Chapter 016: Alone into the Mountains

Because of Mu Tianhen’s personal order, Yang Cui’s branch was no longer considered part of the Mu family, and they could no longer stay within the Mu residence. Thus, she led her household out of the city, heading toward her maternal home in Baling City.

On the road, Yang Cui instructed her trusted aides that, no matter what, they must contact her eldest son, Mu Tianfeng, urging him to return and avenge his father and brother, reclaim the position of family head, destroy Mu Tianhen and his sister, and eliminate that decrepit old Mu Qianyuan.

Within the Mu residence, Mu Qianyuan held several antidote fruits in his hand, gazing at the distant forests and murmuring, “I hope you find the medicinal herbs you need and return safely.”

This time, as Mu Tianhen left home, he was uncertain when he would return, so he gave Mu Qianyuan extra antidote fruits to suppress the poison. At the same time, he made arrangements for the Eagle Squad to protect Mu Tiansnow in secret, ensuring her safety.

Departing in the dead of night, Mu Tianhen had already entered the Ten-Thousand Mountains, venturing dozens of miles deep, reaching the outer edge.

The Ten-Thousand Mountains were a place of great danger, renowned throughout the Dragon Soaring Empire—a land that stretched like a coiled dragon across the earth, its length unknown, its breadth spanning hundreds of miles, teeming with countless ferocious beasts.

Many martial artists deemed this place forbidden, shunning the peril lurking within. Those who ventured into the mountains never returned. Even those at the ninth level of the Sky-Gazing Mirror dared not go too deep. Thus, the Ten-Thousand Mountains remained undeveloped by humankind, retaining their primeval state. Within, not only were there savage beasts, but surely rare medicinal herbs grew as well.

Mu Tianhen, setting out this time, chose the Ten-Thousand Mountains as his destination.

Along the way, he encountered many wild beasts, though most were of ordinary strength and only a few had mutated. After cultivating the Infinite Heart Technique, Mu Tianhen understood that beasts and birds could also cultivate techniques, and even certain plants could absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to take form.

Therefore, on this martial continent, one could encounter powerful beasts or transformed demons at any moment, especially in remote regions.

Martial artists were divided into various ranks by their cultivation, and so too were the beasts and demon clans. Their nomenclature differed somewhat.

The beast clan, according to strength, was ranked from lowest to highest: ordinary, mutated, elite, captain, commander, lord, domain lord, beast king, beast emperor, celestial beast, divine beast, and sacred beast. These twelve major levels corresponded to the twelve realms of human martial artists, with each level further divided from one star to nine stars.

The demon clan also had twelve major realms: half-demon, young demon, lesser demon, greater demon, old demon, spirit demon, medicine king, demon emperor, demon sovereign, demon ancestor, demon god, and demon saint. Each realm, like the beast clan, was divided into one to nine stars.

Despite these distinctions, beasts often cultivated into demons—the two shared a blood kinship, both enemies of humanity. Yet humans, able to practice martial arts, forge weapons, and concoct pills and other tools, held absolute advantage, pushing the beasts and demons into the most remote lands.

Generally, unless humans pressed them too hard, these two clans would not easily provoke humans, even avoiding them.

Now, Mu Tianhen had reached the outer edge of the Ten-Thousand Mountains, about to enter the wilderness, stepping into the domain of the beasts and demons.

Along the way, Mu Tianhen repelled the fierce beasts while gathering medicinal herbs, harvesting a fair amount. However, these were ordinary herbs, not yet of the spiritual grade. Especially those needed for refining the antidote pill for the Winter Poison—he hadn’t found a single one.

To obtain such spiritual herbs, he would have to venture deep into the mountains and take risks to search.

Of course, Mu Tianhen was not so selfless as to endanger himself solely to seek herbs for Mu Qianyuan. His true purpose was to find the herbs he needed to refine spiritual pills, to advance his own cultivation, and to awaken his sister’s meridians, enabling her to become a martial artist and defend herself.

As for Mu Qianyuan, it was merely a matter of convenience, with some gratitude mixed in.

It was noon now; the sun blazed overhead, roasting the land, making everything oppressively hot. Even deep in the mountains, the heat was stifling.

Mu Tianhen halted, looking ahead with furrowed brows.

About ten yards ahead, a wall of thorns, several dozen yards tall, barred his way, dense and impenetrable. The thorn wall stretched to either side as far as the eye could see, its length and width unknown.

It seemed man-made, completely separating the inside from the outside. Whether it was meant to protect martial artists entering or prevent savage beasts from breaking out and harming people, he could not tell.

Such scale suggested it had remained untouched for ages.

Faintly, he could hear beasts roaring behind him.

“Whew—”

Mu Tianhen took a long, deep breath, then stepped forward toward the thorn wall.

He would not let this barrier halt his steps; he must enter and seek the spiritual herbs he required.

Clang!

With a crisp sound, Mu Tianhen drew his Xuan Iron longsword, channeling Meridian Power into the blade.

“Break for me!”

He uttered a low command, swinging his sword at the thorn wall.

Swish!

The sword flashed coldly, cleaving down with overwhelming force, startling the creatures in hiding into scattering.

Buzz!

Just as the blade was three inches from the wall, a resonant hum issued from within, followed by a surge of energy rushing toward the descending sword.

Step, step, step...

The forceful backlash drove Mu Tianhen involuntarily backward, retreating nearly ten steps before he managed to steady himself.

He stared in shock at the thorn wall, now tranquil once more, filled with suspicion.

He immediately concluded that this was the work of man—of a powerful expert. Not only had they constructed such a colossal wall, but they had also laid a formidable array.

Judging from the force of his earlier strike, Mu Tianhen knew that his current cultivation was insufficient to break through this miraculous array and enter deeper.

Moreover, his strike seemed to have provoked the beasts within, their roars echoing in response—low, but filled with anger.

Mu Tianhen paid no mind to the beasts behind. What he urgently needed to know now was how to break the array and open the wall.

He closed his eyes, recalling every detail of what had just happened, focusing on the nuances of the array’s backlash.

After about ten breaths, Mu Tianhen opened his eyes, a faint smile curling his lips. He stepped forward once more toward the thorn wall.

He had just caught the details of the array and, consulting the Infinite Heart Technique’s chapter on arrays, found the relevant explanation, gaining confidence in breaking it.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, Mu Tianhen pressed his feet to the ground, his body springing upward like an arrow released from a bow, reaching the middle of the thorn wall in an instant. He extended both hands, pushing them forward to strike.

PS: Our protagonist is about to embark on a solo adventure! Dear readers, please support him so that little Tianhen may travel safely and gain fortunate encounters!