Da Xuan Martial Saint

"Goo goo."

The yellow sand was pervasive, and amid the high sky and clouds, a gray demonic bird wailed mournfully while gliding through the cloud layer.

After circling for a while, it disappeared silently into the clouds.

Among the dunes.

Chen Mu, with his rucksack on his back, still strolled from one dune to another; with each step, he spanned dozens of meters, vaulting from one dune to the next.

In this way, after six days, he explored several points where the Earth's Veins were absent. Two of these were lairs of demonic creatures, but the other two offered opportunities for him to obtain another portion of his own Earth Primordial Essence, as well as some mineral materials.

All together, they were worth almost two or three Earth Element Pearls.

"Find another two portions or so, go back to the Sect to collect my share for the past two years as a True Disciple, and in combination that should be enough to complete the eleventh and twelfth temperings of the Five Viscera simultaneously," he pondered.

At the moment, Chen Mu was only considering the resources needed for the next two temperings, not even contemplating the thirteenth, because twelve might be the limit for the Five Viscera Realm. Whether there would be a thirteenth was still uncertain, and it wasn't necessary to think too far ahead before the rain comes.

"However, the power of the Earth's Veins in this desert is gradually recovering."

As Chen Mu walked, he still sensed the changes in the desert's Earth's Veins. Since the end of the sand calamity, eight days had passed, and the Earth's Veins in the desert had noticeably begun to recover, making finding the gaps increasingly difficult these past two days.

This was not unexpected for Chen Mu. Xiahou Yan had previously explained that the best time to explore the desert was the half month following a sand calamity, especially the initial days. After ten days, most minor gaps would have mended, leaving only some larger ones partially open, offering a chance for discovery.

As for Chen Mu's own perception and judgment of the Earth's Veins, he figured it was indeed about that time.

"I should pick up the pace a bit."

With that thought in his heart, Chen Mu mobilized his Yuan Gang True Essence, elevating his Abyssal Ground Shrink movement technique to a higher speed, darting across the dunes like a fleeting shadow.

Although he had many resources on him, in the worst case, he could even exchange Earthly Green Lotus Seeds, but he didn't have many of those left, and they were more valuable and rarer than other items. He wasn't likely to easily exchange Earthly Green Lotus Seeds for more common Heaven and Earth Spiritual Items like the Earth Element Pearls.

Whoosh.

Chen Mu sped across the desert, not knowing how far he had ventured into its depths, but his route wasn't aimed beyond the border. Instead, after reaching a certain distance, he explored within a range.

Just like that, after half a day of fruitless searching,

Suddenly,

A red glimmer appeared on the distant horizon. Though the light was somewhat dim, as if very far away, Chen Mu could still make it out and felt a stir in his heart, "Hmm? Is that a Message Talisman?"

Before setting off, Xiahou Yan had issued a Message Talisman to everyone, actually made of special minerals and the blood of a high-rank demonic creature that lived in volcanic environments. When activated with Yuan Gang, it would send up a signal like fireworks, bright and visible from even twenty to thirty miles away.

Without much hesitation,

Chen Mu immediately turned and hurried towards the location of the Communication Talisman.

In no time, having traversed nearly thirty miles through the yellow sand, Chen Mu gradually approached a massive sand dune and from afar, he could see two figures on top of the dune.
Your journey continues at empire

One was Xiahou Yan, and the other was Chu Jingsui, but it was unclear who had sent the Message Talisman and who had arrived in response.

"It's Junior Brother Chen."

Xiahou Yan and Chu Jingsui on the dune had also spotted Chen Mu.

Xiahou Yan smiled and said, "I didn't expect both you and Junior Brother Chen to be nearby. With both of you here, we're much more confident."

"Hmm."

Chu Jingsui nodded slightly.

As Chen Mu neared the dune, he leapt up and joined them without greeting Xiahou Yan or Chu Jingsui, already understanding the situation as he looked towards the valley behind the huge dune, a trace of a glint in his eyes.

"Junior Brother Chen seems to have harvested quite a bit; your movement technique is indeed much faster than ours," Xiahou Yan remarked with a smile, glancing at the bulging rucksack on Chen Mu, then his tone shifted, "You must have felt it too, Junior Brother Chen."

"Hmm."

Chen Mu was intently looking at the base of the dune.

At that moment, he could sense a very large gap in the Earth's Veins at the base of the dune, larger than any he had encountered before, and beyond that, a whiff of demonic Qi was faintly emanating from within!

Even with a gap in the Earth's Veins, the aura of ordinary demonic creatures would hardly spread outside. It would be difficult for even Sixth Rank Great Demons to do so... Undoubtedly, beneath these Earth's Veins lurked a Seventh Rank Demon King!

"This gap in the Earth's Veins is quite large; there must be precious Spiritual Objects within, but a Seventh Rank Demon King dwells here, which is a big problem. Alone, I couldn't handle it and had to release the Communication Talisman to see if anyone was nearby. Fortunately, both of you disciples were around. With the three of us, we might attempt it," Xiahou Yan explained to Chen Mu.

Chen Mu, looking pensive, said, "A Seventh Rank Demon King, I've heard it possesses almost the abilities of a Grandmaster. Even if we join forces, and even set up some Formations to lend us strength, it won't be easy to handle."

Chu Jingsui shook his head and replied, "True, a Seventh Rank Demon King can almost match a Grandmaster's standard, but it is just an approximation. In fact, the masters on the Wind Cloud List don't fear ordinary Seventh Rank Demon Kings. Even those ranked lower usually can triumph in combat. And although its demonic power is strong and its physique resilient, it doesn't have the ability to master the natural world, to command all things, and certainly cannot cultivate a Martial Arts Domain. As long as we can withstand its attacks, even if it comes down to wearing it out, we could kill it through attrition."