Chapter 78: Flesh and Blood

"Come here."

"Go there."

"Spin around."

"Bring your master a cup of tea."

"Clatter~"

Chen Ci looked at the teacup shards on the ground, feeling quite speechless.

So much for the Five-Ghost Transportation Technique; you can't even move a teacup, the hundred-and-eight-year-old grandma next door is steadier than you lot, aren't you?

However, considering they were newly born, Chen Ci didn't bother to argue with them. He waved his hand, and the five ghosts turned into smoke, returning to the Ancient Bronze Lamp, giving him an inexplicable sense of déjà vu like a genie in a lamp.

Inspecting the Ancient Bronze Lamp in his hand, which had become deeper and more archaic in color, Chen Ci placed it on the table. This thing was a bit inconvenient to carry; he might have to make a lamp cover to hang from his waist in the future.

He would have to wait until the Five Ghosts Transportation Method reached Great Completion, allowing the five ghosts to be nimble enough to enter his body, before he could stop carrying this copper lamp vessel.

Chen Ci pulled up his Gold Finger interface.

Five Ghosts Transportation Method: Entry/2/100 (Refining Essence one drop daily can advance it by one; subdue the heart-ghost, and the spirit-ghost will be born of itself)

Refining one drop of Essence daily wasn't too bad; he could just squeeze it out whenever.

Looking at it this way, the Fuhu Altar requiring Essence offerings was likely because Hutou Daoren was also practicing the Five Ghosts Method.

Subduing the heart-ghost, however, was something he didn't quite understand. This was another downside of the Gold Finger: it gave annotations but wasn't willing to provide annotations for the annotations, lacking a bit of intelligence.

What Chen Ci was currently worried about was whether, by the end of his training, he would end up like Hutou Daoren, requiring massive amounts of Essence to assist his cultivation. If that were the case... he would truly have to walk down this dark path to the end.

"I... sigh."

Chen Ci stopped mid-sentence, deciding to just take it one step at a time.

If he really reached that point, he, Master Chen, was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to extract Essence, so he would just have to cross the river by feeling for the Fuhu Altar.

Let Hutou Daoren set the example first.

Fortunately, it wasn't without any gains.

Although the power of these five ghosts was weak, they could still move paper, banknotes, and the like. Within three zhang, they were as responsive as his own limbs. Aside from being slightly unaccustomed to the strange sensation of having five extra hands, they were actually more useful than True Qi.

Moreover, the aura of these five ghosts was pure. He didn't know if it was because of the Five-Fortune Seeds, but they even carried a miraculous sense of mental connection. If he hid them in a crevice, they could even allow Chen Ci to faintly perceive the surrounding situation.

However, they had to be positioned according to the cardinal directions in advance, and at most, it only covered a range of about ten meters.

As for the combat power of the five ghosts, common mosquitoes and ants were definitely no match for them.

"Hmm, at least there is a lot of room for improvement."

Chen Ci nodded: "Once I practice to a higher level, I suppose I will have the strength of one Kun."

Three Yin Qi-Eating Method.

Five Yin Evil Qi Bag / Stomach Earth Nourishing Gold Method.

Five Ghosts Transportation Method, Five Ghosts Possession Method, Five-Skandha Yin Demon Art.

These were Chen Ci's current foundations for cultivation in the He Mountain Sect. While they were a bit lacking compared to the best, they still offered hope for Longevity, provided he could withstand the tiny, tiny problems of the Five Ghosts Possession Method.

As for the backup plan he had buried at Nine Springs Temple, he could only say there was hope; as for how much, he would leave it to fate.

Chen Ci stood in the backyard. As his mind stirred, a bold bird that had just rushed toward the Black Jade Rice with hanging ears was passed through by the five ghosts that appeared out of thin air. Yin Qi entered its body, and it fell to the ground with a mournful cry, then was sucked into the Five Yin Evil Qi Bag and disappeared.

"Truly troublesome."

Chen Ci looked at the less than one-third mu of Spirit Field in the courtyard, feeling quite a headache.

His backyard was originally a Yin site, so wild beasts and insects dared not approach. Even with some spirit rice planted, he didn't need to worry much. With the Corpse buried earlier, he didn't even need to apply much fertilizer, and this Black Jade Rice was actually growing quite well.

But once the Black Jade Rice formed ears and neared maturity, the trouble began.

There were always some birds and beasts that didn't fear death; even the Yin site couldn't scare them off. They would fly over, peck a few spirit grains, and run away.

People die for wealth, birds die for food. Even killing quite a few didn't do much good; these birds and beasts seemed to be of a strange breed, and their speed was much faster than ordinary birds.

Fortunately, after practicing the Five Ghosts Transportation Method, he had five more helpers, so the loss in the Spirit Field wasn't much. It was just that he couldn't go too far; if he left the temple, he couldn't look after it.

"Forget it, there isn't much time left anyway. In a month at the shortest, or a month and a half at the longest, it will be the harvest season."

"If it really comes to it, I'll build a fishing net shed. I can't let these beasts take advantage of Sanyin Temple."

Chen Ci was suddenly stunned. Without realizing it, he had already been in this world for nearly a year.

It was exactly during last year's autumn harvest that he became the master of Sanyin Temple.

Fortune plays tricks on people.

"Bang, bang, bang~"

"What is it?"

Chen Ci came back to his senses. Ever since everything had been put on the right track, there hadn't been any miscellaneous affairs in the temple that required his decision for a long time.

"Reporting to Master, the manager of the manor below reports that the amount of livestock being raised is no longer enough to supply the temple's consumption."

Niu Ji said in a low voice.

A flash of displeasure crossed Chen Ci's face. The method he practiced had a great demand for flesh and blood. As early as a few months ago when he was refining Essence, he had given orders to prepare more, and it wouldn't have mattered even if it cost more silver.

Now they were saying it wasn't enough; what were they doing earlier?

Besides, the daily consumption was only five hundred catties swallowed by the Five Yin Evil Qi Bag.

One thousand catties absorbed by the Peiyuan Dharma Incantation.

Five hundred catties consumed by Refining Essence.

That was only two thousand catties of flesh and blood a day; was that a lot?

Damn it, it actually seems like quite a lot.

Chen Ci rubbed his temples and asked: "How many more days of consumption can it support?"

"According to the manager, about five days. The manor is currently purchasing at a higher price, but even so, it can only last for seven or eight days. It is mainly because the prices in the county have risen quite sharply recently; even if we offer a price, it is not easy to buy large livestock."

"I know, you may go."

Chen Ci was somewhat puzzled; it was neither a year of famine nor was it close to the autumn harvest, so why would prices in Changping County be rising?

But recalling his conversation with the Head of the Family of the Huang Family that day, Chen Ci frowned slightly; could it still be about that so-called Waterway Superintendent?

Had the price hikes in Xishan Prefecture extended their influence even to a remote region like Changping County?

That shouldn't be; looking at it this way, the matter must be quite serious if an entire prefecture is implicated, and there are likely many others like him, a cultivator, who are also affected.

Chen Ci rubbed his chin; a matter that could affect an entire prefecture was too far removed from him, a practitioner of the He Mountain Outer Transmission.

It was better to consider where to get more flesh and blood; that was the real priority.

……

Five Yin Evil Qi Bag.

Peiyuan Dharma Incantation.

Essence Refining.

"Both the palm and the back of the hand are flesh."

Chen Ci was somewhat conflicted; one was a method for self-protection, the other was a source of wealth, and lacking rations for either would have an impact.

But things like flesh and blood didn't grow in the fields; he couldn't just find them out of thin air, could he?

"No, I have made a mistake."

Chen Ci pondered for a moment, then slapped his forehead; although all three required flesh and blood, their focuses were different.

Essence Refining prioritizes the essence and spirit first, and flesh and blood second.

The Five Yin Evil Qi Bag requires as much blood and Qi as possible.

The Peiyuan Dharma Incantation, on the contrary, has the lowest requirements; it only needs a sufficient amount of fresh flesh and blood.

This Peiyuan Dharma Incantation isn't as picky as the first two!

In that case, using livestock flesh and blood to refine Health-Nurturing Pills previously was a waste.

Damn it, the cost could still be lowered!

Chen Ci thought to himself.

(End of this chapter)