Chen Mo wore a face full of question marks.
Each word he recognized, but why couldn't he understand them when put together?
The previous owner had licked boots for more than a year, had shown full concern for warmth and food, and was extremely attentive, yet the favorability rating didn't budge an inch.
And he, with a single slap, elicited a feeling of "meeting too late"?
Could that woman possibly have some hidden attributes... Perhaps she actually enjoyed being hit?
At that moment, two lines of notifications popped up:
[First stage reward unlocked.]
[Special item acquired: Dao Essence Crystal.]
"Wow, that's a good item!"
Chen Mo's eyes lit up!
In the game setting, True Spirit was similar to "proficiency," which needed to be maxed out to improve the level of skills.
And the Dao Essence Crystal could be understood as a "skill point".
Bypassing any prerequisites, it directly elevates a Cultivation Technique or Martial Arts by one level!
If one had already achieved Mastery, using the Dao Essence Crystal could imbue it with Daoist Charm, with a certain probability, causing a transformation, elevating the Grade!
"The reward for the first stage is this amazing, wouldn't the later ones be even more outrageous?"
Chen Mo couldn't help but feel moved.
Favorability rating from 0-100, divided into four stages.
0-25: Like strangers at a first meeting.
25-50: Wishing we met sooner.
50-75: Falling heartily in love.
75-100: Everlasting devotion.
Reaching the peak of each stage would unlock corresponding rewards.
Besides, there were hidden settings like "Loyalty Level," "Immorality Value," and others...
Now, Gu Manzhi's favorability rating had already reached 45 points, only 5 points short of the next stage's reward, which seemed so close within reach!
However, Chen Mo quickly calmed down.
Rewards were indeed tempting, but one had to stay alive to enjoy them!
If the Empress knew about his ambiguous relationship with the Moon Brilliance Sect's Holy Daughter, he would probably not have enough lives to pay for it!
...
After discarding this impractical thought, Chen Mo turned his head to look at the girl beside him.
According to incomplete statistics, she had already eaten two pig's feet, three roasted sweet potatoes, five pieces of dried sweet potato...
And now she somehow pulled out a piece of brown sugar mochi and was about to pop it into her mouth when she noticed Chen Mo's gaze, pausing for a moment.
After a brief hesitation, she reluctantly handed the mochi to him.
"Here."
"...Thank you."
Chen Mo reached out and took it.
Logically, after such a long time, it should have gone completely cold.
Yet this mochi was still steaming as if it had just come out of the pot.
"How did you manage that?"
Chen Mo was a bit curious.
"Pretty awesome, right? This is my unique secret skill!"
"Just sustain True Yuan evenly over the surface of the food and keep it circulating, and it can serve as a method to keep it warm!"
"But you have to control the amount of True Yuan very precisely, otherwise, it's very easy to burn it, you need to practice it for a long time."
Shen Zhixia stood with hands on hips, proudly declaring.
...
Great, so this sister here is a walking microwave oven.
Chen Mo shook his head and smiled: "Thank you for bringing me back, and your name is Zhixia, right? Have we met before somewhere?"
He was not sure if it was just his imagination, but after saying these words, the room's temperature seemed to drop several degrees.
Shen Zhixia frowned and said: "You don't remember me?"
Seeing Chen Mo's clueless expression, Shen Zhixia's gaze gradually turned cold. Without a word, she turned around and walked out of the room.
After a while, she quickly returned.
Snatching the mochi from Chen Mo's hand, she stuffed it into her mouth.
She chewed vigorously, her cheeks puffed up as if she wasn't eating mochi, but chomping down on some bad guy.
"That Qing'er is right, you really are a big jerk!"
"I hate you the most!"
...
...
...
Recently, two events had occurred in Tiandu City, which had stirred much discussion in both the markets and the court.
One was Chen Mo tearing up the marriage document.
Chen Zhuo and Shen Xiong, one in charge of literature and the other of martial affairs, both were influential figures.
The current political landscape is turbulent, with the marriage alliance between the two families carrying profound significance, naturally attracting high levels of attention.
Who would have thought that Chen Mo could make such a scandal...
Logically speaking, the Shen Family would absolutely not swallow such an affront.
Chen Zhuo is known for his tough and domineering ways of doing things and has made quite a few enemies in the official circles; many were waiting to see him become a laughingstock after this incident occurred.
But for some reason, the matter suddenly fell silent.
Both families seemed to have a tacit understanding, not mentioning a thing, as if nothing ever happened.
The second matter concerned the popular Oiran, Gu Manzhi's, mysterious disappearance.
The Cloudwater Hall is now empty, all the maids and servants are nowhere to be found.
Regarding this, the Imperial Music Bureau explained that Gu Manzhi had accumulated enough silver to buy her freedom, and has now retired from the worldly dust, living in seclusion.
This explanation was somewhat reasonable.
Yet, it was strange that the Sky Scale Guard sealed the Imperial Music Bureau for several days, turning it upside down from the inside out.
Followed by the Jingzhao Mansion coming in to conduct a search...
And the Ministry of Rites, overseeing the Imperial Music Bureau, remained silent from beginning to end, as if in fear of something.
Both matters were pervaded by an eerie atmosphere.
Rumors had it that on the day Gu Manzhi disappeared, Chen Mo was the only one who had entered The Cloudwater Hall...
Immediately, various speculations surged into the air.
...
Compared to the noise outside, tranquility and peace reigned in Chen Mansion, where everything seemed serene and calm.
In the courtyard, Chen Mo leaned back on a sun chair, while a maidservant knelt by his side, peeling grapes and feeding the flesh into his mouth.
After days of rest and recuperation, bolstered by various top-tier alchemy pills, his severely depleted body had fully replenished, with True Qi almost overflowing.
"It's about time."
"I have reached the optimal condition, ready for the breakthrough."
He opened the attribute panel.
Name: Chen Mo
Title: None
Realm: Seventh-Grade Mortal Physique · Sinew Transforming Stage
Cultivation Technique: Mixed Element Body Refining Technique - Small Success (185/1000)
Martial Arts:
Blazing Eight Slashes - Mastery
Wind and Thunder Release - Proficiency (73/100)
Divine Skills: None
True Spirit: 1
Unused Items: Dao Essence Crystal *1
...
Chen Mo was clear in his heart that, although he was lucky to escape danger last time, he also altered the plot, making it difficult to predict what would happen next.
Now in the center of the whirl, he must improve his strength as quickly as possible in order to protect himself.
The focus is on this Dao Essence Crystal.
He must maximize its effect.
In this world, martial arts and cultivation techniques are divided into four levels from high to low: Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow.
Each level is further divided into Top, Middle, and Lower Grades.
Wind and Thunder Release is a Middle Grade Earth Rank movement technique, and with only proficiency, the addition to combat power is not significant.
Blazing Eight Slashes is a Top-Tier Earth Level sword technique, already perfected to Mastery, and if "Daoist Charm" is added, there is a high chance it would ascend to Heaven Rank.
Possible, but unnecessary.
With his current realm, he couldn't hope to control it, and he had no desire to experience being drained into a husk again.
Therefore, the only choice left was the Mixed Element Body Refining Technique.
This cultivation technique might appear as a Top-Tier Earth Level, but it's not as simple as that.
The "Body Strengthening Method" spread in the world is only part of it, and if all the fragments are collected, it would become a top-level method enough to cultivate to Saint stage!
And the whereabouts of the other fragments were already deeply etched into his mind.
The reason why Chen Mo remembered them so clearly...
Is because in his previous life when he completed the game, his main cultivation technique was this very method, and the "Body Strengthening Method" part burst out from "Chen Mo"...
"Like a turtle attending school on a day-off, and the soft-shelled turtle not staying in the dorm."
Chen Mo's mouth twitched a little.
At this moment, the butler approached and said, "Young Master, the medicinal bath has been prepared according to your instructions with ingredients such as Crimson Sunflower, Heavenly Star Powder, Dragon and Snake Pills, Golden Spear Grass..."
"However, these are all items that strengthen blood and bolster yang; your body has just recovered and can't withstand such intensive nourishment."
Chen Mo, now confined at home, prompted the old butler to worry that he might develop some problems due to repressing himself.
He pondered whether to go to the brothels to find some prostitutes to release some of his pent-up tension.
Chen Mo smiled and said, "No matter, I have my plan, but Uncle Fu, you might have to endure some hardship later."
"Ah?"
The butler's expression stiffened, and he looked at him with a startled gaze.
"You don't mean to say..."
"Having served loyally at Chen Mansion for decades, hardworking and uncomplaining, to think that in my old age I would still meet with such a misfortune?"