Chapter 109: Chen Mu’s Mutation

Chen Mu remained unconscious. That day, due to his reckless actions, the thunder dragon’s illusion was triggered explosively, inflicting severe damage upon the soul within his sea of consciousness.

Now, Chen Mu instinctively practiced the Soul Refining Technique, continuously repairing his soul with the aid of the black bead.

Though unconscious and unable to move, during this time Chen Mu’s consciousness repeatedly relived his past, like watching a revolving lantern, observing how he had transformed from a frail youth into a ruthless, merciless demon child who had killed countless foes—all within just a few short months.

He lamented that it was all because of his own carelessness and taking things for granted that led to these outcomes.

Though he bore no guilt for his killings, the shadow of those clan elders and brothers who had perished due to his negligence weighed heavily on his heart.

But now that the great vengeance was avenged, Chen Mu only wished for those once close to him, the departed, to find peace. This was both a fulfillment of his own wish and an explanation to the Starwatch Valley.

This knot in his heart regarding the annihilation of Starwatch Valley unraveled as he continuously observed his memories—especially witnessing the final strike aimed at Zhong Tianyao. He had done his utmost. Though he had fainted afterward and never knew if Zhong Tianyao truly perished under that earth-shaking blow, he could only say he had tried his best.

With the grudges laid to rest, Chen Mu matured. His soul began to pulse with a faint light, growing purer within his sea of consciousness. Whether it was due to the black bead or his letting go of resentment, the soul’s quality improved even as its size shrank.

At that moment, the Jiaolong Pearl, long kept within Chen Mu’s body, drifted into his sea of consciousness. Guided by the faint trace of the Jiaolong bloodline, the pearl released strands of lightning that filled Chen Mu’s sea of consciousness.

Though the Jiaolong Pearl emitted lightning, it caused no harm. Instead, Chen Mu’s soul slowly absorbed the electricity.

All this was an unexpected anomaly. While repairing his soul and reviewing memories, he inadvertently triggered the ancestral memories within the Jiaolong bloodline.

As he absorbed the energy supplied by the black bead, he unconsciously adopted the cultivation method of the demon race, absorbing primordial energy into his sea of consciousness, which began transforming into a reservoir for this energy.

The thunderous primordial energy released by the Jiaolong Pearl was greedily absorbed by Chen Mu. At first, only faintly as he adjusted, day by day his soul acclimated to the thunder attribute, no longer absorbing the energy inward but instead layering it over the surface of his soul, accumulating gradually.

Initially, it spread like mist centered around his soul; after half a month, it thickened into a viscous liquid. Another half month passed, and the primordial energy in Chen Mu’s sea of consciousness reached saturation, unable to contain more thunder energy.

At last, at that moment, Chen Mu’s demon race cultivation method inexplicably broke through a realm. The primordial energy compressed fiercely, converging toward his soul to form a core.

This core was sharply faceted like a crystal, with lightning arcs flickering across its surface—a pure crystallization of thunder attribute primordial energy.

If others knew that Chen Mu, a human, had formed a demon race core, they would surely regard him as a monster. But it was unavoidable—after all, he had absorbed a trace of Jiaolong bloodline into his body and unknowingly cultivated through demon race methods.

In truth, Chen Mu had long been an anomaly. Even before absorbing the demon bloodline, he had reconstructed his body with a hybrid template of divine and human races. He was no longer purely human; now, no one could say what race he truly belonged to.

If anything, Chen Mu was simply Chen Mu—a unique existence in the world, capable of founding an entirely new race.

According to demon race cultivation principles, Chen Mu had just entered the second tier—a stage equivalent to the early human primordial base realm—but he had not cultivated his physical body during this process, only condensed a core.

His physical body was already extremely powerful, surpassing demon race peers at the same level, so cultivating his body further would yield little improvement.

The reason Chen Mu could not enhance his physical strength through demon race methods was primarily due to the rarity of the Jiaolong bloodline. His body had not undergone significant atavistic strengthening with the advancement.

Though the Jiaolong bloodline had marginally strengthened, it did not enhance his physical power but rather improved his control over thunder energy.

In short, after this series of unexpected transformations, Chen Mu had become an undeniable freak. With three reservoirs for primordial energy, he effectively possessed triple the total energy. Perhaps next time he unleashed the Thunder Dragon Illusion, it would no longer be so exhausting, and the Sunfall Style’s Daylight Extinguishing would no longer drain all his energy.

After more than a month of recovery, Chen Mu’s soul was restored to its original state, with an additional source of primordial power. Such gains left Chen Mu somewhat disoriented—no one had ever used their sea of consciousness as a primordial energy storage space before, so the future of his cultivation path felt mysterious and uncertain.

The soul’s restoration allowed Chen Mu to open his eyes and awaken. Upon waking, Rou’er immediately sensed it and came close, gently nuzzling his face with her small nose.

“Rou’er, have you been by my side all this time? Where am I? Is Zhong Tianyao dead? And…” Chen Mu asked anxiously, attempting to sit up, but a wave of weakness washed over him—his body ached and tingled.

He realized he had been unconscious too long, and his body was not yet accustomed.

Seeing Chen Mu’s eagerness, Rou’er anxiously warned, “You’re not fully healed yet. Be careful—take it slow.”

Listening to Rou’er’s advice, Chen Mu smiled faintly and began adapting to his body after lying still for over a month. Slowly, he propped himself up and shifted back onto the pillow Rou’er had prepared.

Noticing Chen Mu’s improved spirit, Rou’er happily wagged her three fluffy tails. “I’ll call your father and brother soon to reunite your family. They’ve been caring for you this past month since they learned you were injured. Hearing you awake will surely bring them joy and relief.”

Without waiting for a reply, Rou’er jumped down and hopped out of the room, heading to inform Chen Haoran and Chen Feng of Chen Mu’s awakening.

Soon, the Chen family father and son hurried to Chen Mu’s room. Seeing Chen Mu awake and sitting up, tears welled in their eyes. Clearly, they had been deeply worried during this time.

Chen Haoran, tearful yet reproachful, said, “You finally woke up. You’ve been unconscious for over a month. Was it worth it to risk so much for revenge? As your father, I only hope you remain safe. Revenge is not worth risking your life for. Do you know that a soul severely injured like yours could be ruined for life, possibly becoming a vegetable? If it weren’t for Senior Fox saying you could recover, your brother and I might have broken down right then. After all, you’re my son, and Feng’er’s little brother. You two are the only family I have left.”

Chen Feng supported Chen Haoran and added, “Xiao Mu, don’t be upset with Father’s scolding. You truly don’t cherish yourself enough. You’ve been so focused on revenge, and though you seemed fully prepared, we still lived in constant worry. I know you’ve reached heights we never imagined. Your target is a soul realm expert—one misstep could be fatal. You surely don’t want Father to lose his hair in grief, do you?”

Indeed, Chen Haoran’s hair was streaked silver. This had happened during Chen Feng’s imprisonment—a middle-aged man of about forty appearing as old as sixty. All this was due to the anxiety, guilt, remorse, and helplessness over Chen Mu and Chen Feng’s fates.

Especially after learning Chen Mu had died at the hands of Liu Zhongdao, Chen Haoran nearly collapsed.

Seeing his father so aged, Chen Mu’s eyes welled with tears. He sighed helplessly. “It was indeed a gamble this time. But if I hadn’t overexerted and detonated my divine ability, as long as Zhong Tianyao had a chance to breathe, we might have been the ones to die. I did all I could, so it’s partly my fault for not anticipating that Zhong Tianyao would forcibly suppress his injuries and regain some strength to fight us. But I do not regret it. This was the only chance. If he recovered fully, it would be nearly impossible to strike such a heavy blow again. Then he would reign supreme in Great Xia, and Father, Brother, Master, and all the disciples of Starwatch Valley would be forced to live endlessly hidden behind the valley’s defensive array.”

Hearing this, Chen Haoran understood Chen Mu’s predicament. To ensure their family and Starwatch Valley would no longer face threats from the Biluodao Sect, Chen Mu risked everything to kill Zhong Tianyao.

But the outcome was both a victory and a severe self-injury—Chen Mu almost never woke again.

Sitting beside Chen Mu, Chen Haoran sighed. “Good child, you’ve suffered so much. If we were stronger, we could share some of your burden, so you wouldn’t have to bear it alone.”

“It’s alright. I came back alive, didn’t I? By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask—is Zhong Tianyao really dead? Although I survived, he must have suffered injuries severe enough to incapacitate him. But if he’s still alive and recovers, it would be troublesome,” Chen Mu wiped away his tears and asked solemnly. The fate of Zhong Tianyao was a crucial matter.

If Zhong Tianyao lived, they needed to eliminate him before he recovered, or else there would be endless trouble.

Chen Haoran gestured for Chen Mu to calm down and gave him the answer he sought: “According to Senior Fox by your side, your strike successfully ended Zhong Tianyao’s life within the Biluodao Sect. His Nascent Soul was destroyed. Though his primordial spirit briefly escaped, it likely dissipated into the void between heaven and earth.”