Da Xuan Martial Saint

By the mountainside.

Chen Mu's eyes were calm and undisturbable, but his entire being inexplicably exuded a touch of vicissitudes; a depth which should not belong to a man in his early thirties. Now, if one gazed into his profound eyes, they could see that bit of age, as if he had witnessed the world's myriad transformations.

Such an aura was not an illusion.

The Marrow Cleansing Realm, the Grandmaster of Martial Arts, had already distinguished itself vastly. His understanding and accumulation of Martial Arts had truly reached a state of returning to simplicity and truth, nearly unconstrained by any techniques or skills, with every move of the Martial Body carrying immense might.

For a full month and a half, Chen Mu had been connected to the breath of the Qiankun Lock Dragon Formation. It was almost as if throughout that time, his mood and vision were connected to the entire Seven Profound mountain range, becoming a part of it—like a mountain deity, witnessing the rise and fall of the sun and moon, the twinkling of stars.

"Humans have emotions, heaven does not; what is called Martial Arts, once reaching high realms, is about leveraging the path of humanity to command the way of heaven."

The sense of age in Chen Mu's eyes gradually faded away, quickly returning to his usual state, as he cast his gaze into the distance, sweeping over the entirety of the Seven Profound Sect's peaks, he muttered softly to himself.

Humans have limits, after all. Solely relying on the mortal flesh, no matter how one comprehends nature, one can never truly become a part of it. Yet, if one were to merge with nature, fundamentally connecting with it to understand all things under the cosmos, it could easily lead to the gradual eradication of one's humanity, the elimination of human emotions, and a drift toward the emotionless and desireless "Supreme Realm."

Indeed.

Some martial paths pursue the emotionless way.

But even the so-called 'emotionless' way does not mean severing the ego that makes one human; it signifies not being confined by 'emotions,' unaffected by various feelings such as love and hate, unconstrained by bonds like kinship, seeking only personal detachment and transcendence, rather than completely abandoning all that makes one human.

Otherwise, to cultivate to the point where one loses the self entirely, becoming a part of the cosmos, would be utterly meaningless. After all, this is Martial Arts, not the 'Path of Immortality'—the pursuit has never been immortality, but power.

If the self no longer exists, what use is power?

Therefore.

There arises the concept of Martial Will.

It is through Martial Will and a clear understanding of one's nature that one can continue to comprehend the universe after advancing to Grandmaster, without gradually being influenced by it and losing oneself.

Like Chen Mu for this month and a half, by connecting with the breath of the Qiankun Lock Dragon Formation, he effectively occupied the vast territory of the Seven Profound mountain range, replacing its physical form to comprehend the universe. If it had been any ordinary Martial Artist of the Five Organ and Viscera Realm with a less determined Martial Will, after a month of such contemplation, their consciousness would have likely dissipated into the cosmos.

Even ordinary Grandmasters with slightly weaker Martial Will would not dare to use the Qiankun Lock Dragon Formation to sense the universe for long, as there is always some degree of risk.

But Chen Mu was different.

His Martial Will had stepped onto the final stair, reaching the realm of "seeking the path without return; the law is natural."

Under such will, the strength of his consciousness became like a rock in the raging waves, unmovable no matter how the ocean churned. Even comparing it to that seems inadequate. It is more like "the bodhi tree does not exist, nor the stand of a mirror bright"; in a state of sublime emptiness. The so-called waves couldn't even touch him, let alone erode him.

After exiting the state of contemplation, it took merely a thought to dissipate that vicissitude, returning from a god-like existence to the state of a normal human being.

"Master's Martial Will must also be of 'seeking the path without return,' no wonder he was the youngest top Grandmaster in the Cold North, the unparalleled genius of his era."

Chen Mu thought to himself.

Qin Mengjun had previously suffered damage to her Soul Heart, but she was able to use the Qiankun Lock Dragon Formation to merge with the universe and recover from her injuries. This was probably because her Martial Will had reached that domain; otherwise, not to mention the possibility of slowly healing the soul, anyone with even slightly weaker Martial Will, in that state, would face the risk of losing themselves while connecting with the breath of the Qiankun Lock Dragon Formation.

And Chen Mu was almost certain that even with a Martial Will reaching the end of the path, Qin Mengjun would have taken risks by merging with the Qiankun Lock Dragon Formation with her injured Soul Heart. Still, she chose to risk healing through cultivation and ultimately managed to recover from the soul damage, stepping into the Blood Exchange Realm in the process.

Every person who enters the Blood Exchange Realm has gone through adversity; they all have been forged and tempered by countless trials and tribulations.

[Martial Art: Qiankun Artistic Conception (Second Step)]

[Experience Points: 10023] Stay tuned for updates on My Virtual Library Empire

[Available Derivations: 0]

Chen Mu quickly collected his thoughts, summoning the system panel with a thought. As he had predicted, the experience he gained from a month and a half of contemplation and cultivation was just enough for another round of derivation.

This was his eighth derivation since he had fully comprehended the Qiankun Artistic Conception. He could clearly feel that he was only one small step away from the ultimate limit of the second step of the Qiankun Artistic Conception.

"Let's begin."

Chen Mu closed his eyes, exchanged the experience points for derivations, and then consumed it with a thought.