My experience of grinding in another world

Chapter 707 Seclusion
A gentle breeze rustled through the mountains and forests, and the air was fresh and pleasant.

However, Chen Mu's good mood only lasted for a few breaths before it completely disappeared.

He simply used his supernatural ability of listening to observe his surroundings out of habit.

Then they discovered that the familiar City God Temple was not on the small hill at their feet, and Luandu County, which should have been located not far away at the foot of the hill, was nowhere to be found.

The area within a radius of twenty miles was entirely composed of low hills and continuous forests, completely devoid of human habitation.

Aside from the faint, familiar-looking sparse spiritual energy, this small mountain beneath my feet is definitely not Qiluo Mountain!

"I've already reached level five, how come this Nine Cups Calculation Sutra is still so unreliable?!" Chen Mu's face twitched.

Clearly, from the very beginning, the Nine Cups Calculation Sutra miscalculated the landing position.

……

In the West Market of Zhang'an County, crowds thronged, and vendors' cries echoed along the street.

On the second floor of Shangpinju, Chen Mu sat at a square table by the window, slowly cracking pumpkin seeds and looking down at the bustling market with great interest.

Chen Mu used the Zhu Yu magic sword to explore the way, and it took him several days to finally get out of that continuous mountain range.

Zhang'an County was the first large city he encountered.

From the conversations of the crowd, he gradually realized where he was.

"Dahong Xuanmi Prefecture, but I don't know which continent this Dahong Dynasty belongs to."

It's definitely not Yunzhou or Haizhou; I've never heard of this mortal dynasty.

As for the other continents...

He hasn't been there either, so he can't make a definitive judgment.

"Zhang'an County is still a bit small, and information is somewhat limited. Perhaps I will be able to find out more clearly once I go to Xuanmi Prefecture."

As Chen Mu was pondering his itinerary for the next few days, a sudden sound of gongs and drums came from outside the window.

Looking over out of curiosity, I saw a large group of people walking noisily towards the city gate.

The group at the front were mostly dressed in the uniforms of government officials and yamen runners, followed by some well-dressed local gentry, and then ordinary residents of all ages who came to join in the fun.

Upon seeing the long queue, many customers inside Shangpinju paid their bills and left with the crowd.

"Young master, are you from out of town?" A burly young waiter in a gray shirt and short jacket came to the window, looking enviously at the departing crowd, and asked Chen Mu with a smile.

"You have a good eye," Chen Mu nodded with a smile.

"Today is the day for inviting the City God in Zhang'an County, everyone in the area knows that. Seeing your puzzled look, all I knew was that you're from out of town," the burly man explained with a smile.

"The City God is incredibly powerful and can ensure good weather and abundant harvests. If you have the time, you can come along. You might even be able to share in the City God's good fortune."

With favorable weather and abundant harvests, should we invite the City God to perform rituals?
This is... a City God's shrine, a spirit reborn from the underworld?!

Chen Mu's heart skipped a beat.

"Is this really Yunzhou? Impossible, there is absolutely no dynasty called Da Hong in Yunzhou."

"Established in the last few years?" Chen Mu slowly shook his head.

This place is definitely not Yunzhou.

But why would there be a spirit of the underworld here?

Chen Mu frowned.

No, I have to go and ask around!
"Where are you from, sir..." The young man in gray turned his head, about to continue the conversation, but found that there were a few silver beans on the table next to him, and the seat was empty.

"Tsk, he looks like a lazy young master with delicate skin, but I didn't expect him to be a martial arts master." The burly waiter raised his eyebrows and happily put the silver beans into his sleeve.

……

Twenty miles outside Zhang'an County, on the mountainside of Cuiping Mountain, stands a newly built City God Temple.

The temple and its surroundings were packed with people, yet no one uttered a sound; it was remarkably quiet.

Inside the main hall of the City God Temple is a statue of a general in armor.

At this moment, the old temple keeper with a goatee stood in front of the offering table, holding ancient bamboo slips in his hands, and chanting softly.

A moment later, he threw the bamboo slips into the copper basin in front of him, which was burning with thatch. Bang!
Flames rose, and the bamboo slips instantly turned into rising blue smoke.

A chilling power suddenly erupted from the jade-white City God statue. The originally indistinct statue slowly transformed, quickly becoming the face of a middle-aged man with a square face.

The crowd, with their hands clasped and bowing, looked up and saw the change in the City God statue, and immediately burst into joyful shouts.

"This transformation... is it really a spirit incarnate?!" At the foot of the mountain, Chen Mu, hidden among the crowd, couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Where there is a City God's temple, there will be underworld warriors and dragon-locking warriors.

Qi cultivators are naturally opposed to these people; if they are captured, they will be buried underground as energy channel stakes.

"We can't stay in Zhang'an County anymore," Chen Mu shook his head.

He had originally planned to rent a courtyard house in the county town and stay there for a while.

……

Two hundred miles south of Zhang'an County, the mountain peaks stretch endlessly.

On the mountainside of an unnamed hill, there is a platform that looks like a chair.

On the almost vertical mountain wall, a stream cascades down, forming a small pool on the platform.

A delicate thatched cottage with a ceiling height of two meters stands not far from the pond.

In front of the wooden house, under the porch, Chen Mu sat in front of a small square tea table, examining the white jade coins in his hand one by one.

"Thirty-one thousand four hundred pieces of white jade can keep the exquisite jade plate running for two years."

"Thanks to the large number of Netherworld Demons and Heavenly Monsters hunted in the previous two months, there is still a considerable amount of demon flesh and essence remaining in the Bottomless Pool."

"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, these resources are sufficient to support my cultivation to the peak of the Dao Foundation stage." Chen Mu silently calculated while fiddling with the white jade coins.

This was the third day since he left Zhang'an County.

Upon discovering that the Great Hong Dynasty had a City God Temple, he abandoned his plan to go to Xuanmi County.

With his current level of cultivation, he's not particularly afraid of martial artists who have transformed into Netherworld Gods. However, if he were to actually run into one, and one of them were to summon a whole group, it would be quite troublesome if it went on endlessly.

So he left Zhang'an County and returned to the vast, deep mountains and forests. He chose this quiet little mountain with mountains and water, intending to live in seclusion for a while before making any further plans.

……

Putting away the white jade coins, a translucent gray wall appeared before my eyes.

After quickly scanning through the numerous entries, Chen Mu looked at the column he was most interested in.

Jade Cicada Secret Manual: 7982/10000/Eighth Tier;

"If it weren't for the invasion of the Netherworld Demon Heaven and the chaos caused by the Fire Path Star, the experience points from the Jade Cicada Secret Manual might have been even higher," Chen Mu said with some regret.

"Never mind, one has to look forward."

"With the invasion of the Netherworld Demon, the Horned Wood Stars will likely remain unstable for the next few years. Leaving sooner would be safer."

He had previously signed the Daoist Military Contract in Haizhou in order to obtain the Daoist Foundation Record. Now that he had the Jade Cicada Secret Manual in hand, leaving Tianxing and returning to Earth could be considered as having achieved his initial plan.

As for the binding terms of the contract...

"There shouldn't be any major trouble," Chen Mu thought to himself, scratching his scalp, which was still tingling from the electric shock from the contract.

Previously on Fire Star, Zhou Tong had issued a decree to summon Dao soldiers.

Chen Mu didn't go, which led to the backlash from the contract.

Fortunately, he had the Nine Lives Dividing Tribulation Technique to share the burden, so the daily thunderbolts became like being hit by static electricity in winter.

"Consider it a way to temper your body."

"Moreover, I still have quite a few Heavenly Demon Spirit Seeds that have not been refined by the Nine Lives Tribulation Technique."

"With more spirit seeds sharing the burden in the future, the backlash from the contract will only decrease and eventually approach zero."

"After four or five years, the ten-year contract will automatically expire and be dissolved, and the shocking experience will be completely over."

After thinking for a moment, Chen Mu put the matter of the contract aside and turned to cultivate the Jade Cicada Secret Manual.

(End of this chapter)