Chapter 132: Heart Sword

The dual cultivation method of the Joyous Union Sect…

If there is a chance to get it in the future, it’s not impossible to try.

Chen Mu pondered slightly. In fact, he already knew his Youying inside and out. At the very least, he was already clear about her temperament, and he was not particularly surprised by her occasional shocking remarks with a very ordinary attitude. If there was a cultivation method that could benefit both parties, he didn’t mind trying it with Xu Hongyu in the future.

After all, with Xu Hongyu’s talent, she would definitely reach Bone Forging Realm, but the Five Viscera Realm would be a bit difficult, and it would be even more difficult to go further. And he was destined not to stop here. If there was a method that could benefit both parties and help Xu Hongyu a little, well, then he wouldn’t mind sacrificing a little bit of his physical appearance or whatever.

"The cultivation methods of the Joyous Union Sect are basically not passed down to outsiders. In fact, among the four major sects, in my opinion, the Heavenly Sword Sect is a suitable place for the young disciples of the Yu family to try, but the Blood Shadow and Joyous Union sects should be avoided."

Chen Mu shook his head and said.

Now that the four major sects have settled in Yu Prefecture, the young talents of Yu Prefecture in the past could only try to squeeze into the Heavenly Profound Sect, but now there are more choices.

Even the Heavenly Sword Sect completely ignores poverty and wealth, and measures everyone’s aptitude. They accept everyone who meets the standards. Unlike the past when the Heavenly Profound Sect was dominant, most of the poor people in Yu Prefecture had no chance to enter the sect.

"Actually, the threshold of the Heavenly Profound Sect has also changed now."

Xiao He smiled lightly and said, "In the past, when the Heavenly Profound Sect recruited people, only one deacon came down, and then almost all the matters were handled by City Lord Xue. After the layers of delegation, after reaching the bottom, in order to participate in the entrance examination of the Heavenly Profound Sect, everyone had to pay at least ten taels of silver. Most families simply couldn’t afford it."

Chen Mu cut a piece of the peeled fruit and put it in his mouth to taste it. He only felt that the taste was very sour, but spitting it out was a bit too unrefined. So, he ate the piece in his mouth without changing his expression, and casually placed the rest on the side. At the same time, he said:

"Times are different. In the past, the Heavenly Profound Sect was dominant, but now the four sects are competing, which can only be said to have both advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes competition is not conducive to stability, but sometimes competition is beneficial to development."

In fact, he had a deep understanding of this point that Xiao He said, because compared to Xiao He, he was more of a true bottom-level origin. He also experienced the Heavenly Profound Sect’s recruitment of disciples in various prefectures every two years. But just as Xiao He said, the official corruption in Yu City is severe, and the layers of exploitation from top to bottom reach the bottom, and it costs ten taels of silver just to test one’s aptitude!

For ordinary people, even if they know that entering the Heavenly Profound Sect is a step to heaven, how many families can scrape together ten taels of silver? Moreover, even if they scrape it together, they are only betting on a very small probability. Once they are not selected, the ten taels of silver paid will be no different from throwing it into the water, and it would have long fallen into someone else’s pocket.

In his early years, his father had wanted him to try, but in the end, considering how many years of saving ten taels of silver to buy such a slim probability, it was really meaningless. In the end, he gave up, and that night he added a meat dish for him and Chen Yue.

As for now.

The Heavenly Profound Sect no longer has any threshold.

All young people under the age of sixteen can go to the branch divisions under the Outer City Supervisory Division to test their natural aptitude and comprehension talent. Once they meet the standards, they can directly join the Heavenly Profound Sect.

It’s just that unless they have a very high talent, they will be picked up and sent to the mountain gate of the Heavenly Profound Sect. Most of them still remain in Yu Prefecture, serving as yamen runners under the Supervisory Division while following their cultivation.

The Supervisory Division currently set up in Yu City is basically not much different from a branch altar of the Heavenly Profound Sect.

"Yes."

Xu Hongyu sat aside and looked at Chen Mu. Her ink-like eyes were gleaming with dots of light. She only felt that every word Chen Mu said made sense and pointed directly to the essence of the situation. It almost made her forget that Chen Mu’s age was actually a bit younger than hers.

She picked up a piece of the same fruit that Chen Mu had just eaten. With a flick of a small knife in her hand, the peel flew onto the table and piled up in a corner. Then, she took a bite with relish and said, "Actually, in this Yu Prefecture, all of us martial artists in the Tendon Transformation and Bone Forging Realms can be regarded as disciples of the Heavenly Profound Sect."

"That’s true."

Chen Mu nodded.

Because now almost all the Tendon Transformation Pills and Bone Forging Pills circulating in Yu City are derived from the Heavenly Profound Sect, that is to say, without the Heavenly Profound Sect, Yu City would not have given birth to so many martial artists in Tendon Transformation and Bone Forging Realms.

And Yu Prefecture itself has always been under the rule of the Heavenly Profound Sect, so in essence, all the Tendon Transformation and Bone Forging martial artists in Yu Prefecture belong to the disciples of the Heavenly Profound Sect ‘not in the mountain gate’. Although they do not enjoy some of the treatments of the Heavenly Profound Sect, they are also not restricted by those rules of the Heavenly Profound Sect, and belong to a more free type.

"Youying, how is your comprehension of the Kan Water Map?"

Chen Mu thought for a while and asked Xu Hongyu.

Xu Hongyu shook her head and said, "I feel that the mysteries within are endless, but for the past month, it has always been like looking at flowers through a fog, and I can never see it clearly."

Xiao He said softly on the side, "I heard that some people meditate in front of an artistic conception map for several years, and it is still difficult to comprehend. Miss, it’s better to combine movement with stillness. Since you’ve meditated for a month, why not go out for a walk today."

"Hmm…"

Xu Hongyu hesitated for a moment and looked at Chen Mu next to her.

Chen Mu smiled, stood up, and said, "Then let’s take a walk while it’s still early."

In fact, in his opinion, if he wanted to comprehend the Kan Water Map, maybe he should take the map with him, and while traveling, and comprehending it, while seeing the mountains, rivers, and streams in the world, he would surely comprehend it step by step, but unfortunately, it was not suitable.

With Xu Hongyu’s strength, there was no problem walking in some places in Yu Prefecture, but it was impossible to bring the Kan Water Map. After all, that was the foundation of the Yu family, and not to mention her, even Yu Zuyi could only comprehend it in the Yu family’s territory.

The three of them quickly arrived on the street.

"This inner city, on the surface, doesn’t seem to have changed much."

Chen Mu walked in front, looking around. The people walking in the inner city were still dressed in splendor, but the market seemed a bit more lively than in the past, with more vendors selling along the street.

Xu Hongyu followed Chen Mu lightly. In fact, she was not very interested in bustling places like the market, but after meditating in the Yu family for nearly a month, as Xiao He said, it was better to walk around. With Chen Mu by her side, she felt even more delighted.

They wandered along the road.

No bullies appeared to block their path.

After all, although the four sects had settled in Yu Prefecture, and the four major families were acting low-key, the Yu family was still a behemoth for ordinary people. Xu Hongyu was naturally recognized by many people in the inner city, so naturally no one would dare to offend her, especially since this was the main street of the inner city, and there would be no trouble during the day.

"Miss, look at that."

Xiao He was very active along the way. The little maid ran back and forth, pulling Xu Hongyu to look at this and that.

Chen Mu just followed calmly. He was more focused on observing the changes and situations in the inner city, and pondering the possible directions in the future. Suddenly, he saw a group of people, dressed in neat greyish-white clothes, walking over, and his gaze paused slightly.

These were young people, looking only around twenty years old, but they all had a straight gaze, and their eyes were cold. They walked all the way through the streets, wearing greyish-white clothes with sword-shaped patterns embroidered on their chests.

The crowds along the way gave way one after another.

"Heavenly Sword Sect…"

Xiao He also pulled Xu Hongyu aside and carefully sized up the people who passed by.

Suddenly, the leader of the group, as if sensing something, turned his head to look in Chen Mu’s direction, and happened to meet Chen Mu’s eyes. A faint sword light seemed to flash in his pupils.

Chen Mu closed his eyes slightly.

When the disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect saw this, he did not speak, nor did he make any other movements. He only quickly retracted his gaze and led the other disciples behind him to continue forward.

After walking for a while, the person closest to him whispered, "Senior Brother Gu, just now…"

"My Heart Sword suddenly had a feeling, but it should be an illusion."

Gu Hong shook his head slightly, his tone a bit strange.

He cultivated the ‘Heart Sword’ lineage of the Heavenly Sword Sect. His artistic conception was clear and touched the world. Sometimes, he didn’t even need to see or hear to sense a killing intent in the dark or some unusual changes.

Just now, when Chen Mu’s gaze glanced at him, although there was no threat or killing intent, it was very different from the feeling given to him by everyone else on that street. So, he returned a glance and used the artistic conception of the Heart Sword to scan the other party invisibly. The other party was indeed a bit unusual. At least, they had artistic conception, but it should not have reached the level that would alert the Heart Sword. It was a bit strange.

He was a true disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect. Although he was ranked at the end, in today’s world, there were very few people in the younger generation who he could take seriously. In this Yu Prefecture, perhaps only the few true disciples of the Heavenly Profound Sect could enter his line of sight. As for this small Yu Prefecture, even that ‘Xue Lin’ who was regarded as the leader of the younger generation, was just a joke to him. Maybe the Heart Sword sensed something else just now, causing him to have a little illusion. This situation occasionally happened, so it was not worth pursuing further.

…

Behind them.

Chen Mu closed his eyes slightly.

In the pitch-black darkness, a ray of sword light shone, but was immediately struck by a ray of thunder that illuminated the darkness, causing it to go crooked and distorted. Then, it was rolled up by a chaotic gust of wind, and finally disintegrated bit by bit.

When he opened his eyes again, the group of Heavenly Sword Sect disciples had already walked far away.

"Is this the artistic conception of sword style?"

Chen Mu murmured in his heart.

Compared to the Qian Kun Eight Phases, what had happened just now seemed to be an artistic conception that could attack the mind. Although the transmission through a gaze was very weak, he used the two aspects of wind and thunder to counteract it.

He could clearly sense that although the other party’s artistic conception was going deep, it had not yet reached the second step.

"That person just now seems to be one of the true disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect. Do you know him, Brother Chen?"

At this time, Xiao He suddenly approached and spoke softly. During the days when Chen Mu and Xu Hongyu were practicing, she had naturally learned more about the various situations in the outside world, and she also knew a lot about the information of the Heavenly Sword Sect.

For example, under the Heavenly Sword Sect, there were only four true disciples, with Zuo Qianqiu as the head, and Gu Hong as the last.

"I don’t know him."

Chen Mu shook his head.

A true disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect… Then that makes sense. This artistic conception is obviously not something that can be cultivated by just anyone, like cabbages on the side of the road.

As far as he knew, among the various sects, the true disciples who were qualified to travel outside were all in the Five Viscera Realm. No matter who that person just now was, since he could travel outside, then he was undoubtedly a figure in the Five Viscera Realm.

In addition, with this level of artistic conception, it is likely that even City Lord Xue Huaikong could not gain an advantage in front of him. In the current Yu Prefecture, perhaps only that inspector who had come from the state prefecture could suppress him.

While he was thinking, the pedestrians on the street began to move again after the group of Heavenly Sword Sect disciples disappeared.

Suddenly, a voice came from the side.

"In charge of Xuanting, speaking the subtle secrets of heaven… You all seem to have a predestined relationship, would you like this old Taoist to divine your fate?"

Chen Mu turned his head to look.

He saw that at some point behind him and Xu Hongyu and the others, an old man with two missing front teeth had set up a stall. He was wearing a tattered Taoist robe and held a stack of tortoise shells in his hands. He was grinning at him.