Volume Two, Chapter Seventy-Six: The Rejuvenation Technique

“Rejuvenation Technique! It’s been so long since I last enjoyed the replenishment of the Rejuvenation Technique. Hahaha, good lad! I didn’t expect you to actually master it; you really are the ‘one to continue the legacy.’” The Ghost Servant raised his thumb in approval.

“Rejuvenation Technique?” Yu Mu’s eyes widened. “Are you saying that this method is the very one cultivated by the Sage King?”

“Of course. The inscriptions within the tomb are all based on the Rejuvenation Technique. You seemed so dense and slow, yet you managed to comprehend it after all—how enviable, congratulations! At last, there is someone to carry on the master’s legacy. Hahahaha…”

The Ghost Servant had once mentioned that the inscriptions were based on a certain method, but Yu Mu hadn’t realized it was actually the Rejuvenation Technique, the Sage King’s main practice.

No wonder it was said to be flawed. The Rejuvenation Technique consumed an enormous amount of spiritual energy. Just those two palm strikes had nearly drained thirty percent of Yu Mu’s reserves. Without external supplementation, relying solely on his own slow recovery, he’d be able to use this method only a few times before his energy would be completely depleted.

Without the array’s support system, the effectiveness of this technique was reduced by at least ninety percent. But who could carry around a grand array everywhere they went?

Why would a Sage King choose to train in a method so clearly flawed, and even make it his main practice?

Yu Mu couldn’t figure it out, but the Ghost Servant provided an answer. If the Rejuvenation Technique was cultivated to perfection, its power would be boundless. While it couldn’t bring the dead back to life, it could certainly knit flesh and bones together.

Yu Mu was shocked. Wasn’t that effect similar to the Rebirth Pill?

Moreover, as long as the Sage King kept the original manual of the Rejuvenation Technique with him, the flaw was mostly remedied—though not entirely. Thus, he deduced that part of the method must have been lost. In truth, the Sage King, like Cang Yunzi, spent his life searching for the missing portion.

The original manual of the Rejuvenation Technique was sealed on the fifth level, so Yu Mu had no choice but to ask, “Uncle Ghost, have you ever seen the original manual?”

The Ghost Servant smiled faintly. “I saw it only once. It was a single page of golden paper.”

“Ah!” Yu Mu was astonished. “Could there really be such a coincidence?”

The Ghost Servant was even more surprised. “What? You’ve seen such a thing?”

Yu Mu nodded and recounted to the Ghost Servant what he had witnessed when he was captured midway through Peach Blossom Valley by those two elders.

The Ghost Servant was left speechless. After a long while, he stammered, “How… how could this be? The very thing my master sought for a lifetime has been discovered by you. This is… if only it had happened sooner… Alas! My master’s fate was not so kind.”

The Ghost Servant stamped his feet and beat his chest, tears streaming like a fountain.

Once he had calmed down, he asked sorrowfully, “Did you ever see those two men who took you again?”

“No,” Yu Mu shook his head. “After I lost consciousness, the next thing I knew, I woke up on an unfamiliar mountain, where I met Brother Meng, and eventually made my way here.”

The Ghost Servant pondered for a moment before saying slowly, “If that golden page truly is the lost part of the Rejuvenation Technique, then I know why this tomb has emerged.”

Yu Mu took a moment to react, then exclaimed in shock, “You mean it was the resonance between that golden page and the Rejuvenation Technique on the fifth level that brought forth the Sage King’s tomb?”

The Ghost Servant nodded. “At this point, that’s the only plausible explanation. If that’s the case, then this place is no longer safe. I must leave as soon as possible. And now that you’re no longer restrained, according to our wager, it’s time I send you out as well.”

“Uncle Ghost, don’t you want to recover that golden page? Why leave in such haste?” Yu Mu asked, puzzled.

“To control that golden page would likely require the cultivation of a Sage King. According to you, there are two of them, and they have the golden page. If I go, it would be suicide. So now, the goal isn’t to retrieve the lost piece, but to protect the one in my master’s possession from being taken.”

Yu Mu thought for a moment. “But I think those two only have Saint-level strength, not Sage King.”

The Ghost Servant shook his head. “You’re not strong enough to discern their true power, and you’ve never seen what a Sage King is really like. I can’t take that risk.”

It seemed that his hope of taking this opportunity to break through would come to nothing.

“Alright then,” Yu Mu said with resignation. “But before I go, may I take one thing from here?”

The Ghost Servant was curious. “What is it?”

Yu Mu pointed. “That gourd.”

Yu Mu had two reasons for wanting the gourd. First, it was peculiar—every time he saw it, he couldn’t help but recall two lines of an incantation from his memory. Second, he was in need of a vessel for wine. Having been influenced by that old drunkard in the underworld, the moment he saw the gourd, he felt it was born to hold wine. Besides, the gourd didn’t look like an ordinary object—there might be some hidden wonder to it.

The Ghost Servant smiled. “Of course you may. In fact, this gourd was probably left here for you.”

“For me?” Yu Mu was confused.

The Ghost Servant didn’t care to explain, but added, “Every plant here is a spiritual being, but none were ever this lively before. Ever since words were inscribed on it, it’s become like this, but still doesn’t seem to be gaining sentience. Truly odd.”

Seeing Yu Mu still perplexed, the Ghost Servant chuckled. “If you can catch it, it’s yours. But I’ll only give you three days.”

“Three days?!”

“Agreed!” Yu Mu answered cheerfully. “How long could it take to catch a little gourd? It’ll be a piece of cake.”

With that thought, he climbed up the gourd vine.

“Oh! It’s fast!”

“Hmph! Let’s see where you can run.”

“I refuse to believe I can’t catch you.”

“Ouch…”

Landing hard on the ground, Yu Mu looked helplessly at the mischievous gourd and muttered, “You win, you little rascal!”

“Hahahaha…” The Ghost Servant, who had been watching the spectacle, burst into hearty laughter at Yu Mu’s clumsy attempts to catch the gourd.

Yu Mu, embarrassed, got up and dusted himself off. “Uncle Ghost, why is this little gourd so hard to catch? Does it know some sort of supernatural technique?”

The Ghost Servant squinted mysteriously. “Yes, it does.”

“What kind of technique?” Yu Mu asked eagerly.

The Ghost Servant shook his head. “I don’t know, but it looks like some kind of movement technique. With your clumsy moves, you might never catch it in your lifetime.”

“Uncle Ghost, please, help me!” Yu Mu shamelessly pleaded.

The Ghost Servant laughed. “If this thing is truly meant for you, there must be a deeper purpose. If you want it, you’ll have to figure it out yourself.

Besides, nothing here truly belongs to me. I can’t give it to you directly, and not stopping you is already bending the rules. You’ll have to rely on your own wits.”

With that, the Ghost Servant returned to the great tree to meditate.

Yu Mu, helpless, circled the gourd vine a few times, muttering, “I still don’t believe I can’t catch you.”

As he spoke, he suddenly leapt at the gourd. The gourd was quick to react, becoming even more elusive and agile.

Man and gourd vied against each other for three full days. As the Ghost Servant’s deadline approached, Yu Mu still saw no hope of success.

However, over these three days, his agility greatly improved.

Watching the lively gourd weave and dart among the vines, Yu Mu’s eyes suddenly sparkled with an idea.

He transformed himself into a vine identical to the gourd vine, intertwining himself with the real vine, making it impossible for the gourd to distinguish between them.

He even connected his roots with the actual vine, fusing them together. Sure enough, the gourd was tricked. As it bounced from vine to vine, it landed right on Yu Mu’s transformed vine.

In an instant, the disguise vanished, and Yu Mu held the gourd firmly in his hand.

Delighted with his cunning victory, Yu Mu examined the gourd carefully. It wasn’t large—perhaps able to hold two or three jin of wine at best.

But that didn’t matter. Yu Mu knew that Qingtian had the ability to expand space, and after leaving, he could ask the old man to work his magic and make it suitable for storing wine.

What truly caught Yu Mu’s attention was the gourd’s material—it was clearly of the quality used for refining spiritual artifacts, a naturally formed vessel.

“How could this be?”