Chapter 3

Chen Mo brought back three items. Apart from the green jade of the transmission talisman, the other two items were a white jade bead and a small cloth bag, which was the storage bag used by Immortal Xuanling in the past.

This storage bag was a gift from a friend when he was young, back when he was still a minor cultivator in the Qi Condensation stage. He had always taken good care of it, inscribing many protective runes and restrictions on it, which is why it was not damaged during the transmission process. However, his own storage ring was destroyed when he retrieved the transmission array, due to the restrictions in the secret realm causing a spatial collapse. Otherwise, as a dignified cultivator at the Core Formation stage, using a storage bag would have been a laughing matter. Immortal Xuanling hoped that the person who found it would cherish and use it.

Finally, Immortal Xuanling hoped that if the person who found it achieved success in cultivation, they would return to Ye Hui Star and inform the Ye family of his cause of death, thus fulfilling his wish.

As for the other items, he had placed them in the storage bag. Once the person who found it had spiritual sense, they would naturally understand. The restrictions and protective runes on the storage bag were to protect the bag itself, and it could be opened once one reached the first level of Qi Condensation.

Chen Mo looked at the storage bag in his hand and couldn't help but think that this storage bag must have been a keepsake, otherwise it wouldn't have been preserved so carefully. At this moment, Chen Mo realized how lucky he was to have encountered such a great opportunity. Although he still didn't understand what the white jade bead was, he felt as if he had been struck by a stone from the sky. He never thought that legendary events could happen to him.

In the past dozen years, he had never heard of anything like cultivation. He only had some vague ideas from novels. He never thought that he would personally encounter and become part of it, a one in ten thousand, no, one in a billion opportunity. How lucky he was! This also made him deeply realize that he must not reveal this matter to anyone, not even his parents. Otherwise, this luck would turn into a disaster.

"A ruler who is not secretive loses his ministers, a minister who is not secretive loses his life, and if many things are not kept secret, they will cause harm!" The ancient saying was very apt, and he should remember it well.

Now, without spiritual sense, he couldn't open the storage bag. For now, he could only use fresh blood to authenticate the transmission talisman whenever he wanted to read it. Well, "authenticate" was the term he used. In reality, the transmission talisman belonged to him after being consecrated with fresh blood, but without spiritual sense, he had to smear his own blood each time he wanted to read the information on the talisman, as the information in the transmission talisman told him.

Each time he read it, he had to cut himself. Wasn't this self-harm? If his parents or others saw it, they would surely send him to a mental hospital! Chen Mo shivered and resolved to be extremely careful, absolutely not letting anyone see him self-harm. Oh, not self-harm, but to study the knowledge in the transmission talisman!

The next day, taking advantage of the sunny weather, Chen Mo gathered some ropes and a piece of wood to make a tombstone for Immortal Xuanling. He headed to the place where he had buried the remains the previous day.

Ye Shang, also known as Immortal Xuanling, could be considered his master. He had given him a great opportunity and passed on the seed of cultivation to him, a tremendous favor! Therefore, he wanted to properly tidy up the place where his master would rest. He would use tools to cover the cave, so no other creatures would disturb his master.

As for informing the Ye family after achieving success in cultivation, Master, you are making things difficult for me!

What level of cultivation would be considered a success? Chen Mo wasn't very clear. Seeing that his master, who was at the Core Formation stage, was still killed, he decided to be cautious and wait until his strength was sufficient before going. Thinking about the Ye family, they probably wouldn't care about a few hundred years. Cultivators, after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, could live for 300 more years, so they wouldn't mind the time, hehe!

Besides, he hadn't even started cultivating yet, and the road ahead was long! So, he muttered all his thoughts in front of his master's grave. It's not that the disciple doesn't agree, but the outside world is too terrifying. And the most important thing is that there is no transmission array to leave Lanhai Star!

Having said and done what needed to be done, he not only blocked the cave but also decorated it, transplanting two pine trees in front of the sealed cave. In a few years, there would be no trace of it. After completing everything, he followed local customs and kowtowed nine times in front of the grave to repay Ye Shang for his inheritance.

Today, from home to the mountain ravine, digging soil to bury the tombstone, sealing the cave, and digging up trees, he went back and forth many times and climbed up and down the mountain ravine several times. Chen Mo felt the abnormal changes in his body. Not only could he easily carry several hundred pounds of stones, but the five-meter-deep ravine, which was a natural barrier yesterday, had become a smooth path today. He could easily climb up and down, and without a rope, he could use the protrusions on the ravine walls to climb up in just a few moves. Jumping down was even easier, and he could do it effortlessly.

Moreover, as he did more, his movements became smoother. The discomfort from the physical changes gradually disappeared, and he gradually adapted to the changes in his body.

For this reason, after returning home, Chen Mo went to the county town and quietly borrowed a fitness card from a classmate to test his physical fitness at the gym.

He found that his left and right fists could each exert over 200 kilograms of force, and his speed and reaction time far exceeded those of ordinary people. A 200-kilogram force was already superhuman, except for some boxing champions, who could exert such force. Ordinary people could only exert a few dozen to a hundred kilograms of force, so Chen Mo was no longer an ordinary person.

Additionally, Chen Mo discovered that his memory had greatly improved. Not only could he remember books after reading them once or twice, but he could also gradually recall his childhood memories. This was excellent news for him, as it would save him a lot of effort in his studies.

For nearly four years, from his high school graduation to his current fourth year of university, Chen Mo had practiced the first chapter of the Xuantian True Art, the Qi Condensation chapter, but he still hadn't reached the first level of Qi Condensation. The main reason was that the spiritual energy on Lanhai Star was too scarce. Every day, he practiced by drawing qi into his body, but it seemed that his true essence didn't increase at all.

In fact, Chen Mo had experimented and found that the results of his cultivation were different at home, in the mountains, and in the city. The mountains were the best, with relatively more spiritual energy, while at home, it was weaker but still perceptible. In the city, however, the spiritual energy was pitifully scarce, and he felt that his true essence didn't increase at all.

This made Chen Mo realize that Lanhai Star was already a barren land for cultivation, with very little spiritual energy. If he wanted to cultivate better, he could only return home and live near the mountains, where there was less pollution and more spiritual energy. This was also why he had no choice but to go to college, as his parents wanted him to have a good future. As a rural boy, he had to study hard to stand out. So, he chose biology, which was suitable for him, but he couldn't skip college. Sometimes he really wanted to quit school and cultivate at home, but thinking of his parents' expectations and the family's difficulties, he had to continue. It was truly sad that a cultivator could be defeated by reality.

If it weren't for the fact that cultivation made his mind very clear and could slowly increase his true essence, he would have given up on this arduous practice long ago. Four years, every night he had to meditate for more than two hours. From the beginning, when he couldn't sit cross-legged for long, to now, when he could sit cross-legged for two to three hours, it was all due to the passage of time.

Because he couldn't cultivate in the dormitory at college, he got up before dawn every day and went to a secluded place on campus to meditate. Who knew about this four-year persistence?

More than a year ago, he used the money he earned from part-time jobs to rent a place in the suburbs of the city. Although it was farther from the city, the air was much better. Although it didn't have a significant effect, it was still better than being in the city. This also caused him to be late for classes every day. If it weren't for his good grades and excellent memory, he would have failed his subjects long ago.