Chapter 847 - 835: One Heart

By the shores of White Bird Lake, beneath the Moonlight Tree in front of the thatched hut.

Xu Gui lay in his own rocking chair, looking utterly content.

After a bit more than a month, Xu Gui's face had plumped up a size; aside from the dark circles under his eyes, his whole spirit was bright, and that previously drained look of his was completely gone.

After grunting and lazing for a while, Xu Gui rolled over and got up, walking over to Chen Mu.

"The nightlife in White Bird City is getting more and more lively these days. Lots of events need me to host."

"But the roads at night in our White Bird City are really not easy to walk."

"Can't you send me a Soul Nourishing Lamp just for myself, so it can light the way when I walk at night?"

Xu Gui's face was full of sincerity.

Heh!

Is that really for lighting your way at night?

That's for strolling around Fan Building under the lamplight, drifting around while patching yourself up!

Chen Mu shot Xu Gui a sidelong glance.

"Forget it about the Soul Nourishing Lamp. These one thousand and eighty lamps are already the limit of what can be refined."

Chen Mu refused decisively.

The base of the Soul Nourishing Lamp is an Exquisite Jade Plate, and the refining materials come from blank White Jade Coins.

He originally had fifty to sixty thousand on him, but to refine those thousand-plus lamp bases, he'd already consumed nearly one-third.

Every day, Chen Mu had to absorb no less than the Earth Spirit Vital Energy from over three thousand White Jade Coins, just to support what his Qi Refinement required.

And putting those three thousand-plus blank White Jade Coins into the White Jade Array formed by the Exquisite Jade Plates, it would take at least half a month for them to be replenished with Earth Spirit Vital Energy again.

If he wanted uninterrupted daily Qi Refinement, he needed at least forty-five thousand White Jade coins on hand to keep the cycle going.

But right now he only had a bit over thirty thousand left in total, which was already concretely affecting the speed of his Daoist Foundation Cultivation, so he didn't dare burn through any more White Jade.

"I really didn't stockpile enough White Jade Coins back then." Chen Mu sighed.

"Or maybe, think of a way to refine some White Jade Coins?"

He had Yama's Feast Divine Power; by devouring some White Jade Coins, he could easily grasp the Artifact Refining Technique for White Jade Coins.

"My only worry is that Mist Ridge might not have the refining materials needed for White Jade Coins."

He'd been in Mist Ridge for over a year; although he hadn't done any meticulous scouting, judging from the information he picked up in daily life, this place had plenty of forest and Mist of Confusion, but other cultivation resources were practically barren.

...

Half a month later, at dawn.

By White Bird Lake, twenty-four fist-sized luminous white pearls floated above the thatched hut.

Nearly three hundred Exquisite Jade Plates of various sizes were supported by the Little Circulation Star Battle Technique Forbidden, orbiting the hut at varying heights in a slow turn.

Thin streams of Earth Spirit Element seeped out from the Exquisite Jade Plates, then were drawn by the twenty-four Pearls to the surroundings of the hut. As the accumulation continued, the Earth Spirit Vital Energy inside the hut grew as dense as that of a Buried Spiritual Spring.

On the wooden porch at the door, Chen Mu lay in the rocking chair.

Inside the Dao Foundation Jade Seed, Mana continuously poured into the Yellow Springs Gourd. As the gourd spun, strands of pitch-black Pure Yang Qi were spat out.

Chen Mu guided the Pure Yang Qi back into the Dao Foundation Jade Seed; layer after layer of golden flowing light kept flickering inside and outside the Seed.

Only when over half his Mana had been consumed, and the Dao Foundation Jade Seed faintly conveyed a sense of satiation, did he stop this round of cultivation.

Opening his eyes, Chen Mu took a deep breath, and the dense Earth Spirit Vital Energy around him was instantly drawn in by more than half. The Mana that had been spent refining Pure Yang Qi immediately began recovering at high speed.

Looking at the Exquisite Jade Plates floating around the wooden hut, Chen Mu nodded in satisfaction.

Since he hadn't found any substitute materials for White Jade Coins and couldn't refine more of them in the short term, Chen Mu decided to remodel the old Nourishing White Jade Array.

He increased the number of Exquisite Jade Plates and refined a new set of twenty-four Pearls to draw the plates, thus creating this brand-new White Jade Array that could rival a Buried Spiritual Spring.

The effect was very obvious.

The new White Jade Array gathered Earth Spirit Vital Energy faster, at a higher concentration. It could not only be used to nourish blank White Jade Coins, but also directly assist in cultivation.

He admired the White Jade Array for a while, waiting until his Mana had fully recovered.

Chen Mu then began absorbing Divine Power, tempering his Heavenly Demon Body.

Progress, however, was not particularly obvious.

The appearance of the Clouds Holding the Moon Yin Divine Dharma Form indicated that the Yin Spirit Heavenly Demon Body had undergone a clear metamorphosis. To advance to the next stage, even with Divine Power assisting, would likely still take quite some time.

Fortunately, Chen Mu had long anticipated this, and kept to his daily routine as usual.

After he finished absorbing all the Divine Power that the White Bird Divine Soldier had accumulated over the night, the Yin Spirit Divine Fetus transmitted a feeling of satisfaction, and Chen Mu concluded that day's cultivation.

He got up and strolled two laps around White Bird Lake, then grabbed two fish from the lake, and after a simple dish of boiled fish slices in clear water, he moved the rocking chair to under the Moonlight Tree in front of the door, ready to lie beneath the tree and take a nap.

...

Afternoon.

Under the Moonlight Tree.

Chen Mu closed his eyes, swaying the bamboo chair as he habitually began to recite the One Heart Scripture.

This was the core scripture of Wuxiang City. Ever since the Three Celebrations Scripture reached Perfection, Chen Mu had been grinding experience on this scripture nonstop.

But he had only chanted it three times when a surge of comprehension suddenly surfaced in his mind out of nowhere.

Chen Mu instinctively summoned the gray Stone Gate and glanced at one of its sections, instantly understanding.

One Heart Scripture: Limit.

"Seven, eight months in total have passed; it's about time it reached Perfection."

"I just don't know whether this time it will still be able to draw in a Divine Soldier Fragment."

But as soon as that thought rose, Chen Mu shook his head and chuckled.

The City Lord of Three Paths City is already decrepit with age; his divine weapon collapsing isn't unexpected. But the City Lord of Wuxiang City is in his prime—there's basically no way something goes wrong.

If nothing goes wrong with him, the divine weapon won't scatter, and naturally there won't be any divine weapon fragments.

"If he doesn't come, that's fine too."

"If someone were to track their way here along the fragments, that'd be a headache."

Chen Mu shrugged and looked at another line on the stone gate.

Seven Emotions Curse: 6119/10000/Sixth Rank;

"Not bad, got over two thousand exp for free."

It's been eight or nine months since he advanced to Sixth Rank. Of that, more than four thousand exp came from driving the Seven Emotions Curse day in, day out. The remaining two thousand exp just came along with the One Heart Scripture reaching Perfection.

After carefully sensing the changes in the Seven Emotions Curse for a while, Chen Mu came back to himself, and suddenly his heart stirred.

He tentatively began reciting the One Heart Scripture again.

He'd only gotten halfway through when several strands of divine power appeared out of thin air in front of him.

"See? City Lord Wei is the generous one." Chen Mu broke into a grin.

When he'd been chanting the Three Celebrations Scripture before, he hadn't gotten a single bit of divine power—stingy as hell.

"I've got to pick another new scripture to practice."

The Seven Emotions Curse is enough for his needs; Chen Mu's attitude toward the scriptures from the various cities had already shifted from ardent to take-it-or-leave-it.

But now it was different.

Divine power was appearing. It wasn't much, but even a mosquito is still meat.

And this was just one city, Wuxiang City. What if he could fleece a few more cities—dozens of cities—for their divine power?

"This scripture is great, this scripture needs to be recited some more!"

...

Wuxiang City, deep within the City Lord Mansion.

The Secret Chamber, expanded after renovation, was even more vast. The surrounding walls were pitch-black, dull like metal, and were now covered with many dark, inscrutable patterns.

At the center of the chamber, Wei Wubing sat cross-legged on a cushion, with a gray stone the size of two fists floating before him.

He formed seals with both hands, and streak after streak of blood-colored light shot out from the index finger of his right hand, sinking into the stone.

Countless cracks slowly began to appear on the surface of the stone.

As the blood-colored light poured in, crimson radiance flickered continuously within the fissures. The whole thing started to hum and quake, as if it might shatter at any moment.

Wei Wubing suddenly stopped, turning his head to look toward the shadows in the corner of the Secret Chamber.

"Mo Tong, be ready. This time, we can't let a single divine weapon fragment get away!" he warned solemnly.

A man-head-sized cloud of pitch-black smoke floated out of the corner's shadow. It suddenly split open in the middle, revealing a huge eye with stark black-and-white iris.

The mist around the eyeball vibrated as layered voices came out.

"Relax."

"Last time the divine weapon fragments escaped because Old Man Qin left behind a backhand and raised a descendant who was well-versed in the Three Celebrations Scripture."

"Liangxi City is just some remote little city. We prepared in advance, and everyone in the city had been rounded up in one sweep."

"Without a descendant who's proficient in the scripture to act as a guide, the divine weapon fragments won't fly off."

"Even if something unexpected happens, these fragments can't fly out of the Secret Chamber." Mo Tong looked at the chamber walls.

The black patterns on them lit up with a deep, ghostly luster, and a powerful aura pulsed out.

"My Secret Technique has already infiltrated the walls. Even if they want to run, they won't be able to."

Wei Wubing took in his surroundings, then nodded, satisfied.

He then took a deep breath and shot out another streak of blood-colored light.

Bang!

The divine weapon in the form of a gray stone immediately shattered into more than ten fragments of varying sizes.

Wei Wubing instantly cast his Secret Technique to seize all the fragments.

The black patterns on the walls writhed and linked together, becoming like a tightly sealed cage.

After quite a long while, the divine weapon fragments that were fixed in midair still didn't budge an inch.

Only then did Wei Wubing finally let out a long breath.

"Looks like nothing went wrong this time."

He immediately employed the Secret Techniques within the One Heart Scripture to start refining the divine weapon fragments.

Strands of blood-colored light struck the fragments before him. After a full three days, the nineteen divine weapon fragments hadn't yet fused together, but he had successfully branded each one with his mark. The initial refinement was complete.

Now they were like being caught in an invisible net—though they still drifted around in midair, they were no longer able to leave Wei Wubing's side.

"Let's see you run now."

Wei Wubing exhaled heavily, a smile spreading across his face.

But as soon as the words left his lips, the air suddenly rippled like water.

Then, three divine weapon fragments on the outer edge slipped straight into the rippling air with a swish, and vanished abruptly.

Wei Wubing froze on the spot.

Wait, even divine weapon fragments that have already been refined with the One Heart Scripture can disappear?

What the hell is going on here?!!