Lijiang Guard City, Yongtong District.
The sound of sizzling stir-frying echoed in the courtyard, and the tantalizing aroma spread throughout.
Chen Mu hummed a tune as he served up a plate of flavorful cured meat from the pot.
After five months, he had finally mastered the Blue-eyed Golden Ape Shape Cultivation Technique to its peak.
"No wonder those in Jianghu are so eager for the Dragon Transformation Pill, a poison that quenches thirst with poison," Chen Mu exclaimed with a sense of emotion, "Shape Cultivation is too difficult!"
Bending down, he lifted his shirt. With a look of complex satisfaction from overcoming hardships, he gazed at the Soul Strength that encircled his abdomen like a belt.
After affectionately taking another couple of glances, he picked up a shovel and began to stir the fine sand in another iron pot.
Within the sand lay peanuts, the scorching fine sand slowly and evenly transferring heat to their interiors.
Peanuts prepared this way were roasted so evenly, they were exceptionally fragrant and crisp.
Chen Mu stared at the iron spatula in his hand, lost in thought.
"Soul Strength... impervious to blades and spears, huh."
Tossing aside the spatula, Chen Mu formed his fingers into a blade.
He plunged them into the scalding fine sand with a plop.
His hands, covered in Jet Black Soul Strength, felt the sand's searing heat distinctly.
Flip, flip, flip... Flip, flip, flip... I flipped vigorously!
When he pulled his hands out to look, they were white and tender!
"Ha!"
After stir-frying the peanuts, Chen Mu sat down at a low table beneath the wooden shed.
"In the future, I'll stir-fry without a spatula and barbecue without a grill."
"Old Jie probably won't be able to stomach it."
"OCD is so expensive to maintain!"
"It's a pity he's not here. Haven't seen him in a long time, kind of miss the old guy."
Chen Mu joyfully stuffed a spicy and delicious piece of cured meat into his mouth.
He picked up the special milk tea nearby and gulped it down in one go.
"Refreshing!"
...
The Startling Swan Gang's flagship.
"What conspiracy is Cheng Yi plotting?" Zuo Sheng wondered.
Previously, Cheng Yi would come to cause trouble every day, sometimes even twice a day.
He would go on a killing spree, incidentally destroy the Startling Swan's large ship, and then quickly vanish.
But for five consecutive days now, there had been not a whisper of activity.
The more it was like this, the more Zuo Sheng felt jittery, afraid Cheng Yi would suddenly make a big move.
"Has he given up?" Jin Wuduan frowned.
"Could he really give up, given he could hide in a secluded Daoist temple in Qingshan County and secretly master Shell Soul without showing off at all? Such a patient nature," Zuo Sheng hesitated.
Cheng Yi's strength with Shell Soul, wielding a Magic Artifact, was almost equal to his master's, which truly startled Zuo Sheng.
Jin Wuduan was also puzzled, but he felt a sense of relief, "Actually, this is more advantageous for us."
"When Seventh Miss returns, even if he reappears, we won't be afraid."
"I'll practice both the Black Tiger and White Ape Shape Cultivation Techniques and see if I can speed up the accumulation of Soul Strength."
He wished to develop his Shell Soul early.
Jie Jia said that the Shell Soul could restrain Ghosts.
Living in this world where evil spirits run rampant, Chen Mu always felt slightly insecure. Having his Shell Soul early would set his mind at ease.
Taking out the White Ape Shape Cultivation Technique from the Five Ghosts Bag, Chen Mu browsed through it again.
He had pondered over it several times before, and the variations in breathing and postures were already clear to him.
Reviewing it was just to confirm one more time.
"Indeed, it's garbage." Chen Mu was somewhat disdainful.
The Muscle Transformation Stage Breathing Method has only eighteen variations.
There are many movements, thirty-six in total. Each one is expansive and requires a lot of effort.
"This is the gap." Many of the Blue-eyed Golden Ape's exercises are static, a slight tremor of the muscles is all you need.
"The transformation principle relies more on physical strength training." Chen Mu felt the difference between high-end and low-end Shape Cultivation techniques.
Putting away the book, Chen Mu started practicing the stances.
With both Shape Cultivation techniques mastered, he was clear about adjusting his breathing and controlling his muscles.
It took three attempts to enter the right state.
Myriad insights flooded into his mind.
Alternating between long and short breaths, the technique for exerting force in a reaching hand, the posture of leaping forward in a stride, the secrets of the White Ape Shape Cultivation Technique were laid bare.
After a good while, Chen Mu halted his movements and brought out the grey wall.
At the bottom, indeed, a new entry appeared.
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White Ape Shape Cultivation Technique: 136/10000/Second Rank;
Chen Mu: "..."
"Indeed, it's garbage."
Just getting started and it's straight to Muscle Transformation!
Feeling his body's condition, only his arms' muscles were slightly warm, showing traces of transformation.
The increase in strength was minuscule, with just a slight enhancement in the explosive power of his arms.
This indicated that the muscles involved in the White Ape Shape Cultivation Technique had already been covered by the previous two techniques.
"Tsk..."
"So much for the idea of stacking layers of armor."
He had previously thought about stacking Shape Cultivation techniques, turning himself into a muscle-bound monster.
"Indeed, there are limits to what a person can achieve."
Chen Mu shook his head: "But though I can't stack armor, I can still stack Soul Strength."
Just relying on one Shape Cultivation Technique, who knows how long it would take.
It's just that the White Ape Shape Cultivation Technique is too weak, Chen Mu was a bit worried about the size of the Soul Strength.
"If the White Ape Shape Cultivation Technique is like this, then what about the Black Tiger Shape Cultivation Technique..."
Chen Mu thought of that chickpea-sized Soul Strength under his foot.
"I hope it's not really the three lousy brothers."