Da Xuan Martial Saint

On the bitter boat.

Enjoy new adventures at empire

The many villagers were all astonished at the passing members of the Heavenly Sword Sect, whispering among themselves in hushed tones.

"Who are those people? Are they also in distress? So many of them standing on just a log..."

"What kind of eyes do you have? Clearly, they are martial arts experts. To balance so many people on such a slender log, they must have significant backgrounds, but they probably aren't officials from the county government."

Someone stole a glance at Chen Mu's back.

If they were officials from the county government, they would certainly greet Chen Mu upon seeing him and wouldn't just pass by like this.

"Shh, I heard from my father-in-law's distant nephew's uncle that many storytellers' Martial Arts Sects seem to have come to Yu County. The group we saw just now, I think they were, what's it called... yes, Blood Hidden Pavilion!"

"I've heard about them too, but somehow, what you're saying doesn't seem right; it doesn't quite match."

A few villagers continued whispering among themselves with bowed heads.

Chen Mu ignored the discussions of the villagers behind him, not turning around until the log carrying the people from Heavenly Sword Sect had completely disappeared into the distance, where he then glanced toward that direction.

"Heavenly Sword Sect..."

He shook his head slightly.

He could not recognize the other Heavenly Sword Sect disciples at a glance, but he could instantly recognize Gu Hong, who was five feet tall and rather short, but cultivated the Heart Sword Artistic Conception, having even encountered him once in the marketplace.

At that time, he had just entered the Bone Tempering Realm not long ago, and his Artistic Conception had not yet advanced to the second step. The gap between him and Gu Hong was nearly like a chasm, but now he was indifferent towards facing a true heir of such a large sect like Gu Hong.

Just earlier.

He had vaguely sensed a probe of sword intent coming from across the river, but he paid it no mind.

He had to carefully control this boat to ensure the safe delivery of the hundred-plus villagers on board to the shore. Once he left the boat, the simple vessel would immediately capsize and sink in the raging torrent, so naturally, he had no time to concern himself with the people from the Heavenly Sword Sect.

Had the opponent perceived him as being alone and harbored any murderous intent, he would have likely just forced them back with a single strike, then prioritized getting the villagers to safety before dealing with anything else.

However,

the group from the Heavenly Sword Sect made no other movements toward him.

As long as they didn't create additional trouble, Chen Mu wasn't planning to concern himself too much. Although these Sect Disciples were here for the treasures of Earth's Veins, by traveling on the river, they did kill some monsters, which was slightly beneficial.

"Yu County, with its two rivers and six streams, in fact, each of the streams is a tributary of the two rivers. With Gu Hong from the Heavenly Sword Sect coming to Qingping River, I wonder where the disciples from the other sects have gone."

Chen Mu murmured softly to himself.

As long as the Heavenly Sword Sect and the Hehuan Sect kept the peace, there was no need to pay them much heed. Blood Hidden Pavilion, however, he always remembered their previous assassination attempt. Although it wasn't possible for him to settle scores with Blood Hidden Pavilion at the moment, such a Demon Sect that disturbed the peace and order should not exist in his view.

As for the Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion, the grudge was already formed, and whether or not he paid them any attention did not matter anymore.

It seemed like just the final strike from He Wuyou at him, but in fact, Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion had acted against him twice, not targeting him but Yan Jingqing and his backing, the Seven Profound Sect.

Now in Yu County, the Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion was fully at odds with the Seven Profound Sect, while the positions of the other few remained unclear.

Regarding this,

Chen Mu had no strong feelings, only regarding it as meeting the approach with the proper response, blocking the soldier with a shield, and covering the earth with soil.

If Meng Danyun was not afraid of the Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion, how could he fear it? The current him, unless it was some cunning plots and schemes, was not so easy to kill. In a situation where no one above the Six Viscera Realm made a move, he was not weak among the Five Viscera Realm.

Even if many people at the level of Cheng Houhua attacked him, as long as the retreat wasn't blocked, he could still retreat.

Under the condition of mastering the Wind Thunder Artistic Conception, not to mention the Five Viscera Realm, even in the Six Viscera Realm, not many could catch up with him.

Mortals should have a heart of reverence.

But reverence should be for this world of mountains and rivers, and fear should be for the vast universe!

Knowing one's insignificance, be neither arrogant nor restless, neither overbearing nor extravagant, neither humble nor haughty, be calm and measured, step by step along the path of Martial Arts, until reaching the highest step, achieving the demeanor of a Grandmaster!

Of course, the current Chen Mu, perhaps considered a figure in Yu County, was still far from the term 'Grandmaster,' often used to refer to those above the Seventh Realm 'Marrow Cleansing'.

Eventually.

The flood surged tumultuously, and the boat broke through the waves, finally reaching the high banks untouched by the floodwaters.

The many villagers stood up from the boat one after another, stepping onto the shore. The moment their feet solidly hit the ground, expressions of relief at surviving the disaster appeared on their faces, and they began kneeling towards Chen Mu still standing at the helm, steadying the boat, even weeping with joy for surviving the ordeal.

Even the older individuals, like Old Man Zhao, pulled at their young granddaughters beside them, as everyone continued to bow repeatedly towards Chen Mu.

Chen Mu did not stop the villagers' actions.

As the Metropolitan Commander of the Inspectorate, even officials three ranks or more junior to him would normally need to kneel in his presence due to etiquette, let alone out of gratitude for saving their lives, which certainly warranted such a grand gesture. Not accepting this gesture might lead the villagers to overthink.

Having received the villagers' kowtows and thanks for saving their lives, Chen Mu did not immediately leave in his boat. Instead, he sent out a signal flare, and shortly after, a troop of the Inspectorate arrived.

"These are villagers caught in the flood," he said. "I entrust them to your care. There are still hundreds trapped in the flood region. I must make a few more trips. Leave a few people here to keep watch, and I will continue to use this same route back and forth."

Chen Mu gave a few instructions to the Inspectorate's personnel.

The troops from the Inspectorate were also amazed. They had not expected that there were still survivors in the floods, let alone that it was possible to rescue them, especially by Chen Mu himself, the esteemed Metropolitan Commander.

For a moment, the officials of the Inspectorate agreed vocally while looking at the villagers covered in mud, shaking their heads inwardly, thinking that these people were incredibly fortunate to have encountered such an opportunity.

In Chen Mu's position, the life and death of a mere thousand or so villagers was hardly a significant matter. One wouldn't typically undertake such personal rescues. And everyone knew how perilous it was to rescue victims from floods; probably only a Metropolitan Commander like Chen Mu could rescue more than a hundred people at once.

If it were any other Metropolitan Commander, even knowing there were trapped villagers, they might typically choose to give up.

Shortly after.

When Chen Mu set off again in his boat, disappearing into the vast torrents, an official of the Inspectorate looked at the group of disaster-afflicted villagers and said with a snort, "Right, follow us. You lot must have ancestors watching over you from their graves to be personally rescued by that dignitary. Do you know who that man is?

Within the thousands of miles of Yu County, there are few who can defy him!"

Hearing the words of the Inspectorate's official, the villagers were even more shaken. They couldn't grasp the exact rank of the Metropolitan Commander of the Inspectorate or whether he ranked above the county magistrate. But from what the official said, they realized that Chen Mu's status was much higher than those local lords.

Old Man Zhao, stunned, couldn't help but take a breath and shakily patted his granddaughter's head, saying, "Hong'er, you must always remember that nobleman's grace."

The little girl, standing nearby, nodded her head, somewhat bewildered.

The official from the Inspectorate shook his head at this scene, thinking to himself that Chen Mu was such a figure that these commoners' gratitude was meaningless and unnecessary. However, he said nothing and quickly organized the group, leading them towards the County Government while taking roll, not daring to neglect Chen Mu's instructions.

...

Above the Qingping River.

At a certain place.

Splash!

The turbulent river exploded, and a figure leapt from the water toward the shore—it was Meng Danyun from Mysterious Heavenly Sect's Spirit Profound Peak.

Almost as she was about to land, the air beside the shore twisted, and a short sword appeared silently, suddenly firing a fierce murderous intent toward her.

"Hmph!"

Meng Danyun snorted coldly, showing no fear. With a sweep of her sword, a fierce wind howled, picking up two streams of river water and turning them into dual blades of water that crossed and chopped forward, not only blocking the short sword but also forcing its wielder to reveal himself.

It was a figure in black, wearing a blood-red mask from the Blood Hidden Pavilion.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

At that moment,

When the attack did not succeed, the figure from the Blood Hidden Pavilion immediately retreated, vanishing into the shadows once more.

Meng Danyun watched coldly as the assassin retreated, then turned her gaze toward the distance and called out, "Hua Nongying from the Hehuan Sect, hiding on the side, what brings you here?"

From a nearby patch of forest not yet submerged by the flood, a sound like silver bells tinkling came.

"I was just passing by, Sister Meng. Please don't misunderstand. But now, amid this tidal disaster, with you harnessing the advantages of the time and place so well, even Blood Hidden Pavilion's Fu Ling couldn't trouble you, nor could I conceal my presence."

As her voice faded, it grew increasingly distant, and by the time the last word fell, it seemed to be far away.

Meng Danyun stared in the direction of the forest, then slowly withdrew her gaze and looked again at the rolling river waters. She stepped out, standing directly on the surface of the water without sinking, and continued running along the river surface.

Indeed, the tidal disaster was one of the environments that best suited her.

With the Xun Wind Artistic Conception and the Autumn Wind Sense, and the Kan Water Artistic Conception also providing the 'Mosquito Falls' sense, she could now say she was aware of her surroundings in every direction. Even the true successor of Blood Hidden Pavilion would find it hard to hide from her at close range.

As for her own strength, she was naturally strong, and with the advantages of the right time and place, she feared none, including true successors like Hua Nongying.

"I didn't expect to encounter a tidal disaster; perhaps this is my opportunity," Meng Danyun thought to herself.

She had planned to return after dealing with the incident in the Purple Mist Mountains, but the sudden tidal disaster caught her off-guard. Her acute perception during the disaster was much stronger than ordinary people's, giving her a significant advantage in searching for treasures from the Earth's veins.

However, this also drew the hostility of the true successors from various sects. The recent attack by Blood Hidden Pavilion's true successor, Fu Ling, seemed like an assassination but was more of a probe to gauge her strength and see if there was an opportunity to snatch treasures from her. Of course, if her strength had been lacking, their probing might have turned into a real assassination.

In any case,

Since she had rarely encountered such a tidal disaster, she intended to explore thoroughly.

Speaking of which, according to news from Yan Jingqing, Chen Mu appeared to be in this Qingping River region as well. If she found treasures that she couldn't carry with her, she could consider seeking Chen Mu's help to store them. But then she shook her head. It would be better not to involve Chen Mu, given that various sects' disciples were active, and the situation was dangerously chaotic.

She had to be very cautious.