My experience of grinding in another world

Chapter 552 Testing
Heavy snow fell, covering Qiluo Mountain in a silvery white, marking the arrival of another harsh winter in Luandu County.

In the east courtyard of the City God Temple, Chen Mu stood happily under the long corridor at the entrance, his hands tucked into his sleeves, watching the snowflakes.

"Old Li, come here, tell me about the Dragon Locking Academy." He looked at Li Buxian with a smile and familiarity.

Who are you following, Lao Li?
We're not that close!
Li Buxian rolled his eyes in annoyance.

He was unwilling to tell this bastard in front of him, but he couldn't do anything about this fellow member of the Heavenly Demon Path.

He has been experimenting with this over the past few days. Whenever he has any thoughts that are detrimental to the other person, he immediately does a split in mid-air, which makes his inner thighs hurt.

Li Buxian couldn't help but sigh, fearing there might be other powerful spells, but he dared not hide it and had no choice but to recount the methods of the Lock Dragon Academy.

"There are two methods for the Dragon Locking Academy to search for Qi Refiners: the Dragon Locking Well and the God Searching Disc."

"The City God's temple can make the livestock thrive and the crops abundant under its jurisdiction, mainly because it has the ability to regulate and distribute the earth's spiritual energy."

"Qi cultivators defy the heavens by imprisoning a large amount of earth spiritual energy within their bodies, which clashes with the power of the Daoist temple."

"The City God's temple is unable to regulate this part of the primordial energy, so it is stirred in the opposite direction, causing fluctuations in the Dragon Locking Well, which roughly reveals the whereabouts of the Qi cultivator."

Chen Mu looked up at the dense, invisible lines of the City God's altar and nodded.

A Qi cultivator absorbs a large amount of earth spiritual energy and transforms it into magical power, resembling a large white jade coin. When this energy appears within the power of the Daoist temple, it's like throwing a pebble into water; it will naturally cause ripples and be detected by the power of the Daoist temple.

"The Dragon Locking Academy's God-Searching Compass has a similar effect. It is said that it can borrow some of the power of living gods, making it more sensitive and able to search a wider and farther range."

Borrowing the power of living gods?
Is it infused with some kind of occult magic?

If only I could get my hands on one and study it...

Chen Mu couldn't help but look at Li Buxian.

“Don’t look at me. The Searching God Disc is the core magic weapon of the Locking Dragon Academy. I’m just an outside henchman. I can’t help you get your hands on it.” Li Buxian immediately shook his head.

"What a pity," Chen Mu said with a regretful expression.

According to Li Buxian, the Dragon Locking Well and the God Searching Disc were probably used to investigate fluctuations in the earth's spiritual energy.

The Absolute Breath Divine Power can cover the entire body with an invisible film, temporarily concealing the fluctuations of one's own Qi, thus allowing one to evade detection by both parties.

"It's a pity that Sun Ke spread the word about the Extinction Stone before, and we don't know if the Locking Dragon Academy has developed a countermeasure."

The Flying Horse Camp at Ganzi Mountain has already built Tiandu Pool and is preparing to recruit soldiers in the surrounding four counties. He plans to infiltrate them to cultivate the Underworld God Transformation.

It is said that there are people from the Lock Dragon Academy stationed in the barracks. If the identity of the Qi Refiner is not well concealed, it will bring great trouble to this trip.

"Whether the Breath-Severing Divine Power is reliable or not, it's best to test it out personally." Chen Mu narrowed his eyes.

……

Several days later, early in the morning, on a small hill on the outskirts of Ganzishan.

On the neatly leveled mountaintop, more than thirty people were busy building a courtyard.

Raising roof beams, laying blue tiles, repairing courtyard walls, cutting down trees to make doors and windows—the entire mountaintop was chaotic yet orderly, bustling with activity.

After nearly a month of busy work, the construction of the Suolongyuan branch has been mostly completed, and it will be fully completed in seven or eight days at most.

At the edge, Chen Mu, who had changed his appearance using the Transformation Technique to become a dull young man in his twenties, was skillfully building a wall while keeping an eye on more than a dozen people not far away out of the corner of his eye.

These people were dressed in black uniforms with gold cloud patterns on the cuffs. They all came from the Lock Dragon Academy, and Yuan Dong and his two siblings were among them.

Some were tall and strong, clearly martial artists who had practiced the Underworld God Transformation. Others were pale and looked frail, but their eyes were exceptionally bright, as if they could shine.

Chen Mu had been here for two days and often lingered in front of these dozen or so people, yet no one discovered that he was a Qi Refiner.

"Yes!"

“The number of Extinction Stones that Sun Ke distributed was limited, and they only appeared in a few counties around Luandu County. Compared to the entire Daqian, the impact was limited.”

"I'm afraid the Dragon Locking Academy doesn't have the energy or enough samples to develop a targeted solution."

"Hmm... just to be on the safe side, we should stay a few more days."

Chen Mu silently withdrew his gaze and obediently began stacking the blue bricks.

He is currently playing a young bricklayer named Zhong Han, an outsider who is taciturn and rarely interacts with others. He was specially chosen for the role.

After knocking the other person unconscious and throwing them into the Thousand Lanterns City Cave, Chen Mu easily completed the replacement, and two days passed without anyone noticing.

"This kind of reclusive person is perfect for me to impersonate. Few people talk to me, so I'm less likely to give myself away," Chen Mu thought smugly.

Just as he was busy, a short, stout man in a gray shirt walked up to him and said, "Zhong Han, go with Lord Xie. There are two antler sheep and some melons and fruits to carry up the mountain."

"Me again?" Chen Mu looked troubled. "If you don't go, do you expect me to go?" the short, fat foreman retorted forcefully.

Zhong Han was from out of town and had a soft nature, so the foreman would assign him some of the dirty and hard work.

For example, helping the people at Suolongyuan move vegetables, grains, and other supplies would interfere with his current work and wouldn't earn him extra pay. Others didn't want to do it, so it was passed on to Zhong Han.

"Alright then." Chen Mu nodded helplessly, his expression not good, but he was quite happy inside.

He was eager to get close to the people from the Dragon Locking Academy and test their methods of detecting Qi Refiners.

He immediately walked to the base of the east wall, picked up two large wicker baskets with a carrying pole, and followed a tall, thin middle-aged man in black down the mountain.

Neither of them spoke, and they walked silently to the mountainside.

Curious whether the other person had noticed anything unusual about him, Chen Mu kept his face forward, but his eyes secretly turned to carefully observe the middle-aged man in front of him.

Then he saw a pair of equally slanted eyes staring intently at him.

Chen Mu: “…”

No way, are these guys from the Dragon Locking Academy crazy?!

Why is he looking at people with his eyes askance?
Just as Chen Mu was thinking about how to get through this, a sound as soft as a mosquito buzzing in his ear.

"Not recognizing the profound mystery leads to utter confusion."

What does that mean? Is it a code word?
Could it be that the Zhong Han I chose is actually a secret agent?
Meeting the other person's increasingly sharp gaze, Chen Mu swallowed hard and tentatively asked, "Who knows if lotuses can be planted in fire?"

This line is from a Taoist poem, widely circulated, and he had seen it when he was in the borderlands. The first two lines of the poem are: "Without knowing the mystery of the upside-down world, how can one know that lotuses can be planted in fire?"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man's eyes widened suddenly, and he leaped more than ten meters to the side: "You're not Zhong Han!"

I knew it wouldn't work.

Chen Mu's lips twitched.

What kind of crazy luck is this? I randomly picked someone and they turned out to be a spy.

That's true. Zhong Han is taciturn and withdrawn. If this isn't his true nature, then he's just like any other secret agent.

"How dare you impersonate a member of the Xie family! You must not be allowed to live!" The tall, thin middle-aged man gave a sinister smile, his figure vanishing like smoke, and reappearing behind Chen Mu in the blink of an eye.

Chen Mu's expression remained unchanged. With a slight thought, a strange force suddenly appeared around him.

The air can be contained for a hundred miles!

hum!
Like a sea fish frozen in ice, the tall, thin middle-aged man was instantly frozen in mid-air, with only his eyeballs able to move.

boom!
With a muffled thud, the tall, thin middle-aged man suddenly flipped over and landed on the ground, like a large character being slammed into the ground.

Chen Mu turned around, squatted down, and with a smile, went up and delivered a follow-up punch, knocking the other person unconscious.

Immediately, a shimmering, fluorescent demonic seed appeared at his fingertip.

……

“I belong to the 29th branch of the Lock Dragon Institute. My name is Xie Ji. I am a retainer of the Xie family, the Marquis of Zhenhai. I was placed in the Lock Dragon Institute in my early years.”

"The prefecture received news that the incense offerings in Luandu County had undergone a strange change, so they asked me to join the local Suolong Academy branch to pave the way for possible future plans."

“Zhong Han is the contact person arranged for me by the Xie family, responsible for relaying information between me and the manor.” Zhong Ji stood respectfully in front of Chen Mu.

Chen Mu stared at Zhong Ji with a strange look in his eyes.

The Xie family?

"You know Xie An?"

"I know him. He and I were both study companions of the eldest son, and we received training from the Xie family together since childhood."

Because Xie An came to Luandu County, which led to the appearance of the reclusive spy Zhong Han, and in the end, he ended up in my hands.
Tsk!
You two unfortunate brothers are truly destined for each other, a tragic fate!
"The Dragon Locking Academy has always relied on the God-Searching Disc to search for Qi Refiners. As far as I know, no other new methods have emerged yet," Xie Ji continued.

Upon hearing this, Chen Mu smiled with satisfaction.

Now that's good, there's no need to worry about being discovered by the Dragon Locking Academy. I can join the Pegasus Camp for training with peace of mind.

"By the way, what's your real code?" Chen Mu asked curiously.

“It is ‘I do not understand the mystery of the universe, but my fate is in my own hands, not in the hands of Heaven.’” Zhong Ji clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"The first and last lines of a poem are connected?" Chen Mu immediately understood.

(End of this chapter)