Da Xuan Martial Saint

Xiahou Yan shared a smile with everyone, then opened his mouth with a somewhat sighing tone.

The laughter gradually faded from the crowd.

In Chen Mu's mind, thoughts began to drift for a moment.

Xiahou Yan was sixty-seven this year. Although he had cultivated his Six Viscera to Perfection, since he had not become a grandmaster, his strength would gradually decline after he passed the age of one hundred and would approach the end of his lifespan by the age of one hundred and twenty.
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Of course, compared to the average lifespan of less than forty years for those ordinary people in these chaotic times, even the infants born this year might not live as long as Xiahou Yan. A martial artist's journey of cultivation was ultimately different.

Not long ago,

Chen Mu received a letter from Yu County at the Seven Profound Sect. It was written by Xu Hongyu, with words from herself, Ning He, Chen Yue, Yu Ru, and others, for him. It also mentioned that Yu Jiujiang could no longer maintain the circulation of his Five Viscera Inner Breath.

The aged Yu Jiujiang had finally reached that step, unable to maintain the circulation of his Inner Breath, he could no longer retain the strength of the Five Viscera Realm. The next step would be the gradual decline of his Qi-Blood, slowly progressing towards the end of his lifespan.

So, what about his future self?

This thought flashed through Chen Mu's mind, but he quickly shook his head slightly and cast it aside, for it was still too far off for him. At present, he was still a promising talent listed in the young heroes' records, unarguably part of the young generation in the Martial World.

With Yu Jiujiang's withdrawal, he had completely bid farewell to the affairs of the Martial World, but his own era had just begun.

"What is Brother Xiahou talking about? You have a large and prosperous family, and among your most outstanding grandchildren, one has recently entered the Inner Sect of Spirit Profound Peak, to continue your martial arts will. Who knows, he might be the next true successor in the future."

Zhao Zhenchuan broke the silence in the stone chamber.

With that, the atmosphere livened up again, and Xiahou Yan broke into a wide grin, saying, "Indeed, that kid is exactly like I was at his age, even better. He might even become a grandmaster one day, and this old man will probably live to see that day."

The group exchanged smiles, their gaze shifting around. However, whenever their eyes turned toward Meng Danyun, they would quickly look away since Meng Danyun was not the youngest among them, but the only one without a family.

"..."

Meng Danyun fell silent for a moment, her eyes on Xiahou Yan's graying temples, a complex mix of thoughts crossing her mind. If in the future she too ended up halted before the Mysterious Pass... perhaps she should find someone to have a child with, to pass on the martial arts will?

But that thought was fleeting.

She was only a few years older than Chen Mu, not yet having fully tempered her Six Viscera to Perfection, still before reaching the threshold of the Mysterious Pass. Such thoughts would only wear down her martial will. Her martial path outweighed all else, and the rest was not worth dwelling on for now.

While the people in the stone chamber were either organizing their thoughts or chatting about their families, the guard attuned to the fluctuations of the Earth's Veins suddenly stood up, drawing everyone's focused attention.

"To the south at Forty-five Pass, a sandstorm approaches with a Fifth Rank demon!"

The news of the sand disaster was met with an immediate change of expression from Xiahou Yan, Chen Mu, and the others, as they composed themselves and became somber. Xiahou Yan's voice was calm as he said, "Understood."

A Fifth Rank demon attacking was not usually a call for backup, especially since many of the Spirit Profound Peak's fighters had arrived and were patrolling and defending the area. Among them were many stewards of the Five Viscera Realm.

A call for help indicated that either the quantity was larger than usual or there were other reasons.

"Since Brother Chen has already made a trip, I'll handle this one."

Chu Jingsui volunteered.

"Okay."

Xiahou Yan nodded slightly toward Chu Jingsui.

Chu Jingsui turned and left, soon disappearing within the stone chamber.

Xiahou Yan turned to Chen Mu with a serious expression, saying, "Brother Chen, since you've mastered the Qian Heaven Artistic Conception, your movement technique is surely extraordinary. In terms of speed, we're probably not your match. You might have to work hard dealing with this sand disaster."

"This is my duty, no trouble at all."

Chen Mu replied with a calm demeanor.

Xiahou Yan nodded, then turned to Zhao Zhenchuan and Meng Danyun, saying, "Brother Zhao, Sister Meng, please be responsible for patrolling the north and south lines. Brother Chen's movement is faster, so he will stay at the main pass to provide timely support where needed."

"Sure."

"Mm."

Zhao Zhenchuan and Meng Danyun had no objections, each nodding before leaving the stone chamber.

Although Chen Mu was not a Six Viscera Realm protector, having displayed the Qian Heaven Artistic Conception to kill a Sand Demon, his strength and status were no different from that of a Six Viscera Realm, so there was no issue with him being responsible for overseeing the main pass and supporting everywhere else.

After assigning a few Six Viscera Realm protectors to their tasks, Xiahou Yan turned to Chen Mu, saying, "I will go out to inspect the sand disaster situation. Brother Chen, you stay here. If anything arises, you may decide to provide support without first reporting to me."

"All right."

Chen Mu responded to Xiahou Yan and watched as he left the stone chamber, then let his gaze sweep around the chamber several times, finally resting on the core of the Mysterious Primordial Earth Formation. He walked over, placed a hand on the Earthly Elemental Stone, and began to deeply sense it.

[Martial Art: Qiankun Artistic Conception (Step 2)]

[Experience: 781 points]

[Available deductions: 0 times]

Since his arrival at Yunlu Pass, his experience and insights had increased significantly. As he knew, sand disasters were longer-lasting than droughts, cold disasters, and the like, usually continuing for over a month. By dealing with the sand disaster while sensing the changes in nature, perhaps he could gain a substantial amount of experience in just one month.

The gap between the second and third steps of the Artistic Conception was exceedingly vast, yet with gradual understanding and accumulation, by striving, little by little, even water can wear through stone, someday he would be able to cross that threshold.