Chapter 128: Qian Kun

Outside Yu City.

Amidst a desolate forest, Chen Mu followed his memory, passing the familiar mass burial mound and arriving at a slightly leveled area.

His gaze swept over the surroundings, taking in the small graves, before landing on one that was relatively new.

It was the grave of his father and his mother, Liu Ping.

Originally, the two graves were not together; Liu Ping was buried elsewhere, in a place reasonably well-arranged by Chen Mu’s father, who was then a yamen runner. When Chen Mu’s father passed away, he was given a hastily arranged gravesite.

It wasn’t until Chen Mu became the Yamen Constable of Wutong Li that he finally found the time to move both graves together and erect a tombstone with Chen Mu’s name on it.

Although his parents had already passed away by the time he arrived in this world, and in a way he had no parental feelings for them, only some memories, since he was living as Chen Mu, there was still a sense of karmic connection.

Chen Mu carried some wine.

He walked to the new grave and offered a prayer.

Xu Hongyu followed him all the while, and when he was done, she looked at the tombstone and said softly, "You are so different now from before. Do you want to move the graves to a better place?"

Chen Mu shook his head and sighed. "Let it be. Don’t disturb them again."

In this chaotic world, what was the point of building a mausoleum? It might even attract grave robbers. It was better to have them buried here. At least they wouldn’t be disturbed, as they were buried together.

Xu Hongyu nodded gently, and she followed Chen Mu out of the forest.

Looking into the distance, they could see the towering city walls of Yu City. Chen Mu paused to look at them. He felt a sense of nostalgia. When he was a yamen runner, transporting corpses, he often passed in and out of Yu City. He was always amazed by how tall the walls were, almost surpassing those of the old imperial cities he had seen in his past life. Now that he saw the towering walls, he no longer felt that awe.

Xiao He and the others were waiting outside. When they saw Chen Mu and Xu Hongyu emerge, they all followed. They quickly entered the city through the South Gate and made their way inside, eventually reaching the Inner City.

They arrived at the Yu Family’s residence.

Chen Mu and Xu Hongyu parted ways for the time being. Xu Hongyu headed east to the main family compound, while Chen Mu headed north, soon reaching the small courtyard he had lived in before.

The servants on the way seemed to have heard of his exploits in Anyu. They looked at him with more respect.

"Brother is back."

Chen Yue was practicing her swordsmanship in the courtyard when she suddenly saw Chen Mu walk in. Her face lit up with joy, and she ran toward Chen Mu, putting away her sword.

Chen Mu smiled slightly and was about to say something when Chen Yue suddenly leaped at him, clinging to him as she did when she was little. She was now a grown woman, however, and a bit too heavy. Besides, she hadn’t done this for two years.

"You’re a grown lady, mind your manners."

Chen Mu put her down and scolded her good-naturedly.

Chen Yue giggled and said, "No one’s watching here… By the way, I’ve also reached the Flesh Training realm."

"Mm, very good."

Chen Mu nodded slightly, no wonder she felt more substantial when she leaped onto him.

Crossing the Skin Grinding realm and reaching Flesh Training in just over two years was quite fast among martial artists. After all, she was at the Yu Family Martial Arts Academy, where resources were plentiful. Moreover, she was his younger sister, so she often had access to expensive nourishing medicinal soups.

If she could reach the perfection of the Flesh Training realm within two years and then step into Tendon Transformation within a year, her progress would be similar to Xu Hongyu’s, though she was more than a step behind in swordsmanship.

Although Chen Yue had started practicing body tempering at around fifteen, like the children of other powerful families, Xu Hongyu had been practicing swordsmanship since childhood, before reaching the age for body tempering. Chen Yue, on the other hand, began practicing body tempering and swordsmanship at the same time.

"While I was away, did you cause any trouble?"

Chen Mu walked into the house, glancing at Chen Yue.

Chen Yue blinked her eyes and said, "Well… I made Yu Yun cry before."

Chen Mu quickly remembered who Yu Yun was. He shook his head and chuckled. In fact, he knew Chen Yue was not one to cause trouble. Even now that she had grown up and become more lively than before, she was still like him, knowing her boundaries. After all, she came from a poor background and had experienced the hardships of life. She knew how hard each grain of rice was to come by.

He only asked that question to make sure Chen Yue was not being bullied at the Yu Family. It seemed she was doing well, so he didn’t need to worry about that. Besides, after this, there probably wouldn’t be many people in the Yu Family who would dare to bully Chen Yue.

After Chen Mu learned about what had happened in the Inner City during his absence from Chen Yue,

Xiao He arrived in the courtyard.

"Sister Ning."

Chen Yue ran out of the house and greeted Xiao He with a smile. When Chen Mu first sent her to the Yu Family, she didn’t know anyone. Xiao He had helped her get to know Yu Ru and had always looked after her.

Xiao He cupped Chen Yue’s small face in her hands and rubbed it before looking at Chen Mu and nodding slightly. "The Family Head invites you."

"Yue’er, I’ll go over for a while."

Chen Mu looked peaceful as he spoke to Chen Yue before following Xiao He out of the courtyard.

On the way, he asked Xiao He about Xu Hongyu, but he learned that she had already left the Yu Family to tally her merits at the Demon Slaying Division. In reality, she was going to exchange her merits for the Bone Forging Pill, taking advantage of the fact that there weren’t any major disturbances in Yu Prefecture yet.

Although Xu Hongyu did not have as many merits as him, as the leader of a township, along with her previous savings, she had enough to exchange for two Bone Forging Pills. Having been through this demon disturbance, her qi and blood had stabilized, and it wouldn’t be long before she could try forging her bones.

Soon.

Chen Mu arrived at the Yu Family’s main compound to the east.

Xiao He gestured for Chen Mu to enter the courtyard, and she quietly stood guard to the side.

Chen Mu walked into the courtyard calmly, and his gaze landed on the man standing there, with graying temples, wearing a green brocade robe. The man was none other than the current head of the Yu Family, Yu Zuyi.

Yu Zuyi was not only Xu Hongyu’s maternal grandfather, but also the commander of the Yu Prefecture Salt Affairs Division, overseeing all salt affairs in the prefecture, with a rank equivalent to that of the commanders of the Inner and Outer City. In his youth, he had served as commander of the Demon Slaying Division.

He was also the Yu Family member with the highest realm and power apart from their first generation ancestor, standing at the perfection of Bone Forging and mastering the artistic conceptions of Kan Water and Dui Marsh. He was a well-known figure in the Inner City of Yu Prefecture.

"Master Yu."

Chen Mu bowed to Yu Zuyi, addressing him by his official title.

Yu Zuyi had already turned around, and now he looked at Chen Mu with less of the majesty of a family head, and more of the kindness of an old man. "No need for ceremony. Your younger sister is practicing martial arts at the Yu Family Martial Arts Academy, and you and Hongyu have been supporting each other. You are practically family. I already know everything. I, her grandfather, will make the decision about your marriage to Hongyu."

The Family Head of the Yu Family was quite direct.

Chen Mu looked at Yu Zuyi and was about to say something when he heard Yu Zuyi continue in a peaceful tone: "In this world, one’s background is not important. What matters is one’s ability. You’ve reached Tendon Transformation and comprehended the artistic conception. You are like Hongyu’s father, you’re different from the millions of people of Yu City. You are an important person no matter where you are. Therefore, you will marry Hongyu as your wife, with no need to change your surname or become an adopted son-in-law. Your descendants can carry your surname."

So this was the treatment Xu Hongyu’s father received back then?

Chen Mu could not help but think.

The fact that Xu Hongyu could keep her surname "Xu" while remaining the most important member of the Yu Family was not entirely because her mother was the direct daughter of the Family Head Yu Zuyi. More importantly, it was because of the talent that her father, Xu Yichuan, had shown and his status in the Yu Family back then.

Chen Mu was now receiving the same treatment.

In fact, Chen Mu realized that Xu Hongyu had probably not told Yu Zuyi much about him. Otherwise, if Yu Zuyi had known that he had not only comprehended an artistic conception, but also practiced both wind and thunder and that his body tempering method was already at the level before Bone Forging, his attitude would have been even more different.

However, Chen Mu had no desire to boast, so he didn’t take the initiative to mention more.

"But…"

When Yu Zuyi reached this point, his tone slightly deepened, saying, "You should already know that the Four Sects are about to enter Yu Prefecture. In these times, the Yu Family should not draw attention. Therefore, your marriage with Hongyu will not be extravagant. This is for your and the Yu Family’s sake. Do you understand the importance?"

If it were in the past, the marriage of the Yu Family’s direct descendants, especially one as important as Xu Hongyu, would certainly have had a grand banquet and a ten-li red makeup procession, but in these extraordinary times, no eye-catching behavior was allowed.

Chen Mu shook his head slightly in his heart and said, "I have no objections. It’s just that it will be unfair to Hongyu."

Upon hearing this, Yu Zuyi smiled and said, "Although the Yu Family is barely considered a famous and powerful clan, it also rose from humble beginnings. It started in the martial world. A hundred years ago, the Yu Family’s first ancestor was a child who slept under the open sky and on the bare ground. Later, he entered the Seven Profound Sect and rose step by step, eventually taking root in Yu Prefecture. In reality, we are all people of the martial world and do not need so much ceremony. If you feel you are doing Hongyu an injustice, then you can treat her well in the future."

After saying this,

Yu Zuyi paused again and said, "I heard Hongyu mention that you need the artistic conception map of the Xun Wind lineage, but my Yu Family really doesn’t have that map right now. We only have the Kan Water Map of the upper grade, as well as the rubbing maps of the Li Fire, Dui Marsh, and Gen Mountain lineages. If you want to continue to advance on the path of the Qian Kun Eight Phases, you can try the Li Fire Map. If that doesn’t work, you can try the Kan Water Map."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mu fell into deep thought.

He did not actually have any plans to practice more artistic conceptions for the time being. According to his current understanding, even if he were to practice three artistic conceptions, if they were all still at the first step, they would still not be as good as bringing a single artistic conception to the second step.

Therefore, for him at the moment, focusing on the practice of the Thunder Diagram and bringing his Thunder artistic conception to the second step as soon as possible was the best way to increase his power.

Of course.

Now, he also knew a lot about the Qian Kun artistic conception.

For example, in the Qian Kun artistic conception, wind, thunder, and fire belonged to ‘Qian Heaven,’ while mountain, marsh, and water belonged to ‘Kun Earth.’ To cultivate the Qian Heaven artistic conception, one had to practice the three aspects of wind, thunder, and fire. Similarly, to practice the Kun Earth artistic conception, one had to master the three aspects of mountain, marsh, and water.

The reason for this was that the Qian Kun Eight Phase Diagram was not a single diagram. Instead, the ‘Qian Heaven General Diagram’ was the main one. It was the gathering of three diagrams of wind, thunder, and fire that made up the complete Qian Heaven Diagram. It could be said that wind, thunder, fire, mountain, marsh, and water were all included in Qian Heaven and Kun Earth. They belonged to a part of heaven and earth.

In Yu Zuyi’s eyes, he had mastered the Xun Wind artistic conception, and Xun Wind was similar to Li Fire, so he suggested that he try Li Fire first. If it was impossible to comprehend it due to the poor quality of the Li Fire Map, which was only a rubbing, then he could try to understand the Kan Water Map.

"I want to try to bring a single artistic conception to the second step first…"

After some thought, Chen Mu answered.

For now, he could comprehend any of the Yu Family’s artistic conception maps whenever he wanted. So, he did not have to be in such a hurry.

"You have ambition."

Yu Zuyi smiled kindly, and then he sighed. "It is indeed harder to reach the second step when practicing multiple artistic conceptions. Many people are stuck before the threshold of the second step and are unable to make any progress. They have no choice but to practice multiple artistic conceptions."

"However, in fact, for true geniuses, practicing multiple artistic conceptions is also the same path. In the end, they all gather all the Qian Kun Eight Phases and touch the path of heaven and earth. However, the most orthodox Qian Kun Eight Phases of this Great Xuan Dynasty is also the most difficult one of all the artistic conceptions. Even in the flourishing time of the imperial court, not many people were able to truly practice all eight phases and master the Qian Kun artistic conception. Even if they do, each step forward is equivalent to others taking eight steps. Each step is difficult, as if reaching the heavens. There are even fewer people who can reach the peak."

Chen Mu listened quietly to Yu Zuyi’s description.

After browsing through the Yu Family’s numerous classics, he had come to understand that the Qian Kun Eight Phases were not the only martial artistic conceptions in this world. They were just the most popular, most official, and most orthodox artistic conception, and also the undisputed most powerful artistic conception.

However, this ‘most powerful’ did not refer to any single artistic conception. Instead, one had to at least bring out Qian Heaven or Kun Earth in order to overcome everything. Only those who had practiced the complete Qian Kun artistic conception were considered the truly strongest in the martial arts world.

They were above artistic conceptions such as ‘Yin and Yang’ and ‘Five Elements’!

Of course.

In fact, artistic conceptions such as Yin and Yang and Five Elements were also very difficult. They were divided into multiple parts. For example, the Five Elements had five artistic conceptions, and one had to practice each of them in order to master the complete Five Elements. The Yin and Yang artistic conception also had many extended branches.

Including the sword dao, which the Heavenly Sword Sect focused on, which was the ‘Sword Dao artistic conception’. It also had many branches such as Heart Sword and Heavenly Sword. Or the ‘Slaughter artistic conception’ focused on by those who favored killing.

However, these were mostly mastered by major sects and were never circulated in the world. They were not like the Qian Kun Eight Phase Diagram, which, after thousands of years, had been divided again and again and spread to the common people, eventually evolving into countless blade techniques and sword techniques.

For Chen Mu at this moment.

Bringing his single artistic conception to the next step would bring the biggest improvement.

However, when the artistic conception was gradually brought to its peak and he stepped onto the third step, what would then determine who was stronger among those at the third step would be the ‘quality’ of the artistic conception itself.

As for why the Qian Kun artistic conception was recognized as the most powerful in the martial arts world, Chen Mu knew that it was because of the Great Xuan Dynasty, which still stood in the world today!

Great Xuan could sweep across the eight directions, quell the four seas, conquer the world and establish a unified dynasty, and even prosper for nearly a thousand years, pressing down countless sects and making them unable to raise their heads. The origin of all this was their founding ancestor, who had practiced the Qian Kun artistic conception and reached the pinnacle of martial arts!

But a thousand years had passed.

There was no such person in the Great Xuan Dynasty today.

It was the third watch, and the word count was still more than ten thousand.