Da Xuan Martial Saint

Chen Mu silently took the Qian Heaven Seal.

The nature of this Qian Heaven Seal was similar to the Spirit Jade Pendant he had obtained before, but the quality was much higher. Now that he had grasped the Qiankun Artistic Conception, he could clearly feel the immense Strength of Qian Heaven contained within it.

Although this seal was of a higher quality than the Spirit Jade Pendant, the ability to seal such a majestic Strength of Qian Heaven inside it without almost any leakage was indeed beyond imagination—a technique of the Grandmaster Realm.

However.

Qin Mengjun was no ordinary grandmaster. At her peak, she ranked among the top three in the entire Cold North Path, among all Marrow Cleansing grandmasters.

Chen Mu held the Qian Heaven Seal, fell silent for a short while, and then said, "How did Master incur her injuries back then?"

Although he had not asked Qin Mengjun for guidance since he became her disciple, he had access to all the resources of the Seven Profound Sect, and he could choose any of the technique manuals. All of these were granted due to his status as her True Disciple. And Qin Mengjun, in her moments of lucidity and confusion, had refined this Qian Heaven Seal for him as a protective amulet, which must have required a great deal of her effort.

He was always someone who repaid kindness with gratitude. When Qin Mengjun first took him as her disciple, she did not hide her condition and laid out all the facts, allowing him to make his choice. After he chose to join Spirit Profound Peak, she fulfilled her duties as a master to her disciple. However, his understanding of Qin Mengjun was still very limited to this day.

"She was the victim of a conspiracy."

Meng Danyun said in a low voice, "At that time, Master was in seclusion within the forbidden area, using the Qiankun Lock Dragon Formation to refine her Essence Blood with the Power of Heaven and Earth, aiming to advance to the Blood Exchange Realm. But someone laid out a trap outside the mountain range, then suddenly shook the Earth's Veins, causing a disturbance."

"At that critical moment, Master's qi was connected to the Qiankun Lock Dragon Formation. She was immediately struck by the rebound and suffered the impact of the Earth's Veins. Although she immediately countered with the Qiankun Lock Dragon Formation, the attacker withdrew swiftly after just one strike, leaving no clues as to their identity."

"As for the assassinations that followed, they were not key. They were more likely the result of the mastermind behind the scenes trying to confirm Master's condition by sending out their dead soldiers. They used a Flying Arrow Spirit Crossbow in the attack. Though Master killed the assassin with a single blow and tried to conceal her injury from the counterblast of the Earth's Veins, somehow the information was still leaked."

Hearing Meng Danyun's account, Chen Mu's brows involuntarily knitted together.

Qin Mengjun, an unparalleled grandmaster like her, where she was and when she chose to go into seclusion to attempt advancing to the Blood Exchange Realm, certainly would have been the most confidential secrets, possibly unknown even to the Sect Protector. Yet, the enemy managed to capture such a precise critical node, set up outside the mountain range, and then suddenly provoked the Earth's Veins to induce backlash. This clearly indicated a serious problem.

"To be able to shake the Earth's Veins and retreat so easily under Master's manipulation of the Qiankun Lock Dragon Formation, the perpetrator undoubtedly belongs to the Blood Exchange Realm. But for this person to capture such a critical moment of Master's attempt to advance to the Blood Exchange Realm..."

Chen Mu looked towards Meng Danyun.

To him, this situation was highly likely to be the result of a traitor from within the sect, and a high-ranking one at that.

Meng Danyun understood what Chen Mu meant and shook his head, saying, "The Supreme of the sect also suspected there was a traitor within, and even conducted investigations on all the Peak Masters and Elders, but in the end, found nothing."

After hearing this, Chen Mu's heart sank into contemplation.

If indeed there was a traitor of Marrow Cleansing Realm or higher within the Seven Profound Sect, it would indeed be difficult to find. On one hand, this was an uncertain suspicion; not sure if there really was a traitor, it was impossible to conduct a purge for this reason.

On the other hand, grandmasters above the Marrow Cleansing Realm were the Elders and Peak Masters of the sect, individuals of great significance within the Seven Profound Sect. And considering they dared to plot against Qin Mengjun and did not flee afterward, they must be confident that they would not be exposed.

"In times of chaos, indeed, people are as haunting as spirits and ghouls."

In the end, Chen Mu shook his head.

If not for this conspiracy, Qin Mengjun might have stepped into the Blood Exchange Realm and become another Supreme of the Seven Profound Sect. But who could have anticipated that, even within the protection of the sect and under the Qiankun Lock Dragon Formation, such a mishap could occur? At that time, Qin Mengjun was renowned across the Eleven States of Cold North Path, an unparalleled grandmaster watched by all parties—surely, this was all part of an elaborate plan conceived long ago.

Thirteen years ago, Cold North Path was not as chaotic as it is today, but the undercurrents were already raging. However, the affairs that befell grandmasters like Qin Mengjun, high above the common fray, were not known to those in the lower echelons of society.

However.

Regardless of whether there is a traitor within the Seven Profound Sect, and regardless of who was the one who stirred the Earth's Veins to plot against Qin Mengjun back then, they will eventually emerge. For now, all he needed to do was remember these matters.

If one day in the future, he steps into the Blood Exchange Realm and becomes a Martial Saint, it will be the day for him to settle scores with these fiends on behalf of Qin Mengjun.

"Is Master still lucid now? I wish to pay my respects to Master."

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Chen Mu asked Meng Danyun, looking towards him.

Meng Danyun shook his head and said, "I don't know, you should go see for yourself. Master has always been over there."

After nodding slightly, Chen Mu turned around and continued to ascend the mountain along the small path. He eventually reached the peak and headed behind Spirit Profound Hall towards the cliff, soon arriving before that massive ancient tree again.

Beneath the ancient tree.

On the clean white rock, the figure of Qin Mengjun still sat there.

A year had passed since Chen Mu's last audience with Qin Mengjun, and his perception of her had changed dramatically from the previous time. Before, Qin Mengjun seemed like a Celestial Human, lofty and distant, intangible, with a realm so high that it was beyond his comprehension, visible but not an iota perceivable.

But now, it was different. Although he still could not clearly perceive Qin Mengjun's form, he could sense the subtle changes in this part of heaven and earth, and feel a presence of the 'Qian Heaven' floating there.

"Master."

Chen Mu did not approach too closely, instead bowing from a distance to the figure on the rock.

The figure on the rock still sat motionless there, just gazing blankly at the distant expanse of sky above.

Chen Mu made no additional movements, merely maintaining his attentive stance.

Qin Mengjun had Meng Danyun pass a message to him, and also sent the Qian Heaven Seal. He didn't know if Qin Mengjun would awaken soon, but he still planned to wait here for a while.

He didn't know how much time had passed.

As the sun in the sky gradually set, darkness enveloped the land, a sliver of moonlight climbed the firmament, and whiffs of cold wind blew across the cliff; Qin Mengjun remained seated motionlessly on the rock, while Chen Mu stood behind her, unwavering from beginning to end.

When the moonlight dipped low in the west and the horizon edged with the pale light of dawn, Chen Mu still stood there.

It wasn't until the sun passed its zenith and the mists among the distant mountains had dissipated considerably that Chen Mu finally slowly exhaled and took a step back, intending to leave.

However, at that moment.

A gentle voice came through.

"You're here?"

When Chen Mu looked up, he saw Qin Mengjun turning her head towards him, looking at him with a gentle gaze.

Qin Mengjun smiled at Chen Mu and said, "I thought you..." Her words trailed off as she suddenly froze, then her figure flickered and disappeared silently from atop the rock. When she reappeared, she was directly in front of Chen Mu, looking at him somewhat astonished.

"Protector."

Chen Mu bowed again.

Qin Mengjun looked at Chen Mu in a daze, as if she had seen something incredible. After who knows how long, she finally asked in disbelief, "How did you do it?"

At that moment, under her 'Qian Heaven Aura Observation Technique,' Chen Mu's clothing might as well be invisible.

His flesh, muscles, and bones were no different.

Her gaze could directly see the Yuan Gang True Essence cultivated within Chen Mu, and what she saw was Chen Mu's entire being, remarkably composed of eight different phenomena merging into one whole.

Among them were Kan Water, Separating Fire, Thunderbolt, Xun Wind... Whether they generated each other or acted against each other, at this moment they were perfectly unified, and only one thing could form such a Yuan Body.

Qiankun Artistic Conception!

A complete Qiankun Artistic Conception!

As a Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster, once the foremost figure across the Eleven States of the Cold North Path, she was of course no stranger to Qiankun Artistic Conception. In fact, she herself had cultivated Qian Heaven Artistic Conception to the pinnacle of perfection.

But the Qiankun Artistic Conceptions she had seen were mostly stuck at the initial step, with only a handful reaching the second step in their old age. These were individuals who, even in their youth, possessed exceptional insight and spent decades contemplating before finally grasping it. Aside from Yan Jingqing, who mastered the Martial Arts Domain on the Wind Cloud List, only those who integrated the complete Yin Yang and Qiankun into the second step existed.

How old were those individuals?

How many years had they spent?

What about Chen Mu?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The last time she had seen Chen Mu was just one year ago, and even though he was regarded as highly talented with all four Artistic Conceptions at the second step, Kan Water had been somewhat lacking, and Dui Ze had not yet been realized.

Now what did she see? She saw that Chen Mu had gathered all the Eight Phases of Qiankun, solidifying into a complete Qiankun Artistic Conception, and there was no doubt that it was at the level of the second step!

If she was not still aware of the passage of time during her perplexity and stupor, she might first doubt whether many years had passed by now.

In just one year.

To completely fill the gaps in the Qiankun Eight Phases, including the most difficult Qian Heaven and Kun Earth, and to cultivate the second step of Qiankun Artistic Conception... This was no longer something that could be described simply as genius.

Her fourth disciple might just be the Heavenly Mandate child born for the Qiankun Eight Phases in these chaotic times!

Chen Mu knew what Qin Mengjun was asking about. Since he had not yet cultivated the Imperial Qi Gathering technique, it was not surprising for Qin Mengjun to see that he had achieved the Qiankun Artistic Conception. He simply bowed his head and said,

"Disciple has diligently cultivated without slackening."

Qin Mengjun looked at Chen Mu with a somewhat complex gaze, and shaking her head, she said, "This can't be achieved by effort alone, but you have indeed chosen the most challenging path in the Martial Arts Domain."

"Do you know why, after Martial Artists enter the Six Viscera Realm, they seldom explore more or deeper artistic conceptions?"

Qin Mengjun asked softly.

Chen Mu shook his head and said, "Please enlighten me, Protector."