My experience of grinding in another world

Chapter 648 Deed

"Where is the battlefield outside the heavens? It is naturally outside the heavens."

Inside Wanjing Cave, Hu Buwei sat behind the counter, expressionless.

"How about being more specific?" Chen Mu asked with a grin.

Hu Buwei really didn't want to answer. He had already found out that it was this guy in front of him who spread the rumor that he had a secret technique for quickly mastering exorcism, and that he would teach it to him as long as he was given enough white jade.

The Taoist apprentices believed he truly possessed secret teachings, and they sought his guidance every day in various ways.

Lu Han, Yang Fu, and other core disciples believed that this was a new trick he used to deceive Bai Yu. He would come to Wanjing Cave to show his face whenever he had nothing to do, offering to help with sales, as long as he was given enough commission.

Now, he and Jiushou are bound by life and death, and the two are working hard to reshape the Heavenly Demon's body and prolong their lifespan. However, people keep coming into the Myriad Scriptures Cave, making it impossible for him and Jiushou to concentrate on their cultivation.

Could this guy have sensed the presence of the Nine-Headed One?

Hu Buwei looked at the smiling Chen Mu, his expression unchanged, but his heart skipped a beat.

The other party intercepted more than a dozen streams of primordial energy from the Nine Heads; there's no guarantee they won't find a way to detect the Nine Heads!

Deliberately spreading rumors to cause trouble for oneself is to attract more attention.

Wait until you reveal your true colors, then use the Hundred Illusions Sect to kill you and the Nine Heads together?

Hu Buwei's heart skipped a beat.

Insidious! Insidious! So insidious!

"The outer battlefield is also called the celestial battlefield. You can see its exact location if you look up at night," he said, trying to remain calm.

You can see it when you look up at night?

Are they the countless stars in the sky?

Chen Mu raised an eyebrow.

He had suspected something when he first heard the name "Celestial Star Battlefield." But when he finally confirmed it, he was still taken aback.

The stars were so far away that Chen Mu never imagined that demons would be lurking on the stars hanging overhead.

But what's up with this skinny old man in front of me?

Compared to two months ago, its vitality and rhythm are like a completely different person.

That initial feeling of déjà vu has completely vanished.

This old guy definitely has some issues.

Chen Mu glanced at Hu Buwei as if it were an accident.

Then I realized that this old man, who seemed so calm and collected, was actually sizing me up in secret!

The two wary men exchanged a glance, their hearts skipping a beat simultaneously.

It's going to happen!

Then, without prior arrangement, the two of them simultaneously revealed an extremely sincere fake smile.

"Elder Hu, I would like to buy a copy of the 'Supplement to the Demon and Monster Atlas.' Could you please provide me with a copy of the Imperial Edict?" Chen Mu respectfully handed Hu Buwei a black-covered scroll.

"I have to make this clear to you, this map is from thirty years ago and can only be used as a reference." Hu awkwardly pulled a long wooden box from under the counter and added with concern, "Whether these demons are still causing trouble in the heavens now, nobody knows."

"There's no latest version?" Chen Mu asked in surprise.

"The Demon and Monster Compendium changes every three years at the Thousand Machines Sect. Buying the entire compendium would cost a considerable amount of cultivation."

"You're going to the Thousand Machines Sect to become butchers. Knowing how to dispel demonic arts is enough. There's really no need to know anything else," Hu Buwei patiently explained.

How stingy!

They can't even afford to update the teaching materials, so how can they expect to train any good Taoist soldiers?

No wonder the Hundred Illusions Sect is at the bottom of the ninety-nine sects in Haizhou. Even the Peach Mountain Temple, a low-grade sect in the southwest of Haizhou, dares to abduct Daoist apprentices from the Hundred Illusions Sect, who are constantly jumping around.

"Thirty-seven pieces of white jade, please take a look?"

"Buying it will give you some reference, which is better than being completely clueless."

After paying with the white jade, Chen Mu clasped his hands in a slight bow and quickly walked out of the Wanjing Cave.

After walking a short distance, Chen Mu looked back at the dark doorway and shook his head.

We can no longer visit Wanjing Cave.

Although I am not afraid of this old Qi Condensation cultivator, it is better to avoid trouble and try to have as little contact as possible.

Fortunately, in two more months, I will be able to sign the Dao-Bing Contract and leave the Hundred Illusions Sect.

Chen Mu only hoped that Old Hu wouldn't cause any trouble during this time.

otherwise……

……

The weather is getting warmer day by day.

Chen Mu spent almost all his time in the cliffside cave and never went out.

He deliberately released the Zhu Yu magic sword to listen to Hu Buwei for several days. Seeing that the other party had been guarding the Wanjing Cave without making any outrageous moves, he was finally relieved.

"Whatever this old man's schemes may be, as long as they don't prevent me from joining the Thousand Machines Sect, that's all that matters."

After that, he waited patiently while busying himself with his own spiritual practice.

They could either refine innate qi and cold white mist to nourish the celestial demon's body, or ponder the secret techniques on the gray wall that they had not yet mastered.

In his spare time, he would admire the jade tablets depicting demons and monsters.

Compared to the supplementary policy scrolls, the main policy jade tablets were recorded in the Jie script, complete with sound, light, and text, which he used to watch and relax like a documentary. During this time, Lu Han also convened two gatherings for Daoist apprentices.

On one hand, they were introduced to the Tianxing Battlefield and the relevant matters of signing the contract; on the other hand, they were gathered together to practice the life-saving secret technique and the demon-sealing spell.

Many of the apprentices who passed the examination took the opportunity to propose forming an alliance, hoping to support each other after they arrived in the outer heavens.

Some people tried to win Chen Mu over, but he always politely declined with a smile.

This so-called alliance sounds like a lot of trouble; there's a chance that ten people could form twelve alliances, so he doesn't want to get involved.

After each rehearsal, he would immediately return to his cave.

Not long after the gathering, Chen Mu began to seriously study the Dao Bing Qi Shu (a book on military strategy).

After comparing them for a long time, the Jia-character contract was finally chosen.

Although the 1:9 split is quite unethical, the service period is the shortest of the four types of contracts.

He became a Dao soldier simply to gain entry into the Thousand Machines Sect.

Once inside, if you pay attention, you can always find a way to obtain the secret techniques.

Being controlled by others for ten years is long enough.

Besides, if ten years isn't enough, a new contract can be signed then. It's not wise to tie oneself to the Thousand Machines Sect for decades at once.

In the midst of all the hustle and bustle, the day for signing the contract arrived before we knew it.

……

On this day, at dawn, as the sun rose, more than a hundred Taoist apprentices gathered at the entrance of Qingqiu Palace.

On the open ground paved with bluestone slabs in front of the main hall, there is a dark, square cauldron.

Zheng Bailian, the sect leader of the Hundred Illusions Sect, stood facing south in front of the cauldron.

He held his right index and middle fingers together in front of his chest, closed his eyes, and continuously chanted the Pure Yang Mantra.

An invisible force emanated from him, spreading outwards and pushing the falling leaves towards the edge.

At one moment, the stars that had disappeared from the sky suddenly began to shine brightly.

An invisible, immense force suddenly appeared in the sky.

The already thin layer of clouds was immediately dispersed.

Even the thick clouds that shroud Qingqiu Mountain year-round were swept away by an invisible force and carried to the distant horizon.

The sky above Qingqiu Mountain was clear and bright, as if it had been washed clean.

Zheng Bailian let out a long breath and respectfully bowed towards the sky: "Respectfully inviting the Pure Yang Dao Ancestor!"

boom!

Suddenly, a ball of transparent flame with strands of gold appeared inside the Four-Sided Cauldron.

The flames flickered, yet not a single wisp of heat radiated outwards.

"Quickly step forward and deliver the contract!" Zheng Bailian said, his face solemn.

The numerous Daoist apprentices standing behind Zheng Bailian immediately stepped forward and, in the previously arranged order, threw the gold-inlaid jade tablets into the flames.

Chen Mu, mingling in the crowd, also moved forward in an orderly fashion with everyone else.

He held in his hands a jade tablet about the length of a forearm, which was the contract he was about to sign.

It contains a detailed record of the contract in ancient script, has been infused with sufficient magical power beforehand, and includes the signer's real name.

All that remains is to present the contract to the Pure Yang Dao Ancestor and have the Dao Ancestor's power witness it, and then it will be a complete success.

More than a hundred people stepped forward in an orderly fashion, and soon it was Chen Mu's turn. He followed the others and threw the jade tablet into the Four-Sided Cauldron.

The jade tablet inlaid with gold thread floated in the flames, and in just a moment it turned into wisps of smoke and flew into the sky.

Immediately, a calm and indifferent gaze suddenly emanated from within the colorless flame.

Chen Mu froze, feeling as if he were a horse at the foot of a towering mountain, suddenly being stared at by a colossal creature that blots out the sky.

Is the Pure Yang Dao Ancestor's vision truly within these flames?

Would a great being who has attained enlightenment for countless years come to pay attention to a nobody like me?

Or is it that the Dao Ancestor's power is boundless, and even a trace of his power is enough for his primordial spirit to manifest?

Chen Mu mechanically walked forward, and only when he was seven or eight steps away from the Four Directions Cauldron did he suddenly come to his senses.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the people who had already submitted their contracts were all pale-faced, and he felt a sense of relief.

Clearly, he wasn't the only one who felt that sense of being watched by a giant object.

"This power... is really strong."

Chen Mu felt a sense of awe, yet also a rising yearning within him.

But not long after, his heart sank.

"Faced with a calamity technique unleashed by such a being, would the Nine Lives Dividing Calamity Technique truly be of any use?"

"It's not good..."

(End of this chapter)