Chapter 222: Mystic Earth Array
Chapter 222: Mystic Earth Array
At the city gate, soldiers on duty spotted Chen Mu approaching from below.
"It's a disciple of the Seven Mysteries Sect!"
"Finally, they're here."
"Quickly, lower the drawbridge and inform the superiors!"
The soldiers at the gate, filled with joy, scrambled into action. Some hastily lowered the drawbridge, a specialized platform for people to ascend the gate, while others rushed to report to the governor of Yunlu Pass.
However, before the soldiers could fully lower the drawbridge, Chen Mu, standing below the gate, looked up and gently stamped his foot.
Whoosh!
The yellow sand around him seemed to be drawn towards his feet, quickly gathering and forming a pillar-like mound, lifting him off the ground.
The sand accumulated faster and faster, and in an instant, a hundred-zhang-tall pillar appeared before the gate, elevating Chen Mu to its top, level with the city gate!
Then, Chen Mu calmly took a step forward, walking from the pillar onto the city gate.
Just as he stepped onto the gate, the pillar behind him, which had risen from thin air, crumbled back into sand and dispersed into the vast desert.
The nearby garrison soldiers were all stunned by this sight, but one of them, a commander, quickly recovered and approached Chen Mu, bowing respectfully, "Greetings, True Disciple Chen. I am the vanguard leader of Yunlu Pass. How may I assist you?"
Although the border guards stationed at Yunlu Pass did not recognize Chen Mu, they could identify the unique sect attire he wore, belonging exclusively to the True Disciples of Spirit Profound Peak. The commander had witnessed Chen Mu's ascent and understood that it wasn't a celestial phenomenon but rather a manifestation of the Firm Mountain Intention.
Chen Mu glanced around and then asked the commander, "I am Chen Mu. Where are Senior Brother Chu and Senior Sister Meng?"
"Er..." The commander was slightly taken aback but quickly replied, "True Disciple Chen, the sand disaster in Sand County began showing signs two days ago. You are the first to arrive, and the governor is waiting inside the pass."
Chen Mu was not surprised by this information. Although he had set out later than Meng Danyun and Chu Jingsu, they were leading large groups of inner and outer sect disciples, whose varying strengths naturally slowed their progress. It was normal for him to arrive first.
The only slight surprise was that he had not encountered Chu Jingsu or Meng Danyun's group along the way, but given the vast and complex terrain of Sand County, it was understandable to have missed them.
"Good, lead the way," Chen Mu nodded calmly.
Yunlu Pass, one of the seven major passes in Sand County, or Jade State, used to be a strategic location for the Daixuan Dynasty. It was directly governed by the Northern Protector General and was not under the command of the Jade State government.
However, after the decline of the Daixuan Dynasty and the occupation of Jade State by the Seven Mysteries Sect, Yunlu Pass also fell under the jurisdiction of the sect. The governor, Xiahou Yan, was also from the Seven Mysteries Sect. He had been the Left Protector of Spirit Profound Peak and one of its True Disciples, even before Chu Jingsu. Later, he was appointed as the governor of Yunlu Pass.
In fact, the seven major passes in Sand County were each managed by one of the seven peaks of the Seven Mysteries Sect.
Yunlu Pass was quite large.
Built atop a towering hundred-zhang-high wall, Yunlu Pass was akin to a miniature city, adorned with numerous uniquely-shaped domed buildings. Among them, the governor's mansion stood prominently in the center.
Chen Mu soon arrived at the governor's mansion. Before he could enter, a figure emerged, appearing to be in his fifties or sixties, with graying temples but a robust physique. Upon seeing Chen Mu, he smiled heartily, "I've long heard of True Disciple Chen's reputation, and today I finally get to meet you. Your demeanor is indeed worthy of being called a prodigy on the Talent List."
"Senior Brother Xiahou is too kind," Chen Mu smiled and bowed, "I'm just lucky to be in the right place at the right time."
Although Xiahou Yan was not a direct disciple of Qin Mengjun, and they were of the same generation, he was a True Disciple of Spirit Profound Peak and had served as one of its Protectors. Following the sect's tradition, True Disciples, regardless of generational gaps, could address each other as brothers and sisters until they reached the Marrow Cleansing Realm.
"With your talent, I believe it's the opposite. It's a matter of being in the right place at the right time. If you had started your cultivation two years earlier, you would have surpassed those on the Talent List's top ten, and you wouldn't be any less impressive than Zhou Hao of Mystic Profound Peak." Xiahou Yan said with a hearty laugh.
On the Talent List, those with both exceptional talent and comprehension were rare. Chen Mu's late start in cultivation was common knowledge, and with his talent and comprehension, it was unlikely for him to be ranked below the twentieth position, and even entering the top ten was a possibility, given that Zhou Hao was already on the ninth page.
"How can I compare with Senior Brother Zhou?" Chen Mu shook his head, not wanting to discuss this further, "What's the current situation with the sand disaster?"
As Chen Mu inquired about the sand disaster, Xiahou Yan's expression turned serious. He leaped onto the domed roof of the governor's mansion, designed to withstand the desert winds, and said, "True Disciple Chen, take a look."
Chen Mu stepped forward and joined Xiahou Yan on the roof, gazing into the distance beyond the pass.
From this vantage point, he could see past the pass into the vast desert. In multiple directions, there were patches of dark, swirling sandstorms, though most were still at a distance.
"The Gale Wind Intention has almost reached its peak..." Chen Mu observed the desert, his eyes flashing with a faint light.
Since entering Sand County, the Gale Wind Intention had been intensifying, while the Water Stagnation Intention had been weakening. At Yunlu Pass, they had reached a limit where one intention was diminishing as the other grew.
In an environment plagued by sandstorms and raging winds, a warrior skilled in the Xun Wind Pulse would find this place akin to a fish in water. If they were to face off against a warrior of the Kan Water Pulse at the same cultivation level, the battle would be a one-sided affair, with the former easily dominating under the extreme suppression of Heaven and Earth. They could effortlessly handle three to five opponents.
"Since the signs of the sand disaster appeared before the sun rose, the sandstorm has taken shape over the past two days. Yesterday, the pass was hit by the sandstorm, and there were also accompanying demon attacks, causing significant losses."
Xiao Houyan gazed at the sandstorm in the distance and spoke in a deep voice, "Chen Shidi might not be very familiar with Cloudfoot Pass. The pass spans over two hundred li, with a fort every one or two li along the way, all of which are guarded. Usually, they monitor the movements outside the pass, and during sandstorms, they defend against the demons within the sandstorm."
As Xiao Houyan explained, Chen Mu quickly gained a general understanding of the entire Cloudfoot Pass.
The two-hundred-li-long 'Cloudfoot Wall' was said to have been established by the founding Martial Emperor of Daxuan. When he founded the nation, he led numerous cultivators of the Gen Earth and Kun Earth Pulses to set up an array, harnessing the power of the earth's meridians to create this structure. After more than a thousand years, it has remained as the border fortress of Jade State, undergoing several repairs over the centuries and still standing strong today.
However, compared to the main sect of the Seven Mysteries Sect, the power of the earth's meridians here is much weaker, especially since most of the meridians' power is used to maintain the towering city walls spanning hundreds of zhang and stretching for hundreds of li.
Inside the two-hundred-li-long Cloudfoot Wall, there is an array connected by a single pulse, and even when the sandstorm arrives, the yellow sand cannot block the transmission of messages through this connected pulse. Along the entire wall, any fort can receive information from other forts at the first moment through this pulse.
Of course, transmitting messages through the meridians' vibrations won't be very detailed, as it's essentially just subtle vibrations between the meridians. So, the content is not very comprehensive.
At this moment, Chen Mu's entire being is connected to the pulse of the earth, and through it, he perceives a long and stable earth meridian.
Xiao Houyan, standing by, continues to explain, "If Chen Shidi's Gen Earth Concept reaches the second step, he should be able to perceive the locations of all the forts along Cloudfoot Pass. But if he wants to sense the vibrations from these forts and judge the distress signals based on that, it's not something the Gen Earth Concept can do. It would require the Earth Spirit Concept of the Five Elements, or the complete Kun Earth Concept within the Heaven-Earth Eight Aspects."
Chen Mu, listening to Xiao Houyan's words, nods slightly with his eyes closed.
He has now understood the essence of how Cloudfoot Pass uses the earth pulse array to transmit information. Essentially, each node has a small piece of the Earth Quintessence Stone, and by creating vibrations, they send messages to the main fort.
If one only has the Gen Earth Concept, it's indeed very difficult to perceive such subtle vibrations. Even nodes that are relatively further along the meridian are mostly blurry.
As Chen Mu carefully perceives each node along the meridian, he suddenly becomes slightly dazed because he senses a vibration at one of the nodes, like a plucked string.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Six rapid and consecutive vibrations travel along the meridian.
Chen Mu opens his eyes and sees several guards with their hands on the Earth Quintessence Stones, receiving messages from various locations. They all turn pale almost simultaneously, their eyes widening in unison.
"Southern Twenty-Third Fortification, Demon Attack Emergency, a Sixth-Rank Demon has appeared!"
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
