I am grinding experience in another world

On the top deck of the towering ship, within a spacious room.

"Is it you who wishes to learn the Red-Eyed Ghost Pattern?" a burly old man with grizzled hair and beard gazed at Chen Mu with a face full of sympathy.

"Thank you for your troubles." Chen Mu said, respectfully clasping his fists.

"Have you offended Yuan Xian?" the burly elder curiously asked.

"Why would you say that, elder?" Chen Mu was puzzled.

"A Lock Dragon Knight needs the assistance of the City God Dojo to connect with the Nine Serenities Abyss. You’re venturing into a Qi Cultivator’s territory; casting the Ghost Channeling Spell there will prove extremely difficult."

"To pose a Netherworld Magic Instrument as a Qi Cultivator’s Magic Artifact, you must overlay a sufficient number of Netherworld Ghost Patterns on the fake artifact, which is an arduous task on top of another."

"A Lock Dragon Knight is always in need of Incense Spiritual Energy, but without a City Divine Temple on the Goose Sheep Path, you can only rely on Longevity Wine as a substitute. That stuff, however, has significant hidden dangers if consumed in excess—madness being one of them."

"Those spies are groomed from a young age by the Lock Dragon Courtyard and have the means to respond accordingly. But you..." The burly elder looked at Chen Mu with a face full of pity.

Leaving the City God Dojo’s influence makes casting the Ghost Channeling Spell difficult?

Damn it!

How come I didn’t know about this? Yuan Xian never mentioned it himself.

"Where does Yuan Xian plan to send you?" the burly old man asked cheerfully.

"Yunze Lake, Chongmei Mountain."

"That’s not too bad. Those places are not far from Southern Shu, so when casting the Ghost Channeling Spell, you might succeed five or six times out of ten in connecting with the Nine Serenities Abyss."

A fifty percent success rate?

"What if I went to Goose Yang Mountain?"

"Then you’d be truly doomed. If out of a hundred attempts, you succeed three times, consider yourself exceedingly fortunate." The burly elder spoke with utter sympathy.

Chen Mu’s face twitched.

I’ve been duped by that old man Yuan Xian, no wonder he showed his face and then ran off. He must be feeling guilty!

Lucky for me, I’m a bona fide Qi Cultivator capable of learning the Water-Repelling Pearl Artifact Refining Technique, otherwise going to Goose Yang Mountain would be certain doom!

"What do you think, should I go report him for you?" The burly old man coaxed with a mischievous grin, "With me stepping in, I’d certainly give him a piece of my mind."

Chen Mu’s expression changed rapidly but soon returned to calm, "Elder misunderstands; Yuan Xian and I hold no grudges."

"Thank you for your kind offer, but we’re all working for the greater good of Da Qian. There’s no need to stir up trouble," he said with a face that feigned righteous indignation.

Well, the next time I see Yuan Xian, I’ll see to it that he gets struck by lightning, hundreds of times over.

"Even if you had no feud before, with the mission he’s given you, you are adversaries now!" the burly elder quickly urged.

You’re the one in such a hurry; I think it’s you who has a score to settle with Yuan Xian.

Chen Mu remained silent, just gazing indifferently at the burly old man.

"Boring." The burly old man said with a disappointed pout, "What a pity. I had wanted to give Yuan Xian a good talking-to."

Chen Mu’s eyelids twitched.

Pretending to help me is just a ruse; the real goal is to trouble Yuan Xian—this old fox is no simple character either.

Seeing that Chen Mu was not responsive, the burly elder said no more.

Then he rolled his eyes upward, showing the whites, as the Power of Ghost Channeling emerged. His right hand immediately stretched forward in a grabbing motion.

When he turned his hand to reveal his palm, a little silver thread as fine as a strand of hair appeared in the center of it.

"Come on, grab it and start practicing," the burly elder said nonchalantly as he held the silver thread out to Chen Mu.

"I’m only here for half a month," the burly elder said indifferently, "If you don’t learn it and Yuan Xian gives you trouble, it’s not my concern."

"I won’t cause you any trouble," Chen Mu said with a slight smile, reaching out to take the silver thread.

Though the Ghost Channeling Spell has its limitations, he still needed to learn it.

He had already examined the secret scrolls of the Water-Repelling Pearl, and its refinement method was exceedingly elaborate, starting with the need to condense five Talismans.

Compared to that, the Red-Eyed Ghost Pattern was more of a time-saver. He needed to master one method of refining the Water-Repelling Pearl first to easily blend into Yun Chong Lower Courtyard.

Chen Mu took a deep breath; as he cast the Ghost Channeling Spell, Yin Spirit Divine Power mixed with his blood and Essence to form the Ghost Channeling Power, which blinked into the void and vanished.

In almost an instant, his consciousness sank into a pitch-black space.

Immediately, he felt a warm sensation in the palm of his hand, as if he were holding onto a heated wire.

Chen Mu lowered his head to look at the silvery thread shimmering in his palm and instinctively raised his hand to take a closer look. Then, he felt a tugging sensation from the thread.

With some effort, he pulled, and it was as if he had hooked a fish on a line. Accompanied by a strong struggle, a clump of thread, as big as a human head and resembling smoke or mist, was yanked out of the dark space and floated in front of him. Inside it, there was a flickering light, pulsing like a breath.

The clump was mainly oval-shaped, with densely intertwined threads at the center connected along special trajectories on the outside. At first glance, it looked like an eyeball enraptured with cloud patterns.

"Is this the Red-Eyed Ghost Pattern?"

Chen Mu curiously observed it for a moment, then reached out to press on the clump of silver threads, slowly infusing it with the Power of Ghost Channeling. The flickering light of the Red-Eyed Ghost Pattern immediately shone brightly.

Pain as if he were pressing on a red-hot iron brand shot through his palm, but his expression remained calm as he endured waves of pain, continuing to pour Ghost Channeling Power into the Ghost Pattern.

A complex pattern began to emerge in his memory out of thin air.

Not long after,

Hum!

The Red-Eyed Ghost Pattern in front of him suddenly trembled before stabilizing. The flickering light also became constant. An almost imperceptible connection appeared between him and the Red-Eyed Ghost Pattern.

"Done!"

Chen Mu was delighted in his heart.

But the joy didn’t last long before he noticed something odd.

Looking up suddenly, he saw countless Netherworld Ghost Patterns of various shapes appear three meters away.

At this moment, they were circling and wandering like living creatures, drawing closer to Chen Mu to probe, and then being repeatedly repelled by an invisible force.

Feeling the greedy sensation exuding from those Netherworld Ghost Patterns, Chen Mu couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows.

"Lucky to have the Ultimate Ghost Channeling Spell, otherwise, even with the aid of a Lock Dragon Knight leading the way, it would probably be difficult to quickly master the Red-Eyed Ghost Pattern."

A Lock Dragon Knight casting the Ghost Channeling Spell was like using oneself as bait to fish. The Ghost Channeling Power was the bait, and the Netherworld Ghost Patterns were the fish. The Netherworld Ghost Patterns consumed his Ghost Channeling Power and in turn provided corresponding patterns.

But the Ghost Channeling Power was limited. If too many Netherworld Ghost Patterns came in a flurry, he would end up with various fragmented patterns that were Systemic, which would be useless.

However, Chen Mu’s Ghost Channeling Spell was perfected, capable of isolating other patterns, working in conjunction with the Ghost Channeling Power of other Lock Dragon Knights. He focused only on the one he had chosen, greatly increasing his learning efficiency.

With a thought, Chen Mu’s consciousness vanished into the Nine Serenities Abyss.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he met a pair of bright eyes with distinct black and white colors.

Suppressing the impulse to throw a punch, he leaned back slightly and saw a pretty and mischievous child with his hair tied in two buns, staring intently at him.

"Chang’er, don’t be rude." A burly old man picked up the mischievous child by the collar of his neck and placed him on the side table to sit cross-legged, before turning to Chen Mu with a look of surprise.

"Done?"

Feeling the complex structural diagram that had appeared out of nowhere in his mind, Chen Mu nodded slightly, "It should be done."

"Try it!" The burly elder’s eyebrows rose, and he nonchalantly tossed a white porcelain teacup to Chen Mu.

"Use this?" Chen Mu caught it with a puzzled face.

"It’s just a try anyway." The burly old man urged without much concern.

Chen Mu nodded slightly, opened his left hand to support the teacup, and pressed his right index finger along the rim.

Recollecting the pattern in his mind, as if flipping a switch, a chilling power emerged abruptly at his fingertips. It then flowed through his fingers into the white porcelain teacup.

The teacup instantly gained a trace of chill, and an invisible force began to appear hazily around it.

Yet, Chen Mu couldn’t help frowning because he realized that the Red-Eyed Ghost Pattern that had just appeared in his mind was fading fast. Within a few breaths, only a few threads remained.

"As expected, this is only a temporary draw of the Red-Eyed Ghost Pattern using a Medicinal Guide. To truly master it, I must continue to practice," he couldn’t help sighing.

Meanwhile, the burly old man who had been watching closely couldn’t help but widen his eyes. He quickly got up, took the teacup from Chen Mu’s hand, and threw it out into the Jade Belt River.

Chen Mu also stood up and followed the burly old man to the window to look down.

Only to see that the teacup caused a small splash before sinking slowly into the water. Then, with a pop, a bubble over two meters in diameter suddenly appeared at the bottom of the river.

"You brought out the Red-Eyed Ghost Pattern on your first try? Tsk, do you have any talent left in you?" The burly old man raised his eyebrows at Chen Mu.

"My name is Xu Zhou, you can call me Old Xu or Old Xu head."

"This is my grandson, Xu Chang." The burly old man patted the mischievous child’s head and cheerfully introduced him to Chen Mu.

"I am Gongsun Sheng, and for the next few days, I’ll be troubling you for guidance." Chen Mu smiled and greeted with a bow.