Chapter 229: Slaughter

Chapter 229: Slaughter

Amidst the howling winds and swirling sands, Chen Mu strode forward. With each step, the rolling yellow sands gathered beneath his feet, supporting his body and preventing him from sinking into the depths.

His cold gaze fixed on the depths of the sandstorm.

Stepping out of the city gate to engage the enemy was not a passive act of defense that made him feel stifled, nor was it a show of prowess before Xia Hou Yan and the others. Instead, he had sensed the dire situation at the city gate, where pressure was mounting from all directions.

Continuing like this, aside from whether they could hold out, even if the winds abated and the sandstorm lessened, the casualties would still be severe, something he couldn't bear to witness.

Within the raging sands, Chen Mu's figure disappeared, advancing over a dozen zhang into the depths of the sandstorm, beyond the city gate's line of sight. His eyes flashed briefly, and his entire aura suddenly faded, gradually vanishing into nothingness.

He moved forward, hidden amidst the swirling sands, sensing the surrounding energies.

...

In the midst of the sandstorm, a spiral of yellow sand gathered, supporting a sandy-colored serpent above it. This serpent was not large, only about three feet long, but its demonic energy was terrifying, clearly a sixth-rank Sand Demon.

At this moment, the serpent coiled atop the spiral of sand, hovering slightly higher than the Yunlu City Gate, its forked tongue flicking as its demonic eyes stared downward. With each twitch, sand waves gathered, forming sand balls that fell from above, crashing towards the city gate below.

Suddenly, the serpent seemed to sense something. Its movements paused, and its demonic eyes flickered with a hint of human-like doubt. Then, starting from its tail, it shook violently, its scales standing on end.

Behind the serpent, a human figure appeared, swiftly approaching it. With a sword raised in hand, a surge of heavenly might accompanied the figure as it slashed down towards the serpent!

"Hiss!"

The serpent's eyes widened in human-like terror, unaware of the threat that had approached it. In its haste, its tail lashed and whipped, the spiral of sand beneath it expanding and transforming into a storm of sand, its grains coalescing into sharp fangs that met the descending sword.

The silent and invisible sword strike was unstoppable, accompanied by an overwhelming heavenly might that parted the storm, causing the sand to collapse where the blade passed.

Clang!

With a crisp sound of metal clashing, the serpent's body was cleaved in two by the descending sword!

"Hiss..."

The severed serpent struggled, both halves falling. The front half, with its head still alive, twisted and darted out over a dozen zhang, disappearing into the sand.

The rear half of the serpent, after a violent shake, whipped towards Chen Mu, who held the sword. It was like a fierce whip, aiming to block Chen Mu's path.

However, Chen Mu's expression remained unchanged. His figure flickered, dodging the serpent's attack and disappearing into the sandstorm. When he reappeared, he had already caught up to the half-severed serpent, which was frantically fleeing.

Another sword strike descended.

The serpent, in terror, spat out demonic energy, mixing with the sand to form a sharp blade that clashed with Chen Mu's sword. But in an instant, the blade formed from demonic energy shattered, and Chen Mu's sword cleaved through its head!

The serpent's entire head split in two, and its demonic eyes dimmed.

Chen Mu's expression remained unchanged.

His figure, silent and stealthy, disappeared once more into the swirling sands.

Amidst the raging sandstorm, Chen Mu moved with ease, unaffected by the harsh environment. Here, in the Sand Demon's domain, he harnessed the power of the sandstorm, gliding through the air and completely concealing his movements. In terms of concealing his aura in such an environment, he even surpassed the Sand Phantom!

Before, this was unnecessary.

But now...

He wasn't sure if there were any threats within the sandstorm, so after leaving the city gate and entering the depths of the sand, he had gathered his heavenly energy and opened his Heavenly Firmament Concept, blending seamlessly with the sandstorm. His aura was almost indistinguishable from the sand, making it difficult to locate him, even with her unique demonic eyes. Only when he acted could she catch glimpses of his figure.

Kun Jia had finally done something right by informing her. Otherwise, in her opinion, it would have been difficult for Kun Jia and the Heavenly Corpse Sect to eliminate Chen Mu, given his formidable strength and exceptional skill in concealing his aura, which was even more effective in this sandstorm.

(End)

If Kun Jia and the others were to attempt to surround and kill Chen Mu in this sandstorm, even though Kun Jia's strength surpasses Xia Hou Yan's group, and he is stronger than Chen Mu, a slight mishap could allow Chen Mu to rely on the sandstorm to conceal his tracks. At that time, Kun Jia and the rest would be like a swarm of headless flies, let alone Chen Mu's ability to fly through the air by manipulating the wind and sand.

Fortunately.

Kun Jia called her over.

If she hadn't been there, things would have likely gone awry.

She initially disagreed with Kun Jia's decision to target the Seven Mysteries Sect's true disciples because the Heavenly Demon Sect and the Heavenly Corpse Sect were collaborating for a grand scheme. Creating unnecessary complications during such a time wasn't ideal. However, after witnessing Chen Mu's methods firsthand, she also believed that Chen Mu was someone they couldn't afford to let live. At merely the Organ Realms, he was already this formidable; reaching the Six Viscera Realm would undoubtedly make him even more troublesome.

Not to mention, Chen Mu, a genius who could potentially climb the Wind and Cloud Rankings and even become a grandmaster, would be incredibly difficult to kill, even for the Celestial Demon Ancestor, once he reached that level. He would become a significant threat.

Wu Li's eagle-like eyes flickered with demonic light as she saw the pressure on Yunlu Pass gradually lessen. She no longer lingered, immediately flapping her wings and soaring towards the distance, her mind already formulating a plan.

...

Amidst the yellow sand.

The hunched figure of the Sand Phantom, resembling an elderly human, stood twenty zhang away from the Yunlu City Gate, its eyes glinting with a hint of ferocity. Its dry, twig-like arms waved continuously, gathering demonic energy and merging it with the wind and sand to form attacks that rained down.

As several stewards were battered and disheveled, and one was swept away, spitting blood, a glint of cruelty flashed through the Sand Phantom's eyes... It only remembered when it was small, a human martial artist had dug it out from deep underground where it lived.

Its mother had exhausted her demonic energy to send it into the earth's meridians, allowing it to flow away with the earth's currents.

In the end, it survived, but its mother never returned.

It didn't know why the human martial artist had done that. It only knew that from then on, it regarded all humans as enemies. Every time it sucked human blood, it felt a sense of satisfaction, and whenever it saw humans bleeding, it felt a sense of relief.

Humans were cruel. During times without sandstorms, it dared not approach this sprawling city gate, but during sandstorms, it could wreak havoc freely, reveling in the sight of humans' misery and their inability to resist.

This scene was delightful.

Delightful...

Very...

Suddenly, the Sand Phantom froze, and the nearby wind and sand came to a standstill. Then, two irresistible forces converged, calming the wind and sand and crushing the Sand Phantom's demonic energy, as if two giant palms clapped together, crushing it.

A squelching sound echoed.

The fragile body was crushed into a bloody mess.

Chen Mu appeared behind the Sand Phantom, clapping his hands together like swatting a mosquito, looking at the crushed Sand Phantom, then tilting his head to glance upwards.

"A hallucination?"

He had a vague sense of being watched and thought this Sand Phantom had discovered him. However, judging by its reaction, it seemed unaware of his presence.

He turned to look back at the rolling yellow sand.

Shaking his head slightly.

There were numerous demons in the desert, and perhaps deep within the rolling yellow sand, there might be even stronger Seven-Rank Demon Kings... But at this moment, he felt no fear.

The Great Martial Emperor Xuan Wu categorized demons into ten ranks, with the first six ranks corresponding to the first six realms of martial artists. Although the Seven-Rank demons were called 'Demon Kings,' in reality, even the weakest grandmaster could defeat them. At most, they were on par with the Wind and Cloud Rankings.

Only Eight-Rank demons could rival the stronger grandmasters.

For him, even encountering a Seven-Rank demon was manageable, and he could retreat calmly if needed. Unless it was an Eight-Rank or higher demon, there wouldn't be much threat, but even that wasn't significant. As long as they weren't speed specialists, it was challenging to catch up with him.

In the current world, Eight-Rank and above demons were already extremely rare. Even beyond the frontier, they were scarce because demons of that level had bodies that could, to some extent, forge spirit armaments.

Once they emerged.

They would attract numerous grandmasters and even Blood Exchange Realm experts.

Humans ruling over the mountains and rivers wasn't just talk; countless powerful demons throughout history had been crushed into dust.

"That's enough."

Chen Mu clapped his hands and scanned the area within a few dozen zhang of the city gate, searching along the way but finding no traces of Five-Rank or even Six-Rank demons.

At this moment, the raging sandstorm, with the passage of time, had weakened from its initial ferocity, gradually diminishing, though still stronger than the smaller sandstorms he had experienced before. It had reached its limit.

"Time to clean up."

Chen Mu took a breath and looked downward.

Previously, to conceal his presence and tracks, he had been busy attacking demons, leaving no time to deal with the corpses. The bodies of the Five-Rank and even Six-Rank demons had fallen below the city gate.

In the 619th chapter, a look at the flawless version!

As the sandstorm gradually subsided, the pressure on the city gate eased, allowing Chen Mu to finally relax a little. He descended to search for the demon corpses, unsure if they could still be found. Although the bodies of Five-Rank and Six-Rank demons didn't meet the standards for crafting spirit armaments, their flesh, leather, and blood were still valuable. He had no immediate use for them, but in the future, upon entering the Six Viscera Realm, consuming high-quality demon meat would enhance the nourishment and tempering of his six viscera.

With this thought.

Chen Mu's feet no longer gathered wind and sand, and his entire body swiftly descended towards the base of Yunlu Pass, soon landing amidst the dust and sand. Nearby, many demons lingered, and he casually killed a few, scattering the rest.

With no interest in pursuing these scattered low-rank demons, Chen Mu walked along the hundred-zhang-high Yunlu Pass, moving forward while glancing back at the hundred-zhang-tall city gate.

"The front and back of this pass indeed feel completely different..."

Although the Mystic Earth Array focused all the earth's meridian power on maintaining Yunlu Pass and couldn't manipulate the earth's meridians to suppress the four directions like the Seven Mysteries Sect's Heaven Earth Dragon Lock, this very limitation made Yunlu Pass exceptionally resilient.

There was no pressure felt at the rear of the pass, including the top of the city gate. However, upon reaching the front of the city gate and walking directly beneath it, one could clearly sense the pressure from the earth's meridians!

This oppression.

During normal times, it was enough to deter various demons, making them dare not approach.

Even during the sand disaster, it was still effective, causing numerous demons attempting to climb the Cloud Summit Cliff to feel a heavy burden and a certain degree of suppression.

However, this pressure from the earth's meridians was limited to when they were in contact with the ground. Once they took to the air or climbed the hundred-foot-high city gate, the effect immediately vanished.

"This hundred-foot city gate has existed for over a thousand years, enduring countless sand disasters without ever being submerged. It's all thanks to this array's prowess... When faced with the might of heaven and earth, human strength will eventually reach its limits."

Chen Mu sensed the pressure emanating from beneath the ground and muttered to himself.

It was impossible for mere human strength to defend such a vast city gate spanning hundreds of li. It would likely have been eroded and buried by the wind and sand long ago. After all, martial artists cultivate their conceptual realms, and even when they reach the domain level, they merely deepen their manipulation of the power of heaven and earth.

The first step of the conceptual realm: you can see it.

The second step of the conceptual realm: you can touch it.

The third step of the conceptual realm: unity of body and mind.

Perhaps only by reaching the third step can one face heaven and earth without any trace of awe.

...

On the city gate.

Xia Hou Yan, Chu Jing Su, and the others were busy cleaning up the aftermath.

Without the attacks from the various powerful demons within the sandstorm, these Sixth Viscera Realm cultivators on the city gate freely unleashed their power, dominating and sweeping away ordinary demons in swathes.

It didn't take long before the entire city gate was cleared.

As Xia Hou Yan sensed the weakening force of the wind and sand, he paused and said, "It's finally over... Did any of you see Chen Shixiong?"

He asked Cui Sheng and the others.

Everyone shook their heads.

Xia Hou Yan furrowed his brows slightly and continued to stare into the depths of the wind and sand. Then, he spotted Chu Jing Su approaching from another direction and asked, "And you, did you find Chen Shixiong?"

"No."

Chu Jing Su shook his head.

The demons outside the city gate had stopped their harassment for some time, but Chen Mu hadn't returned, causing Xia Hou Yan and the others, who had just relaxed, to feel a hint of worry again, wondering where Chen Mu had gone.

In reality, after Chen Mu ventured deep into the yellow sand and took the initiative to attack, it didn't take long for the pressure to greatly diminish everywhere. This brought joy to everyone, for even though they barely sensed any movement, it was evident that Chen Mu's performance in the wind and sand was exceptional. Even if he couldn't kill those demons, he must have repelled them one by one; otherwise, the effect wouldn't have been so significant.

"Chen Shixiong probably wouldn't..."

Xia Hou Yan looked at Chu Jing Su, and although he didn't finish his sentence, Chu Jing Su understood his concern—he was worried that Chen Mu might have gotten carried away while pursuing and killing demons, chasing them into the desert.

Compared to the city gate's location, the desert was much more dangerous. There was a possibility of encountering a Seventh-Rank Demon King. Although Chen Mu's agility should have allowed him to escape, it was still very unsafe to enter the desert alone.

"He probably wouldn't, would he?"

Chu Jing Su hesitated slightly as he spoke.

Just as their words fell, both of them suddenly froze, their gazes turning together.

They saw that along the city gate, numerous captains and marquis, as well as disciples of Spirit Profound Peak, were all staring with wide eyes at a massive figure emerging from the gradually weakening wind and sand.

As it gradually became clearer.

They realized it was a pile of differently shaped demon corpses, stacked together like a small mountain. Among them were no fewer than ten Fifth-Rank and Sixth-Rank demons. Even in death, the lingering demonic might still made one's heart palpitate.

Below the small mountain was a hand that supported the entire 'small mountain'.

This hand belonged to Chen Mu.

They watched as he carried this massive pile of corpses, took a few steps forward, and then released them with a sweep of his hand, tossing the enormous pile of demon corpses to the side.

"These are all of them. I didn't have time to deal with them one by one while killing the demons. There may be high-ranked demon corpses buried in the yellow sand near the city gate. After the sand disaster passes, we can send people to carefully search the area below the city gate."

After putting down the mountain of demon corpses, Chen Mu also took a moment to catch his breath.

Xia Hou Yan looked at the pile of various demon corpses. At a glance, there were at least ten or more Sixth-Rank demons, and his eyes widened like copper bells.

They had initially thought that Chen Mu's best achievement would be driving away the demons in the wind and sand or killing one or two of them. But now, this was far from just killing one or two! Most of the demons in this sand disaster seemed to have been piled up here by Chen Mu!

"This..."

Even Chu Jing Su was astonished.

With his strength, he could easily handle any one of these demons, even two or three of them. If pushed to the limit, he could take on four or five. But the pile of Sixth-Rank demon corpses here far exceeded four or five!

As if sensing the doubt in Xia Hou Yan's mind, Chen Mu explained, "These demons in the wind and sand were all fighting individually. I practice a cultivation technique that allows me to conceal my aura, so dealing with them one by one wasn't difficult."

Upon hearing this.

Chu Jing Su finally relaxed, letting out a bitter laugh. "If you could kill so many demons at once, you'd probably be on the Wind and Cloud Rankings. I'd be scared to death by you... But even defeating them one by one is truly remarkable."

"Remarkable, truly remarkable."

Xia Hou Yan also examined the pile of demon corpses, nodding as he spoke.

If it weren't for the sandstorm, he could have done the same, even after guarding the frontier for so many years, the number of demons he had slain would far exceed this. But the key point was that Chen Mu had killed so many powerful demons in just one sand disaster, and he had done it during the most intense sandstorm! It was almost as if he had single-handedly calmed this sand disaster!

Clearly, Chen Mu's year and a half of secluded cultivation had not only led him to cultivate the Heavenly Firmament Concept but also improved his grasp of the conceptual realm, his combat abilities, and even some secret techniques and skills. He was far beyond the level of someone who had just cultivated the realm for a short time and was still unfamiliar with their own strength.

Not far away.

Meng Danyun's figure also arrived, glancing at the pile of demon corpses and then at Chen Mu, but she wasn't overly shocked.

This was the strength that Chen Shixiong should possess.

...

Great Martial Emperor Xuan Wu Era, 1429.

November 21st.

The sand disaster at the Yu Zhou frontier.

Ling Xuan Peak's true disciple, Chen Mu, demonstrated the second step of the Heavenly Firmament Concept during the sand disaster, killing thirteen Sixth-Rank demons and countless lower-ranked demons.

The news spread, shocking all.

(Chapter End)

Chapter end