I am grinding experience in another world

Evening.

On the long corridor outside the wooden hut, Chen Mu lay in a rocking chair, eyes half-closed as he observed the distant Ghost Gate, “Is it really Qingyang City causing you trouble?”

“After your disappearance, we caught several spies, which confirmed this fact,” Liang replied.

“But Qingyang City is not short of experts, so why just trap us beside the River of Oblivion? Continuing to send people to clean us up shouldn’t be difficult,” Chen Mu wondered.

“We suspect that Qingyang City might have some plot against the city lord.

“Before the city lord left, he used a Secret Technique to scatter and hide the Netherstone among the people of Feng’an City. Wherever the Yin Spirits of Feng’an are, that is where the city lord will appear when he returns from Beyond Heaven.”

“Encircling without killing is probably just to wait for the city lord’s return,” Lü Thirteen said, looking uneasy.

“Then why not just capture you all?” Chen Mu asked, puzzled.

“Where could they capture us to? Qingyang City?” Liang shook his head. “If they really persecuted a top general so openly, other cities would likely rebel immediately.”

“Moreover, the moment King Wuyou appeared, we essentially became prisoners,” Liang sighed with a look of helplessness, glancing towards the eerie faces that were faintly visible three miles away by the riverbank.

Indeed, that was a sound point.

King Wuyou could lock onto one’s aura and create countless duplicates; venturing out meant certain death, and they could only shrink back and desperately cling to life. With this in mind, they truly were prisoners.

No sooner had this thought crossed his mind, Chen Mu had a foreboding feeling.

“This Ghost Gate… it might not be so safe.”

If Feng’an City’s populace were to be used as bait, it would be impossible to let them go to Beyond Heaven. Damaging the Ghost Gate almost certainly had become inevitable.

With a thought, a surge of Yin Spirit Divine Power transformed into silver threads and quickly vanished into the void before his forehead.

Lü Thirteen trembled, slowly opened his eyes, and bowed respectfully, “Thank you, sir, for imparting the Mountain-Carrying Scripture Secret Technique.”

Chen Mu waved his hand, “You two take turns in substitution, keep the twenty thousand Yin Soldiers always aggregated, and protect the Ghost Gate day and night without ceasing.”

“Also, activate the Yin Spirits of the entire city to release their Yin Spirit Divine Power and fill up the Bottomless Pool as soon as possible; we had better go to Beyond Heaven as soon as we can.”

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became, and without regard for the consumption of Mana, he activated the Truthful Listening Technique, enveloping the surrounding area within a twenty-mile radius.

Carefully distinguishing the life rhythms of the various Yin Spirits, he found no abnormal fluctuations beyond the norm, and only then did he feel somewhat relieved.

Well, with Liang and Lü Thirteen commanding the Yin Soldiers to resist, plus my Five Dragons Scripture that rivals the power of a Divine Fetus…

If someone really came to sabotage, it shouldn’t be difficult to stop them… well, probably?

Chen Mu was torn and couldn’t help but grit his teeth.

He only had the Five Dragons Scripture that was comparable to the Divine Fetus; he had not actually cultivated into a Divine Fetus.

He could fend off one Yin Spirit with a Divine Fetus, but two…

Troublesome!

Actually, hiding the Ghost Gate in Thousand Lanterns City would be safer, but with Li Wuyou watching like a tiger stalking its prey, he feared opening the door would allow the enemy to invade the cave heaven.

Thousand Lanterns City was his safe house, his backyard; he couldn’t let that ghostly thing break in.

“Why didn’t Qingyang City cause trouble before it was completed? At that time, the Ghost Gate wasn’t fully formed; wouldn’t it have been simpler to destroy?” Liang frowned, not understanding, “Did they not receive news of our construction of the Ghost Gate? Or did they want to interrupt us just as we were about to succeed, to destroy the resolve of the entire Feng’an City?”

Chen Mu was equally puzzled.

For the past three months, he had been on tenterhooks.

…

At the very edge of Feng’an City’s campsite, within a brownish-bowl-shaped stone house transformed from mud to stone through a Secret Technique…

A gray-clothed, short-haired elderly man with grizzled hair looked emotionlessly at the burly man opposite.

“Shang Yang, a month ago the city lord ordered you to destroy the Ghost Gate, yet you kept finding reasons to delay until today.”

“If you do not act today, I fear you won’t live to see tomorrow,” the elderly man said.

Shang Yang, over two meters tall and quite burly, with a bald head and a fierce face, looked up at the white-haired old man, not afraid in the least; he even curled his lips into a gruesome smile.

“Destroy the Ghost Gate? No, no, no, I never thought of destroying the Ghost Gate.”

“You want to take the Ghost Gate for your own?” Realization flashed in the old man’s eyes as he stared coldly at Shang Yang.

“Smart, aren’t you?” Shang Yang grinned, “But smart people don’t live long.”

As soon as his words fell, he suddenly reached out, grabbing the old man’s neck in one swift move.

Crack!

His hand as large as a fan shook left and right, snapping the old man’s spine as easily as breaking sugarcane.

With a pale countenance but unchanged expression, the old man asked, “You’re not afraid of the Cursing Method backfiring for betraying the city lord?”

“Eh?” Shang Yang’s gaze flickered, and he suddenly lifted his hand, ripping the old man’s neck open completely with a tearing sound.

The expected gush of blood didn’t occur; instead, exposed muscles were desiccated and a dark reddish hue, resembling pliable jerky.

“Tch, Terracotta Puppet Secret Technique? No wonder you’re so confident,” Shang Yang scoffed, casually tossing the old man’s head aside.

He sneered dismissively, “If I were only doing dirty work for Qingyang City in private, why would I have stayed in Da Qing Mountain for so many years?”

“Furthermore, once I’ve seized the Ghost Gate and successfully made my way to Beyond Heaven, that damned contract cursing method will at most make me suffer for a few days.”

“Curse backlash? Ha!”

Having said that, he strode out of the room.

And with his every step, his aura grew increasingly formidable.

One after another, black patterns spread across his bald head, and currents of gray mist began to encircle him.

In the blink of an eye, he transformed from an ordinary Yin Spirit into a Ghost Pattern Yin Soldier and continued to ascend at a rapid pace.

“My dear nephew! Your Uncle Shang is here, won’t you come out and greet me, haha!”

Shang Yang chuckled heartily, his resonant voice spreading along the banks of the River of Oblivion.

He then slightly bent his legs.

Boom!

Like a suddenly released tensed bowstring, the ground collapsed abruptly, with dust and debris scattering in all directions.

Shang Yang shot into the sky like a fired arrow, creating a ring of airwaves in mid-air, and with a whoosh, he headed straight for the center of the camp.

He plummeted like a meteor from the sky, wrapped in a ferocious airflow, and crashed into a thatched hut with force.

Bang!

The thatched hut that had been with Chen Mu for several years instantly shattered and was blown away by the powerful airwaves.

Thirty meters away, Chen Mu, surrounded by swirling black smoke and carrying both Lü Liang and Lü Thirteen, landed. His face darkened as he stared intently at the other party.

“This is Shang Yang, the Unicorn Ghost King of Qingshan City. He used to be a Yin Soldier in Qingyang City alongside my father. Since he left Qingyang City, there has been no further contact. His presence here now bodes ill,” said Lü Liang with a grim expression.

Shang Yang, grinning happily, stared at Lü Liang: “Hand over the Ghost Gate to me, and I can take you with me to Beyond Heaven. Otherwise…”

Hum!

The air suddenly trembled violently.

A mass of gray mist spread overhead, and within the haze, the vaguely visible silhouette of a large beetle, its head sporting dark, long horns and its body clad in sinister black carapace, loomed.

An unseen pressure swept through, knocking down Yin Soldiers from the Thousand Blade Camp that were rapidly converging. They stumbled around as if drunk, and within moments of taking breath, a vast number crumbled to the ground.

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“You must be the contingency left behind by Lü Yuan,” Shang Yang said with interest, his gaze fixed on Chen Mu. “Although you’re merely a Ghost Pattern Yin Soldier, you can still stand in front of my Divine Fetus Dharma Aspect. Interesting.”

“What a pity. A Yin Soldier is still just a Yin Soldier and can never compare to a Divine Fetus. It’s best if you submit obediently,” Shang Yang said, revealing a ferocious smile.

“And bearing in mind the hard work you’ve put into forging the Ghost Gate, I can take you with me to Beyond Heaven.”

“You truly intend to take us to Beyond Heaven?” Chen Mu couldn’t help but frown.

This man seemed not to have come to destroy the Ghost Gate.

“Of course,” Shang Yang spread his hands, his face the picture of sincerity.

“Qingyang City sent me to destroy the Ghost Gate. But I’ve changed my mind. I want to use the Ghost Gate to journey to Beyond Heaven.”

“I need you to help me maintain the Ghost Gate. As long as you don’t cause trouble for me, I don’t mind helping you get rid of Qingyang City’s pursuit.”

Chen Mu’s interest was piqued.

It was just a Ghost Gate, not some rare Magic Artifact; even if it were given away, what harm would there be? They could in fact build another.

Rather than fight to the death with this Ghost King Shang, it was better to cooperate and flee together before Qingyang City could react.

Seeing Chen Mu’s expression, Shang Yang immediately smiled. He retracted his Dharma Aspect with a thought and earnestly persuaded, “Lord Xiao is narrow-minded; these years, every city has suffered under his pressure.”

“Now that Lord Lü is on the verge of ascending to a Yin God, Lord Xiao will certainly have even more ruthless methods.”

“Instead of fighting and killing, it’s better for our two factions to unite. Give the Ghost Gate to me; by joining forces, we can move to Beyond Heaven more quickly and safely.”

“I have no objections,” Chen Mu promptly nodded in agreement,

Although the Five Dragons Scripture was powerful, it was not a true Divine Fetus. Facing a Divine Fetus Yin Spirit, fear inevitably stirred within him. If they could turn an enemy into a friend, that would be for the best.

He then looked toward Lü Liang and Lü Thirteen: “What about you two?”

They exchanged glances. Though their expressions were grim, they nodded helplessly.

Shang Yang was overjoyed and strode towards Chen Mu and the other two: “Then, about this Ghost Gate…”

“Of course, we can give this Ghost Gate to Ghost King Shang, but you must protect us while we build another of our own,” Chen Mu did not dwell on the matter.

He was well aware that Shang Yang would not give up control of the Ghost Gate and that if they wanted to cooperate, they could not keep this one.

“No problem!” Shang Yang nodded immediately in agreement.

Chen Mu breathed a sigh of relief and, with a flip of his right hand, presented a black-skinned Scripture with dog-eared corners to Shang Yang.

“The control secret technique for the Ghost Gate is called the Jade Gate Curse, and it’s hidden within this East Pole Longevity Scripture,” he said.

“The fact that we could build the Ghost Gate is entirely due to this secret technique contained within the Scripture Scrolls.”

“As long as Ghost King Shang seriously recites and comprehends, you will certainly master its Curse Words,” Chen Mu said with a sincere face.

“Really?” Shang Yang fixed his gaze on Lü Liang and Lü Thirteen.

“Of course,” the two said, exchanging glances, their faces solemn.