Chapter Fifty-One: Journey to the Bright Moon Empire

However, the first stage of the divine clan’s cultivation method—the Skin-Tempering Realm—required one to refine the skin with the power of vital energy and blood, making it as hard as steel. Just as Chen Mu was about to draw upon his sense of vital energy to temper his own flesh, Rou’er exclaimed, “When will you finally put on clothes? You’ve been standing here for so long, completely exposed... It’s utterly embarrassing.”

Chen Mu glanced at Rou’er’s flushed face, then at himself, feeling a bit awkward. He began digging into the earth, searching for the storage ring held by his former body buried beneath the soil. After retrieving clothes from the storage ring and dressing himself, Chen Mu discovered something peculiar: his old body beneath the ground had not completely perished. Certain parts still showed signs of vitality, perhaps maintained by the black pearl’s influence.

Curious, he examined his human body—but just then, a small fissure opened, and a pitch-black shadow emerged, biting a tiny wound into Chen Mu’s new body before vanishing.

Startled, Chen Mu cried out. Rou’er hurried over and asked what had happened. Upon hearing Chen Mu’s explanation, she sighed, “That black shadow must be the chaos-origin parasite. Your old body is dead, so the parasite would eventually die if it remained there. When you approached, it sensed your aura and transferred itself to your new body. Why did you bother with your old body? Now the parasite has followed you. Let me check your condition.”

With that, Rou’er placed her little paw on Chen Mu’s hand and used her spiritual sense to inspect his body thoroughly.

Astonished, Rou’er said, “This body of yours is remarkable—not simply the flesh of the divine clan, but a newly formed body that fuses traits of your human race. The divine clan does not possess the so-called one hundred and eight meridians or the dantian; they cultivate their flesh and divine core. Yet your body combines the strengths of both races.”

Chen Mu was taken aback. “You mean I can cultivate both human and divine clan methods at the same time? I can practice both systems?”

“In theory, yes,” Rou’er replied, “but I advise against splitting your focus. Cultivating even one system demands immense effort and a heavy price. Training both would be far too exhausting and time-consuming.”

“Alright, then I’ll try the ‘Nine Tribulations of the Wild God’ first. Since the divine clan is so powerful, their methods must have a reason for their strength. Naturally, I should practice the strongest one.” Chen Mu rubbed his hands in anticipation.

The Skin-Tempering Realm required the skin and flesh to be refined by vital energy and blood, rendering them as hard as steel and impervious to harm.

First, he had to absorb external vital energy, gather it in the Divine Vermilion Palace, then transform it into the power of blood and diffuse it throughout his skin and flesh, tempering and nourishing them.

Soon, Chen Mu realized this process was extremely taxing; after just an hour of cultivation, he had lost considerable weight, his skin clinging to his bones, and if he continued he would become nothing more than a dried corpse.

Clearly, the divine clan’s method was not easy to train. He decided to return to the ‘Ancient Sun Scripture’ for now and revisit the divine clan’s techniques later.

Hungry, he foraged for wild fruits in the forest to fill his stomach, planning to move on once he left the woods. After all, the exploration team had perished here, which would surely cause a stir; those coming next would not be mere Foundation Establishment cultivators, but Core Formation experts, so he needed to leave quickly.

His destination this time was Fan City. Starwatch Valley had been destroyed because of him, and his father was likely implicated, so he had to seek him out.

Time passed, and Chen Mu traveled through several cities before finally arriving at Fan City. Along the way, wanted posters bearing the likeness of Gu Xingyuan were plastered everywhere, filling him with guilt.

Fortunately, he was already presumed dead by his enemies; otherwise, he would have been caught at any checkpoint.

Wearing a bamboo hat to conceal his face, Chen Mu sat in a teahouse, gathering information about recent events in Fan City.

“Chen Family’s power has shifted. They say Chen Haoran’s adopted child, Chen Mu, caused trouble outside—he killed so many people. The Jadefall Dao Sect sent people, and Chen Quan has conveniently become the acting head of the family.”

“Isn’t that right? Chen Haoran brought this disaster on himself, adopting that unlucky child and harming both himself and others. Now the family business is handed over, and he’s been expelled, probably sleeping on the streets now.”

Listening to these rumors, Chen Mu tightened his grip on his teacup. It seemed his father had already left Fan City, and there was no reason to linger in a place that had no place for him.

That night, Chen Mu decided to have Rou’er raid the Chen family’s treasure vault. He needed vast resources to refine Fiend Pills, and since the family was no longer his father’s, there was no need for courtesy.

In the deep of night, the Chen clan estate was rocked by a tremendous crash. The elder awakened in alarm, and family members cried, “Attack! We’re under attack!”

Before he could react, a fox shadow hung in the sky, and a sweep of dragon-fox ghostly flame sent the Chen clan into chaos.

“Who dares slaughter my Chen family in the night? Aren’t you afraid the Jadefall Dao Sect will cause you trouble?”

“I’m not afraid of even that old dog Gu Daozhen, let alone his Jadefall Dao Sect. Your imagination is truly vivid,” Rou’er replied disdainfully.

Seeing the fox shadow suspended in the air, Chen Quan stammered, “You... you are—”

Before he could finish, he was engulfed in the sea of fire.

Thus, Chen Mu and Rou’er stole the Chen clan’s treasure vault. Many died or were wounded, and in the end, the remaining family members split what valuables they could and scattered. The fate of the illustrious Chen family of Fan City was sealed.

Leaving Fan City, the man and fox headed for the ruins of Starwatch Valley, destroyed by the Three Sects. There, Chen Mu planned to honor the outer disciples and his friends who had been slain.

Zhang Jiudan, Lü Shi, and Elder Liu Quan, along with all those who had worked alongside him in the outer sect—when his strength was sufficient, he vowed to annihilate the Three Sects and avenge this sea of blood.

Upon reaching Starwatch Valley, he found it deserted, now nothing but ruins. The bloodstains had long since dried, and the scars from magical battles were still visible.

Chen Mu felt a heavy sadness, his heart aching as he surveyed the ruined valley.

As he walked through the valley, he suddenly noticed some movement in the Pill Pavilion. Both anxious and excited, he wondered if someone had returned to Starwatch Valley.

He hurried forward and opened the door, finding several youths clad in animal skins rummaging for something.

Chen Mu asked, “Are you disciples of Starwatch Valley?”

The group was startled, surprised that someone had approached them from behind.

One of them replied, “Brother, you can eat recklessly, but you can’t speak recklessly. You’re here searching for treasures too, aren’t you? The Three Sects have already taken everything of value. We can’t even get a sip of the soup—how unlucky.”

Chen Mu realized these people were scavengers, not disciples, and so he left.

The group eyed Chen Mu suspiciously, then continued searching the Pill Pavilion for anything valuable.

This time, Chen Mu moved from town to town, heading toward the border of the Great Xia Empire. After selling off the Chen clan’s useless treasures, he exchanged them for a large batch of materials needed for refining Fiend Pills.

He was determined to open all one hundred and eight meridians, establish the foundation of his vital power, and enter the Foundation Realm. He found a place to activate the remaining seventy-two Earth Fiend meridians.

The process was long and agonizing. After repeatedly consuming Fiend Pills, Chen Mu finally succeeded in connecting all one hundred and eight meridians, reaching the pinnacle of the Meridian Realm.

Thanks to the thorough opening of his meridians, he laid a solid foundation for his vital power when building his foundation. This time, breaking through the Meridian Realm into the Foundation Realm, he aimed to construct the finest possible foundation.

Yet, in the midst of his breakthrough, an unexpected event occurred.

The chaos-origin parasite, which had been dormant for some time, suddenly acted up—an icy chill invaded, affecting Chen Mu’s mind. Although the parasite no longer caused the torment of alternating hot and cold fevers, at this critical moment its disruption of the lunar bloodline was a headache.

Still, Chen Mu gritted his teeth and persevered, frantically absorbing vital energy to forge his foundation. Through extraordinary resolve, he survived and successfully entered the Foundation Realm.

Now, Chen Mu’s strength was enough to rival a novice who had just entered the Core Formation stage. This growth meant he was now capable of venturing forth on his own.

Since he had reached the Foundation Realm, he planned to journey beyond the borders of Great Xia. The empire held nothing worth lingering for; when he returned, it would be time for reckoning.

At the frontier, Chen Mu left as a guard for a caravan of several wagons. Their destination was the northern Mingyue Empire, which, despite sharing the name “Mingyue,” had no connection to the Mingyue Blade Sect.

The Mingyue Empire was intriguing: within its borders, the demonic sect was neither shunned nor opposed. The most powerful force in the realm was the Demon Sect—Nine Nether Sacred Land.

Nine Nether Sacred Land was less a sect than a religion. Those who traveled there worshipped the demon race. Though demons belonged to the mythic era, many still revered these mysterious and ferocious beings.

Disciples of the demon sect acted unpredictably, their methods cruel, and their combat prowess surpassed that of ordinary cultivators.

Their cultivation methods were handed down from ancient times, promoting the absorption of fiendish energy, resentment, and even demonic energy, training alongside vital energy to enhance their demonic arts.

Rou’er had explained that during the great war between humans and demons, some people allied themselves with the demon race. This group became the ancestors of demon cultivators.

At the time, human cultivation was dominated by brute-force methods, with no concept of immortals.

The demon race adapted their own methods for humans, resulting in the birth of demon cultivation.

Some demon cultivators merely feigned allegiance to the demons, their hearts remaining loyal to humanity. Over time, they refined these methods, removing the sinister elements and transforming them into upright cultivation techniques—what became the path of immortality for humans.

As more immortals emerged, the human race finally stepped onto the stage of mythic history.

This revelation stunned Chen Mu: the path of immortality was actually derived from demon cultivation. Perhaps the Mingyue Empire, knowing this secret, promoted demon cultivation as a result.

In essence, the difference between demon and orthodox cultivation was the demon cultivators’ willingness to employ any means, especially harnessing fiendish energy and resentment as tools for cultivation and attack.

In fact, even orthodox techniques had traces of fiendish energy—for instance, opening the seventy-two Earth Fiend meridians required Fiend Pills to clear blockages in the meridians, though that was as far as it went.

The caravan traveled northward, stopping at a wild inn for supplies.

As one of the guards, Chen Mu dutifully watched over the caravan’s goods, patrolling the surrounding area from time to time.