The weather grew colder with each passing day, and the Golden Pearl Clams entered their hibernation period. Most of the disciples who raised clams and harvested pearls burrowed inside their cave mansions, not showing their faces. Even the fog above Yunze Lake lay lazily on the surface, motionless.
That day, at the southern foot of Chongmei Mountain, in Chen Mu's Cave Mansion, a low square table was set in front of the massive Jade Window.
Chen Mu, dressed in loose, gray garments, sat in a bamboo chair with his hands pressed against the surface of the Five Qi Mixed Yuan Furnace.
Inside the furnace, a rumbling like muffled thunder continued unabated, while five little paper figures hid behind Chen Mu, occasionally popping their heads out from his shoulder, peering around curiously.
After more than half a year of secluded cultivation, Chen Mu was running out of White Jade. He planned to craft Water-Repelling Pearls to make money.
