Several days later, inside Chen Mu’s bamboo building.

"Xiaozhuan?" Chen Mu raised an eyebrow as he looked at the brown scroll in his hand.

He had previously thought that the ghostly inscriptions were some sort of coded cipher, but it turned out to be a unique type of script.

Having been in Yunzhou for so long, he had never heard of Xiaozhuan.

Chen Mu’s gaze turned to the gray wall with experience recorded on it.

Writing: 12/10000/Third Rank;

These past few days, he hadn’t practiced elixir-making, instead holing up in his bamboo building, single-mindedly brushing up on his writing skills.

Once his writing reached the Third Rank, he would naturally comprehend the meaning contained within Xiaozhuan.

Unscrolling the scroll, Chen Mu stared intently at the dense Xiaozhuan characters, examining them one by one.

After looking at them for a while, those line-outlined characters seemed to slowly wriggle, almost as if coming to life.

Suddenly, a pattern emerged in his mind out of nowhere.

On a sheer cliff, the wind howled fiercely.

A plant about the height of a palm, with several purple-red berries the size of soybeans at its tip, swayed in the wind.

Looking at those little fruits, an epiphany arose in Chen Mu’s heart.

This thing is called Coix Seed Peach, a type of berry with a special fragrance that can repel toxic insects.

Extensive information, including the appearance, growing environment, and cultivation methods of the Coix Seed Peach, continuously flooded into his mind.

Chen Mu continued to focus on the Xiaozhuan text.

Next to the mountain peak image of Coix Seed in his mind, a silver silken star sphere the size of a fist slowly appeared.

That was actually the essence of the most exquisite part of the Coix Seed Peach, the talisman pattern of the Coix Seed Essence!

A shock went through Chen Mu’s heart.

This Xiaozhuan could not only record both visual and auditory information simultaneously but could also be used to describe talismans?!

What a score!

Chen Mu gleefully continued to examine it.

After a good while, he stared at the last column of the scroll, the signature.

"Pill Cauldron Sect? Ge Yuan?"

He hadn’t heard of it.

But it was definitely not ordinary!

"Perhaps it’s also a great sect famous in several provinces."

Just like the Thousand Mechanisms Sect that manufactured Ling Boats and Cloud Bat Flying Boats. Even if not in Yunzhou, it was still closely related to all industries within Yunzhou.

...

Chen Mu gathered his thoughts and quickly perused the Little Annotations on Herbs.

It contained records of a hundred and eight types of spiritual medicines and spirit stones, from the simplest appearance and form to the structure of essence talismans; the content was detailed and clear.

Chen Mu also saw the Yellow Bud Rice and the talisman for the Essence of the Five Grains.

Although Xiaozhuan could not form temporary talismans directly in the Jade Seed like the Secret Technique Jade Scroll and speed up talisman refinement, it displayed the key points of talismans clearly.

With continuous contemplation and practice, any talisman of the essence of spiritual medicines could be self-learned and refined.

"That Vice Director of the Administrative Affairs Institute must not know about Xiaozhuan," Chen Mu mused.

Over a hundred essence talisman designs!

This one scroll, not much thicker than an arm, is worth ten times more than ten Fasting Pill refinement jade slips!

"I thought I had bought some cheap goods, but who would have thought they’d be so precious."

"Huge profit! Haha!"

...

Half a month later.

In the Administrative Affairs Institute of Mist Smoke Mountain.

Chen Mu handed over the Fasting Pills, chuckling as he received his Identity Jade.

By now, the Daoist Cultivation within the Identity Jade had exceeded six thousand.

This was still the result of him restraining his speed of alchemy; otherwise, it might have already broken ten thousand!

"This trip to Mist Smoke Mountain hasn’t been in vain."

"Not only was there no danger, but I also made a fortune!"

"Junior Brother, how come you haven’t visited my small Daoist discussion gatherings recently? Several fellow Daoists have really been missing you," Sun Wuhuan said with a chuckle.

Are you missing my Daoist Cultivation, perhaps?!

"I have been busy with alchemy," Chen Mu sighed helplessly.

"Mist Smoke Mountain is damp, and the warehouses’ spells are not yet perfected. The stash of Yellow Bud Rice is at risk of mold and rot at any moment."

"I had to leave in a hurry last time. If it weren’t for the urgent task, I would have insisted on exploring further," Chen Mu said with a look of difficulty.

Yeah, keep that story for the ghosts.

Do I, the Vice Director, not know whether the warehouse spells are perfected? This guy simply doesn’t want to spend any Daoist Cultivation!

"Recently, at our little gathering, we got a batch of Malaria Expelling Pills that are unique to East Ridge. They can purify miasma and repel toxic insects."

"Traveling inside East Ridge Mountain, you can’t do without this."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mu’s face showed interest: "Once I finish refining the Yellow Bud Rice in the warehouse, I will definitely come to see!"

Sun Wuhuan secretly rolled his eyes.

Finish? With that big stash of Yellow Bud Rice, it would take three to four months to refine it all. By then, who knows if there will be any Daoist discussion left.

Another tightwad!

Well, it’s not like he’s the only one taken for a fool.

Sun Wuhuan couldn’t help but think, his face breaking into a broad smile as he clasped his hands together, "You know the location, you’re welcome to visit anytime, Junior Brother."

Visit? To let you slaughter me? No way will I go!

While thinking this, Chen Mu nevertheless pretended to be earnest as he stated, "When I have some spare time, I’ll be sure to bother you!"

...

To the north of Mist Smoke Mountain lay a cliff that seemed to be cleaved by axes, almost vertical in its incline.

At night, the silvery moonlight cascaded down, and mists shrouded the cliff’s surroundings, making it look like a scene from a fairyland.

Hiss!

A light noise sounded as a wisp of black smoke abruptly jetted out from the middle of the cliff.

The black smoke, like a flame cutter, glided evenly across the cliff face, swiftly carving out an arch-shaped doorway tall enough for a person to pass through.

The next moment, the rock within the arch vanished abruptly, and a pitch-black opening appeared.

Chen Mu stood at the entrance of the cave, peering upwards.

A faint light shone from the distant west.

That was the peak of Mist Smoke Mountain, where the Yanxia Sect’s Cloud Summit Palace was located, a great distance from his current position.

"The underground Yin River is off-limits, but the secret passage still needs to be dug."

Fortunately, he had explored the underground environment more than once before; discarding the underground Yin River, he quickly came up with a new plan.

With the passive Truthful Listening Technique to correct his orientation, he quickly dug through the earthen tunnel.

"If I can’t travel underground, then I’ll rely on the Great Escape Technique to fly."

Looking at the secret passage exit moving away from the top of Mist Smoke Mountain, Chen Mu felt quite satisfied.

He stepped back as the purposely left behind door-shaped large rock emerged, sealing the passage outlet seamlessly.

Even if one looked closely, it might not be noticeable.

...

In the underground secret chamber, lying comfortably on a soft couch within a bolster, was Chen Mu.

He held a bamboo tube filled with iced tea, slurping it intermittently with a straw made from pearl rice, all while staring at the gray wall in front of him.

Writing: 87/10000/Third Rank;

Painting: 5967/10000/Second Rank;

Culinary Arts: 9440/10000/Fifth Rank;

Pharmaceutical Technique: 7817/10000/Fifth Rank;

Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Curse: 2256/10000/Ninth Rank;

Shapeshifting Technique: 8997/10000/Fourth Rank;

Planting: 6933/10000/Third Rank;

United Heart Curse: 9117/10000/Ninth Rank;

Fire Cloud Curse: 3236/10000/Third Rank;

Manipulation: 4286/10000/Second Rank;

Truthful Listening Technique: 3336/10000/Sixth Rank;

Five Elements Qi Absorption Technique: 8988/10000/Third Rank;

Five Qi Primordial Technique: 866/10000/Third Rank;

His ability in writing had just broken through; it wouldn’t change in the short term.

Instead, thanks to "Ge Family’s Compendium on a Hundred Herbs", his Pharmaceutical Technique had made significant progress recently.

Also, with continuous alchemy efforts, the Five Qi Primordial Technique successfully advanced to Third Rank.

Culinary Arts, Shapeshifting Technique, United Heart Curse, and Five Elements Qi Absorption Technique—these four skills were unconsciously nearing their final breakthrough phase. Find adventures on empire

"No rush, there’s no need to grind these out separately."

"It’s quite good to progress slowly as things fall into place."

"On the other hand, due to alchemy, the Fire Cloud Curse has been shelved once again."

"Now that alchemy is on the right track and the secret passage has been dug through, I can properly allocate more time to it."

...

The plaza halfway up Mist Smoke Mountain.

Inside a two-story building, Sun Wuhuan’s discussion gathering was in full swing.

Thirty to forty people milled about the room, standing by various long tables and conversing in low voices.

Sun Wuhuan’s face was all smiles.

Among them were over a dozen sellers, all impersonators he had hired.

They were exchanging the spoils he had secretly purchased recently in exchange for valuable Daoist cultivation tools at high prices.

After numerous gatherings over the months, he had already made a tidy profit.

"Director, those two alchemist apprentices have agreed," a gaunt man with a face full of pock-marks approached Sun Wuhuan and said.

"Starting today, when they draw the essence of the five grains, they will adjust and refine according to the talisman you provided."

Sun Wuhuan’s smile grew even brighter.

"If the essence of the five grains is incorrect, the Fasting Pills will be problematic."

"That little alchemist is now in big trouble!" the pock-marked man sniggered with glee.

"Well, I can’t be blamed for that," Sun Wuhuan chuckled lightly, "I didn’t sell fakes. It would have been much better to spend a little money honestly to buy peace."

"If the Fasting Pills are problematic, then it’s not just a small amount of money at stake."

Ha...

That’s six or seven thousand Daoist cultivation points.

I really can’t afford to go easy on them.

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