Chapter 67: Difficult

Nanyang Prefecture, Shanglin Ward.

On the west side of the spacious residence stood an octagonal pavilion, surrounded by an artificially excavated pond.

The pond connected through an underground conduit to the nearby Luo River, allowing the water to flow slowly.

The water quality was exceptional, clear to the bottom, where schools of fish could occasionally be seen darting about.

Chen Mu wore a gray long-roam, his hair gathered and tied up with a gray cloth band.

He leaned back against a pillar, sitting on the bench at the edge of the pavilion. His right leg was crossed over his left knee.

Then he cupped his right foot and began gesturing wildly.

After finishing with his right foot, he moved on to his right-foot-scratched-left-foot routine, sighing, "Nurturing the wandering soul is no easy task."

Ever since he successfully cultivated the wandering soul, his daily food intake had been balanced, supplemented by continuous nourishing medicinal meals, and occasionally punctuated by specially prepared dairy products. Moreover, his visualization technique paired with breathing exercises had never been interrupted.

Yet, a month had passed, and the soybean-sized wandering soul had not changed in the slightest.

Sitting by the stone table beneath the pavilion, Jie Jia wore an expression of utter disgust. "The wandering soul can roam your entire body. Why on earth do you insist on pulling at your toes to look at it?!"

Chen Mu was startled, turning a shade of embarrassment and annoyance. "I forgot!"

Jie Jia: "..."

As if nothing had happened, Chen Mu put on his shoes and socks, moved the wandering soul to the palm of his hand, and continued observing.

"Can one really master soul-nurturing in a hundred years?" Chen Mu deeply doubted it. "I'll probably be dead by the time I succeed."

"You can," Jie Jia lowered his head and said indifferently. "Whether you die or not, you'll know once you cultivate it."

"Can the armored soul even prolong life?" Chen Mu's interest was piqued.

Jie Jia, however, remained tight-lipped and said no more.

Chen Mu shrugged, unbothered. It was far too early to think about such things. Right now, he was much more concerned with how to nurture the soul.

"Is the initial accumulation for the wandering soul always this slow? Are we supposed to build up slowly and break through all at once?"

"It has always been this slow," Jie Jia rubbed his silver bead unhurriedly. "Yours is just slow upon slow."

"The Red Falcon Shape-Training Technique is truly a mediocre piece of garbage," Chen Mu sighed in disappointment.

The wandering soul was the source of the armored soul. A poor shape-training technique meant a poor wandering soul. The effect was low, and the accumulation rate was sluggish. Without secret medicines to shorten the accumulation time, it was utterly impossible to cultivate the armored soul within a century.

"There is one more thing," Jie Jia glanced sideways at Chen Mu. "A hundred years for soul-nurturing means you must successfully cultivate the armored soul before you turn one hundred. It doesn't mean that as long as you practice for a hundred years, you will definitely succeed."

"This is not a description; it is a requirement, a condition."

Chen Mu was instantly stunned.

He had always thought that phrase was just a summary of the cultivation process.

It takes ten years of shape-training to achieve mastery, and a hundred years to nurture the soul.

Yet according to Jie Jia's explanation, it meant a martial artist had to complete shape-training and achieve the armored soul before reaching the age of one hundred!

Judging by Jie Jia's attitude, this was barely considered the passing line!

Looking at the soul that showed zero progress, Chen Mu wore an absurd expression. That was entirely too outrageous!

"Do you know how long it takes an ordinary martial artist to achieve mastery in shape-training?" Jie Jia asked calmly.

"In thirty years, the total number of shape-training masters who died at my hands is two hundred and forty-six."

"Twenty-six years. That is the average for mastering shape-training."

"The shortest was five years—a direct descendant of a noble family."

"The longest was forty-three years—a wandering martial artist of the pugilistic world."

"Unless you possess the bones of Dao."

Chen Mu froze in place.

Twenty-and-six years? That long?!

And that was just mastering the shape-training. There was still a century of soul-nurturing after that!

No, it should be called centenarian soul-nurturing. The actual time available for nurturing the soul was at most a mere seventy or eighty years!

"By your logic, trying to cultivate the armored soul is as difficult as ascending to the heavens!" Chen Mu wore an expression that screamed, *Are you pulling my leg?* "Can anyone actually succeed?!"

Jie Jia paused his hand rolling the silver bead, his bright yellow eyes turning to cast a glance at Chen Mu.

"Yes."

"Have you seen one?" Chen Mu refused to believe it.

"Myself," Jie Jia said with utter nonchalance.

Chen Mu: "..."

Damn it!

After all that buildup, this was what he had to look at!

This flex came so... unexpectedly.

...

Chen Mu didn't want to bother with this pretentious old man anymore.

He pulled a fist-sized white porcelain bottle out of his sleeve and handed it to Jie Jia. "Do you recognize this medicine?"

Jie Jia looked at Chen Mu's hand and didn't take it.

Chen Mu rolled his eyes and placed the porcelain bottle on the stone table.

Jie Jia took out a white handkerchief to insulate his hand, pulled out the cork, and peered inside for a moment.

"You haven't eaten it, have you?" Jie Jia slanted a look at Chen Mu.

*I'm not an idiot! How would I dare recklessly consume medicine of unknown origin?*

Although the ingredients hadn't been fully analyzed yet, it could indeed replenish vital energy and blood. But looking at Jie Jia's attitude...

Chen Mu stared suspiciously at the white porcelain bottle. "Is there a problem with it?"

"It's called the Dragon-Transforming Pill. It nourishes the foundation and solidifies the origin, accelerating the accumulation of blood and vital energy. It can shorten the shape-training time and increase the probability of a wandering soul being born," Jie Jia said indifferently.

It was good stuff then, so why...

"There is a trace of Zhaodian Red in the medicine. It contains vitality and is the primary ingredient for accelerating shape-training."

"Once you consume Zhaodian Red, it pollutes your essence, qi, and spirit, making your armored soul impure and mottled."

"If your armored soul is impure, you will never be able to open the Heavenly Gate."

"There are similar pills in the martial world, such as the Marrow-Draining Pill and the Yellow Sprout Pill. The Crimson Robe Pavilion sells them. Do you want some?"

Chen Mu immediately shook his head.

Knowing there were hidden dangers, he would never recklessly eat such things.

However, *opening the Heavenly Gate*? What was that?

"You won't be too late to find out after you turn one hundred," Jie Jia said indifferently.

Was that a cultivation realm beyond the armored soul? Chen Mu was deep in thought.

"Are there any drugs in the martial world that have no pollution and can still accelerate soul-nurturing?" Chen Mu was unwilling to give up.

"Do you know who distributes things like the Dragon-Transforming Pill and the Marrow-Draining Pill?" Jie Jia asked instead of answering.

"Noble families?" Chen Mu frowned and made a tentative guess.

Jie Jia nodded calmly.

"Isn't that poisoning the martial world?!" Chen Mu's heart suffered a violent shock.

Using pills that brought quick success yet carried endless future troubles not only drove martial artists to risk their lives for them, but also locked down the upper limit of their potential!

"Just a little trick to secure their own status," Jie Jia said flatly.

Chen Mu once again felt the cruelty of this world.

Developing a secret soul-nurturing medicine took time and effort.

Yet, as long as people were willing to spend money and risk their lives, they could obtain Marrow-Draining Pills and Yellow Sprout Pills from the noble families.

Without knowing the hidden dangers, who would bother to research soul-nurturing recipes?

Even knowing the hidden dangers, who could resist the temptation of soul-nurturing?

Over time, bad money drove out good money. All harmless secret medicines became concentrated in the hands of the noble families. The path of upward mobility for wandering martial artists was systematically severed.

Chen Mu sighed. "Truly ruthless."

Fortunately, he had asked Jie Jia.

Otherwise, if he had blindly bought pills to accelerate his cultivation, wouldn't he have stepped straight into a massive trap laid by the noble families?

Yet without secret medicines to speed things up, when on earth would this armored soul ever reach completion? Chen Mu's mood soured.

...

After a while, Chen Mu adjusted his mindset. Looking at Jie Jia, who was still rolling his silver bead, he couldn't help but sigh. As expected of an armored soul bigwig, he was truly well-informed.

Remembering that he still had an unidentified stone, he immediately got up, returned to his room, and brought it out. "Do you recognize this stone?"

"Ebony?" Jie Jia didn't even raise his eyelids, picking it up to observe closely. "Pity it's not the heartwood. No wonder..."

"Good stuff?" Chen Mu's heart leaped with joy, but then he realized something and looked at it in utter astonishment. "This thing is wood?"

Regardless of its rough exterior or its weight and texture, it looked like a grayish stone no matter how one squinted at it. To think it was actually wood. Amazing!

"A type of tree that only sprouts and grows in volcanic craters."

"Legend has it that mature ebony reaches up to the heavens and down to the earth, drinking magma below and bathing in lightning above. Hundreds of clans live on a single tree."

"You believe that?" Chen Mu cast a sideways glance.

Jie Jia stared at the ebony and shrugged. "Legends, after all..."

Chen Mu curled his lips in scorn. Were there ever legends that weren't exaggerated? "What is its use?"

"Forging weapons," Jie Jia said, setting the ebony down.

"Aren't they afraid of fire?" Chen Mu was puzzled.

"It grew up eating magma," Jie Jia said indifferently.

"Wasn't that a legend?" Chen Mu was surprised.

Jie Jia didn't offer any further explanation.

Chen Mu looked suspicious. This old man never explained things clearly. Drinking magma and bathing in lightning—did such trees actually exist in this world?

"Do you want to forge a weapon?"

Chen Mu snapped back to his senses. "Of course!"

He had long wanted to forge two new short swords.

The power of the sword-in-the-sleeve was growing stronger, and his previous two short swords could no longer withstand a full-strength burst.

When he forcibly broke Lin Que's short saber last time, the sword-in-the-sleeve had already sustained damage.

Since he had acquired ebony, a sword-casting material capable of moving even Jie Jia, he naturally had to re-forge a pair of new swords.

"I still have several fine-looking swords and sabers in my possession. I can melt them down as materials."

Those items had all been taken from the White Tiger Hall's warehouse, originally intended to be sold for money.

"Having this is enough," Jie Jia pointed at the ebony.

Then he cast another glance at Chen Mu. "It's best not to bring out anything bearing the White Tiger Hall's mark."

"What White Tiger Hall?" Chen Mu looked bewildered.

Still refusing to admit it?

Jie Jia curled his lips and shook his head. "The Astonishing Hong Sect has issued a bounty: anyone who can provide clues to Lin Que's death gets ten thousand taels; finding the killer is worth twenty thousand; a human head, fifty thousand."

"I'm not a bounty hunter. Why are you telling me this?" Chen Mu frowned, looking completely baffled.

"Wasn't it your doing?" Jie Jia rolled his eyes and glanced at Chen Mu.

"Old Jie, we've known each other for so long. Am I really that kind of despicable person in your eyes?" Chen Mu's eyes carried a hint of disappointment, and then he emphasized with utmost sincerity, "I am merely a law-abiding little scholar. How could I possibly be mixed up in such a heinous murder case?!"

"Your misunderstandings of me run far too deep." Chen Mu exuded an air of utter desolation from head to toe.

Jie Jia's skin twitched. This shameless demeanor was truly as consistent as ever.