Daoist Arts!

The graveyards near Kyoto have undergone special guidance, altering the terrain and Feng Shui to prevent the accumulation of Yin energy, which could lead to disturbances by Netherworld Ghosts.

Chen Mu could now also discern Feng Shui layouts. After a slight nod, he knew it must be the work of the Sorcerers from the Directorate of Celestial Observation and didn't pay it much mind.

After paying respects to Geng He's wife, he left.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Shortly after he returned, Wu Peng came back home from outside and learned from Geng Rong about Chen Mu's visit and the gift of a hundred gold notes. He immediately frowned.

After carefully examining the gold notes for a while and determining there were no issues, Wu Peng still frowned in silence.

It wasn't until much later that he handed the gold notes to Geng Rong and said in a deep voice, "If you see that person again, let me know. If I'm not here, find a way to keep him until I return."

"...Okay."

Seeing Wu Peng's tightly furrowed brows, Geng Rong said with some worry, "Why have you been so anxious these past few days, husband? Did something happen?"

"Nothing. Don't ask too many questions."

Wu Peng shook his head, said no more, and walked out.

He went back to his inner room, closed the door tightly, and carefully took out a wooden plaque from under a hidden floor tile. Then, he clasped his hands together in a prayer posture, his eyes vacant as he kowtowed.

"Calamities abound."

"The end times are nigh."

"Heaven-born protection."

"Rebirth into ultimate bliss."

Xuanguo Estate.

Chen Mu returned to his residence.

He had given gold notes to Geng Rong, paid respects to Geng He's wife, and even checked on the son born to Geng Rong and Wu Peng, who was Geng He's grandson. This series of actions continuously yielded Soul Points.

The Soul Points gained from giving gold notes to Geng Rong were the fewest, only twelve points. The most Soul Points were obtained when he roughly examined the physical condition of Geng He's grandson, yielding thirty-five points.

Finally, the gains from the memorial service. Adding it all up, Chen Mu gained a total of sixty-five points!

This was even more than what he got from Xiao Qingshan!

With such a large harvest, Chen Mu naturally put all other matters aside. After returning to his estate, he immediately summoned the system interface.

[Name: Chen Mu]
[Age: 16]
[Strength: Four Horses' Strength]
[Mind and Soul: Initial Spirit lv9 (+)]
[Soul Points: 67 points]
[Soul Roaming (Netherworld) - Can be activated]

After investigating the situation in the courtyard and calming the distracting thoughts in his heart, Chen Mu took a deep breath, consumed Soul Points, and raised the level of his heart and soul!

In an instant, without any prompts popping up, a golden light flashed, and the level of his heart and soul directly surpassed Initial Spirit lv9, reaching Initial Spirit lv10!

Hot.

Burning hot.

Intensely hot!

This heat erupted from the deepest part of his heart, like a heart fire, instantly igniting his entire heart and soul, making Chen Mu's heart and soul feel as if they were burning.

His entire body was pricked with needle-like pain, causing Chen Mu's body to tense up instantly, but this tension was useless because everything only existed on the level of the heart and soul.

"...Hiss."

Chen Mu couldn't help but hiss.

But this pain didn't last long. Soon, the needle-like pain gradually transformed into a comfortable feeling after adaptation.

He could feel that under the calcination of the heart fire, the impurities in his body seemed to be expelled little by little. Every time a bit of impurity was expelled, he could feel a sense of physical and mental pleasure!

Finally.

Until the heart fire spread throughout his body, calcining his entire heart and soul, and all the impurities on his soul body were expelled, a refreshing feeling quickly spread throughout his body.

This was a pleasure and comfort he had never experienced before. Every distracting thought ceased to exist, and the messy desires also disappeared. His entire being felt almost like he was carefree in the world, with a sense of detachment from all things.

However, this feeling only lasted for a short time.

Chen Mu's consciousness quickly recovered.

And as the heart fire rapidly subsided, a strange feeling also surged into his heart, causing the world before his eyes to change dramatically.

What he saw was no longer his Bedroom, but a pure white, flawless world. White was the only color in this world; there was nothing else.

This world was so strange, but Chen Mu's thoughts were clearer than ever before.

Here,

was the deepest part of his heart!

And as Chen Mu's thoughts fluctuated, this white world immediately began to change.

Boom!

In an instant, the heavens and earth rolled back, and a scorching flame swept across the sky, covering all the white, making this mental world seem to transform into the origin of fire.

Rolling lava flowed beneath his feet, and volcanoes appeared out of thin air, spewing thick smoke.

"..."

Chen Mu frowned slightly.

As his thoughts wavered and changed.

Crack!

The erupting volcanoes froze in place out of thin air, instantly frozen. All the lava beneath his feet lost its vitality, and a deep blue ice spread from the center of Chen Mu's consciousness in all directions.

In an instant, the entire world transformed into a harsh winter, everything frozen into ice!

"This is..."

"Hmm, is that how it is?"

At this moment, Chen Mu vaguely understood something.

The deepest part of his mind, after being tempered by the heart fire, had become the purest and most flawless point. Simply put, it was a blank slate, allowing him to write whatever he desired.

It might sound a bit confusing, but if one considers the realm of a Sorcerer, it becomes easy to understand.

Fifth Rank Daoist Arts!

Yes.

Daoist Arts are the evolution of the mind and soul. Whatever the mind tends towards will naturally evolve into that kind of Daoist Art!

Ordinary Sorcerers, upon awakening, are at the Fifth Rank. Most of them wouldn't have reached this level through tempering by heart fire. Therefore, at the moment of awakening, their Daoist Art tendency is fixed.

But Chen Mu was different.

Now, the deepest part of his mind had been tempered into a pure blank slate. With a single thought, he could turn this mental world into surging magma, or into a harsh winter freezing everything for miles!

"This place cannot remain pure and flawless for too long. I must choose a tendency, which means I have to decide my Daoist Art myself, and decide my future direction."

Chen Mu murmured in his heart.

As his thoughts wavered, the entire world immediately began to change dramatically.

In an instant, torrential rain poured down, melting all the ice and turning it into an endless ocean. Then, this seawater disappeared into thin air, transforming into terrifying hurricanes that tore through the sky and earth.

Sometimes the strong winds dissipated, and startling thunder struck from the sky, dyeing the entire world purple, with endless lightning seeming to shatter everything.

And finally.

All of it disappeared.

The entire world returned to pure white.

The only difference was that in the very center of this pure white, a sword appeared. A sword without color, without form or appearance, yet it existed.

This sword was not large, seemingly only three feet long, and it just rested there.

Suddenly, wind and clouds stirred, and scorching magma reappeared. Strong winds howled, lightning flashed and thunder roared, the sky turned pitch black, stars bloomed across the heavens, and then an extreme cold came from afar, freezing everything.

But the next moment.

That formless and appearance-less sword gently swung.

With just this gentle movement, a beam of sword light, like the Milky Way pouring down from the nine heavens, vast and endless, irresistible and mighty, tore apart the strong winds, leveled the thunder, annihilated the magma, shattered the darkness... and cut down the stars across the sky!

Everything stopped changing, and the blank world gradually collapsed inwards, finally returning to a point that existed yet did not exist.

Chen Mu had made his choice.

In reality,

Inside the Bedroom.

Chen Mu suddenly opened his eyes. In the depths of his pupils, a faint and illusory sword light flickered.

"I have a sword that can cut down all things in heaven and earth!"