Da Xuan Martial Saint

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However, just as the Earth Demon Venerable made every effort to escape underground,

he suddenly noticed a change in his expression, sensing a distinctly different qi rapidly approaching amidst the mottled power of the Earth's Veins. This breath contained no demonic power, yet it gave him a strong, looming sense of threat.

"This is..."

The Earth Demon Venerable's complexion changed subtly.

Among the Venerables and Protectors of the Secluded Silent Valley, many could traverse the earth, but it was exceedingly rare for a human Martial Artist to move underground faster than him, at a depth of a hundred zhang. Even Qi Zhiyuan couldn't do it, the only person he could think of was one.

Chen Mu!

Having mastered the complete Qiankun Artistic Conception, there was nothing he couldn't do on land or under the sky!

"Chen Mu? Hmph!"

The Earth Demon Venerable sensed that the presence was approaching quickly, but he did not panic; a cold glimmer flashed across his eyes, reminiscent of a rat's.

If they were above ground, he admitted he was no match for Chen Mu—even if there were three of himself, they would probably not win. But here, deep under the ground, this was his home turf. Although he wasn't confident he could use the terrain to his advantage in a confrontation with Chen Mu, it certainly wouldn't be easy for Chen Mu to hunt him down below!

"Earth-Overflowing Rat Tide!"

After a cold snort in his heart, the Earth Demon Venerable pressed his hand in a feigned gesture against the muddy rock layers, and a surge of demonic power burst into the Earth's Veins in an instant, merging with the nearby Earth Pulse's Power, causing the area extending hundreds of zhang horizontally to tremble!

At a spot roughly a hundred and fifty zhang from where he was, Chen Mu walked among the mud and stones, with flickering glows emanating from his body. His form seemed to dematerialize, moving forward through the underground as if gliding through the air.

Buzz.

Just at that moment, the power of the Earth's Veins started boiling tumultuously, inducing a strong repulsion that forced Chen Mu to abandon his 'formless and intangible' state, causing him to fall back into the tangible mud and rock.

His Qiankun Artistic Conception's escape technique did not actually make him non-existent, but rather translated the metal, wood, water, fire, and earth he came into contact with from substance into 'The Power of Heaven and Earth', allowing him to directly pass through them.

When the surrounding forces of nature were shaken, and the power of the Earth's Veins underwent tumultuous changes, it rendered him unable to easily transform the surrounding mud and rocks into the intangible Power of Heaven and Earth, thus forcing him out of their substance.

Whoosh!

This disturbance not only expelled Chen Mu from his intangible state but also caused the Earth's Veins in the vicinity, especially one hundred zhang deep below, to surge from all directions towards him, seeking to immobilize him.

"Quite interesting."

Chen Mu was not surprised, and without moving, an invisible force of Yuan Gang True Essence opened up, forcibly maintaining a space around him. This prevented the nearby mud, rocks, and the surging power of the Earth's Veins from burying him.

He had entered the underground of the Secluded Silent Valley quite early. On the one hand, it was safer for him underground as he didn't have to contend with Ninth Rank Heavenly Demons like the Mystic Tortoise, and on the other hand, given that the Secluded Silent Valley was breached, he knew there would be numerous fleeing Demon Men. Considering there were very few within the whole Seven Profound Sect who could fight composedly underground, he naturally took the initiative.

Along the way, he had already killed four Protectors of the Sky Demon Sect and more than a dozen Stewards.

The Earth Demon Venerable ahead was the biggest 'fish' he had come across so far. Being a Demon Venerable, the Earth Demon Venerable must have carried many valuable things with him while fleeing in the chaos of Secluded Silent Valley's collapse. Furthermore, having caused much trouble in Ice State and brought many Grandmasters to their wit's end, now that he had come into Chen Mu's line of sight, Chen Mu certainly wouldn't let him off easily.

"Eight Phases Cycling, Heaven and Earth Generating."

Even though the Earth Demon Venerable used demonic power to stir the Earth's Veins and forced him to cease his dematerialized flight, having cultivated the Qiankun Artistic Conception and now possessing the Qiankun Martial Body, Chen Mu wouldn't be trapped a hundred zhang underground.

As Chen Mu's thoughts acted, the Yuan Gang True Essence around his body transformed into the Power of Kun Earth. As his Artistic Conception cycled through the Eight Phases and settled on the Kun Earth Phase, the pressure he faced underground diminished greatly.

Swish!

Chen Mu lifted his left hand forward, and the earth before him parted. He simply cleaved his way through the mud and stones, locking onto the fluctuating demon qi of the Earth Demon Venerable, and continued in relentless pursuit of his fleeing direction.

The Earth Demon Venerable was originally only about a hundred and fifty zhang away from Chen Mu. After disrupting Chen Mu's Earth Escape Technique, the distance between them widened back to two hundred zhang. However, as Chen Mu cycled through the Eight Phases, using the Power of Kun Earth to forge ahead, the gap quickly closed again, and within a short moment, it had narrowed to a hundred zhang.

"..."

Sensing Chen Mu's approach, the Earth Demon Venerable's brow furrowed: "Qiankun Artistic Conception, so troublesome, persistently chasing after me is truly infuriating. If only I had cultivated the Eighth Rank Demon Body, I wouldn't allow such careless maneuvering underground—I would take your life!"

Unfortunately, he was ultimately just a Seventh Rank Demon Venerable. With Chen Mu's records of slaying the White Jade Demon Venerable among the three Great Demon Venerables, even with absolute geographical advantage underground, he still dared not turn back and face Chen Mu head-on.

However, the thought of becoming Eighth Rank brought a faint gleam to his eyes.

In the entire Seven Profound Sect, only Chen Mu had the ability to pursue so fiercely underground at a depth of a hundred zhang. If Chen Mu dared chase him like this, it wasn't impossible to try setting a trap to ensnare Chen Mu.

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A rare Qiankun lineage Martial Artist, an unsurpassed genius of his age, barely over thirty, was at the peak of his Blood Essence and vigor. If he could devour Chen Mu's Blood Essence and Five Viscera, his Demon Body's solidifying refinement would inevitably make great progress.

However.

He alone was certainly not enough to deal with Chen Mu, and even if he called upon two other Demon Venerables, it would still not be easy to take down Chen Mu. After all, Chen Mu could freely exert his power underground, where other Demon Venerables might not fare much better than him.

But on their Sky Demon Sect's side, there was the presence of a Venerable of the Eighth Rank.

The sight of the flash of ghostly light in the Yellow Earth Demon Venerable's eyes was followed by him spitting out a drop of Demon Blood. A strand of demonic power was solidified into the Blood Essence, turning that single drop of Demon Blood into a red filament that spread and vanished into the earth beneath in an instant.

After completing this step, he did not hesitate for long. Sensing Chen Mu's presence drawing near, he let out a cold snort, turned over his hands, and violently pressed down toward the nearby dirt. His own demonic power surged out, blending with the Earth Pulse's Power a hundred feet below.

"Myriad Rats Blood Erosion!"

Hum!!!

In an instant, the earth's veins within a hundred feet radius underwent an abnormal transformation.

Under the surging demonic power, the nearby soil churned in chunks, condensing into gigantic rats made of wasteland dirt, making the hundred-feet-deep underground resemble a suddenly erupted rat nest.

The overwhelming flood of giant rats rolled forward like a tidal wave, rushing at Chen Mu who was pursuing from behind.

Nevertheless.

Chen Mu, walking within the Earth's Veins, faced the surging onslaught of myriad rats with an unchanged expression, simply raising his hands to meet in the middle with a clap.

Accompanied by the explosive power of Kun Earth, the Earth's Veins shook once again. The ground nearby suddenly cracked and shook, forming two colossal earthen palms that clapped together in the center.

Boom!!!

With a thunderous rumble, the incoming tide of rats was instantly squeezed into the center, collapsing and disintegrating in heaps, turning back into scattered mud and stones.

This force continued to spread outwards, affecting areas a hundred feet away, making the nearby soil around the Yellow Earth Demon Venerable become rigid as if turning into rock layers, pressing in toward the center to grasp it all at once.

"Not good!"

The Yellow Earth Demon Venerable's face changed drastically, not expecting Chen Mu's strength to be so formidable that he could attack his location from a hundred feet away. Even with his mastery of the Qiankun Artistic Conception, how could his performance underground possibly be more advantageous than his?

In his shock, the Yellow Earth Demon Venerable did not hesitate, with demonic power erupting wildly from his body. He suddenly darted forward, forcefully burrowing through the hardened earth and emerging tens of feet ahead. Like a burrowing yellow-furred rat, he avoided the collapsing soil layers spreading toward him from behind.

"No wonder many Grandmasters in the Ice State have no way to deal with him, even the top Grandmasters of the Ice Extreme Palace can do nothing against him."

Chen Mu sensed that the Yellow Earth Demon Venerable had evaded his remote suppression. His expression did not change much. Although the Yellow Earth Demon Venerable was not an Eighth Rank Venerable, he was indeed one of the most troublesome Demon Venerables in the Ice State. Indeed, even the top Grandmaster, even Qin Mengjun, could hardly do anything to him, after all, Qin Mengjun cultivated Qian Heaven and not Kun Earth. In these underground depths, his strength would be limited, and his speed of earth travel would definitely not match that of the Yellow Earth Demon Venerable with his demonic race's innate talent.

Only.

The Yellow Earth Demon Venerable had encountered him, which meant there was no escape.

Chen Mu slightly closed his eyes, slightly increased his Yuan Gang True Essence, stepped forward, and traversed through the mud and stone veins at high speed, continuing to chase after the Yellow Earth Demon Venerable.

The Yellow Earth Demon Venerable's face went through a series of changes, employing various techniques in rapid succession, but he still couldn't shake off Chen Mu's pursuit, watching helplessly as Chen Mu slowly caught up to him, until he was within thirty feet!

"Eight Phases cycling, Earth merges with Mountain."

Finding the distance between him and the Yellow Earth Demon Venerable adequate, Chen Mu finally made his move. His gaze remained indifferent as he raised his hands and suddenly brought them together toward the center.

In an instant, the Yellow Earth Demon Venerable escaping through the tunnels felt the nearby mud and stone harden further, solidifying in chunks as if the ground around, made of mud and stone, fused into one, turning into rocky mountains!
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"Damn!"

The Yellow Earth Demon Venerable inwardly cursed. He exerted all his power, his demonic power bursting forth, attempting to drill through the mountain barrier, but his speed slowed down further, unable to maintain the distance from Chen Mu any longer.

In barely two breaths' time, Chen Mu's figure emerged from the tunnel behind him. Without words, he thrust forward with a Heaven and Earth Wheel Seal strike, its majestic power indefensible, penetrating through the eights desolations!

"Ahh!!!"

With a loud cry from the Yellow Earth Demon Venerable, constrained by the solidifying Earth's Veins, he had no space to dodge. He twisted his body, summoning all his strength to call upon his demonic power, forming a yellowish glow in defense against Chen Mu's Heaven and Earth Wheel Seal.

But upon collision, the Heaven and Earth Wheel Seal breached through his defenses like a hot knife through butter, shattering his demonic power bit by bit until it pierced through the Earth's Veins and made a clear Heaven and Earth Wheel Seal hole through his chest!