Chapter 46: 46: Moving Mountains
The little paper man turned into black smoke and vanished into thin air.
When it reappeared, it had entered the Five Ghosts Bag.
Suddenly, an image formed in Chen Mu's mind.
It was a pitch-dark space, somewhat oppressive and stuffy.
He felt as if he had entered the cellar beneath the number two mansion.
The space was void of light, about five meters high, and four meters in length and width, somewhat egg-shaped overall.
"A storage space bag!" Chen Mu controlled the black smoke to fly around inside the bag, greedily thinking, "If only it were a bit bigger, that would be even better!"
Having understood the Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Curse, Chen Mu also grasped the operation method described in the Thousand Mountains Sutra.
The black smoke exited the bag, covering the stone the size of a human head which he had seen earlier.
Pop!
The black smoke and the stone disappeared simultaneously.
At the bottom of the pitch-dark space, there was suddenly a stone the size of a human head.
"So this is how you move mountains!"
The little paper man couldn't physically move the stone, but by covering it with black smoke, it could be put into the Five Ghosts Bag.
He had been misled by the round-faced Taoist previously.
Thinking that moving mountains relied solely on paper men.
But the Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Secret Art never relied on ghost paper men; it was the rainbow pot's stomach all along.
The paper man was merely a connection, the stomach was the key.
Shaking the bag in his hand, he found it was not heavy at all!
Chen Mu's interest was immediately piqued.
In no time, the entire stone pit was shrouded in black smoke.
And beside it stood a figure with an excited Yin-Yang face.
A perfect scene of mischief and disorder.
...
In the evening, at a square table outside the wooden hut.
Jie Jia arrived on time like an alarm clock.
"What's all this for?" Jie Jia glanced at the stone pile about a man's height not far away.
Didn't he say he was leaving Qingshan County?
Piling up so many stones, does he plan to build a house?
The escort business isn't going to fall through, is it?!
Chen Mu's mouth twitched.
Could it be said that he got carried away and filled a bag with stones to bring back?
"For practice," Chen Mu said earnestly.
Jie Jia looked at Chen Mu skeptically.
He had known Chen Mu for almost a year and was aware of what martial arts Chen Mu knew. Which martial art required stones and wood?
And practice?
"Are you healed?" Jie Jia asked quietly.
"Healed. We can leave in another seven or eight days." Seeing that Jie Jia did not pursue the source of the stones any further, Chen Mu breathed a sigh of relief.
At the same time, he felt a flutter of excitement in his heart.
His time in Qingshan County had not been all that peaceful. It was as if a sense of crisis was always lurking behind him.
"Didn't you say three months? Leaving one month early is a bit difficult to handle," Jie Jia said with a slight frown.
"Is it because we haven't cleared the route?" Chen Mu asked with concern.
"Route? No route." Jie Jia said indifferently, "I am not available until next month."
Chen Mu: "..."
What does that mean?
"I am booked for tasks until next month," Jie Jia stated calmly.
Chen Mu: "..."
Is the assassin business that booming?!
Makes me want to... Hmm, I shouldn't even think about it. Too dangerous.
"Then we'll wait another month," Chen Mu said helplessly, "Let's eat."
Jie Jia nodded calmly and sat down at the table.
"Weren't you going to make crystal pork knuckle?" Jie Jia looked at the charcoal-grilled venison leg and asked in confusion.
"Didn't find a wild pig," Chen Mu replied, feigning composure.
Should he tell Jie Jia that he had done something as foolish as 'throwing meat buns to a dog'?
Earlier, in his excitement, he used the Five Ghosts Bag to bring back his second senior brother, happily running home.
On the way, he was even feeling smug, praising the bag for its use, saying in the future he wouldn't need a basket for grocery shopping or a suitcase for travel.
But when he got home, not a hair was left!
The Five Ghosts Bag, it eats meat!
...
The stars filled the sky, and the night was deep and quiet.
A lone candlelight shone through the open window.
Chen Mu toyed with the Five Ghosts Bag, sitting at the table deep in thought.
An afternoon passed, and he finally calmed down.
"My body is gradually recovering, and I can pick up the Shape Cultivation Technique again."
This was fundamental, always the top priority in the experience grinding list.
He had tested himself earlier that day. Reducing the intensity a bit, continuing to practice the Shape Cultivation Technique was not a problem.
"Sleeve Sword Technique is too far from the Third Rank pinnacle, it can be put on hold for now."
Chen Mu stared at the grey wall, planning.
```
"Iron Lotus Seeds are closest to the Third Rank peak, should I max them out first?"
Chen Mu hesitated as he looked at the Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Curse which had just broken through to the Second Rank.
He had tested it.
At the First Rank, simply reciting the incantation would improve its Proficiency.
Upon entering the Second Rank, he needed to summon the paper ghosts to increase the Proficiency.
This posed no burden on him personally, but it did on his purse.
Opening and closing the Five Ghosts Bag required energy.
He had to feed the Five Ghosts Bag with meat from time to time.
"Another big spender eating into my funds," Chen Mu lamented.
"Let's cultivate the Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Curse first!"
Compared with breaking through to the Third Rank by throwing Iron Lotus Seeds, it was easier for the Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Curse to enter the Second Rank.
"Looks like the fisherman has to come back online."
Unfortunately, this time he couldn't sell them for money.
...
To the south of Qingshan City, by the Bailang River.
Chen Mu found that with the Five Ghosts Bag, fishing became even simpler.
Lure the fish together by scattering bait in advance.
Then use drugged bait to knock out the fish.
Previously he had to scoop them up bit by bit with a net.
Now...
Chen Mu whispered quickly, and a mass of head-sized black energy rapidly plunged into the water.
One by one, the fish showing their white bellies disappeared.
"Four meters, this seems to be the limit for the Five Ghosts Bag," Chen Mu maneuvered the black smoke as it drifted on the water's surface.
Within a four-meter radius with him at the center, anything could be taken at will, but beyond that distance, it wasn't possible.
"It seems to be comparable to the inner space of the Five Ghosts Bag," Chen Mu speculated.
Inside the Five Ghosts Bag.
A pile of fish almost as tall as a person was accumulating at the bottom of the bag.
It was as if they had landed on quicksand or sunk into silt.
Slowly sinking, they vanished into thin air.
"Then how am I supposed to store food?" Chen Mu frowned.
He had meat in his Bigu Pills, and he also made a lot of jerked meat.
If he put it into the Five Ghosts Bag, wouldn't that be like throwing a meat bun to a dog, all to be sneakily eaten by the bag?
Chen Mu observed with a frown, then suddenly had an idea.
A fish from the very bottom was taken out.
He inspected it carefully.
The part close to the inner wall vanished, with a cut as smooth as a mirror, as if it had been sliced off by an incredibly sharp blade.
Chen Mu thoughtfully.
Right away, he moved all the fish out of the Five Ghosts Bag.
Then he placed the half-fish on a millstone-sized rock by the river and collected both into the bag.
The result was that both the rock and the fish remained unharmed.
"Only the meat that touches the inner wall gets eaten?" Chen Mu chuckled to himself.
He quickly packed up the fish and left.
Chen Mu first went to the marketplace to buy a tent.
He then bought tree resin from a carpenter.
He placed the tent and tree resin into the Five Ghosts Bag, and lined the inside of the Five Ghosts Bag with wallpaper!
"Now, there's no way you can steal my meat, right?" Chen Mu held the Five Ghosts Bag with a smug smile.
Five Ghosts Bag: "..."
...
Five days later, in front of a wooden cabin.
"Are you satisfied?" a man in his forties smiled and said, "If not, we can make further changes."
A dull youth in his twenties stood beside him.
Behind them stood a giant egg that was five meters high.
"Not bad," Chen Mu paid cheerfully, dismissing the two men.
Chen Mu examined the egg-shaped rack in front of him, nodding in satisfaction.
The giant egg was divided layer by layer by wooden planks from top to bottom.
Each layer of wood was further divided into individual storage compartments by vertical boards.
The whole thing looked like a honeycomb.
...
Deep in the night, when all was quiet, Chen Mu didn't light a lamp, but pushed open the door and stepped out into the dark.
He climbed onto the roof to look around, ensuring there was no one nearby.
He quickly recited the Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Curse right away.
The giant egg instantly vanished.
Inside the Five Ghosts Bag.
Wooden racks filled the Five Ghosts Bag to the brim.
"With the canvas cover, the meat won't be stolen."
"With wooden racks for support, items won't pile up on the ground."
Chen Mu nodded in satisfaction at once.
It hadn't been easy to get a storage bag.
He had to maximize its use of space to the fullest.
```