Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Eccentric Studio

A third-grade Spirit Gathering Array truly lives up to its reputation.

Within the formation, the surrounding spiritual energy swirled around his body like flowing currents, and every pore of his being could keenly sense the abundance of spiritual power. With just a slight application of his cultivation technique, the spiritual energy flowed into his hands in an endless stream, never ceasing for a moment. Cultivating here, his rate of circulating spiritual power was nearly twice as fast; if not for the abysmally low efficiency of transforming spiritual energy in the Qi Condensation stage, his progress would likely be even swifter.

For Li Mu at this moment, the third-grade Spirit Gathering Array could not be used to its fullest advantage; if he were in the Spirit Foundation stage, his cultivation speed could more than double. It was excellent, but the cost was exceedingly high. Three medium-grade spirit crystals per day—even cultivators in the Vein Refining stage would hesitate to spend so much. Yet Li Mu did not mind; with the Spirit Tower, spirit crystals were not hard to come by.

“Three medium-grade crystals a day for twice the cultivation speed—well worth it.”

Li Mu settled into calm concentration and cultivated with utmost focus.

Time slipped by day after day, and in the blink of an eye, several months had passed.

Li Mu smoothly advanced to the late stage of Qi Condensation, drawing closer to the threshold of Spirit Foundation. Sun Qi and Sun Sanjiu had also reached the mid-stage of Qi Condensation, but Sun Sanjiu had achieved notable results in alchemy as well—the Spirit Nurturing Pill and the Wood Spirit Pill were new products introduced by Jade Wood Hall.

These two pills were mostly of mid-to-low grade, but their success rate was high, providing a steady and reliable income. Along with the limited-release Pan Pill, Jade Wood Hall’s daily income exceeded fifteen medium-grade spirit crystals. After deducting cultivation expenses and shop rent, there was still a substantial profit.

With an excellent reputation, Jade Wood Hall became a well-known brand in Deyang City and expanded its market presence. Sun Qi even recruited several newly-initiated cultivators to help manage the business.

Everything seemed to be going well, with promising prospects.

Yet Li Mu did not grow complacent, cultivating each day with relentless intensity.

According to the common understanding among cultivators, exhausting one's true energy before cultivation, though difficult, could gradually expand the sea of energy and spiritual channels over time. The principle was well-known, but few could truly deplete their energy reserves each time—it was an exhausting, even painful ordeal, leaving one drained and barely feeling like oneself.

In such a state, most people only wanted to rest; to force oneself to cultivate further would be courting disaster.

Yet ever since reaching mid-stage Qi Condensation, Li Mu did just that every time he cultivated. He would use his technique to drain his energy, then cultivate anew.

Only after reaching mid-stage Qi Condensation could one learn spells and fully deplete true energy.

It was no wonder his progress surpassed the expectations of others. When Lady Wang saw him, her gaze held no trace of disdain, but rather a measure of admiration. On several occasions, Lady Wang tried to persuade Li Mu to join the Jade Iron Sect, offering him a spot as an inner disciple—free use of third-grade Spirit Gathering Arrays, and a variety of pills to aid cultivation. Yet Li Mu always declined with a gentle smile.

“Brother, will you take me out today?”

Li Ying was sitting on the second floor. When she saw Li Mu approaching, she hurried to greet him.

Li Mu smiled. “Yes, we’re going out today.”

Li Ying took his hand, her smile radiant. After six months of daily nourishment from spiritual items, the ten-year-old had grown increasingly beautiful, her girlish features becoming more defined. When she strolled the streets, she often drew admiring glances.

“You haven’t taken me out in so long—let’s have a really good walk today.”

Li Mu gently patted his little sister and handed Sun Qi a freshly refined pill. “Sun Qi, go into closed-door cultivation after this—don’t wait for us.”

Sun Qi nodded with a smile, busying himself with the customers.

The streets of Deyang City were as bustling as ever, filled with a steady stream of people.

Li Mu had now mastered the art of discerning sound, and his ears caught the conversations of nearby cultivators.

“Brother Li, I hear the Jade Iron Sect has pushed all the way to Goldenwater City. Now, they control a third of the Cloud Mountain Realm.”

“I heard long ago, Little Six. Life isn’t easy—many small sects have been swallowed up. I think our Qiyun Sect is next.”

“What are you talking about? There’s nothing wrong with being absorbed. The Jade Iron Sect is decent enough. If you’d ever been to Lingyun City and met a cultivator from Mingyu Valley, then you’d know what hardship really means.”

“Shh, keep your voice down—do you want to be overheard?”

“What’s there to fear? There’s no one from Mingyu Valley here. Even if there were, would they dare touch me?”

Hearing the name Mingyu Valley, Li Mu lifted his head. In front of a treasure shop a few white-robed cultivators were conversing in hushed tones. Noticing Li Mu’s gaze, they grew nervous and quickly left.

Li Mu smiled, unconcerned; it was not something he needed to worry about now, and he continued forward.

Li Ying, now older and more refined, had grown quieter, no longer as boisterous as before. She would merely tug at Li Mu and point out pretty spots, saying, “Brother, look how beautiful that is.”

After walking a while, Li Ying suddenly stopped.

“Brother, look over there—what a curious shop! Let’s take a look?” She pointed to a small nearby shop.

Li Mu glanced over. The shop was indeed tiny, barely worthy of the name.

A minuscule white house nestled among a row of prosperous businesses, it looked utterly out of place. The door was half-closed, and the battered entrance bore the crooked words “Strange Curiosities” scrawled in charcoal, many strokes broken and barely legible unless one looked closely. It stood in stark contrast to the ornate signboards nearby.

“This shop?” Li Mu found it somewhat odd.

Li Ying nodded eagerly. “Yes, yes, it’s really special. There must be something interesting inside.”

Still a child at heart, Li Mu smiled and led his little sister toward the shop.

Inside, the shop was deserted, with a long corridor stretching ahead—seemingly dozens of meters long.

Li Mu felt a flicker of doubt. Was this really a shop?

Li Ying looked puzzled as well, clutching Li Mu’s hand more tightly.

Li Mu, unwilling to disappoint his sister, led the way forward. But after only a few steps, the scene changed.

The corridor ahead suddenly split into dozens of winding passages, each twisting and turning with no end in sight—a veritable labyrinth.

It was a trap array!

A surge of tension gripped Li Mu’s heart. Had he walked into a formation? Who could have set such a trap here?

Yet Li Ying seemed only more excited, skipping ahead. “Wow, this is fun! Brother, which way should we go? Shall we split up and try every path?”

Hearing his sister’s laughter, Li Mu couldn’t help but smile despite himself. “Don’t split up—stay close to me.”

He glanced back, only to see the door behind them firmly shut.

He tried probing with his spiritual power, but it was like casting a stone into water—no response at all.

This was a restriction with no solution, one he could not hope to break at his current stage of cultivation. In truth, what formation could he break at all right now?

Aside from those that tested one’s will, which he might overcome with his calm resolve, this was clearly not such a case.