Volume Two, Chapter Seventy-Four: The Choice

“What is it?” As he spoke, the ghost servant appeared before Yu Mu.

After a day of nourishment, the ghost servant had fully recovered his vigor, and yesterday’s melancholy had vanished without a trace.

Yu Mu produced a tome and said, “Ghost Elder, I have a dilemma that I cannot resolve. Please look over this Daoist manual and see if you can guide me.”

The ghost elder reached out, took the book, and opened it. Instantly, he exclaimed, “The Path of Immortals! How did this end up in your hands?”

Yu Mu was puzzled by the ghost servant’s astonishment, so he recounted in detail the incident of Cang Yunzi’s murder and the gift of the book.

After listening, the ghost elder said, “I knew about Cang Yunzi’s death. He was the most advanced cultivator to perish in this tomb expedition. If not for his demise, I could not have absorbed the deathly aura of a tribulation-stage master. Truthfully, his contribution was crucial in driving back the Three Sages.”

Yu Mu was taken aback and thought to himself, ‘Ye Wentian could never have imagined that his momentary evil would become one of the reasons for his grievous defeat and escape. Truly, the cycle of karma never misses its mark.’

“Ghost Elder, do you know this Daoist manual?”

“Of course. In fact, my master himself spoke to me of it.”

Yu Mu was shocked. “Ah! The Holy King knows of this book?”

The ghost servant nodded. “Yes. Not only that, but the master once sought to obtain it for study. It is said to be a peerless tome, capable of doubling cultivation speed, and without any attribute restrictions—anyone can practice it. Who wouldn’t covet such a divine art? Who would have thought it would fall to Cang Yunzi?”

After hearing this, Yu Mu asked, “This Daoist manual has a major flaw. Do you know of it?”

“What? A flaw!” The ghost servant’s eyes widened in shock.

He hurriedly leafed through the book, then asked, “I haven’t found it—tell me, what sort of flaw?”

Yu Mu recounted in detail the events that had transpired with Cang Yunzi.

The ghost elder fell silent, deep in thought. At length, he murmured, “So that’s how it is! No wonder this manual is so renowned, yet no saint-level cultivator has ever practiced it.”

“Yu Mu,” the ghost servant said, handing the book back, “if such a flaw truly exists, you must proceed with caution. I cannot decide for you; the advantages and disadvantages are yours to weigh.”

Yu Mu felt disappointed. He had hoped the ghost servant’s vast experience would help him make the choice, but this was not to be.

“But…” the ghost servant paused before continuing.

Yu Mu sensed a turn in the conversation and quickly asked, “But what?”

The ghost servant smiled slightly. “But I can offer you some advice for your consideration.”

Yu Mu pressed him, “Please, Ghost Elder, speak.”

The ghost servant replied unhurriedly, “Consider this: with your own abilities, could you ever reach the saint realm in this lifetime? That is the crucial point.”

He fixed his gaze on Yu Mu.

Yu Mu fell into deep contemplation…

Given his limited talent, if he were to cultivate according to conventional methods, it was unlikely he would ever reach the saint realm—even if he mastered the ancient Bear Transformation technique to its pinnacle, he could only attain the tribulation stage.

Even supposing he could reach the saint realm, it would take countless years. He could endure, but his mother could not wait so long. Thus, he had to find a shortcut.

Yet, as a spirit, his inherent limitations made cultivation slow. Only two paths remained for a shortcut.

One was like Meng Fang, who possessed a mature system for growth, leading directly to sainthood. The other was to use external means to forcibly accelerate cultivation, though this path inevitably carried risks.

After weighing the options, Yu Mu decided that fortune favored the bold—this suited his situation best.

Moreover, Cang Yunzi had said he might break the shackles. If all else failed, he could seek heavenly treasures or experts to supplement the Daoist manual, as Cang Yunzi had done.

Resolving his doubts, Yu Mu declared, “I will cultivate the Path of Immortals.”

The ghost servant only smiled wryly. “It seems you have won this wager.”

With that, Yu Mu settled his mind and began his cultivation.

His main focus was on comprehending the sacred inscriptions within the Holy King’s tomb, followed by the Path of Immortals and the Ghost King Physique.

The Path of Immortals cultivated realm, and the Ghost King Physique was a body refinement art—neither was for combat. Even the sacred inscriptions seemed to be auxiliary Daoist arts, so Yu Mu still lacked battle techniques.

Thus, he again sought guidance from the ghost servant, but this time, the ghost servant could not help him. Having belonged to the earth attribute in life, his arts were incompatible with Yu Mu’s.

Moreover, the ghost servant had become a saint-level ghost spirit, so his ghost arts were unsuited to Yu Mu. He could only pass on basic ghost arts like soul absorption and fear.

The Ghost King Physique was merely an attribute constitution, lacking associated skills and of limited use. So Yu Mu devoted most of his energy to the sacred inscriptions and the Path of Immortals, with only occasional practice of the Ghost King Physique.

There was one other item in the tomb that consumed much of Yu Mu’s cultivation time.

That item was the gourd.

For reasons unknown, whenever Yu Mu saw the elusive, floating gourd, he was reminded of two lines of a spell, and he would often pay it special attention.

Additionally, in his spare time, he practiced the skills Cang Yunzi had left him for use with the bamboo hat.

Time flew by, and Yu Mu had already spent more than eight months cultivating in the tomb.

Eight months passed, and the ancient tree he had become began to undergo a strange transformation. At times it became a willow, then a mulberry, shifting endlessly.

Soon, it had mimicked every plant in the vicinity, one by one.

This bizarre phenomenon astonished even the ghost servant cultivating within the great tree. He had never seen anyone master so many different transformation arts.

In truth, Yu Mu had taken advantage of the information sharing among the plants in this place, allowing him to learn all their transformation techniques.

With shared information, all the plants here formed a single entity, each becoming a part of the other. Thus, Yu Mu easily grasped their characteristics.

After eight months of observation, he could mimic the form of any plant present—except for two exceptions.

The first was the central great tree, which had surpassed the saint tier; its Dao and principles were beyond his reach.

The second was the shape-shifting gourd, which seemed not to belong to the vine it grew on, and Yu Mu could not grasp its essence.

Aside from these two unique things, there was another restless plant that had vexed Yu Mu as much as the gourd.

This plant had a spiral-shaped head resembling a giant radish, while its tail sprouted over a dozen thick, tentacle-like roots, reminiscent of a squid.