The next morning, during breakfast, Ningxue was red eyed. Mu Chen tried to talk with her but she kept quiet. Mu Chen could only hope that Zhou Mei might be able to cheer her up.

After breakfast, Mu Chen packed food and water and left the Mu Family Estate. Before leaving, he registered Grandpa Wu and Grandma Jie as the housekeepers and also ordered dozens of pots of wine for Grandpa Wu. Although he wasn't sure what was wrong with Grandpa Wu, since wine could temporarily suppress the symptoms, he just had to make sure there was never a lack of it.

Once again, Mu Chen hired a carriage. He couldn't take the carriage all the way to the Dark Forest, but it let him cover plenty of distance before he had to travel on foot.

Soon Mu Chen stood at the fringe of the Dark Forest. The towering trees looked like the teeth of a monster beast that was eager to tear apart its prey. Another step forward and he would enter the territory of monster beasts. Inside, it was quite dark, even during the daytime. The tall and thick trees with their lush and abundant foliage
prevented much of the sunlight from reaching the ground. Due to the existence of monsters, monster qi was prevalent making it difficult for cultivators to absorb spiritual qi. It also interfered with a cultivator's divine sense and sound transmission. The deeper you entered the forest, the thicker was the monster qi and the more dangerous the monster beasts.

Lack of visibility, impedance to divine sense and communication, along with the presence of monster beasts-this made the Dark Forest a dangerous place, even for cultivators. If a cultivator entered too deep, they might lose their orientation and get lost.

How big was the forest? Mu Chen didn't know. He had only heard the elders say that it extended indefinitely. Many cultivators had tried to cross the forest, but they never returned. Rumor was, very deep into the forest, there were monster beasts who were strong enough to kill even Heaven Opening realm powerhouses.

Despite the risks, the forest had become one of the most popular destinations, for cultivators, young and old alike. As long as you didn't venture too deep, you were pretty safe and there were resources in the forest that you could harvest. So many sects and clans had established bases deep into the forest to facilitate collection of resources. These bases were supposed to be springboards for further exploration.

Mu Chen checked his surroundings for a while. There wasn't anyone nearby. Since this part of the area was closer to Mu Family territory, usually, only the people from the Family would be here. Mu Chen didn't hesitate any more and stepped into the forest. He had only two goals for this trip. One was to get completely used to his strength, the second was to comprehend that mysterious attack technique.

#

"Damn it! This won't do!" Outside the forest, Mu Chen grumbled. He was covered in dirt and sweat. Twigs and dried leaves had turned his hair into their nest. It had just been a few days in the forest, but he had to give up his training and come out. He was dirty, weary and frustrated.

All the food and water he had brought had been consumed. He had underestimated his new appetite. He had thought that his previous surge in hunger was only temporary. Although his current appetite wasn't the same intensity, it was still way more than what it had been in the past.
Food that was supposed to be enough for a couple of weeks, didn't even last for a few days.

He could hunt the monster beasts for their meat. He could get water from streams, ponds or vegetation. However, that was not the issue. The issue was, he needed to eat a lot. And because he needed to eat a lot…

"It's too bad I can not use spiritual qi. That would have been convenient." Mu Chen sighed. He had been training hard for the past few days, and now had a very good grasp of his current strength. But he didn't get any insight regarding that mysterious sword attack. Mu Chen figured he needed to face some real threats in order to find out the secret. He had only been loitering near the edge because he was still getting used to his new strength. He would have dived deeper into the forest if not for this particular issue.

In the past, Mu Chen only entered the Dark Forest after he had stepped into the Spirit Gathering realm. He didn't need to rely on food or even water for sustenance. Since he didn't need to eat, there was no need to empty his bowels.

But the situation was different now. It had become very inconvenient. Unless he found a solution, it would be stupid to proceed deeper into the forest. The monster beasts had a strong sense of smell. What if he was attacked by some monster beast while he was taking a dump? Did he have to fight the beast with his pants down?

"Ugh! That would be really awkward." Mu Chen shuddered when he imagined the scene. He would have found it hilarious if it happened to anyone else. But the person in the situation might be him, he didn't find it so amusing.

After getting hold of his bearings, Mu Chen began to walk towards the city. All he wanted was a hot bath and a warm bed, to clear his mind. He didn't go back to the Mu Family-the city was closer. While he walked, Mu Chen began to think of ways to solve his current dilemma.

One of the reasons that cultivators detested eating solid food, was because eating solid foods would lead to the accumulation of solid waste inside the intestines which had to be removed. Cultivators prided on themselves being different from mortals. For them, who had stepped on the road of cultivation, emptying their bowels was a mundane task befit only of the mortals.

Since they could sustain themselves on spiritual qi alone, giving up eating food, was a natural choice. It was convenient as it eliminated any need of going to the bathroom, especially during long travels. They didn't need to worry about hygiene, nor did they have to worry about situations where they might starve to death. Since it was only possible for a cultivator to starve if he was trapped in some region without any spiritual qi. Even then, it would take a long time unless the cultivator was extravagant with his usage of spiritual qi. Moreover, cultivators could also rely on pills to replenish their spiritual qi.

Unfortunately, Mu Chen was still a mortal even if his physical strength had reached superhuman levels. As a mortal, he couldn't use those pills for replenishing his strength. He could only rely on eating.

Engrossed in his thoughts, Mu Chen reached Falling Stones City. After entering the city, he made his way to one of the inns. Mu Chen paid for his room at the counter. After he was guided to his room, Mu Chen dismissed the waiter and headed for a bath. He was covered in sweat and grime after staying in the forest for several days.

"At least, it is not as bad as a few days ago..." Mu Chen muttered. Right now, if Liu Fengying saw him, she would just wrinkle her nose. If she had met him after he had finished his physical tempering from Hell's Water, she might have had a trauma. Thinking of Liu Fengying, Mu Chen wondered what she was up to. He hadn't seen her for over a week now. He didn't want or worry her so he had prohibited Zhou Mei from informing her about the recent assassination attempt and subsequent injury. And they hadn't made any plans to meet.

After a hot and relaxing bath, Mu Chen donned a set of fresh clothes. The inn had a tavern attached, so Mu Chen just decided to relax there for a while.

It was evening, the tavern was already crowded. Mu Chen could only get a corner seat for himself. Mu Chen ordered a pot of wine with some grilled meat. Mu Chen didn't have anyone to talk to, so while he enjoyed his wine, he began to eavesdrop on the conversation that was going around him. Because the entire hall was buzzing with chatter, it was hard to focus on any specific dialogue, but Mu Chen still managed to listen to some coherent speech. And one particular conversation caught his interest.

"...you know...hic...those...guys...they are really...hic...arrogant…" One of the guys in the nearby group was saying to his friends. He was somewhat tipsy.

"Why? What happened?" His friends became interested.

"Yesterday...hic...I went to...hic...Misty Flower...hic..Pavillon...the ladies there...were pissed..."

"Bastard! You...you went there alone to such an expensive place to have fun! Why didn't—"

"Hey! Let him finish..."

"Yeah! What happened?"

"...several of them...hic...they have been...hic...visiting them for days...but...didn't pay a single...stone…hic..."

"What? No way! Didn't Madam Chu do anything?"

"What do you know?...hic…Madam...Chu...didn't even say...hic...a word..."

"Really? Those youngsters have that much strength? They looked so weak..." One guy said.

"Idiot!" Another guy smacked his head. "They have a strong background. Madam Chu doesn't dare to act against them."

"Damn those bastards...hic...they even robbed Lady Jiajia...hic...I was saving money for her…how dare they?"

"Hahaha! No wonder you are trying to get yourself drunk…"

Mu Chen shook his head. Although the news that the younger generation from the Ming Dynasty being unbridled was surprising, it wasn't unexpected. Mu Chen began to lose interest.

"...don't just drink. Eat something with it, else it will harm your liver…."

"...hic...so troublesome...why don't they...hic...just mix food in wine...then I can just...drink without stopping…"

Mu Chen, who was losing interest in their conversation, froze. Mix food and wine? Mu Chen looked at the wine in his cup and the skewered piece of meat.

Food. Wine. There was a sudden flash of inspiration. Several ideas popped into Mu Chen's head. Most of them were absurd. But one particular idea stood out from the rest.

He could not just ground meat and mix it with wine. It would not solve the inherent issue. Instead of using meat, there was something else that he could use: Beast Blood Essence.

The blood of the monster beasts was not the same as ordinary beasts that could be drunk without any issues. The blood essence was even more dangerous. The essence was a gelatinous substance that could be found inside the hearts of monster beasts. As the monster beast grew stronger, the essence would grow and eventually turn into a monster core. This essence was the source of the monster's strength. It was full of vitality and energy.

One could eat it, but it was not suitable for direct consumption. It was filled with toxins. So if a person ingested it, there would be several side effects, few of which could result in death. So it was only used in alchemy. But such a concentrated source of energy, that could be eaten, was exactly what Mu Chen was looking for.

"If I could ferment the blood essence into wine…" Mu Chen became excited. Fermentation would help in separating the toxins from the essence. It would also help in diluting the concentrated energy a bit, making it easier for Mu Chen to consume it in measured amounts.

"I could also carry a lot of it." Mu Chen looked at his empty spatial pouch. "The best part is, I would only need to piss every now and then."

Only someone who was in a situation like Mu Chen's would have the absurd idea of using beast blood essence for making wine. Mortals wouldn't waste those blood essence on making wine, when they could sell them for spirit stones. Cultivators wouldn't be interested in an energy drink when they could rely on spiritual qi.

"Looks like Grandpa Wu's wine will end up in my stomach." Mu Chen chuckled to himself and stood up. He paid for his order and set off towards the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. There were some things he needed to get first before he could act on his idea.