Da Xuan Martial Saint

Within the belly of the mountain.

A deathly silence.

He Guangzong, having witnessed Zhang Heng's death, along with several others from the He Family, was frozen in place, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief as they looked towards Chen Mu.

The Black-clothed Guards and Blade Master who had been admiring the Flame Jade hadn't seen what had just happened; at this moment, they could only blankly stare at Zhang Heng's twisted corpse and Chen Mu, who still stood in his original position as if he hadn't moved, not knowing what had transpired.

"Sigh…"

Chen Mu's sigh fell once again.

His entire person had silently, like a specter, suddenly arrived at He Guangzong's left side.

He Guangzong was terrified, feeling a chill run down his spine as he swung his knife without hesitation. In this life-or-death moment, he nearly unleashed the strongest strike of his decades-long career, channeling all the power from his muscles and skin into it.

However.

Despite such a strike, it was still caught by the right hand that Chen Mu had extended from above the blade, the Fine Iron blade feeling as if it were rotten wood, his fingers even sinking directly into the knife body!

Puchi!

The flash of the blade.

He Guangzong's entire body froze in place, a line of blood trailed from his forehead down, his eyes still filled with fear and disbelief as he stared dead at Chen Mu. Eventually, his body split into two, blood splattering everywhere.

One step, one kill!

"Fourth uncle!"

He Mingzhen watched in horrified rage as he violently drew a short spear from behind him, erupting with the power of Minor Achievement in the Bone Tempering Realm. He stomped the ground, causing shards of Rock Jade to shatter, and charged straight towards Chen Mu.

However, Chen Mu's figure flickered, vanishing from the spot, only to reappear behind one of the He Family Black-clothed Guards. Without caring for any tactics his opponent could deploy, he effortlessly crushed and broke the guard's neck.

Immediately following.

His right hand swung obliquely, hitting another Black-clothed Guard trying to come to the rescue with a blade, sending him flying out, his body making crackling noises, his bones breaking into numerous pieces.

"Damn it!"

He Mingzhen's eyes were about to burst with rage, spear in hand he furiously pursued, but was utterly unable to catch up or come to the rescue.

Bang!

Another person's head was smashed by Chen Mu's palm, directly caving into his chest.

The remaining members of the He Family were utterly horrified, everyone had already drawn their weapons, but now neither fleeing nor attacking was an option, the closest ones even hurried to group together.

But as Chen Mu's figure swept past, the grouped He Family Blade Masters and Black-clothed Guards all froze in place, and then exploded into showers of blood before collapsing one after another.

"Enough!"

He Mingzhen roared furiously, suddenly raising his short spear and bringing it down, but it still struck nothing but air, instead smashing a standing rock behind Chen Mu into utterly shattered pieces.

Chen Mu paid no heed, his figure flickering, arriving before the last He Family Blade Master. This time not fighting empty-handed, he now had a Fine Iron Knife in hand, a flash of blade light sweeping by in an instant.

Crack!

The Tendon Changing Realm Blade Master of the He Family, his entire body along with his blade, froze in place, his blade directly breaking and flying away in pieces, a line of blood spreading from his left shoulder across to his right abdomen, his eyes full of fear as he looked at Chen Mu.

He Mingzhen stopped chasing, slowing down his steps, coldly looking towards Chen Mu.

At that moment.

Inside the belly of the mountain, he was the only one left alive amid a field of corpses, each death more horrifying than the last!

He Guangzong, Zhang Heng, and others were all cleanly slain.

"Who exactly are you? How dare you kill the members of my He Family so ruthlessly…"

He Mingzhen stared intensely at Chen Mu.

According to what Zhang Heng had mentioned before he died, Chen Mu seemed to be a subordinate of Xu Hongyu, but that was clearly nonsensical; with such skills and strength, at least the level of Minor Achievement in Bone Tempering Realm, possibly even Major Achievement. Even now, he had no assurance of victory, at most he could only hope to escape from Chen Mu's hands.

But for someone who dared massacre the He Family's people like this, there was no way he could let it go now. Even if it meant calling upon that retired great-grandfather from the He Family, he must pursue this man to the death!

Chen Mu slowly turned around, gazing at He Mingzhen.

In his eyes, there was no murderous intent, nor any ferocity, only calmness: "I've been told by Zhang Heng, as for you... being in the Bone Tempering Realm, you do have some skill. Who from the He Family are you? State your name."

"He Mingzhen!"

He Mingzhen snorted coldly.

Chen Mu nodded slightly, saying, "Yes, I have heard he is the leading figure of the younger generation of the He Family, having already stepped into the Bone Tempering Realm, comparable to that Xue Lin from the Xue Family."

He Mingzhen scoffed, "Xue Lin merely started a year earlier, who can truly say which one of us will reach the Realm of the Five Viscera? Moreover, he hasn't grasped any Artistic Conception all these years, hardly a genius, whereas I am not far from achieving one."

"Then you are quite impressive indeed."

Chen Mu remarked with a slight sigh, "To step into Bone Tempering, and not far from an Artistic Conception, truly worthy of the name of the He Family."

Speaking,

Chen Mu stepped forward.

Seeing Chen Mu approach, He Mingzhen was not afraid, a flash of coldness flickering in his eyes. Lifting the spear in his hand, despite Chen Mu's terrifying power, as a prominent youth of the He family, it was impossible to first fail to catch up and then flee without a fight. He was determined to test Chen Mu's skills no matter what.

Clank!

Chen Mu slowly drew his knife, and with a slash,

He Mingzhen countered with his spear, then the entire mountainside fell into dead silence.

He slowly lowered his head to look at the spear in his hand, seeing a straight diagonal mark appear at the head of the spear, followed by the silent falling of the tip.

In the slow descent of this spearhead, a blood line appeared silently between his chest and abdomen.

"You..."

He Mingzhen looked at Chen Mu incredulously, slowly collapsing.

He, a proud Bone Tempering Minor Achievement, compounded by four layers of Spear Momentum, still couldn't withstand the opponent's single strike. Chen Mu had refrained from attacking him previously, not wanting to startle the other He Family members until he had eliminated them all.

Cough!

He Mingzhen fell to the ground, coughing out a mouthful of fresh blood, feeling his life rapidly fading away, his eyes filled with reluctance.

He was He Mingzhen; he still wanted to grasp an Artistic Conception, enter the Realm of the Five Viscera, revitalize the He Family, surpass the Xue Family, and become the number one clan in Yu City. How could he die here…

Clank.

Chen Mu gently sheathed his knife.

Then he looked at He Mingzhen's body, ensured he was dead, searched him briefly finding nothing, shook his head, and turned to walk away, a soft sigh dispersing in the air.

"Actually, I do not enjoy killing."

He did not relish killing, nor did he derive any joy from slaughter; he was just an ordinary person. But the He Family, time and again, had sought his life, forcing him eventually to take action. To date, he had killed countless, his hands drenched in blood.

Especially during chaotic times, martial artists were a line of defense for the common people, but in times of danger, he could only prioritize his own safety, unable to consider others.

In these troubled times, one inevitably either kills or gets killed.

Chen Mu cleared all the corpses in the mountainside, but found nothing of value, obviously, as those who hunted demons during chaotic times wouldn't carry valuables with them.

He then slowly approached a huge block of premium Flame Jade embedded in Rock Jade, which if craftsmen wished to remove intact without damage, they must slowly chisel it out from the edges. However, Chen Mu did not need such trouble. His knife gleamed; with a couple of sweeps, he neatly cut the entire Flame Jade out.

"It really isn't easy to carry, but I must take it away for now," he said.

Chen Mu touched it, feeling its warmth. A Flame Jade bed made from it would be far more useful than any warm brick bed in winter, and such a large piece of Flame Jade might even contain a Flame Jade Core, potentially even aiding those who cultivate the Separating Fire Artistic Conception.

But currently, he was cultivating the Wind Thunder Artistic Conception, having not yet encountered Separating Fire, thus, its significance was limited.

After a moment's thought,

Chen Mu held the huge Flame Jade in one hand and forcefully hoisted it, which proved much heavier than the demons he had previously hunted, so much so that even with his current strength, it was no easy feat.

Thus, he carried the huge Flame Jade all the way outside, then looked up at the mountain, half-collapsed and the remaining parts unstable. After a brief deliberation, he decided against spreading the fragrant herbs inside, instead approached a collapsed, weak spot in the rock and fiercely kicked it several times.

The already loose mountainside, under successive powerful kicks from Chen Mu, saw the weak section of rock finally break, causing the rocks above to start making unstable noises.

Seeing this,

Chen Mu quickly hoisted the massive Flame Jade and moved away.

Just as he had moved about a hundred meters away, the mountain rocks behind him started showing more cracks, spreading upwards until, with a thunderous roar, half of the mountainside gradually collapsed once again, burying the entire mountainside.

Chen Mu turned back to look at the collapsed mountain, shook his head, then turned and walked away, disappearing into the mountains.