Da Xuan Martial Saint

The blade had been forged.

The disaster situation remained unchanged for the time being.

The Five Viscera had undergone two more tempering processes.

Having nothing urgent left to do, Chen Mu could now take the time to conduct a detailed exploration along the Qingping River Domain, on one hand, dealing with some water demons to prevent the spread of disaster, and on the other, probing for any other disturbances in the earth's veins.

In fact, stumbling upon an earth pulse eruption at just the right time and place, as he had before, was a stroke of good luck: it was generally very difficult to accurately predict such events, unless one dived deep into water and treaded through the mud step by step to sense it. Still, this required an Artistic Conception close to the earth's veins like Gen Mountain or Dui Ze.

Or, by comprehending a higher-level Artistic Conception like the Kun Earth, one could more accurately sense the flow of the earth's veins within a certain range.

Without the ability to predict in advance, it was often the case that an earth pulse would erupt suddenly and from a great distance, and by the time one rushed there, one would usually have missed the opportunity to slip underground through the breach and explore.

After all, the flow of the earth's veins was swift; within moments, it would seal completely, and by then, being trapped deep underground, surrounded by the power of the veins, not to mention the Five Viscera Realm, even beings of the Six Viscera Realm would be in danger of being trapped and perishing.

Like before.

Chen Mu was the first to slip into the underground through the gap and also the fastest to pick up three Spiritual Objects, but by the time he was returning, the breach in the earth's veins was already crowded, and staying a bit longer for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea would lead to it sealing completely.

Of course, the speed of the breach's closure depended on the extent of the earth pulse eruption and the size of the resulting gap: the smaller the gap, the faster it would close, the larger the gap, the slower it would heal, and often, the subterranean area within would also be expansive.

Though it was deep into the night, shrouded in heavy fog.

But for someone like Chen Mu in the Five Viscera Realm, mere visual confusion couldn't affect their sense of direction, and with Chen Mu's strength of stride, he could quickly cover the hundred li to the riverbank in no time at all.

Compared to daytime, the speed of the river's flow had not slowed down much; it was still very turbulent with rolling sand and mud.

"First, head to the uppermost stream..."

Chen Mu looked towards the source of the flooding along the water's edge.

Having encountered disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect during the day, who had come downstream from the upper reaches, it was estimated that the actions of these sect members involved patrolling along the bank all the way to the uppermost stream and then traveling down the middle of the river domain, in repeated searches for potential areas of earth pulse eruption both in the river and along its banks.

With this thought in mind, Chen Mu calmly took steps, moving upstream along the riverbank.

His pacing was brisk.

Even without the supplementation of the Wind Thunder Artistic Conception, each step could span several zhang, and within a few steps, he would be hundreds of meters away.

Chen Mu, while moving against the current, kept watch on the movements within the river. However, since it was not yet dawn and the heavy mist greatly affected visibility, his Xun Wind Artistic Conception was not able to sense the activity beneath the water.

While the Gen Mountain Artistic Conception did have some connection to the earth's veins, his understanding of it was only at the first step, and in the current environment, Gen Mountain did not very much align with the advantages offered by heaven and earth; Dui Ze was more relevant in comparison.

"A range of five zhang at most?"

Chen Mu murmured softly in his heart.

His Xun Wind Artistic Conception could sense the wind rustling and grass movements within a range of more than ten zhang.

But his Gen Mountain Artistic Conception could only sense the flow of the earth's veins within a range of four to five zhang, which compared to the almost boundless flooding swamping an indeterminate expanse of low-lying land, was extremely narrow.

Of course.

Compared to Artistic Conceptions like Blood Fiend or Sensual Delights, which were completely foreign to him, having this level of perception already put him at a partial advantage; at least in a certain range, he could detect an impending earth pulse eruption in advance.

"If I could acquire more Spiritual Objects like the Earth Element Pearl, then my Five Viscera Realm cultivation would be much faster than ordinary people..."

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Chen Mu muttered to himself.

In his hand, he still had an Earth Element Pearl, but for the time being, he needed to use it to assist in comprehending the Gen Mountain Artistic Conception; he couldn't consume it yet. Moreover, his body's vitality meridians still needed some time to adapt. However, such things were naturally better to have in greater quantity.

The Five Viscera Realm was a foundationally crucial realm, connecting the previous and the next. Many great sect true transmissions, even after tempering the Five Viscera to the utmost, would not immediately start cultivating in the Six Viscera Realm but would remain in the Five Viscera Realm to comprehend deeper artistic conceptions.

Comprehending some higher-level artistic conceptions in the Five Viscera Realm, as opposed to after stepping into the Six Viscera Realm, was entirely different. Although in the Six Viscera Realm, the inherent quality of Yuan Gang could still change with deeper understanding of the artistic conceptions, it was not as effortless as in the Five Viscera Realm. Therefore, comprehending the same artistic conception in the Five Viscera Realm could have a subtle impact on the quality of one's Yuan Gang for the future.

For ordinary people who found it difficult to even step into the Six Viscera Realm, naturally, there was no need for such consideration.

However, for those true transmissions from various sects that could basically enter the Six Viscera Realm, this was something they took very seriously. One couldn't delay it for too long; usually, the latest was around the age of thirty-two or thirty-three to step into the Six Viscera Realm. Any later, and it would affect the future Marrow Cleansing.

Meng Danyun was particularly eager to break through to the second step in Xun Wind and Kan Water Artistic Conceptions precisely because she didn't have much time left. If she could advance these two artistic conceptions to the second step earlier, she might still have a chance to practice another artistic conception. If it were any later, she would basically need to step into the Six Viscera Realm first, then consider the others.

As for Chen Mu.

He actually didn't have high requirements for the foundation of the Five Viscera Realm. As long as he cultivated a complete Qiankun Artistic Conception and then initially advanced it to the second step, he would be basically satisfied and ready to begin cultivating in the Six Viscera Realm.

Walking along the riverbank, it seemed that due to the late hour, the demonic creatures in the water were somewhat calmer than during the day. Chen Mu walked roughly dozens of miles without encountering an attack from any water demons.

After walking a bit further.

"Hmm?"

Chen Mu suddenly paused in his steps, gazing intently into the white fog not far away.

He could only sense a faint breath sweeping past from within the fog, but it was impossible to accurately discern who it was based on the breath alone. However, it seemed not very strong, just a presence at the Bone Tempering Realm, and it held a vaguely familiar feeling.

Could it be someone from the Demon-Slaying Office?

Chen Mu shook his head slightly, not particularly concerned. After all, with the heavy fog, whether it was a person from the Demon-Slaying Office or the Inspectorate, it was quite normal to cautiously avoid others when one's identity was uncertain.

He quickly retracted his gaze, not bothering to interfere, and continued against the current.

In the distance.

The silhouette in the white fog wore official attire, which looked like that of a Deputy Commander of the Demon-Slaying Office, and was quite young. If Chen Mu had encountered him just now, he would have recognized him immediately—it was Xue Lin.

Jingyu County was under the Xue Family's control, and they naturally had many ideas about the spiritual objects that could be obtained from the disturbances in the Earth's Veins during the disaster. Xue Lin was also exploring within this area.

At this moment, Xue Lin's gaze was filled with gravity.

Now, with many sect disciples investigating the River Domain, the Qingping River area was brimming with all sorts; even though he had reached Major Achievement in Bone Tempering and mastered the Separating Fire Artistic Conception, he still moved cautiously everywhere, daring not to act rashly.

After all, not to mention those true transmissions and stewards of the Five Viscera Realm, even merely the leading individuals among the inner sect disciples from various sects were beyond his capacity to overcome. He had to keep a respectful distance and naturally dare not provoke anyone while exploring the river area.

"Just now, who was that person?"

After escaping a considerable distance, Xue Lin looked back, but soon shook his head, dismissing the thought.

His mastery in the Separating Fire Artistic Conception wasn't adept at perception, which was even more suppressed under the current celestial conditions. He naturally had to keep out of everyone's way, hoping only to find something overlooked by others, or at the very least to make some gains by killing a few demonic creatures.

That said.

The person responsible for all the dispatching in the Qingping River area, the Metropolitan Commander of the Inspectorate, seemed to be Chen Mu, who might be just as cautiously exploring this region of the river domain right now. While his own strength had improved, he wondered how Chen Mu was faring.

A flicker of light flashed in Xue Lin's eyes. He held no illusions about competing with the true transmissions of the great sects who had entered the Five Viscera Realm, but Chen Mu, also from Yu County and still among his goals, was different. However, he was very self-aware; even having reached Major Achievement in Bone Tempering, he was probably still no match for Chen Mu, at least not without making further progress.

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