Da Xuan Martial Saint

Hum!!!

When the saber and sword collided, a dull hum erupted as the Xun Wind Artistic Conception met the Late Autumn Sword Qi. After a brief conflict, it forcefully crushed Liu Su's sword qi and continued to assault him, but was ultimately blocked by Liu Su's Yuan Gang True Essence.

Liu Su was only about sixty years old. Although he appeared aged, it was because he had expended his life force divining the heavens. In reality, he was still in better condition than He Wuyou. Furthermore, in his youth, he had tempered his Five Viscera numerous times.

Having cultivated the Late Autumn Artistic Conception, he could muster nearly two portions of Heaven and Earth's Might, nearly double the strength of He Wuyou.

Despite blocking the strike, Liu Su was shaken and staggered back several steps, almost crashing into the ice wall. However, the coldness in his eyes did not fade because the attacks of Cheng Houhua and Cai Jiusheng were already coming at him from both sides!

At this moment.

The three of them had Chen Mu encircled in a triangular formation, still locking down his position.

What Cai Jiusheng brandished was a bamboo ruler, teeming with the vitality of Warm Spring on its verdant surface, yet its force was extremely sharp, aiming for the vital spot on the back of Chen Mu's neck. Wielding Yuan Gang True Essence without hesitation, he struck with all his might.

He was well aware that Chen Mu's strength was enough to best any of the three of them. Unless the gap was too great in the Five Viscera Realm, it was easy to be defeated but hard to be killed. If they allowed Chen Mu to break out from their encirclement, then it would be impossible to pursue and slay him, especially with Chen Mu possessing the Xun Wind Artistic Conception.

Clang!

Chen Mu turned and struck with his saber, clashing with Cai Jiusheng and Cheng Houhua, blocking all of their attacks.

At that moment, Liu Su had already adjusted his breathing, his Yuan Gang True Essence flowing once more. Attacking from behind, he added coldly, "Today's heavenly destiny is chaotic; no one will come to your rescue. Resign yourself to die here."

Boom!!!

The combination of the three men's attacks shattered a three-zhang block of ice, and once again, a downpour of rain fell from the sky.

Almost at the same time, a flash of lightning suddenly appeared in Chen Mu's tranquil eyes. He stomped the ground, and instantly, a bolt of lightning spread along the falling rain, transforming the area within a three-zhang radius into a domain of thunder!

Liu Su, Cai Jiusheng, and Cheng Houhua all changed color simultaneously!

Crackling!

Though this strike was not from arrays of Heavenly Thunder, its might was that of thunderclap benefiting from the rainwater, forcing both Liu Su and Cheng Houhua to swing their swords in defense, mustering their Yuan Gang True Qi to fend off the spreading lightning.

The lightning appeared swiftly and vanished just as quickly. It spread through the rain only for an instant before dissipating into the atmosphere, leaving only faint traces of Thunder Arcs intermingling with the rainwater as it hit the ground.

In front of Chen Mu.

There, Cai Jiusheng stood completely frozen, like a statue with an incredulous look in his eyes, a line of blood trickling from his forehead all the way down, his life force utterly extinguished!

"This is bad, let's go!"

Liu Su, no longer concerned with shock, had already realized something was wrong and yelled out in alarm.

Although they knew full well that Chen Mu possessed the Thunderclap Artistic Conception, the previous attack was not just first step power; otherwise, it wouldn't have forced both him and Cheng Houhua to defend with all their might—so much so that they couldn't assist Cai Jiusheng.

Xun Wind! Thunderclap!

Two artistic conceptions that had stepped into the second phase!

Plus that robust Yuan Gang True Essence, comparable to that of a common man who had tempered his viscera seven or eight times, Chen Mu's strength was simply not something their mere four people could besiege. At the very least, it would take a group of ten attackers to stand a chance!

And now, caught unawares, with He Wuyou and Cai Jiusheng dead in succession, only the two of them remained. Continuing an assault on Chen Mu was nothing short of a pipe dream!

Hiss!!!

Liu Su and Cheng Houhua reacted extremely quickly. The moment they saw Cai Jiusheng fall, they simultaneously mobilized all their Yuan Gang True Essence, each delivering a blow towards Chen Mu, then quickly turned to flee into the distance.

However, in Chen Mu's eyes was only a trace of piercing chill. To ensure the death of all four, he wasted no time, having already killed two. How could he possibly let the remaining two escape now?

Boom!

In nearly an instant, Chen Mu held his saber with both hands, and from the blade of the Silverstream Saber erupted blazing flames. Despite the heavy rain dampening the inferno, with the aid of fierce winds, the flames still rolled turbulently, with bursts of lightning spreading throughout.

Chen Mu leaped up, dodging the strikes of Liu Su and Cheng Houhua. With a fierce cut through the air, he sent a slash towards Liu Su, and in a fleeting moment, the forces of wind, thunder, and fire crazily converged into a colossal Thunderfire Blade that spanned several zhang, cutting through the torrential downpour and striking directly at Liu Su's head!

"Ah!"

Liu Su, in the midst of fleeing, had not made it more than two zhang away when Chen Mu's attack descended upon him. He had no choice but to summon all of his Yuan Gang True Essence and push the Late Autumn Artistic Conception to its limits, attempting to withstand Chen Mu's airborne strike.

Yet, Chen Mu's slash was almost a full-powered assault, the joint forces of wind, thunder, and fire, coupled with the burst of Yuan Gang True Essence, containing a might of Heaven and Earth far surpassing his, so overwhelmingly crushing that he had no means to resist!n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Not just thunder and lightning, but also Separating Fire!

Horror shone in Liu Su's eyes.

Boom!

Liu Su only had time to let out a scream before he was engulfed by the three-zhang-wide Thunderfire Blade, and instantly, there was nothing left on the ground but a wide crack spanning dozens of zhang and a mass of pitch-black char.

Flee! Flee! Flee!

At this point, Cheng Houhua didn't dare to look back; he only knew to flee desperately in the rain, and in the blink of an eye, he had escaped dozens of zhang away, shrinking to a black dot in Chen Mu's line of sight.

Yet Chen Mu's face remained cold as he took a step forward, holding his saber. Faint traces of lightning began to emanate from his body, and strands of wind intertwined under his feet. Each step he took tore through the rain, creating a continuous ten-zhang-long trail of electric arcs.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

After Meng Danyun left Yu City a few days ago, he had mastered the Xun Wind Artistic Conception, and also reached the Third Layer of the "Riding the Wind" secret technique Meng Danyun had taught him. This secret technique was not very useful to martial artists of low realms, since at low realms, their running speed wasn't fast enough to be greatly affected by wind resistance.

However, as one's realm and speed increased, the wind resistance during flight grew stronger. The "Riding the Wind" secret technique, with the aid of the Xun Wind Artistic Conception, could completely negate the wind resistance encountered while speeding and even provide a boost after reaching the Third Layer, making one's movement technique much faster than ordinary people.

If he relied solely on this movement technique, perhaps it still wouldn't be fast enough. But Chen Mu mastered the Thunderclap Artistic Conception as well and had stepped into the second stage of mastery. Even without cultivating the secret techniques of the Thunderclap Sect, just the bolstering effect of the thunderbolt could inherently increase his movement speed substantially.

The compound effects of wind and thunder elevated his speed to an almost terrifying extent, allowing him to catch up with Cheng Houhua in just a fleeting moment!

"It's over, it's all over."

Feeling the presence closing in rapidly from behind him, Cheng Houhua was terror-stricken. He shouldn't have messed with the disaster-bringer He Wuyou; now, not only had the He Family lost a fortune in gold coins, but he himself was probably doomed as well.

How did he end up provoking such a monster? Someone who stepped into the second stage of three different Artistic Conceptions—wind, thunder, and fire—and even cultivated Jade Bone. Isn't that just like a top-tier direct disciple, close to the main disciple of the Seven Profound Sect—a terrifying figure indeed?

That such a monstrous talent could emerge from a remote little place like Yu County was utterly unfathomable!

At that very moment.

Without any hesitation, Cheng Houhua drew out a strangely colored pill and swallowed it. His Qi-Blood surged instantly, causing the Yuan Gang True Essence within him to soar, and he quickened his escape pace dramatically.

With each step he took, Yuan Gang True Essence cascaded down, creating blossoms of ice lotuses in his wake which then exploded in midair, transforming into countless sharp ice shards, and hurtled towards Chen Mu.

"Insignificant tricks."

Chen Mu continued to pursue, and with each step, bursts of Blazing Flames erupted to meet the incoming ice shards, completely engulfing and melting them, and he did not stop for a second.

After just two more steps, he had already reached Cheng Houhua's back. With the Silverstream Saber in hand, while still three to four zhang apart, he swung it forward, and by the time the blade descended, he had almost caught up to Cheng Houhua's back!

Crack! Crack! Crack!!!

Cheng Houhua continued his desperate flight, not looking back even once. The Yuan Gang True Essence, which had suddenly expanded on his body and nearly reached a volume three or four times greater according to Chen Mu's perception, burst forth all at once, blending into the curtain of rainwater.

In the blink of an eye, it froze into a towering wall of ice several zhang high on the flat ground, blocking in front of Chen Mu's saber.

Chen Mu's blade struck the ice, unleashing his triple articulation of wind, thunder, and fire. Upon contact with the Gang Power coursing through the ice, it created a violent collision that shattered the entire ice wall with a boom.

"..."

Seeing Cheng Houhua take the opportunity to flee several dozen zhang farther by utilizing this move, Chen Mu's gaze remained detached as he continued the chase. This was his first true hand-to-hand combat with a direct disciple of a Great Sect.

Although Cheng Houhua was far from being his match, he was indeed much more difficult to deal with than Liu Su and others, especially with those desperate measures to forcefully amplify Yuan Gang True Essence.

But such methods could not last, and Cheng Houhua's control over the surging Yuan Gang True Essence was clearly not as refined as before. The ice wall he created seemed impressive in scale, but it was actually less effective than continuously exploding more ice shards to delay Chen Mu's advance.

Whoosh!

Surrounded by interweaving wind and thunder, Chen Mu caught up with Cheng Houhua again in just a few strides.

Cheng Houhua sparked another wall of ice, blocking Chen Mu's saber once more and escaping for several dozen zhang again. But this time, the ice wall was clearly not as resilient as before.

As the Silverstream Saber smashed through it, an invisible strand of Yuan Gang Force burst forth, striking Cheng Houhua's back, making him groan, his body's aura exploding outwards and a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

Finally.

After escaping for a while longer, Cheng Houhua saw a turbulent river ahead of him—it was none other than a tributary of the vast Qingping River!

A gleam of joy emerged in his eyes, and he plunged into the river with a fierce leap. Once he reached the river, there was a chance of survival. Although Chen Mu possessed Thunderclap Artistic Conception and could also make use of the river's currents, they didn't compare to his own direct and potent Winter's domain!

"The green hills are unchanging; the flowing water long remains. Brother Chen, we shall meet again ...."

Pfft!

Chen Mu's form materialized behind Cheng Houhua, wreathed in wisps of Thunder Arcs and watching emotionlessly as he thrust forward with the Silverstream Saber wrapped in wind, thunder, and fire. Even though Cheng Houhua tried his best to burst out his Yuan Gang True Qi and formed a mirror of ice on his spine, he couldn't stop the saber, which was thrust by Chen Mu from his back to his front chest.

Cheng Houhua's eyes bulged in shock as he stared at the water, so close now, struggling to speak, but then a surging power of Thunderfire exploded within him, overwhelming all his viscera and snuffing out his life force in an instant. His gaze faded to nothing as he fell into the water alongside Chen Mu.