Li Mu's figure flickered in the thick snow.

He would reappear immediately after each flash, but he would be in a different place. However, the two places where he disappeared and reappeared could not be too far apart, at most about ten steps apart.

This is the Instantaneous Body Technique.

After more than half a month, Li Mu had mastered the Instantaneous Movement Technique and had basically entered the beginner level.

He discovered that using the Instantaneous Movement Technique did not consume much true energy, but the pressure generated by the instantaneous movement would cause some damage to the body.

If you use the Instantaneous Movement Technique once and then immediately stop, it won't have much of an impact on your body, and you won't feel anything particularly noticeable. However, if you use the Instantaneous Movement Technique three times in a row, you'll feel sore all over. If you use it five times in a row, you'll have to stay in bed for a whole day before you can get up and walk.

Thus, Li Mu also understood the function of the Instantaneous Body Technique.

Such movement technique is completely unsuitable for traveling; it can only be used for fighting.

However, the inability to travel is not a serious flaw, because the piglets have a high chance of becoming spirit beasts in the future.

Once the piglet becomes a spirit beast, I can use it as a mount and ride it on my journey.

At this moment, the chubby little piglet is rolling around in the thick snow in the distance. Its white body is almost blending into the snow, and you can't tell where it is unless you look closely.

"come over!"

Li Mu clapped his hands and shouted.

The piglet let out a series of cheerful squeals and ran over to us.

It leaped into Li Mu's arms and shook its body to shake off the snow.

Holding the warm piglet, Li Mu laughed and asked, "When will you become a spirit beast?"

The piglet raised its head and grunted a few times.

"Three months probably isn't enough, is it?" Li Mu countered.

The piglet started grunting again, and it also made nodding or shaking motions.

A group of outer sect disciples walked by in the distance, all dressed in long robes, unfazed by the cold. Seeing Li Mu and the little piglet standing in the snow, constantly talking, they burst into laughter, clutching their stomachs.

"Look at that fool, talking to a pig!"

"Oh my god, this is insane."

"I find it really strange. Our Longevity Sect is supposed to be the number one sect in Yunzhou, so how come we produced such a clown?"

Hearing the mocking laughter drifting from afar, Li Mu's expression remained unchanged, but the little piglet grunted angrily and bared its teeth.

"Never mind them."

Li Mu patted the piglet's head, then carried it back to the wooden building.

As soon as he climbed onto the bed, the little piglet jumped up with a thud and landed heavily on Li Mu's lap.

The piglet now weighs 20 pounds, is much stronger, and is smarter than before—Li Mu believes the piglet is so smart because he taught it well.

During this period, he would tell the piglets stories from the book every night.

At this moment, Li Mu lay on the bed, holding the little piglet and telling it a story.

"Long, long ago, a father and daughter lived in a small village with only a little over a hundred people. The father was a woodcutter who would go up the mountain to gather firewood every day, while his daughter, Coco, was only three years old. Despite her young age, she already knew how to help her father with household chores..."

The piglet suddenly started grunting.

Li Mu patted its pig head and patiently explained, "Die means father. Father is a more respectful term, and it's written. Dad is spoken."

The piglet nodded and grunted a few more times.

Li Mu smiled bitterly, "Your mother is called 'Niang' (娘), but your mother has already... well, she went to a very, very far place, she doesn't want you anymore."

The piglet's eyes welled up with tears, and then it rubbed its head against Li Mu's body a few times.

Li Mu continued telling it a story: "One day, Coco got sick, so her father took her to see a doctor. But the doctor didn't live in the village; he lived in the mountains..."

The piglet held its breath, its two black eyes wide open.

Suddenly, a heavy snow began to fall, making the path up the mountain very difficult to traverse. The father, carrying his daughter Coco, walked step by step up the mountain, but he could never reach the end...

"When the villagers found the father and daughter, they discovered that the father had frozen to death, but his daughter, Coco, was still alive, held tightly in his arms. The father's body was already frozen stiff, and the villagers had no choice but to cut off his arm with an axe to rescue Coco... Later, the villagers built a shrine and erected a monument in memory of the father. The shrine was called the Shrine of Loving Father, and the monument inside was called the Monument to Beloved Daughter..."

The piglet suddenly started squealing loudly, the sound so sharp it hurt your ears.

The outer disciples throughout the wooden building could probably hear that pig-like scream.

"Are you crazy?!"

"Can't a person get any sleep?!"

"Want to spar? If so, let's head to the dojo right now!"

As doors and windows opened, angry shouts rang out one after another.

Li Mu quickly raised his right hand and cast a three-star barrier to isolate the sounds from inside and outside, so the piglet's squeals stopped carrying outside.

Looking at the tearful piglet in front of him, Li Mu found it quite amusing. He shook his head and said, "Looks like I can't tell you such sad stories anymore..."

The little piglet nodded with teary eyes, and even lifted its hoof to wipe its eyes.

The snow on the ground was even thicker, at least a foot deep.

The bright red sunset slanted in from the west, bathing Yuheng Peak Square in a crimson glow.

The outer disciples sat on the snow, their bodies covered in a thick layer of snow, looking like snowmen.

However, some disciples with higher cultivation levels directly used their true essence to dry their Daoist robes, or simply placed a restriction to prevent the snowflakes falling from the sky from landing on them.

Li Mu was kneeling next to Elder Qingyun, holding the piglet and listening attentively to the lecture.

Ever since Elder Qingyun, Elder Lingxiu, and Elder Mingshu went to Linglan on Yuqiong Peak, Li Mu had been kneeling to listen to the lectures. This was Elder Qingyun's order, and he had no choice but to obey.

He had been kneeling for a whole day, and his legs were almost numb, but he cared more about the gains he had made from Elder Qingyun's teachings than about the physical hardship.

"Okay, that's all for today..."

Before Elder Qingyun could finish speaking, Li Mu suddenly asked, "Elder, could you tell me how to clear my mind of all distractions?"

"A mind free of distractions means a mind without any extraneous thoughts. And how to achieve a mind free of distractions is actually very simple. To put it bluntly, it boils down to two words—calm the mind!" Elder Qingyun turned around and looked at Li Mu and said.

"But I need to control the sword with my mind. How can I remain calm when fighting someone?" Li Mu was completely confused.

Elder Qingyun remained silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Stretch out your hand."

"oh."