Chapter 157 Approaching

"Brother Mu."Wang Ni, holding a stack of clothes for changing, looked at Chen Mu who was coming up from the silent chamber below and showed a hint of curiosity. However, she did not ask anything, and instead served Chen Mu with gentle care as he bathed and changed clothes.

Chen Mu did notice the curiosity in her eyes, so he asked, "What is it?"

Wang Ni shook her head slightly and said softly, "Nothing much, it's just that Brother Mu seems a bit different from before..."

At these words, Chen Mu turned to Wang Ni with a touch of surprise. He hadn't deliberately concealed his aura here, but Wang Ni had never practiced martial arts—could she discern the changes from his breakthrough to the Five Viscera Realm? He had never thought the girl was anything special. In the past, he had even tested her bones and aptitude, which were of a normal, moderate type.

"What did you see?"

A few thoughts quickly passed through Chen Mu's mind as he looked at Wang Ni and asked.

However, Wang Ni's answer made Chen Mu laugh in spite of himself. She said timidly, "It just feels like... um, Brother Mu seems a bit more... relaxed, maybe?"

After a moment of surprise, Chen Mu couldn't help but laugh.

Wang Ni wasn't sensing changes in his aura; instead, as a servant girl attending to him day and night, she was more keenly aware of his emotions.

Relaxed?

Perhaps. Explore stories on empire

After the breakthrough to the Five Viscera Realm, he indeed felt as if the sea was vast for the fish to leap and the sky was high for the birds to soar. At this realm, he could travel alone to another state; no matter what disasters he encountered, he had a certain ability to cope.

Though in the surging waves of this chaotic world, he was still far from reaching safe shores, compared to those below the Five Viscera Realm who could only drift with the current, he at least had some qualifications to withstand the wind and waves now.

Just like the rise of the four great families in Yu County.

In fact, they were Stewards of the Seven Profound Sect, several individuals from the Five Viscera Realm who chose to establish a clan in the remote Yu County after retiring from advanced age, gradually developing until they formed what are now the four families.

Individuals of the Five Viscera Realm,

In retreat, they could thrive in remote areas and build up a great family.

In advance, they could travel across a state or even to another state to gain experience and adventure.

"You're fourteen this year?"

Chen Mu looked at Wang Ni in front of him. The girl had changed a lot compared to many years ago when she first followed him. She had grown into a graceful and attractive young woman, even her figure developing quite noticeably.

In fact, mainly because she ate well, dressed well, and slept well, she grew well. If she were still living in the impoverished lanes of the Ninth District, going hungry and full interchangeably, by this age she would be at least skinny, not to mention whether her body could be well-developed.

"Mhm."

Wang Ni, with a bath towel in her arms, followed by Chen Mu's side, watching as he stepped into the bathing tub. Hearing Chen Mu asking about her age, her cheeks blushed slightly as she softly replied.

After pondering for a moment, Chen Mu said, "Well, it's about time..."

About time? For what?

Wang Ni's heart suddenly skipped a beat, her thoughts wandering, not daring to look at Chen Mu. She felt both shy and timid, with some faint anticipation.

By this age, she had roughly understood both what she should and what she shouldn't. A maid like her, who served a male master closely, wouldn't have any reason to leave to marry in such times. Either she would remain Chen Mu's servant girl for life, becoming an old housekeeper in the courtyard when she aged, or if given the opportunity to further her status, become Chen Mu's concubine.

If she could bear Chen Mu a son or daughter in the future, she would be a branch of the 'Chen' family lineage.

However.

Even just as a serving maid by his side, she knew just how outstanding and formidable "Brother Mu" was. Those who wished to become Chen Mu's concubines would probably have to queue up indefinitely in Yu City, so she never dared to expect too much. Besides, Chen Mu had always been good to her, treating her like a brother as well as a master.

She was willing to be his little maid for the rest of her life.

Chen Mu had no idea that his brief comment had spun Wang Ni's thoughts in circles. After a slight pause, he said:

"Well, in a few days, you should go to the Yu Family Martial Arts Institute to practice martial arts. Yue'er will take you with her."

In the future, if the family and business grew larger, the maids and servant girls who came later would, for the most part, not have the honor of learning martial arts. On one hand, practicing martial arts required money and resources, and on the other hand, if all the servants knew martial arts, it would create chaos.

The Yu Family, for instance, basically separated Protectors and servants. The Protectors were Protectors, and the servants were servants. Without important reasons, Protectors could only patrol around the front yard and outside, and were not allowed to enter the back yard at will.

After all, there was one world above and another below. Ever since he practiced the sword and reached Momentum, his martial skills rose, and he gradually moved from a lowly servant to a master above. He has since paid less attention to the finer details of the lower layers.

However.

In this place, no one would dare to bully the maidservants of his household anyway.

It was not necessary for Wang Ni to be highly skilled in martial arts. A basic level of Skin Toughening and Body Refinement, a bit more strength to easily handle those untrained servants from the outer courtyard, would generally be enough, allowing her to deal with many trivial matters herself.

"...Ah?"

Wang Ni, upon hearing Chen Mu's words, seemed to have not quite reacted, looked up at Chen Mu and uttered an 'Ah' in confusion, her small face still flushed with a hint of shy redness. Searᴄh the NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Chen Mu immediately knew what Wang Ni's little mind was thinking, but did not mind it. In such times, it was normal for girls to mature early, especially servant girls. In this era, an ordinary commoner living past fifty was considered to have had a 'long life'.

"What's the matter, don't want to learn?"

Chen Mu looked at Wang Ni and spoke in an even tone.

Only then did Wang Ni come to her senses, nodding her head somewhat awkwardly, "I do want to, ah, no… Thank you, Brother Mu, for the cultivation. Ni'er will listen to whatever Brother says."

It was only halfway through her sentence that she realized that being able to practice martial arts as a maid or servant was an extraordinary blessing in these times.

Only then did Chen Mu smile, stretching out his hand wet with water and flicked Wang Ni's forehead lightly, causing a few droplets to splash, "Once this is over, I'll mention it to the Martial Arts Institute."

"Mmm-hmm."

Wang Ni's face flushed as she responded with a sound, a hint of joy also arising in her eyes.

Being able to learn martial arts alongside her master signified a completely different status, though she did feel a bit of regret that she wasn't able… Maybe it was because she was too young, Chen Mu didn't like it?

Chen Mu, however, didn't bother to decipher the jumbled thoughts in Wang Ni's mind. The Yuan Gang True Essence within his body stirred slightly, shaking off all the dust and leftover medicinal residue from his skin's surface during his earlier practice, which he then washed away in clean water before stepping out of the bucket.

Wang Ni had been serving him closely for a long time and picked up on even the slightest change in his mood. Although it was unlikely that others could detect it, it was better for her to pay a bit more attention.

Speaking of which.

The Hehuan Sect also seemed to be harboring some interesting intentions. Hua Nongying knew that he had mastered the second step of the Thunderclap Artistic Conception, but so much time had passed, and this information had never spread. Clearly, Hua Nongying was deliberately concealing it.

The purpose was mostly twofold: first, the situation in Yu County was unclear, and the Hehuan Sect might be collaborating with the Seven Profound Sect, hence giving him a temporary favor.

Second, Hua Nongying probably couldn't wait for the likes of Blood Hidden Pavilion and Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion to take action against him due to some conflict of interest, only to suffer a huge loss due to inaccurate intelligence—that would truly be a delight to see.

In any case, the machinations of these Hehuan enchantresses were incredibly cunning.

However…

The intelligence Hua Nongying was hiding had already become outdated in just a short two months.

While pondering these matters, Chen Mu let Wang Ni dry his body with a bath towel and change into fresh clothes before he stepped out the door and headed towards the Prefectural Government.

It had been several days since he had visited the Demon-Slaying Office, and he wondered if Meng Danyun was still there.

This disciple had come to Yu County to undergo training and was likely in hiding to prepare for the later actions against the remnants of the Heavenly Corpse Sect, serving as a backup plan for Yan Jingqing. Now, with the situation in the Purple Mist Mountains intensifying, Meng Danyun could leave at any moment.

As expected.

When Chen Mu arrived at the Demon-Slaying Office, Meng Danyun's figure was nowhere to be found in the several Silent Chambers underground. The place was empty, and she had only left a message for him: when he needed to visit the Seven Profound Sect later, he could just look for her.

Chen Mu had a rather good impression of this Senior Sister Meng. She didn't have the overbearing attitude typical of a main sect's true disciple and had taken good care of him. Her guidance and sparring over the past two months had allowed him to grasp many subtleties in deploying Artistic Conceptions.

In the past, for him, Artistic Conception was merely a concept of strength.

However, Meng Danyun's guidance made him understand that the might of Artistic Conception varied in strength, yet regardless of their potency, each had its characteristics.

For example, the Artistic Conception of 'Blood Fiend' was at its most powerful in narrow spaces, amidst a scene of corpses strewn everywhere and rivers of blood. Under such advantageous conditions, it could even assassinate opponents of the Yin Yang and Five Elements calibers.

Take the Thunderbolt Artistic Conception for example.

It was not only effective against the external influences of demons like Blood Fiend and ecstatic indulgences but was also extremely adept at speed. Someone who had mastered only the Thunderbolt Artistic Conception might not be able to match those who practiced Heart Sword or Heavenly Sword, but if its characteristics were fully utilized, there would be few who could catch up once they fled.

Within the Seven Profound Sect, there were some secret techniques related to the Thunderbolt Artistic Conception, such as 'Thunder Trace Seven Steps' and so on.

Similarly, the 'Kan Water' Artistic Conception not only focused on nurturing life but also had unpredictable abilities of transformation. Some special secret techniques controlling the Kan Water Artistic Conception could use the reflection of water to create an almost flawless 'Illusory Body' to deceive others.

It was just unfortunate that there were no such secret techniques in Yu County.

Yu Jiujiang did possess some, but those he knew were all part of the Kan Water lineage.

During these past two months, Meng Danyun, who mastered the Xun Wind Artistic Conception, also taught him a secret technique called 'Riding the Wind,' which was a skill to better exploit the Xun Wind Artistic Conception and improve 'speed.'

Chen Mu did not waste Meng Danyun's efforts. In just over a month, relying on his unparalleled talent for understanding, he mastered this secret technique up to the second layer, catching up with Meng Danyun's progress.

The third layer, which corresponded to the second step of the Xun Wind Artistic Conception, could not be mastered according to the system panel which indicated 'insufficient basic conditions.' Hence, Chen Mu had to give up and turn his focus back to cultivating the Xun Wind Artistic Conception.

Chen Mu made another visit to the Inspectorate.

He did not find Meng Danyun at the Inspectorate either, nor did Yan Jingqing issue any new orders to him. However, the personnel at the Inspectorate noticeably diminished, giving the impression that a significant change was imminent.

"Senior Sister Meng should have gone to the Purple Mist Mountains."

"The other two Metropolitan Commanders of the Inspectorate aren't in the city either, they must have gone there as well. Only I have not received Yan Jingqing's instructions; perhaps he intends to keep me in Yu City?"

Chen Mu pondered in his mind.

With the situation in the Purple Mist Mountains growing tense, many people, including those from the Demon-Slaying Office, had been dispatched there by Yan Jingqing, among them Xu Hongyu, Xiao He, and others.

Xu Hongyu was not a weak woman who needed his constant care; she had consolidated her Realm and was now one of the few powerful figures in the Yu Family. Plus, Yu Zuyi and many other experts from the Yu Family had gone with her.

Since there was still nothing for him to do, it was an excellent opportunity to accumulate Yuan Gang True Essence and continue to delve into the Xun Wind Diagram, aiming to reach the second layer as soon as possible.