Da Xuan Martial Saint

On the official road.

A carriage moved slowly.

The driver was Xiao He, and the passengers were Chen Mu, Chen Yue, and Xu Hongyu.

At this moment, inside the carriage, Xu Hongyu and Chen Yue both sat beside Chen Mu, staring intently at something between Chen Mu's legs, each with a look of deep immersion on their faces.

There,

A map lay.

The map depicted a range of continuous mountains that seemed to convey a misty artistic conception upon viewing, giving the illusion of gazing at a magnificent mountain range with an unyielding momentum, although it was merely a picture.

This was the Gen Mountain Diagram obtained from the He family.

Chen Mu couldn't possibly carry the Kan Water Diagram with him to contemplate at any moment, but this Gen Mountain Diagram was always with him on his way to An Yu County and on the return journey.

Xu Hongyu had already grasped the Kan Water Artistic Conception, and next, whether to delve deeper into the Kan Water Artistic Conception, reach its limits in the first step, attempt to break through to the second step, or to comprehend a second type of artistic conception, was possible.

However, in Chen Mu's view, grasping a second type of artistic conception was more suitable for Xu Hongyu, as her current cultivation was only at the Minor Achievement of the Bone Tempering Realm, and comprehending the second step of the Kan Water Artistic Conception at the Bone Tempering Realm would be too difficult for her.

Moreover,

After grasping the Kan Water Artistic Conception and resolving Xu Yichuan's emotional blockage, her physique had normalized. A few days ago, Chen Mu had tested slightly, and the pervasive water essence was as soft as silk around the fingers; thus, practicing Gen Mountain should be no problem for her.

As for Chen Yue...

She actually shouldn't be trying to glimpse a higher level of Artistic Conception Map before grasping the momentum, but Chen Mu, considering that the Kan Water-related swordsmanship under Kan Water Artistic Conception might not be most suitable for her, decided to test a type of momentum derived from his insights into the Gen Mountain Diagram with her, finding that Chen Yue was more attuned to Gen Mountain Sect than Kan Water Sect.

Previously, Chen Mu had also tested Chen Yue with Xun Wind, Thunderbolt, and other methods, but none made much difference, only the Gen Mountain showed a clear difference, which puzzled Chen Mu—could it be due to Snow Mountain's development?

In any case,

After discovering that Chen Yue was closely aligned with the Gen Mountain Diagram, Chen Mu distilled a swordsmanship from his insights into the Gen Mountain Diagram and taught it to her, also allowing her to comprehend the map, though she was restricted to no more than one hour per day to avoid excessive immersion.

Xiao He alone, who practiced swordsmanship of the Kan Water Sect and had mastered the momentum, was not suited to master the Gen Mountain, so she ended up driving the carriage, feeling somewhat aggrieved. However, thinking of returning home with Xu Hongyu and Chen Mu soon marrying, she felt somewhat delighted, foreseeing her release from serving duties.

The carriage traveled slowly.

Yet it was still quite bumpy on the official road.

However, the people sitting in the carriage seemed largely unaffected by the bumps, especially the Gen Mountain Diagram between Chen Mu's legs, which did not shake at all with the bumps of the carriage.

Before they knew it, Chen Mu's attention gradually shifted away from the Gen Mountain Diagram, and with a thought, he summoned the system panel.

[Martial Arts: Gen Mountain Artistic Conception (Uncomprehended)]

[Experience: 10002 points]

[Available Derivations: 0 times]

"Finally, it's enough," he mused, looking at the system panel's description.

It had been a long time since he obtained the Gen Mountain Diagram, well over a month.

He had stayed nearly half a month in Yu City alone, then took Chen Yue to An Yu County to recognize relatives, traveling by carriage instead of carrying her on his back as he would when rushing a thousand miles a day, which took nearly ten days. After staying in An Yu County for four or five days, it had been five or six days on the return trip to Yu City.

Although after advancing into the Five Viscera Realm with the Body Tempering Method, he no longer needed to set aside time for practicing the Body Tempering Method as the Five Viscera Inner Breath would circulate on its own. Thus, he could devote more time to cultivating artistic conceptions, but he had been too busy previously.

The main delay was the half month after the annihilation of the He family due to a heap of miscellaneous tasks, which greatly delayed his cultivation of the Gen Mountain Diagram. However, along the way, taking advantage of every opportunity to comprehend and cultivate, he finally managed to accrue enough for the first derivation.

After some thought,

Chen Mu decided to exchange his experience for derivation attempts and immediately began the derivation.

Although the 'Left and Right Protectors' were beside him, comprehending a Gen Mountain Artistic Conception was no longer a surprise for the current him, especially since Xu Hongyu and Chen Yue were not outsiders.

Buzz!!!

As the system derivation commenced, Chen Mu felt in an instant that Xu Hongyu and Chen Yue beside him had disappeared, followed by the disappearance of the carriage, and what appeared before him was a desolate land.

At the horizon, seemingly out of nowhere, a range of mountains emerged.

Such majestically towering mountain ranges, even though they were far away, evoked a sense of reverence. The peaks were so high they reached into the clouds, even appearing to connect with the cerulean, lofty sky.

How profound were those mountains, as if all things on earth could be destroyed, but they would still stand there, as if even if the sky fell, they could still support it, becoming that towering pillar.

"Unmoving like the mountains..." Chen Mu murmured to himself.

Mountains represent solidity and momentum.

Among the numerous Blade Techniques, those from the Gen Mountain Lineage are the most varied because this sect emphasizes momentum the most, especially the momentums derived from Gen Mountain, which are plentifully intricate and better suited to the characteristics of the blade.

Unlike the artistic conceptions of wind, thunder, and fire.

This represents a majestic force, both defending oneself and suppressing all beings, and can even become a pillar that supports the sky.Xu Hongyu and Chen Yue were almost simultaneously startled awake.

Both of them exchanged a look of bewildered astonishment and then simultaneously turned to look at Chen Mu, feeling that Chen Mu's entire being had risen with a faint yet profound momentum, like a mountain, though it was just one man sitting there.

"Huh!"

Xiao He noticed the change and stopped the carriage.

This heavy force was not merely insubstantial momentum but had materialized and spread around, evidently affecting the entire carriage, making it suddenly much heavier, with the wheels leaving deeper marks on the official road.

"Is this... the Gen Mountain Artistic Conception?"

After stopping the carriage, Xiao He lifted the curtain and poked her head into the carriage.

Xu Hongyu nodded slightly to her and looked at Chen Mu with admiration in her eyes. This was Chen Mu, her future husband, understanding an artistic conception so easily, quietly achieving it while the carriage was in motion.

Thinking about her own days of puzzling over it, only to feel confused without grasping anything significant—though Chen Mu had started his understanding much earlier than her and was now at the Five Viscera Realm, the fact that he had silently comprehended the Gen Mountain Artistic Conception...

Xu Hongyu sat there stupefied.

For a moment, she only hoped that the children she would bear for Chen Mu wouldn't be held back because of her.

Of course, if Chen Mu knew Xu Hongyu's oddly off-track thoughts, he would probably only laugh it off. Although he had now entered the Five Viscera Realm, and his real perceptiveness indeed surpassed Xu Hongyu's, if they were on the same level, he still couldn't quite judge whether his perceptiveness compared to Xu Hongyu's was higher or lower.

But if the system panel were also considered part of his perceptiveness, probably no one in the entire world could compare to him in that regard.

Silently,

Chen Mu opened his eyes.

Then the spreading heavy artistic conception was withdrawn, and the entire carriage instantly felt as if it had thrown off a burden of thousands of pounds, returning to its initial light state.

"Alright."

Chen Mu nodded slightly to Xiao He and said, "Let's continue."

But no sooner had he spoken than he saw Xiao He, Chen Yue, and others staring dumbfounded at him. Especially Xiao He, who could only think to herself in amazement. This was an Artistic Conception, the Gen Mountain Conception at that! Even if it was just a preliminary understanding, it was the realm countless martial artists in Yu City longed for.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

To Chen Mu, however, it seemed as if nothing had happened, merely a trivial matter.

But thinking about it, it probably wasn't a big deal for Chen Mu. After all, he had stepped into the Five Viscera Realm and mastered the second steps of three kinds of artistic conceptions—wind, thunder, and fire—making him a top true disciple in the Seven Profound Sect, a truly generation-defining figure.

The carriage continued forward.

Chen Mu lowered his head and pondered over the Gen Mountain Diagram.

No wonder his reaction was so calm—comprehending a new artistic conception really wasn't much, it was just the first step, which could only add a 'quarter portion' to the might he could wield from heaven and earth's energy?

Compared to his current strength, it truly was an insignificant improvement unless the Gen Mountain Conception moved to the second step, which would be a substantial leap, providing him with 'six portions' of might.

"I wonder how much might Qian Heaven and Kun Earth provide separately,"

"And how much after merging into a complete Qiankun Artistic Conception."

Chen Mu muttered to himself.

Why the disparity in the Six Viscera Realm is so great actually starts from the Five Viscera Realm. The weakest in the Six Viscera Realm, those barely stepping into it without even reaching the second step of an artistic conception, probably possess, at most, four or five portions of might.

Whereas someone like Yan Jingqing, who is among the top, with all six visceral areas fully tempered and mastering the second steps of three artistic conceptions—with rumors even suggesting that one of his conceptions is nearing the third step—would have a might of at least twenty portions to start.

While Chen Mu was contemplating these things,

Chen Yue quietly ran up to the front of the carriage and started chatting with Xiao He, filling the air with bursts of laughter.

After a while, they suddenly heard Xiao He say, "Speaking of which, last time I went out with our young master, we even encountered a natural disaster. He said it was because I had sinned in my past life, and was being punished by the heavens."

Chen Yue covered her mouth and laughed softly, "How could Ning sister, being such a good person, have sinned in a past life?"

The two girls laughed and chatted.

Meanwhile, as Chen Mu in the carriage was pondering over the Gen Mountain Diagram, he suddenly felt slightly startled, vaguely sensing that some change was occurring between heaven and earth. So, he lifted the curtain and looked outside, but saw nothing unusual.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing Chen Mu come out with a look of perceiving something and observing the surroundings, Xiao He and Chen Yue stopped their laughter and also began looking around following Chen Mu's gaze.

But they saw the wide official road with no one around and some cultivated farmlands in the distance.

"Something seems off."

Chen Mu revealed a hint of ponderous thought.

Now, having stepped into the Five Viscera Realm, with the inner world and outer world cycling, and having advanced to the second steps of three artistic conceptions, he was very sensitive to changes in the natural world, though he couldn't immediately discern what was wrong right away.

Was it another natural disaster?

But this time, the feeling was completely unlike the previous drought. In fact, it was completely the opposite, feeling not just different, but completely unlike any type of change he'd experienced before.

Just then, Xu Hongyu also came out. She stared blankly at the sky for a moment, then extended her hand in front of her, seemingly sensing something, and said, "It seems like the essence of water in the air has become richer."

"Water essence?"

Chen Mu's mind stirred, finally realizing why he was unable to clearly judge. No wonder—it was an aspect he had never comprehended. Since the sensation was completely opposite to that of the drought and Xu Hongyu could distinctly sense an enrichment of water essence in the air,

Then, the reason was probably not hard to guess.

Tidal flood!

Now, it was just the beginning of spring, and the ice in the rivers had mostly melted. Confirming the saying, 'A year without auspicious snow is not a good year,' the first change of the spring and New Year was one of the common natural disasters—a tidal flood!