Chapter Fifty-Two: Did I Ever Say That?
Indeed, Wang Changsheng’s first reaction was not to tell Old Mou what had just happened, but to feel a certain shock—Old Mou actually remembered him!
Previously, Old Mou only remembered him thanks to that wooden plaque.
“Of course I remember! Are you stupid, or did you lose your memory? We’re neighbors!” Old Mou said.
“Neigh...neighbors...” Wang Changsheng quickly responded, “We’re neighbors. I’m Old Wang from next door!”
“That’s right, Old Wang, what are you doing here?” Old Mou immediately asked.
“I...I…”
Wang Changsheng hesitated, unsure whether he should tell Old Mou what had just happened. But when he glanced ahead, he discovered that the strange coffin had vanished without a trace!
Gone?!
His expression changed. He had no idea when the coffin disappeared! The person who sought him out did so abruptly, and now Old Mou had appeared while the coffin vanished silently—even Old Mou hadn’t noticed!
Thinking of this, Wang Changsheng felt chills crawl up his spine.
He suddenly sensed something deeply uncanny about this whole affair...
“Better not tell Old Mou for now...” Wang Changsheng resolved.
With the coffin gone, even if he spoke of it, Old Mou would never believe him. Given Old Mou’s memory, Wang Changsheng couldn’t fathom how Old Mou remembered him, especially since he wasn’t in the courtyard now and didn’t have the plaque.
But still, Wang Changsheng knew Old Mou remained the same as ever—if he told Old Mou now, the moment he turned around, Old Mou would forget.
Whether he spoke or not made no difference.
Besides, Wang Changsheng still didn’t know if Old Mou was good or evil! One thing was certain: Wang Changsheng’s survival in the Corpse Refining Sect depended entirely on Old Mou.
He had hoped to glean some information about Old Mou from that strange visitor, but it seemed the man knew nothing.
“Hey, Old Mou, did you just go pick up some supplements?” Wang Changsheng spotted the cloth bag on Old Mou’s shoulder and quickly changed the subject.
“Old Wang, how did you know these are supplements?” Old Mou asked, his eyes filled with confusion.
“There we go, the old problem again...” Wang Changsheng thought helplessly.
“Old Mou, you told me yourself before! You said you were picking up supplements, remember?” Wang Changsheng said with great conviction.
At his words, Old Mou’s expression shifted immediately. How could he admit he’d forgotten? He raised his voice, “How could I forget? I remember telling you before—yesterday, yes, I think it was yesterday! Isn’t that right?”
“Exactly! Of course!” Wang Changsheng replied swiftly. “Come on, hand it over—you said these were for me!”
“Uh... Did I really say that?” Old Mou muttered.
Wang Changsheng didn’t hear Old Mou’s muttering, but simply took the cloth bag off Old Mou’s shoulder and, arm in arm, the two headed toward the courtyard.
Leaving the grove, Wang Changsheng glanced back. The coffin had truly vanished, and the chilling aura was gone as well.
“No matter—it’s safer under Old Mou’s protection. For now, I needn’t worry about my life,” Wang Changsheng said.
Still, Wang Changsheng resolved that next time he encountered such a situation, he would not rush in so blindly. Whether or not the stranger would harm him, the oppressive force alone nearly suffocated him—it was enough to freeze him to the bone!
As he walked arm in arm with Old Mou, Wang Changsheng suddenly paused.
“Old Mou went to fetch spirit stones and spirit herbs today, which means he wasn’t in his room at all...” As he walked, his expression grew more and more puzzled. “So why, when I approached Old Mou’s room, did the stranger’s tone change?”
“Did the stranger want to lure me over, pretending to fear Old Mou...”
“Or did he simply not know Old Mou wasn’t inside?”
Wang Changsheng felt the latter possibility was more likely.
If that was true, it suggested the Corpse Refining Sect’s people couldn’t sense Old Mou’s whereabouts—couldn’t detect him at all.
If so, that was terrifying!
Wouldn’t that mean Old Mou could block even the strongest members of the Corpse Refining Sect from spying on him? Wasn’t he stronger than their top cultivators?
“Impossible... Impossible...” Wang Changsheng quickly dismissed his own speculation. “If that were true, Old Mou could have squashed me with a single step back then.”
From his own experience, Old Mou was indeed powerful, but not to the point of overwhelming everything.
“Forget it, it’s pointless to think further!”
Helpless before fate, Wang Changsheng knew overthinking would avail him nothing.
Back in the courtyard, Wang Changsheng hoisted the bag and returned to his room to begin cultivating.
As for Old Mou...
“Did I say that yesterday?”
“Did I really promise him?”
After pondering for a while, unable to recall, Old Mou simply shook his head and went back to his own room, shutting the door.
Swallowing spirit herbs and drawing out spirit stones, Wang Changsheng found the speed at which he absorbed spiritual energy was growing ever faster!
“I need to figure out a way to get Old Mou to bring back more spirit stones and herbs each time...”
Feeling the acceleration in his absorption rate, Wang Changsheng frowned.
Soon, he sank back into cultivation.
As expected, after Wang Changsheng exhausted the spirit herbs and stones Old Mou brought, he did the math and realized there were still several days before Old Mou’s next trip to the Spirit Stone and Herb Halls!
“At this rate of absorption...” Wang Changsheng felt helpless!
Helplessness gave way to silence.
He realized his absorption speed was simply astonishing!
When he was at the fifth layer of the Open Vein Realm, Old Mou’s resources were enough for a month’s cultivation, with some left over. By the sixth layer, it started to seem insufficient, and now, at the seventh layer, his absorption was so rapid Old Mou’s resources barely lasted a month!
With no other choice, Wang Changsheng began to absorb the scattered spiritual energy from the air to cultivate.
The spiritual energy in the air was thin, far inferior to that found in spirit stones and herbs, and moreover, it was mixed and impure—after absorbing it, he had to refine it before it could be used for cultivation!
The speed of cultivating by absorbing ambient spiritual energy, Wang Changsheng thought, could only be described as tortoise-like!
“No, it’s far too slow!” Wang Changsheng opened his eyes.
Ever since the coffin sought him out, Wang Changsheng knew he had entered the sight of the Corpse Refining Sect’s cultivators—and thanks to Old Mou, even the sect’s strongest now took notice of him!
The more this was so, the more he needed greater power!
Otherwise, as before, a single oppressive force could crush him.
Absorbing spiritual energy alone was far too inadequate!
Wang Changsheng left his room, walked into the courtyard, and stopped before Old Mou’s door. After some consideration, he could not resist and knocked.
Soon, Old Mou opened the door and, seeing Wang Changsheng, asked, “Old Wang, what is it?”
“Old Mou, I have something to ask you!” Wang Changsheng said directly. “No, actually, could I ask you for a favor?”
“Go ahead! No need to be so formal—we’re neighbors!” Old Mou replied with a smile.
Though he was now quite familiar with Old Mou, seeing the man’s disheveled face break into a grin still unsettled Wang Changsheng.
“Old Mou...do you have any way to get me some spirit stones and herbs?” Wang Changsheng asked. “Or, next time you fetch supplements, could you bring back a bit more for me?”
“What supplements? What spirit stones? What are spirit herbs?” Old Mou asked immediately.
Seeing the confusion on Old Mou’s face, Wang Changsheng knew the old memory problem had struck again.
“This!” Wang Changsheng produced a spirit stone.
Old Mou looked at the stone in Wang Changsheng’s hand, his expression puzzled. “This...looks familiar...”
After thinking for a bit, Old Mou said, “All right, if I see this thing again, I’ll get some for you!”
Bang!
With that, Old Mou closed the door.
“Old...”
Wang Changsheng had originally hoped Old Mou might go to the Spirit Stone Hall right away, but instantly lost the desire.
Old Mou’s memory problem was back—he even forgot his monthly trip to fetch spirit stones and herbs, and couldn’t even recall what spirit stones were!
Given all this, Wang Changsheng was truly baffled as to how Old Mou managed to remember him.
After all, last time in the woods, and this time opening the door, Old Mou hadn’t seen the wooden plaque!
As for Old Mou’s promise to fetch more if he saw the stones, Wang Changsheng had no hope whatsoever.
He believed that even if he knocked on Old Mou’s door now, the man would have forgotten the conversation entirely, and by the next time he went to fetch spirit stones and herbs, he’d have forgotten everything.
“Sigh...” Wang Changsheng let out a long breath.
“Fine, I’ll just have to make do,” he said.
In the end, Wang Changsheng didn’t take out the spirit stones from his own storage ring—those were saved for emergencies, such as breaking through to the next realm.
As for future cultivation, if he could get one bag of spirit stones and herbs per month, that would suffice.
After all, he needed to be content!
Compared to other cultivators, Wang Changsheng’s monthly supply of spirit stones and herbs far exceeded the average resources most possessed.
Back in his room, Wang Changsheng began absorbing the spiritual energy in the air to cultivate.
After a day, he could not help but halt his cultivation.
“It really...is just too slow...” Wang Changsheng said.
Though the spiritual energy was richer here than in the mundane realm, now, with past experience to compare, the pace felt unbearably sluggish.
Had he started in this realm by absorbing ambient spiritual energy, Wang Changsheng would never have felt this way.
Such is the pain brought by comparison!
After all, at its core, the reason Wang Changsheng’s cultivation of the Longevity Technique required such terrifying quantities of spiritual energy was why he felt so dissatisfied now.