Low Hill Courtyard, under the wooden shed.

    Chen Mu moved his rocking chair to the south, getting as close to the well as he could.

    Recently, as his proficiency with the Spirit Armor Technique increased,

    the silver strand at his forehead became clearer and clearer, and he often felt a cool touch.

    It was as if a fine misty rain occasionally landed on his forehead.

    These past few days, he discovered the closer he was to the well, the more frequent this cool sensation appeared.

    "Earth Spirit Vital Energy?"

    The Sixth Rank Cloud Mirage Spirit Armor Technique involved the unification of soul and spirit. The Seventh Rank most likely corresponded to perception.

    Chen Mu guessed that this stage was about perceiving Earth Spirit Vital Energy.

    Remembering his cultivation of the Cloud Mirage Spirit Armor Technique, Chen Mu''s face was full of emotion.

    Without needing to cultivate, one could simply eat, drink, and breathe to earn experience, just as one grows normally.

    "It''s practically a fantasy-like Cultivation Technique." Chen Mu couldn''t help but sigh. "The only fear is that there might be some problems."

    Tongtian Square''s Scripture Transmission Institute was two months away. Going there alone, without enough White Jade Coins, wouldn''t work.

    The appearance of the True Sun Scripture provided Chen Mu with a new plan.

    To master the True Sun Scripture and compare it directly with the Spirit Armor Technique to see if there were any issues—it would be immediately evident.

    "Reciting scriptures offers endless changes, and the essence will reveal itself?"

    "Heh..."

    "To others, this would be deceit."

    "But to me, it''s the true teaching."

    He immediately unrolled a grey scroll about the length of a palm and as thick as a wrist.

    The densely packed, seemingly disjointed text came into view.

    Chen Mu''s lips curled into a smile, his heart leaping with excitement.

    "Another new challenge."

    ...

    Below Low Hill, in the Yellow Bud Rice Fields.

    Chen Mu strolled casually among the metre-tall Yellow Bud Rice stalks.

    Invisible black smoke spread across the ground, and the weeds that had just sprouted vanished in an instant.

    Chen Mu mumbled non-stop, reciting the thousands of characters that made up the curse words of the True Sun Scripture.

    At a certain moment, a sudden enlightenment sprang up in Chen Mu''s mind.

    The curse words he was reciting were interrupted halfway through.

    Find your next adventure on empire

    Chen Mu couldn''t help but look at the main stalk of a Yellow Bud Rice plant beside him.

    Curious, he walked over and snapped the main stalk.

    Inside was a fat white caterpillar, wriggling and eating away at the stalk.

    "I didn''t expect my planting abilities to advance to the Second Rank first," Chen Mu chuckled.

    With a flood of insights pouring into his mind, he looked over the verdant Yellow Bud Rice Fields and immediately noticed several areas needing improvement.

    ...

    Dong Fang looked at him with a smirk: "Buy his life."

    "Buy his own life."

    The bald strongman: "..."

    ...

    Advancing his Planting Skill to the Second Rank had made Chen Mu''s care for the Yellow Bud Rice Fields even more proficient.

    With the help of the Five Ghosts, he only needed one hour a day to complete the care of the Yellow Bud Rice.

    The rest of the time, he used it all to recite the True Sun Scripture.

    He didn''t know if it was because he had mastered the Cloud Mirage Spirit Armor Technique or because the fog outside the Divine Intent Diagram had been previously broken through.

    Every time he recited the Curse Words, it would bring Chen Mu four to six points of experience.

    In one hour, he could gain sixty to seventy experience points.

    As his proficiency increased, the Divine Intent Diagram of the Blue-eyed Golden Ape and his Soul Strength began to shake, adjust, and resonate in unison.

    Two days later, this resonance reached its peak.

    A strand of Jet Black Soul Strength suddenly appeared in front of him.

    Then, following a small breach in the fog, it swiftly drilled into the middle of the fog.

    Next, it headed straight for the Blue-eyed Golden Ape''s Divine Intent Diagram and disappeared into it in the blink of an eye.

    Chen Mu looked helplessly at the Divine Intent Diagram, which had immediately brightened slightly, his face full of chagrin.

    "One Divine Intent Diagram running away, one Soul Strength burrowing in," he lamented.

    "The Cloud Mirage Spirit Armor Technique really is making me do the splits."

    ...

    Five days later, inside the Low Hill Courtyard.

    Black smoke billowed as Chen Mu held a fist-sized white porcelain bottle in his hand.

    "Tongtian Square''s prices truly are expensive," Chen Mu sighed.

    One White Jade Coin only got him ten Fasting Pills.

    Previously, Jie Jia had said that one White Jade Coin could usually buy about twelve pills.

    Dumping out one pill, Chen Mu carefully divided it into ten parts.

    Picking up one piece, he placed it in his mouth.

    The Fasting Pill, with its faint fragrance, melted as soon as it hit his tongue, traveling down his throat into his stomach and quickly assimilating throughout his body.

    "Given my current physical condition, eating a Fasting Pill is unlikely to burst me," Chen Mu shrugged.

    "Still, I should eat only half," he decided, to be safe.

    With the entry-level mastery of the True Sun Scripture, his Spirit Soul began to merge.

    His appetite increased once again.

    Chen Mu could only buy a bottle of Fasting Pills as a supplement.

    "It''s just too expensive."

    Now his monthly living expenses had reached an astonishing five White Jade Coins.

    And as he continued his cultivation, this number would only go up.

    "I can''t just sit around and wait for the supplies to run out."

    "I need to find a way to sell some Calming Pills."