Chapter 45: 45: Ritual Refining



"Could there be anything strange here?" Chen Mu walked to the side of the street and squatted in front of a bamboo weaver's stall.

He casually picked up a bamboo-woven basket, casting a glance out of the corner of his eye at the approaching government official Lu.

"Boss, what kind of beast is this, to go specifically after the viscera?" A government official, lagging half a step behind Lu the head captor, asked quietly.

"Wild wolf," Lu the head captor replied indifferently.

"But the wounds don't all seem to be from a wolf," the government official wondered.

Lu the head captor glanced at him and said, "We'll talk when we get back."

At those words, the government official shrank his neck and dared not ask any further.

Once the group had left, Chen Mu stood up.

He paid for a bamboo basket and continued on his way as if nothing had happened.

"The smell of blood, the smell of medicine, has Lu the head captor been injured?" Chen Mu wondered.

Upon closer reflection, he shook his head, "That's not right. The ingredients in the medicine seem to be those that stimulate the potential of organs, fierce and aggressive medicinal drugs."

His Third Rank Pharmaceutical Technique enhanced his sense of smell, and just a faint whiff of medicine let him detect something fishy.

"Forget it. Better stay out of it."

This Lu the head captor didn't seem like a good person.

...

Early in the morning, Chen Mu rose from bed feeling clear-headed and refreshed.

"It's been a long time since I've felt this good," Chen Mu stretched lazily.

Ever since he was injured, he always felt groggy upon waking up each day.

Today seemed to offer a glimpse of recovery.

His imitation of the Three Yang Six Lords Pills was aimed more at healing than making money.

He didn't have to worry about cost and could increase the dosage.

Lately, he had been pondering medicinal diets to assist in the recovery of his injuries.

He used charcoal to cook medicinal porridge in a sand pot.

Chen Mu sat in a reclining chair, watching the fire while contemplating the Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Curse.

After a while, Chen Mu sighed, "Still no use."

He rearranged the text, but the more he changed it, the more chaotic it became.

After reading each word again, he still didn't understand.

About to put it away, a sudden inspiration flashed through his mind.

Chen Mu subconsciously pulled up his gray wall.

Writing: 1666/10000/Second Rank;

Drawing: 1533/10000/Second Rank;

Throwing: 7597/10000/Third Rank;

Red Falcon Shape Cultivation Technique: 4009/10000/Third Rank;

Cooking: 806/10000/Second Rank;

Pharmaceutical Technique: 626/10000/Third Rank;

Sleeve Sword Technique: 816/10000/Third Rank;

Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Curse: 1/10000/First Rank;

"I'm on the board!"

He immediately recited the scripture in silence.

Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Curse: 2/10000/First Rank;

A faint realization dawned on him.

He felt that the first sentence should be read quicker, and the fifth word should be pronounced with more emphasis.

With that thought, he did as he considered.

Suddenly, the scripture, which had been difficult to articulate, became slightly smoother to read.

His proficiency increased by one point, as expected.

Chen Mu was hopelessly addicted to increasing his proficiency.

Whenever he had time, he would recite in a low voice.

As his proficiency rose, his understanding of the scripture grew.

The content of the scripture was meaningless; what mattered was the pronunciation of the words.

When the nonsensical scripture was read aloud at a special pace and tone, it formed a different pronunciation.

It was like marking English words with Chinese pinyin for pronunciation.

Watching his proficiency climb quickly, Chen Mu was obsessed.

He'd recite during the day, in the evening, and even ponder over it in his dreams.

...

Half a month later.

On the west side of the small eastern mountain, within a familiar forested hollow.

A large black pig lay unconscious on the ground.

Chen Mu summoned the gray wall.

Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Curse: 1/10000/Second Rank.

Chen Mu took out the Five Ghosts Bag and placed it on the ground.

He took a deep breath.

A deep and rapid incantation came from his mouth.

Though he was the only one speaking, it sounded like a thousand whispers at once.

A plume of black air rose from the Five Ghosts Bag, gathering mid-air and compressing.

A pale paper figure appeared.

The little paper figure was full of patterns, with the character "Winter" on its back.

"It worked!"

Chen Mu looked at the paper figure with curiosity.

An odd sensation arose.

It was as if he had an extra hand out of nowhere.

"So that's how the round-faced Taoist controlled the paper figure that time!"

He thought about making the paper figure move.

And the paper figure floated slowly in mid-air, just as he imagined.

Thinking of the introduction to the Five Ghosts Moving Mountain.

Chen Mu made the paper figure dive under the black pig.

"Rise!"

...

The black pig didn't budge an inch!

"It's too heavy," Chen Mu realized.

He directed the paper figure to come out and picked a stone about the size of a human head.

The little paper figure floated under the rock, bracing it with its hands and head.

Chen Mu shouted, "Fly!"

...

The rock didn't move an inch!

Chen Mu: "..."

He suddenly had an ominous premonition.

A quarter of an hour later.

Chen Mu watched the little paper figure softly hovering amidst the drifting tree leaves, speechless.

Is this supposed to be the Five Ghosts Moving Mountain?

More like the Foolish Old Man Moves the Mountain!