Chapter 230: The Limits of the Five Viscera

Chapter 230: The Limits of the Five Viscera

Yunlu Pass.

The rolling yellow sand, swirling and shifting endlessly.

Chen Mu stood at the forefront of the hundred-foot city gate, gazing out at the boundless expanse of sand, his mind recalling the chaotic sandstorm he had once experienced, and the turbulent stream beneath it, resembling an endless sea.

Time passed, and his focus gradually intensified as he summoned the system interface for a quick glance.

【Martial Arts: Heaven-Earth Concept (Second Step)】

【Experience: 10,007 points】

【Available Simulations: 0】

"The unity of knowledge and action indeed yields rapid growth."

He nodded slightly, observing the changes on the system interface.

Over twenty days had passed since the largest sandstorm at Yunlu Pass, and more than a month had elapsed since the beginning of the sandstorm. With the arrival of a frosty winter, the sandstorm had gradually subsided. Standing atop the city gate, looking out into the desert, there was hardly any sign of the once-rampant sand and wind. Only occasionally, small patches of sand would swirl, but there were no traces of demonic activity.

As early as his arrival at Yunlu Pass, through the Mystic Earth Array and the study of the array formation and earth meridians for half a month, he had already accumulated over three thousand experience points. The great battle before Yunlu Pass, the sandstorm, and the city gate's collision seemed like a meeting of heaven and earth, providing Chen Mu with profound insights and nearly constant experience point gains.

After the battle, it took him several days to fully digest the insights he had gained, and the experience points skyrocketed to over eight thousand. In the following twenty days, he had accumulated a full ten thousand points, enough for one simulation!

From the time he set out to Yunlu Pass, it had only been a month and a half.

If he had stayed at the sect to comprehend the Concept Chart, it would have taken at least four to five months to accumulate ten thousand experience points.

"The desert, the marsh, the high mountains, the underground caverns, the glaciers... Perhaps, when I have traveled through all these landscapes and witnessed the grandeur of heaven and earth, my Heaven-Earth Concept will truly be complete, and I will step into the third step."

Chen Mu muttered to himself.

Without further hesitation, he turned and returned to the city gate, entering a private room. He then exchanged this ten thousand points for a simulation opportunity and proceeded with the simulation.

For him, any opportunity to enhance his strength was not to be delayed, especially since, despite being on par with the younger generation, he was still a novice on the Gale Wind Rankings and the Grandmaster path.

Take the Gale Wind Rankings, for example.

The lowest rank was held by Yan Jingqing, who had mastered both the Wind and Water Concepts, allowing him to step into the rankings. If one only mastered one of the two, they would merely possess the standards of the Gale Wind Rankings without truly earning a place on the list.

As the rankings rose, those who mastered the fusion of three Concepts, or even the Yin and Yang Concepts, still demonstrated a higher level of strength, with noticeable gaps between them.

Currently, Chen Mu's strength was likely at the bottom of the Gale Wind Rankings. However, if he could further enhance his Heaven-Earth Concept, he would have the potential to reach the middle ranks, and upon entering the Five Viscera Realm, he would swiftly climb to the upper echelons, even the pinnacle, of the Gale Wind Rankings!

Not long after.

Chen Mu opened his eyes once more.

The Heaven-Earth Qi surrounding him receded, but it was noticeably deeper than before.

He had cultivated the complete Heaven-Earth Concept, and even a single simulation, a small step forward, resulted in a more significant change in strength compared to the typical advancement from the initial to the final stage of a single Concept.

"The Heavenly Firmament Concept has advanced another step, and the efficiency of cultivating the fifth layer of the Heaven-Earth Seal should also improve significantly... But for me now, the Body Tempering Technique surpassing the Five Viscera Realm is the greatest leap in strength during this cultivation phase."

Chen Mu, sensing his transformation, nodded slightly, and then carefully examined his five viscera.

For someone like He Wuyou, who had struggled to enter the Five Viscera Realm, it was essentially a lifelong dream to step into the Six Viscera Realm. Unless they could utilize an abundance of precious treasures to enhance their Five Viscera Tempering, tempering it six or seven times, there might be a slight chance.

However, tempering the five viscera with treasures becomes increasingly challenging as one progresses, and not everyone possesses Chen Mu's ability to absorb and digest them with minimal loss.

Many cultivators, due to their inadequate foundation and insufficiently robust qi and blood, have a weak foundation in their five viscera's original spirit. After tempering the five viscera to a certain extent, not only is it challenging to further temper them, but even with the aid of precious treasures, they are unable to advance.

As for the true disciples of the various sects...

Meng Danyun, for instance, faced no pressure in entering the Six Viscera Realm.

This is because they can easily temper their five viscera eight or nine times, reaching a level where their essence energy is extremely robust, and awakening the 'original spirit' within the six viscera is effortless.

Chen Mu was no exception. Currently, he had tempered his five viscera ten times! If he wished to enter the Six Viscera Realm, it would merely require a single closed-door cultivation session, and within a month, he could not only enter the Six Viscera Realm but also complete the initial accumulation of essence energy, doubling his true essence.

Now that he had cultivated the Heaven-Earth Concept to the second step, it could be considered a complete cultivation journey, and even though he was not yet twenty-nine years old, there was no need to accumulate experience in the Five Viscera Realm for two to three years like Meng Danyun before attempting to advance. The necessary accumulation had already been achieved.

But.

What had delayed Chen Mu from beginning his Six Viscera cultivation was another reason.

On the system panel, the tenth tempering of the five viscera had not been marked as the limit!

"Skin and muscle training, sinew and bone strengthening, all have limits. Therefore, the Five Viscera Realm undoubtedly has a limit as well, but previously, almost no one could reach that limit, hence the notion that the limit was only eight or nine temperings."

Chen Mu, sensing his five viscera, had a faint glimmer in his eyes.

Days earlier, his five viscera had naturally completed the tenth tempering, a result of reaching the limits of skin and muscle training, sinew and bone strengthening, and the four limits, making the Five Viscera Realm a natural progression without requiring any deliberate effort.

After completing the tenth tempering, Chen Mu could clearly sense that no matter how much he inhaled and exhaled the Heavenly Qi within his five organs, it no longer led to further tempering or changes in them.

It was as if he were forging a weapon, and the pig iron had already been refined into high-carbon steel, reaching its limit. No matter how much more it was tempered, quenched, or hammered, it could not change its fundamental nature.

However.

Although he had already reached the limit of naturally inhaling and exhaling the power of heaven and earth, Chen Mu estimated that even if he consumed a 'Earth Essence Orb,' a heavenly-earth spirit treasure, it would still be difficult to further temper the five organs... But the system panel told him that this was not the limit.

Because when he tried to enhance himself through the system panel, it was still possible; it was just that he lacked 'experience points.'

"For the first ten temperings, I've tested with the system panel, and it gradually increased from 100 experience points to 1,000 experience points for the tenth time. But for the eleventh time, it requires 2,000 points, a doubling of the previous requirement."

Chen Mu recalled his previous knowledge.

He was unsure about the system panel's definition of the limit for the five organs realm and how many more times he could temper it.

Once, twice?

In his judgment, the tempering of the five organs realm must also have an upper limit, similar to extracting the purity of gold, from ninety percent to ninety-nine percent, and then to nine hundred and ninety-nine thousandths... The closer it gets to the limit, the more difficult it becomes, but there is always an end.

Even for ordinary people, like himself, who had reached the limit in the first four realms, it was almost impossible to touch the limit in the five organs realm. After the tenth tempering, the difficulty of further tempering was unimaginable. Even the system panel required 2,000 experience points to initiate the eleventh tempering. What about others?

It was known that the system panel provided a hundred percent lossless tempering.

For others, after the tenth tempering, it was likely that consuming a hundred 'Earth Essence Orbs' would result in less than one percent effectiveness. In such a situation, ordinary people would have to treat heavenly-earth spirit treasures as food to have a chance of completing the eleventh tempering. Even a major sect like the Seven Mysteries Sect couldn't afford such consumption.

This was something that mortal martial artists could never achieve, or at least not through ordinary methods. It was limited by the concentration of the power of heaven and earth, which human strength couldn't surpass.

But,

he could.

Although he was human, the system panel wasn't.

For him, 2,000 experience points were equivalent to four or five 'Earth Essence Orbs.' Even if the demand doubled, he could still obtain them and afford the consumption.

In Chen Mu's estimation, he was probably only two or three temperings away from the true limit of the five organs realm.

Even if the demand doubled with each step, it was still within his capacity.

"If I can also cultivate the five organs realm to its limit, then when I enter the six viscera realm, I'll naturally reach a height that no one has ever reached before." Chen Mu muttered to himself.

Five organs and six viscera.

These two realms were extremely close, and their connection was even greater than that of skin and muscle training or sinew and bone strengthening.

The foundation of the five organs directly determined the upper limit of the essence energy in the six viscera realm!

Six Viscera Realm.

The viscera are the abdomens, the hidden and stored places.

When martial artists initially step into the six viscera realm, they awaken the 'spirit' within the six viscera and begin to temper them. By utilizing the six viscera to store essence energy, they can double their essence energy compared to the five organs realm with ease!

Someone like Meng Danyun, who entered the six viscera realm with roughly 'three portions' of essence energy, would have around 'six portions' of essence energy. When she cultivates the six viscera realm to its perfect limit, it would be close to 'nine portions.'

This was her upper limit.

However, if one entered the five organs realm with a better foundation and tempered it nine or even ten times, possessing 'four portions' of essence energy, then upon entering the six viscera realm, they would directly reach 'eight portions,' and upon reaching perfection, it would be 'twelve portions.'

Chen Mu, at this moment, required a little more, probably around 'four and a half portions.' If he entered the six viscera realm now and trained for a month to initially cultivate the six viscera, his essence energy would directly reach 'nine portions.'

Upon tempering the six viscera to their perfect limit, it would be between thirteen and fourteen portions.

Skin and muscle training, sinew and bone strengthening, essence organs... Each step was a level, a process of accumulation. Falling behind at one step meant falling behind at every step, and as the realm improved, the subsequent impact would become more significant.

This was also why the gap in the six viscera realm could be so vast, with the weakest barely able to defeat a true disciple of the five organs realm, and the strongest almost capable of defeating some weaker marrow-washing grandmasters.

And Chen Mu.

Perhaps he was the only martial artist since the birth of martial arts who could see the upper limit of the five organs and even the six viscera realms.

"In two days, the sand disaster will completely dissipate, and the earth meridian will become weak. I can search for spirit treasures on the outskirts of the desert to gather enough for the eleventh tempering. If I can't find enough, I'll withdraw some from Ling Xuan Peak to make up for it..."

Chen Mu pondered in his heart.

Read the complete novel on 69shu! 6=9+shu_bar first release of this novel.

Each peak of the Seven Mysteries Peak is relatively independent, with its own resource accumulation. The main sect also distributes some resources, and as a true disciple of Ling Xuan Peak, he naturally has the qualifications to withdraw and utilize a portion of them. This is one of the benefits of being a true disciple.

Although spirit treasures like the Earth Essence Orb are rare, a vast family like the He family only found one... It's also possible that they had consumed many and only had one left, but it also shows that these spirit treasures aren't easily accumulated, even in the Seven Mysteries Sect.

After all.

Some disciples who can barely temper four or five times, if they obtain a few Earth Essence Orbs, will have the hope to temper once or twice more and enter the six viscera realm, becoming a guardian.

Every guardian, no matter how weak, is a core strength of a major sect.

So, similar to the Earth Essence Orb, these Spirit Treasures are considered strategic resources in major sects... Just like Meng Dan Yun previously advised Chen Mu not to use these resources to accelerate the tempering of his Organ Realms, it's because for True Disciples who can temper themselves eight or nine times, using these resources merely speeds up the tempering process, which has little practical significance and is too wasteful. It's far better to hand them over to the sect and then exchange them for other more needed items.

For this very reason, after becoming a True Disciple of Spirit Profound Peak, Chen Mu has never consumed his resource quota to obtain Spirit Treasures like Earth Essence Orbs to accelerate the tempering of his Organ Realms. Currently, his quota is still accumulated there.

If you calculate it.

It's estimated that he can obtain seven or eight Earth Essence Orbs or similar Spirit Treasures.

If he can acquire some more during this desert trip, then perhaps he can gather enough for the eleventh or even twelfth tempering, and according to his judgment of the Organ Realms, perhaps twelve times is the limit.

"Hoo..."

Chen Mu exhaled slowly, organizing his thoughts, then immediately composed himself and walked out of his room again, returning to the top of Cloudy Peak Pass, and continued strolling along the pass, sensing the wind and sand of the heavens and earth.

In the blink of an eye, another three days passed.

Finally, when the distant desert was almost devoid of swirling sand, a messenger found Chen Mu.

"Chen Zhentran, the Commander of the Defense invites you over."

The messenger leaped out of the pass, descended Cloud Summit Cliff, walked a distance into the desert, and approached Chen Mu, who was standing amidst a stretch of yellow sand, gazing into the distant desert. He respectfully bowed and spoke to Chen Mu.

"Okay."

Chen Mu nodded slightly, then turned around and headed back to the pass, soon returning to the headquarters of the defense.

When he arrived, he saw that including Xia Hou Yan, Chu Jing Su, Meng Dan Yun, and Zhao Zhen Chuan were all present.

"Chen Shixiong has arrived."

Upon seeing Chen Mu, Xia Hou Yan smiled and greeted him, "Come, come, Chen Shixiong, you've done an excellent job in this sand disaster. Let's have a drink from Cloudy Peak Pass."

As he spoke, he handed Chen Mu a horned cup filled with viscous, milky-white liquid that exuded a faint alcoholic aroma.

Just as Chen Mu took the horned cup.

Xia Hou Yan suddenly stepped back a few paces, raised his cup, and looked at Chen Mu with a serious expression, "On behalf of Cloudy Peak Pass and all the officers and soldiers guarding the border, I propose a toast to Chen Shixiong!"

Chen Mu glanced at the milky-white liquor in the cup, paused briefly, and said, "I merely did what I was supposed to do. Xia Hou Shixiong and all the officers and soldiers have been stationed in this impoverished land for decades, from guardians of Spirit Profound Peak to commanders of the defense, most of their years have been dedicated here."

With Xia Hou Yan's strength, if he were to go to other counties or even stay in the state capital, he could enjoy himself day and night. Yet, he has been guarding Cloudy Peak Pass for several decades, from a guardian of Spirit Profound Peak to the commander of the defense, most of his time has been spent here.

And there are even more tragic cases.

Those who died in the sand disasters, those who died resisting demons, officers, and soldiers... they will forever remain on the pass.

These sacrifices of officers and soldiers deserve a toast, those who have guarded the border for decades deserve a toast, the one who established the magnificent Cloudy Peak Pass deserves a toast, and the one who still maintains the abundant earth meridian of Cloudy Peak Pass deserves a toast.

As for him, he's just a coincidence, coming here, coming to Cloudy Peak Pass, handling a somewhat dangerous sand disaster, that's all.

After a brief silence in the headquarters, Zhao Zhen Chuan's voice broke the quietness.

"Xia Hou Shixiong indeed deserves a toast."

"All the officers and soldiers who resisted this sand disaster, all the fellow disciples, deserve a toast."

"That's right, let's drink, drink!"

Xia Hou Yan burst into laughter and took the lead in drinking.

Chen Mu, Chu Jing Su, Zhao Zhen Chuan, and the others also raised their cups, even Meng Dan Yun took a sip, seeming to find the milky-white wine quite delicious, so she swallowed two more mouthfuls and finished it.

After the alcoholic warmth rose, a faint blush appeared on her cheeks, but it quickly subsided as she circulated her inner energy.

The drinking session didn't last long.

After everyone had drunk three rounds, Xia Hou Yan took the initiative to speak, "The sand disaster is over, and the earth meridian in the desert is loosening, which is an opportunity for exploration. Some stewards and inner disciples have already gone to the outskirts of the desert, and we can also take action soon."

Chu Jing Su spoke calmly, "In the heavens and earth, calamities and blessings are intertwined. Now that the disaster is over, it's time to seize opportunities."

Meng Dan Yun also said, "Yes, I've just entered the Six Viscera Realm, and I do need some resources."

"I also want to go, but unfortunately, I have other important matters, so I can't go to the desert to seek opportunities. I can only pass for now."

At this moment, Zhao Zhen Chuan shook his head.

Everyone was slightly taken aback.

"Zhao Shidi, what's the urgent matter? Do you need our assistance?"

Chu Jing Su looked at Zhao Zhen Chuan and asked.

Zhao Zhen Chuan burst into laughter, "Chu Shixiong, you can't help with this... um, my wife's due date is approaching. It's in about half a month, so after handling the sand disaster, I'll immediately return, just in time."

Upon hearing this, Chu Jing Su also laughed, "So that's the case, congratulations, Shidi."

Xia Hou Yan and Meng Dan Yun also laughed and congratulated Zhao Zhen Chuan. Meng Dan Yun seemed to think of something and suddenly looked at Chen Mu with a strange gaze.

Chen Mu also congratulated Zhao Zhen Chuan with a bow, noticing Meng Dan Yun's gaze. He couldn't help but glance at her, thinking that childbirth for martial artists is already difficult, and he didn't have the intention to have children at the moment. Perhaps Hong Yu will be able to break through the Organ Realms in the future, but if she has a child for him, it will delay her cultivation progress for a year. He hopes that Hong Yu will prioritize her martial arts first.

Even now.

He still doesn't have the urgent desire to have children, after all, he hasn't reached the point where he needs descendants to inherit his martial arts will, not to mention that his descendants are unlikely to have his talent and understanding. It's not too late to consider this in a couple of years.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end