Chapter 139: Water and Fire

Behind the ancient courtyard.

In front of the rows of seemingly simple houses.

Chen Mu stood there, his gaze looking inside. He saw that each room was not large, and in the largest room in the center, about seven or eight people were sitting in various positions. Among them was Xu Hongyu.

The entire room and even the entire courtyard was quiet.

Chen Mu silently approached and looked inside. He could see that the others besides Xu Hongyu were of different ages and genders, but they were all carefully observing the artistic conception map hanging in the center of the wall.

Chen Mu’s gaze first circled around Xu Hongyu. Seeing that her mind was focused and immersed, he then turned his gaze to the artistic conception map on the wall. What he saw at first glance was a silver river that seemed to fall from the nine heavens.

"Kan Water Map…"

Chen Mu murmured in his heart.

Just by looking through the doors and windows, he could feel the artistic conception contained in the map, the rich way of Kan Water, as if it was about to gush directly from the map and submerge the entire courtyard.

Compared to it, the Thunder Diagram in his hand was indeed like a roadside commodity, incomparable.

"The gap is so big."

Chen Mu came back to his senses after a while and couldn’t help but shake his head slightly.

He had long known that the artistic conception contained in inferior printed maps was far inferior to that of the truly high-quality Eight Phase Maps, but he did not expect the difference to be so great, just like the difference between a child learning to paint and a master of painting, that cannot be measured by the smallest unit.

But after thinking about it, he could understand.

After all, a printed map requires first copying the original Eight Phase Map, then drawing a stencil, and after printing, adding details according to the original map. Even if this process is carefully done by some masters proficient in painting, it is difficult to capture even a third of the original map’s spirit.

The Kan Water Map in front of him was a real top-grade product. It was a map painted by a true disciple of the legendary Painting Sage of a thousand years ago, who had copied a branch map from the ‘Illustrated Eight Phase Map’. In fact, it could be directly called a ‘Fourth Generation Map’, which had a clearly known source and origin.

On the other hand, his Thunder Diagram, did not even know how many times it had been printed and circulated.

Although there were more than one of these ‘Fourth Generation Maps’ like the Kan Water Map in existence, the degree of their preciousness went without saying. After all, there were not many true disciples of the Painting Sage. Even if they had copied maps every day, their numbers would not be too many after thousands of years.

Chen Mu pondered briefly, then restrained his thoughts, and quietly looked at the Kan Water Map, tentatively comprehending it.

After a moment.

He moved his mind, summoned the system panel, and took a look. He quickly found a new line.

[Martial Arts: Kan Water Artistic Conception (Not Comprehended)]

[Experience: 7 Points]

[Available Deduction Times: 0]

"It hasn’t been long, has it?"

Chen Mu was slightly startled, looking at the accumulated experience points.

When he comprehended the Thunder Diagram, he would spend five or six hours each day and would get at most about a hundred experience points, taking about three months to accumulate ten thousand points.

However, just now, he had tried to comprehend the Kan Water Map, for probably no more than a quarter of an hour.

The time divisions in this world were not very different from those of the ancient dynasties of his previous life. There were twelve hours in a day and night, divided into ninety-six quarters, that is, eight quarters in an hour. He had obtained seven experience points in one quarter, so that would be fifty-six points in an hour.

If he set aside five or six hours a day, aside from eating, resting, and practicing the Body Tempering Method, to comprehend the artistic conception map, he could get almost three hundred experience points!

The efficiency of comprehending the Kan Water Map was almost three times that of the Thunder Diagram!

"This is higher than I expected."

Chen Mu could not help but shake his head. If he could have comprehended this Kan Water Map a few years ago, he would probably have entered the third step of artistic conception by now. Unfortunately, he could not even touch something like the Kan Water Map back then.

If the efficiency of comprehending the Kan Water Map was so high, how about the Li Fire Map?

Chen Mu pondered in his heart.

He was about to turn around and go to the next room to look for the Li Fire Map, but before he could move, he saw a pretty lady with a trace of joy in her eyes. She had come closer at some point, was quietly staring at him without saying a word, and it was indeed Xu Hongyu, who was just in the room comprehending the Kan Water Map.

Chen Mu blinked at the jade beauty in front of him.

Xu Hongyu nodded lightly, then the two of them tiptoed away from the courtyard. They walked until they were under an old pine tree not far outside the courtyard before Xu Hongyu looked at Chen Mu and whispered, "Why did you come?"

Chen Mu looked at Xu Hongyu’s lowered voice and suddenly felt as if he had returned to his previous life. He was tiptoeing in the library, whispering with his junior schoolmate in a corner.

"Hmm…"

Xu Hongyu’s clear eyes sparkled like jade, and then blinked a few times.

She did not know why men liked to do these things, but if Chen Mu liked to do this to her, she would feel a hint of joy in her heart, because she knew that this was what men would do to the women they liked.

Sensing that soft cluelessness, he suddenly felt a bit clumsy and awkward as she tried to learn and cater to him. Chen Mu’s gaze softened and warmed as he leaned closer to Xu Hongyu’s ear and said, "I came to see how your training is going, and also to give you this."

Her comprehension of the Kan Water Map should have progressed a bit. He could vaguely capture some of the moist Qi, and Chen Mu suddenly thought he was fortunate that Xu Hongyu was practicing the Kan Water Artistic Conception. If she had been practicing the Gen Mountain Artistic Conception, then she would probably have truly turned into a stone.

"This, you’ve refined it?"

Xu Hongyu looked at the brocade bag that Chen Mu had placed in her hand. She knew that there were Bone Forging Pills inside, so her clear eyes blinked and showed an even greater light of joy.

"Yes."

Chen Mu nodded slightly and said, "I felt just now that your Qi and blood are almost refined, so it shouldn’t take a few months for you to step into the Bone Forging Realm."

At Xu Hongyu’s age, reaching Perfection of Tendon Transformation meant that reaching Bone Forging would not be difficult. And with the density of her Qi and blood he had sensed up close just now, she had nearly met the standard.

"It would be great if you could forge bones. It’s not that important for me whether I can forge bones or not."

Xu Hongyu did not pay attention to the Bone Forging Pills in the brocade bag. She only looked at Chen Mu and whispered.

"Nonsense."

Chen Mu reached out and gently pinched Xu Hongyu’s nose bridge, and said, "Not only do you have to forge bones, you have to reach the Five Viscera Realm in the future. When we are both old, I won’t allow you to go before me."

Hearing these words, Xu Hongyu looked at Chen Mu in a daze, and the water vapor between heaven and earth seemed to become denser.

Chen Mu touched Xu Hongyu’s head, and asked, "Did you hear me?"

He knew that it was difficult for a woman like Xu Hongyu to be moved. But once she had passed the initial part, she would be more single-minded than ordinary women, and might even abandon martial arts.

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"…Yes."

Xu Hongyu nodded lightly, carefully putting away the Bone Forging Pills.

Chen Mu then simply told Xu Hongyu about some of the things that had happened before. Hearing this, Xu Hongyu was also shocked and felt even more cold towards the He Family.

After speaking for a while, the two of them returned to the previous courtyard. Chen Mu sent Xu Hongyu to the main hall where the Kan Water Map was placed, and then walked alone to the next room, looking at each room, and quickly found the Li Fire Map that the Yu Family possessed.

Inside the room where the Li Fire Map was stored.

It was clean.

There was no one.

The Yu Family disciples basically practiced the Kan Water Lineage’s sword techniques from the beginning of their martial arts training. Only a very small number of people who truly had talent in other lineages would go to practice other techniques.

The Li Fire Lineage was the least practiced lineage in the Yu Family. After all, Kan Water and Li Fire were mutually restraining, and with almost everyone in the Yu Family practicing the Kan Water Lineage, unless one had a rebellious bone, naturally few would practice Li Fire.

The quality of the Li Fire Map was much worse than the Kan Water Map.

In Chen Mu’s view, it should also be a printed map, but it seemed to be slightly higher in quality than his Thunder Diagram. However, it was only a little bit, and the difference was not as obvious as the top-grade Kan Water Map.

Looking at the Li Fire Map, Chen Mu fell into brief contemplation.

For him now, practicing the Li Fire Map was actually the most suitable because wind, thunder, and fire were the three closest aspects, but the quality of the Li Fire Map was not as good as the Kan Water Map, and the efficiency would probably be incomparable.

However, he now had a top-grade Flame Jade Bed, and with it as a couch, he would be in an environment that was very close to Li Fire. This would surely have a certain bonus for comprehending the Li Fire Map, but he did not know whether the system panel would have any feedback.

After thinking about it, Chen Mu decided to try the effects of the Li Fire Map first. So, he found an old man of the Yu Family who was guarding this courtyard. He did not directly take the map, but temporarily exchanged the Thunder Diagram for the Li Fire Map.

"There is no need for this. Apart from the Kan Water Map, you can take any other map that you want to comprehend."

The old man of the Yu Family was very gentle towards Chen Mu.

On the one hand, news about Chen Mu had already spread here, and on the other hand, Yu Jiujiang had personally conveyed the order that the Yu Family would fully provide all the resources Chen Mu needed for his cultivation.

"Thank you, senior."

Chen Mu bowed to him.

With the Yu Family’s attitude, he did not feel very comfortable taking things without offering something in return. The Thunder Diagram was basically useless in his hands now, so he took it out and hung it on the wall of an empty room.

The Thunder Diagram was originally something of the Yu Family. After going around in a circle, it had finally returned here.

After putting away the Li Fire Map.

Chen Mu returned to his courtyard. His bedroom was still being renovated.

The Flame Jade Bed was not in his bedroom, but was placed in the inner room of his quiet practice room. Chen Mu did not pay much attention to the renovation of his bedroom and went directly to the quiet practice room and then to the inner room.

He lit a lamp.

The pitch-black inner room was illuminated, revealing the Flame Jade that was placed horizontally in the center, which was red all over.

In fact, it was not yet suitable to call it a bed, because it had not been cut, and its surface was not smooth. However, Chen Mu did not want to lie on it to rest or sleep, but rather to use its essence to comprehend the Li Fire Map.

He put down the lamp and walked over. He sat cross-legged on the Flame Jade and placed the Li Fire Map in front of him.