Chapter 53: Do Not Take More Than You Need

As the day to visit the Spirit Stone Hall approached, Wang Changsheng emerged from his cultivation. He planned to accompany Old Mou on the trip. These past few days without spirit stones or spirit herbs for cultivation had been nothing short of torment for Wang Changsheng—especially at this crucial stage of tempering and accumulation. Lacking cultivation resources, continuing to train felt like nothing but a waste of time.

What Wang Changsheng didn’t realize was that, given the longevity art he practiced, even this stage of accumulation was already verging on wasted time. If he had been cultivating with any other technique—even the newly acquired Heart of Heaven Technique—the resources he had already consumed would have been enough to break through to the Transformation Realm!

“Old Mou has probably forgotten again!” Wang Changsheng muttered. He had already reminded Old Mou previously, but knowing the old man’s character, it was likely long gone from his mind.

When Wang Changsheng opened his door, he immediately saw Old Mou stepping out of his own room.

“Old Mou!” Wang Changsheng called out.

“Old Wang, what is it?” Old Mou turned and replied.

“Are you going to collect the supplements today?” Wang Changsheng inquired.

Old Mou nodded.

“Take me along!” Wang Changsheng said.

“What for?” Old Mou looked puzzled.

“Look, every time supplements are distributed, I never get any. Look at how skinny I am—shouldn’t I get some nourishment too…” Wang Changsheng said.

It was an outright lie! Since Wang Changsheng arrived, every supplement Old Mou brought back had been consumed by him. What was even more shameless was that Wang Changsheng had now become a proper fat man, yet he still claimed to be thin!

“That’s true!” Old Mou replied. “Just look at you—how skinny you’ve gotten!”

Wang Changsheng was taken aback, then felt a wave of embarrassment. It was one thing for him to lie with open eyes, but he hadn’t expected Old Mou to play along as well! With his current figure, could anyone call him thin? If he was considered thin, then what would you call the gaunt and bony Old Mou?

“All right, let’s go,” Old Mou agreed.

Wang Changsheng was overjoyed and followed Old Mou out of the small courtyard.

Before long, the two arrived at the Spirit Stone Hall, only to find a crowd of cultivators assembled on the flat ground outside.

“Old Mou’s here again!” someone shouted, and in a flash, the previously gathered disciples of the Corpse Refining Sect vanished without a trace.

Wang Changsheng stared, black lines appearing on his forehead. His reputation truly preceded him! He simply couldn’t fathom what Old Mou had done to make these Corpse Refining Sect disciples flee at his mere appearance.

“What does the name ‘Old Mou’ really signify in the Corpse Refining Sect?” Wang Changsheng wondered aloud, his face full of confusion.

Old Mou led Wang Changsheng straight into the Spirit Stone Hall. Once again faced with a hall overflowing with spirit stones, Wang Changsheng was awestruck.

Old Mou picked up a cloth bag and tossed another to Wang Changsheng, instructing sternly, “Don’t take more than your share.”

Wang Changsheng nodded.

Seeing Old Mou begin to collect spirit stones, Wang Changsheng didn’t hesitate to do the same. However, unlike Old Mou, who simply grabbed whatever was at hand, Wang Changsheng was much more selective.

“Only take the mid-grade ones!” he reminded himself.

He’d already decided: if Old Mou refused to let him collect any, he’d try to convince him to focus only on mid-grade stones. Now that he had a chance himself, there was no question what he would do.

Wang Changsheng set his sights entirely on the mid-grade spirit stones. Among the abundance in the hall, there was no shortage of these; even in this spiritual haven, mid-grade stones stood out easily—their energy far surpassed that of the low-grade ones.

Within the time it took for half a stick of incense to burn, Wang Changsheng had filled his bag with mid-grade stones—at least several hundred pieces.

“That’s too much,” Old Mou said sternly, just as he finished packing up and noticed Wang Changsheng’s bulging bag. “Pour half of that out.”

“What?” Wang Changsheng was bewildered.

“You’ve taken too much,” Old Mou repeated.

“But it’s just one bag!” Wang Changsheng said.

“I said, it’s too much!” Old Mou insisted.

“How about this,” Wang Changsheng bargained, “I’ll only take spirit stones and not any herbs or plants. How about that?”

“No,” Old Mou replied flatly.

“Why not? It’s still just one bag!” Wang Changsheng protested.

“No means no. It’s against the rules,” Old Mou said.

“What rules?” Wang Changsheng demanded. “Who made these rules? I’ll go reason with them!”

Wang Changsheng was irritated. Mid-grade spirit stones were far more valuable than any of the herbs, and besides, he had no idea what most of the herbs were good for. He only knew how to absorb their spiritual energy, not how to make use of their medicinal properties. Because he couldn’t digest the medicinal effects, they’d simply accumulated and made him fat. He definitely didn’t want to get any fatter.

“Rules are rules!” Old Mou insisted. Then, with a puzzled look, he added, “But who did make these rules? Never mind, rules are rules!”

Seeing Old Mou’s resolute expression, Wang Changsheng knew there was no room for negotiation.

“Fine,” Wang Changsheng relented.

With no other choice, Wang Changsheng set his bag down and, one by one, began removing the spirit stones. Each time he took one out, it felt like a knife to his heart—these were spirit stones, after all! And mid-grade ones at that! If he hadn’t recently experienced a shortage of cultivation resources, he might not have cared as much, but now he understood just how precious they were at this stage of his training.

“That’s enough,” Old Mou finally said, seeing that about a hundred stones remained in Wang Changsheng’s bag.

Hearing those words was like hearing celestial music—Wang Changsheng tied up the bag, slung it over his shoulder, and fell in behind Old Mou, the entire action completed in the blink of an eye. So fast and fluid was his movement that even Old Mou was momentarily stunned.

“Impressive!” Old Mou gave him a thumbs-up.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Wang Changsheng replied, a little embarrassed.

Old Mou then led Wang Changsheng to the Hall of Spirit Herbs.

Inside, Wang Changsheng encountered another dilemma: he had no idea what effects these herbs had. Helpless, he simply chose those that seemed to contain the most spiritual energy.

After a round of selection, he finally managed to fill his bag.

“If only the bag were a little bigger,” he lamented.

“Let’s go, time to head back,” Old Mou said, leading the way out of the hall.

As they stepped outside, they saw a crowd of Corpse Refining Sect cultivators gathered nearby. After what had happened last time, Wang Changsheng was no longer surprised by such scenes; as long as he stuck close to Old Mou, he felt confident there would be no danger to his life in the near future.

Suddenly, Wang Changsheng sensed a chilling aura—one he recognized immediately. Following the sensation, he spotted a coffin lying not far away. It was the very same coffin that had come looking for him last time Old Mou was absent, the one whose oppressive presence had nearly killed him.

“Old Mou, look at that—what is it?” Wang Changsheng tugged at Old Mou’s sleeve, pointing at the coffin. “It gives me the creeps!”

Old Mou glanced over dismissively. “That’s just a rat.”

“Nothing to be afraid of,” he added. “There are plenty of rats like that around here.”

“Rats that sleep in coffins?” Wang Changsheng asked at once.

Of course, Wang Changsheng knew what was really in the coffin. Last time, that occupant had dared to oppress him with sheer force—but now, with Old Mou at his side, Wang Changsheng was determined to stir up some trouble for that coffin. How could he let it slide?

Was he scared? Of course. But with Old Mou here, and knowing how wary the coffin’s occupant was of the old man, Wang Changsheng felt emboldened.

“There are always rats who sleep inside coffins,” Old Mou replied.

Wang Changsheng thought for a moment, then said, “Old Mou, I’ve never seen a rat sleeping in a coffin before. Why don’t we drag it out and take a look?”

He gazed at the coffin with a sly smile.

“Try to mess with me, will you…” Wang Changsheng sneered inwardly.

It was precisely because the coffin’s occupant feared Old Mou that he didn’t dare approach the old man directly, choosing instead to probe Wang Changsheng for information. Wang Changsheng didn’t mind being questioned—he was curious about Old Mou’s origins himself, and perhaps they could work together to uncover his secrets. But to be threatened with force? Unforgivable!

But when Wang Changsheng looked again, the coffin had completely vanished.

“Quite a speedy escape,” he muttered to himself.

It was clear just how much the coffin’s occupant feared Old Mou.

Old Mou, too, noticed the disappearance but said nothing, leading Wang Changsheng back to their small courtyard.

As Wang Changsheng watched Old Mou carry his bag inside, he suddenly froze.

“Old Mou… wait!”

Old Mou turned, looking at Wang Changsheng in puzzlement.

“It’s nothing…” Wang Changsheng replied awkwardly.