Da Xuan Martial Saint

In the year 1428 of the Da Xuan Calendar, the ninth day of the first month.

For the common people of Yu City, it was a very ordinary day, the ninth day after the New Year, the cold of the harsh winter had not yet receded, and very few households went out, all staying at home huddled by their stoves.

This year's winter was not as hard as the last, without the 'extreme cold' weather or too much snow. Some of the elderly were worried, feeling that a year without heavy snow might turn out to be an even worse year.

Compared to the millions of common folk of Yu City,

the slightly higher powers had, in varying degrees, felt a change on this day, a shift in the atmosphere, a sense of tension amid the winter's cold.

Because too many personnel had been reallocated, including several Chief Constables of the City Defense Division from the east, south, west, north, the Metropolitan Commander of the Inner City Area, and various other Yamen metropolitan commanders, even extensive personnel from the Inspectorate, and even the major families were forced to contribute their forces.

Inner City.

The He Family.

In the most central and extravagantly luxurious main hall of the He Family.

Currently, there were only He Zhengya, the family head, and a figure dressed in a Mysterious Robe, standing there casually.

"Yan Jingqing has already left,"

"he indeed left Chen Mu in Yu City," Stay tuned for updates on empire

said the figure in the Mysterious Robe lightly.

Leaning on his cane, He Zhengya's voice was low as he said, "But Inspector Yan also took away quite a few of our He Family's forces."

Yan Jingqing heading to the Purple Mist Mountains and leaving Chen Mu in Yu City didn't seem very unexpected, since the Purple Mist Mountains were far from Yu City and the battle would not likely end within a day or two. Given Yan Jingqing's appreciation for Chen Mu, it was likely he would leave Chen Mu to coordinate from Yu City.

After all, Chen Mu was in a rather unique situation, possessing considerable talent and potential which needed time to develop. Deploying Chen Mu to the front lines of the Purple Mist Mountains made little sense; better suited for such a role were figures like Xue Huaikong and He Wuyou.

Moreover,

Yu Jiujiang of the Yu Family was really too old.

Even if Yan Jingqing wanted to mobilize all available forces to control the situation as much as possible, he could move He Wuyou and Xue Huaikong, but it was always impossible to mobilize Yu Jiujiang, for various reasons.

Hence, taking away He Wuyou, Xue Huaikong, Xie Changfeng, and other major family figures, leaving Chen Mu to coordinate in Yu City was very appropriate, With Yu Jiujiang there, security was assured, and with Meng Tianzhang in the Inner City, no chaos would ensue.

"Hehe, with He Wuyou not here, are you now afraid to make a move against him?"

the man in the Mysterious Robe said, his tone slightly mocking.

He Zhengya said gravely, "The ancestor of the Yu Family still possesses the strength of the Five Viscera Realm, and even though the elder predicted that he could not make many moves, without the elder here, our He Family couldn't deal with a Five Viscera Realm, no matter how many forces we have."

"Moreover, Chen Mu is extremely cautious and cunning. Though he has revealed the realms of Bone Tempering, Xun Wind, and Thunderbolt, who can guarantee that this is his full strength?"

"Without any certainty... Our He Family and the Yu Family, although deeply entwined in grievances, there is still the Seven Profound Sect between us. At worst, we bow to the Yu Family, utilizing some of the elder's connections to at least avoid a total annihilation."

He Zhengya stated slowly while staring at the figure in the Mysterious Robe.

Now that Chen Mu had received Yan Jingqing's favor and possessed exceptional talents and qualifications, the He Family was almost pushed to a dead end, forced to watch the other rise step by step, unable to contain him, surely making it extremely difficult for He Family in the future.

But the problem lay in the fact that Chen Mu was now a metropolitan commander of the Inspectorate, a status starkly different from before. Although the incident at the Purple Mist Mountains necessitated Yan Jingqing's personal intervention, even if they took this opportunity to deal with Chen Mu, once Yan Jingqing returned in a rage, the He Family would still face ruin.

Moreover,

Yan Jingqing had also made moves specifically shifting away many elite forces including those of the He Family, Xue Family, and Xie Family, leaving most at the Yu Family, including Yu Jiujiang who had not been moved.

He Zhengya's voice carried a hint of desolate resignation, seemingly preparing to sincerely submit to the Yu Family after this, no longer resisting or struggling.

The figure in the Mysterious Robe scrutinized He Zhengya for a moment.

Eventually,

he flicked his hand, suddenly throwing an object onto the table, which was a jade-shaped arrowhead with a trace of vivid red flowing inside it, resembling a stream of blood.

"Hehe, whether you fight or not, you die either way, I don't believe your He Family will really resign yourselves to fate. However, as the old saying goes, beneath the will of heaven, even amidst myriad calamities, there exists a slim chance of survival... I give you this slim chance."

"This 'Blood Fiend Blazing Flame Arrow', crafted from the blood of the heart of a Sixth Rank magical creature, the Blazing Ancient Vine, is fatal to anyone below the Five Viscera Realm upon contact, and even a person of the Five Viscera Realm, if caught off guard, can be injured."

"As for Yu Jiujiang and Meng Tianzhang, you need not worry."

"Kill Chen Mu, eliminate the Yu Family, and that will be the condition for your He Family's allegiance to the Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion. Afterward, your He Family will follow the Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion's orders, and there's no need to fear Yan Jingqing, as he will be dealt with by us." said the figure in the Mysterious Robe lightly.

As he finished speaking,

He Zhengya, originally apathetic and somewhat weak in expression, suddenly changed; he picked up the blood-red jade arrowhead from the table, his aura abruptly becoming profound.

"Is it settled then?"

The Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion wanted to incorporate the He Family, convincing them to pledge allegiance. This was undoubtedly a risky move for the He Family, as it meant being directly caught up in the struggle between the Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion and the Seven Profound Sect!

Although the Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion was certainly no weaker than the Seven Profound Sect, compared to these two powerhouse forces, the He Family was far too fragile and could easily be crushed in a slight misstep.

But now,

Chen Mu's rise had forced the He Family into a desperate situation. Chen Mu, such a young man—perhaps while He Wuyou was still around, the He Family might have been able to hold out. But once He Wuyou reached his twilight years and lost his strength, the He Family would face the disaster of annihilation!

The Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion had seen this, and thus planned to intervene; advance, and completely take over the He Family's forces; retreat, and let the He Family be destroyed by the Yu Family, which wouldn't be much of a loss for them.

As for the reaction of the Seven Profound Sect afterward...

The Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion neither made a grand show of forcing the sect's upper echelons to enter the fray, nor did it personally kill anyone. The murderers were from the He Family, the Seven Profound Sect's own people. Even if they accused the Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion of instigation and interference, the strife within a sect's own ranks would still be considered an internal issue.

After all, the struggles of the martial world are hardly child's play.

"My Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion does not make promises lightly," he said lightly.

A faint gleam appeared in his eyes.

The Heavenly Sword Sect, Blood Hidden Pavilion, and Hehuan Sect all simply wanted the resources of Yu County, but the Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion was different from the start—they wanted all of Yu County!

As for Chen Mu, he was merely a sacrificial pawn, though given the talent and abilities he had displayed, he was indeed worth eliminating.

Whoosh.

His figure floated up, vanishing within the grand hall of the He Family.

He Zhengya stared at the blood-colored arrowhead made of jade in his hand, sighed deeply, and then slammed his wooden staff down hard, declaring in a deep voice,

"Call Zhengguang, Zhengdao, Zhengying... to discuss matters."

The He Family had never considered resigning themselves to fate or bowing their heads to the Yu Family, as that would be akin to willingly putting their necks under someone else's blade. With years of grievances, these were not easily dismissed; in the end, they still faced destruction by the Yu Family.

Although Yan Jingqing valued Chen Mu, the He Family would still act at any opportunity. It had always been a life-and-death situation, merely suppressed by Yan Jingqing.

Incidents at the Purple Mist Mountains, the remnants of the Heavenly Corpse Sect... there were many matters that needed manpower, and naturally, Yan Jingqing wouldn't allow the He and Yu families to engage in a life-and-death feud under his watch, fighting each other before the chaos truly started.

The involvement of the Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion was an unexpected pleasure.

The attitude of resignation they had initially shown was merely a probe, wanting to see the intentions of the Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion. On the other hand, they also indeed felt that Chen Mu was too calm and difficult to handle.

The numerous misjudgments of Chen Mu's strength had made He Zhengya extremely cautious.

Bone Tempering Minor Achievement, two kinds of Artistic Conception...

Even if Chen Mu suddenly reached Bone Tempering Perfection or developed a third Artistic Conception, he wouldn't be surprised!

Basing strategies on apparent strength was definitely wrong. Taking further action against Chen Mu would require meticulous planning, raising the benchmark to Bone Tempering Perfection and a third Artistic Conception before delivering a thunderous strike, employing a full array of techniques, leaving no chance for a counterattack!

Originally,

The He Family had prepared several types of lethal poison that beings outside the Five Viscera Realm would struggle to withstand, combined with some dangerous hidden weapons. Now, the 'Blood Fiend Blazing Flame Arrow' provided by the Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion greatly boosted their confidence.

After killing Chen Mu and completely siding with the Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion, although the Seven Profound Sect would be furious, at least there would be much room for maneuvering. It was even possible to arrange for some family members to move to 'Xuan State' controlled by the Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion to start anew and leave a fallback option.

...

Inspectorate.

Raindrops fell outside the window, leaving the sixth floor deserted.

The several offices on the fifth floor were also vacant, with only one office where Chen Mu sat quietly.

After flipping through the reports from various parts of Yu County and chiefly on the information about the Purple Mist Mountains, Chen Mu sighed and said, "The four sects really cannot cooperate wholeheartedly, and the remnants of the Heavenly Corpse Sect indeed have extraordinary methods."

Several days had passed.

Led by the Heavenly Sword Sect, the forces of the various sects had basically cleared the periphery of the Purple Mist Mountains, but when they attempted to enter the inner area, they were counterattacked by the Heavenly Corpse Sect. Using the poisonous miasma and terrain of the Purple Mist Mountains, they temporarily trapped many troops and then launched a full-scale attack.

Although the sect members stationed outside and Yan Jingqing managed to kill many corpse refiners, many remnants of the Heavenly Corpse Sect still escaped the Purple Mist Mountains. Currently, the forces from various sects and the prefectures of Yu County were tracking and hunting them down.

Just as he had anticipated, the inability of the sect forces to cooperate fully created many weaknesses. The Heavenly Corpse Sect remnants had been entrenched in the Purple Mist Mountains for many years, harnessing the geographical advantage, making it difficult to capture them all at once.

"Yu County is going to be chaotic for a while longer,"

Chen Mu shook his head.

He then threw all the collected intelligence into the nearby furnace to burn, before walking downstairs.