Although Absolute Sword City is a border city and not on the front line of the border, there is still a sense of solemnity and impending doom within the city.
As Chen Mu strolled through the streets, he discovered that there were many powerful cultivators here. Martial Master at the Qi Nourishing Realm were everywhere, and he could even occasionally encounter Martial Spirits at the True Spirit Realm.
Many of the people walking on the street were carrying weapons, and each of them had a fierce look in their eyes; they were clearly not people to be trifled with.
"Hey kid, what are you looking at! Want to die?"
Chen Mu saw a man whose face was half burned, with skin and flesh still attached, looking hideous and terrifying. He couldn't help but take a few more glances, but unexpectedly, he was met with a barrage of insults from the man.
He frowned, his expression turning unpleasant.
"Young man, I'm sorry! My brother has a bad temper, please bear with him."
The man's companion quickly came to the rescue and apologized to Chen Mu, which softened Chen Mu's expression.
He couldn't be bothered to argue with the person, since staring at someone was indeed impolite, so he turned and left.
Here on the commercial street, he saw Myriad Treasures Pavilion again, went in and browsed around, buying a batch of decent materials.
On his way back to the inn, Chen Mu encountered a group of city guards.
" Otherworldly Demon has been discovered in the north of the city. Cultivators interested in claiming the reward are welcome to come and join us in slaying the Otherworldly Demon."
The city guards rode their warhorses, shouting as they charged toward the north of the city.
The city dwellers were clearly used to this situation and continued with their own business calmly. Only a few people followed the city guards and headed north of the city.
Chen Mu was going out to deal with the Otherworldly Demon anyway tomorrow, so he didn't want to cause any more trouble and went back to the inn to rest.
The next day, after breakfast, Elder Qing Xue asked all the disciples to gather in the square inside the inn.
"Every year, the academies within the Haotian Empire will take turns sending their disciples to the border to assist in defense. Your achievements will be released by the imperial court and publicized along with those of other academies in the future."
For this campaign to eliminate the Otherworldly Demon, you are free to form your own teams and set off; the organization will not impose any mandatory requirements on you.
But please remember, you are disciples of the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion, and you represent the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion when you are outside!
If your performance is too poor, it will not only bring shame to your master, but also to our Heaven-Questioning Pavilion!
Therefore, I hope you will all give it your all and fight for glory!
"Fight for glory!"
The disciples responded in unison, their killing intent soaring to the heavens.
After Elder Qing Xue finished speaking, the team formation process began.
Chen Mu and his three companions naturally formed a team, and they didn't recruit anyone else. After all, the four of them worked together seamlessly, and unfamiliar teammates would not only be unhelpful but could also become a burden.
Moreover, the disciples from better backgrounds in the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion had formed small cliques and ostracized Chen Mu and his fellow disciples from the Wilderness, so Chen Mu was too lazy to deal with them.
The city lord distributed maps to each of them, which clearly recorded information about the nearby terrain, villages, towns, and so on.
The Otherworldly Demon like to prey on humans, and these human settlements are the most likely places to encounter Otherworldly Demon. Therefore, Chen Mu chose a relatively remote village in the south as his first stop.
"Brother, this village is so far away from us, it would take us several days to ride a horse. Why don't we find some closer villages first and clear our way there?"
Although the city lord had equipped all the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion disciples who were assisting in the defense with fine warhorses, the village that Chen Mu pointed to was hundreds of miles away from them, and it would be too much of a waste of time to travel for several days.
"These villages near the city are definitely frequently cleared out, so the probability of us encountering the Otherworldly Demon is very low. However, the probability of encountering Otherworldly Demon is much higher if we go to these remote villages."
As for traveling, hehe, your brother here is a talisman master, and talisman masters naturally have their own methods!
Chen Mu revealed a mysterious smile; he was ready to make a big splash.
After leaving the gates of Absolute Sword City, Chen Mu took out a bulky wooden boat from his storage ring.
Chen Mu placed the wooden boat on the ground, pulled the mechanism on it, and stretched the boat to both sides.
After some processing, a wooden boat more than three meters long gradually took shape.
"Come on up!"
Chen Duo, Mingye, and A Huo looked at the thin-shelled wooden boat with scorch marks and exchanged suspicious glances.
This wooden boat was actually the one that Elder Ming took Chen Mu to Lava Peak some time ago. However, the boat was severely damaged at the time, so Chen Mu asked Elder Ming for it and modified it himself.
To make the wooden boat fit into his storage ring, he modified it into a folding structure. After all, storage rings with a horizontal length exceeding three meters are extremely rare; Chen Mu's current storage ring can only hold objects up to two meters long.
He also repaired the damaged runes, but since they were damaged so badly before, their power was greatly reduced and they could no longer be used for high-altitude flight. However, they should be fine for low-altitude travel.
"Okay! It's alright, I won't cheat you!"
Seeing that the others hesitated and dared not come forward, Chen Mu immediately emphasized.
In the end, the three had no choice but to board Chen Mu's pirate ship—no, his spaceship.
After the four of them boarded the ship, it was a little crowded. In the middle of the ship was a sail that controlled the flow of Spiritual Power. Chen Duo cleverly let Mingye sit next to Chen Mu, while she and A Huo sat on the other side of the sail.
A fragrant aroma wafted around him, causing Chen Mu's mind to flutter. He forced himself to calm down and propelled the spaceship forward.
Whoosh!
The spaceship moved at breakneck speed, swift as the wind and lightning, and vanished from its spot in an instant as a streak of light.
When the spaceship reached mid-air, its hull became slightly unstable, swaying and rocking as if it might fall apart at any moment.
Mingye glared at Chen Mu with an unfriendly expression, and Chen Mu could only give an awkward smile.
"Haha, everyone, don't worry. It's just that the gaps were left too big during the previous modifications. The hull itself is still sturdy enough, it's fine, it's fine!"
Chen Mu wiped the sweat from his brow guiltily, thinking that it was just low-altitude flight, and since everyone was a cultivator, even if he accidentally fell, he shouldn't be seriously injured. He felt at ease.
Unfortunately, there was only half a month to make the changes, and his schedule was already very full. It's quite good that he's achieved this level of success.
The spaceship flew for more than two hours, and fortunately it did not fall apart, finally arriving at its destination.
The village is called Hengshan Village. The fact that it was built in such a remote location near the border suggests that the people there must be extremely fierce.
After everyone jumped off the spaceship, they attracted the attention of many villagers. Many people watched them from a distance, but no one came closer.
Chen Mu reassembled the spaceship, transforming it into a bulky hull over a meter long, and placed it back into his personal storage ring.
"Let's go, let's go say hello to Hengshan Village first!"
Chen Mu led the group toward the main gate of Hengshan Village.
"Who goes there? State your name!"
At the entrance of Hengshan Village, a burly man with a deep voice walked out and called out to Chen Mu and the others.
"We are all disciples of the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion, here to assist you in eliminating the Otherworldly Demon!"
Chen Mu responded loudly.
Do you have proof?
With a snap, a nameplate flew from Chen Mu's hand and was caught by the burly man.
The nameplate bears a unique Spiritual Power emblem belonging to the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion, which no one else can replicate. The burly man immediately beamed with joy.