Flesh-Bone Green Robe

The gloomy, strange Ancestral Temple seemed even more eerie after Granny Gu closed its doors.

The temple looked like a gigantic skull, its surface painted a deathly white. The two black windows on the second floor resembled empty eye sockets.

Li Muyang stood outside the temple and waited for a long time. Suddenly, a cold wind blew in from afar, sweeping straight into the temple.

A moment later, a shrill, strange scream rang out from within.

It definitely wasn't made by any living creature. Hearing it made Li Muyang's whole body go cold for no reason.

After a while, the temple doors opened.

Granny Gu led out Little Wild Grass, whose face was pale and eyes filled with terror.

The old woman wore a cheerful smile, her expression as kind as ever, as though nothing had happened.

"That's enough, you little brat. Take your Little Wild Grass home."

As she spoke, the old woman tossed a filthy bundle into Li Muyang's hands.

"While you're at it, get rid of this filthy thing. Throw it away or burn it, whatever you like."

"If you don't find it disgusting, you can keep it at home and play with it."

"This thing disappeared many years ago. Keeping it would still make for a memento."

The old woman smiled kindly.

But when Li Muyang took the filthy bundle, he was startled.

The thing in his hands was a dirty white rag doll, fashioned as a female opera performer with a powdered face and heavy makeup.

But the skirt on her lower body was unusually long, with two thin, elongated strips of cloth hanging down to represent her legs.

Seven or eight crisscrossing strips of cloth had been stitched onto her upper body to represent her arms.

On her deathly pale head were two mouths, crossed over each other, making her look eerie and uncanny.

The instant he got his hands on the strange female performer, a system prompt appeared in Li Muyang's field of vision.

[You have obtained a special item—Flesh-Bone Green Robe Remains]

[Can be refined into a special item]

[Refine?]

[Yes/No]

Li Muyang was astonished by the options that appeared before him.

This thing could actually be refined into an item?

After leaving the temple with Little Wild Grass, he chose [Yes].

A cloud of pitch-black mist appeared in his field of vision. The next moment, it burst open, revealing a female performer in a green robe with an ugly, ferocious grin.

Her appearance was identical to the rag doll Li Muyang had held in the game.

[Special Item: Flesh-Bone Green Robe (Obtained)]

[Description: An evil thing born in ancient times, possessing uncanny powers that ordinary people have little defense against]

[How to use: Bury the Flesh-Bone Green Robe underground, and write the target's name, place of origin, and gender on its chest (the more complete the information, the more accurately the target can be located). Once the target is confirmed, the Flesh-Bone Green Robe will appear in their dream and reap their life]

The instructions from the system made Li Muyang's eyes widen.

Wasn't this the legendary art of killing someone in their dreams?

That was powerful. If anyone offended him in the future, he wouldn't even have to act in person. He could simply bring out the Flesh-Bone Green Robe... Though he wasn't sure whether this thing could deal with cultivators.

Though he doubted the item's lethality, considering it came from the system, Li Muyang decided to place some cautious faith in it.

Not every cultivator knew how to resist evil arts.

Compared to other evil arts, the greatest strength of the Flesh-Bone Green Robe was that it didn't require a birth date or any medium like hair or clothing. A name alone was enough to start killing.

Amazing!

On the Demon Refining Sect's field path, Li Muyang opened his eyes and gently breathed out a mouthful of stale air.

A little rag doll now rested against his chest. It was none other than the Flesh-Bone Green Robe from the game.

But despite holding this eerie little thing, Li Muyang had no intention of using it.

After all, he didn't have any enemies in the Demon Refining Sect.

Carefully hiding the Flesh-Bone Green Robe away, Li Muyang decided to wait for a chance to use it in the future.

After stowing it away, Li Muyang returned to the field path, picked up the enormous water dipper, and began to make it rain.

Spirit-infused water vapor drifted over the spirit fields, endlessly raining down and nourishing the spirit grain.

Although Li Muyang was a rather lackadaisical spirit planter, after several days of continuous rainmaking, new shoots gradually sprouted from the seeds in his fields.

The spirit grain probably wouldn't grow very well later on, though.

But Li Muyang didn't mind.

Living alone halfway up this secluded mountain, far from other people, had brought him a great deal of peace and quiet.

At the very least, he didn't have to worry about someone sneaking into his room to steal the superior spirit rice from his cabinet while he was away.

—Worried someone might steal his rice, Li Muyang didn't even dare sell the trash-grade spirit rice in his rice jar for money.

He still kept the trash-grade spirit rice in the jar, leaving it out in plain sight as bait.

As for the spirit rice jar that could continuously produce superior spirit rice, Li Muyang covered it every day with a pickle crock. It looked utterly unremarkable.

With superior spirit rice to nourish him, Li Muyang's cultivation steadily improved.

The character experience bar in the upper-right corner of his vision increased by more than ten percent almost every day.

At last, on the third day after obtaining the Flesh-Bone Green Robe, Li Muyang broke through to the next cultivation stage once more.

The vortex of spiritual energy in his qi sea and dantian suddenly dispersed, flowing into his limbs and bones and merging completely with his body. This signaled that Li Muyang had successfully completed this stage of cultivation.

A tiny vortex of spiritual energy reappeared in his dantian. Once it had grown strong enough to disperse through his body again, it would mean Li Muyang had entered the next level.

Cultivation during the Qi Refining stage was about constantly nurturing the vortex of spiritual energy within the body, allowing it to merge with the flesh.

After refining and strengthening the body nine times, one would reach the ninth level of Qi Refining and be able to establish a foundation.

Li Muyang had now reached the fourth level of Qi Refining.

The nourishment from the Endless Spirit Rice Jar let him, an outer-sect menial disciple, cultivate at a pace usually enjoyed only by the lofty direct disciples.

Sitting on his hard plank bed and feeling his body's newfound strength, Li Muyang clenched his fist.

He was one step closer to Foundation Establishment!

He got out of bed, planning to wash his feet before going to sleep.

But beneath the dark night sky, lantern light appeared on this remote mountainside, far from the crowds.

Someone carried a lantern along the mountain path at a time when most people were getting ready for bed, appearing in Li Muyang's field of vision.

Li Muyang was a little surprised.

"Guan Xiaoshun?"

What was this kid doing here so late at night?

Though he got along fairly well with Guan Xiaoshun, they weren't exactly close.

And yet Guan Xiaoshun had come to visit in the middle of the night, carrying a lantern.

Looking at the boy who had come all this way, Li Muyang was utterly confused. "Xiaoshun, is something wrong?"

Guan Xiaoshun scratched his head. "Brother Li, the sect is opening its gates tomorrow."

"I was worried you wouldn't know, since you live so far away and nobody might tell you. So I came to let you know."

"The mountain gates open only once a year. New disciples accepted by the sect will be coming into the city then, and us older disciples can go down the mountain into the city too, to set up stalls and sell things. It's a way to make some money."

"Brother Li, are you going with us tomorrow?"