Da Xuan Martial Saint

She spoke.

Xu Hongyu gently caressed her abdomen, the past coldness had completely faded, and her eyes showed a trace of softness.

Chen Yue looked at Xu Hongyu’s action, a flicker of surprise flashed through her eyes, then she pursed her lips, turned her head again, and looked out the bamboo window towards the rolling Seven Profound Mountains in the distance.

What would the scene be like when Chen Mu returned?

…

Among the hills.

A figure strolled leisurely.

Dressed in simple hemp clothes with nothing long seen on his body, he looked like an ordinary villager living in the mundane world, yet with every step he took, his figure silently vanished from the spot, crossing a hundred paces in one stride.

This figure was indeed Chen Mu.

In today’s world, countless gazes converged on the Seven Profound Sect; he had stayed a few extra days for Xu Hongyu, taking on more risks. Naturally, he would not set a definite day of departure, and that night, concealing his aura, he fled along the earth’s veins of Seven Profound.

The direction he headed was not directly towards the Outer Sea but southward, and soon he had traveled thousands of miles, quietly entering the territory of Yu County, currently within An Yu County, moving towards the prefectural city of Yu County.

The journey to the Outer Sea, its duration unknown.

In Yu County lived a person he wanted to meet before departing, and that was Old Master Yu Jiujiang of the Yu Family.

As years passed and life and death cycled, though Old Master Yu was a high-level practitioner of the Five Viscera Realm, he was already at the twilight of his years. If not for the life-prolonging focus of the Cultivation from the Kan Water Sect, he might have already departed from this world.

When Chen Mu’s cultivation was still shallow, Yu Jiujiang had taken great care of him. Not knowing how long his trip to the Outer Sea would be, or whether Old Master Yu would still be in the Celestial Human Realm when he returned, he decided to visit him one more time before leaving.

“Hm?”

As Chen Mu walked leisurely among the hills, traversing great distances with each step, he suddenly halted upon crossing a mountain range and then sidestepped to stand atop a boulder, gazing towards the distant forests.

In those distant woods, the sounds of battle echoed.

A group clad in official government uniforms was clashing with a band of diversely dressed bandits. Both groups had about dozens of members, and the situation seemed slightly tense. Heading the government side was a young man wielding a knife, around twenty years old and remarkably strong, possessing the Realm of Tendon Changing Minor Achievement. However, the bandit leader was also a figure within the Tendon Changing Realm.

The number of forces on the government side was slightly larger, but the bandits’ strength was slightly superior. At that moment, the bandit leader, fighting alone against three—against the young government officer and two Body Refinement Perfection Assistant Generals—was still holding his ground.

Whoosh!

In a flash of blade light, one of the aides helping the young government officer suddenly cried out, staggering back, his arm armor split open, revealing a long gash from which blood gushed.

The young government officer’s brow furrowed at once.

As the bandit leader injured one, he was fiercely imposing and burst into laughter, “Prefecture Chief Song, with these little skills, you seem unable to trouble me. Government officers are nothing special; I’ll spare your life today, but go back and train in blade techniques for a couple more years. Continue fighting and you’ll be risking your life here!”

He Xuan stared at the young man with a fierce gleam in his eyes and an emanating evil aura, trying to force the young government officer to back down.

He had been entrenched in the Wutong Mountains of An Yu County for many years, deeply understanding many figures in An Yu County and even Yu County. For instance, the young man before him, named Song Zhou, not only had an exceptional martial arts talent but also had a profound background. Even though he was formidable now and even confident in injuring or even killing Song Zhou, he didn’t dare to make his move.

Because he was well aware that killing Song Zhou would bring big trouble, leaving no place for him in the entirety of Yu County!

It was rumored that Song Zhou’s family was originally just ordinary civilians of An Yu County, but somehow, they became connected with a major figure from Yu County… Of course, this was just a rumor, unclear whether true or false. However, Song Zhou’s sister, Song Miao, had married into Yu County’s number one family, the ‘Yu Family,’ truly becoming a relative by marriage.

Let alone the other aspects, just due to the Yu Family connection alone, He Xuan was unwilling to provoke a deadly conflict, hence he always left a margin in his blade techniques, planning to push back Song Zhou’s group instead of fighting to the death.

Song Zhou continuously swung his blade to defend, yet his brow was tightly furrowed.

This gang of bandits led by He Xuan, hidden in the Wutong Mountain Range and exceedingly cautious, had run amok for many years without ever being caught. This time was a rare chance when they finally left some traces that he had led a team to follow. If he let them go now, who knows when the next opportunity would come around? But if he didn’t let it pass… He Xuan’s strength was indeed stronger than he had anticipated.

According to the intel, He Xuan was merely thought to be at the Tendon Changing Minor Achievement, but in fact, he had reached the Tendon Changing Major Achievement within the Body Tempering Realm, and his blade technique was smooth and flawless. Further mastering both light and heavy Blade Momentums, it indeed was difficult for him to overcome with his strength alone.

For now, he had only mastered the “River Severing Blade” Blade Momentum.

“…”

Seeing Song Zhou hesitate yet not retreat, He Xuan’s expression darkened and he snorted coldly, brandishing his blade to deliver two sharp strikes, successfully forcing back another of Song Zhou’s aides. He then boldly leaped forward, delivering three consecutive heavy saber blows.

Clang! Clang! Clang!!

With nowhere to retreat, Song Zhou was forced to block three blades, the last strike as heavy as a mountain collapse, causing his palms to tremble violently. He had to forcefully grip his servant’s knife, his palms cracking open, and his whole body staggered back, blood dripping down.