Chapter 107: On the Eve of Leaving

Mu Yi didn’t really go anywhere after the events. He didn’t go to find the old Taoist Priest immediately. He didn’t want to do things haphazardly.

The Xie’s had already left for Cangzhou anyway. They were probably there already. It was far after all. It wasn’t possible to get there in a few days. Mu Yi was positive that they wouldn’t need martial arts to find information about Li the Cripple. The most important thing was their investigative abilities.

If the hoodlum hadn’t lied, they would be able to get some information in the Tingyu Building. It’d be easier to find the old Taoist priest with that information. Besides, before going to Cangzhou, Mu Yi had decided to go to the Qu Mortuary first. The hoodlum had told him that Li the Cripple hated the leader of the Qu Mortuary more than anything and that he wanted to get revenge against him.

Mu Yi wanted to learn more about the leader of the Qu Mortuary. The man had a bad reputation. Even if Li the Cripple had already been there and had left, Mu Yi would probably still be able to get some information. After leaving the Qu Mortuary, he would go to Cangzhou.

The Xie’s would probably have news at that time. Mu Yi preferred being cautious, that’s why he had decided to do it this way. However, if he bumped into Li the Cripple even by accident, that would be great.

He didn’t leave immediately because he had just broke through. He needed time for his cultivation to stabilize. He wasn’t being selfish, he just couldn’t be hasty. The old Taoist Priest had done so much for Mu Yi. If Mu Yi rushed off before his cultivation was stable, then he would be ignoring everything the old Taoist Priest had told him.

Mu Yi didn’t have any doubts. He knew the voice he had heard when he had broke through had come from the copper lamp. He didn’t know how the old Taoist Priest could use the copper lamp to communicate with him though. The copper lamp seemed to react more as his Qi evolved.

Mu Yi was even more interested in the copper lamp now. It was a mystery. He used to think that the copper lamp was just an ordinary lamp, or a religious tool. He knew it was something special now.

His mind strength was six times more powerful than it was before. However, just like before, he could only use mind strength to activate the copper lamp. He had to continue forging and strengthening his connection with it. He couldn’t modify it at all.

Mu Yi decided to compare the broken Ghost King Banner, the spirit protector’s walking stick and the copper lamp. The result was that the copper lamp was extremely powerful in comparison to those two items. It was to the extent that they couldn’t be mentioned in the same breath.

The two items were religious tools but it was obvious that they would never be as powerful as the copper lamp. Everyday, Mu Yi practiced and worked hard to make his cultivation more stable. He also studied the copper lamp and punched the wooden dummy.

He continued practicing the punching technique he had always considered worthless. When he was still in the first difficulty, he had come to realize that the punching technique was extraordinary. Once he broke through, he realized that the punching technique was important.

The punching technique was obscure. Each time he punched the dummy, he felt his Mūlādhāra absorb some strength from the earth and the sky. Mu Yi didn’t know much about spirituality. He didn’t know how cultivators practiced alchemy in ancient times but he was thinking that it was somehow related to the way he absorbed the Qi of the cosmos. (translator’s note: this is what the author refers to when he talks about alchemy, it’s ancient Chinese alchemy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neidan)

The Qi around him wasn’t the Qi of the earth and the sky. It was the essence of the moon and the sun. He didn’t absorb that much at a time but he was convinced that there would be visible benefits in the future. The punching technique also helped him control his body better. It was beneficial to him.

Mu Yi also had to draw some magic symbols. They were a part of the path he had chosen. Half of his strength was due to the magic symbols. The evil spirit slaying charms he made before weren’t bad but against powerful enemies, like Qiu Yuetong or the evil man, they weren’t useful.

His ability to draw magic symbols had improved. He could make better evil spirit slaying charms. So he tried. The evil spirit slaying charms hadn’t become six times as good as before. However, they were three times as good as before.

It was also because Mu Yi hadn’t managed to control his mind strength completely when drawing. As time passed, the magic symbols including evil spirit slaying charms, body protection charms and exorcism charms would all improve.

He’d definitely be able to handle enemies like Qiu Yuetong better. One evil spirit slaying charm would be enough to injure someone like her easily. As for five thunders charms, his success rate in making them increased a little after reaching the second difficulty. It wasn’t comparable to the improvement of the evil spirit slaying charms. They were more explosive though. The lightning that appeared when he used them was frightening.

He still couldn’t make more than five of the charms. It was rather sad but Mu Yi didn’t push himself. For what he intended to do for now, five of the charms was enough. Days passed and Mu Yi practiced a lot during the time. He was able to control his physical strength more each day. He also felt more confident.

Mu Yi knew that he had to leave. It had been a month already. The temperature was increasing. It was warmer outside. Mu Yi felt like his insides were boiling. He couldn’t wait more than a month to do what he wanted to do.

During the month, something had started to worry Mu Yi.Big Slave ate a lot. He wasn’t picky but he needed lots of food. During the last few days, Mu Yi hadn’t eaten enough and they had no food left over. He had to cook more than usual so they used the food up quicker.

Big Slave ate as much as six people. Luckily, at the top of the mountain, they could cook a lot, but when they started traveling things would change. They would have to endure the hardships of the arduous journey. Not having enough to eat was normal when traveling. If Mu Yi had been alone, he wouldn’t have anything to worry about. However, with Big Slave…

Mu Yi couldn’t help but wonder whether keeping the giant was a wise choice. Each time Nian Nuer played with the giant, she looked so happy though. Mu Yi couldn’t help but feel guilty when he had such thoughts.

Big Slave ate a lot but he also helped a lot too. He was energetic. They had spent a month together at this point. He didn’t listen to Mu Yi like he listened to Nian Nuer, but he showed no hostility towards him. It was probably due to the fact that Mu Yi cooked a lot for him. At least, that’s what Mu Yi thought.

Mu Yi also learned some things about the giant. He was extremely strong but he was only as smart as a child. However, he had never heard him speak. Each time Mu Yi thought about him the only thought that came to mind was take him. He was just one more person to feed.