My experience of grinding in another world

Chapter 569 Integration
The summit of Chongmei Mountain is broad and flat, covered with tall, lush trees of various colors. Occasionally, gray-tiled eaves peek out from among the trees, and courtyards and pavilions are hidden among the trees.

To the west is a three-courtyard building, which is the location of the Hundred Refinement Hall of Yun Chong's Lower Courtyard.

Chen Mu, disguised as Li Moliang, calmly walked into the east wing room, where a chubby figure was sitting behind a desk.

Chen Mu placed a palm-sized wooden box on the desk with both hands, then respectfully clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute: "Manager Huang, this is this month's water-repelling pearl. Please examine it."

"Brother Li, it's been a long time. You look much better. If we hadn't known each other for so long, I would have suspected that you were someone else in disguise." Huang Jian greeted him with a smile, pressing the box.

That fat yellow guy is incredibly sharp!

Chen Mu felt a chill run down his spine.

Although he had used the Transformation Technique to imitate Li Moliang's emaciated appearance, he was still perfectly healthy and full of energy, unlike Li Moliang who was weak and deficient in blood and qi. People who knew him well could still sense something was off when they looked at him.

"Luckily, luckily, my weapon-refining skills have improved somewhat recently, and my energy and spirit have been depleted a little." Chen Mu shrugged, feigning smugness.

"What a coincidence!" Huang Jian's smile grew even brighter upon hearing this.

"The Upper Court is in dire need of a batch of water-repelling beads, and I'm currently worried about what to do with these magical artifacts."

"Your weapon-refining skills have improved significantly, so you'll probably be able to practice more. You've really been a great help."

Do I urgently need water-repellent beads?
It was to build a ferry that could cross the 100,000 mountains.

Chen Mu's mind raced, but he didn't show it on his face. Instead, he deliberately feigned an expectant and surprised expression to probe: "Then what's the price?"

"Don't worry, I guarantee you'll be satisfied." Fatty Huang waved his hand happily and said, "For every water-repelling pearl, I can give you forty-five merits and eighty white jade coins."

Chen Mu raised an eyebrow.

According to Li Moliang, normally, submitting a reduced-grade, low-level water-repelling bead would earn the Hundred Refinements Hall a maximum of thirty merit points and sixty-five white jade coins. Unexpectedly, this time the reward has increased by more than twenty percent!

"This is nothing! If Brother Li can master the high-grade water-repelling pearl, I'll give you three hundred Dao merits and three hundred white jade coins!" Fatty Huang held up three fingers and gestured in front of Chen Mu.

Why are high-quality water-repellent beads so expensive?

Because the raw materials are precious, the water-repelling beads commonly used in Yun Chong Lower Temple are all reduced versions. Although the effects are similar, they can only be used for one year.

However, the original high-quality water-repelling beads can be used for five years.

Even so, it would only cost a little over two hundred white jade coins. Three hundred white jade coins plus three hundred Dao merits would be an unexpectedly high price.

"Brother Li, if you're interested, why not give it a try?" Huang Jian advised with a smile. "If you miss this opportunity, who knows when the next one will come."

"Thank you for the reminder, Steward Huang." Chen Mu immediately feigned surprise and clasped his hands in a fist salute.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Chen Mu walked out of the Hundred Refinement Hall courtyard with a cloth bag containing eighty white jade coins.

After nodding and smiling to a burly man he had met a few times, Chen Mu stood at the door, looked back at the busy figures in the Hundred Refinements Hall, and a relaxed smile appeared on his face.

"Even Huang Jian, who had the most contact with me, couldn't see through my disguise. Li Moliang's fake identity has successfully completed the substitution."

……

On the east side of Chongmei Mountain, in front of Chen Mu Cave, stands a huge jade window.

"I've only heard that the Upper Courtyard of Goose and Sheep Path needs lightning-collecting talismans, I've never heard of continuing to use water-repelling pearls." Li Moliang asked in confusion, "Does the Upper Courtyard plan to open another Lower Courtyard to cultivate golden pearl clams?"

"Maybe." Chen Mu glanced at Li Moliang but didn't explain further.

It seems that Li Moliang was unaware of the Goose-Sheep Path plan to traverse the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Yuan Xian also had other secret agents at the upper courtyard of Goose and Sheep Road.

"You must know quite a bit about the demon's plan to destroy the earth's veins," Chen Mu said, then turned to ask about other things.

"I do know a little bit," Li Moliang nodded in acknowledgment after a slight hesitation.

"I joined the Yun Chong Lower Academy five years ago. Besides having me try to infiltrate the Hundred Refinements Hall, my primary task was to bury a dragon-nailing stake into Chongmei Mountain."

Dragon-nail stakes? What are those?
Chen Mu became interested.

“A special kind of ghost artifact, shaped like a fist-sized, ice-blue bead,” Li Moliang described, gesturing with his hands.

"All you need to do is reach the designated location and use a Qi cultivator who has cultivated magical power as a sacrifice to activate it."

"It will envelop the Qi cultivator and automatically sink into the ground."

Isn't this the exquisite energy channel of the City God's Taoist temple?!
Chen Mu felt a chill run down his spine.

"There's more than one of these dragon-nailing stakes, isn't there?" He couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

“There is indeed more than one.” Li Moliang nodded.

"Among the Jiapo warriors who joined Yunchong Lower Academy with me back then, there were several Netherworld God Transformation warriors hidden among them."

"Their purpose is probably to install the dragon-nailing stakes on the outer perimeter of Chongmei Mountain."

“The previous dragon-nailing stake in the mountain had not yet been integrated into the earth veins, so I could use it to detect the aftereffects of the other dragon-nailing stakes being buried.”

"I counted them back then, there should be thirty-six."

Thirty-six dragon-nailing stakes—that's thirty-six Qi cultivators!
Chen Mu felt heavy-hearted.

They should have been cultivating immortality and traversing the heavens, but now they are buried underground, their consciousness lost, becoming forgotten living dead.

If I were ever caught and buried underground... "Yuan Xian and his gang... they deserve to die."

Chen Mu's expression was indifferent.

Li Moliang noticed Chen Mu's cold gaze, and immediately trembled, lowering his head and stammering.

After a moment, Chen Mu's expression gradually softened, and he shook his head and sighed softly.

This is a battle between the Underworld God Transformation Warrior and the Qi Refiner. Whether it's Li Moliang or himself, they are just tiny specks of dust in this turmoil.

Even if he killed Li Moliang and Yuan Xian, he wouldn't be able to cause any disturbance in this turmoil.

Moreover, while this matter appears to be a mortal attack on Qi cultivators by the Great Qian Dynasty, it is actually a scheme secretly plotted by the Underworld.

I am just a minor Qi Refiner with perfected Divine Aperture, and I have no way of getting involved in such chaos.

Just being able to save oneself is already incredibly difficult.

“The world is a dangerous place…” Chen Mu couldn’t help but sigh.

Li Moliang glanced at Chen Mu cautiously and tentatively said, "The Dragon-Nailing Stake has been embedded in the earth's veins for a year and is now completely integrated into the Lower Courtyard's protective mountain restriction."

"If nothing unexpected happens, the Lock Dragon Academy will soon send the demons to the Yun Chong Lower Academy."

“Chongmei Mountain, as the core, is precisely the place where evil spirits run rampant.”

"That thing is very strange. Do you think we should hide for a while?"

hide?
Chen Mu narrowed his eyes.

He thought of the thirty-six Qi cultivators who had sunk into the ground.

Although we were complete strangers, we were all Qi cultivators.

While he might not be able to risk his life for revenge, he could certainly sabotage the Dragon Locking Academy's plans.

"As long as the Dragon Locking Academy drives the demons to the Yun Chong Lower Academy, I will immediately put them into the Five Ghosts Bag. This can be considered as collecting some interest for you."

Chen Mu's lips curled slightly as he looked up at the horizon with a smile through the large jade pendant.

The demon vanished into thin air; Yuan Xian's expression must be quite grim.

what!
……

Eight hundred li north of Yunze Lake.

In a certain valley, all was silent, when a thick fog suddenly appeared, so thick that one could not see their own hand in front of their face.

On the northern mountain peak, five or six burly men in black robes were staring intently into the valley.

The next moment, more than a dozen hideous heads suddenly flew out and rushed towards the burly man in black robes. One person on the edge couldn't react in time and was immediately surrounded by a dense mass of heads.

The long tail of white smoke beneath the head resembled a snake's body, tightly coiling around the man in black robes. Before anyone could intervene, the man was dragged into the white mist and disappeared.

A short, painful scream was followed by the faint sound of bones cracking, and then the entire valley fell silent once more.

"Another...another one dead? This is the fifth one that this beast has eaten, isn't it?!" A man in black robes said, trembling uncontrollably.

The other strong men were also stiff, afraid of disturbing the monster in the valley, and dared not even breathe.

After a long pause, the leader, a burly man in black robes, took a deep breath and, his voice hoarse, encouraged the troops: "We've reached the edge of Yunze Lake. Once we lure this monstrous creature to Yunze Lake, our mission will be complete."

"A distance of over a hundred miles, if we are careful, it should take at most a day."

"Tomorrow, at most tomorrow, we'll be able to return to Daqian!"

Upon hearing this, the group's faces lit up with joy, but before they could celebrate for more than a few breaths, a calm voice suddenly appeared behind them: "You cannot return to Daqian tomorrow."

The group turned around abruptly and saw an old man with a gloomy face who had appeared not far behind them at some point. It was Yuan Xian, the head of the 29th academy of the Lock Dragon Academy.

"Master!" The group was startled and quickly clasped their hands in a respectful gesture.

“The situation has changed. We need to bypass Yunze Lake and lure this monster to Dianhe Canyon,” Yuan Xian said calmly.

The man in the black robe's expression changed drastically.

The Dianhe Canyon is 800 li south of Yunze Lake. Adding the detour, they'll need to travel over 2,000 li with the monsters lurking in the valley. Of these few, who knows how many will survive!
"Master! The mission we accepted was for Yunze Lake, not Dianhe Canyon," the leader of the men in black said through gritted teeth, barely suppressing his anger.
Yuan Xian glanced at the other person calmly, his expression indifferent.

The burly man leading the group tensed up immediately. Although he was just an old man with a gloomy face, he felt as if he were facing a monster in the valley!
"I will obey the academy master's orders!" the burly man hurriedly clasped his hands and shouted, his forehead immediately covered in cold sweat.

Yuan Xian rolled his eyes and looked away.

He didn't want to cause any trouble. But with the Heavenly Demon Spirit Seed within him, the thought that this strange demon might harm Chen Mu kept lingering in his mind, and the idea of ​​driving the demon away from Yun Chong's Lower Courtyard would continue to haunt him.

Yun Chong Lower Temple is quite important to Goose and Sheep Path. In order to destroy its earth veins, Lock Dragon Temple has been planning for nearly ten years.

But now...

"We have no choice but to bypass Yun Chong's lower courtyard for now," Yuan Xian said with a frown and a slight sigh.

"The losses are huge, and I'm likely to get into big trouble. I wonder if Mr. Gongsun will give me some of the Heavenly Demon Secrets."

"I'm doing all this to ensure his safety!"

(End of this chapter)