I am grinding experience in another world

Luandu County Town, Dongfeng District, in front of the dog pen at the back courtyard of Qixia Tea House.

Chen Mu's figure appeared suddenly, and the large black dog, which had just given birth to puppies, immediately stood up and bared its teeth.

But just as it opened its mouth, the Exotic Force of Qi Forbidden Hundred Miles appeared, and the large black dog froze in mid-air like a mosquito in amber, unable to move.

A Spiritual Seed appeared on Chen Mu's fingertip, and with a flick of his index finger, the Spiritual Seed slid easily into the stomach through the dog's esophagus.

After a while, feeling the Heavenly Demon Spirit Seed in the stomach of the large dog with no movement at all, Chen Mu's expression turned sour.

"Really doesn't work, does it?"

Then, not giving up, he stuffed it into the mouth of a puppy that had not yet opened its eyes.

After a long while, Chen Mu grimaced and recalled the Spiritual Seed, threw down a large piece of bone with meat, and disappeared from sight.

…

Fengbao Square in the north of the city, inside a courtyard with two entrances.

Accompanied by a loud crying sound, a new life was born.

The invisible net-like Restriction of the City God Dojo was triggered, and a speck resembling dust emerged in mid-air.

They sometimes gathered and sometimes dispersed, sometimes even forming wings-like shapes that slowly flapped, then floating along with the breeze, drifted towards the nostrils of the newborn.

In the corner of the courtyard, Chen Mu's figure appeared. He stared at the speck invisible to the naked eye with an expressionless face.

That was the initial Netherworld Worm, which, given enough Three Treasures Essence, would grow into Netherworld Thread.

Further growth would transform it into a Netherworld Worm with a human head, existing as a white smoke long-snake-like figure.

Through the doorway, staring at the infant not yet parasitized by the Netherworld Worm, a Heavenly Demon Spirit Seed suddenly appeared before Chen Mu.

But after a long while, until the Netherworld Worm silently completed the parasitization, he still did not act.

"No need…"

"Even if I tried to implant it into the infant's body, it would probably fail like the previous experiments," Chen Mu sighed and slightly shook his head, putting away the Spiritual Seed.

For the past month, he had been trying to implant the Heavenly Demon Spirit Seed into his own fleshly body, but all attempts had ended in failure.

So he began conducting experiments within Luandu County.

First with livestock like chickens, ducks, cats, rabbits, pigs, dogs, cows, and sheep, and later targeting people of different ages, both men and women.

Excluding newborn infants, he had tested almost every creature, and still, he achieved no success.

When the Spiritual Seed entered the body, it was like water and stone, two completely incompatible elements from different worlds.

Initially, when planting the Spiritual Seed into the Yin Spirits, it was like a drop of water entering the sea; as soon as the protective barrier of the Yin Spirits' surface was broken, the Spiritual Seed would immediately integrate into their bodies. But now, it was absolutely impossible.

"It's not because the Heavenly Demon Spirit Seed is fragile, but because this seed is picky about its hosts!"

"The Heavenly Demon Spirit Seed comes from the Heavenly Demon Body, and Heavenly Demons are Yin Spirits, so can it only parasitize Yin Spirits?" Chen Mu couldn't help but grimace in pain.

A month and a half, all for nothing!

Damn that flawed Heavenly Demon Cloud Mirage!

…

Nighttime at the Divine Statue Cave Heaven.

The images on the water screen at the entrance changed: bustling markets, tranquil countryside, homes lit by numerous lanterns, endless starry skies... The scenes from various places in Luandu County were all encompassing.

Lying on a rocking chair, Chen Mu had no interest in watching, just staring blankly into the air.

After a long while, he finally sighed deeply and came back to his senses.

"The City God Tao is the foundation of the Netherworld, and it has existed for thousands of years."

"To find a loophole and completely break free from confinement in just a few months is truly impossible."

"Since I'm here, I might as well settle in," Chen Mu pulled a wry smile.

Given the reality, overthinking only adds to the troubles, better to accept it calmly.

Thinking about it differently, the Divine Statue Cave Heaven indeed trapped him, but its insulation from the outside prevents others from intruding, and outside there is the powerful Li Buxian guarding it, which makes it absolutely safe.

Heading to Da Qian to venture around with the practices of Lock Dragon Courtyard, wishing for a stable existence in one place is nearly impossible.

"For the past decade or so, I've always hoped for a stable environment suitable for gaining experience. Now, although trapped, my wish from the past is ironically fulfilled," he crossed his legs and placed them on the square table in front of him, rocking the chair back and forth.

While pondering how to rest and cultivate in the future, Chen Mu caught a glimpse of an intriguing scene in the corner of the water screen.

Inside the Qiluo Mountain City Divine Temple, a tall, thin man in black clothes vaulted over the wall and, like a flash of lightning, leaped into Luandu County.

"Li Buxian?"

"Late at night, he doesn't sleep; what is this old man sneakily running off to Luandu County for?" Chen Mu's expression turned serious.

"Could it be..."

"Could it be that this old man is going to visit a brothel!"

"Ha!"

Chen Mu became interested and immediately moved the old man's image to the center of the water screen.

In the north of the town, within a small courtyard that consisted of a main house and five rooms,

On the bed of the bedroom on the east side of the main house, an old man, pale and gasping for breath, lay while his children and grandchildren gathered around him to listen to his last words.

Outside the room, the figure of Li Buxian abruptly appeared.

He glanced at the big yellow dog standing up in the corner, released a flicker of aura from his body, and instantly stunned the dog. Then, with a tap of his toes, he leaped onto the rooftop.

He untied the small, forearm-length black gourd that was bound at his waist, pulled out the stopper, and placed it at his feet. Then he sat cross-legged on the rooftop ridge, silent.

After a while, a sound of painful crying came from inside the house; the white-haired old man had finally passed away.

Next to Li Buxian, the black gourd silently transformed—under the bright moonlight, silvery lines that resembled branching lightning crawled across the surface of the black gourd.

Buzz!

An invisible force spread from the open mouth of the gourd, instantly enveloping the entire courtyard.

Below, a cluster of black light, invisible to ordinary people, slowly flew out of the room, resembling an insect trapped in a spider's web, instantly detected by the ubiquitous City God Tao power of Luandu County.

A massive, chilly aura abruptly appeared in the courtyard. The black shadow that had just flown out of the window abruptly stopped, materializing into a swirling humanoid cloud of black smoke.

As if drawn by some power, the humanoid black smoke, floating in mid-air, descended to the ground and then seemed to sink into quicksand, slowly subsiding.

However, the black smoke form only sank to its shins before an invisible force violently pulled it out. In mid-air, it took a sharp turn, traced an arc, and whooshed into the black gourd next to Li Buxian.

Thump!

A soft sound, like a pebble falling into a pond.

Li Buxian, who had been fully prepared, immediately sealed the mouth of the black gourd.

Feeling the icy coldness of the black gourd as it rapidly formed droplets of water, Li Buxian showed a satisfied smile.

"Daring to compete with the Netherworld for Ghosts?!"

"And in front of me, a Living God?"

"Ha!" Chen Mu, who had been squatting nearby watching the black gourd from the beginning, immediately showed a meaningful smile.

Ever since Li Buxian had startled him last time, Chen Mu occasionally kept an eye on Li Buxian's movements. Seeing his sudden action tonight, he couldn't help but release his Divine Thoughts projection to track him.

As expected!

"I said, such a grandmaster, how could he willingly stay in a small county town."

Watching Li Buxian's figure flicker, silently disappearing into the pitch-black night, Chen Mu chuckled and promptly followed.

Back in the City Divine Temple, almost immediately after entering the small courtyard on the eastern side, Chen Mu saw old man Li toss the black gourd into the Lock Dragon Well.

"Is that it?"

Chen Mu, surprised, watched Li Buxian return to the house, scratching his head.

The entire populace of Luandu County was infested with Netherworld Worms. Whenever someone died, the Netherworld Worms within them would undergo a life-and-death transformation and turn into Ghosts.

He had observed several times before. Whenever a Ghost appeared, the City God Tao's Heavenly Net-like restrictions would be activated. It would draw the power of the River of Oblivion, dragging the Ghosts toward the Netherworld. The massive chilly aura that had emerged in the courtyard was indeed a projection of the River of Oblivion.

Li Buxian, not sleeping in the middle of the night and specifically waiting at that dying man's house just to snatch the Ghost with his black gourd, only to throw it into the Lock Dragon Well?

"Or is this just a preliminary step in some operation?" Chen Mu couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

He looked at Li Buxian's retreating figure, then at the Lock Dragon Well, his lips curling into a sinister smile.