The Statue Grotto-Heaven was rather peculiar. Its sky was connected to the outside world, perfectly manifesting whatever weather lay beyond.
Chen Mu lay in a rocking chair beneath a tree, gazing at the cloudless sky and admiring that clear, tranquil blue that broadened one's heart.
The pines and cypresses overhead remained lush and green, but Qiluo Mountain outside was blanketed in yellow-green, half-withered leaves.
Without realizing it, Luandu County had entered autumn.
In Jian'an Ward, south of the city, a group of people sat around a banquet table in a two-courtyard residence, eating and chatting.
"Southern Shu was really destroyed?"
"General Jin truly deserved his title as Pillar State General!"
"I heard they're stabilizing the situation now. They should be able to return in triumph by early winter."
"If they travel by water, they'll probably pass through the Jade Belt River outside the city. We might even get to see them."
As everyone chatted enthusiastically, several women appeared together, surrounding one another.
One of them carried a bright red swaddling bundle. The sight drew everyone to their feet and over to her side. They happily peered at the infant inside for a moment, then offered all manner of blessings and praise.
This gathering was the baby's hundred-day celebration.
In a corner of the room, Chen Mu's figure appeared out of thin air. He stared at the infant in the distance for a long while before finally withdrawing his gaze.
The child had been born a hundred days ago, and Chen Mu had personally seen a Yin Nether Insect enter its body.
He could still sense the Yin Nether Insect's Qi Mechanism that day, but by the next day, it had become almost imperceptible. By now, its unique Qi Mechanism had vanished entirely.
"Did it merge into the human body and