Da Xuan Martial Saint

"Here it comes."

Chen Mu's expression was calm, and his body remained still, but his gaze first fixed on what lay ahead, rapidly moving to his left.

Almost at the next moment.

Accompanied by a fierce and evil gust of wind, a huge white wolf with silvery white fur, almost reaching a man's chest, suddenly appeared. It didn't charge from the ground, but leapt downwards from above, diving from a large ancient tree at Chen Mu's left, viciously pouncing directly toward Xu Hongyu who was standing to Chen Mu's left.

Whoosh!

Xu Hongyu, with a placid expression, stood her ground. With a flick of the soft sword in her hand, the blade quivered, shaking out a flower of swords in the air, creating a curtain of light that resembled a spray of rain, meeting the diving White Wolf Demon.

The White Wolf Demon raised its right limb, its fore-end suddenly flashing with a large and luminous claw, ferociously slashing down, clashing with the curtain of swords raised by Xu Hongyu, instantly sparking off flashes and producing sounds like the clashing of swords and knives.

The curtain of swords exploded apart.

The entire right limb of the White Wolf Demon shook, seemingly unable to bear the force, recoiling back in midair, and falling to the ground a distance away, while Xu Hongyu stepped back two paces, her soft sword retracting and sweeping backward at an angle, unloading the residual force and slicing a trench in the ground.

Immediately following that, Xu Hongyu again swung up a beam of sword light, taking the initiative to attack, and clashed with the White Wolf Demon.

Xiao He held the soft sword tightly but didn't rush forward. She saw that the White Wolf Demon was not particularly strong, and Xu Hongyu was sufficient to handle it. It also served as a suitable opponent for Xu Hongyu to refine her Qi-Blood Swordsmanship.

Martial artists cultivate martial arts, whether it's Body Refining or Technique Training. Often, they can't reach the pinnacle through solitary practice. Xu Hongyu stepped into Tendon Changing Perfection, sparring with an opponent of comparable strength not only invigorated her own Qi-Blood but also honed her swordsmanship and momentum.

Her rapid advancement from Tendon Changing Major Achievement to Tendon Changing Perfection was inseparably connected to continually hunting demons outdoors through the 'Great Cold' period.

At this thought,

Xiao He couldn't help but steal another glance at Chen Mu, her eyes slightly perplexed.

Only Chen Mu … in her memory, seemed to either work at the City Defense Division or was cultivating behind closed doors. Under such circumstances, he still advanced tremendously, even grasping Artistic Conceptions—the difference between individuals was indeed immeasurable.

Chen Mu stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes tranquilly watching Xu Hongyu fighting the White Wolf Demon. Compared to the previous encounter with the remnants of the Heavenly Corpse Sect, Xu Hongyu was now demonstrating her strength even more, interweaving two types of sword momentum, nearly flawless.

Although the White Wolf Demon was slightly stronger than Xu Hongyu in speed and power, she constantly managed to overpower it.

The two, one human and one wolf, swiftly engaged in more than a dozen fierce rounds.

Xu Hongyu's cold eyes flashed subtly as she altered her sword momentum amidst the fierce battle, turning the curtain she had been waving into a flung fine mist, instantly threading through the gaps of the White Wolf Demon's claws and striking its eyeball.

"Ahhh!!!"

The White Wolf Demon let out a painful roar as its right eyeball burst into a spray of blood.

Struck by this blow, the manic violence in its remaining left eye diminished significantly, and its look at Xu Hongyu now conveyed a humanized wariness and hatred. Then, with a fierce swipe of its claw, tearing through Xu Hongyu's curtain of swords, it twisted its body and bolted into the depths of the forest.

It fled as fast as the wind, quickly escaping beyond Xu Hongyu's range of attack.

Xu Hongyu exhaled a turbid breath and immediately set off with her sword in pursuit, but she was not as fast as the White Wolf Demon. Despite chasing at full speed through the dense forest, she could only watch its figure get farther and farther away.

Just when it seemed she would not catch up, a figure silently swept over from above, arriving directly above the White Wolf Demon, and descended in an arc.

Boom!!!

Chen Mu did not draw his sword, but merely raised his fist in the air with a calm gaze. He fiercely smashed his fist down directly onto the White Wolf Demon's forehead. The giant wolf, with its large bulk, had its head forcefully plummeted downward, planting headfirst into the ground with a thunderous crash, its running torso stiffly jutting upwards as if it had been wedged straight into the earth.

Little Lotus silently covered her eyes with both hands.

It was too brutal.

To knock down the White Wolf Demon with mere physical strength... How could Miss endure this in the future?

Shuashuashua!

The head of the White Wolf Demon was planted in the ground, its limbs rigid, but it was not dead. It quickly started moving again, its limbs flailing wildly in the air, which looked quite comical. Finally, it managed to pull its head out but still seemed to be in a daze, not knowing whether to run or what to do, just constantly shaking its head to shake off the dirt in its fur.

By this time, Xu Hongyu's figure had already approached closer, her entire body quietly crouched down, and she slid under the White Wolf Demon's skull. Her soft sword struck straight at the White Wolf Demon's throat, and a thread of blood silently blossomed.

The large body of the White Wolf Demon briefly froze, then wobbled twice before finally falling down.

Whoosh.

Xu Hongyu sheathed her sword and walked straight to the corpse of the White Wolf Demon. With skilled movements, she stabbed her sword into its chest area. With a light flick of the sword tip and a thrust of her right hand, a blood-stained crystal-like object the size of a baby's fingertip appeared between the tips of her bloody fingers.

"Here."

Xu Hongyu flicked her hand, and the blood-colored crystal object flew towards Chen Mu.

Chen Mu caught it and inspected it closely, "Is this the Blood Essence of a demon?"

Blood Essence is the most quintessential part of a demon's Qi-Blood, generally found only in Second Rank demons and above; those of the Third Rank and higher mostly possess it. Martial Artists who have surpassed Body Refining can directly consume and refine it to nourish their own Qi-Blood.

It can only be consumed directly, because Blood Essence dissipates quickly. If not separated immediately, it will quickly dissolve into the demon's heart's blood. Even if separated immediately, without top-quality Cold Jade, it cannot be stored and will dissipate into the environment after a while.

This thing probably won't be of any use to me.

This thought flashed through Chen Mu's mind, but since it was his first encounter, he thought for a moment and still swallowed it. Soon, a warm current spread from his belly throughout his body, enveloping his whole body in this warmth.

However, it was a long while before the warmth faded, and his Qi-Blood didn't become more vigorous; it remained at the same level, merely replenishing some of the lost energy, making his Qi-Blood slightly more active.

He shook his head slightly.

Chen Mu was not surprised.

His Skin Toughening, Body Refinement, and Tendon Changing had reached the limit of the Three Realms, achieving the Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound where his muscles resonated in unison. His Qi-Blood had already reached the ultimate capacity it could hold, far surpassing ordinary people.

Only people like Xu Hongyu and Xiao He, whose Qi-Blood had not been solidified to the limit of the First Realm, could slightly improve their Qi-Blood by taking such Blood Essence, making their Body Refining cultivation a bit faster and reducing the difficulty of reaching higher realms.

Xu Hongyu quickly processed the White Wolf Demon's corpse. Her hands moved so swiftly and skillfully that Chen Mu found it somewhat breathtaking. In an instant, she had neatly arranged everything, using an entire piece of the White Wolf Demon's hide to make a large bundle, with all wolf bones and claws neatly packed inside.

Then, with a flick of her wrist, she hoisted the bundle, larger than herself, onto her back and said to Chen Mu,

"Alright, we can go back to report."

"..."

Chen Mu's lips twitched slightly, finding Xu Hongyu's current appearance somewhat comical, although she herself seemed completely unaware, turning around and walking back the way they came.

Watching Xu Hongyu's figure walking further away, Chen Mu couldn't help but shake his head and followed her.

Xiao He covered her mouth and snickered quietly, not daring to say anything, and discreetly followed by their side. The group trekked through the forest, and it wasn't long before they emerged from the woods; the intense sunlight finally unobstructed by the dense foliage fell on the three of them.

"How much Merit is a White-Level mission?"

Chen Mu asked about the Demon-Slaying Office's Merit affairs as he walked beside Xu Hongyu.

"The mission itself awards one hundred Merit. Furthermore, depending on the demon slain, a White Wolf Demon would yield an additional five hundred Merit."

Xu Hongyu opened her mouth slightly after a moment of thought.

Chen Mu looked pensive. He had researched before that exchanging for Bone Tempering Pills from the Demon-Slaying Office cost twenty thousand Merit for a batch, roughly thirty pills, enough for three months' use, and each member of the Demon-Slayer Office could exchange up to three times.

This was actually a continuation of the Da Xuan Dynasty Court's past regulations.

The threshold for Bone Tempering, compared to Tendon Changing, was not as difficult. The biggest issue for martial artists here was often being over thirty years old, and the vitality of their Qi-Blood gradually not being as vigorous as in their youth, which was a barrier to entering Bone Tempering.

If one failed to overcome the barrier after three exchanges of Bone Tempering Pills, their Qi-Blood would begin to decline further, leaving little chance to advance into Bone Tempering; instead, more exchanges would just be a waste of resources.

Earning six hundred Merit from a mission to slay a White Wolf Demon,

and needing twenty thousand Merit,

seemed a bit much.

Creatures like the White Wolf Demon required the slaying of over thirty to accumulate that amount, representing thirty missions.

Judging by about six or seven days to complete a mission as this time, Xu Hongyu, a Tendon Changing Perfection White-Clothed Guard of the Demon-Slaying Office, would need over six months to exchange for a batch of Bone Tempering Pills, ensuring she could complete every mission without incidents.

Of course, encountering a large group of ten to twenty all at once would yield a large amount of Merit in one go... But typically, if a regular White-Clothed Guard encountered ten to twenty White Wolf Demons while leading a team, not only would slaying them be out of question, but even escaping would be problematic.

However, he could easily handle it. For him, facing one or ten White Wolf Demons made no difference.

It's just that this time, they had to traverse mountains and valleys to track down just one.

Unless there was severe cold or drought that induced large-scale frenzied behavior in numerous demons, it was difficult to earn a vast amount of Merit in a short time. It's no wonder that during last year's severe cold, everyone from the Inner City went out demon slaying, even Xu Hongyu, who was temporarily off-duty from serving as the Chief Constable of the South City District.

Meanwhile, as Chen Mu was deep in thought,

Xiao He, walking beside, suddenly fanned herself with her little hand, saying, "Ah, why does today feel so much hotter than yesterday?"

Chen Mu snapped back to reality, looked into the distance, and slowly said, "I fear it's more than just a bit hotter."

In the distance,

a river was flowing vigorously.

Just a day before when they passed by here, the river was quite wide, around two to three zhang, but now it had shrunk by almost half, revealing a large stretch of exposed riverbank.

Xu Hongyu looked at this and suddenly paused slightly, saying, "A severe drought..."

Chen Mu shook his head and said, "Severe colds at the beginning of the year followed by a severe drought mid-year—this year is marked by multiple disasters."

The upcoming severe drought was indeed a continuation of a disastrous year. Although it wouldn't last as long as the severe cold did, it would still last at least half a month to a month. Families had prepared water tanks in advance, so there was no risk of dehydration, but the crops planted would be destroyed, and the increased activity of demons.

However, since it occurred every few years, it wasn't considered an extremely severe condition. Just as during the previous severe cold, forces including the Demon-Slaying Office would be mobilized.

With that said,

Chen Mu glanced at Xiao He and said, "Look, Heaven's punishment is upon you; your past life must have been quite sinful."

Xiao He opened her big innocent eyes wide, moved closer to Xu Hongyu, and stuck out her tongue.

"Let's go. Let's head back to An Yu first,"

Xu Hongyu withdrew her gaze and said solemnly, "The severe drought is imminent; there's no need to rush back to Prefecture City. Let's stay in An Yu for now. More personnel from Prefecture City will be sent here as well."

With the severe drought approaching, the situation wasn't extremely grave but wasn't minor either; apart from the crops that would be nearly completely ruined, the rampant demons would also require more manpower to suppress—much like the situation at the beginning of the year during the severe cold, temporarily conscripting personnel under the name of the Demon-Slaying Office, including organizing forces from various families.