My experience of grinding in another world

Chapter 296 Secret Method
At the very front of the ship, where the transparent light curtain is located.

Having spent more than three years on Chicken Coop Road, he now knows that the glass-like thing in front of him is called Qiongyu.

It is a man-made material for crafting tools. It is tough, pressure-resistant, and not afraid of being dropped. Its most common application is in fluorescent algae lamps.

However, it's not quite enough to withstand the immense water pressure here.

"A wondrous magical rune." Chen Mu looked at the intricate black pattern around the edge of the curtain wall, which resembled lace.

Secret arts and weapon crafting are all closely related to these special symbols.

Before long, he was drawn to the enormous creature in the distance.

"The Heavenly River Water Palace is so big?" Chen Mu was shocked.

The entire water palace looks like half a salted duck egg lying on the bottom of the water.

The surface has regular concentric rings of bright spots.

From a distance, it looks like a majestic mountain.

What was originally a large enough boat in his eyes looked like a ping-pong ball under a basketball hoop in front of the Water Palace.

"You would never guess," Shang Huan said with a grin as she leaned closer to Chen Mu. "The entire water palace is actually the remains of the Golden Pearl Clam Demon."

Chen Mu's pupils immediately contracted.

Was this enormous creature once a living monster?!

If you encounter a living one, it's likely that the other party could blow you away or scatter you with just a breath!

"The Heavenly River's Twenty-One Water Palaces—and it's said that this isn't even the largest," Shang Huan remarked.

"There are twenty-one more of these water palaces?" Chen Mu asked incredulously.

The twenty-one water palaces represent the twenty-one enormous monster corpses.

Was it a natural death, or was it hunted?!
If it were to be hunted down, what kind of master would hunt down such a powerful demon?!
"Not only that, it is said that there were seventy-two in ancient times, built by true dragons and under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly River Dragon Palace. Unfortunately, as time passed, the Dragon Palace disappeared without a trace, and only twenty-one water palaces remained. The legends have become just that, legends."

Dragon Palace? True Dragon? Seventy-two Water Palaces?
Chen Mu was speechless for a moment.

……

"The Water Mansion is wonderful, but living here is not easy at all," Shang Huan sighed, squinting her small eyes.

High consumption?
No worries. I'm a rich man with 30,000 pieces of white jade in my pocket!
Chen Mu remained calm.

However, the fat man's sudden sigh seemed a bit off.

"It's said to be just the most basic lodging. It costs four white jade coins a month."

"Although we have arrived at the Water Palace, it is clear that the Lower Temple will not be able to continue to give us money."

"We need to start thinking about how to make money early," Shang Huan said earnestly.

Chen Mu glanced at the fat man but didn't say anything.

Please continue your performance.

“I know I made a lot of money by selling insect repellent incense before.”

"But sitting around and living off our savings is not a solution."

"And don't you want to go to the Daoist temple to cultivate? The Tianhe Water Mansion Daoist Temple is said to be comparable to the best earth vein spiritual spring in the Chicken Coop Dao."

"You have to make money!"

"So what?" Chen Mu glanced sideways at Shang Huan.

"Hehe! I'm planning to open a tavern." Shang Huan winked.

"With Senior Brother Mo as a shareholder, and Young Supervisor Liang as a backer, plus your culinary skills that rival those of the top chefs at Bazhenlou, as long as I lower the price to half that of Bazhenlou, this business is guaranteed to be profitable."

"You can easily earn fifty or sixty white jade coins a month."

"I've already thought of a name, it'll be Xiao Bazhen!"

"I've also decided on the location. It'll be just two streets away from Bazhenlou. Not too close, so it won't attract Bazhenlou's attention; not too far, so it can benefit from Bazhenlou's reputation."

"What do you think?!"

I think you're fucking courting death!
"Not very good," Chen Mu said indifferently.

This fat guy always likes to take risks when it comes to making money.

"I'll add more money!" Shang Huan said calmly, "Double the amount!"

"I wouldn't do it even if you offered me more money." Chen Mu didn't even look at the other person.

"Why?" Shang Huan asked, puzzled.

"I'm afraid the people from Bazhenlou will throw me into the Tongtian River and drown me."

Naming it "Little Eight Treasures" and trying to piggyback on the fame of the Eight Treasures Restaurant—it's like it's asking for trouble!

The fact that Bazhenlou became famous throughout the Water Mansion and stood firm for so many years shows that there must have been a mastermind behind it!

It's quite possible that Bazhenlou is actually part of Tianhe Shuifu's property.

Chen Mu ignored the fat man and headed straight for the exit.

This is my first time visiting Tianhe Water Mansion, I really need to take a good look around. ...

The next day, Chen Mu woke up from his sleep.

After more than a year of living a life of hardship and sleeping outdoors, he had never slept so comfortably.

I threw back the soft blanket and walked to the window.

Pulling back the curtains and looking out through the huge round window, a series of massive buildings, each over a hundred meters tall, came into view.

The yellowish-white buildings are mostly cylindrical, with windows made of jade densely inlaid on them.

If it weren't for the white-glowing ceiling connecting the top of the building, Chen Mu would have almost thought he had woken up back in the city of his previous life.

Looking into the distance, it stretches as far as the eye can see.

"This is an underwater city."

Despite being shocked yesterday.

But looking at it today, it still feels unbelievable.

The cylindrical buildings that connect heaven and earth are arranged in a roughly arc shape from east to west, with a total of six rows.

Together with the other low-rise buildings beneath the tall buildings, they form six ring-shaped areas.

With the addition of the Tianhe Dojo at the northernmost point, the entire Tianhe Water Palace is divided into seven districts.

He was currently staying at No. 9 Tongtianlou in the outermost Gengzi District, in a three-story wooden inn next to it.

"The accommodation fee is four white jades per month."

"Supervisor Song only advanced the payment for one month; after that, everyone has to find their own way."

"It's easy for disciples at the Spiritual Light Breaking Illusion Realm, but it's much harder for ordinary lower-level disciples below the Jade Seed Realm."

"This is forcing them to find other ways out."

"It seems that the situation in Jilong Road won't be resolved in the short term," Chen Mu frowned.

"I'd better think about how to save money." Chen Mu shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

If things don't change drastically, he still wants to wait a little longer.

Staying in Chicken Coop Road will allow you to better acquire secret techniques.

……

In the evening, Chen Mu left the inn lobby and returned to his room.

He spent the whole day in the hall drinking tea, listening to storytellers, and eavesdropping for news.

It was his first time visiting the Heavenly River Water Mansion, and he knew nothing about it, so he dared not wander around recklessly.

After dinner, I was just about to continue practicing the Listening Technique when a visitor arrived.

"Junior Brother Chen, this is a secret jade tablet that Supervisor Song asked me to give to you." Mo Wuzhou handed Chen Mu a wooden box about the width of a palm and the length of a forearm without any expression.

Chen Mu's eyes lit up.

"Finally here!"

Having been away from the mountains for so many days, he thought Song Wuji was going to renege on his debt!

"Inside are the basic Five Elements Qi Absorption Method and the Five Elements Qi Mixture Method, which can be used to refine Bigu Pills," Mo Wuzhou explained.

Chen Mu's face immediately lit up with joy.

Supervisor Song is indeed a man of great taste!

He had fantasized many times about what secret technique Song Wuji would give him.

The only thing I never expected was alchemy.

Bigu pills, ah.

This thing has a deep connection with him.

"Junior brother is really lucky." Mo Wuzhou's face was expressionless, but his tone was full of envy.

He apprenticed under a master who knew alchemy. However, he only learned half of the method for making the Bigu Dan (a type of fasting elixir).

On the contrary, Chen Mu, who had not taken a master, was the first to obtain the complete method for refining the Bigu Pill from Supervisor Song.

However, this secret technique, though excellent, is not easy to master.

Even with a master's guidance, he could only use the Five Elements Qi Absorption Method to refine the essence of the five grains.

Seeing the joy on Chen Mu's face, Mo Wuzhou finally couldn't help but say, "Junior Brother, it's best not to try things blindly."

"The secret methods of alchemy are quite difficult. Reckless practice will only waste energy and money."

"Thank you, senior brother." Chen Mu bowed and expressed his gratitude.

We have cheat codes, no worries! Haha!

(End of this chapter)