Chapter 380: Sword Intent, Third Heaven!!

The sound of wind, the crackling of distant cooling lava, the traces of residual energy flowing through the air, especially the vast, overwhelming sword intent filling heaven and earth…

The speed of receiving, processing, and understanding all information increased by more than ten or even a hundredfold!

His thoughts had never been clearer, more active, or more acute—as if he had become a precise instrument for analyzing the Dao's principles.

Chen Mu looked again at the area where the sword intent remained.

This time, it was no longer passive reception of impact, but active "analysis" and "integration."

In Chen Mu's perception, the once wild, chaotic, and destructive Seventh Heaven Sword Intent gradually revealed its inner "order" and "patterns."

Chen Mu seemed to "see" how countless sword qi emerged from "one," how they divided, combined, and flowed—the mysterious trajectories of their division, combination, and flow—and how that soft yet utterly unyielding sword intent stirred and governed ten thousand swords and all qi.

He saw the fundamental principle of the final "lake of sword qi," which embraced and eroded all…

Chen Mu's consciousness truly became a single drop of water, a faint glimmer within the boundless ocean of sword intent that was the Wan Jian Ancestor, freely drifting, perceiving, and absorbing endless nourishment from the Way of the Sword.

His own original sword intent, under this elevated perspective and state of sudden enlightenment, began to spontaneously evolve, refine, and ascend.

The density, sharpness, and variability of his sword qi were rapidly increasing.

Time seemed to lose all meaning.

After an unknown length of time, the sword intent that had previously been latent around Chen Mu, seated on the ground, suddenly surged like a lake struck by a massive stone—violently rippling and expanding.

A more condensed, sharper, and more harmonious aura of sword Dao erupted from him with a thunderous force!

"Zheng—"

A faint, almost imperceptible sword hum echoed through the void; the air around Chen Mu was sliced by invisible sword qi, producing a fine hissing sound.

The glow of his sword intent expanded outward in a sudden ring, its hue becoming purer and more subdued, with faint shadows of yin and yang qi swirling within, carrying a trace of the dominion he had just perceived—the essence of "Wan Jian Return to One."

Achieved!

Sword Intent, Third Heaven!

Chen Mu slowly opened his eyes; as his lids opened and closed, a faint flash of sword light flickered and vanished—his entire demeanor seemed to have shed a trace of restlessness, gaining instead the deep stillness and sharpness of a true swordsman.

He remained seated, contemplating and sensing the changes within himself.

After a long while, Chen Mu rose.

At that moment, a rapid rushing sound came from afar.

A group of more than twenty men, dressed in uniform attire of the Wan Jian Manor, were swiftly approaching the pit area from the other side of the valley.

Their qi was sharp and formidable; the leaders among them were even Foundation Establishment realm cultivators—clearly dispatched by the Wan Jian Manor to handle post-battle affairs and search for any potentially valuable remnants, such as parts of the demon dragon.

Chen Mu glanced at them from afar and had no intention of approaching or greeting them.

The main goal of this journey had already been achieved: he had rescued Long Tuti, obtained a Break Through Realm card, and, by chance, leveraged the residual sword intent to Break Through his Sword Intent realm—his gains had far exceeded expectations.

Meeting the Wan Jian Manor people would inevitably bring questions and explanations—only trouble.

Once decided, Chen Mu's form blurred, merging into the wind, silently departing from the edge of the pit, beginning to roam the broader region beyond the valley.

In the time that followed, Chen Mu became an efficient cleaner, a focused scavenger.

He moved swiftly through areas where battles had been fiercest and corpses most concentrated.

【Body detected. Collect?】

"Yes!"

【Body detected. Collect?】

"Yes!"

……

He circled the entire battlefield ruin—including the route of the righteous alliance's assault, the Mo Sect's last strongholds, and the death zones caused by the demon dragon's rampage.

Only after confirming there was nothing else of particular interest did he launch into the air, becoming a streak of blue light racing toward the mountaintop where Long Tuti waited, a hundred li away.

"How'd it go, Old Chen?"

As soon as he landed on the mountaintop, Long Tuti, who had been waiting anxiously, rushed over, his big eyes fixed on Chen Mu.

"Did that big lizard really die?"

"Dead."

Chen Mu nodded, recalling the scene of scattered remains, and added, "Dead as can be—cut into pieces by the Wan Jian Ancestor's sword qi. Even if you tried to glue him back together, you couldn't."

"I see…"

Long Tuti stroked his small chin, feigning deep thought. "So his power really did plummet after being sealed underground for so long."

"I just recalled the ancient texts in my family's collection again. In ancient times, to deal with a fully powered Three-Headed Elder Chi Yan Demon Dragon, it was said you'd need at least nine Wanxiang Realm experts working together to form a grand array—just to have a chance of suppressing or killing it."

"The Wan Jian Ancestor was powerful, but he alone cut it into pieces—meaning this demon dragon was already hollow inside, just putting on a show."

"Looks like we got lucky after all," Chen Mu remarked, deeply moved.

If it had truly been a fully powered ancient Three-Headed Elder Chi Yan Demon Dragon breaking free, not just them—even the entire Original Dragon Dao might have been doomed. Even the Wan Jian Ancestor alone might not have held it off.

"True."

Long Tuti nodded vigorously, then shook his head as if to fling away the image of the monstrous beast. "Forget that ugly thing. Old Chen, where to now?"

"Of course, take you home."

Chen Mu turned, slightly crouching. "Climb on. We're leaving now."

"Going home? Alright."

Long Tuti scrambled onto Chen Mu's back, muttered something, then said, "Thanks, Old Chen."

"You're still thanking me?"

Chen Mu smiled as he slowly rose into the air. "By the way, Tuti. Zhao Ge said you were with your second brother when you got captured? Where is he now? Any news?"

At the mention of his second brother, Long Tuti's cheerful mood visibly dimmed. He sighed softly. "I don't know… The Mo Sect showed up suddenly, and it felt like they were specifically targeting us. Our guards fought to the death to hold them off, and my second brother broke through with me—but we got separated halfway. By the time I was captured, I couldn't see him anymore."

He paused, then added, "But I know where I can contact him—if he's still alive."

"Oh? Where?" Chen Mu's spirits lifted sharply.

"In the Dao City of the Original Dragon Dao."

Long Tuti answered quickly, "In the Dao City, our Long family has established a secret outpost—highly concealed. Only core family members know the exact contact methods and codewords. If Second Brother escaped, he would surely find a way to leave a message there, or wait for me there."

"Then let's go."

Chen Mu adjusted his flight path; internal Qi surged through him, and his speed increased again.

"We're heading to the Dao City!"

As his words faded, he transformed into a streak of light, slicing through the sky toward the heart of the Original Dragon Dao, hurtling forward at extreme speed.