"Ying Er, stay home, I'll go visit the neighbors!"
Xu Mu walked out of his house and knocked on the door of the house next door.
Creak!
The door opened from inside, revealing two plump figures.
A man and a woman, both looking about thirty years old.
The man's name was Jia An, and the woman's name was Li Moqing.
Xu Mu had visited them when he first arrived, and they would greet each other when they occasionally met outside, so they were quite familiar.
There were only two types of people in White Stone City who could be fat, one type was the younger generation of the large families in the marketplace, and the other type was the ones who practiced special martial techniques.
The reason the couple lived in the slums was self-explanatory.
"Friend Xu, how do you find the time to come over?"
Jia An squeezed out a smile.
Li Moqing next to him, on the other hand, looked rather displeased.
"The cries of my little girl these few days have disturbed the two of you, please don't blame us. Here are a few Qi Gathering Pills as apology gifts!"
With that, Xu Mu handed over a bottle filled with Qi Gathering Pills.
"Qi Gathering Pills?!!"
The couple was shocked.
One Qi Gathering Pill was worth one lower-grade Spirit Stone, which was equivalent to their monthly rent, and from the sound of Xu Mu, it appeared that he wouldn't have only put one pill in the bottle.
"This, this is too valuable, Friend Xu, you should keep it!"
Jia An verbally declined, but his hand was somehow too weak to refuse.
His wife, Li Moqing, even had bright eyes and couldn't help reaching out her hand.
Xu Mu smiled and placed the pills in Jia An's hand, which he wanted to take but didn't dare to.
"It's a small gift, not worth mentioning, in the future, if there's anything wrong, please be lenient!"
He only put three Qi Gathering Pills inside, not too many or too few, enough to build good neighborhood relations.
"Friend Xu is too polite! We're all neighbors, we should be helping each other! It's normal for kids to like to cry! In fact, we both quite like children!"
Jia An put the Qi Gathering Pills into the storage bag, and his smiling face became extremely sincere.
Li Moqing's unhappy face also broke into a warm smile.
These few days, Little Ling'er's crying made the couple quite annoyed, but because of embarrassment, they didn't say anything.
But now.
Hmm!
That crying sound was actually quite pleasing to the ears!
"The two of you are understanding, I am grateful!"
Xu Mu thanked them again with a fist and palm salute.
"Friend Xu!"
Jia An looked left and right down the small alley behind Xu Mu, ensuring that there was no one nearby before lowering his voice to say: "I recently noticed you've been pretty close with old Sun. Be careful, two days ago, I saw him entering the house of the Brothers of Li Family!"
"Thank you for the warning!"
Xu Mu's eyes flickered, but he didn't say much else.
He bid his farewell and left!
As for the house on the other side, there was no need to visit, as it was temporarily vacant.
Upon returning home, thinking about Sun Daocheng's actions over the past few days, Xu Mu began to feel restless.
"This old troublemaker must be dealt with!"
Though he couldn't be one hundred percent sure that Sun Daocheng was plotting against him, Xu Mu could not take the chance.
For his wife and daughter's sake, this issue must be nipped in the bud.
He returned to the storage room and opened a newly purchased book of spells to the page where the Invisibility Technique was recorded.
After memorizing it carefully and pondering over it, he began practicing.
Like most of the low-level spells, the Invisibility Technique is easy to learn but hard to master.
It took Xu Mu less than an hour to learn.
He borrowed Ye Yingying's bronze mirror and placed it in front of him.
Xu Mu made the spell sign, and the spiritual power in his body surged, transforming into a magical mana, covering his entire body.
In the mirror, he disappeared abruptly.
However, after only three breaths, his figure reappeared.
"The duration is too short, and it dissipates with even the slightest movement! It's completely useless!"
But this was also to be expected.
The effects of tier-one skills are minimal.
If every spell had astonishing power, everyone would practice spells, and who would bother to buy magic artifacts.
Especially at the entry-level stage, it's not even worth the effort.
Many cultivators give up after a brief exploration.
It's a real waste of time.
With that time, it would be better to concentrate on improving one's cultivation level, earn money, and buy more powerful magic artifacts.
However, Xu Mu was different.
He had a system!
When he opened the system interface, it showed the Invisibility Technique as expected.
[Invisibility Technique at Entry level; 1/100]
Already familiar with the process, Xu Mu directly invested 99 points.
[Invisibility Technique at Proficiency Level; 0/200]
It's not hard to reach proficiency from entry-level. If Xu Mu devoted himself to practice, he could achieve proficiency in one or two months.
So, the practice experience was easily integrated.
Recently, he had gained some insights through the continuous use of the system.
Using Luck Value to improve skills in the early stages is not cost-effective.
Normal people's practice of spell techniques gets harder the more they progress, and there are bottlenecks when breaking through levels.
Luck Value completely ignores this.
The experience at the entry level and the experience at the grandmaster level, both consume the same amount of Luck Value.
However, in reality, the difficulty of increasing one point of experience at the grandmaster level might be dozens of times more difficult than at the entry level.
In this case, it's better to practice on your own at the beginning, and when it becomes difficult to progress later, use Luck Value. This is actually the most cost-effective way to use it.
But this time, in order to eliminate the crisis as soon as possible, he had to use Luck Value.
Xu Mu used the Invisibility Technique again, and this time he was able to stay invisible for more than five breaths and make slight movements with his body.
However, it was still not what he wanted.
Xu Mu was a bit hesitant.
If he can't achieve the desired effect in the end, isn't the points he invested wasted?
He took a deep breath, suppressed these messy thoughts, and began to advance again.
Since the decision was made, there should be no more hesitation.
[Invisibility Technique +50]!
[Invisibility Technique +50]!
[Invisibility Technique +50]!
...
[Invisibility Technique at Mastery Level; 0/400]
This time, Xu Mu performed the invisibility spell, and he could remain invisible for twenty breaths and move slowly.
Sadly, it still didn't achieve the effect he wanted.
Continue to advance!
[Invisibility Technique +10]!
[Invisibility Technique +10]!
[Invisibility Technique +10]!
...
[Invisibility Technique Perfection;0/800]
The Invisibility Technique finally makes a quality leap this time.
It allows for sixty breaths worth of invisibility, which is not dispelled even by running.
"That's about right!"
Luck Value is precious, and Xu Mu doesn't want to consume too much on such matters.
...
Time swiftly passed by
It was nearing evening that day when Xu Mu decided to go out to sell pills in the marketplace.
Before leaving, he plastered five Seal Restriction Talismans on the four walls of his bedroom and the ceiling.
"I might come back late today, if there's danger, immediately activate these five talismans!"
"And this!"
Xu Mu took out Two Amulets and put them into Ye Yingying's soft hand.
"It's dangerous outside, you should keep them!"
Ye Yingying wanted to decline.
Ever since she married Xu Mu, she had never seen him go out at night.
Even though Ye Yingying is simple-minded, she vaguely sensed something.
"Behave!"
Without giving much explanation, Xu Mu found that Ye Yingying was as obedient as before.
After getting an 'oh' from her, she took a talisman out of her bosom.
It was a Talisman of Repelling Evil that Xu Mu had once bought for her.
"Then you take this. It's not safe at night!"
"Okay!"
Xu Mu did not refuse this time.
He thought of the prior reminder from the Tooth People and that moldy severed hand.
He had confidence in his own strength.
But those weird things, he could not be certain.
"Just close the front door, don't lock it, definitely lock the bedroom door! I'll call you when I get back!"
"Hmm!"
Ye Yingying nodded her head.
A sense of unease rose in her heart.
But she didn't say it out loud, fearful that Xu Mu would worry.
After saying goodbye to his wife and walking out of the house, Xu Mu hurried towards the marketplace.
By the time he reached the Marketplace, many shops had already started packing up, preparing to close for the day.
Only a very few shops were still open for business, and they had now become very lively, like the Hook bars and the gambling houses.
Upon reaching the Song Family Pharmacy, he stated his purpose, and a maid ushered him into the back hall.
The one in charge of inspecting the pills was still the same bald old man.
Since it had only been a few days, the old man remembered Xu Mu and mentioned signing the contract again, but Xu Mu naturally declined.
Four bottles of Qi Gathering Pills exchanged for twenty Lower-grade Spirit Stones and fifteen sets of materials for refining the Qi Gathering Pill.
After leaving the marketplace, Xu Mu bought twenty kilos of Spirit Rice and five kilos of Monster beast meat from a nearby shop.
The prices were quite a bit more expensive than those on the market stalls, but the market was already closed, and he could only buy from shops.
After buying everything, Xu Mu did not immediately leave the Marketplace but found a secluded corner to cast his Invisibility Technique.
Then, he quietly hid in a small alley near the gambling house.
Night falls!
The streets were getting more deserted, and every home had their doors closed.
A cool wind blew, swirling up piles of fallen leaves, flying into the distance, and disappearing into the darkness of the night, like being swallowed by a big invisible mouth.
From the brightly lit gambling house, a disgruntled figure emerged, cursing under his breath
"Bad luck today! Before I come next time, I must get my fortune told! Bleh!"
Sun Daocheng spit out a thick blob of yellow phlegm, looked at the sky, and hastily quickened his steps.
He did not want to encounter any weird things.
The marketplace was still alright, outside of it, well, you can only hope and pray.
Walking out of the range of the lights of the gambling house, Sun Daocheng pinched a spell in his hand, and a walnut-sized light ball appeared on his fingertips, illuminating the path before him.
This was a Tier One Skill, the Light Ball Skill!
Creak!
Walking along, Sun Daocheng abruptly furrowed his brows and instinctively looked back.
The back was pitch-black, completely empty.
"Weird! It shouldn't be time yet, right?"
Sun Daocheng shook his head and continued forward, but his steps were noticeably faster now.
Not long after leaving the marketplace, an orange glimmer suddenly appeared behind him.
Sun Daocheng's heart jumped.
He did not stupidly turn back to look, but rather, bolted forward.
Five green pills that emitted a pungent smell appeared in his hand, which he vigorously threw behind him.
Halfway through their flight, the pills suddenly exploded and turned into a large cloud of green corrosive gas.
However, his reaction was quick, but the attacker's response was faster.
Whoosh!
A figure, like a wraith, swiftly dodged the poisonous pills, caught up to him, and even surpassed him.
"So fast!"
Sun Daocheng thought urgently.
At this moment, a fist-sized, dark red fireball was shot at him from the assailant's hand.
Danger!
The moment he saw the fireball, a massive fear arose in his heart.
He was too close to dodge, so Sun Daocheng instinctively activated the life-saving Amulet in his hand.
A layer of green light instantly enveloped him.
He made a quick dash towards the left.
The next moment!
The dark red fireball suddenly cracked open, like an explosive.
Boom!
Red flames formed a circular shockwave, violently spreading out in all directions.
Crack!
The body protection skill around Sun Daocheng was as fragile as an air bubble.
In an instant, it was shattered to pieces!
Everything he could see was engulfed by firelight
Even before Sun Daocheng could register the pain, he lost consciousness and was plunged into endless darkness.
"Who in the world wants to kill me?"
Leaving behind this single thought, Sun Daocheng's body was blasted into the air by the shock of the blast.
Splash!
When he hit the ground, he was already a bloody mess; there was only a fraction of his head left.
Where the fireball exploded, a half-meter deep big pit appeared in the ground, and the walls several meters away were cracked by the shock.
After a few moments, the figure who dashed the fireball returned, ripped away Sun Daocheng's storage bag on his waist, and disappeared instantly
The loud explosion echoed throughout half the slum, but not a single person came out of the room to check.
The usually bustling slum, following this explosion, suddenly turned eerily silent.