Strange Occurrences in Hunxi Valley, Slow Progress in Hundred Refinements Transformation Manual

Chen Duan took the bamboo tube, pulled out the stopper of one of them, and sniffed it gently near his nose.

A faint, almost odorless scent entered his nostrils.

Compared to the bait he had used before, this scent was undoubtedly more covert and harder to detect.

He then took out another bamboo tube from his pocket, pulled out the stopper, and gave it a gentle shake.

A small, dark red insect flew out, its antennae twitching slightly.

As if sensing the bait's scent, it quickly flew into the new bamboo tube.

This "Shadow Chasing Worm" had been with Chen Duan since the Blackwater City period and had proven its worth many times.

Later, as the spare bait was running out, Chen Duan had to seal it away, and hadn't used it for a long time.

Although he had learned some information about this insect from Feng Qu Xian's fragmented memories earlier, it was only after arriving in Hunxi Valley that he truly confirmed the little bug's name and origin.

The Shadow Chasing Worm was a common tracking Gu worm cultivated by the Gu Tribe of the Southern Border, known for its powerful tracking abilities.

Chen Duan paid the emaciated man the agreed-upon price.

This man was from the Gu Tribe of the Southern Border. He had traveled a long distance to earn some extra money by selling small trinkets from his hometown.

In a place like Hunxi Valley, which was a melting pot of all sorts, people like him were not uncommon.

Leaving the market, Chen Duan walked back along the street.

The road was uneven, and due to continuous rain, the ground was muddy, making it almost impossible to find a dry spot to stand.

When he reached an alley entrance, he noticed a crowd gathered there, pointing and chattering incessantly.

Chen Duan paused, his gaze sweeping over the scene.

"Tsk tsk, how many days has it been since this person died? The stench has been drifting for two miles, and it's only discovered today!"

"Look at that face, my god, it's been gnawed beyond recognition, truly terrifying! How many is this now?"

"Third one, right? I heard they found one at the west end the other day, died in a similar state."

The crowd was gathered outside a low, dilapidated house, craning their necks to peer inside, their faces a mixture of fear, disgust, and a morbid curiosity.

Through the gaps in the jostling crowd, Chen Duan saw a stiff corpse slumped on a crooked wooden chair inside the house.

The corpse's eyes were wide open, its pupils a dull gray, but what was more chilling was half of its face. The flesh was mangled, as if gnawed by some beast, exposing the jawbone and blackened flesh and tissue, a ghastly sight.

"Make way! Everyone, make way!"

"Excuse us, excuse us! Clearing the scene!"

Two men in rough cloth tunics pushed through the crowd and entered the house.

With practiced movements, they pulled the corpse from the chair, stuffed it into a heavy sack, tied the opening tightly, and then carried it out.

It wasn't uncommon for a few people to die in Hunxi Valley every day. There were many people who specialized in handling nameless corpses, and it was a decent living.

Afterward, a man resembling a broker, accompanied by a few helpers carrying brooms and buckets, squeezed in and directed them to start cleaning the house.

The bloodstains were washed away, the filth cleaned up. Soon, the house would be renovated and put up for rent again.

There was no concept of a "haunted house" here. After all, in Hunxi Valley, more dangerous than any ethereal "malevolent spirits or ghosts" were the "people."

Chen Duan's gaze followed the men carrying the corpses as they threw the sack containing the body onto a dilapidated pushcart. There were already several other corpses on it, all crudely secured with ropes.

Recalling the state of the corpse he had just seen, a strange feeling flickered through Chen Duan's mind.

This was not the first time he had seen a corpse with a similar cause of death. He had personally witnessed three such cases, and alarming rumors had already spread among the neighbors.

Despite finding it peculiar, Chen Duan did not feel the urge to investigate further.

His time was precious, and he had no time to waste on such elusive oddities.

Of course, if an opportunity presented itself, that would be another matter.

Chen Duan withdrew his gaze and turned away from the scene.

The men carrying the corpses pushed the heavy cart along the muddy road, creaking and groaning for nearly half an hour, finally arriving at a desolate mass grave on the outskirts of Ruan Tu Town.

"We've got a lot of work these past two days, brothers! Once we finish the remaining spots, I'll treat you to drinks tonight, have some good food to ward off bad luck!" the leader shouted.

"Alright!"

"Boss is generous!"

The men worked together to drag the corpses off the cart, throwing them like garbage into a bottomless pit.

After they finished, they were about to leave.

"What's this eye doing here, fallen out?"

One of the men picked up an eyeball with some flesh still attached from the cart, frowned in disgust, and casually tossed it into the corpse pit behind them.

The group pushed the cart and left.

The eyeball traced an arc through the air, falling directly into a half-open mouth.

The broken jawbone, as if gnawed by a beast, suddenly ground twice, chewed, and then swallowed.

The next moment.

His pale eyeballs rolled.

The sun rose and the moon set.

Several days passed in the blink of an eye.

This morning.

The sky was clear and bright.

Chen Duan sat cross-legged in the courtyard before a sapling about half a person's height, his gaze fixed intently on the sapling.

His mind was highly concentrated, his spirit guarded within, deaf to everything outside, as if he had become a stone statue.

In a trance, his consciousness detached from the shackles of his body, as if he had become a part of the sapling before him.

He accepted the sunlight's illumination, absorbed the soil's nutrients, and sensed the vibrant life force hidden deep within the plants, stirring and eager to grow.

After an unknown amount of time, his ethereal consciousness returned to his body.

He exhaled a long breath, clarity returning to his eyes. He casually set aside the wooden board he had been carving on his knees.

[Wood Element Art (76%, Fourth Level)]

"This Visualization method truly consumes a lot of mental energy and time."

Chen Duan mused inwardly.

If he had spent this time cultivating the techniques obtained through "Flower Transfer Grafting," he probably could have broken through a major realm.

However, there was a balance between gain and loss.

The cultivation obtained through unconventional means, while progressing rapidly, ultimately lacked a profound understanding of the essence of power.

This step-by-step cultivation, achieved through Visualization and comprehension, made each step more solid, and his understanding of the life force of "Wood" clearer.

Martial Path, Martial Path. The former, "Flower Transfer Grafting," focused more on "Martial," while the latter, this orthodox cultivation, explored the "Way" beyond "Martial."

After a short rest, Chen Duan picked up the Hundred Refinements Transformation Manual scripture again and focused on studying it.

After flipping through it for a while, he put down the scroll, grabbed a handful of soil from under the tree, and placed it in his palm. Then, following the scripture's instructions, he attempted to circulate the unique internal energy method to transform the soil into a weapon.

This Hundred Refinements Transformation Manual had many similarities with the Wood Element Art. Neither had fixed external moves. Their essence lay in cultivating a unique source of internal energy and then, based on this internal energy, deriving various wondrous applications.

Before long, a faint warmth could be felt in his palm, as if something was being nurtured.

It's coming!

Chen Duan's mind stirred, and he was about to guide it carefully.

Suddenly, however, that trace of warmth instantly extinguished, vanishing without a trace.

Everything returned to calm, as if the feeling just now had been an illusion.