—teach the Daoist Foundation Atlas.

“I still have to head to the Heavenly Star Battlefield, after all,” Chen Mu sighed again.

The chaos of the demons had just ended, yet recalling it still sent chills down his spine.

The Green Worm Gu Poison was truly bizarre, and who knew what similar sinister techniques might exist in the Heavenly Star Battlefield.

This time, he had the Delusion Seven Emotions Flame to save his life. But what about next time?

“Condensing the Daoist Foundation is certainly no easy task,” Chen Mu sighed once more.

Even obtaining a single true transmission secret technique was enough to stall his progress. The challenges awaiting him afterward would surely be even harder to quantify.

But to stop here, retreat into Thousand Lanterns City, and live a quiet life wasn’t something he could accept.

Part of him wanted to see the higher realms of cultivation.

But more importantly…

“Without enough strength, even if I wanted to live peacefully, I couldn’t,” he muttered.

Thousand Lanterns City was far from secure, and he would have to venture out eventually. Without power to protect himself, he’d be vulnerable to calamities.

Just like what happened in Peach Blossom Valley—most of his time was spent hiding in Thousand Lanterns City, yet during one excursion to gather information, the Green Worm Gu found him.

Chen Mu conjured the Gray Wall and examined the skill experience it displayed.

With no Daoist Foundation Atlas available and the Heavenly Demon Body stagnating in its bottleneck, growth was slow. For now, enhancing his strength involved grinding his secret technique experience.

Giant Spirit Divine: 9202/10000/Eighth Rank;

Mechanical Technique: 7065/10000/Sixth Rank;

Soul Capturing Return to Origin Technique: 8475/10000/Fourth Rank;

Heavenly Demon Armor: 9706/10000/Seventh Rank;

Ten Directions Hand: 6534/10000/Second Rank;

Truthful Listening Technique: Extreme Limit;

Triple Yin Slaying Demon Technique: Extreme Limit;

These seven secret techniques, all inherited from the Wu Mountain brothers, were proving more extraordinary as their levels increased.

“Giant Spirit Divine and Heavenly Demon Armor are both in advanced stages; progress has slowed significantly and will now require time to grind through,” he thought.

“Mechanical Technique is mainly for controlling magic artifacts and flying swords; for now, it suffices.”

“Soul Capturing Return to Origin Technique can absorb the vitality of living beings to replenish my own—it’s too sinister. Besides, I have Replenishing Origin Soup and Nourishing Spirit Wine, so there’s no rush to master it.”

“That leaves Ten Directions Hand as the skill I should focus on.”

Back in Taoshan Temple, he had already planned to grind experience for Ten Directions Hand.

But later, he was pulled away to serve as a mobile mana source for the Daoist soldier force, which delayed the effort.

Still, even with the interruptions, he had managed to get the skill halfway through the Second Rank.

Chen Mu opened his palm and slowly clenched his fist.

Buzz!

A surge of power filled his fist, causing the surrounding air to quiver faintly.

“Concentrating strength into a single point?”

“Not bad,” Chen Mu shrugged.

As his cultivation advanced, he relied more and more on various secret techniques. Close combat became increasingly rare, yet it wasn’t entirely absent.

Furthermore, his diverse and complex cultivation methods had transformed his body several times, giving him physical resilience comparable to exotic beasts. Coupled with techniques like Giant Spirit Divine, which enhanced strength, his raw power was often too overwhelming for his existing means of control.

“I needed a method to unify all my strength into one ultimate technique—and this is just the thing.”

“Let’s focus on it.”