My experience of grinding in another world

Chapter 790 Mystique

Outside the Renzi Camp, there was a trading market where soldiers spontaneously gathered.

Two Qi cultivators who were setting up a stall were chatting idly.

A sickly young Qi cultivator was idly fiddling with a pile of stones in front of him that emitted a faint emerald green light.

"What is this?" an old man with a goatee next to him couldn't help but ask curiously.

"It was dug from that flying island yesterday. I don't know what it is, but it's definitely a precious mineral." The young Qi Refiner said with a smug look on his face.

"Try putting your hand close to the stone. Can you feel an invisible force that makes you feel a stinging pain, like being pricked by needles?"

"That's what makes this stone so magical!"

"I guarantee this thing is a real treasure!" The young Qi cultivator exclaimed excitedly, his cheeks flushed with a sickly red.

An invisible force, a stinging, pricking pain?
This... is an alternate world version of nuclear radiation?!

Chen Mu, who was strolling nearby, twitched at the corner of his mouth.

That's really a treasure.

He moved his feet and immediately moved away without making a sound.

"It's a pity that Daojun Jiang was in such a hurry. If he had stayed for two more days, I would have been able to dig twice as much."

"What exactly is Daojun after? Why does he leave every time he breaches a flying island, wasting so many precious materials?" the young Qi Refiner complained.

"Isn't this good? The more flying islands we attack, the better we can earn Dao merits," the old man with the goatee said lazily.

"Do you know something?" The young Qi cultivator looked at the man with the goatee suspiciously.

"Do you know about the Investiture of the Gods?" the old man with the goatee asked with a smug smile.

"The one at the very top of the Haotian Treasure Record?" the young Qi Refiner asked, puzzled.

“That’s it.” The old man nodded.

"I heard from the camp leader that the Investiture of the Gods was jointly created by three Dao Ancestors. As long as one's name is on the list, one can expect to attain true immortality!"

"True Spirit?!" The young Qi Refiner exclaimed in astonishment, "Even a Dao Ancestor wouldn't reach that level."

"Jiang Daojun keeps attacking the flying island in order to accumulate Dao merit as quickly as possible so that he can be listed on the ranking list?"

"pretty close."

"..."

Chen Mu, who was strolling through the small market with his hands behind his back, suddenly twitched his ears, lost in thought.

This wasn't the first time he'd heard of the Investiture of the Gods.

The Haotian Treasure Record is a stone tablet located in the side hall of the Xuanyuan Hall. It was issued by the Luofu Dao, the upper sect of the Huangquan Sect, and lists in detail all the secret treasures that can be obtained by exchanging Dao abilities.

Chen Mu had no desires and his cultivation was complete, so he never went to look at it.

"When I have some free time, I should probably go and take a look."

"Even if we can't afford it, it's good to broaden our horizons, just like the Investiture of the Gods."

"Being on the list actually means one can expect true spiritual power."

"Wow, amazing!"

True Form and True Spirit are both descriptions of the realms attained through the Heavenly Demon Reincarnation Technique. According to the path of Qi Refiners, True Form is equivalent to the Primordial Spirit, while True Spirit corresponds to the Dao Fruit.

The three Dao Ancestors, whose whereabouts are elusive, were high-level Qi Refining cultivators who had attained the Dao Fruit.

There is a difference between the primordial spirit and the Dao fruit, which lies in the Cave Heaven Realm. Similarly, there is a difference between the true form and the true spirit, which lies in the Gang Sha Realm.

As long as he was on the list, he was guaranteed to get through it. How could Chen Mu not be surprised?

He pondered for a while before he came to his senses.

"Forget it, I don't want to."

"I haven't even mastered the cultivation of spiritual treasures yet, let alone the cultivation of primordial spirit. As for things at a higher level, there's no use thinking about them too much."

Chen Mu shook his head to dispel his distracting thoughts and began to stroll around selecting exotic beasts.

Having entered the final level of the Underworld Gourd, he decided to have a good meal to celebrate.

The environment of Mimitian is vast and varied; perhaps there are some unique wild vegetables and exotic animals among them.

……

late at night.

A huge, full moon hangs in the sky.

I don't know if it's because of the proximity or because of its enormous size, but the size of the moon in the Misty Sky is far greater than that in the Hundred-Intent Sky.

Chen Mu stood at the entrance of the Jade Conch, looking at the disc in mid-air.

Before long, a golden hue appeared on the moon. Immediately afterward, a shower of golden rain fell from the sky, like a gentle spring drizzle. This was none other than the imperial nectar that would descend every time the moon was full.

The Emperor's Dew on the other side of Baiyi Heaven was caused by the influence of the Misty Heaven.

In the misty heavens, the imperial nectar flowed even more abundantly. Moreover, Chen Mu keenly noticed that the omnipresent demonic energy outside the cloud platform seemed to have become more active as a result.

hold head high!
A clear and long sound suddenly came from the seabed below, lingering for a long time.

The power contained within the sound swept across, and the noisy camp fell silent instantly.

Chen Mu tensed up and froze on the spot.

He didn't even dare to use the method of listening to probe.

After a while, once the Five Directions Cloud Platform had quietly moved away from its previous location, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"What on earth is that?!"

"Just one roar is enough to make your heart pound."

Even with his own Dao Foundation cultivation, he couldn't help but feel a chill. That unknown monster was truly frightening.

"Fortunately, the Five Flags ran fast, and there was no direct confrontation." Chen Mu said with lingering fear.

Just as they were about to return to Qingyu Immortal Abode to calm their nerves, a series of exclamations suddenly came from the camp.

As the Divine Listening ability enveloped him, Chen Mu couldn't help but frown.

...A corner of the camp.

A black-clad Qi cultivator with bloodshot eyes tore through the tent and rushed out. Thick white hair grew on his face, and his mouth was full of sharp teeth. With bloodshot eyes and on all fours, he attacked the surrounding crowd indiscriminately like a wild beast.

Those who got too close were easily blown away with the slightest touch.

"It's dissociative identity disorder!"

"He's been poisoned by the Bewitching Heavenly Demon Poison!"

"Aren't the Five Banners supposed to ward off evil spirits? Why aren't they working?!"

There were gasps and screams from the crowd as people tried to dodge.

But the shout seemed to have caught the attention of the Taoist in black. He sprang to life, plunging into the crowd like a black lightning bolt.

A short, thin middle-aged man was caught off guard and was immediately tackled to the ground. The protective aura around his body had just risen when it was easily torn apart by the opponent's claw-like hands.

Its large mouth, full of sharp teeth, bit down hard on its throat.

hum!
An invisible force enveloped the surroundings, and the hideous figure, like an insect frozen in amber, was instantly immobilized and slowly floated into the air.

The short, thin middle-aged man on the ground hurriedly retreated, and when he saw Chen Mu appear out of nowhere, he quickly cupped his hands in thanks.

Chen Mu nodded slightly, beckoned the crazed person to come closer, and observed him carefully.

According to the jade tablets issued by the Yellow Springs Sect, anyone corrupted by the demonic poison will either go mad or die suddenly. The person before them is suffering from delirium caused by the demonic poison.

Aren't the Five Banners supposed to purify demonic poison?
Chen Mu was equally puzzled.

The giant spirit appeared beside him, activated its listening power, and soon detected a faint, discordant life force within the person's body.

"It really is demonic poison."

"Is it because he was severely injured during the attack on the flying island, causing the demonic poison to penetrate deep into his body and become impossible to remove completely?"

"Or was it that it was already infected before returning to the Five Directions Cloud Platform? Does this thing have an incubation period?"

"Since it's caused by demonic poison, perhaps we can try using the Plague Immortal Technique." A thought popped into his head.

After all, they are soldiers under my command; it wouldn't be right to just let them go unchecked.

Thinking this, the Plague Immortal's magical power and the Jade Cicada's aura surged into the other's body. The plague poison deeply hidden within the other's body was immediately activated and slowly drawn out.

The demonized middle-aged man roared incessantly, but his entire body was suppressed by the Qi Restriction for a hundred miles, making him unable to move at all.

Before long, the demonic poison was completely eradicated.

The man's mutated sharp teeth and claws remained, but his blood-red, crazed eyes had gradually regained their clarity.

"It really works." Chen Mu nodded in satisfaction.

The man collapsed to the ground as soon as the air barrier was removed.

Chen Mu casually cast a Soul-Seizing and Rejuvenating Technique, drawing some essence from the bottomless pool and infusing it into the man's body. The middle-aged man in black then recovered his spirit at a visible speed, standing up in just a few breaths.

Now that he had fully regained consciousness and felt his injuries healing, he bowed and clasped his hands in gratitude to Chen Mu.

"Thank you so much, Commander, for saving my life!"

He had acted like a madman just now, but it wasn't that he had no memory; it was just that his body was attacking uncontrollably.

He knew that without Chen Mu's intervention, his chances of survival were slim. Gritting his teeth, the middle-aged man in black pressed down on the ring charm bound to his wrist.

boom!
With a soft sound, a small box appeared out of thin air in his hands.

The box was jade white with some silver patterns. Upon opening the lid, a surge of scorching heat rushed out.

Chen Mu looked over curiously and immediately saw a purplish-red heart that was still beating.

"Commander, this is the heart I extracted from the body of a turtle-like demon beast. It contains powerful fire element; with a little refining, it can be transformed into a powerful magic weapon."

"Please accept this, Commander." He said with a sincere expression.

Despite the heartache in my heart, I still gave it my all.

In this elusive realm, anything can happen at any moment. I've been poisoned by a demon this time; there's no guarantee I won't be poisoned again. And what if I get poisoned again next time without any warning signs?
Chen Mu glanced at it curiously and indeed sensed a tremendous amount of firepower.

If that turtle-like demon beast continues to cultivate, it might be able to develop its root talent.

Unfortunately, that monster probably wasn't very powerful and died in the previous battle that destroyed the flying island.

"Thank you for your kindness." Chen Mu smiled but didn't accept the gift.

The power of the Fire Element Heart is equivalent to that of a magical artifact, the Fire Cloud Gourd.

Since he swallowed the Fire Cloud Gourd with Yama's Feast, he has mastered the art of refining the Fire Cloud Gourd.

With his current cultivation level, he certainly doesn't lack a fire-breathing magic weapon.

"Commander..." The middle-aged Taoist priest became anxious and wanted to say something, but Chen Mu waved his hand to interrupt him.

"Alright, keep this precious material to exchange for cultivation techniques."

"If I really want to repay you, once you've recovered from your injuries and returned to the battlefield, just help me gather some monster flesh and blood that others don't want."

“I have some small pets, and I can use these scraps to feed them.”

After saying that casually, Chen Mu ignored everyone and strolled back to Qingyu Immortal Abode.

……

I thought that was the end of it.

Unexpectedly, a large group of people appeared at the entrance of Qingyu Snail Shell early the next morning.

Upon seeing Chen Mu emerge, he immediately bowed and cried out, "Commander, save me!"

Chen Mu froze on the spot.

It took him a while to figure out what was going on.

Yesterday's treatment of that crazed middle-aged man was so effective that all these wounded soldiers came to me for detoxification.
Although my unit receives wounded soldiers, it is jokingly called the wounded soldier camp.

But it wasn't actually a wounded soldiers' camp.

Why are they all coming to me for treatment?

Chen Mu couldn't help but twitch his lips.