Chapter 124: Pacification

Ding He looked in astonishment at the battle line not far away.

He saw Chen Mu standing alone on the desolate land at the forefront of the battle line, wielding his refined iron saber as if casually, and decapitating a demon that was attacking him. The demon, with its black patterns, was clearly the third-tier demon, the Black-Patterned Leopard, that had almost escaped his encirclement before!

A third-tier demon,

Killed with one strike!

Ding He couldn’t help but rub his eyes, wondering if he had seen things wrong.

Wasn’t Chen Mu just recently stepped into Tendon Transformation? Even if he had a toughened body and was much stronger than others of the same level, killing a third-tier demon with one strike was just too exaggerated. Even someone like Xu Hongyu, who had reached the Perfection of Tendon Transformation, couldn’t kill a third-tier demon with one move. This was almost a crushing victory!

Triple Blade Momentum?

Quadruple Blade Momentum?

No.

Although he was far away and didn’t see it clearly, he couldn’t feel the distinct Blade Momentum. Instead, it was more like a perfectly integrated attack, as if created by nature. But such a Blade Technique…could it be the Artistic Conception?!

Impossible!

Ding He’s heart found it hard to believe.

What level was the Artistic Conception? In the entire Yu Family, from the first generation to the fourth, only a dozen people had mastered the Artistic Conception. There were only three or four in each generation, and many of them only gained insight after years of practice at the age of forty or fifty.

Chen Mu was about the same age as him. It was enough that he was talented enough to have a toughened body. How could his comprehension be so high that he could grasp the Artistic Conception at this age? He was a dignified master of Tendon Transformation Great Accomplishment, yet he had only mastered one Momentum so far!

On the battle line.

Chen Mu’s expression was calm, and he held the refined iron saber in his hand. Wherever he went, blood splattered everywhere. Whether second or third-tier demons, they couldn’t last a single round under his blade and would perish.

Almost in an extremely short time, the pressure on all sides had decreased sharply.

Black Uniform Guards like Wu Pu looked at the figure shuttling on the battle line as if they had seen a ghost, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

Swish!

Chen Mu struck again, killing another third-tier demon. Feeling the sensation under his blade, he couldn’t help but shake his head.

"Third-tier demons, after all, have some strength."

On the way, he had already learned the general situation of the battlefield through the personnel who were relaying messages, and judged from the time that they could mostly resist or even gain the upper hand in a short time. But after a long time, the manpower here would certainly be insufficient. Thus, he had rushed over here, and it was mainly that handling the large piece of Flame Jade had taken too much time.

When he arrived at the battlefield, he saw Xu Hongyu and her team engaged in a fierce battle. Therefore, he had to quickly cut through the mess and resolve the pressure on the entire battle line. And the greatest pressure on the battle line undoubtedly came from the third-tier demons.

Against the third-tier demons, the Perfection of Tendon Transformation could win, but not easily.

Only by entering the Bone Forging Realm could one kill a third-tier demon quickly within one or two moves.

However, this time Chen Mu did not rely on brute force. Compared to revealing a Body Tempering Realm beyond the Perfection of Tendon Transformation and displaying pure power comparable to the Bone Forging Realm, it was better to use the Xun Wind Artistic Conception. After all, judging by the current situation, the demons covering the mountains were countless, and suppressing them with pure power would consume more physical strength.

After this demon disturbance, he would be able to obtain the Bone Forging Pill anyway, and his strength would improve further in a short time. There was no harm in revealing a Xun Wind Artistic Conception, after all, the Xun Wind Artistic Conception was not a means he needed to hide now.

Of course.

The Thunder Artistic Conception was not suitable to be revealed in front of people, at least not now.

With Chen Mu’s thunderous action, killing third-tier demons was like killing chickens. The casualty rate on the entire battle line was quickly brought under control, and those whose qi and blood were too exhausted and whose physical strength was close to collapse finally had a chance to catch their breath and rest.

But at this moment, no matter who it was, when they looked at the figure hurrying among the demons, wherever he went, no demon could withstand a single blow, their hearts were filled with shock. No wonder Xu Hongyu’s attitude towards Chen Mu from the beginning was not like that of a master and subordinate, no wonder Chen Mu could enter the council hall so calmly and participate in various decisions about this demon disturbance and demon hunting.

In today’s chaotic world, strength is the ruler!

With such strength, there was naturally no doubt!

Wu Pu in the crowd watched this scene, his whole body stiffening at this moment. He had previously thought that Ding He was not that much different from Chen Mu, but now it seemed like a joke. And what made him most guilty was…that when he saw Xu Hongyu and Chen Mu getting too close, he secretly sent someone back to the county government to report to Deputy Commander Yu Jun.

At this moment, he wanted to slap himself. Why did he say so much for no reason? A figure who could grasp the Artistic Conception naturally had the identity and qualifications to be matched with Xu Hongyu. Although he was Yu Jun’s informant, he had not understood the situation and made a mess, so he would most likely be blamed by Yu Jun afterward.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Chen Mu raised and dropped his blade, and fought all the way along the battle line.

He didn’t rush forward to kill, that was meaningless, because the demons were scattered all over the mountains, and they continued to emerge, and they were actively converging towards the direction where Xu Hongyu and the others were.

In this case, he only needed to wait in place for the demons to be sent to him and reap them along the way, without wasting too much energy.

The gap between strength and status was fully revealed at this moment. A figure in the Bone Forging Realm, or the existence of one who had comprehended the Artistic Conception, killing hundreds of second and third-tier demons was like killing chickens. If they were in charge of a township, then it would almost be as stable as Mount Tai.

However, the reality was that it was basically impossible for someone in the Bone Forging Realm to only be in charge of a township. In fact, it was already highly valued that a Deputy Commander like Yu Jun could come down to a place like Anyu County.

After all.

Figures in the Bone Forging Realm, even in large families like the Yu Family in the Inner City, if those over sixty years old whose qi and blood had declined and whose strength had fallen were all counted, they would only have a maximum of thirty people, and only about twenty of them were actually at their peak state.

And among them, those who had grasped the Artistic Conception were even less than half.

Compared to areas like Anyu County, which were almost entirely under the control of the Yu Family, other counties where the Yu Family only occupied a part, such as ‘Siyu’ and ‘Qingyu,’ were in greater need of manpower, partly to deal with the demons, and partly to guard against other families, such as the He Family, not to mention the more important Yu City and the surrounding directly administered areas, as well as the large estate gardens that were purely private property. Compared to the villages below, these were even more critical and couldn’t go wrong.

Finally.

When the setting sun slanted down and the remaining light gradually turned golden-red.

The demons covering the mountains finally began to thin out, appearing less and less, and some demons seemed to have woken up, no longer rushing towards the battle line, but instead fleeing backward.

And as the demons finally retreated, the corpses covering the wilderness stretched out as far as the eye could see, at least two or three hundred!

Among them.

Those killed by Chen Mu exceeded a hundred!

And most of them were third-tier demons!

Chen Mu watched the scattered remnants of the demons, and the many blue-uniformed guards of the Demon Slaying Division and Yu family manpower who were counter-attacking and pursuing. Finally, he slowed down the refined iron saber in his hand, and then looked at Xu Hongyu, who was not far away.

At this moment.

Xu Hongyu’s white uniform of the Demon Slaying Division was also stained with spots of blood, like plum blossoms blooming, and she was not completely unscathed. Two claw marks were faintly visible on her back, tearing open the outer white uniform, revealing a layer of light golden soft armor underneath.

As Chen Mu had guessed before, Xu Hongyu was indeed wearing soft armor worth a thousand gold underneath, while He Mingzhen who had died under his hand had nothing. However, after reaching the Bone Forging Realm, even ordinary soft armor had no effect.

"Cough…"

Xu Hongyu stood with her sword, her face slightly pale. After a long battle, even with the Perfection of Tendon Transformation, her physical strength was greatly consumed. Suddenly, she couldn’t help but cough lightly twice, showing a trace of discomfort.

Chen Mu approached her and asked, "How are you? Are you injured?"

Xu Hongyu shook her head and said, "I’m just slightly shaken, but there’s no major problem. I’ll be fine after resting for two days… You said you had something to do before, but did you encounter any trouble?"

"It’s nothing, I’ll tell you later. The sky is going to get dark, I’ll send you back to the township first."

Chen Mu looked at Xu Hongyu’s face and knew that she was fine, but he still said this.

"Okay."

Xu Hongyu lightly answered and sheathed her sword.

…

Anyu County.

Nangou Township, western wilderness.

Demon corpses were scattered everywhere, numbering two or three hundred. Some of the blue and black uniformed guards of the Demon Slaying Division were breathing lightly, and on the ground, in addition to the corpses of the demons, there were also many corpses of the Yu family manpower, and even one blue-uniformed guard had died.

In front of everyone, Yu Jun stood holding a saber, looking far away at the sky, his face as still as water.

"This demon disturbance is not right."

He said in a low voice.

As the Deputy Commander of the Demon Slaying Division, having hunted demons for many years, and being an important figure of the Yu family, he was very familiar with demon habits, and knew that among this group of rampaging demons, there were many that would not be affected by the severe drought.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for them to gather in a group of three or four hundred and directly threaten a township, forcing him, a Deputy Commander, to temporarily leave the county government and personally come to support.

"Indeed, it’s not right."

A white-uniformed guard of the Demon Slaying Division, covered in blood, also said in a low voice, and then looked at Yu Jun, saying, "Third Brother, do you think it’s the celestial phenomenon that is chaotic this time, or…is someone secretly plotting something?"

"It’s not clear yet, but some of my informants said that the He Family seems to have abnormal moves."

Yu Jun snorted coldly.

If it was really related to the He Family, then it was truly hateful. In order to deal with the Yu family, they did not hesitate to threaten a township with hundreds of thousands of ordinary people, which was madness. The problem was that it was difficult to find any evidence for such a matter.

The white-uniformed guard pondered briefly, and then said, "Since the He Family wants to cause trouble, the demon disturbance in Nangou Township has increased nearly two-fold. Then East Hong Township, which is connected to Huaiyu County… Hongyu is still there."

Yu Jun’s expression changed upon hearing this.

That’s right.

If there was a problem in Nangou Township, East Hong Township probably would not be safe either.

"Go, to East Hong!"

Yu Jun immediately stopped thinking about it, and spoke with a heavy voice, turned his steps and went towards the direction of East Hong Township.

If the He Family was plotting something, then something must have happened in East Hong Township. Now he could only hope that they would get there early so they can still control the situation and not end up in a complete mess.

Speaking of which.

Earlier, an informant had reported that Xu Hongyu and the blue-uniformed guard Chen Mu were suspected of getting too close, which was overstepping their authority. He also frowned at this. He knew Chen Mu and understood that it was Xu Hongyu who had cultivated and promoted him. And he indeed had some gifted aptitude, able to train a toughened body, and enter the Tendon Transformation Realm.

However, entering Tendon Transformation at the age of twenty-five was too late, and the difficulty in entering the Bone Forging Realm in the future would be very high. But Xu Hongyu had now reached the Perfection of Tendon Transformation, and after some experience, the possibility of her entering the Bone Forging Realm was very high. Although Chen Mu, if he reached the Perfection of Tendon Transformation, would be no different than an ordinary Small Accomplishment of Bone Forging with his toughened body, but after all, Bone Forging and Tendon Transformation were two different realms.

Moreover, Xu Hongyu herself was a direct descendant of the Yu Family.

With Chen Mu’s talent and aptitude, if he was to be married, a girl from a branch family would be more than enough. In fact, he could even be matched with an ordinary direct descendant, like Yu Ru, but Xu Hongyu…was still not very suitable.

These thoughts flashed through his mind, and Yu Jun quickened his pace. Although Nangou and East Hong were adjacent townships, and there was a mountain range separating them, it would be very fast for a Bone Forging Realm figure like him to cross it.

However.

Just when Yu Jun and his group finally approached the territory of East Hong Township.

Figures were rushing over from the distance, and he could faintly see that they were wearing the clothing of the Yu family, they were the Yu family’s guarding swordsmen.

The guarding swordsmen saw Yu Jun and others from a distance, and they seemed a little surprised, but they quickly approached. When they reached close enough they bowed to Yu Jun and said, "Master Yu."

"How is the situation in East Hong, and how is Hongyu?"

Yu Jun asked in a low voice.

The guarding swordsman quickly reported, "Hundreds of demons have gathered south of East Hong Township, we had already sent out three whistles earlier, and sent people to report to the county government. But you were not in the county government at that time, and the manpower sent there changed their route to Nangou, but they lost contact halfway, perhaps they encountered demons…"

Yu Jun frowned as he listened, and interrupted, "Get to the point! What is the situation in East Hong?"

The guarding swordsman was startled by the interruption, and quickly said cautiously, "Master Xu gathered manpower to engage the demons to the south, and encountered them near the south slope of Liujia Village. She gathered the manpower within a small scope and fought with few against many, killing over a hundred demons, but the demons continued to emerge endlessly. After that Master Chen arrived, and he killed over a hundred demons, stabilized the battle line, and now has defeated the demons."

Hearing the first part, Yu Jun nodded inwardly. Gathering the manpower and not spreading out to intercept was the right thing to do, Xu Hongyu’s troop deployment was still very outstanding. It wasn’t in vain that he brought Xu Hongyu to guide and instruct her before.

But when he heard that the demons were still emerging endlessly, his expression became gloomy, and he was not too surprised either, after all the situation in Nangou Township was the same, so obviously something had happened in East Hong, if other counties and governments were normal, then it was likely the He Family secretly plotting something, which was unavoidable.

However.

When he heard the last part, Yu Jun suddenly stopped and paused again.

"Master Chen?"

He looked at the guarding swordsman and frowned slightly.

Able to kill over a hundred demons, stabilize the situation, and defeat the demon disturbance, then his strength was probably not much different from his. But he didn’t remember any Chen with that level…huh?

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck his mind, and his whole body revealed a trace of surprise.

Then he heard the guarding swordsman continue to report softly, "It is Master Chen Mu, Master Chen has comprehended the Xun Wind Artistic Conception, and even third-tier demons are not a match for Master Chen. Therefore, after the master arrived, the demons could not breach the battle line."

Hearing this, Yu Jun’s figure stopped.

The white-uniformed guard following him, and some of the Yu family manpower were all stunned at this moment.

The entire scene became silent, and it seemed that even the breathing sounds between everyone could be clearly heard.

Artistic Conception?

Yu Jun was silent for a moment, then looked at the Yu family swordsman and said, "What you said is all true?"

The guarding swordsman said, "It is all what I saw with my own eyes."

As he said this, a trace of awe appeared in his eyes. As a swordsman who practiced the saber, and an elite of the Yu Family, he had achieved the Perfection of Flesh Training and trained a Saber Momentum, therefore, he was more clear on the level of difficulty of reaching the Artistic Conception with the Saber Technique.

"So that’s what it is, then it makes sense."

Yu Jun looked far off in the direction of East Hong, muttering to himself.

He withdrew his earlier judgment.

If Chen Mu was interested in Xu Hongyu, then they were indeed a very suitable match, and he would mention this to Yu Zuyi later.