Chapter 4 Part 2

Lian Yunzhi hummed in satisfaction, hands clasped behind his back, a slight smile on his face. “Don’t sell yourself short. You’re not entirely useless. You set up the Spirit Gathering Array on my bed, right?”

“Yes.”

“You did it well. Thanks to your Spirit Gathering Array, I’ve now reached Foundation Establishment Peak.” Lian Yunzhi subtly showed off.

“Congratulations on your advancement, Master.” Mu Cheng lowered his eyes. “Master is already a once-in-a-generation prodigy on the path of cultivation, wise beyond measure. Even without my Spirit Gathering Array, you would have succeeded.”

Ha!

He hadn’t expected Mu Cheng not only to wash clothes but also to flatter!

Though he knew this guy must be seething with jealousy inside—his words of congratulations laced with sour grapes—Lian Yunzhi still felt thrilled.

He secretly pinched himself to suppress his grin and appear steady.

“Mmm.” Lian Yunzhi nodded steadily. “But your Spirit Gathering Array was still useful. I have more spirit stones here. Later, set up a bigger one in my cave mansion—ideally a long-term one that doesn’t break after one use.”

Mu Cheng took the storage bag Lian Yunzhi tossed over but didn’t reply immediately. He hesitated before saying, “Setting up a large Spirit Gathering Array requires spiritual power. Right now, I’m just a mere mortal.”

Lian Yunzhi narrowed his eyes. “Are you saying you can’t do it?”

Mu Cheng: “…I have no spiritual root, so I can’t absorb ambient spiritual energy on my own. But fortunately, my meridians and dantian are gradually recovering. The dantian can store spiritual power, and the meridians can circulate it, so I can temporarily borrow external spiritual power.”

Lian Yunzhi frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean? Stop beating around the bush. Can you do it or not?”

Mu Cheng: “…”

Mu Cheng gritted his teeth. “I can. But I need you to transmit spiritual power to me, or give me a large amount of spirit stones.”

“How many spirit stones?”

Lian Yunzhi asked boldly.

Before the Spiritual Energy Revival, the Lian Family had been the richest among the Four Great Families. After the revival, they seized several spirit veins, and their spirit stone mines produced daily output. Though these spirit stones were firmly controlled by the Lian Family Head, as the eldest grandson of the main branch, Lian Yunzhi had plenty at his disposal—lavish even among his peers. He wouldn’t blink at spending hundreds or thousands.

Mu Cheng: “One hundred thousand.”

Lian Yunzhi: “…”

Lian Yunzhi: “…How do you transmit spiritual power again?”

There were usually three methods to transmit spiritual power: first, “passing qi with palms”; second, “passing qi with mouth”; third, direct dual cultivation.

Naturally, Mu Cheng taught Lian Yunzhi the first one.

“So slow.” Lian Yunzhi grew impatient after a while. “Isn’t there a faster way?”

Mu Cheng glanced at Lian Yunzhi’s lips, imagining his reaction if he mentioned the other two—Lian Yunzhi would surely get angry, curse him for being a toad lusting after swan meat, and suspect him of harboring ill intentions…

Mu Cheng averted his gaze and shook his head firmly. “No.”

.

By the time the spiritual power transmission finished, the socks Mu Cheng had washed earlier were already dry.

Lian Yunzhi looked up at the sky, then stepped out from the shade, took out his flying sword, and handed Mu Cheng a jade pendant. “I’ve advanced too quickly and need to go out for training to consolidate it. Stay obediently in the cave mansion during this time—don’t wander. If danger comes, crush this jade pendant; it has a protective attack spell inside.”

Mu Cheng pocketed the jade pendant and asked, “Besides the Spirit Gathering Array, can I set up a large Mysterious Trace Array around the cave mansion?”

Lian Yunzhi had already stepped onto the flying sword but jumped down upon hearing this. “You can set up a Mysterious Trace Array too?”

Lian Yunzhi had long wanted one. Demon beasts roamed Spirit Mountain, and several times he’d returned to find his beautiful cave mansion trashed by intruders.

Mu Cheng nodded. “The Mysterious Trace Array is simpler than the Spirit Gathering Array. Even a large one only needs a bit of spiritual power and a dozen or so spirit stones, since unimportant array nodes can be replaced with stones.”

Lian Yunzhi tossed him another bag of spirit stones. “No stones—use spirit stones for everything. Make it the best.”

Mu Cheng calculated. “That’ll require one hundred and eight spirit stones.”

“Merely one hundred and eight! Go all out!”

Lian Yunzhi nearly couldn’t resist putting hands on hips and laughing heartily.

Xiaoze State had formation masters too. Lian Yunzhi had once inquired about a Mysterious Trace Array, and the quote was eighty thousand spirit stones. Adding up all the junk in his cave mansion still fell short, so he’d dropped the idea.

He hadn’t expected Mu Cheng to handle it for just one hundred and eight!

Lian Yunzhi held back again and again but ultimately couldn’t suppress his delight.

He gestured for Mu Cheng to bow his head. Mu Cheng obediently bent at the waist, head lowered.

Ecstatic, Lian Yunzhi pinched Mu Cheng’s earlobe, ruffled his hair, his tone bubbling with joy as if he could froth it up. “Mu Cheng, you’ve become so likable since turning into my demon beast!”

Mu Cheng stiffened but maintained his position without moving.

Lian Yunzhi teasingly scratched under Mu Cheng’s chin like one would a puppy, then stepped onto his flying sword and departed with a grand laugh.

Mu Cheng remained standing rigidly in place, his bent back taking a long time to straighten.

What’s wrong with me?

Mu Cheng furrowed his brows deeply, plunging into profound self-reflection.

Having his ears, hair, and chin stroked like a dog… Why couldn’t he muster even a shred of anger?