I am grinding experience in another world

"Is this really Longevity Rice?" Duobao pinched an artificial Jade Dew Pearl, examining it with big eyes and then small eyes, staring at the tiny crimson dot on the pearl, looking doubtful.

"Don't want it? Then give it back to me," Chen Mu reached out.

"This is definitely Longevity Rice!" Duocai grabbed the Jade Dew Pearl from Duobao's hand with a determined look.

"Looks like it, tastes like it. Who dares to say it's not Longevity Rice, I'll be mad at them!"

You really know how to adapt.

Chen Mu casually tossed them a small cloth bag filled with artificial Jade Dew Pearls.

"Isn't this a bit much?" Duocai weighed the particularly heavy bag, hesitating.

"Half is to repay my debt, the rest counts as commission. I need you to help me find some information."

"It's not difficult. As long as it's related to Mist Ridge."

"Like anecdotes about Mist Ridge, historical tales about White Bird City, or routes to other major cities toward Mist Ridge."

"No problem!" Duocai and Duobao exchanged glances, looked at the bulging cloth bag, and readily agreed.

...

Qing'an Square, Fan Building.

In a corner, two elderly men sat at a square table.

"Have you heard? Old Man Gongsun is gone," one of the red-nosed elderly men spoke softly.

"It was the Black Wind Demon. When the City Defense Camp arrived, there was only one leg left."

"It shouldn't be," the white-haired man opposite frowned.

"Old Man Gongsun recited the 'Rootless Scripture' all his life. Even if he didn't awaken divine skills, he shouldn't have met the Black Wind Demon."

"Unless..." he said and his face changed, looking incredulous toward the red-nosed elder.

"Hey, it's exactly what you're thinking. The City Defense Camp found 'One Heart Scripture' in his house."

"One Heart Scripture from Wuxiang City?"

"Tsk, Old Man Gongsun was really ambitious even in old age."

"Trying to cultivate divine skills, even at his age, he had the courage to change scriptures." The white-haired elder marvelled.

"Sadly, his talent wasn't enough, and he couldn't draw in Wuxiang City's divine power in time." The red-nosed elder sighed.

"And due to switching scriptures, he lost White Bird City's protection, allowing the Black Wind Demon to take advantage."

"Can't blame him for changing scriptures," the white-haired elder also sighed.

"The power of scriptures lies in the city lord's divine majesty."

"Our Lord Lu is quite old, and his majesty is waning."

"In the past, in White Bird City, scriptures recited ten thousand times would spontaneously create divine skills. Now, even a hundred thousand repetitions might not work."

"And even if one attains divine skills, they're just minor supportive skills. There aren't even many with the most common Great Power Divine Ability."

"It's no wonder so many young people have left their homes for other major cities." The white-haired elder sighed emotionally.

"I just didn't expect that now even some old folks are starting to get restless."

"Only us two, without grand ambitions, take each day as it comes, and that's why we stick to the city."

"Forget it, let's not talk about it, let's drink."

...

"Divine skills, Black Wind?"

Not far away by the window, Chen Mu nibbled on a fried Moon Beet Pearl leisurely. Every word of the two men's conversation fell into his ears.

"Interesting," he pondered their conversation, deep in thought.

After leaving Duocai and Duobao's home, Chen Mu came to Fan Building in Qing'an Square to drink tea and listen to music.

Fan Building is a collective name, its main body consists of seven or eight large five-story wooden buildings interlinked. Inside, dining and drinking are basic, with gambling and music performances available, making it the largest entertainment hub in Qing'an Square.

This place is bustling with people and chatter, offering all kinds of information. Chen Mu hadn't been here long before gaining considerable insights about Mist Ridge.

From the information gathered, Mist Ridge contains countless fortified cities, sustained solely by their city lords.

The city lord's divine skills extend to all directions, able to spread out strange fogs and fend off Black Wind attacks.

Residents within the city just need to recite the corresponding scriptures to invoke divine power protection against the Black Wind Demon, and some might even awaken divine skills.

"Are these city lords really so generous? Not only providing a free haven to so many people but also helping to awaken divine skills?"

Chen Mu shook his head in disbelief.

He believes there are good people in this world.

"Hmm, like myself."

But the likelihood of all Mist Ridge city lords being good is slim.

"There must be some hidden agenda."

"Increasingly suspect that 'Rootless Scripture' has a trap."

"Could it be like my 'East Pole Longevity Scripture'? Once you practice it, you'll have something implanted within you?"

"Hmm... possibly!"

The East Pole Longevity Scripture was compiled during his time in the Netherworld. On the surface, it's a book detailing celestial motions and personal longevity, but it secretly harbors a Heavenly Demon Curse.

As long as one continues reciting, they may attract a Heavenly Demon Spirit Seed to parasitize them.

The Heavenly Demon Spirit Seed was created by Chen Mu's Cloud Mirage Sky Demon Body as a natural divine skill. Initially fragile, it would disperse with a gust of wind, let alone parasitize anyone.

But if the host actively guides and accepts it through the Heavenly Demon Curse, it easily succeeds in parasitizing.

The East Pole Longevity Scripture, with its inherent Heavenly Demon Curse, subtly persuades the scripture reciter to lower their guard and willingly accept the spiritual seed.

"The way they guide divine power into themselves feels like the same trick as guiding the Heavenly Demon Spirit Seed in."

"There really is nothing new under the sun."

Chen Mu shook his head.

"But, what exactly is this Black Wind Demon?"

Strangely enough, it wasn't his first time hearing about the Black Wind Demon, yet he had never encountered it.

According to the accounts of the Duocai Duobao brothers, the Black Wind Demon hides in the Misty Forest.

As long as you leave the city limits, it's easy to be attacked by the Black Wind Demon.

But when Chen Mu wandered through the Misty Forest for days, he didn't even encounter a single hair, let alone the Black Wind Demon.

After settling in Qing'an Square, he had even fewer opportunities.

It felt like that thing was deliberately avoiding him.

"Is it a case of 'a king does not see another king', or is it avoiding my edge?"

"Ha!"

"Oh well, it's fine if I don't see it."

"That thing doesn't sound like it's on the right path, not running into it is actually a good thing."

...

As days went by, Chen Mu gradually adapted to life in White Bird City.

In the morning, he still stayed at home cultivating his qi.

He used demon qi to restore mana and refined pure yang qi to nourish his Daoist foundation. He used Yin Spirit Divine Power to refine Netherworld Qi and Taiyin Qi, tempering his divine fetus and nurturing his Heavenly Demon Body.

In the afternoon, he went out to Fan Building to drink tea and listen to music. While there, he listened intently for news and gradually learned about Mist Ridge.

Months passed by leisurely.

On this day, Chen Mu was lying under the Moonlight Tree, inspecting the simplified map of White Bird City sent by the Duocai Duobao brothers when a sudden wave of insight surged in his mind.

"Mustard Seed Spell?"

A translucent gray stone gate appeared in Chen Mu's vision.

Mustard Seed Spell: 6/10000/Third Rank;

"Is it because of Thousand Lanterns City?" Chen Mu suddenly realized.

Ever since he placed the Life and Death Seal into the key organ of Thousand Lanterns City, the Mustard Seed Spell has been gradually improving.

"If I started crafting a Mustard Seed Talisman now, it would probably be very easy," Chen Mu smiled.

He had the Five Ghosts Bag and Thousand Lanterns City; he had long stopped needing the Mustard Seed Talisman for storage.

But mastering a new ability is always a joy.

Chen Mu then looked at another column of the stone gate.

Seven Emotions Curse: 3539/10000/Third Rank;

"Not a bad progress."

"I wish other secret techniques could also upgrade automatically with the help of Thousand Lanterns City."

Chen Mu shrugged, and his awareness delved into Thousand Lanterns City.

At this moment, the demon qi that originally filled the entire Thousand Lanterns City had been reduced by a small portion.

"At this rate of consumption, it should be able to last another two years."

"There's no hurry to leave White Bird City."

After half a year of living here, Chen Mu found the environment of White Bird City quite satisfactory.

He had just entered a new stage of cultivation, where both qi refinement and the tempering of his Heavenly Demon Body required long-term effort and time.

A stable environment became essential. The remote White Bird City perfectly suited this need.

Moreover, it was quite bustling, filled with the atmosphere of human life, and was very suitable for secluded cultivation.

If possible, Chen Mu even planned to stay here until he cultivated his Primordial Spirit.

"Unfortunately, the demon qi stored in Thousand Lanterns City is ultimately limited."

Qi Refining at the seventh level to nourish the Primordial Spirit requires a lot of pure yang qi. Extracting pure yang qi requires mana, and restoring mana requires vital energy.

Mist Ridge doesn't have Heavenly Stars or Earth Spirit Vital Energy, so he could only rely on the Mili Heavenly Demon Qi stored in Thousand Lanterns City.

"It's not without solutions," Chen Mu said, flipping his hand to take out the Exquisite Jade Plate he hadn't used in years.

He placed one White Jade Coin into the central recess of the jade plate, and after a few breaths, strands of Earth Spirit Vital Energy materialized around the Exquisite Jade Plate out of thin air.

"What a treasure."

The Linglong Jade Plate was quite magical; whether in Hundred Intentions Heaven, in the Netherworld Underworld, or in Outer Heaven Demon Sky, it could produce Earth Spirit Vital Energy.

Even now, in this unknown Mist Ridge, it remained miraculous.

"But its production is too low. Relying solely on the Exquisite Jade Plate means it would take ten days to half a month to recover the mana needed to refine pure yang qi once."

"It's enough to sustain cultivation, but the efficiency is too low."

"But if one is inefficient, what if I refine multiple Exquisite Jade Plates and use them together?" Chen Mu couldn't help but squint his eyes.

Admittedly, he didn't know how to refine the Exquisite Jade Plate.

But he had Yama's Feast!

This was a divine ability awakened when the Yin Spirit Sky Demon Body cultivated to the Nine Apertures of Fetal Breathing. It could devour and decompose all things, acquiring their embedded secret wisdom.

Though it was only bits and pieces, if utilized with the gray stone gate, it became vastly different.

Previously, he had used Yama's Feast to swallow a magic artifact called Fire Cloud Gourd and obtain its artifact refining technique.

"What if I used Yama's Feast to devour the Exquisite Jade Plate…"

"It's worth a try!"

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