Chapter 313 - 288: Seclusion and Flying Boat

Chapter 313: Chapter 288: Seclusion and Flying Boat

After several days of work, a crude patch of Array Prohibitions had taken shape over the gap in the Grand Array.

Several barrier Array Prohibitions crisscrossed one another, with a few simple Fire Attribute protective Array Prohibitions added to the inner and outer sides.

Although some Spiritual Qi still leaked out, the barrier had sharply reduced the amount by more than half.

After finishing his work, Chu Mu did not leave. Instead, he returned to the cave at the core of the Spirit Stone Vein.

The jade-like desiccated corpse was still lying on the high platform.

He stopped before the platform, his gaze once again fixed on the corpse.

A Cultivator’s body, even for those who practiced pure Qi Cultivation without focusing on the physical form, would inevitably become Extraordinary under the nourishment of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and Magical Power.

The higher their Cultivation, the more pronounced this extraordinary quality became.

This was the fundamental reason why it became more difficult for Cultivators to bear children as their Cultivation level increased.

It was a well-established fact in the Cultivation Immortal Realm that if a Cultivator were to pair with a mortal, it would be virtually impossible for them to have children.

The difficulty of having children was also immense for Cultivators of different realms who paired together.

Only when Cultivators of the same realm paired up was there a normal chance of conceiving.

Clearly, even among Cultivators, the disparity in Cultivation levels was almost equivalent to a difference in species.

As for the comparison to mortals, they were practically two different species.

Being so Extraordinary, it was perfectly normal for a Cultivator’s body to remain preserved for a long time after death, unless it was deliberately destroyed.

The corpse before him was undoubtedly such a case.

Even if it hadn’t been baked by the Earth Fire until it resembled jade, its High-Tier Cultivation, especially in such a Spiritual Qi-rich environment, would have made it nearly impossible for it to decay.

It was even possible that, through a stroke of fortune, the corpse could have mutated into a malevolent creature like a Zombie.

As far as he knew, in the Great Chu Cultivation Immortal World, there were even many Clans that specialized in raising and refining corpses. Bodies of High Tier Cultivators like this one, which were relatively well-preserved, were also extremely sought-after on the market.

He half-knelt before the corpse, examining it in detail.

Through his Divine Sense Perception, he already had a clear understanding of most of the corpse’s condition.

Aside from that single wound, the body was indeed exceptionally intact.

Its bones were like jade, its marrow like a thick paste, and its flesh was firm and lifelike. According to the common knowledge of the Cultivation Immortal Realm, this was undoubtedly a top-quality Spiritual Material.

He pondered for a moment before finally shaking his head to himself.

’I’ve benefited from her legacy, so I should let her return to the dust.’

He flicked out a wisp of True Flame that landed on the jade-like corpse. The True Flame blazed, and under its deliberate, destructive combustion, the body turned into a pile of ashes in just a moment.

He glanced around, briefly sensing the dense and pure Fire Attribute Spiritual Energy, before his gaze settled on the Light Curtain Panel in his vision.

[Name: Chu Mu.]

[Skills: Basic Blade Technique (Returning to the Essence) 1,453/10,000.

Fireball Skill (Returning to the Essence) 10,000/10,000...]

[Great Sun Scripture: Tier Two, First Layer: 1,956/10,000]

[Alchemy: Tier One Upper Grade (5,430/10,000)...]

[Artifact Refining: Tier Two Upper Grade (6,328/10,000)...]

[Spiritual Radiance Value: 10003.6%]

His gaze lingered for a moment on the Skill Level for his Great Sun Scripture, then he waved his hand, and several Jade Bottles hovered before him.

He looked at the Elixirs he had accumulated and then glanced at the cultivation progress displayed on the Light Curtain Panel, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Finally, he sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.

A moment later, an Elixir entered his stomach. Magical Power surged, Fire Attribute Spiritual Energy swirled around him, and he actually began to cultivate in seclusion right there.

After about a few hours, he slowly opened his eyes and, almost at the same instant, looked at the Light Curtain Panel in his vision.

Thanks to that one Elixir, his cultivation progress Skill Level had once again increased by several dozen points.

’But this time, the increase seems just a tiny bit larger than usual, doesn’t it?’

As Chu Mu sensed the Fire Attribute Spiritual Energy swirling in the cave, a hint of gloom couldn’t help but cross his features.

’A place of seclusion that could be called a paradise only benefits me by a minuscule amount...’

’With such inferior Spirit Root Talent, it’s like entering a Treasure Mountain only to leave empty-handed.’

’If I had a Celestial Spirit Root, cultivating in a paradise like this would probably increase my Cultivation faster than popping Elixirs.’

His thoughts churned, but he refused to dwell on them. He closed his eyes to rest his mind, regulated his breathing for a moment, and then resumed his cultivation.

This session of secluded cultivation lasted less than half a year before Chu Mu was defeated by his own inferior talent.

He hadn’t had many Gong Palace Pills to begin with, having only refined six batches for a total yield of fifty-two pills.

Among them were thirteen Pill Pattern Elixirs.

Ever since he successfully refined them, he had been taking one Elixir about every half a month to support his cultivation.

By the time he reached this cave, not many were left.

His plan for this half-year of seclusion was naturally to rely on the dense Fire Attribute Spiritual Energy of this place.

And, just as he had imagined, the Spiritual Qi environment here was indeed beneficial to his cultivation.

However, due to his inferior Spirit Root Talent, this benefit was rather small.

Of course, even if it was minuscule, it was still many times better than cultivating in the outside world.

It was just that he had long grown accustomed to the fast track provided by external resources. He found this turtle-paced cultivation truly hard to endure.

After exhausting his supply of Gong Palace Pills, leaving only the two Two-Patterned ones, he continued to cultivate arduously for another two months. With minimal results, he simply ended the seclusion that had depleted his Elixirs...

「Three months later.」

Traveling from south to north, a Flying Boat resembling a mundane small boat moved slowly above the clouds.

Chu Mu stood at the bow, his eyes slightly closed. The small boat’s entire structure and operation were clearly reflected in his mind.

He had, of course, designed and refined the Flying Boat himself, primarily for the convenience of long-distance travel.

The Flying Boat looked like a small, mundane river boat. It was no more than eight meters long and two to three meters wide, with the color of natural wood.

In the stern, a wooden cabin took up about a third of the boat’s length. The cabin was simple, enclosed only by wooden planks, with windows on both sides and a wooden screen door at the front and back.

Though not large, it appeared remarkably spacious and bright at a glance. Overall, the Flying Boat was undoubtedly exquisite and elegant.

The Flying Boat was of a good grade, ranking as an Upper Grade Spiritual Artifact.

As a Spiritual Artifact dedicated to travel, its most important function was naturally its flying speed.

According to his tests, ordinary early-to-middle stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators would be left in the dust by this Flying Boat.

And the greatest advantage of the Flying Boat was that, like a Puppet, it only needed enough Spirit Stones to operate continuously on its own, without requiring him to expend Magical Power or Divine Sense to control it.

Since refining it in the Spirit Stone Cave, he had already tested it in detail multiple times and had even made targeted modifications.

’It’s about ready,’ Chu Mu mused. This was his first time refining an Artifact like a Flying Boat.

In the art of Artifact Refining, Flying Boats were undoubtedly the type of Artifact that consumed the most Spiritual Materials, and their complexity was on par with that of Puppets.

It was just like the Longevity Flying Boat he had once gazed upon, which had blotted out the sky.

Setting aside all other factors, the amount of Spiritual Materials consumed by its nearly sky-blotting hull alone was likely an astronomical figure.

One had to understand that the Longevity Flying Boat was Tier Three!

This meant that its refining must have primarily used Tier Three Spiritual Materials.

And with such a massive hull...

While his own Flying Boat couldn’t be called massive, the amount of Spiritual Materials it consumed was clearly not a small sum.

For all these reasons, Artifacts like Flying Boats were destined to be exclusive to the major powers.

Ordinary Cultivators usually flew using Qi Manipulation or by riding on certain Artifacts, such as Flying Swords, Flying Board Wings, or Boots.

He glanced around the Flying Boat before him, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. With a single step, he appeared inside the cabin.

Leaning against the window, he swiped a hand through the air, and the Jade Scroll he had obtained from the Longevity True Inheritor appeared in his grasp.

Then, as if he had thought of something, he turned his head to look at the rear deck. A Man in a Black Shirt stood there.

With a flicker of his thoughts, the rigidly standing Man in the Black Shirt immediately turned and walked over.

The man took a few steps to stand before Chu Mu, then became perfectly still.

The man had a wooden expression. He wore a black shirt, carried a Round Shield on his back, and had a Battle Saber hanging from his waist. On the surface, he looked just like a meticulous guard.

But under Divine Sense Perception, it wasn’t difficult to detect that this man had not the slightest aura of a living being; he was a completely lifeless object.

It was a humanoid Puppet comparable in power to the Tier Two Middle Stage.

It was also one of the evolutionary branches of the Ranger Puppet he had been conceptualizing, a Puppet focused primarily on close combat.

The reason he hadn’t refined the Ranger II Puppet he had been so fixated on was simply that he felt the Ranger Puppet was somewhat impractical against opponents in the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Its ranged attacks posed little threat to Cultivators.

On the other hand, it was clearly easier for a Puppet to form effective combat power through close-quarters attacks.

The Puppet before him was the result of this line of thinking.

And Zhao Hong’s Divine Soul, after its consciousness had been erased, had become the control center for this Puppet.

The Divine Soul was being nurtured within a Soul Condensing Pearl. As long as the Puppet was not destroyed and the supply of Spiritual Power remained constant, his Divine Soul would continue to serve as the Puppet’s control center.

While it couldn’t be called immortal, it would exist for a very, very long time.

If Chu Mu had been more cruel and preserved a sliver of Zhao Hong’s consciousness, that, perhaps, would have been the most brutal punishment of all.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust..."

Chu Mu let out a soft breath. After all this time, the bounties he had posted with the Blood Killing Pavilion had all been completed.

Cutting the weeds and pulling up the roots—a complete extermination!

This meant that his feud with Zhao Hong was well and truly over.

In the future, other disciples from the Longevity Sect might still come looking for trouble, tempted by profit, but the root of the problem was now gone with the completion of the bounties he had posted...

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