Chapter 148 Mastery of Body Snatching

"Cough, cough..."

A weak cough came from the corner, finally rousing Chen Mu from his contemplation.

He turned his head to look; Qi Huan was struggling to rise, his face covered in bloodstains, yet his eyes were filled with indescribable shock.

"Chen Mu... you..."

Qi Huan looked at Chen Mu, then at Nie Feng's corpse on the ground, not knowing what to say.

Chen Mu walked over quickly and crouched down to examine Qi Huan's injuries.

Nie Feng's casual flick, though not using his full strength, was undoubtedly a blow that made a bad situation worse for the already severely injured Qi Huan.

At this moment, Qi Huan's breath was as thin as a gossamer thread, his internal organs were displaced, and his Meridians were broken in many places; his condition was critical.

"Don't speak. Concentrate and regulate your breathing."

Chen Mu placed one hand on Qi Huan's back, carefully channeling his thick and pure Hunyuan Astral Qi into Qi Huan's body.

About an incense stick's time later, Qi Huan's aura finally stabilized. Although he was still weak, he was no longer in life-threatening danger.

"Alright, we must leave quickly."

Chen Mu was concise, helped Qi Huan up, and swept his gaze over the chaotic hall.

The City God had been executed, and Nie Feng was dead. The commotion at this moment had likely already alarmed those outside the temple. He quickly picked up the fallen soul-slaying blade, supported each other with Qi Huan, leaped out of the back window, and disappeared into the dark bamboo forest.

...

The sky was neither bright nor dark, and the east was already tinged with a fish-belly white.

Chen Mu sat cross-legged in his room, eyes closed, regulating his breathing. He appeared calm, but his mind had already sunk into the System panel.

[Chen Mu: 17 years old, remaining Lifespan: 42 years, plundered Lifespan: 1,465 years]

[Mastered Cultivation Techniques: Broadsword Technique (Perfection)! Taibao Horizontal Training (Perfection)! Sword Drawing Technique (Perfection)! Heaven-Slaying Sword Drawing Technique (Perfection)! Divine Void Step (Perfection)! Wind God Wings (Not Initiated), Soul-Loss Art (Perfection)! Heavenly Illusion Shape-Shifting Technique (Not Initiated), Hunyuan Wuji Calamity Body (Perfection!)]

[Special Items: bear paw gloves (Flying Bear Dream-Entering Technique: Perfection), ancient demon seal, spirit-absorbing mysterious iron box (containing the city gods divine treasury)]

[Can inject Lifespan into Cultivation Techniques to improve mastery!]

[Note: Cannot inject when Lifespan is less than one year!]

[Note: Plundered Lifespan cannot be converted into Lifespan; it can only be injected into Cultivation Techniques!]

His gaze lingered on the plundered Lifespan column for a long time.

"1,465 years..."

After he killed the City God and the Yin messengers, he had plundered 2,795 years of Lifespan. After injecting it into his Cultivation Technique and then killing Nie Feng, he surprisingly still had 1,465 years left...

Calculated this way, to advance the Hunyuan Wuji Calamity Body from two-thirds to Perfection, he had consumed a full 1,800+ years!

This number secretly shocked Chen Mu.

One must know, previously, to deduce and Cultivate the Heaven-Slaying Sword Drawing Technique to Perfection, it had only taken about 150 years in total, and the Divine Void Step had taken only four years.

Even for the Hunyuan Wuji Calamity Body, the first two-thirds had only taken a little over 1,500 years.

But this final sprint, the last step from Major Achievement to Perfection, consumed over 1,800 years of Lifespan!

It seems the more profound, the closer to the Origin Dao, and the greater the potential of a Cultivation Technique, the more the required Lifespan for injection grows exponentially.

Chen Mu seemed to have gained some insight.

This System injection of Lifespan for cultivation seemed like a shortcut, but in reality, it secretly aligned with the ultimate principles of the Heavenly Dao.

The grinding effort, life-and-death realizations, and chance epiphanies—these costs that Martial Artists must pay on their path of cultivation were reflected in the System as massive amounts of Lifespan.

An ordinary Cultivation Technique could reach Minor Achievement in a few or even dozens of years, but a forbidden technique like the Hunyuan Wuji Calamity Body, which pointed directly to the root of the Physical Body and touched upon high-level concepts like Hunyuan and Calamity Power, had a cultivation difficulty far exceeding the former by thousands of times. Naturally, it required consuming a terrifying amount of time to digest and comprehend.

Chen Mu secretly warned himself. In the future, when obtaining Cultivation Techniques, he must not be impulsive and inject everything to Perfection all at once.

Although plundered Lifespan seemed easy to obtain—just kill strong enemies—were strong enemies really that easy to kill?

Every time was a life-and-death struggle, full of danger. Now he seemingly still had a thousand years of Lifespan, but if he encountered another similar or even stronger Cultivation Technique, he feared it would be consumed in an instant.

Chen Mu got out of bed, paced the room with his hands behind his back, and pondered secretly.

In the future, when injecting Lifespan into Cultivation Techniques, he must have trade-offs and plans.

For ordinary Cultivation Techniques or those not immediately needed, there was no need to rush to inject; he didn't even need to initiate them. When the time came that he needed them, it wouldn't be too late to inject and upgrade them then.

These precious Lifespan years should be reserved for those truly core, infinitely potential, and Foundation-laying Cultivation Techniques.

Chen Mu became increasingly calm and rational.

The most urgent matter was to finish dealing with the city gods divine treasury and hand over this task to Jiang Xiong.

...

Peony Pavilion, third-floor private room.

Chen Mu had changed into clean clothes, and the bloodstains on his body had been washed away, though his face was slightly pale.

Qi Huan had been settled in an inn to heal, having taken a Medicinal Pill; his life was not in danger.

Jiang Xiong heard the commotion and slowly looked up. When his gaze fell upon Chen Mu, even with his deep city and experience, his pupils suddenly shrank, and the habitual smile on his face noticeably froze for the first time.

The Chen Mu before him was like a completely different person from the young man in the Peony Pavilion last night, who had a heavy, restrained aura and hidden sharpness.

It was not a surge in Realm, but a transformation of essence, which actually made him—a core member of the Jiang Family who had long entered the Heart-Awakening Realm—vaguely feel a trace of pressure.

What shocked him even more was that the aura on Chen Mu belonging to the Hunyuan Wuji Calamity Body, although restrained to the extreme, how could he, whose Jiang Family had studied this technique for generations, fail to recognize it?

That was clearly the charm of having already entered the hall and even approaching Major Achievement.

How long had it been? One night? No, only a few hours!

Jiang Xiong's heart was in turmoil. He understood the cultivation difficulty of this forbidden technique better than anyone. The miserable states of the eleven people in Jiang Family history who had attempted it were still vivid in his mind. The fastest record had taken nearly thirty years of time just to barely touch the threshold, and they had already exhausted their spirit and nearly collapsed.

But Chen Mu...

He forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart, and a gentle smile appeared on his face, though there were a few more traces of complexity deep within the smile.

"Brother Chen is truly extraordinary. It seems that although this trip was dangerous, you have already succeeded?"

Chen Mu nodded slightly, took the spirit-absorbing mysterious iron box from his embrace, placed it on the table, and pushed it to Jiang Xiong.

"I have not failed the mission."

Jiang Xiong took the iron box, which felt slightly heavy in his hand. He could feel the surging Power Of Will of incense and the aura of divine authority contained within the box, and a look of joy finally appeared on his face.

"Good! When Brother Chen takes action, it is indeed clean and neat!"

Jiang Xiong praised, then looked at Chen Mu, his tone carrying a few traces of probing.

"It's just that Brother Chen's aura has changed so much, it really makes me marvel. Could it be that the Hunyuan Wuji Calamity Body..."

Chen Mu knew he would definitely ask this and had already thought of a response, saying calmly.

"The Cultivation Technique Brother Jiang bestowed is indeed a supreme classic. In a desperate situation, I was fortunate to have some realization, touched the surface, and barely initiated it."

"The mysteries within are truly beyond description; I still need to slowly ponder them in the future."

Upon hearing this, the corner of Jiang Xiong's mouth couldn't help but twitch.

Initiated? Touched the surface?

If this is initiation and touching the surface, then what are the ancestors of the Jiang Family?

Dull and incompetent fools?