Da Xuan Martial Saint

Three days later.

Though the land remained barren and stretched out into endless wasteland, the cold seemed to finally abate. The chilly winds blowing through this place, while not warm, had softened, not slicing against one's face like a blade.

"We've finally arrived,"

Xiahou Yan, walking at the front of the column, looked into the distance and let out a sigh of relief.

Having reached this place, they were now officially within the bounds of Sha Prefecture.

Just a short distance ahead lay the true wasteland, followed by an eroded landscape shaped by sandstorms, where a fortified camp on the border was stationed, now routinely patrolled by scouts along the border.

Looking forward from here, one could almost make out, through the haze at the horizon of the wasteland, the rugged erosional mountains, although they were still quite distant, much like a mirage.

Behind.

Beside the carts.

Chen Mu was seen strolling leisurely; nearby, on several carts, groups of little girls, ten or eleven years old, clustered together. Their large eyes blinked as they watched him speak, listening intently to his stories.

"…and then Sun Wukong, with a push of his leg, knocked over the Jade Emperor's Eight Trigram Furnace, smashed the gates of the Thirty-Three Heavens' Lingxiao Hall with his staff, and charged towards the hall. The heavenly soldiers and generals lost their courage at the news, and all the gods scattered in the wind, until he reached the Lingxiao Palace and shattered its placard, shocking even the Jade Emperor who fell under the table,"

Chen Mu, while walking, spoke amiably to the little girls, telling them the tale. At their age, they were not suited to hear tales of unresolved human and ghost affairs, nor did martial world stories interest him much since he was part of it. Instead, he chose the story of Sun Wukong, which completely captivated the little girls.

After all, having experienced the pain of losing their families and being captured by foreign races beyond the border, hearing such stories made them hope there truly was such a great sage. Some of the girls, tilting their little heads and looking with glowing eyes, thought of Chen Mu as their great sage.

Though they were only about ten years old.

But children of the poor, by this age, couldn't remain entirely ignorant of the world; they well knew what fate awaited those captured by foreign races and taken beyond the border. Now, being escorted and able to listen to Chen Mu's stories was like a light shining into their despair.

Xiahou Yan watched Chen Mu engaging the ten-year-old girls, spellbound by his stories, and couldn't help but shake his head inwardly, sometimes truly unable to discern what sort of man his junior martial brother was.

At the border pass of Sha Prefecture, he killed demonic beings without blinking an eye, entered the storm-ridden danger zones without fear, and slaughtered thousands of foreign races in Han Prefecture alone, almost like a death god. Yet here he was, able to interact so kindly and pleasantly with ten-year-old girls, displaying none of the majesty expected of a grandmaster.

"Junior Martial Brother Chen."

After reflecting silently for a moment, Xiahou Yan finally called out to interrupt him.

At this, Chen Mu was in no hurry, finishing the last bit of his story, then walked over to Xiahou Yan.

At this moment.

They could see a figure hastening towards them across the distant wasteland. The figure moved extremely fast, covering tens of meters with each step. In just a short while, he had arrived in front of Xiahou Yan and Chen Mu's group.

"Elder Wu,"

Xiahou Yan greeted the newcomer with a cupped-hand salute.

The newcomer, thin in stature with black hair and beard, appeared to be in his forties or fifties, younger than Xiahou Yan, but was actually older. He was one of the Peak Masters of the Seven Profound Sect, Wu Changxi.

Compared to Feng Hongsheng and Shi Zhenyong, Wu Changxi's strength was somewhat lower. Chen Mu knew that although Wu had reached Perfection in Solidifying his Martial Body, he had never stepped into the Domain, missing just a slight level, and was now responsible for guarding the border of Sha Prefecture.

"Elder Wu,"

Chen Mu also greeted Wu Changxi with a cupped-hand salute.

Wu Changxi only nodded slightly in response to Xiahou Yan's salute but brightened up, smiling at Chen Mu's gesture, "Protector Chen need not be so formal. Elder Qin and I are from the same sect, you could actually call me 'Grand Uncle Master'. But now, with your exceptional talent, placing among the top three in the Wind Cloud List, even my old bones aren't a match for you."

He and Qin Mengjun were disciples of the same master, Supreme Elder Yin Heng of the Seven Profound Sect, though he was her senior brother, his abilities and talent were nowhere near the younger Qin Mengjun.

Unable to comprehend the Domain, his current strength was only slightly better than the top ten on the Wind Cloud List, no match for the former top three. Faced with the current Chen Mu, it was the same scenario, but he was still of significantly higher seniority.

"Grand Uncle Master Wu,"

Chen Mu easily changed his address and said, "Grand Uncle Master Wu has been away from the sect for a while, and I have not had the chance to visit. Now that you've come personally to assist, I can finally free up my hands. I have important intelligence to report back to the sect, thus I unfortunately can't stay and chat."

As they were already within the bounds of Sha Prefecture and Wu Changxi had personally come to meet them, there seemed to be no issues. Chen Mu currently had intelligence regarding the Heavenly Demon Sect and the Heavenly Corpse Sect he had obtained from Tuguhou to report back to the Seven Profound Sect.

This intelligence concerns significant matters and may determine the next actions of the Seven Profound Sect; it isn't suitable to be relayed by a scout.

"It's settled then, Junior Martial Brother Chen, proceed on your own. I had returned to the sect recently and didn't have the chance to meet Sister Qin; she seems to have gone into retreat. If you see Sister Qin, please pass on my regards,"
Your next journey awaits at My Virtual Library Empire

Wu Changxi said with a chuckle.

Chen Mu gave a slight nod, then glanced at Xiahou Yan. After exchanging a look with Xiahou Yan, he instantly vanished from the spot. With a few steps, his figure turned into a small dot at the horizon.

From a distance, several young girls staring eagerly at the figure of Chen Mu saw him disappearing into the distance. Their eyes dimmed slightly for a moment, but some still held a determined gleam, hoping that they, too, could practice martial arts one day and repay Chen Mu's kindness.

Wu Changxi watched Chen Mu's departing figure. Once he had completely disappeared from view, he turned to Xiahou Yan and asked, "Defense Commander Xiahou, it seems the return journey was quite safe without incident?"

"Hmm…"

Xiahou Yan responded and hesitated slightly, as if choosing his words.

While the news of Tuguhou's death should not be widely spread, Wu Changxi, being an Elder and Peak Master responsible for the defense of Sha Prefecture, naturally needed to be informed.

After a brief contemplation, Xiahou Yan approached and succinctly recounted the events during the escort, how they were pursued by Tuguhou from the Wumeng tribe, and how Chen Mu had fought and ultimately killed him in a fierce battle.

Upon hearing this.

Wu Changxi was astonished.

"Tuguhou, that man actually…"

He was quite familiar with Tuguhou, knowing that his strength was above his own and comparable to figures like Feng Hongsheng and Shi Zhenyong, almost equal to the top three of the Wind Cloud List.

Little did he expect that after a battle with Chen Mu, Tuguhou not only lost but couldn't escape and ended up dying at Chen Mu's hands. It was indeed shocking to him, as his junior martial brother's strength was likely more formidable than he had imagined.

If defeating Tuguhou was an achievement strong enough to secure a spot in the top three of the Wind Cloud List, then killing him, and alone at that, would undeniably propel Chen Mu to replace Hua Yunsheng, the Wandering Ascetic, as the top contender on the Wind Cloud List!

Although,

It was widely acknowledged in the Cold North Path that it was only a matter of time before Chen Mu would top the Wind Cloud List.

Given Chen Mu's exceptional talent, even if he didn't become a Grandmaster in the future, there was a great possibility that he might comprehend the Qiankun Domain. Once he mastered the Qiankun Domain, he would undoubtedly take the top spot on the Wind Cloud List, surpassing Hua Yunsheng and the others.

Yet he hadn't expected Chen Mu to demonstrate such formidable strength without even having mastered the Qiankun Domain, truly a worthy genius among those who practiced the Qiankun arts. If he indeed mastered the Qiankun Domain in the future, he might even rival his junior sister, Qin Mengjun, and Jiang Changsheng, the top Grandmasters of the Cold North Path!

Such a thought was indeed astonishing.

Many at Chen Mu's age would hardly make it to the end of the Wind Cloud List; even Zuo Qianqiu of the Heavenly Sword Sect was still struggling to climb up and might need another year or two to have a hope of being listed. Yet, Chen Mu was already capable of vying for supremacy and nearly secured his standing among the top Grandmasters in the foreseeable future.

Those recognized as top Grandmasters are very few across the entire Cold North Path, even fewer than those in the Blood Exchange Realm of the High Elders, all worthy of being listed on the Grandmaster list of the whole Da Xuan Ninety-Nine States.

"An unrivaled genius,"

Wu Changxi mused to himself.

It was also his niece, Meng Danyun, who had brought Chen Mu from Yu County to the Seven Profound Sect, ultimately allowing Chen Mu to fully utilize his exceptional talents. Otherwise, had he stayed in Yu County for a few more years, the situation might have been very different.

Moreover, if Chen Mu had not joined the Seven Profound Sect back then, other sects like the Heavenly Sword Sect or even the Heavenly Seal Sect, recognizing such talent, would surely have wished to recruit him; if a genial talent like Chen Mu had joined another sect, the Seven Profound Sect would have truly felt a sense of impending decline.

Mainly because years ago, Qin Mengjun, who had the highest hope of crossing the Life and Death Pass and reaching the Blood Exchange, was sabotaged during her breakthrough, leading to no one from the Seven Profound Sect reaching the Blood Exchange level for many years thereafter.

Yin Heng has certainly aged.

Indeed,

Aside from Yin Heng, the Seven Profound Sect has another Second Blood Exchange Realm High Elder, but he was already over two hundred years old and hadn't been heard from in twenty years, leading many to believe he had passed away.

Wu Changxi believed the same, except that besides Yin Heng, no one in the sect knew whether this oldest High Elder was still alive. Chances were slim as, by age, he should be two hundred forty-seven this year. Although Blood Exchange Realm individuals could easily live up to two hundred years, advancing beyond that often approached their limits.

Unless, like the Heavenly Demon Sect, they resorted to Evil Path demonic techniques to extend life. Otherwise, even methods of energy conservation seldom allowed for reaching three hundred years, with most lives ending around two hundred thirty to forty years.