Chapter 499: Chen Mu, You

Guo Wuqiu's voice was hoarse, thick with bitter hatred.

"You're determined to kill me, aren't you? Fine! Fine! You think capturing me will earn you merit? You think the Zhenwu Bureau will reward you handsomely?"

"Let me tell you, inside the headquarters of the Jiannan Dao Zhenwu Bureau, I have people! And not just one!"

"If you drag me to the provincial capital, someone might rescue me halfway! Who dies then is still uncertain!"

Chen Mu didn't turn around, only tugged the chain.

Guo Wuqiu stumbled forward, nearly falling.

He gritted his teeth, staggered after him, still cursing nonstop.

"Wait! When we reach the provincial capital, you'll regret this! Who do you think you are? Some lowly inspector from nowhere, daring to run wild in Jiannan Dao?"

"Let me tell you, the waters of Jiannan Dao run deep—you can't wade through them!"

Chen Mu paid no heed, continuing forward.

Guo Wuqiu cursed all the way, stopped to rest when tired, then resumed cursing once rested.

He cursed Chen Mu's ancestors eighteen generations deep, then his future descendants; he cursed his cultivation, his character—he used every vile word he could think of.

Chen Mu remained silent throughout.

They walked from sunset to nightfall, then through to dawn.

Ahead, a great river appeared.

The river's surface was wide, the current swift, blocking the road ahead.

A stone bridge spanned the river, with carts and horses passing back and forth—fairly bustling.

Chen Mu was about to cross the bridge when he suddenly halted.

His gaze settled on the river's surface.

On the river's surface stood a man.

He wore a gray robe, white hair and white beard, standing midair above the raging waters. He stood perfectly still, as if fused with heaven and earth.

Chen Mu's pupils contracted slightly.

Tiangong Realm.

And not the kind who just entered it.

Guo Wuqiu followed Chen Mu's gaze, froze in shock, then his face lit up with wild joy.

"Elder! It's Elder!"

Guo Wuqiu trembled with excitement, screaming at the top of his lungs, "Elder Ji! Save me! Save me!"

The old man slowly turned, his gaze falling on Guo Wuqiu, then shifting to Chen Mu's face.

His gaze was calm, utterly without ripples.

Yet as that gaze swept over him, Chen Mu felt an invisible pressure crash against him—the air around seemed to solidify.

"Let him go."

The old man spoke, his voice quiet but crystal clear.

Chen Mu didn't move.

"Chen Mu! You're dead! Hahaha!"

Guo Wuqiu's wild laughter echoed across the river, his face twisted with the euphoria of deliverance, "Elder Chi Yan himself has come—you won't escape today! Just die!"

Chen Mu looked down at him, his gaze as calm as still water.

The next moment, he slowly raised his foot and gently brought it down.

"Crack—"

"Crack!"

Two sharp cracks sounded almost simultaneously.

Guo Wuqiu's legs snapped backward below the calves, white bone shards piercing through skin, blood spurting out.

"Aaaah—!!!"

Guo Wuqiu's laughter instantly turned into a piercing scream; his body convulsed violently, veins bulging on his forehead, eyes nearly popping from their sockets.

"Scream again, and my next step crushes your skull," Chen Mu said calmly.

"…."

Guo Wuqiu's scream cut off, leaving only a gurgling throat and ragged gasps.

His entire body trembled, sweat and blood soaking his clothes, yet he clenched his teeth tight, daring not to make another sound.

His wide eyes blazed with malice and hatred.

On the river, the white-haired elder still stood with hands behind his back, expression unchanged, as if he hadn't seen a thing.

He merely looked at Chen Mu and spoke slowly: "Young man, cruel tactics."

"Not bad."

Chen Mu tossed Guo Wuqiu onto the riverbank, looked up at the elder, and said coolly: "Not as bad as your people who kill and eat men."

The elder nodded slightly, as if accepting the remark.

"I am Elder Chi Yan of the Changsheng Sect."

He introduced himself in a tone as casual as exchanging names in a teahouse, "Passing nearby, I heard Guo Wuqiu had been exposed, so I came to retrieve him. Young man, hand him over—I'll leave you a whole corpse."

Chen Mu said nothing, slowly drawing his Xian Long Sword.

Crimson light shimmered along the blade in the morning sun.

Seeing this, Elder Chi Yan said no more, only raised his right hand.

Boom—

An intense, unmatched aura erupted from him with a thunderous crash.

That aura surged like a volcanic eruption, like subterranean fire rising, instantly engulfing more than half of Dahe.

The river water, scorched by the aura, began to boil into a vast white mist.

The reeds on both banks withered and blackened before their eyes, then burst into flame, crackling loudly as thick smoke rolled.

Realm of Heavenly Palace, Fully Merged with Heaven!

And he is a powerhouse who cultivates a fire-based technique!

Chen Mu's pupils contracted slightly.

He had only just entered the Realm of Merged Heaven a few months ago, still refining his control over the forces of heaven and earth.

Yet this old man before him had spent countless years refining the Realm of Merged Heaven, reaching its very limit—just one step away from entering the Flying Heaven Realm.

This was a gap in raw power.

But Chen Mu did not retreat.

In one hand, the Sunken Dragon Sword, its blade light swirling; in the other, he extended his palm, and an invisible force began to rise from the river's surface.

Ninefold Wave Force.

This was Chen Mu's self-created masterpiece, driven by the Water Intent, emphasizing intent over force.

Nine methods of power stacked layer upon layer, like waves, each stronger than the last.

The denser the water vapor, the greater the power.

And now, the entire Dahe lay beneath him.

Elder Chi Yan moved.

He raised his hand and grasped the air; his blazing aura coalesced into a flame blade a hundred zhang long, stretching across the sky.

Where the flame blade passed, the air warped from heat, the mist on the river surface evaporated instantly, and the thick smoke scattered.

"—Slash!"

The white-haired old man brought down his blade; the hundred-zhang flame sword descended upon Chen Mu with the might to destroy heaven and earth.

Chen Mu raised his hand, his aura swelling.

From the river's surface, endless water vapor surged wildly, coalescing above his head into a colossal water blade.

A hundred-zhang water blade!

The instant the water blade met the flame blade, heaven and earth dimmed.

"Boom—"

A terrifying shockwave exploded outward in all directions.

The river's surface exploded into a crater dozens of zhang wide; water surged backward, hurling towering columns skyward.

The reeds on both banks were ripped from their roots and instantly reduced to dust.

The water blade shattered.

The flame blade shattered too.

But Elder Chi Yan's second slash had already come.

This slash was stronger, fiercer, more intense than the first!

Chen Mu did not retreat; he once again drew forth the river's water vapor, forming another water blade.

Two hundred zhang!

The water blade and flame blade clashed again, shattering once more.

Third slash.

Three hundred zhang water blade!

Fourth slash.

Four hundred zhang!

The two men exchanged blows across the void, slash after slash, each one shaking heaven and earth.

The river was blasted open again and again, exposing the riverbed!

Water vapor within a radius of several li was violently sucked dry; even the air grew parched.

Fifth slash: five hundred zhang water blade!

Sixth slash: six hundred zhang!

Seventh slash: seven hundred zhang!

When the eighth slash came, Chen Mu's water blade had reached eight hundred zhang!