Qinghe County was located in the Nanshan region, but it wasn’t named for the mountains. Instead, its name came from the Qing River, a waterway that originated in the Nanshan Mountain Range and flowed through Qinghe County and several other counties from south to north.

The river was fed by mountain springs, its water clear and sweet, hence the name Qing River.

Qinghe County was, in turn, named after the river.

The Qing River flowed through several counties, and in an age where goods were carried by shoulder pole or beast of burden, rivers served as vital arteries for transportation.

There was no off-season. Throughout the year, from spring to winter, the Qing River was always teeming with boats, as numerous as hairs on an ox’s back.

For someone looking to get far away from Qinghe County, there was clearly no faster or more convenient way than to travel downriver.

Several days had passed since the two men and a dog vanished into the forest just before the bloodshed in Nanshan. Today, they had reappeared, now on the Qing River.

Their vessel was a small, black-canopied boat, clearly showing its age. On a river where boats of all sizes were a common sight, it drew no attention.

The cabin was packed to the brim. Furthest inside was a pile of books, followed by medicinal herbs, all sorted and wrapped in oil paper.

The only space for passengers was at the very front, near the bow.

Wangcai was curled up amidst the medicinal herbs, its eyes drooping listlessly. The days of travel had clearly exhausted the poor dog.

Xu Yuan sat at the bow, dangling his feet in the water. It seemed to be his first time on a boat, and with his youthful spirit, he was having the time of his life.

Chu Mu sat inside the cabin, studying a map he had bought some time ago.

After several days on the road and another half-day on the water, they were now far beyond the borders of Qinghe County.

Their current position was within the second county along the Qing River’s course: Gutong County, so named for its abundant copper mines.

After all the turmoil in Nanshan Town, Chu Mu had developed something of a trauma related to mines. When it came to choosing a new place to live, a place like this was out of the question.

In fact, he didn’t even plan on staying within this prefecture.

His destination was Changzhou County.

According to the map, the Qing River flowed north, passing through eight counties before reaching its end at Jingmen County. Jingmen itself belonged to another prefecture: Changzhou County.

Judging by the situation when he left, quite a few Inspectors had clearly fled as well.

Once he was eight counties away and in a different prefecture, the troubles in Nanshan could never touch him again.

Chu Mu set down the map and leaned back against the sacks of herbs. Though he was adrift, he felt an inexplicable sense of peace.

The feeling had been with him ever since he’d shed his Inspector Armor.

Taking off the Inspector Armor meant losing its protection, but it also felt as if he had cast off all the oppressive weight that came with it.

Relief!

It was like the carefree ease of his school days in his past life.

His mind went blank, and his taut nerves finally, completely, relaxed.

He had intended to find a comfortable spot to read, but in his relaxed state, he drifted into a deep sleep before he even realized it.

Chu Mu slept soundly and peacefully.

It felt like the first time he had slept so soundly since arriving in this world.

No worries, no anxieties, no studies, no thoughts, no exhaustion...

He slept for a full day and night, his long-established internal clock seemingly choosing to ignore its duty.

It wasn’t until the morning of the next day that Chu Mu finally awoke.

His stomach was empty, but his mind felt sharper and more energized than ever before.

Chu Mu stood at the bow, breathing in the crisp morning air. He felt an unprecedented clarity in his mind, as if all the dust had been washed away.

There at the bow, Chu Mu took the medicinal decoction from Xu Yuan and drained it in one gulp. He then immediately assumed the stance for his Pile Skill. With his mind so clear, he began his Qi and Blood Cultivation.

Focus was second nature to him, and he was long accustomed to achieving a state of calm heart and tranquil spirit.

Almost instantly, he felt the sensation of his Qi Blood welling up within him.

His body, several times stronger than an ordinary person’s, was a vessel for the thick, surging torrent of his Qi Blood. His heartbeat was powerful and steady.

A conventional doctor examining his body now would be utterly baffled. Both his heartbeat and his pulse were vastly different from those of an ordinary person.

Likewise, treating this body with conventional medicine would be completely ineffective.

Know the patient, know the medicine.

Therein lay its significance, and also its complexity.

Even Chu Mu himself knew that while the Dragon and Snake Soup he had developed was astonishingly effective now, its potency would be temporary.

As his Qi and Blood Cultivation progressed, the effects of the Dragon and Snake Soup would inevitably diminish until they disappeared entirely.

If his body underwent some unforeseen change during his Qi and Blood Cultivation, the formula for the Dragon and Snake Soup would have to be adjusted. Otherwise, its effects would become unpredictable.

When his Qi and Blood Cultivation was complete, Chu Mu subconsciously summoned his Light Curtain Panel. He gave it a habitual glance and was about to dismiss it, but what he saw left him stunned.

[Name: Chu Mu]

[Skill: Basic Blade Technique (Entering the Hall and the Room) 401/2000]

[Body Refining Technique (363/1000)]

[Alchemy: Dragon and Snake Soup: Entering the Hall and the Room (435/1000)]

[Spiritual Radiance Value: 289.3%]

Since fleeing Nanshan Town, he had spent days on the road with no spare time for Cultivation.

This had been his very first session of Qi and Blood Cultivation since leaving Nanshan Town.

If he remembered correctly, his Body Refining Technique progress had only been at 213 points before he left Nanshan Town.

And now...

’Three hundred and sixty-three?’

Chu Mu blinked, checking again and again to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating.

’One hundred and fifty points of progress in a single session of Qi and Blood Cultivation?’

Before he had improved the formula for Essence Qi Powder, he had languished for months, gaining only a few dozen points of progress despite spending a fortune in resources and energy. It was only after developing the Dragon and Snake Soup that he’d finally entered the fast lane.

But even a full month of that ’fast lane’ Cultivation had only yielded a little over a hundred points of progress.

’And now, a hundred and fifty points from a single session?’

Chu Mu clenched his fists and stretched his body.

His Power felt the same as before. The 150-point increase didn’t seem to have brought any physical changes.

But this Light Curtain Panel, capable of producing something as heaven-defying as Spiritual Radiance, was unlikely to make a mistake.

’Then where did this 150-point jump come from? And how is it manifesting?’

Chu Mu’s brow furrowed. He had to understand this sudden change, whatever its cause!

’Know the patient, know the medicine.’ He needed to understand the changes in his own body.

The same applied to Qi and Blood Cultivation!

Even if only to satisfy his own curiosity, he had to figure it out!

’I can confirm it’s not a physical enhancement...’

’My Essence and Qi don’t feel any different either...’

’Could it be... my Spirit?’

Chu Mu was puzzled. As he focused on this feeling of unprecedented clarity, he seemed to have an epiphany.

’What was the ultimate goal of Qi and Blood Cultivation?’

’Wasn’t it to achieve Divine Appearance?’

According to Elder Li, in the Cultivation Immortal Realm, Qi and Blood Cultivation is also known as "Concentrating Spirit"!

In fact, from what Elder Li had said, the process of Qi and Blood Cultivation was itself meaningless.

Achieving Divine Appearance was the true beginning of the Immortal Path.

’If shedding all that pressure and achieving this mental clarity has caused a change in my Spirit, then this terrifying leap in progress on the Light Curtain Panel would make perfect sense.’

At this thought, Chu Mu couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.

’If my Spirit is already changing, does that mean my chances of achieving Divine Appearance are higher than an ordinary person’s?’

’Or, better yet, could I achieve Divine Appearance at any moment and skip the tedious, boring, and largely meaningless process of Qi and Blood Cultivation altogether?’

But no matter how he tried to sense it, he couldn’t detect any significant changes in his Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

After trying for a good while with no results, Chu Mu had no choice but to give up for now.

"Brother Mu, you should eat something."

Chu Mu took the bowl of fish stew from Xu Yuan and had a few spoonfuls before looking at the scenery.

Besides the boats of all sizes dotting the river, there was only the broad, endless waterway, flanked by rolling mountain ranges on both sides. It was impossible to tell exactly where they were.

Chu Mu silently calculated the boat’s speed and their travel time, and a rough estimate of their location formed in his mind.

’After a full day and night downstream, we should have already passed Gutong County and entered the territory of Luocheng County. At this speed, if we don’t stop to rest, we should reach the end of the Qing River—Jingmen County—in about half a month.’

"Brother Mu, I made a couple of fishing rods. Want to give it a try?"

Xu Yuan held up two bamboo fishing rods, excitedly recounting his fishing adventures.

"You can catch fish while the boat is moving?"

Chu Mu was a little skeptical; in both his past life and this one, he’d never tried anything like it.

"You can, it’s just harder than fishing in a pond. It takes a little luck."

Xu Yuan pointed to the fish stew simmering in the pot, unable to resist showing off his trophy.

"Alright, I’ll give it a try."

Chu Mu took the fishing rod, intrigued, and began to fish.

The sudden 150-point gain made one thing clear.

The importance of balancing work and rest.

He had trained hard for months, day in and day out, without a single moment of rest. Yet the benefits of a single good night’s sleep were no less than all that arduous training.

While it was likely just a fortunate coincidence, it was undeniable proof of the importance of balancing hard work with rest.

’I can’t be impatient,’ Chu Mu thought. ’Impatience leads to problems.’

Chu Mu silently warned himself and began to adjust his mindset.

The small, black-canopied boat drifted with the current. He held the rod, the line trailing behind in the boat’s wake.

Fishing like this felt a bit like Jiang Ziya of old—casting a line for whichever fish was willing to be caught.

His mind at ease, Chu Mu savored this rare moment of leisure. For once, he wasn’t chasing a result, but simply enjoying the process.

For the days that followed, Chu Mu’s life was centered on the small boat.

His once-packed schedule of training and research now had room for leisure aboard the black-canopied boat.

He fished, he cooked, and he occasionally docked to go ashore and visit a brothel. When the mood struck, he even practiced his martial arts and blade techniques in the river itself.

The journey he had planned to take half a month, thanks to his change in attitude, ended up taking nearly a full month.

And so, the little black-canopied boat that had set out from the source of the Qing River finally reached its end... Jingmen.

...