The Side Effects of Phantom Movement Technique

Luo Mu stood where he was, his face devoid of surprise; everything had unfolded exactly as he expected. The reason he hadn't attacked his opponents while using his Phantom Movement Technique earlier, but instead circled the entire perimeter of the skirmish, was to ensure his Poison Spirit Power permeated the entire area.

That pale green mist was a manifestation of the Poison Spirit Power released from Luo Mu's dantian. Because the color was so faint, he had managed to release more than half of the poison within him without anyone noticing, allowing the toxic fog to spread. Unwittingly, everyone had inhaled the mist, leading to the scene before him.

However, the potency of his Poison Spirit Power was so great that even a man at the same sixth level of Qi Refining had no resistance to it; this was something Luo Mu had not anticipated.

The only thing that left Luo Mu somewhat dissatisfied was the slow onset of the toxicity. From the moment they inhaled the mist to the moment they died, they had enough time to do many things. If they had realized they were poisoned, they might have found a way to neutralize it.

The men before him were dead beyond any doubt. Black blood pooled on the ground, and their skin had taken on a faint, sickly cyan hue. Luo Mu walked past their corpses with a blank expression and arrived before the Bronze Bell. With a gentle flick of his wrist, the bell emitted a glow and shrank to the size of a palm, returning to his hand.

Le Tian, who had been trapped inside the Bronze Bell, was also devoid of breath, his skin turned green—clearly dead from the poison.

Clatter. The Black Iron Chain not far away fell to the ground with a crisp metallic sound. Lacking the support of its master's spirit power, it could no longer maintain its binding form and reverted to the size of an ordinary chain, revealing the Plum Blossom Snakes trapped within.

As soon as the thirteen Plum Blossom Snakes appeared, they excitedly slithered toward Luo Mu, acting extremely affectionate. Seeing this, Luo Mu smiled slightly and waved his hand. Several streaks of light shot out from the surrounding grass, heading straight for him.

Five White Jade Ants and three Octagonal Spikes appeared on Luo Mu's body, crawling about restlessly.

In truth, these eight little creatures had been recalled by Luo Mu long ago, lying in wait as a contingency. Since he had decided to kill these people, he certainly wouldn't let any of them leave alive to avoid future retaliation. These eight little ones were his trump card; had anyone escaped his range, they would have ensured not a single bone remained.

Do not be fooled by the low rank of the White Jade Ants and Octagonal Spikes; in terms of combat power, they far surpassed the first-rank peak beast, the Plum Blossom Snake.

Judging by the cultivation levels of his opponents, Luo Mu wasn't worried about any of them escaping under his nose. He had considerable confidence in his Octagonal Spikes and White Jade Ants. Over the past year, he had watched them grow, and he had a clear measure of their strength in his heart.

With a smug smile on his face, Luo Mu bent down to grab the Storage Bag at Le Tian's waist. Suddenly, his brows arched, his outstretched hand froze in mid-air, and a look of agony contorted his face.

How could this be? The excruciating pain surging through his body caused his expression to change instantly, and beads of sweat the size of peas covered his forehead in mere moments. Enduring the agony, he thought in shock. After a brief moment of reflection, he understood exactly what was happening.

His current condition was entirely due to the side effects of his frequent use of the Phantom Movement Technique!

While the Bai Family's Phantom Movement Technique was miraculous—allowing one to strike unexpectedly and remain elusive—its drawbacks were equally severe.

Every time the technique was used, it not only consumed a vast amount of spirit power but also inflicted damage upon the body. Repeated use would inevitably lead to strained tendons and muscles, causing unbearable pain that required quiet rest to recover. Furthermore, long-term, frequent use would eventually leave behind incurable sequelae.

For this reason, before learning the Phantom Movement Technique, members of the Bai Family would always choose a body-refining cultivation method to toughen their physique to a certain degree.

The Phantom Movement Technique was divided into nine levels. Each level required a corresponding increase in physical strength to avoid placing an excessive burden on the body and damaging one's foundation.

Luo Mu had already cultivated the technique to the fifth level. It wasn't that no one in the Bai Family had reached this level, but in all these years, no genius had ever achieved it within a single year.

Since the Bai Family first obtained the technique, no one had ever managed to reach the fifth level within a year without any prior body-refining training.

It wasn't that Luo Mu was exceptionally gifted; it was his sheer, indomitable willpower that had brought him this far.

Without a body-refining method, his physical strength couldn't keep up. Practicing the technique under such conditions meant enduring heart-wrenching pain. Yet, Luo Mu had persisted through that agony, pushing himself to the fifth level in just one year.

Luo Mu was not only incredibly determined but also ruthless toward himself. To travel further on the path of immortality and achieve his goals, he had to be cruel to himself.

Because he had no spirit roots and was never meant to cultivate, his accidental entry into the world of cultivation—whether by coincidence or destiny—was hard-won, and he cherished it immensely.

Without a body-refining method, it seems I cannot continue practicing the Phantom Movement Technique for now, Luo Mu knelt on one knee, enduring the pain as he thought to himself.

At the same time, he began to reconsider whether he should continue using a technique that offered as many risks as it did rewards.

Until he obtained a body-refining method, he decided to stop practicing the Phantom Movement Technique and keep it at the fifth level. Moreover, it would be wise to use it sparingly in the future.

Le Tian had just given him a wake-up call: the Phantom Movement Technique belonged to the Bai Family. If Le Tian could recognize it, there was no guarantee that someone else from the Bai Family wouldn't notice him one day. If that happened, even if he didn't admit to killing Bai Shu, he would be branded with the crime of stealing a secret technique, which would inevitably lead to his death.

Furthermore, without a body-refining method, his body would never withstand continued practice, no matter how strong his will was. He did not want to leave behind any permanent damage that would hinder his future cultivation.

For these two reasons, Luo Mu had to temporarily cease his practice. Additionally, once the technique was used, it was best to leave no survivors to prevent any news from leaking and endangering him.

After a moment of respite, the pain began to subside. Although it had only lasted a short while, it had left his face deathly pale, a testament to the intensity of the agony he had just endured.

Taking a deep breath, his complexion slowly returned to a healthy flush. He moved his hand, which had been frozen in the air, and unceremoniously snatched the Storage Bag from Le Tian's waist.

With the bag in hand, he probed it with his divine sense and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. There were quite a few items inside, though they were somewhat miscellaneous. Due to the time constraints, he didn't examine them one by one.

The people who had died here, regardless of their family backgrounds, were all students of the Jinxiu Academy. Luo Mu knew exactly what the academy represented—it was the direct influence of the Wanfa Sect in Jinxiu City, under their sole jurisdiction.

Just as one of the students had said, killing a student of the Jinxiu Academy was an act of defiance against the academy itself. Luo Mu felt he needed to dispose of these bodies quickly to avoid discovery by other cultivators. After all, they were wearing school uniforms, which made them very easy to identify.

Without further delay, Luo Mu removed the Storage Bags from each of them and tucked them into his robes, intending to deal with them once he returned to the Stone Chamber.

He issued a silent command, and five streaks of white light flashed from his body, darting toward a female corpse.

The five streaks were none other than the White Jade Ants. Having had the experience of killing and disposing of a body once before, Luo Mu was now quite adept at the process. Summoning the ants to handle the remains was, in his view, the best approach.

Not only would this dispose of the bodies cleanly, but the bodies of cultivators contained significant spirit energy, which was a great tonic for the White Jade Ants.

Reflecting on how he had managed to make use of even the corpses of his enemies, Luo Mu felt a pang of wonder—was he being too stingy? As he thought this, he suddenly looked at the five White Jade Ants with confusion.

The ants, which usually loved to devour corpses rich in spirit energy, were currently crawling on the woman's body but refused to take a bite. This not only puzzled Luo Mu but also piqued his curiosity.

At the same time, the three Octagonal Spikes on his body became restless, causing Luo Mu to frown slightly.

A moment later, his furrowed brows relaxed, and his face filled with astonishment. After a brief communication with the little creatures, he was shocked to discover that the White Jade Ants refused to eat because the woman had died from a potent poison.

The ants seemed terrified of the poison. Wanting to consume the body but fearing the toxins, they hesitated. While Luo Mu found this amusing, it also served as a warning: the weakness of these seemingly omnivorous ants was poison.

As for the strange behavior of the Octagonal Spikes, it actually filled Luo Mu with joy.