Chapter 61: Azure-Eyed Golden Ape

"Are you sure this isn't just a mole?" Jie Jia stood three meters away, one hand covering his nose, his face full of undisguised disgust.

Chen Mu: "..." I washed my feet!

This old geezer must be jealous of me.

He pulled out a few iron needles and jabbed them directly at the black spot on the sole of his foot.

*Clink, clink, clink...*

"See that!" Chen Mu raised his head, looking extremely smug. "Impervious to weapons! Astral energy!"

Jie Jia glanced sideways at the embroidery needle in Chen Mu's hand.

"Impervious to weapons, huh?"

Chen Mu: "..."

...

Fan Tower in the South Market, the premier restaurant in Nanyang Prefecture.

Occupying an area of three mu, it featured seven or eight five-story wooden and stone towers towering into the sky, connected in the middle by skybridges and covered corridors.

There were areas for dining, lodging, listening to music, and gambling—a one-stop shop for food, drink, and entertainment.

The Fourth Directions Tower was a sub-building of Fan Tower.

By the window of a private room on the third floor, Chen Mu and Jie Jia sat at a square table, drinking tea and chatting.

Through the window, the bustling crowd in the South Market was clearly visible. The hawkers' cries, peddling wares, and the customers' bargaining blended into a continuous wave of sound.

"I'm in a good mood today, so let's taste the food and wine here at the Fourth Directions Tower and see if it's really as delicious as the rumors say," Chen Mu leaned against the window with a light smile.

Jie Jia looked at Chen Mu suspiciously. "Could you possibly possess Dao Bones?"

"I'm just an ordinary person, where would I get Dao Bones?" Chen Mu rolled his eyes.

Though he did have a cheat.

"Are your parents members of some declining aristocratic family's collateral branch?" Jie Jia continued to guess.

An ordinary person? Relying on that piece of garbage Red Falcon Form-Training Technique to cultivate astral energy in a year and a half, and you still dare call yourself an ordinary person?

"Can members of aristocratic families cultivate astral energy quickly?" Chen Mu's heart stirred.

"Ah, slightly worse than you," Jie Jia replied indifferently, his eyelids drooping.

Chen Mu fell into deep thought. "Did they master some special method?"

"They just possess a slightly special bloodline," Jie Jia said calmly.

"Similar to Dao Bones? Naturally suited for cultivation?" Chen Mu suddenly understood.

"Pretty much," Jie Jia said indifferently, clearly unwilling to dwell on the subject.

Chen Mu did not press further.

However, the pride that had just welled up within him upon newly cultivating astral energy quickly subsided.

He had a cheat, but unfortunately, other people had ancestors.

Their ancestors had once been wealthy and powerful, making them superior to ordinary folks right from birth. He'd better honestly grind his proficiency.

"I'll take that form-training technique of yours," Chen Mu said, shrugging.

" figured it out?" A trace of a smile flashed in Jie Jia's eyes.

Chen Mu nodded. "There were indeed two form-training techniques on the Ghost Market boat. But since they were on the same level as the Red Falcon Form-Training Technique, there's no point in practicing them."

Jie Jia nodded. "Most form-training techniques circulating outside are crude."

Chen Mu's heart stirred. "So the detailed ones are all deliberately monopolized by certain people?"

...

Jie Jia nodded.

Chen Mu understood. This was probably another mess caused by the upper echelons of the Great Liang dynasty. No wonder man-made disasters plagued Great Liang endlessly. Public resentment had probably accumulated to a certain extent. He wondered if Nanyang Prefecture would be affected.

"My astral energy has just formed; how should I cultivate it going forward?" Chen Mu asked with concern.

Although the Red Falcon Form-Training Technique's astral energy was quite lackluster, having some was better than having none.

"Ten years for form-training, a hundred years to nurture the astral spirit—ever heard that saying?" Jie Jia asked.

"Nurture?" Chen Mu's heart stirred.

"Correct. Eat well, sleep well, and recuperate properly. Continuously accumulate *qi* and blood to strengthen your astral energy."

"Your current state is called the Wandering Astral. Only when your astral energy spreads and covers your entire body like armor can your astral energy be considered fully mastered, known as the Armored Astral." Jie Jia finished in one breath.

Chen Mu's heart stirred, and the bird-shaped visualization diagram appeared in his mind.

Two streams of chilling breath surged all the way up from the soles of his feet. Two black dots simultaneously appeared in the centers of his palms.

Being able to roam the entire body—no wonder it was called the Wandering Astral. If used well to protect vital areas, it could achieve miraculous results.

It was just that the so-called nurturing of the astral spirit sounded a bit unreliable. Eating well and drinking well to accumulate slowly—wasn't this just like raising pigs and fattening them up?!

Were they raising a pig?!

"Is there no way to speed it up?" Chen Mu was unwilling to give up.

Jie Jia stared at the two black dots in Chen Mu's palms. "Can you put them away?"

What's wrong? Chen Mu was baffled.

"We're eating," Jie Jia said indifferently. "It's giving me the creeps."

Chen Mu's face instantly darkened.

What's wrong with my astral energy growing on my feet?!

This is the Wandering Astral leaving the feet, not some guy picking at his toes!

...

Outside the city of Nanyang Prefecture, by the banks of the Jinshui River.

A huge multi-story ship was moored by the river, with a large crimson flag bearing black patterns erected at the top.

The black patterns were simple yet vivid, depicting some kind of giant water beast.

The ship was about two hundred meters long and eighty meters wide—an absolute behemoth.

The pavilions and eaves on the ship were flying, and the interior was divided into dozens of rooms and cabins, exquisitely decorated like a treasured palace.

At this moment, people were bustling back and forth on the ship, all of them fierce-looking men dressed in tight-fitting martial attire.

This was precisely the headquarters of the startling鸿 (Jinghong) Gang, the largest gang in Nanyang Prefecture.

"Hall Master, someone in the gang has set their sights on that scholar," a man with small eyes said in a low voice.

"One of our people?" Zuosheng looked over with curiosity. "That senior brother of mine has always kept to himself; why would he provoke us?"

Ever since he saw Chen Mu arrive in Nanyang with the Zuo family caravan, he had grown cautious.

This senior brother of his seemed harmless to humans and animals, but he was also a ruthless character who killed without blinking.

Back then, the other party had deliberately lived right next door to the Zuo family and had now followed them to Nanyang. Fearing that the other party harbored malicious intentions, he had deliberately sent people to keep a quiet watch.

If he hadn't been busy with his cultivation recently, he would have already gone over to seek guidance and see what the other party was really plotting.

The small-eyed man gave a sly chuckle. "I heard that Helm Master Zhang of the White Tiger Hall is currently investigating the origin of the Qingfeng Powder."

"That high-efficiency wound-healing ointment from the Ghost Market? Didn't they say losses were heavy and production stopped? They're still investigating?" Zuosheng reacted, looking over in surprise. "What, does this have to do with my senior brother?"

"Nine times out of ten," the small-eyed man smiled. "That Zhang fellow's martial arts aren't much, but his brain works well."

"A month ago, he scattered a large number of people to keep a close eye on the medicinal herb transport channels at the docks."

"Looking at it now, he must have followed the vine to the melon and found the place."

If he hadn't happened to be guarding nearby and noticed something amiss, leading him to investigate in reverse, that fellow Zhang would have quietly pulled it off successfully.

"Hall Master, the White Tiger Hall has always been giving us trouble. How about we intercept their bounty!" the small-eyed man suggested.

"No," Zuosheng narrowed his eyes. "After all, we are brothers in the same gang. To engage in such internal strife violates gang rules. Never mention this again!"

The small-eyed man wore a sheepish smile.

"But after all, he is my beloved friend and martial brother," Zuosheng sighed. "Arrange for a few people to keep an eye on Helm Master Zhang. The moment they make a move, come and notify me immediately."

"I can't let my senior brother suffer any grievances."

"Hehe! Understood!" The small-eyed man instantly wore a crafty smile.

Seeing that the other party's attitude was upright and sincere, Zuosheng nodded in satisfaction.

His recent martial arts expenses had been quite hefty, and the Qingfeng Powder had come at just the right time. A top-tier wound ointment, combined with the Jinghong Gang's massive influence on the Jinshui River, was a veritable cornucopia.

However, adding flowers to a tapestry was far inferior to sending charcoal in snowy weather.

Stepping in to help at a critical moment was the only way to win true loyalty!

...

At night, the Chen family residence.

The doors were tightly shut, and Chen Mu sat in front of the desk.

An oil lamp was lit on the table, illuminating the room brightly.

The lamp oil was refined from the fat of some kind of water beast, producing no black smoke when burned, and offering astonishing brightness.

Chen Mu turned the yellowed pages of the book in his hand one by one.

"No wonder Jie Jia always said the Red Falcon Form-Training Technique was crude," Chen Mu closed the book and sighed.

Compared to the *Green-Eyed Golden Ape Form-Training Technique* in his hand, it was indeed crude.

Take the breathing technique alone.

The most cumbersome part of the Red Falcon breathing technique had only one hundred and twenty variations in a single cycle. Meanwhile, the *Green-Eyed Golden Ape Form-Training Technique* had one hundred and eighty variations just during the tendon-tempering stage.

The stimulation and refinement of the body were more delicate, precise, and comprehensive, making it naturally much stronger.

"And there's a complete visualization diagram."

Chen Mu opened it again and flipped to the last page—a piece of leather tanned from the hide of some animal.

On the light brown leather, hundreds of black dots of various sizes were dotted like stars. Several hair-thin lines crisscrossed, connecting all the black dots.

To outsiders, it looked baffling, but Chen Mu understood. The black dots were the nodes of the visualization diagram. By constantly contemplating and observing it in real-time, coupled with a mastered form-training technique, one could master the visualization diagram.

"So this *Black Tiger Form-Training Technique* is really just another piece of trash." Chen Mu picked up a black-covered book beside him, his face full of disgust.

To buy this form-training technique, he had even run up a tab with Jie Jia.

If not for the booming sales of Qingfeng Powder recently, Jie Jia wouldn't have bothered with him at all.

"Whatever, since I bought it already, I might as well practice and see," Chen Mu sighed with disappointment.

"When I save up enough money, I'll buy that *White Ape Form-Training Technique* too. Then I can make a trio of trash brothers with the Red Falcon Form-Training Technique."