Chapter Thirty-One: Defeat and Flight

Wang Qianxun stared gloomily at the opposing faction, and seeing their indecision, immediately spoke, "Are you going to exchange hostages or not? If anything happens to Lu Shi, I swear Starwatching Valley will spare no effort to wipe out your Bright Moon Blade Sect! We will fight to the death!"

Liu Yang was resolute. "Stop wasting words with them. Let’s deal with Lu Shi first. Bring him forward!"

Tan Xiong’s face was deathly pale. "But my third brother is still in their hands!"

"Is it your place to dictate the actions of the Bright Moon Blade Sect?" Liu Yang retorted. With a swift stroke of his blade, Tan Xiong fell dead.

"Big brother! You bastards!" Tan Fei, bound by Wang Qianxun, cried out in despair, then collapsed to his knees and fainted.

At that moment, a voice echoed from within the Tan Family Stronghold: "Lu Shi is missing."

"What’s happening? How could that Starwatching Valley brat disappear? Wasn't everything fine yesterday?"

The previous night, Chen Mu had infiltrated the stronghold, disguised as one of its own, and lay in wait. When the two sides faced off today, he took advantage of the weakened guard at the prison and rescued Lu Shi.

Hearing the commotion from the other side, Wang Qianxun realized Chen Mu had succeeded, and immediately ordered an attack on both the Tan Family Stronghold and the Bright Moon Blade Sect.

The battle was imminent. The disciples of the Bright Moon Blade Sect, unable to worry about anything else, were soon locked in fierce combat with the people of Starwatching Valley.

Chen Mu had placed Lu Shi under the shade of a tree. Merging with the crowd from the Tan Family Stronghold, he watched the unfolding scene coldly.

When he saw the Bright Moon Blade Sect disciples kill Tan Xiong, he shouted, "Bright Moon Blade Sect is ruthless and unjust! The chief has always treated us well—we must avenge him!"

The stronghold responded in unison: "Avenge the chief!"

With this, Chen Mu incited the entire stronghold to join the fray.

The battle became a whirlwind of blades and arrows, with the Bright Moon Blade Sect suffering heavy casualties under the combined assault.

Chen Mu’s Phantom Breath Technique grew ever more instinctive as he darted across the battlefield like a fox’s shadow, striking down enemies and vanishing without a trace.

His power had also advanced. Having consumed sixty Evil Pills the day before, he had opened the fifteenth channel of the Earth Fiend Meridian, giving him a total of fifty-one meridians.

After slaying several weaker disciples, Chen Mu targeted Hu Fang, who, despite being wounded by Chen Mu’s sword, dared to pursue him—perhaps thinking reinforcements gave him confidence.

Chen Mu approached Hu Fang like a shadow, and as Hu Fang hesitated in combat, Chen Mu thrust his sword clean through him.

Hu Fang’s pupils dilated. He tried to shout the name of his attacker, but Chen Mu covered his mouth, and Hu Fang collapsed, powerless.

Seeing defeat was imminent, Liu Yang hurriedly ordered, "Retreat! Quick, retreat!"

By now, the Bright Moon Blade Sect disciples had lost all formation. With heavy casualties, the survivors scattered in panic, and the threat was all but eliminated.

The battle ended. A few Starwatching Valley disciples had fallen, and the Tan Family Stronghold, bereft of leadership, surrendered en masse.

The forest was a scene of chaos. Wang Qianxun ordered his disciples to collect the belongings and spoils of the fallen.

When Chen Mu approached, Wang Qianxun finally noticed him, surprised to see Chen Mu disguised as a member of the stronghold—he only realized someone was drawing near when Chen Mu was three meters away.

Seeing it was Chen Mu, Wang Qianxun grew wary, "Brother Chen Mu, have you rescued Brother Lu Shi?"

"Yes. I’ve placed Lu Shi nearby under the shade. He’s safe and awake now."

"Good. Let’s find him quickly and return to Starwatching Valley together."

After finding Lu Shi, the two supported him and followed the main group back to Starwatching Valley.

Back in the valley, Chen Mu deeply felt the consequences of lacking strength—if he’d been stronger, so much trouble could have been avoided.

Lu Shi, too, sensed the urgent threat posed by his weakness and entered seclusion to break through to the Foundation Meridian stage.

After receiving five thousand contribution points, Chen Mu immersed himself in cultivation, unaware of how Starwatching Valley planned to deal with the Tan Family Stronghold.

...

Meanwhile, a young man in a fit of fear and rage threw things about, muttering, "Impossible! How is he still alive? I clearly killed him with my blade. If the sect finds out what I did... I’ll be expelled for sure..."

The more he thought, the more terrified he became. This youth was He Silai, who had nearly killed Chen Mu on the mountain not long ago.

He Silai had forcefully violated the outer disciple Youlan, and coincidentally, Chen Mu had witnessed it, prompting He Silai to murder him. But thanks to Chen Mu’s luck and the protection of the black pearl, he survived.

Today, as usual, He Silai went to the task hall to look for assignments, but when a group of returning disciples entered the sect, he spotted a familiar figure—Chen Mu.

He Silai trembled all over. Had the dead come back to life, or had he failed to kill him?

He Silai immediately avoided the crowd and returned to his cave dwelling, gripped by anger, shock, fear, and restlessness. He dreaded that Chen Mu might expose his crimes to the sect.

Though Youlan’s matter had been settled with a hefty payoff, Chen Mu’s survival—and admission to the inner sect—set He Silai’s nerves on edge.

He looked at the chaos he’d made in his cave and resolved to find a chance to kill Chen Mu again. Thus, he sought out his elder brother He Lang for information.

He Lang, captain of a law enforcement squad, was well-informed about all sect affairs.

"Brother, you must help me. Chen Mu caught me with Youlan, and worse, I tried to kill him. Now he’s back in the sect alive and well..." He Silai anxiously recounted the bizarre scene.

He Lang sat in his chair, pondering for a moment, then asked, "Did he expose anything?"

"No word has spread in the sect, so probably not."

"This Chen Mu is troublesome. Like you, he was the first outer disciple to enter the inner sect. Oddly, his cultivation was mediocre, stuck at Meridian stage for two years. But during the sect assessment, his strength was extraordinary. Rumor has it he withstood an attack from Elder Xiao of the Discipline Hall. That’s likely exaggerated, but the valley master did take him as a personal disciple. You two became mortal enemies the moment you tried to kill him—if you don’t act, he will eventually. Here’s what we’ll do: keep an eye on him. Elder Xiao also wants to get rid of him. I’ll send some people to act when he leaves the sect, and together we’ll make him disappear for good."

...

For a week, Chen Mu had been practicing the second and third forms of the Brahma Star Sword Technique, seeking to integrate them with the Sunset Form. The Brahma Star Sword Technique was best suited to star energy, but using yang-type energy diminished its power—only by blending in the new sword move from the Sunset Form could he unleash the full dominance of the yang energy.

His persistence paid off; the second form, the Sunset Sword, was nearly mastered.

Chen Mu was eager to improve his cultivation, as he aspired to open all the meridians of both Heaven’s Gang and Earth’s Fiend.

With nothing to do in the sect, he decided to venture into the Star Ridge Forest to hunt beasts and obtain beast cores.

Level-two beast cores were the raw material for Evil Pills, and since he couldn’t afford to buy them, hunting was the faster path. Thus, Chen Mu applied for leave to train outside the sect.

Meanwhile, He Silai had been lurking in a corner for a week, monitoring Chen Mu’s cave, his nerves frayed and his spirit depleted.

Finally, he saw Chen Mu leave the cave, carrying luggage and apparently heading far afield. He Silai concealed himself well, avoiding detection, and after Chen Mu departed, hurried to contact He Lang for backup.

"Brother, he’s out now, carrying a pack—it looks like he’s going on a journey."

"Good. These three—Ning Zhongqiu, Zhang He, and Hong Zhong—are my men. All three are late-stage Foundation Meridian cultivators," He Lang said, introducing them.

He Silai clasped his fists solemnly. "Brothers, I’ll be relying on your help for this mission."

"Don’t worry, junior brother. We’ll eliminate Chen Mu, that petty troublemaker. Daring to go against the Discipline Hall—he must have grown tired of living," one of the three replied in a deep voice.