Lingyuan Immortal

Chapter 12: The Storm of the Tribulation Cultivation
"Fubo Water Diversion Technique..."

Chen Mu looked intently at the jade slip in his hand. After half an incense stick of time, he regained his composure and nodded.

"This technique is consistent with the description of the Fubo Water-Guiding Talisman in the talisman tradition. Once mastered, one can transform the mana within one's body into rootless water, capable of trapping enemies and injuring them... It truly has numerous uses."

It was precisely because of the Fu Bo Water-Diverting Talisman in the inheritance of the talisman that Chen Mu went there to study.

Possessing the mysterious water lotus that can enhance his magical comprehension, he gradually deepened his passion for practicing magic.

The road to becoming an immortal is long and arduous.

The vast majority of cultivators are stuck on this path, crawling like a tortoise, struggling to move forward. If they want to stand up and run, they must discover their spiritual roots... whether it's superior aptitude, abundant resources, or impressive combat power...

If one lacks any of these, the consequences are predictable: lacking supreme aptitude, cultivation speed is not as fast as others, combat power is weak, and there is no way to compete for sufficient resources. One can only run around all day, busying around for a few spirit stones each month, and gradually becoming lost in the crowd, becoming the foundation of others' great path...

Nowadays, Chen Mu has sufficient resources for cultivation, and he has spiritual stones to help him every day, so his realm will not fall behind others, and he can even be slightly ahead of some cultivators with medium-grade spiritual roots.

But in the future, using only a few spirit stones, it would be difficult to be on par with them, let alone compared with Niu Dali, who has top-grade talent. There is no way to catch up, and the gap will only get bigger...

Fortunately, Chen Mu is lucky and can possess the great power of magic to feed back his progress in cultivation.

He drew the patterns of the Fu Bo Water-Diverting Technique and the Water Snake Technique, and after a few attempts, he entered the realm of cultivation.

……

A month later.

Under the scorching sun, the once tall and straight green bamboos have bent down and their leaves have curled up.

Chen Mu pushed open the door, walked out of Qingzhu Valley without stopping, and went straight out of the mountain gate.

After he was away for a distance, he took out a black robe, put it on, circulated his magic power, lightened his body, and ran in one direction.

A day later, Chen Mu walked into Tianhe Market.

Walking along the streets of the market, he felt a little strange. Although the Tianhe Market was small, it was always bustling with people. Why was it so deserted today? A few monks were wandering around...

I had originally planned to spend some time selling the golden arrow talismans I made this month to earn more spirit stones, but looking at the situation, I wonder how long it will take to sell them all...

Chen Mu then turned around and entered the Treasure Pavilion founded by the sect.

As soon as I entered, a servant came up to me and asked, "What would you like to buy, senior?"

"Is Manager Hu here?" Chen Mu asked calmly, but his voice was deliberately rough.

The servant knew it was an old customer who had come in. He immediately asked for Hu the manager and said, "Yes, please wait in the side room for a moment, sir."

Following his guidance, Chen Mu walked into an elegant room with a jade screen and sat down to wait.

After a while, a middle-aged steward wearing a luxurious round robe walked in.

Chen Mu first knew him when Niu Dali mentioned him. He was one of the immortal seedlings of the previous generations of the sect, but because of his poor aptitude, he was not promoted to inner disciples and became a menial disciple. Until now, he has only reached the sixth level of Qi Condensation. Later, he managed the relationships within the sect and became the manager disciple of the Treasure Pavilion in Tianhe Market.

"Brother Hu, I haven't seen you for a month. You seem to have become more powerful again... Are you satisfied with the golden arrow talisman I gave you last time?" Chen Mu laughed loudly when he saw the person coming.

Upon hearing this, Manager Hu smiled and replied, "So it's Brother Jiang. Your Golden Arrow Talisman is very powerful, and we are very satisfied with it. Are you here to sell some more this time?"

"That's right." Chen Mu took out a small stack of talismans and placed them on the table: "Brother Hu, please check it.

Upon hearing this, Manager Hu scanned the talismans with his spiritual sense and found exactly forty. Without waiting to check if they were usable, he flicked his sleeve and put the talismans into his storage bag. He smiled and said, "I trust Brother Jiang." He took a sip of the tea beside the chair and said, "I wonder... Brother Jiang, do you have other kinds of talismans? My Baibao Pavilion accepts everything, and the price is negotiable."

Chen Mu's expression changed, and he replied, "Of course there is... However, Jiang has other uses. When I have the energy to do so again, I will definitely come and bother Brother Hu."

Manager Hu laughed heartily twice: "With Brother Jiang's words, I will not let you suffer any loss next time I come here."

After saying that, he took out thirty spirit stones.

Chen Mu remained calm, put the spirit stone away, and thought to himself.

"Last time, I only gave you 20 spirit stones for over 30 talismans, but this time I gave you 30 for 40... It seems like you want to establish a stable cooperation with me..."

After chatting with Manager Hu for a while, Chen Mu casually asked, "Brother Hu, what's going on today? Why is the market so deserted..."

Upon hearing this, Manager Hu replied with a serious expression, "Brother Jiang, don't you know? A few days ago, a group of robbers who appeared from nowhere plundered the Black Mountain Market in the south. What's even more hateful is that this group of robbers not only plundered cultivation resources, but also took people's lives... They acted entirely based on their moods..."

Chen Mu was stunned. This was a bit unexpected.

He also knew that Heishan Market was far away from Tianhe Market.

Normally, a casual cultivator wouldn't be so cautious as to not even leave the house, but this time it's understandable.

Just because Black Mountain Market, like Tianhe Market, was founded by Shuiyunjian...

"Where did this robbery cultivator come from that is so bold..."

After saying goodbye, Chen Mu did not stroll around for a while as usual. He went straight out of the market and returned to the mountain gate.

It took a day to return to Qingzhu Valley.

Chen Mu was walking on a path deep in the bamboo forest when he saw a figure sitting in front of his house from afar.

When he used his magic power to look, he saw Niu Dali wearing white clothes, which made him look even darker.

"Brother Niu, what do you want from me?" Chen Mu shouted from afar.

Niu Dali opened his eyes upon hearing this, and seeing the gray-shirted young man in the distance, he smiled and waved. Chen Mu took two quick steps and approached him.

Niu Dali then smiled and asked, "Did you go to Tianhe Market?"

"Yeah." Chen Mu nodded.

"I came here just to talk to you about this. Don't leave the mountain for the time being." Niu Dali changed the subject and said seriously.

Chen Mu understood and thought to himself.

"It seems that Big Brother Niu knows about the robbery and came to tell me."

He immediately nodded and said, "Don't worry, Big Brother Niu. I already know about this matter. I wonder...how will the sect deal with it?"

Niu Dali turned slightly, his eyes blazing with fire as he spoke longingly, "The sect has already sent one of the ten true disciples... Senior Brother Zhou Weiqian to lead the team to eliminate them."

True disciples! Chen Mu vaguely remembered hearing Uncle Zhang say before that every true disciple was a leader in the sect, with a promising foundation, and their strength was comparable to some of the sect's veteran deacons...

"If a true disciple goes there, it won't take much time..." Chen Mu raised his eyebrows and turned his eyes slightly.

...

Chen Mu returned to the house, took out the spirit stone and started practicing.

After this incident, his desire to practice was stimulated even more.

He always remembered the five-year deadline.

It has been three years and three months since I started learning. If it exceeds five years and I haven't broken through to the fourth level of Qi Condensation by the sixth year, I will become a menial disciple. Now there are less than two years and nine months left.

According to his cultivation progress, he would definitely be able to become an inner disciple in such a long time, but he did not want to waste time and tried to break through to the fourth level of Qi Condensation in the fifth year.

……

Three months later.

Things turned out to be somewhat beyond his expectations. At the beginning, when the true disciple led the team over, the robbery cultivator had already hidden himself and could not be found.

Later, they could only investigate bit by bit without letting any information leak out, and finally found traces in a mortal village.

Then, they ambushed and wiped out most of the elite members of that group of robbers. Unfortunately, the leader and some of his men managed to break through and disappeared again...

Since the mission was not completed completely, the true disciples could only continue to hunt down the remaining remnants.

However, what made Chen Mu happy was that he could go to the market to exchange for some cultivation resources...

……

Another year and a half passed.

Outside the window, birds are singing and insects are chirping, and a gentle breeze is blowing.

Chen Mu slowly finished his training and opened his eyes.

A pair of eyes are like a lake full of clear water, calm and peaceful.

At this time, there were a total of eighty-one drops of spiritual liquid in his dantian. If he condensed one more drop, he would be able to break through to the fourth level of Qi Condensation.

But what puzzled him was that even this drop of spiritual liquid could not condense for a long time...

I originally thought that I had the spiritual fluid and there would be no bottleneck before building my foundation, but who knew...

During this year or so, apart from drawing talismans for sale, practicing magic, and participating in competitions with his disciples, Chen Mu spent all his remaining time on Qi Condensation and cultivation, and finally reached the last step.

And half a year ago, Zhu Yuelian broke through to the fourth level of Qi Condensation...

Three months ago, Lin Xuanzhu was promoted to an inner disciple...

Compared with them, the progress is still a bit slow.

"Brother Chen! I've been sitting here for a while. Would you like a cup of tea?" It was Niu Dali who shouted outside.

Upon hearing this, Chen Mu raised his eyebrows and smiled: "I just gave it to you to drink a few days ago, why are you here again today?" He stood up, opened the door and walked out.

In fact, he noticed Niu Dali when he came just now, but because it was Niu Dali, he did not greet him immediately.

"Don't mention it. Do you think I want to come?" Niu Dali smiled and waved his hands, then said with a serious expression: "Yesterday, Senior Brother Zhou Weiqian returned home after completing his mission..."

Chen Mu was startled when he heard this and asked, "Has the leader of the robbery cultivators been found?"

"They've been killed. The rest who escaped are just scum with low-level cultivation..." Niu Dali muttered. Without waiting for Chen Mu to speak, he said with a grin, "The sect has issued an order. The escaped Tribulation Cultivators have been designated for use in this round of the Immortal Seedling Trial."

Chen Mu frowned and said, "How can you be so careless? If a few high-level Qi Condensation cultivators are left behind, the consequences will be disastrous..."

Niu Dali twisted his body, touched his head, and said, "Hey, how could the master be so stupid? There are people to follow..."

"I wonder which senior brother is protecting me?" Chen Mu asked softly.

Niu Dali shook his head, mumbling, "I don't know. Anyway, I'm definitely not as good as a true disciple... We have to wait for the announcement from our uncle Zhang who is in charge of us for the details."

Chen Mu nodded after hearing this and said nothing more...

(End of this chapter)