The next morning, gentle sunlight streamed through the wooden window of the inn onto Mu Yun's face. Soon, he slowly opened his eyes.
"Hoo..." He stared at the rafter, feeling a sense of unreality.
"Big Brother, Big Brother... hey... if you're there, please reply." He gave a wry smile, but honestly accepted that there was another... a consciousness from another civilization within him.
"Why do good things like this happen to me?" He reached out and patted his cheek. "Am I the chosen one? Is the ultimate goal to... save Earth civilization?"
"Activate Genesis Genesis Neural System." Mu Yun had a sudden inspiration and issued the command in his mind.
"As expected... still no response."
"Why can't I use Earth's technological weapon systems after I wake up? Is there some kind of trigger needed?"
Mu Yun felt a sense of frustration, having a treasure trove of abilities but being unable to use them. He yearned for the impressive feeling of the plasma light beam that shot from his fingertips before, easily killing a Foundation Establishment cultivator. After all, his current cultivation strength was still miles away from a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
"Thump, thump, thump..." Just as Mu Yun was deeply lost in self-doubt, a knock sounded at the door. Mu Yun shook his head, suppressing the nausea from his hangover, and walked towards the door.
Mu Yun opened the door and was met with the beaming face of Shopkeeper Li.
"Young friend, you were drunk last night. It was your Big Brother Yumo who called me back to help you rest here."
Mu Yun couldn't help but recall what happened last night, but being completely inebriated, he had no memory of it. Shopkeeper Li, seeing Mu Yun not reply, didn't mind. He stepped aside and pointed to the inside of the room.
"What's on the table is what he left for you. Young friend, you should keep it well." His expression was quite colorful as he said this, his chubby face squeezed into a ball, clearly very happy.
Mu Yun didn't pay much attention, but hearing Shopkeeper Li, he turned back. Indeed, he found Yumo's left items on the table. A small brown bag and a gourd slightly smaller than his palm. Mu Yun had seen this type of brown bag before; the cultivator surnamed Leng, whom Mu Yun had killed previously, had left behind a similar cloth bag.
Mu Yun looked away and asked, "When did he leave?"
"He helped you back to your room last night and then left. He said he had his own residence," Shopkeeper Li informed him truthfully.
...
After Shopkeeper Li left, Mu Yun sat on the bed, deep in thought. From Shopkeeper Li's beaming face just now, it was clear he had received quite a lot of benefits from his newly sworn brother, Yumo.
The small brown bag on the table must be a storage bag that only cultivators can use! Mu Yun's gaze fell on the palm-sized gourd.
"No way... he left me a gourd of wine."
He picked up the gourd, somewhat exasperated.
Just then, a voice suddenly sounded in Mu Yun's mind. Mu Yun immediately looked around but saw no one.
"Brother Mu Yun, don't be nervous. This is a talisman sound I left on the gourd artifact." Mu Yun recognized Yumo's voice and gradually calmed down. The voice then continued in Mu Yun's mind: "This talisman sound is a cultivator's method. You don't need to know it for now."
The voice paused and then continued: "Last night, I felt an instant kinship with Brother Mu Yun. Although I still wanted to continue drinking heartily with you, I was entangled with mundane affairs and had to leave... What I left on the table are all items from the cultivation world. Last night, I saw your strong yearning for the cultivation world, so I gifted them to you. I also hope you can become a powerful person like Emperor Yu."
A warm current flowed through Mu Yun's heart as he looked at the two items on the table.
He heard Yumo briefly explain the usage and precautions in a few sentences, after which his voice gradually became serious.
"Soon, Qingchuan City and its surrounding areas may face great turmoil. Brother Mu Yun, if you remain here, you must be extremely careful. Last night, I overheard you inquiring about the Treasure Gathering Pavilion in a tavern, which has probably attracted fatal trouble. However, you need not worry; I have already covered up this matter for you."
"This Treasure Gathering Pavilion is actually the Suichong Pavilion. Rumor has it that Suichong Pavilion either hides in the mortal world, or is concealed in spiritual mountains, or was used by a powerful being in a certain era... In any case, it changes constantly and contains countless treasures. Both mortals and cultivators can exchange for what they desire from the pavilion. In recent years, it was discovered appearing in Qingchuan City, named Treasure Gathering Pavilion, and has a history of over a hundred years! Therefore, surrounding cultivation world forces have come to secretly investigate."
The voice fell silent for a moment and then continued: "The deceit and intrigue in the cultivation world are unimaginable. My purpose in finding you last night was not pure, but unexpectedly, I felt an instant kinship with you and even called you brother. But Brother Mu Yun, if you enter the cultivation world in the future, you must be extremely careful." After this, there was no sound.
Mu Yun's face turned pale as he listened. He never expected so many complications. Yumo's words echoed in his mind repeatedly, and he stood by the desk for a long time.
"Never mind. What Big Brother Yumo said is extraordinary, and not something I can touch upon yet. For now, my priority is to complete the task Grandpa gave me," Mu Yun murmured to himself, then picked up the small brown bag Yumo had given him to examine it.
From the talisman sound Yumo left, Mu Yun already knew how to use these two items and some knowledge about the cultivation world. At this moment, Mu Yun held the small brown bag, bit his finger, and then a drop of blood fell onto it.
"Big Brother Yumo said that this small brown cloth bag is a storage bag, a low-grade storage artifact. This small gourd is a mid-grade artifact. Neither low-grade nor mid-grade artifacts have artifact spirits; they only require a drop of blood to recognize a master. However, once an artifact recognizes a master, unless the artifact's master dies or actively removes the mark within it, others cannot use it."
Thoughts raced through Mu Yun's mind. As Mu Yun's blood dripped onto the storage bag, ripples spread, and the blood disappeared without seeming to spread. As the ripples faded, a miraculous feeling immediately arose in Mu Yun's mind, as if he had an extra pair of hands. Mu Yun felt that with just a thought, he could open the storage bag, completely unlike the previous feeling of separation between person and object.
Mu Yun suppressed his inner excitement and tried to control his thoughts to open the storage bag. However, the bag in his hand showed no change. Instead, a space about ten zhang in size appeared in his mind's eye. The space was brightly lit, with rows upon rows of various items Mu Yun had seen and many more he hadn't. Small characters automatically appeared above the items, listing their names.
...
"This is dragon's whiskers!" Mu Yun was ecstatic, his expression at this moment like a parvenu who had become rich overnight.
"Obsidian iron, solid copper, Qu stone!" Mu Yun's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but say, "The items Grandpa told me to find are all here. That saves a lot of trouble."
Storage bags were common artifacts used in the cultivation world for storing items, and were divided into low, mid, and high grades. Low-grade storage bags could only store common items like minerals and pills, mid-grade storage bags could store low-grade artifacts, and high-grade storage bags could hold everything, even living creatures. Although this was merely a low-grade storage bag, the resources inside were enough to dramatically boost Mu Yun's strength, even though he wasn't even a cultivator.
Just as Mu Yun was gleefully surveying his assets, a sudden dizziness struck him, followed by a soul-tearing pain. Before Mu Yun could react, his vision went black, and he fainted directly.
A few breaths after Mu Yun collapsed, faint white light slowly emanated from his temples and the top of his head. Moments later, it enveloped his entire body. If Elder Zhu were here, he would be greatly alarmed, because this was a precursor to breaking through to the Qi Condensation stage.
Storage bags were items for cultivators, and their use consumed spiritual sense. If Mu Yun had already reached the Qi Condensation stage, he might not have experienced such pain. Mu Yun had just involuntarily consumed a trace of thought power, which only Qi Condensation cultivators possessed, by using the storage bag.
...
Thought power is a kind of mental fluctuation generated in the human mind. This fluctuation is called thought power before the Qi Condensation stage breaks through Kaiyang. For example, in the Object Manipulation Realm, thought power is used to briefly control objects. After the last layer of Qi Condensation breaks through, a Foundation Establishment cultivator's own thought power can connect with the vast world, greatly expanding countless times. At this point, this mental fluctuation is called spiritual sense by cultivators.
At this time, Mu Yun was only in the middle of Body Tempering, and his thought power was very weak. Perhaps Yumo did this intentionally, or perhaps Yumo overlooked this point. When the storage bag recognized its master by dripping blood, Mu Yun unconsciously entered it. Although it caused him extreme overexertion and damage, it also unknowingly opened a great door of thought power for Mu Yun. This forced enhancement of thought power might be unique to Mu Yun throughout history.
This sudden, fatal danger passively activated the Genesis Genesis Neural System. The system secretly operated, protecting and repairing Mu Yun's neural system. Another reason was that Earth's Mu Yun had previously experienced ability stripping and forced spirit root implantation in the mysterious space, which inflicted pain equal to or greater than what Mu Yun was currently experiencing. It could be said that in terms of pain tolerance, probably no one could surpass him.
Of course, Mu Yun was unaware of all this. Near dusk, he woke up. At this moment, he sat cross-legged on the bed, his eyes tightly closed, immersed in a subtle state.
At dusk, Qingchuan City was bustling. In the streets and alleys, the hawkers' cries, the footsteps of pedestrians, the clinking of bowls and chopsticks on dining tables, the creaking of carriages rolling over stone roads—all sorts of sounds intertwined, like a symphony without a conductor yet harmoniously resonating, playing in Mu Yun's mind.
As if playing in the mortal world, Mu Yun stopped and listened intently. All the surrounding clamor seemed to gradually fade, leaving only the clear sound of hammering from a distant blacksmith shop, which he specifically noted. He blocked out myriad voices, leaving only one sound.
A moment later, Mu Yun slowly opened his eyes, a bright and deep light flashing within them. He found that his perception of his surroundings had become extremely acute; even microscopic particles floating in the air could not escape his sight.
Mu Yun familiarized himself with his changes, muttering, "Is this the Qi Condensation stage, the 'Awakened Eyes and Clear Ears' realm?..."
"The energy consumption of the antimatter armament system's converted nuclear arc reactor is enormous; 99% of the energy consumption is concentrated in the Genesis Genesis System. Hehe... Little Mu Yun, it seems the Genesis Genesis System saved our lives. Is this a blessing in disguise?"
Mu Yun muttered to himself, seemingly speaking to himself, and perhaps to the other person as well.