My experience of grinding in another world

Chapter 328 God’s Will
Several days later, deep within the Yanxia Sect's warehouse.

A large pile of yellow rice was casually piled up on the ground, forming small hills five or six meters high.

In a corner, Zhang Lang and Li Huan, two alchemy apprentices in their forties, sat resting on bamboo chairs.

"Brother Zhang, are you really going to do this?" Li Huan asked nervously, holding a wooden box.

"Now that things have come to this, do you still want to back down?" Zhang Lang frowned.

“But if something happens to Senior Brother Chen, we…” Li Huan still hesitated.

"It's all his fault for not knowing what's good for him!" Zhang Lang said angrily, "How dare he refuse Vice Minister Sun's offer to recruit him!"

Seeing Li Huan hesitate, Zhang Lang sighed, "We're just two alchemy apprentices, caught in the middle, what can we do?!"

"You can't afford to offend Senior Brother Chen, but you dare to offend Vice Commander Sun?"

"Compared to Chen Mu, who is alone and isolated, it is obviously more worthwhile to follow Vice Commander Sun."

"Alas... what an unexpected disaster!" Li Huan sighed dejectedly.

A hint of a smile flashed in Zhang Lang's eyes.

"do not be afraid."

"This is not the first time we have delivered the essence of the five grains."

“In the past, Chen Mu would only check the weight of the essence of the five grains, without examining it carefully.”

He opened the brown wooden box on the low table beside him, inside which were neatly arranged small wooden boxes, each about the size of a palm and the depth of a fist.

He took out a small wooden box, opened it, and showed it to Li Huan.

“I’ve also laid down the normal essence on the upper layer, so I’m not afraid of his inspection at all.”

Seeing that Li Huan remained silent, Zhang Lang put away the wooden box and said calmly, "We've already accepted your Daoist cultivation, do you still want to take it back?"

"Let's do it!" Li Huan gritted his teeth, picked up the wooden box from the low table next to him, and left first.

……

Near the entrance of the Yanxia Sect warehouse, there is a cave about the size of two bedrooms, shaped like half an egg cut lengthwise.

Its cave walls are smooth and flat, as if they were cast in one piece.

At the base of the wall, every two or three steps, there is a potted shrub with round leaves that reaches waist height.

Its branches are covered with orange-yellow berries the size of quail eggs.

At this moment, the berries are radiating a warm glow, illuminating the entire cave.

Deep inside the cave, Chen Mu sat with his legs crossed on a soft couch.

With iced tea in his left hand and a leather scroll in his right, he slurped down the tea while pondering the notes on herbs.

If it weren't for the need to fake the fact that he was refining pills all night, he would have already gone back to his secret room to gain experience.

The warehouse is under reconstruction, and with so many people around, it's not a good place to practice secret techniques.

He had no choice but to look at the notes on herbs and brush up on his experience in medicine making.

Just then, as he was pondering the annotations on yellow sprout rice, he looked up and suddenly discovered that his planting skill had also gained experience!

"If that Vice-Prefect Sun knew the true value of the Hundred Herbs Notes, he'd be kicking himself, wouldn't he? Haha..."

Just as I was having a good time, I heard footsteps nearby.

Chen Mu immediately put away the scroll and bamboo tube, picked up the dark alchemy furnace from the low table, and pretended to clean and inspect it.

……

"Senior brother, this is today's portion of the essence of the five grains."

Zhang Lang tried hard to control his rapidly beating heart and stepped forward, carrying a brown wooden box in both hands.

Chen Mu took it and casually weighed it a couple of times, then raised an eyebrow: "It's three pounds more than yesterday. Thank you both for your hard work."

"Senior brother, you're too kind. It's our duty..." Zhang Lang hadn't finished his pleasantries.

Then they saw Chen Mu open the large wooden box, casually take out a small box, and pick up a pinch of the essence of grains with his index finger and thumb, examining it closely.

Zhang Lang felt as if his heart was about to jump into his throat, and he froze on the spot.

"Hmm, not bad." Chen Mu looked up with satisfaction and immediately saw Zhang and Li, who were trembling with fear.

A strange feeling of déjà vu washed over me.

Why does this remind me of a slacker from a past life waiting for the teacher to check their homework?
Ah……

"Alright, don't be nervous, the extraction went well," Chen Mu reassured him with a smile.

Zhang and Li immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

A cold sweat involuntarily seeped down my back.

"Senior brother is too kind." Zhang Lang bowed and thanked him. "If there are no further instructions, we will take our leave now."

"Go back," Chen Mu said with a smile, waving his hand.

No wonder these two were sent to Yanxia Mountain.

Among all the alchemy apprentices, his speed in refining the essence of the five grains was indeed among the top three.

Especially Zhang Lang.

If it weren't for Chen Mu's guidance, Bai Xiuwen wouldn't be able to compare to him.

……

Watching the two figures, who were trying to appear calm, quickly leave, Chen Mu couldn't help but feel helpless.

"Am I that scary?" Chen Mu asked Bai Xiuwen, who had just entered the alchemy room.

"They're probably afraid you'll ask them to recruit them," Bai Xiuwen said with a light laugh.

Chen Mu suddenly realized.

These two can be considered disciples of Qi Hui.

If he were to speak up and recruit them, the two would be in a difficult position.

Bai Xiuwen didn't say anything more, and handed Chen Mu a box of Five Grains Essence as well.

He changed the subject with a smile and said, "Senior brother, I've found out what you asked about. This alchemy room was built by a senior brother surnamed Liu from the Hall of Hundred Crafts."

"His secret technique is called 'Turning the Earth into Steel.' Wherever his magic covers, the earth can be hard or soft, and he is extremely good at creating holes and building walls."

Steel can be turned into iron from the ground?

Chen Mu's eyes lit up: "Do you know the corresponding secret technique for the Jade Seed stage?"

"Turning the earth into steel requires magical power from the outset, and there's no corresponding jade seed secret technique," Bai Xiuwen shook his head.

Unfortunately, Chen Mu had hoped to snag a freebie and save some merit points. He felt regretful.

"Senior brother, do you intend to carve out a cave dwelling?"

"Unfortunately, it seems that Senior Brother Liu was taken to the Poison Dragon Pool to help with the construction of the pavilion. He's been gone for almost a month now," Bai Xiuwen said regretfully.

He then asked in confusion, "But the Poison Dragon Pool is thirty miles south of Misty Mountain, and it is full of poisonous miasma and insects. I wonder what kind of palace they want to build there."

a month ago?
Chen Mu nodded but didn't say anything.

He thought of Liang Yi and Leng Yuechan.

If the ability to turn soil into steel is truly as Bai Xiuwen claims, then it would be feasible to use it for modifying underground river channels...

This is something I shouldn't overthink.

"Never mind, I was just asking out of curiosity, let's not talk about him."

"Tell me about the insect repellent pills."

He took it to heart ever since Sun Wuhuan mentioned the insect-repelling pill.

The Dongling Mountains are rife with poisonous miasma and insects, making Bai Zhang Dan (a traditional Chinese medicine for treating miasma) and Qu Chong Dan (another traditional Chinese medicine for treating insects) extremely important.

If he can master these two types of pills, his speed of accumulating Dao cultivation will definitely accelerate.

……

After a long while, having seen Bai Xiuwen off, Chen Mu tapped the armrest of the soft couch with his right index finger, his mind racing.

"If Bai Xiuwen's information is correct, the main ingredient of the insect-repelling pill must be Job's tears and peach."

With the "Ge's Notes on Herbs", extracting coixol essence is not a problem.

"Although there is no talisman for gathering pills, perhaps other means can be used to replace it." Chen Mu looked at the entry on the gray wall.

Pharmaceutical Skill: 7997/10000/Tier 5;

"No rush, let's see after I max out my medicine-making skill."

……

Late at night, Chen Mu pretended to be exhausted as he left the alchemy room and headed back to his residence.

As they walked, a pavilion appeared about four or five hundred meters away.

"This seems to be Zhang Lang's residence?"

Looking at the brightly lit interior, Chen Mu couldn't help but sigh.

"No wonder Zhang Lang is so proficient in the Five Elements Qi Absorption Technique."

"He's actually a very diligent person, just like me."

"Heaven rewards diligence!"

He turned to leave. He shouldn't disturb the efforts of a diligent person.

But when you look up at the sky, you'll find that the full moon is already high in the sky.

Staying up so late will deplete your vital energy!
Such a good helper, we can't let him ruin his future by being too diligent!
"I still lack experience," Chen Mu said with a smile, shaking his head. "I need to learn to balance work and rest."

Thinking of this, Chen Mu stepped forward, ready to share his experience of diligence and hard work with him.

But after taking only two steps, Chen Mu suddenly stopped, as he heard three breaths coming from his ears, which were activated by the Passive Listening Technique.

A guest has arrived? Chen Mu looked at the sky in surprise.

Forget it, I'd better not bother them.

Thinking this, Chen Mu turned and left.

……

"Don't worry, you two," the thin man with an orange-skinned face said with a reassuring smile.

“The Vice Minister told me that the tampered grain essence only had a few more impurities.”

"Not only will it not affect alchemy, it will also increase the yield of pills. It is also safe to consume normally."

"It only affects the storage time of the pills."

Zhang Lang and Li Huan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Half a month later, the pills became moldy and spoiled, with good and bad fasting pills mixed together."

"Everyone will just think that Chen Mu refined the pill poorly."

The orange-skinned man immediately let out a cold laugh.

"By then, no one can guarantee whether the pills he refined before are safe."

"Such a huge loss means not only that he has to return the Daoist merits and jade he previously obtained, but he also has to be forced to lose everything!"

"Excellent skills from the Imperial Academy!" Zhang Lang slapped his thigh, his face full of praise.

Outside the main building, Chen Mu, still somewhat worried about Zhang Lang's health, returned: "..."

I was even trying to advise you to maintain a regular schedule and take care of your health.

You bastard, you actually plotted against me behind my back?!

No wonder I ended up here without realizing it.

It must be God reminding me that there are villains causing trouble!

What does this mean?
This means that God wants me to act on behalf of Heaven!
"I don't want to do it?" Chen Mu sighed, his face full of difficulty.

pity……

It's hard to defy the will of Heaven!
(End of this chapter)