"When is this ever going to end, Brother Mu..."

He had only taken a few steps when the familiar complaint reached his ears.

"Alright, I’ve heard that so many times my ears are about to fall off!"

Chu Mu glanced irritably at Xu Yuan, who had appeared beside him.

He wasn’t exaggerating in the slightest. He had been hearing that same complaint for as many days as he had been recovering from his injury.

"Brother Mu, you have it easy, just resting at home every day. But me? I’m stuck in that dungeon day and night, keeping that old thing’s corpse company..."

"Oh? He’s an ’old thing’ now?"

Chu Mu teased.

"Weren’t you so affectionate before, calling him ’old sir’ this and ’old sir’ that?"

Xu Yuan looked like he was about to lose his mind.

"Every night, my dreams are all about that old thing..."

"If this keeps up, I’m really going to go crazy!"

"Complaining to me is useless, you know."

Chu Mu waved his hand. "I’m not from Qili Village. How would I know what they’re up to?"

"For all we know, they could’ve slipped away long ago..."

Though he said that, a hint of doubt clearly crossed Chu Mu’s face.

’After all, what I saw with my own eyes that night couldn’t have been fake, could it?’

Chu Mu subconsciously scanned his surroundings. The street was bustling with people, most of them familiar faces. He had been recuperating for over half a month, and during his daily walks through these streets, he hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

’Did they come over to investigate, decide it was too dangerous, and just run off?’

Chu Mu considered the somewhat comical possibility. But on second thought, it didn’t seem entirely impossible.

’Fearing death and clinging to life is only human nature.’

"Don’t you have to go on duty?"

Chu Mu glanced at Xu Yuan, who was still following him, and asked casually.

Xu Yuan grinned. "I took the afternoon off. I don’t have to go in."

"Perfect."

Chu Mu nodded. "Come and help me with something!"

"What is it, Brother Mu?"

"You’ll know when you get there."

Chu Mu walked briskly back home. The most conspicuous object in the courtyard was a large wooden tub, almost as tall as a man.

Xu Yuan circled the wooden tub, his face full of confusion. "Brother Mu, what’s this tub for?"

"For Martial Arts training."

"Go fetch me a few buckets of water."

Chu Mu went into the kitchen, skillfully started a fire, and poured water into the pot. He then emptied a packet of medicinal herbs into it, while Xu Yuan added water to the pot, bucket by bucket.

Before long, the herbs in the iron pot were tumbling in the boiling water. A rich, medicinal aroma steamed up, filling the entire room and slowly drifting out into the courtyard on the gentle breeze.

Xu Yuan was still busy; Chu Mu had even assigned him the task of feeding firewood into the stove.

As for Chu Mu, he sat under the eaves, once again holding the copy of the Body Refining Technique, a manual he had read so many times he’d lost count.

Although Chu Mu knew its contents by heart, he still flipped through it now, page by serious page.

After about half an hour, Chu Mu finally put down the Body Refining Technique manual.

The medicinal liquid in the iron pot was now boiling hot and viscous, and the wooden tub was nearly half-full of well water.

Chu Mu took a deep breath, unable to hide the anticipation on his face. From desperately wanting it but being unable to obtain it, to being able to read it but not practice it, and now to being on the very cusp of beginning...

’True Martial Arts...’

"Pour it in."

Chu Mu looked at Xu Yuan, who was standing by the stove holding the bucket. As he spoke, he tried his best to calm himself.

’Calming the mind and nurturing one’s nature is the first step in Martial Arts!’

A full bucket of the viscous, boiling-hot medicinal liquid was poured into the clear water in the tub, instantly dyeing it as black as ink.

Chu Mu stripped off his clothes, baring his upper body. After testing the water’s temperature, he leaped directly into the tub.

The slightly scalding medicinal water immediately enveloped him.

Chu Mu focused on the sensation for a moment but found nothing out of the ordinary.

He closed his eyes and regulated his breathing for a moment. Once his mind was calm and tranquil, Chu Mu slowly opened his eyes, and the Light Curtain Panel appeared in his vision.

[Name: Chu Mu.]

[Skill:

Basic Blade Technique (Initial Glimpse) 272/500]

[Spiritual Radiance Value: 509.9%]

He glanced at the minuscule increase in his Basic Blade Technique’s Skill Level, then his gaze fixed on the Spiritual Radiance Value he had accumulated over the past few days.

Practicing the Body Refining Technique begins with calming the mind, followed by comprehending Qi Blood.

The medicinal liquid currently enveloping him was a formula specifically designed for practicing the Body Refining Technique.

Its main purpose was to strengthen one’s foundation and cultivate vitality.

Of course, no matter how potent the medicine, one still needed to reach the stage of manipulating Qi Blood to consciously control it and absorb the medicinal effects.

Relying on the body’s instincts alone, even while immersed in the liquid, would yield negligible results.

Right now, Chu Mu hadn’t even practiced the Pile Skill, let alone sensed his Qi Blood, so there was no way he could fully absorb the medicinal properties of the liquid.

Chu Mu’s goal was to use the external medicinal properties to stimulate the Qi Blood within his body, making it easier for him to perceive its existence.

This method was also described in the Body Refining Technique.

Following the method for practicing the Pile Skill, which he already knew by heart, Chu Mu slowly assumed the Pile Skill stance inside the wooden tub.

As a beginner, he was naturally not proficient, but after studying it for so many days, his posture was quite standard.

With a calm mind and even breath, Chu Mu began to carefully perceive the changes in his body.

Under his body’s natural instincts, the absorption of the medicinal effects was minuscule, but it was impossible to be completely isolated from it while immersed in the liquid.

Soon, Chu Mu keenly felt a tingling numbness spreading throughout his body.

’This is my body’s instinct, subtly absorbing the medicinal effects from the liquid.’

’It’s the same principle as applying a medicinal plaster.’

’And what I need to do now is perceive the changes that will occur in my body after it absorbs the medicinal effects.’

’Simply put... where do the medicinal effects go after being absorbed by the body!’

The formula to strengthen one’s foundation and cultivate vitality worked by replenishing qi and nourishing blood.

It replenished the qi and nourished the blood.

’When the medicinal effects converge with the Qi Blood, both internally and externally, that is undoubtedly the easiest time to perceive it.’

As he held the Pile Skill stance, with a silent thought from Chu Mu, the Spiritual Radiance Blessing descended. His perception, already focused by his calm mind, seemed to magnify several times in an instant.

The tingling numbness spread over every part of his body covered by the medicinal liquid. Beneath this faint numbness, he could also clearly perceive a warmth slowly rising.

Tingling on the outside, warmth on the inside.

As the internal and external converged, it felt as if his Qi Blood was steaming, surging and rolling within his body.

Though it was the dead of winter, a time of bone-chilling cold, beads of sweat were now trickling down Chu Mu’s forehead.

In Chu Mu’s perception, the boiling medicinal water seemed to have transformed into a roaring furnace, and he was situated right on top of it, being baked by its heat.

’Qi is contained within the blood, flows through the five viscera, is stored in the organs, and circulates throughout the body...’

Suddenly, Chu Mu seemed to understand something...

...