Da Xuan Martial Saint

"Indeed, cultivating the Qiankun Artistic Conception is the most correct grand avenue for me,"

Chen Mu soared between steep cliffs.

That feeling of freely moving amidst the mist, as if all things in the world were acting according to his will, was just too exhilarating—an experience he had never had before. Subtly, it merged with the deepest goals in his heart and with his most fundamental Martial Arts will.

What he sought was for everything in the world to follow his will, and what he cultivated was the Qiankun Artistic Conception, which dominated all things. This might be a coincidence, but then again, maybe not, because the most widely inherited Martial Arts in the world was indeed the Qiankun Eight Phases.

There were no clear boundaries for the will of Martial Arts.

But countless martial arts experts still roughly divided the will of Martial Arts into several categories.

Specifically,

Understanding the Heart and Seeing True Nature, Unwavering and Undoubted, The Three Inquiries of the Heart.

Understanding the Heart involves discerning one's true heart, and Seeing True Nature involves recognizing one's true self. Chen Mu had already passed these two stages, and now he was walking on the path of Unwavering and Undoubted.

Unwavering means the heart is not swayed by external things; no matter what one sees or does, the heart will not deviate or doubt oneself anymore. Undoubted is an even higher level, where one's will is so firm that there is no longer any hesitation or confusion, steadfastly adhering to one's path.

The last is The Three Inquiries of the Heart: asking oneself without shame, acting without regret, and following the path without turning back.

The vast majority of martial artists, who have not broken through the Mysterious Pass to enter the Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster Realm, find it very hard to reach the stage of self-inquiry and tend to wander between Unwavering and Undoubted.

Like many martial artists, a single defeat might sway them, one loss could lead them to doubt their path, and then their will plummets back to Understanding the Heart and Seeing True Nature, requiring them to repeatedly stabilize their hearts and recover their path. After a few setbacks here, they completely lose the opportunity to break through the Mysterious Pass and attain the Grandmaster level.

And those who never fail are very rare; these are usually the outstanding individuals of their generation. With every victory, they use others to temper themselves, further affirming their will, and quickly surpassing the stages of Unwavering and Undoubted.

This is also understandable.

Imagine if one were constantly hitting walls and failing, how could they firmly believe that their Martial Arts are correct? Whereas if one is unbeaten, using others as a mirror to reflect on themselves, then naturally, with each step, they become more certain.

Therefore, all who have cultivated to the Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster level in this world are extraordinary people. It's very difficult to remain undefeated all along, and it's equally hard to reclaim one's heart and consolidate one's Martial Will after numerous failures!

Chen Mu had already passed the stage of Understanding the Heart quite early.

After he cultivated the Qiankun Artistic Conception, he passed the Seeing True Nature stage, and now he had also entered the 'Unwavering and Undoubted,' the most difficult part of a martial artist's journey.

Since he started practicing martial arts, he had tempered himself and persevered with hardships without defeat. Now he felt even more the sensation of the Qiankun Artistic Conception, wherein he could command all things at will harmonize with his own will, gradually moving forward on the path of Unwavering and Undoubted.

Just like that.

He weaved through the mountains indefinitely, until finally feeling a hint of fatigue and slowing his pace a bit.

He climbed up to the peak of another rocky cliff, a map of Bi Prefecture emerged in his mind, and he carefully compared and judged his current location to see how far he was from the 'Yunni Sky Steps.'

According to his knowledge, the disturbance in the Cloud Sea should happen in about half a month to a month. But meanwhile, representatives of various sects and outstanding disciples from the Eleven States of the Cold North Path were already converging on Bi Prefecture.

However.

The terrain of Bi Prefecture was too complex. On his way, let alone encountering disciples from other sects, he had barely seen any of the mountain dwellers of Bi Prefecture; he only noticed some signs of human habitation in a few basic canyons.

Chen Mu was a bit unclear about his exact location. He stopped on a rock to look ahead, and after scanning over several mountain peaks, his gaze was suddenly drawn to a spot on one of the cliffs.

There was someone.

"Finally, I've encountered someone,"

A flicker of light passed through Chen Mu's eyes. Although he had seen signs of human habitation in some canyons from a distance, he did not go to take a closer look. This was the first person he had come across.

Yu County was said to be remote, but in his opinion, Bi Prefecture was likely the true definition of a remote place.

"To find someone in the mountains, and to harmonize with them, is also the rightful way of heaven and earth,"

Chen Mu murmured softly.

The areas of Bi Prefecture he had traveled through had almost no flat plains suitable for cultivation, making life here naturally difficult for people. However, just like in Sha Prefecture, where many common folks lived, no hardship of the mountains could prevent human settlement.

He descended silently, approaching the mountain with the person on it. Now he could tell that the person on the mountain peak was not a disciple from some sect but one of the mountain dwellers of Bi Prefecture, judging by their lack of martial presence during the climb.

As Chen Mu approached the bottom of that cliff and looked up, he was slightly startled.

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clinging to the rock face, with a bamboo basket on her back and struggling to move forward was a figure. She wore a coarse hemp garment, and from this distance, Chen Mu could see that she was a young girl, probably no more than fourteen or fifteen years old.

She traveled along the steep cliff where a slight misstep could cause a fall into the abyss, yet her movement was steady. After reaching a certain height, she took a herb shovel from her basket and carefully began to extract a medicinal plant from a crevice in the cliff; her motions were agile and skilled, indicating that this was not her first time harvesting herbs.