I am grinding experience in another world

"No, I didn't curse wrongly!" Chen Mu quickly recovered his senses.

Not reaching the limit only means that the Cloud Mirage Shape Cultivation Technique has a high upper bound. It doesn't mean that the clan hasn't tampered with it.

"No wonder cultivation has been so difficult." Chen Mu realized suddenly.

"Exactly, because of its great potential, the modifications are substantial!"

Damn them for changing it beyond recognition!

If he didn't have the proficiency cheat, who knows how long he would have to practice.

"To achieve Shell Soul within thirty...?!"

"Ha!"

"I'm not staying in Lijiang City anymore!"

With Shell Soul within reach, he needed to hurry and ask Jie Jia about the Thousand Mechanism Token.

Maybe he would have to seek out the Thousand Mechanism Token very soon!

"Could these Shell Soul masters that have come to Lijiang City have something to do with the Thousand Mechanism Token?"

...

Chen Mu often seemed hesitant.

But when it came to fleeing, he was more decisive than anyone else.

The next day in the afternoon, he was outside the Ji'an Gate of Nanyang Prefecture City.

In the evening, in the backyard of Hesheng Hall in the North Market, Chen Mu personally cooked a large table of delicious dishes.

He also took time and effort to roast a Lijiang Tower duck. Its strong aroma made the clerks in the front hall of Hesheng Hall swallow their saliva greedily.

Chen Mu happily tossed a duck leg to one of them to send him away.

He knew this clerk in his twenties. For the past three months, every delivery of the Blue Medicine Pill had been completed by this man heading to Lijiang City.

"Ask." Jie Jia was very familiar with Chen Mu's routine.

"Several Shell Soul masters appeared in Lijiang City; it's not quite normal," Chen Mu expressed his confusion.

"Their target is Shouyang Mountain," Jie Jia said indifferently.

"The Shouyang Mountain eighty li east of the city in Lijiang?" Chen Mu was surprised.

Living in Lijiang City, he could see it from a distance. The mountain wasn't particularly tall but was always shrouded in mist and surrounded by verdant greenery. From afar, it resembled a dwelling of immortals.

"Hmm," Jie Jia nodded.

"Does it have something to do with the Thousand Mechanism Token?" Chen Mu stated his guess.

"Yes."

"What's the connection?" Chen Mu asked eagerly.

"You haven't cultivated Shell Soul yet; what's the point of asking so much?" Jie Jia said softly.

I'll be able to cultivate Shell Soul very soon! But I can't say that...

Others take a hundred years to develop their Shell Soul. With my talents, my perception, if I suddenly cultivate Shell Soul, wouldn't that just scream suspicion?

"How can I get you to tell me?!" Chen Mu said, feeling frustrated.

Jie Jia put down his chopsticks, lifted his eyelids a fraction, and his bright yellow eyes solemnly looked towards Chen Mu. Then... he slowly made a scissor gesture with his hand.

Chen Mu: "..."

Two hundred taels?! This price hike is just ridiculously excessive!

Chen Mu was almost amused: "You really love money to death!"

The next moment, black smoke billowed and a fist-sized grey cloth bag appeared in front of Jie Jia.

The bag was bulging. Jie Jia weighed it for a moment, nodded in satisfaction, then tucked it into his sleeve and continued eating.

"Ten years of Shape Cultivation, a hundred years of nourishing the Shell Soul, opening the heavenly gates, to see immortality."

"Opening the heavenly gates is an inaccurate description of the next realm beyond Shell Soul."

"The accurate term is — Perceptive."

"Without being Perceptive, one cannot see immortality."

Chen Mu suddenly got goosebumps all over.

Perceptive? Immortality?

This world really was more extraordinary than he had imagined.

Even though it was just a realm, just a name, it still made him tremble all over, his heart surging with emotions.

I must witness it for myself!

This thought took root suddenly in Chen Mu's heart.

"The minimum requirement for Perceptive — Shell Soul," Jie Jia glanced at Chen Mu: "Except for those with Daoist Bone."

Chen Mu remained unfazed. I know, I know, Daoist Bone, the darlings of the heavens.

"You also need Secret Medicine, Secret Technique, and a special environment."

"Da Liang has no Secret Medicine, and the environment isn't suitable."

"You have to go overseas," Jie Jia said in one breath, then picked up his cup and took a sip of milk tea.

"So, the Thousand Mechanism Token is... a ship ticket?" Chen Mu said, somewhat astonished.

"You could say that," Jie Jia nodded.

This was truly unexpected.

Chen Mu had thought it was some treasure or secret token.

No, it was indeed a token, but not the kind he had imagined. It was a ship ticket.

"I understand now," Chen Mu realized.

Anyone who wanted to perceive needed to find the Thousand Mechanism Token.

Those Shell Souls fighting in Lijiang City were fighting over the Thousand Mechanism Token.

"Lijiang City wouldn't happen to be full of snares laid by some old coins, waiting for someone with a Thousand Mechanism Token to fall right into their trap?"

"Otherwise, why would there be experts fighting every few days?"

Thinking of the chaotic battles that might ensue, Chen Mu couldn't help but shiver.

"Lucky I ran fast."

Chen Mu, resigned: "Even a peaceful small city isn't safe."

In a world engulfed in chaos, unless one hid in the mountains and forests living like a savage, any human settlement was likely to be affected by turmoil.

"To find the Thousand Mechanism Token, wouldn't I have to delve into a den of ghosts?" Chen Mu frowned inwardly.

Jie Jia had said before that the Thousand Mechanism Token could be found where ghosts gathered.

Having come into close contact with ghosts before, Chen Mu knew how difficult it was to deal with even one, and now he was expected to enter their lair...

Chen Mu couldn't hold back a shudder.

"You could also snatch it from someone else," Jie Jia said indifferently.

Thinking of the Shell Soul experts battling in Lijiang City, Chen Mu immediately shook his head.

He was no match for those old coins.

Chen Mu's eyes lit up: "How about I hire you to snatch one for me?"

"Name your price!" Chen Mu said with a grand gesture.

"You can't afford me," Jie Jia said without even looking at Chen Mu.

"Looking down on me?" Chen Mu was not convinced.

Right now, he was a wealthy man with more than twenty thousand silver notes!

"The Thousand Mechanism Token appears once every hundred years."

"One hundred and seven tokens in total across the thirteen states of Da Liang."

"Tell me, how little would it be appropriate for me to take from you?" Jie Jia stated flatly.

Chen Mu: "..."

Is it... that rare?!

Can't afford it...

"Guess I'll have to find it myself," Chen Mu suddenly felt overwhelmed.

Thinking about those densely packed, dark and ghostly figures, Chen Mu couldn't help but shiver.

If he encountered them, it would be deadly!

"Do the Startling Swan Gang and Tangshan Camp have ways to deal with the ghosts?" he remembered what his neighbor Kui Tuo had told him about his experiences traveling north.

"Hiring so many people just to send them to their deaths? That doesn't seem reasonable."

"There are special devices that can gather a person's Vital Energy."

"Although ghosts can devour Vital Energy..."

"If there is too much of it..." Jie Jia said evenly.

"They'll burst! They'll drown!" Chen Mu was struck by a thought.

He narrowed his eyes, "Looks like I need to hire a Liang Mountain hero to come out of retirement. Either go to the Tangshan Camp or blend in with the Startling Swan Gang for a while."

...

In Nanyang Prefecture City, near the South Gate of Jingxing Alley in the North Market.

Chen Mu rented a small, two-section courtyard to settle down.

He had wanted to have more than one hideout, but unfortunately, all the surrounding places were already rented out.

"Luckily, I hadn't planned to stay long."

He wasn't in a hurry to apply for a job at the Tangshan Camp or the Startling Swan Gang.

"First, I need to try out the Cloud Mirage Shape Cultivation Technique."

After breaking through to the Fifth Rank, the effect of the Shape Cultivation Breathing Method weakened.

Fortunately, as his Proficiency slowly increased, insights came continuously.

The original Breathing Method of one hundred and eight variations had now expanded to one hundred and sixty-nine, and it was still increasing.

"I'll stay here for a while, wait until I fully understand the new Breathing Method before making a move," Chen Mu planned silently.

"No rush to apply for a job either; who knows what kind of tricks those two families might have."

Listening to Kui Tuo, it seemed that those who joined the Startling Swan Gang were somehow controlled by a mysterious method and turned into mummies if they tried to escape.

Without a clear understanding, Chen Mu dared not dive in headfirst.