My experience of grinding in another world

Chapter 490 Living God

On the outskirts of Daqingshan, behind a small hill, more than a hundred ghostly spirits carrying knives and swords gathered in small groups.

"Listen up, everyone. We're here to collect tolls, not to fight anyone. No one is allowed to make a move without my order."

"If you act rashly and lose your life, don't blame me for not warning you beforehand," the fat, menacing leader shouted.

"What if those caravans don't pay?" someone in the crowd couldn't help but ask.

"You won't give it to me?!" Fatty Ridge's face twisted, and he swayed through the crowd with his big belly sticking out: "If you won't give it to me... fine, you don't want to rob me, do you? Are you out of your mind?"

He said nonchalantly, "When you get back to Qingshan City, just say that the other party ran too fast and you couldn't catch up."

"We're the Green Mountain Bandits, isn't this a bit cowardly..." someone muttered under their breath.

"Coward? Heh, you have to hand over everything you steal. You only make a few bucks a month, why are you risking your life?" The fat leader glanced sideways at the ghost who spoke.

On the other side of the hillside, Chen Mu, who had been hiding for a while, looked at him with a strange expression.

This bandit's way of thinking is rather peculiar...

This was the second day since he left the small valley.

Having decided to go to Qingyang City, he didn't delay any longer. He moved the entire thatched hut into Qiandeng City and set off that very day.

Following the directions given by the two spirits, one tall and one short, Chen Mu found the bandit stronghold. He had originally intended to capture a group of vicious robbers to interrogate them, but unexpectedly stumbled upon a band of lazy bums slacking off.

"I don't know if you guys are lucky or unlucky," Chen Mu said with a strange expression as he walked out from the other side of the hill.

"What are you doing!" the fat leader with a protruding belly asked fiercely.

"I collect tolls," Chen Mu replied with a smile.

Fat leader: "..."

Collecting tolls?

This is a joke on me!
"Grab your weapons!" His big, fat face immediately turned bright red.

Chen Mu couldn't help but sigh and shake his head.

"His mind is indeed quite unique, but unfortunately his eyesight isn't very good."

The Decree of Yama, the King of Hell!
Whoosh!
The group of spirits who had just stood up all raised their hands above their heads in unison.

Chen Mu smiled and raised his hand, sending tiny specks of fluorescent light flying into the crowd.

Heavenly Demon Spirit Seed!

……

"Qingyang City doesn't accept wandering ghosts?" Chen Mu frowned as he looked at Lu Tong, the fat leader with a fawning smile.

“I won’t accept it.” Lu Tong shook his head repeatedly: “Otherwise, I would have gone to Qingyang City to seek refuge long ago.”

"Life in the mountains is tough, unlike Qingyang City, where you can have everything you need for food, drink, and entertainment."

"They won't even accept newborn spirits?" Chen Mu was skeptical.

“We don’t accept those who come to us on their own; we only accept those with a guarantee,” Lu Tong explained. “There are more than a dozen garrison cities below Qingyang City. They are stationed along the Wangchuan River and are mainly responsible for collecting newly born Yin spirits. Only those with good talent are sent to Qingyang City.”

"If you are an ordinary newborn Yin spirit, you have to live in the small town below for more than ten years and obtain a local household registration before you are allowed to go to Qingyang City."

This is quite different from Jigu City.

Chen Mu frowned, and after a moment's thought, he understood.

According to Shen Laogui, although Jigu City has a history of several hundred years, it can only be considered a new city. The city lord is eager to increase his strength, which is why he does not refuse any newborn Yin spirits.

Qingyang City has existed for a long time and has no shortage of Yin Spirits. Having passed the initial expansion phase, it is qualified to select and choose, which is why it does not arbitrarily include newly born Yin Spirits.

This is a bit of a hassle.

Chen Mu scratched his head.

Should I spend a few years working in the garrison under the jurisdiction of Qingyang City?

It’s not impossible…

“Actually, there’s another way to get into Qingyang City.” Lu Tong’s small eyes darted around, his face full of shrewdness: “There are countless businesses in Qingyang City. If we can be invited by them to be our retainers and get their guarantees, we can get into Qingyang City.”

"Then why don't you go?" Chen Mu glanced at Lu Tong.

"The main problem is that the conditions are a bit harsh," Lu Tong chuckled. "First of all, you have to be strong enough, at least you have to be a ghost soldier. Also, you have to sign a secret contract, which might mean you have to sell your life to these merchants for decades." "I'm not strong enough, and I've already sold my life to Green Mountain City, so I can't go that way."

“But you’re different.” Lu Tong chuckled, winking. “You have this supernatural ability to control people. As long as you turn everyone in the business into your own people, the contract is just a piece of waste paper. You won’t have to risk your life for them.”

sure!
Chen Mu couldn't help but glance at him sideways.

This guy is really smart; in just a short while, he's already come up with a solution for himself.

Chen Mu couldn't help but think about it for a while, and the more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

He didn't intend to use the Heavenly Demon Spirit Seed to harm anyone; he just wanted to use the caravan as collateral to go to Qingyang City.

On the one hand, they could avoid the dangers of monsters in the wild, and on the other hand, they could use the well-informed people in Qingyang City to find out about Fengdu City and find a caravan to cooperate with.

As for the secret contract, with the Heavenly Demon Spirit Seed present, it's become one of our own, so even if we sign it, we're not afraid of being scammed.

It's done!

……

Outside Daqingshan Mountain.

The wide road was pitch black, yet surprisingly smooth and flat, as if it were made of molten glass.

Thirty or forty clusters of black clouds formed a long dragon, with wisps of dim yellow flames constantly rolling within the black mist, carrying tall, withered yellow wooden boxes that were four or five meters wide and more than ten meters long as they sped along.

The wooden crate on the lead flame-shaped cloud formation was only half the size of the others, but it had doors at the front and back and windows on both sides, and its surface was carved with exquisite patterns. It was more like a house than a cargo crate.

The interior is carpeted, furnished with desks, tall cabinets, wooden chairs, and round stools, and there are even two potted green plants in the corner.

There was a low couch by the window on the right, and a square wooden table in the middle. An old man and a young man were sitting on either side of the low table.

The elderly man with white hair and beard sat upright and said, "Young Master, the City Lord's Mansion wants us to provide another living god this month."

"Want more?" The young man in white, who was reclining on the cushions reading a book, couldn't help but sit up.

The young man in white frowned as he picked up the black teapot on the low table and filled the old man's teacup. "Since ten years ago, the City Lord's Mansion has had an increasing need for living gods."

"It used to be a campaign once a year, but now it has become a campaign once a month. It seems that the mortal world is not so peaceful after all."

The old man nodded: "That's only one aspect. The city lord probably also intends to use this to weaken the power of various factions."

The pale-faced young man smirked: "He's always afraid someone will take his place; he's just an old stubborn man."

“The city lord is indeed quite old.” The white-haired old man nodded. “He hasn’t been to the Outer Heavens for nearly a hundred years, so his strength is probably beyond improvement. Since he doesn’t want to give up the current situation, he naturally starts to play the game of balancing power.”

"Fortunately, it doesn't block everyone's path to advancement. As long as you have enough strength, you can build a city on your own, and the city lord will provide secret techniques and skills to help you."

“He’s not that kind-hearted.” The young man in white curled his lip. “He just sees this as a good business opportunity.”

"We allow him to build his own city and provide assistance, but only if he signs a harsh contract and offers him enough benefits. Otherwise, Shang Yang wouldn't have gone out to build Qingshan City on his own."

The white-haired old man shook his head slightly but did not refute it. Instead, he brought up the original topic: "Then what about this year's quota..."

The pale-faced young man shook his head: "We can't use our own people anymore."

"Over the years, we've sent many living gods to the mortal world, but how many of them have returned alive? We can't just send away the talents that our family has worked so hard to cultivate."

"Buy them in Qingshan City? They're not cheap there." The white-haired old man shook his head. "I know you're all reluctant to part with your ghost soldiers, but the price of ghost soldiers in Qingshan City has been rising year after year. That Ghost King Shang is determined to rip us off."

The young man in white couldn't help but grit his teeth: "Shang Yang is no pushover either."

Just as they were weighing the pros and cons, a commotion suddenly broke out at the front of the convoy.

Looking out the window, the two immediately saw over a hundred people, carrying knives and swords, rushing down the hillside not far away.

Behind the bandits, a figure trailed far behind. He was tall and thin, dressed in black, with a sharp, expressionless face and a faint silver vertical line between his brows, which added to his coldness. He stood out starkly from the rabble in front of him.

"That person... is a ghost soldier?" The white-robed youth was taken aback upon noticing the other party's imposing aura.

"It's highly likely that it has awakened the supernatural power of the Ghost Pattern." The white-haired old man squinted and examined it for a moment before nodding solemnly.

"Qingshan City can send out ghost soldiers just because it collects tolls? Are Shangyang's soldiers that wealthy?" the white-robed youth wondered.

"Judging from their clothing, they don't seem to be from Qingshan City," the white-haired old man shook his head.

"A wandering ghost... or even a ghostly soldier?" The young man in white couldn't help but smile. "Look, this free living god has arrived, haha..."

(End of this chapter)