Leaving

[Moonlight Treasure Mirror · Holder Status]

[Name: Chen Mo]

[Realm: Qi Refining Realm (Aperture Opening)]

[Bone Age: Nineteen years and five months]

[Remaining Lifespan: Approximately 1,090 days]

[Root Bone: Grade B, Low (Yin Meridian Affinity)]

[Soul: Grade B, High]

[Qi and Blood: Normal (Origin Damaged, Slightly Replenished)]

[Technique: Nether Paper-Crafting Art—Incomplete, Third Layer](Can be deduced and completed, requires Moonlight Spiritual Charm > 1)

[Technique: Taiyin Evil Form Technique, Qi Refining Realm—Open Yin Apertures]

[Technique: Yin Sha Bone-Tempering Method, First Layer: Bones Tempered Like Iron]

[Martial Skills: Willow Catkin Movement Technique—Proficient, Gale Blade Technique (Incomplete)—Beginner]

[Moonlight Spiritual Charm: 0.73]

His lifespan had risen to over a thousand days.

The words "slightly replenished" added to his Qi and Blood status eased his mind a little.

Pure Taiyin Qi nourished his body, not only improving his Root Bone but also helping to replenish his damaged origin. The effect was slow, but at least it offered hope.

After opening the Dantian Aperture, his lifespan had increased by more than two years, and his Moonlight Spiritual Charm had risen to 0.73, not far from one.

"I wonder if opening more apertures will increase my lifespan too?" Chen Mo mused. "The Qi Refining Realm requires opening nine Yin Apertures in all, forming a unique Yin Meridian."

"But at my current pace, it'll probably take another year or so to open them all."

"Still too slow."

The greatest change after opening an aperture wasn't an increase in strength, but a far more refined ability to sense and control Taiyin Qi.

The wisp of Taiyin Qi inside him was thin, yet he could command it as easily as his own arm.

"The core of the Nether Paper-Crafting Art's control over Paper Puppets lies in splitting one's consciousness and driving them with one's vital blood. Before, I relied entirely on my soul and vital blood to keep them going. It took a heavy toll, and my control lacked precision."

A glimmer lit Chen Mo's eyes. "Now I possess Taiyin Qi, whose quality far surpasses Earth Yin Qi, and whose Yin nature naturally harmonizes with Paper Puppets. If I use my own Taiyin Qi as a guide and combine it with a divided consciousness to control them..."

He acted on the thought. With a single impulse, a Weaponized Paper Puppet silently appeared before him.

Focusing, he stirred the cool current in his Dantian's Yin Aperture and sent a thread of it to his fingertip, gently touching the cinnabar talisman on the puppet's brow.

Hum!

The Paper Puppet shuddered. Its formerly stiff form sprang to life, and a faint purple glow flowed across the cinnabar talisman on its blank face.

Chen Mo felt his connection to the puppet suddenly tighten severalfold. Controlling it came as naturally as breathing.

At a mere thought, the Paper Puppet moved accordingly, swift and silent. It could even manage delicate twists and turns that had once been beyond its reach.

What's more, maintaining this control used noticeably less of his soul, while the Taiyin Qi it consumed was negligible. His Yin Aperture could even slowly replenish itself from the moonlight.

"Good. So sensing qi is only the first step. Opening the apertures is where cultivation truly begins."

Beneath the moonlight, Chen Mo guided the Weaponized Paper Puppet through a series of complex, nimble movements.

When he drew back his thoughts, the puppet stopped at once, returning to lifeless stillness.

"Driving a puppet with qi really does take far less effort than using vital blood, and the control is much finer. If I faced that Painted Skin Ghost again, I wouldn't be in such a sorry state."

As he assessed the changes in his strength, his gaze drifted to the corner of the bed, where the eerie scalp of the Painted Skin Ghost lay under suppression.

The core of the Taiyin Evil Form Technique lay in evil forms: fusing specific parts of powerful demons and supernatural beings, drawing out their essential qualities, and even gaining some of their innate abilities to greatly enhance one's cultivation and combat strength.

It was a shortcut, but also a perilous path.

Failure to fuse could set one's cultivation back or cause Yin Qi to rebound against them.

At worst, it could taint the mind, warp the body, and turn one into a monster neither human nor ghost.

Chen Mo recalled the warning in the Taiyin Evil Form Technique about one's first fusion: "When first forming an evil shape, never rush greedily toward success."

The scalp of the Painted Skin Ghost still bore powerful resentment and chaotic Yin Qi. Fusing with it now would be extremely dangerous.

"Meals are eaten one bite at a time, and roads are walked one step at a time."

He suppressed his hunger for power, letting reason prevail.

"The priority now is to open the remaining Yin Apertures as soon as possible and lay a solid foundation. Perhaps I can consider this scalp once my cultivation has advanced."

He turned his attention back to his cultivation.

After opening an aperture, his rate of absorbing moonlight had increased slightly, but it was still nowhere near enough to fill the next one.

"Cultivation resources..."

Chen Mo tapped a finger against the bedside and pondered for a moment. Then he took the Yin Cicada Slough gifted by the Rain-Listening Pavilion from a wooden box beneath the bed.

The Yin Cicada Slough felt cold to the touch. It was as thin as a cicada's wing, yet remarkably tough, and its natural patterns glimmered faintly in the dim light.

He gazed at the precious medicine gifted by the Rain-Listening Pavilion in his palm. His fingertips could sense the pure Yin Qi it contained.

Absorbing it rashly while his strength was low and he knew little about his own foundations would be far too risky.

"Cultivation resources can be gathered slowly, and the danger to my lifespan won't be solved overnight. But one wrong step, and I could fall into someone else's trap and never escape." Chen Mo stayed alert. After hesitating, he put the Yin Cicada Slough back in the wooden box and pushed it beneath the bed.

Perhaps he could use it for something else in the future, but not now.

Early the next morning, just as the sky began to lighten, Chen Mo knocked on Chen Dachuan's door.

After hearing what he had witnessed the night before, Chen Dachuan's expression shifted uneasily. "Why'd you go out last night?"

"Is that the point?" Chen Mo asked, exasperated.

"There are hundreds of thousands of people across Linhe's three counties. The United Government can't just ignore us."

Chen Dachuan furrowed his brow, uncertain. "Besides, Jin City's nothing like Linhe. You have to pay for everything there, from food and drink to—"

Before he could finish, Chen Mo held out a stack of banknotes and cut him off. "So, are we going or not?"

"We're going!"

Chen Dachuan cheerfully took the banknotes and counted them. There were a full twelve hundred dollars. "Where'd you get this much money?"

"Found it."

Chen Mo couldn't stand how small-time he was. If he took out more than ten thousand dollars, it'd probably scare the life out of him.

Once Aunt Liu and her daughter got up, the house sprang into a flurry of activity. Yuanyuan hugged her little bundle, bewildered. Seeing the adults' grave expressions, she didn't dare speak.

There wasn't much they could take besides money, valuables, essential belongings, and a little dry food.

Some valuable items were left in the cellar.

They kept at it until the sun was high overhead, but only managed to pack two modest bundles.

As he locked the front door, Chen Mo instinctively glanced at the neighboring Li Family home.

Its courtyard gate stood ajar, and all was eerily quiet.

Just as they were about to leave, the rapid clatter of horse hooves drew near. A sturdy blue-canopied carriage stopped outside the Li Family shop.

Two men in gray cloth jackets jumped down and hurried into the courtyard.

Before long, Widow Li and her daughter, Li Siqing, came out, each carrying a small bundle. Heads bowed, they climbed into the carriage in haste.

The carriage raised a cloud of dust as it sped off. From beginning to end, Li Siqing never glanced toward the Chen home.

"They..." Chen Dachuan stared in surprise.

"Let's go."

The doubts in Chen Mo's mind deepened, but he had no time to dwell on them.

It was clear that Li Siqing's family had received some kind of warning too.