I am grinding experience in another world

The Divine Statue Cave Heaven was quite special, with its inner sky connected to the outside world, thus mirroring the weather of the outside exactly.

Chen Mu lay in a rocking chair under a tree, gazing at the endless cloudless sky, appreciating that swath of clear, deep blue that broadened one’s heart.

Above his head, the pines and cypresses remained emerald green, while the outside world of Qiluo Mountain was already covered with yellow-green, semi-withered leaves.

Unknowingly, Luandu County had already entered autumn.

In the southern part of the city, within the two-entrance courtyard of Jian’an District, a group of people sat around a dining table, chatting and eating.

“Has Southern Shu really been wiped out?”

“General Jin is truly a pillar of the country!”

“It is said that he is now stabilizing the situation and should be able to return by early winter.”

“If they take the waterway, they’ll probably have to take the Yudai River outside the city, and we might even get a chance to see them.”

As everyone was conversing enthusiastically, several women appeared, surrounding and cheering one of them.

One of the women was holding a baby wrapped in a bright red swaddle, prompting everyone to stand up and gather around, chuckling as they looked at the baby for a moment, and sending over various blessings and praises.

This gathering was to celebrate the hundred days since the birth of the infant in the swaddle.

In a corner of the room, Chen Mu’s figure appeared out of nowhere, staring at the distant baby for a long while before retracting his gaze.

That infant had been born a hundred days prior, and Chen Mu had personally witnessed a Netherworld Worm entering its body.

On that day, he could still sense the vital aura of the Netherworld Worm, but by the next day, the aura had become so minuscule it was almost imperceptible. Today, the unique aura of the Netherworld Worm had completely vanished.

“Has it integrated into the human body, becoming similar to the intestinal flora?”

Chen Mu understood.

Having merged with the human body at birth, it grew along with the infant, becoming an integral part of the human body.

Even if observed by a special Secret Technique, it would likely be mistaken for some type of symbiotic organism within the body, with no one considering it to be an external parasite, let alone associating it with the various schemes of the Netherworld.

“Truly impressive!”

Because he had witnessed the Netherworld Worm implanting into a human body with the help of the power of the City God Dojo, Chen Mu had been quite concerned about it.

In addition to cultivating, he had been observing Luandu County whenever he had free time.

However, he found that except for being unusually hale and hearty, the people of Luandu County did not display any other unusual behaviors.

Regardless of gender, age, and whether one was young or old, the people suffered from few illnesses or disasters. In such a large city, there were only two medical clinics in total.

Moreover, the most commonly treated patients on a regular basis were those with injuries from falls and trauma, followed by pregnant women giving birth.

“For ordinary people, is this Netherworld Worm beneficial and harmless?”

“How interesting…”

Chen Mu shook his head slightly, glancing at the infant one last time, then his figure suddenly vanished with a thought.

…

Thirty miles outside the town of Luandu County, next to Yudai River, Chen Mu’s figure suddenly appeared.

He reached out towards the river surface, and his palm immediately turned into a flickering light and dissipated.

“It seems I still need to continue grinding.”

A gray wall materialized before his eyes.

Lingbao Pivot Scripture: 5007/10000/Third Rank;

Over the past several months, besides his daily regimen of cultivating the Safe Heart Sutra, nourishing the Divine Fetus with no known time of reaching Perfection, he had spent almost all other times grinding the Lingbao Pivot Scripture.

This Secret Technique felt extremely delightful to practice, filling him with a sense of calm and joy, an experience far surpassing any other he had encountered in over a decade of cultivation.

Without the need for experience points to provide a sense of achievement, he immersed himself in it, grinding for experience all day long.

The results were quite pleasing, as up to this day, he had managed to grind past the halfway point of the Third Rank.

His range of Divine Thoughts projection had also expanded accordingly. Now, he could reach as far as the Yudai River outside the city.

Chen Mu concentrated and looked up at the sky, where dense, thin lines came into view. Some stretched far into the distance, while others fell downward and drilled into the ground, resembling a Heavenly Net that extended for hundreds of miles, enveloping the surroundings.

“The City God Dojo doesn’t refer to the courtyard of the City Divine Temple or to the Divine Statue Cave Heaven, but to all the lands covered by the network of prohibitive veins?” Chen Mu realized in his heart.

He retracted his gaze and looked across the Jade Belt River, where lay vast, unending fields.

At this moment, it was the golden autumn harvest season, and the fields were a swath of orange and yellow, all brimming with mature Pearl Rice.

A glance was all it took for Chen Mu, who hadn’t used his Third Rank Planting Technique in a long time, to roughly estimate the yield.

“At least 1,600 catties per mu, this yield is extraordinary!” a hint of surprise flashed in Chen Mu’s eyes.

In his memory, Pearl Rice was the main food staple in Da Qian’s Mortal Realm. Normally, a yield of four or five hundred catties per mu was considered high.

In the Mortal Realm, when planting, there was insufficient fertilizer; the seeds were not specially selected for breeding; and there was no timely irrigation. The crops relied solely on the will of the heavens for the entire year, so the yield naturally fell short of his previous world’s high-yield crops.

But in this Luandu County…

Chen Mu looked again at the thin lines surrounding the area.

“Is this the power of the City God Dojo?” He had an epiphany.

“Feeding people well, keeping them strong and healthy, and then incidentally cultivating some Ghosts to maintain the presence of the Netherworld?”

“Using people to nurture Netherworld Worms; no matter how you look at it, it’s a cruel and cold-hearted act, yet it somehow creates a bizarre win-win situation?”

“Tsk! This world is quite bizarre.”

…

Days passed by, and the weather in Luandu County grew colder and colder.

Soon, snowflakes began to drift down over Qiluo Mountain, covering the peaks and valleys in white. However, inside the Divine Statue Cave Heaven, it was warm as spring, unchanged.

Snowflakes drifted overhead but seemed like mirages and moon reflections on the water, never reaching the Cave Heaven.

With a thought, grey walls materialized before his eyes.

Lingbao Pivot Scripture: 2/10000/Fourth Rank;

“Success or failure hinges on today!” Chen Mu narrowed his eyes. Stay tuned for updates on My Virtual Library Empire

Standing in the middle of the courtyard, he activated his Yin Spirit Divine Power, and the bald, youthful figure of the Heavenly Demon True Body suddenly appeared.

The Lingbao Pivot Scripture in motion, Chen Mu turned his head and saw that the Heavenly Demon True Body was surrounded by invisible fine lines. Enveloped layer within and without, it resembled a cocoon.

“Indeed!”

“The Divine-Sealing Pact was signed using the Heavenly Demon True Body; naturally, it is the Heavenly Demon True Body that the City God Dojo has bound!”

“With this, if I leave the Heavenly Demon True Body to preside, wouldn’t I be able to escape the Divine Statue Cave Heaven?” Chen Mu was overjoyed in his heart.

He had had his suspicions before but feared the backlash and dared not act hastily.

Now having practiced the Lingbao Pivot Scripture to the Fourth Rank, the restrictive patterns of the City God Dojo were fully revealed before him.

Only then was he certain that his True Form wasn’t bound and that he had the chance to leave the Divine Statue Cave Heaven.

After thoroughly checking once more to ensure that his True Form indeed had no entanglements, Chen Mu immediately mobilized the Yin Spirit Divine Power to activate Netherworld Ferry.

Hum!

On the bluestone beneath his feet, a pitch-black pool suddenly emerged.

Chen Mu restrained his excitement, carefully observed the reactions of the Divine Statue Cave Heaven’s restrictions, and then slowly sank in. When he appeared again, he was at the summit of Qiluo Mountain.

He stood atop a slanted, grey rock jutting out of the ground, tensed and carefully surveying his surroundings.

The Secret Technique of Netherworld Ferry was at the ready; at the slightest hint of something amiss, he would immediately return to the Divine Statue Cave Heaven.

A good while passed, and apart from the howling cold wind in the sky, there were no anomalies.

“At last…”

Chen Mu let out a sigh of relief, and a broad smile spread across his face. Gazing at the snow-covered expanse of Luandu County in the distance, he felt a sudden sense of exhilaration in his chest.

After half a year back in the Yang Realm, working hard to cultivate the Lingbao Pivot Scripture, he had finally succeeded in breaking free from the restrictions of the City God Dojo, escaping the Divine Statue Cave Heaven!

“Wuhu!”

He shouted with glee, his Yin Spirit Divine Power pulsating, and with a bang, he took flight.

The air atop the mountain roiled, and the white snow whirled about.

Chen Mu’s figure shot into the sky, piercing through the clouds, and sped towards the horizon at breakneck speed.