Chapter 9: Counting the Harvest

Phew!

The sound of wind whistled in his ears.

After using the Light Body Technique, Xu Mu unleashed his full speed for the first time.

The powerful air resistance made him feel like he was moving through mud.

But in reality,

His figure was as fast as lightning, covering several zhangs in a single step, as if flying with the wind.

Fortunately, he had also cast an invisibility spell on himself, and it was nighttime, so no one could witness this astonishing scene.

The sound of the wind caused by his body was also masked by the night breeze, unnoticed by anyone.

When passing by the alley near his home, Xu Mu didn't stop and continued running forward.

It wasn't until he was about to leave the slum area that he slowed down his pace.

The moon broke through the dark clouds, casting its radiance. Looking into the distance, he could see the lush trees of Baihe River.

"I can't go any further!"

Taking advantage of the invisibility spell still in effect, Xu Mu quickly slipped into an abandoned house nearby.

If the area where Xu Mu lived was the slums of Baishi Fang City, then this area near Baihe River Forest was the slums within the slums.

No clothes to cover his body, no food to fill his stomach, and the house he lived in had leaks on all sides.

The only advantage was that there was no rent to pay here.

Hiding in a corner of the abandoned house, Xu Mu perked up his ears, listening to every movement outside, silently counting the time.

After about half an hour!

Apart from the night wind and the distant roar of beasts, there was no other sound.

"It seems there are no pursuers!"

Xu Mu breathed a sigh of relief, cast the invisibility spell on himself again, lightened his footsteps, and headed towards his home.

Hoo hoo!

The night wind continued to blow by his side.

The moonlight was once again covered by dark clouds, enveloping the world in darkness.

Vague shadows seemed to have ghosts and monsters lurking, showing their fangs and claws.

To avoid being noticed, Xu Mu could only move forward in the dark.

"Next time, maybe I should consider practicing a spell related to spiritual vision!"

Xu Mu thought to himself.

"I remember there is a spell called Far Sight in the spell compendium. I wonder if it works at night?"

The dark clouds passed, and the silver moonlight spilled down. The familiar rundown alley appeared in Xu Mu's sight.

"This time, not only did I resolve the hidden crisis of Sun Daocheng, but I also obtained a storage bag. There might be valuable things inside, so you could say the harvest is quite abundant!"

Curious about what was inside the storage bag, Xu Mu quickened his pace, feeling a sense of longing.

But thinking that Sun Daocheng was a gambling addict and a slob, he suddenly felt that there was nothing to look forward to.

"However, the power of the compressed fireball far exceeds what I expected!"

At that time, he only wanted to kill with one strike and didn't dare to hold back, compressing the flames to the limit.

Sun Daocheng was instantly blown up, without any resistance, and Xu Mu himself almost got injured by the explosion. Its power was comparable to the explosive packs from his previous life.

"The power of the compressed fireball is probably already surpassing second-tier spells and reaching the level of third-tier spells! Even if Sun Daocheng was at the third level of Qi Refining, or even the fifth or sixth level, without powerful defense methods, he would probably be blown up on the spot!"

"The only regret is that the attack speed is too slow, and it consumes too much time!"

When he started compressing the fireball, Sun Daocheng noticed it. If it weren't for his high-level Light Body Technique, Sun Daocheng might have escaped.

Sun Daocheng is also a cunning and experienced person. He sensed something unusual, threw out a poisonous pill, and ran away without any intention of investigating or fighting.

"Hmm?"

Xu Mu, who was thinking about things while walking, suddenly felt a chill on his back.

He quickly turned around.

No one behind him!

Only the night wind, blowing up fallen leaves!

And some clothes discarded by an unknown person, hanging on the wall, fluttering in the wind like a dried corpse.

He quickened his pace with unease.

The chill on his back grew heavier, gradually becoming cold.

Xu Mu didn't know if it was his imagination or if there really was something, so he could only desperately speed up his steps.

The coldness became more and more intense, as if he had a block of ice on his back.

There's definitely a problem!

He held his breath and almost ran home!

But that cold feeling stuck to him like a shadow, as if it wanted to freeze his whole body.

With his fingers spread out, Xu Mu was about to release flames when suddenly a warm breath came from his chest, spreading throughout his body, instantly neutralizing most of the coldness on his back.

At this point, Xu Mu had already entered an alley.

He took a few quick steps and arrived at the door, pushing it open.

Ye Yingying followed his instructions and didn't lock the door.

He quickly locked the door.

With his fingers flexing, a large cluster of orange flames burst into flames.

Hiss!

The fiery eyes turned into a fierce fire snake, surrounding his entire body.

Xu Mu reached out and touched his back.

There was nothing strange, only a damp cold sweat on his spine.

He reached into his pocket and took out a nearly burnt-out talisman.

"There really are evil spirits in the slums!"

Xu Mu was a little shocked.

He had been living in Baishifang City for so many years and had only heard about it. Today was the first time he encountered it.

Although he was somewhat shocked, he didn't have too much fear.

At that time, it was just inconvenient to use his fire control technique. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been unable to kill ordinary evil spirits.

"But in the future, it's better not to go out late at night if possible!"

If there was only one he could deal with, what if there was a group?

After checking himself up and down several times and waiting quietly for half an hour, Xu Mu gently knocked on the bedroom door.

"Yinger, I'm back!"

There was no response from the bedroom, only a pair of reddened almond-shaped eyes peeking through the crack in the door.

After confirming that it was Xu Mu, Ye Yingying cautiously opened the door.

"Husband!"

Ye Yingying had nothing, she just threw herself into Xu Mu's arms and buried her head deeply.

"You worried me!"

Xu Mu gently stroked her ink-like hair.

"Has Ling'er fallen asleep?"

"Mhmm!"

"Then you should go to sleep too!"

"I want you to hold me!"

"Hehe! Okay!"

Xu Mu reluctantly smiled and agreed.

After putting the older child to sleep, Xu Mu quietly left the bedroom and went to the storage room. He flicked his finger and a red firebird appeared, hovering above his head to provide him with light.

He took out a storage bag that belonged to Sun Daocheng, and after refining it, he took out the contents one by one.

A book!

A pill furnace!

Two bottles of pills!

Five types of medicinal herbs!

Twelve pieces of low-grade spiritual stones!

As well as some ordinary clothes and daily necessities!

The book was a alchemy book, recording three types of pills that Sun Daocheng was proficient in, as well as his experiences in alchemy.

The three types of pills were Essence Replenishing Pill, Bone Corroding Pill, and Jade Marrow Pill.

The Essence Replenishing Pill replenishes essence and is a first-grade pill, said to be very popular among frequent visitors to brothels.

The Bone Corroding Pill is a poisonous pill. After successfully refining it, it can be shot out through a special technique, forming a corrosive poison gas.

It can corrode flesh and blood, as well as the protective spiritual power of cultivators.

Its power is not particularly strong, but it has a large attack range and a long duration.

The green pill that Sun Daocheng threw at him back then was the Bone Corroding Pill.

Unfortunately, Xu Mu easily dodged it with the Light Body Technique and it didn't display any power.

The Jade Marrow Pill is the only second-grade pill among the three types of pills, and it was the first second-grade pill formula that Xu Mu came into contact with.

The Jade Marrow Pill has the effect of improving cultivation talent and enhancing physique, and some big families like to use it as a foundation for their descendants.

Back then, Sun Daocheng wanted to use the formula and techniques of this pill to deceive him.

"Looking at the annotations in the book, I'm afraid he only learned the surface! Otherwise, he wouldn't be so poor!"

But the reason why Sun Daocheng was poor, besides his lack of skill, was probably laziness. He only thought about getting something for nothing all day long.

Otherwise, even if he couldn't become rich and wealthy, at least he wouldn't have to worry about food and clothing.

Originally, Xu Mu's alchemy skills were not much better than his, but he lived in the market district and even got married.

If it weren't for being affected by the battle between the two major sects, he wouldn't have ended up in the slums.

He just didn't see the method of refining the Infant Blood Pill, which was somewhat strange.

But Xu Mu didn't think too much about it. That disgusting thing, even if he had it, he would just burn it.

He put away the alchemy book without studying it too much.

Then he picked up the pill furnace and started examining it.

As an alchemist, his love for pill furnaces was ingrained in his bones.

The pill furnace in his hand made Xu Mu's eyes shine brighter the more he looked at it.

"This is actually a first-grade middle-grade pill furnace! This old guy doesn't seem as simple as I thought!"

Just now, he was mocking the other party for his lack of skill, but now it seems that it's not as he imagined.

His pill furnace was a first-grade low-grade one, bought for one hundred and ten pieces of low-grade spiritual stones.

And the cheapest first-grade middle-grade pill furnace would cost at least three hundred pieces of low-grade spiritual stones.

If you can afford such an expensive censer, you must have two brushes in your hands.

"I guess I'm getting rich!" Xu Mu held the censer and couldn't bear to let go.

No wonder people say that killing and setting fires bring in money really quickly.

"I didn't expect this old guy to be so poor that he's not willing to sell the censer!"

"But it makes sense. If he really sold the censer, he probably wouldn't have survived until now!"

A alchemist without a censer is not much different from a beggar on the roadside.

Reluctantly putting away the censer, Xu Mu then picked up two bottles of pills to examine.

One bottle was the Rotting Bone Pill, and the other was the Fasting Pill.

After a quick glance, Xu Mu put them away.

The spiritual stones naturally went into his pocket.

As for the remaining clothes, they were worthless and were burned by him.

Putting the three items back into Sun Daocheng's storage bag.

Then Xu Mu found a place and buried them.

Although he didn't think there would be too much trouble, he decided to hide them for a few days before dealing with them, just to be safe.

The next day.

The autumn sun was warm and comfortable.

The residents of the alley came out of their homes one after another, either going to work in the market or going to the Baihe Forest to hunt and gather, each busy with their own affairs.

After observing through the crack in the door for a while and confirming that there was no problem, Xu Mu returned to the miscellaneous room to start refining the Gathering Qi Pill.

Three or four days passed in a row!

Calm and peaceful!

Sun Daocheng's death seemed to have no impact on the whole world.

At least in the alley where Xu Mu was, no one showed any abnormal behavior.

Including the Li brothers whom Xu Mu was constantly paying attention to.

In fact, Xu Mu had considered dealing with the Li brothers together.

But these two were different from Sun Daocheng. Their strength and methods were unknown. If he acted rashly, he might capsize.

So he decided to see how things played out, improve his strength in the meantime, and then find an opportunity to deal with them.

...

"Damn it! Could this old guy have died in that stinking sewer?"

The tooth man in charge of collecting rent kicked Sun Daocheng's door hard. Seeing that there was no response from inside, he cursed and moved on to the next house.

Rent collection here was fixed. Unless they hadn't paid for several months in a row, they would always be at home when it was time.

Soon, Xu Mu's house was collected.

"Starting next month, the rent will increase to two low-grade spiritual stones!"

"Why?"

"How would I know why? It came from above. If you want to live here, then live. If you don't want to, move to Baihe Forest!"

After speaking, the tooth man turned and left.

Xu Mu watched his figure and frowned in thought.

Originally, he had planned to move back to the market after getting rich.

Now even the slums have raised their prices, so the market is probably even higher.

"It's really strange. There are only so many people in the market. If they raise the rent so high and drive people away, who will rent it?"

(End of this chapter)

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