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Chapter 255: Descending the Mountain
Chapter 255: Descending the Mountain
Seven Mysteries Sect.
Main Hall.
The majestic hall, adorned primarily in golden red, exuded grandeur. Inside, eight figures stood tall, each representing the masters of various peaks and several grandmasters.
Grandmasters rarely stayed within the sect for extended periods. They were either exploring the outside world or secluded in closed-door cultivation. While Seven Mysteries Sect had more than eight grandmasters, having eight of them gathered at the same time was already a rare occurrence.
"The chaos in Ice State is intensifying. It seems that Heaven Corpse Sect and Heaven Demon Sect are determined to rely on the foreign tribes beyond the pass. They aim to seize control of a state for themselves."
"I believe the foreign tribes are just using Heaven Corpse and Heaven Demon Sects to invade and test the might of Northern Capital Prefecture and Northern Cold Province. Once they sense real resistance, they'll retreat beyond the pass."
"Northern Capital Prefecture's stance is unclear. They might want to weaken Ice Absolute Palace by letting Heaven Corpse and Heaven Demon Sects drain its resources. Or they might want to pressure Ice Absolute Palace into submitting to Northern Capital Prefecture's rule."
Voices echoed within the spacious hall as various peak masters and elders engaged in discussions.
Qi Ziyuan stood in the main position, listening to the elders and peak masters' debates. Shaking his head, he said, "Mystic Mechanism Pavilion has recently calmed down significantly. They've even made concessions in areas where conflicts once existed, taking the initiative to compromise with us."
A hint of dim light flickered in his eyes.
Amidst the chaos, each with their own agenda, nothing more, nothing less! Heaven Corpse Sect aims to plunder enough corpse resources to create a vast army of corpse soldiers. Heaven Demon Sect desires to feed on the people of a state, strengthening themselves. The foreign tribes beyond the pass abduct people for resources like grain, oil, and iron, and capture women to bear their children.
"Mystic Mechanism Pavilion's retreat is nothing more than a strategy to lure Seven Mysteries Sect into the conflict. With the situation in Ice State in disarray, they hope Seven Mysteries Sect will join the battle against Heaven Corpse, Heaven Demon, and the foreign tribes. Hence, they've changed their usual stance, actively retreating in various places."
"Heaven Corpse and Heaven Demon Sects have remained hidden for years, their strength remains unknown. As for the foreign tribes, there's no need for explanation. If they were united, they'd be stronger than any single sect. But they remain divided into multiple tribes, never merging. Even if we rush to Ice State's aid, we might not be able to expel all three forces beyond the pass."
"Ice Absolute Palace has sought our assistance three times. Their situation indeed seems dire. We can't fight alone, though. Mystic Mechanism Pavilion's concessions are not enough. They must also contribute and join us in Ice State."
"Don't expect Mystic Mechanism Pavilion to go to Ice State. They're just a bunch of hypocrites, pretending to be righteous while doing shady deeds. It's better to ask Heaven Sword Sect; there's a slight chance they might agree."
Someone in the hall scoffed.
Over the past few years, while conflicts between Mystic Mechanism Pavilion and Seven Mysteries Sect have been contained within a certain range and not escalated, they've still harbored some grudges, occasionally leading to clashes between grandmasters.
Qi Ziyuan shook his head, listening to the chaotic hall. "Let's set aside Ice State for now. But we can't ignore the situation in Lang Prefecture. We need to send more people there. Moreover, the guardians alone are insufficient to maintain order. Who among you is willing to go to Lang Prefecture?"
Lang Prefecture, located in Crystal State, bordered Ice State. It has already been affected by the turmoil in Ice State, with refugees fleeing there. Moreover, Heaven Demon Sect, and even Heaven Corpse Sect, are active in various border areas.
The elders in the hall looked at each other.
Soon, a voice broke the silence. "I'll go."
The speaker was Earth Profound Peak's master, Shi Zhenyong, dressed in a simple yellow garment.
"Good, then we'll rely on Shi Zhenyong." Qi Ziyuan nodded slightly towards Shi Zhenyong. "This time, Shi Zhenyong, your role is more about maintaining order and deterrence. It's best to act openly, officially as the 'Inspector' of Crystal State, managing all affairs in Lang Prefecture."
Among the grandmasters of Seven Mysteries Sect, Shi Zhenyong wasn't particularly young, but neither was he old. At over eighty years old, he was in his prime as a grandmaster, with a perfected martial body and control over his domain. He might not match up to top grandmasters like Qin Mengjun, but he had the ability to retreat when facing them, ensuring he wasn't defenseless.
Of course.
Qi Ziyuan understood Shi Zhenyong's willingness to go to Lang Prefecture. It wasn't out of pure altruism or righteousness; he wasn't like Yan Jing Qing... It was mainly because Shi Zhenyong had family affairs in Lang Prefecture, where the Shi family had always been the top clan.
This discussion, while named as such, Qi Ziyuan knew everyone had differing opinions, making a unanimous decision nearly impossible. As he was only the 'Acting Sect Master,' his primary goal was to have Shi Zhenyong go to Lang Prefecture. Regardless of Ice State's chaos, at least Lang Prefecture must remain stable within a certain range, not falling into disarray.
Seven Profound Mountain Range.
Chen Mu stood in a valley, moving his fists and feet as if he were an ordinary martial artist, with every action seemingly natural and following some mysterious trajectory in the heavens and earth.
As he moved, the nearby air rippled like a pond, creating visible ripples that gently swayed the nearby flowers and leaves without any significant disturbance.
"So this is the Flower-Fall Without Trace technique."
Chen Mu nodded slightly as he observed the changes in the surrounding heaven and earth while practicing his movements.
The technique Qin Mengjun had taught him was indeed extraordinary, allowing him to seamlessly integrate his Essence Energy into the power of the heavens and earth, silently dissolving it within a four to five zhang radius around him.
"It's a method of controlling Essence Energy, but I think it's more like a 'prototype domain'."
Chen Mu stopped his movements and waved his hand in the void before him.
The air rippled like a pond, creating visible ripples that quickly disappeared.
In reality, this was a manifestation of his internal Essence Energy, integrating with the heaven and earth within a four to five zhang radius, creating a 'miniature domain', albeit with a limited range.
Additionally, compared to a true martial domain's absolute control, this Flower-Fall Without Trace technique lacked the same level of suppression. It couldn't compare to a genuine domain, as it only had an effect within a four to five zhang radius.
Like Qin Mengjun's Heavenly Sky domain.
Within a three-chi radius around her body, she could truly isolate all forces except for the Heavenly Sky, creating a genuine separation of eight parts Heavenly Sky to two parts other forces.
Three-chi radius, eight parts separated, this had little meaning. If it could affect a forty to fifty zhang area, it would be a pseudo-domain, capable of exerting a certain level of suppression. Within a three-chi radius, it could only enhance oneself, but fortunately, he didn't need this enhancement, as he cultivated the complete Heaven-Earth Concept, allowing him to utilize any type of heaven and earth force.
"Heaven-Earth Rotation."
Chen Mu's eyes flashed slightly, maintaining the Flower-Fall Without Trace technique while simultaneously manifesting the Heaven-Earth Concept, further transforming the surrounding heaven and earth force into the Heavenly Sky force.
Flower-Fall Without Trace, Heaven-Earth Rotation.
As these two forces combined, Chen Mu's Heavenly Sky force rose to a new level, transforming into a nine-to-one separation, with the Heavenly Sky force occupying nine parts and the other forces combined occupying one part.
At this moment.
With a slight flash in his eyes, Chen Mu tapped his foot lightly on the ground), and his entire body floated up into the air, landing on a branch ten zhang high, standing on a green leaf.
The branch bent slightly under his weight, but it supported Chen Mu's body, allowing him to stand on the green leaf!
One's weight comes from the Earthly Ground, and by completely isolating the Earthly Ground, one could, like Qin Mengjun, float in the air, even if they couldn't entirely isolate it, they could still isolate it to a 'nine-to-one' ratio or lower, making their entire body as light as a feather.
As Chen Mu tapped his foot lightly, his entire body floated off the leaf, and with just a light tap of his foot, ripples appeared in the air as he soared into the distance. Despite the absence of wind, clouds, or anything to support his flight, at this moment, his body felt as light as a feather, and even with just a light tap of his foot, he could still move forward in the air.
"Although it doesn't have the effect of suppressing others, this Flower-Fall Without Trace technique has become too flexible for my personal use. It's a shame I didn't learn this technique earlier."
Chen Mu sighed inwardly.
Although cultivation is an individual pursuit, there are times when a master's guidance is indeed necessary.
Without Qin Mengjun's guidance, he still didn't know when he would discover the profound secrets of Flower-Fall Without Trace and its connection to the Heaven-Earth Concept.
Compared to the Heavenly Earth Wheel Seal, Flower-Fall Without Trace is more widely known and accessible to the masses. However, not many people cultivate it because without the synergy of the Heaven-Earth Concept and the Heavenly Earth Rotation, its effectiveness is limited.
In the 16th book, he found an uncorrected version!
Being widely known doesn't necessarily mean it's inferior.
This discovery challenged Chen Mu's understanding of martial arts.
"Alright, it's about time to descend the mountain."
Chen Mu's thoughts flashed through his mind as he returned to the ground and headed towards the distant path.
Flower-Fall Without Trace is much simpler than the Heavenly Earth Wheel Seal, consisting of only three layers. After a month of cultivation, Chen Mu had initially cultivated the first layer, effortlessly infusing his Primordial Energy with the power of Heaven and Earth.
The second and third layers are focused on developing pseudo-domains.
In fact, Chen Mu had come across this technique before, but he had only glanced at it, seeing descriptions of pseudo-domains and the like. He had only read a few lines before putting it aside, for with his discerning eye, he knew that he would eventually cultivate a true martial domain, and in the future, he would also cultivate the Heaven-Earth Domain, so he didn't pay much attention to it.
Flower-Fall Without Trace?
What is that? He was unfamiliar with it.
But following Qin Mengjun's guidance, after cultivating it, he had only two words to describe it—truly exquisite.
Aside from that, at the very least, after cultivating this technique, he not only gained the ability to 'Floating Walk', but his speed and agility also improved, greatly increasing his flexibility.
If before, when facing a top-tier sect, he had to consider whether he could outpace his opponent, but now, he need not worry too much, unless it was a top-tier sect that specialized in 'speed', otherwise, no one could match his speed, not even Qin Mengjun, who might be faster when flying in the sky, but on the ground, Chen Mu's ability to shrink and move through the earth was unparalleled.
Soon.
Chen Mu returned to his residence.
There wasn't much he needed to pack, as he had always lived simply in the Seven Profound Sect.)
After a brief preparation.
Chen Mu climbed up to the peak once more, intending to visit Qin Mengjun again and inform her of his departure.
However, when Chen Mu arrived at the rear cliff, he happened to encounter Meng Danyun, who was standing respectfully beside the mountain rock, as if she had been waiting for a while, while Qin Mengjun seemed lost in her thoughts.
Meng Danyun noticed Chen Mu.
She bowed slightly towards Qin Mengjun and then quietly retreated a distance, joining Chen Mu by his side.
"Senior Brother Chen."
"Is Senior Sister Qin lost in thought again?"
Chen Mu looked at Meng Danyun and asked.
Meng Danyun nodded slightly, saying, "I've been waiting for a while... The sect has issued an order, dispatching me to Lang Prefecture, and Senior Brother Chu has also received a transfer order. Senior Brother Chen, have you received one too?"
"No."
Chen Mu shook his head, saying, "I've only recently entered the Six Viscera Realm, so the sect shouldn't be in a hurry to assign me. Are you and Senior Brother Chu both going to Lang Prefecture? That must be related to the Ice State."
Meng Danyun said, "Yes, it's said that the borders of Lang Prefecture are unstable, with frequent appearances of the Heaven Demon Sect and traces of the Heaven Corpse Sect. We need to guard against these threats and also manage the refugees fleeing the Ice State due to the unrest. There's a shortage of manpower."
After hearing Meng Danyun's words, Chen Mu fell silent for a moment, then sighed.
He had clashed with both the Heaven Demon Sect and the Heaven Corpse Sect, and though he hadn't heard much about the foreign tribes beyond the pass, he could imagine the suffering and hellish conditions in the Ice State.
Having lived at the bottom, he had a deeper understanding than those high-ranking sect elders.
The foreign tribes beyond the pass were strong, and the Heaven Demon Sect and Heaven Corpse Sect were not weak, but if the Eleven States of the Cold Province united, they could easily sweep them away, and they wouldn't even need half the effort of the sect to do so. Even the Ice State could be quickly pacified.
Unfortunately, the various forces in the Cold Province couldn't unite, each harboring their own agendas.
Chen Mu didn't say much more.
Now, though he had gained some strength, wanting to pacify the unrest in the Ice State was a fanciful tale, and wanting to unite the Eleven States of the Cold Province was an impossible dream. All he could do was focus on his own cultivation, holding the sword in his hand.
Since the Seven Profound Sect had not issued any orders for him, he temporarily put aside thoughts of the Ice State and, along with Meng Danyun, waited for Qin Mengjun to awaken, each reporting to Qin Mengjun before departing, one heading south and the other north.
(End of Chapter)
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