Chapter 67 A Desperate Gamble

Chen Mu stopped in his tracks, turned around, and let out a cold snort.

"You can't return the Tiger Fangs, and you can't give me the Cultivation Technique. Are you telling me you can't even part with a lousy box?"

Jiang Huoyu's eyes darted around, her gaze scanning back and forth between Chen Mu's face and the box. Suddenly struck by a moment of inspiration, she shoved the much-despised scroll in her arms toward him.

"The casket is definitely out of the question! Use this. I'll use this as compensation."

As if afraid Chen Mu would back out, she shoved the painting at him while piling on a smile, trying her best to make her tone sound sincere.

"Chen Mu, Chen Mu, don't be like this."

"Look at me, I'm just a weak woman, stranded far from home and penniless. I can't even afford a meal."

"This box is really important to me; it's a Family heirloom. And though this painting looks ordinary, what if there's some hidden mystery within?"

Chen Mu's brow furrowed at her sudden change of face and persistent pestering. He instinctively wanted to push her away, but Jiang Huoyu was the type who wouldn't let go until she saw results, and she held on tight.

A trace of struggle and heartache appeared on Chen Mu's face. He looked at the worthless scroll, then weighed the clearly extraordinary casket in his hand.

"What mystery could there be in this crappy painting? No one would take it even if it were free."

"What do I want this thing for? It's not as practical as the casket."

Seeing his expression soften, Jiang Huoyu immediately struck while the iron was hot.

"It's useful, it's definitely useful. Chen Mu, you're a natural-born genius with peerless Aptitude. The mystery in this painting surely won't stump you."

"Just think of it as helping me out and study it. I really can't give you the casket, I beg you..."

As she spoke, she secretly observed Chen Mu's expression. Seeing that although he looked unwilling, his hand holding the scroll never pushed it away, her heart settled slightly.

At least she had saved the exquisite casket.

As for that scroll, she had studied it for many days and couldn't decipher its secrets, so she didn't feel bad about giving it away.

Meanwhile, Chen Mu's internal state was entirely different.

He suppressed the urge to let the corners of his mouth curl up, maintaining an impatient and reluctant expression on his face.

He gave Jiang Huoyu a fierce glare before finally, seemingly against his will, tightening his grip on the scroll.

"Fine. Since that's the case, I'll take this painting for now."

Jiang Huoyu nodded repeatedly, finally letting out a sigh of relief as her smile brightened.

"Good, good. Thank you, Chen Mu."

Chen Mu stopped looking at her, sighed, and waved her off while holding the scroll.

"Alright, I'm tired and need to rest for a bit. You go out first."

Having said that, he practically shoved Jiang Huoyu out of his bedroom, slammed the door shut with a bang, and bolted it from the inside.

Outside the door, Jiang Huoyu's smile slowly faded. She looked down at the exquisite casket she had just reclaimed, then glanced at the tightly closed door, a hint of suspicion flashing in her eyes.

"That guy is badly injured and his aura is unstable, yet he still had the energy to demand the casket?"

"Is he really just greedy for money? I feel like something is slightly off..."

Her eyes darted around, and she silently pressed herself against the door, holding her breath and focusing her senses to eavesdrop on the movements inside.

...

Inside the bedroom.

The moment the bolt fell into place, the fake impatience and disgust on Chen Mu's face vanished instantly. He leaned against the cold wooden door and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Success.

Though the process was a bit convoluted, this scroll—which very likely sealed a true treasure—had finally fallen into his hands.

Time was tight; he had to master the secrets of this scroll immediately.

Liu Ziming was still waiting near the city gate, there was no telling when that Ghostly Creature would finish digesting its meal, and Xu Changze's attitude was even more unpredictable.

Without further hesitation, he walked to the bedside and carefully placed the scroll on the bed.

He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes tight, took a deep breath to force himself to calm down, and sank his entire mind into the depths of his consciousness.

The System panel emerged as expected.

[Chen Mu: Seventeen years old. Remaining Lifespan: Forty-one years. (Plundered Lifespan): Three hundred and ninety-seven years]

[Mastered Martial Arts: Broadsword Technique (Perfection)! Taibao Horizontal Training (Perfection)! Sword Drawing Technique (Perfection)! Heaven-Slaying Sword Drawing Technique (Perfection)! Divine Void Step (Perfection)!]

[Special Items: bear paw gloves (Flying Bear Dream-Entering Technique: Perfection)]

[Unknown Sealed Item (Ancient Scroll): Can attempt to infuse Lifespan to crack or activate. Lifespan required unknown. Risk of failure exists!]

[Infuse?]

Chen Mu's gaze was fixed intently on that line of text.

Unknown sealed item.

Lifespan required unknown.

Risk of failure exists.

Behind every word lay the unknown and uncertainty.

Nearly four hundred years of Plundered Lifespan sounded like a lot, but for a treasure that had been sealed by a Family for over a hundred years, would this Lifespan be enough?

If he failed, wouldn't all this laboriously accumulated Lifespan go down the drain?

Chen Mu's brow was tightly knit, but he had no other choice.

Outside was a powerful Ghostly Creature that had reached the Heart-Awakening Realm, a County Magistrate in league with ghosts, and a bribed Yin Bureau.

His own Mental Energy was heavily damaged due to the shattering of the dream, Liu Ziming's leg injury hadn't healed, and Qi Huan's life or death was unknown.

At a time like this, even if it was just a sliver of a chance to turn the tables, he had to take the gamble.

Forget it!

Man proposes, Heaven disposes.

Chen Mu no longer hesitated for a moment and shouted in his heart.

"Infuse! Infuse it all!"

[Infusion starting. Attempting to crack the unknown sealed item.]

[One year... ten years... fifty years... one hundred years...]

Lifespan vanished like flowing water, at a speed far faster than when deducing martial arts.

Chen Mu watched as the number representing his Plundered Lifespan rapidly decreased.

[Two hundred years... two hundred and fifty years... three hundred years... three hundred and ninety-seven years!]

[Plundered Lifespan exhausted. Seal not yet removed. Infuse innate Lifespan?]

The cold prompt from the System was like a bucket of ice water poured over Chen Mu, chilling him to the bone.

Nearly 400 years of Plundered Lifespan had been poured in, yet it hadn't even caused a ripple.

To continue, he would have to use his already meager innate Lifespan.

Fine beads of cold sweat broke out on Chen Mu's forehead. He stared at the "forty-one years" of remaining Lifespan on the System panel and fell into deep thought.

Forty-one years. If he infused it and still failed...

But if he didn't, the four hundred years of Plundered Lifespan he'd already invested would be wasted.

And the only chance of survival this scroll provided would be completely shut off.

This was a true dead end.

A step back was a cliff; a step forward might lead into a bottomless abyss.

Chen Mu closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, they were filled with a look of absolute, death-defying determination.

He never had a way out to begin with.

Not since the moment he transmigrated and killed Li Feiyu.

Not since he first infused Lifespan to survive, leaving himself with only one year of life.

Not since he stepped into Sangye Village and witnessed that Hell on earth.

He had always been struggling in desperate situations, fighting against Heaven, against demons, and against men.

This time, it was just another big gamble.

At worst, he'd leave himself one year of innate Lifespan and start all over again.

"Continue the infusion!"

He roared in his mind.

[Infusing innate Lifespan: One year... two years... five years...]

[Ten years... twenty years... thirty years...]

[Thirty-nine years]

Only two years of innate Lifespan remained!

Success or failure depended on this one stroke!