Offering Sacrifices, Object Manipulation

North of the Capital.

Chen Mu carried a jug of wine as he walked across an open plain.

Ren Yan followed carefully behind him.

Demons, devils, ghosts, and monsters roamed the world. Outside the city was not truly safe, but fortunately, Xiao Qingshan's grave lay quite close to the north of the Capital, so there was still some measure of safety.

Besides, night had not yet fallen. It was not yet the time when Nether Ghosts became active and wandered outside the city.

"There it is."

After following for a few more steps, Ren Yan softly reminded him from behind and pointed ahead.

On a stretch of open ground ahead stood a lone grave mound. There was not even a tombstone before it, yet traces of offerings could still be seen.

At this moment.

A White-robed Youth stood before the grave, a sword hanging at his waist. He gazed at the mound as though pondering something, or perhaps remembering someone.

Chen Mu glanced at the White-robed Youth, then withdrew his gaze without paying him any heed. Carrying the wine jug, he walked straight over to Xiao Qingshan's grave, uncorked it, and gently poured the wine onto the ground before it.

"To have been unable to drink with you while you were alive is a regret. Today, I offer you some of the wine you longed for in life. Senior, you may drink your fill."

As every last drop of wine poured from the jug.

A notification sounded by his ear.

Notification: You have obtained 59 Soul Points

The Soul Points he gained this time far exceeded what he had gained from Cui'er last time—more than three times as many!

The enormous disparity left Chen Mu slightly surprised.

He did not know whether it was because Xiao Qingshan's cultivation realm had far surpassed Cui'er's, or because Xiao Qingshan's obsession with wine had been far deeper than Cui'er's lingering attachment.

Beside him.

The White-robed Youth stood quietly. Only after Chen Mu had finished pouring the wine and risen did he cup his hands slightly toward Chen Mu and say, "My master loved this Centennial Apricot Blossom most in life. Though I do not know how this young master learned of it, I thank you on my master's behalf."

Chen Mu had never heard that Xiao Qingshan had a disciple. However, one look was enough to tell that this White-robed Youth was a man of the martial world. Though he appeared to be an ordinary person, Chen Mu's Soulmind was now powerful enough for him to clearly sense the youth's difference.

The blood qi brewing within him was far stronger than that of the guards at Apricot Flower House. He was at least Sixth Rank, and there was even a faint sharpness about him.

And he was so young.

He was most likely a figure of great renown in the martial world.

Yet Chen Mu had no interest in his identity. He merely returned the gesture with a slight cupped-hand salute, then strode away. Before long, he returned to the Capital and vanished into the distance.

Not long after Chen Mu left.

Whoosh!

A figure appeared soundlessly behind the White-robed Youth.

"Sword Child, Lin Yue of the Futiān Sect and Leng Shi have both appeared. The Spirit Intent Sect also seems to have left traces."

He was much older than the White-robed Youth, yet respect showed in his gaze as he looked at him. That was because the White-robed Youth was Lin Mo, the current Sword Child of Returning Origin Sword Manor, one of the Eight Sects of the World!

To bear the title of "Sword Child" meant that one was the foremost of Returning Origin Sword Manor's younger generation!

"Mm."

Lin Mo answered casually.

With his hands clasped behind his back, he looked toward the horizon, watching the slanting sun gradually sink until its final rays vanished from the earth. "Has anything interesting happened lately?"

The man behind him smiled. "I happened to hear a couple of lines of poetry in the Capital earlier."

"Oh?"

Lin Mo turned his head to look at him.

The man behind him recited the verses.

Lin Mo froze slightly after hearing them.

"'Soaring Straight Up Ninety Thousand Miles'—what bold spirit. I wonder who wrote it?"

"They say it was written by a young master of Xuanguo Estate, merely a scholar."

"A scholar?"

Lin Mo shook his head slightly, murmured the verses twice more, then gazed toward the distant sky and chuckled. "Among this generation's wandering representatives of the Eight Sects of the World, I wonder who will be that Roc."

The sky gradually darkened.

Chen Mu's carriage sped toward Xuanguo Estate.

There were already few pedestrians to be seen along the way.

For ordinary people, the night was dangerous—extremely dangerous. Even within the Capital, it was the same. As evening approached, people began returning home one after another.

Although the entire Capital was laid out according to the Feng Shui pattern of Spirit Veins, the current Son of Heaven cared only for pleasure. The signs of a chaotic age had already emerged, and with the endless heavy snow, people froze to death every day.

When many died, yin energy gathered. When yin energy grew dense, resentment entwined with it and transformed into Netherworld Ghosts.

Martial artists brimmed with blood qi and were usually unafraid of Netherworld Ghosts. Or rather, even if Netherworld Ghosts ran rampant, they would not choose martial artists as their targets. They would only avoid them and choose ordinary people with weaker yang energy.

Therefore.

Those who still dared wander the streets at night were almost all martial artists.

But the sky had only just darkened; it was not yet that time. Moreover, Chen Mu's carriage bore the insignia of Xuanguo Estate. Whether it was the gangs that were gradually becoming active with nightfall or the lazy Capital guards on patrol, all turned a blind eye to the carriage.

At this moment.

Inside the carriage.

Chen Mu slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes seemed to shine even in the darkness. That light was dim and profound; merely looking at it was enough to make one's heart tremble.

The system interface had also undergone an enormous change.

Name: Chen Mu

Age: 16

Martial Strength: Strength to Truss a Chicken

Soulmind: lv9 (+)

Soul Points: 46 points

Soul Roaming (Netherworld)—Can be activated

After obtaining the Soul Points and returning to the carriage, Chen Mu had directly chosen to increase his Soulmind. He raised it two levels in succession, from lv7 straight to lv9!

The increase of two levels had brought changes that could only be described as earth-shaking!

Chen Mu could feel that his Soulmind was now more than three times stronger than before. Moreover, it was not merely the amount of Soul Points; even the degree to which his Soulmind had condensed was on an entirely different level.

If his former Mind-Soul Power had been like loose sand, then the Soul Points he possessed now were like a clenched fist, truly possessing tangible force!

Chen Mu gently spread open his palm.

A nondescript pebble lay in it.

Under his gaze, the pebble silently floated into the air and maintained a steady pace alongside the moving carriage without the slightest tremor.

Object Manipulation!

The power of a Seventh Rank sorcerer!

With a thought from Chen Mu.

Whoosh!

The pebble instantly traced an arc, circling from before him to behind him. Then, in an instant, it shot through the gap in the carriage curtain and fell toward a patch of ground without snow.

With only a faint puff, the pebble sank straight into the ground, as though it had fallen into a swamp rather than hard earth, leaving behind a black hole whose bottom could scarcely be seen.

That strike.

Could break even the copper skin and iron bones of a Seventh Rank martial artist!

If what his thoughts controlled was not a pebble but a flying sword, then from a hundred paces away, he could take a person's head with a single sword. Not even martial artists could stop it!

Besides that.

An even greater change was the world reflected in Chen Mu's eyes.

Now that Chen Mu had activated Spirit Sight, not only had his field of vision become broader, with the range of his Spirit Sight extending several hundred paces, but starlike points of light were reflected in his eyes, along with thick, crisscrossing strands of light like tree branches.

Those were the spiritual energies scattered throughout heaven and earth, visible directly only to Seventh Rank sorcerers whose Spirit Sight had reached the finest level.

And the crisscrossing veins of heaven and earth buried beneath the ground!