Chapter 117: Opening the Shenhai

Yanbei City, one of the Guard Cities of the Capital, has a garrison of forty thousand imperial troops and a population of over three hundred thousand.

Because it is located to the north of the Capital City and many wild geese pass through here every year, it was given this name.

Besides guarding the Capital City, this city also takes on the responsibility of providing and producing supplies for the Capital, methodically transporting grain and various daily necessities gathered from all over to the Capital.

As the most prosperous place, the Capital City handles a massive volume of commercial goods every day.

These few Guard Cities are like the arteries of the Capital, constantly pumping blood into it.

"We shall rest in the city for a few days before heading to the Capital."

Chen Mo drove the horse into the city and instructed Zhao Yu inside the carriage.

For the past seven or eight days, they had either been in the wilderness or staying overnight at roadside inns; the conditions were naturally not very good.

Never mind the people, after traveling continuously for this period, even the dogs had grown a circle thinner.

Now that they had finally arrived at a large city, they naturally had to rest and recuperate for a few days.

Furthermore, he himself was approaching the opportunity for a breakthrough, so he could just use this time of rest to break through here.

In any case, it is only a little over three hundred li from this city to the south before reaching the Capital.

Because of its proximity to the Capital, Yanbei City is also quite prosperous.

With all kinds of commercial goods being transported back and forth, and many merchants and porters resting here, the commercial atmosphere in the city is very developed, and prices are not cheap.

Chen Mo spent two taels of silver to temporarily rent a small courtyard in the city.

This kind of courtyard rented by the day would never be found in other cities.

It is only because Yanbei City has so many passing merchants, and even merchant caravans and escort agencies stopping here.

Therefore, besides inns, there are also these small, self-contained courtyards for rent.

Whenever it is close to mealtime, there are waiters from nearby restaurants shouting and hawking outside.

If one does not wish to go out to buy food, one can call these waiters to have them deliver takeout to the house, though the price is relatively more expensive.

"Let's eat first; after we finish eating, we will both have a good rest."

Chen Mo looked at the food that had just been delivered to the table and greeted with a smile.

Zhao Yu first settled the silver with the waiter who delivered the food, then shut the courtyard gate tight before walking to the table.

"I asked earlier, and the waiter said the mutton shaomai is the restaurant's signature dish. I specifically ordered half a pound; you should taste it."

Zhao Yu brought over a bamboo steamer still emitting heat and asked Chen Mo to taste it carefully.

The restaurant's shaomai are sold by the weight unit, but based on the weight of the flour used for the wrappers; one weight unit of shaomai contains eight pieces.

Half a jin is exactly forty pieces; for an ordinary strong man to finish this much, it would take at least two or three people.

However, this was nothing to Chen Mo; even though there were many other dishes on the table, with his appetite, these would only be swept clean.

Dipping the mutton shaomai in garlic sauce and chili oil, one bite releases a fragrant aroma, with hot meat juices inside.

This must be eaten while hot, otherwise, it will have a gamey smell once it cools.

After sweeping away seven or eight-tenths of the food on the table, Chen Mo drew clear water from the courtyard well to wash his body.

With his physical constitution, he did not need to care about the temperature and just washed directly.

After washing his body, he changed into a clean and comfortable set of undergarments and adjusted his state.

He instructed Zhao Yu that he was going to cultivate first.

He found a slightly secluded room, took out a Putan, and sat cross-legged on it.

The Glazed Treasure Bead was also taken out; Chen Mo had done some research on this bead during this period.

He had once asked Wei Xia what the inside of this bead was specifically like, and Chen Mo had even used his Inner Qi to inspect it.

But there was nothing inside; apart from storing Wei Xia's corpse, this bead could not store anything else.

There was only one thing: this bead was absorbing Heaven and Earth Power at an extremely slow speed and releasing cold air outward.

This cold air could help a Martial Artist calm their mind.

Furthermore, Wei Xia could use this bead to condense ice shards in the void and release cold air to fight enemies.

Holding the Mysterious Ice Bead, Chen Mo's mind quickly settled, and he could perceive the divine sense power within his Shenhai.

However, these powers were very chaotic, like one small thought after another, unable to be gathered and impossible to use together.

To open the Shenhai, one cannot rely on any external means and can only rely on the Martial Artist themselves.

Fortunately, with essence and Qi combined, as long as a Martial Artist is willing to cultivate, the accumulated amount of divine sense will eventually allow the Martial Artist to open the Shenhai sooner or later.

It is just that the specific time required varies from person to person; some need more than ten years, while others need several decades.

Because Chen Mo's physical body and Inner Qi are powerful, they are far superior to ordinary Martial Artists.

Coupled with the assistance of Wei Xia's Nourishing Spirit Liquid, it allowed him to complete the breakthrough slightly faster than other Martial Artists, without having to waste too much time.

Calming his mind, Chen Mo further sensed the extremely chaotic thoughts within his Shenhai, wishing to integrate them into one.

Opening the Shenhai is an extremely tedious and complex task, requiring countless strands of divine sense to be condensed bit by bit.

The time required to open the Shenhai is very long; at least in the perception of a Martial Artist, this period is very long.

Chen Mo's strands of divine sense power were far more formidable than those of ordinary Martial Artists.

The reason is simple: because his physical body is strong enough, the divine sense nurtured naturally is also much more formidable than that of Martial Artists at the same realm.

Strands of divine sense power were constantly gathered in Chen Mo's Shenhai, like thin threads being twisted into a sturdy hemp rope.

Chen Mo's perception of his own Shenhai became increasingly clear; when the divine sense condensation reached a threshold.

Chen Mo felt in an instant that he was pulled into an extremely peculiar space, or rather, his own consciousness could now perceive this space.

This is the human Shenhai, the place where divine sense gathers.

Around him were countless flying golden threads; they were all his own divine sense power, and now they were still being continuously absorbed and integrated into one.

Looking further out, there were stone walls flowing with golden radiance; his current divine sense felt as if it were inside a mountain cave, which protected him but also restricted him.

Only by opening the cave entrance and allowing the divine sense to observe the outside world would the breakthrough be completed.

Chen Mo slowly gathered all his Divine Sense into a single mass, and under his control, it surged like waves, constantly battering the cave before him.

"Boom!"

It was as if rolling dust and smoke dispersed, and the stubborn rock crumbled, dissolving into golden rays of light that vanished.

With the Shenhai opened, Chen Mo's perception of Heaven and Earth changed in an instant.

In the vast and mighty world, countless forces surged and shifted.

At first, everything seemed normal, but as he observed further, he could discover many clues.

These forces intertwined with each other, emitting a very peculiar sound.

Moreover, this force was constantly pulling at him, wanting to drag him toward another place.

Withdrawing his Divine Sense back into his Shenhai, this feeling vanished in an instant.

If nothing unexpected happened, that just now was the summons of the Mirage Sea.

It is no wonder that Qi Refiners cannot easily leave a Dongtian Fudi without being fully prepared; it is indeed too dangerous.

Even he, without any understanding of the Heavenly Law, could feel the pull of this force, let alone a Qi Refiner.

However, although the Divine Sense was withdrawn into his body, he could still use it to draw Heaven and Earth Power into his body for refinement.

The efficiency of using the Shenhai is far higher than that of the Mysterious Aperture, and furthermore, both can be used simultaneously.

The Shenhai draws countless Heaven and Earth Power into the body, and the Mysterious Aperture then refines it.

Upon reaching this realm, unless one is within the Mirage Sea, a Martial Artist's Inner Qi will almost never be exhausted.

The old strength is not yet spent, and new strength is already born.

There is also one most important point; with a movement of Chen Mo's mind, a long spear composed purely of Inner Qi condensed in his hand.

Having opened the Shenhai, Chen Mo can refine and absorb more Heaven and Earth Power.

Not only that, he can condense his Inner Qi into a shape and then leave a wisp of Divine Sense upon it, which can ensure that this condensed Inner Qi does not dissipate for a long time.

Just like the Inner Qi long spear in his hand, even if Chen Mo no longer provides it with any power, it can maintain its form for several hours.

In addition, the distance of his Inner Qi projection has also reached over ten zhang, up from the previous few zhang.

If he goes a step further to unify the three treasures of essence, energy, and spirit, breaking through to Acquired Perfection, or rather, Postnatal Late-stage.

Then his own Inner Qi can be projected a hundred zhang away.

A Martial Artist of this realm, looking across the world, is not considered top-tier, but is still of a first-class level.

The breakthrough ended, and Chen Mo calmed his mind once more, letting his condensed Divine Sense disperse again within the Shenhai.

However, having condensed it this time, the next time he wants to twist them into a mass to exert power, it will only take an instant.

The breakthrough ended, and Chen Mo walked out of the room.

Zhao Yu was nearby washing clothes; they had been traveling continuously for this period, and there was no place for her to wash them.

Now that they finally had a place to stay, of course, she had to wash and dry the dirty clothes she had changed out of as soon as possible.

Seeing this, Chen Mo smiled and walked over to help, wringing out the clothes to be dried and handing them to Zhao Yu so she could hang them on the clothesline nearby.

After resting for three days in Yanbei City, Chen Mo set off on horseback again.

After traveling for another day, the Capital City was already in sight, and Chen Mo could even see the tall and imposing city towers from afar.

However, when he set off the next day, he could clearly feel that something was wrong.

The number of carriages coming and going had suddenly decreased significantly, and the main road, which had previously been bustling and sometimes even congested, suddenly became clear.

It was as if the entire Capital City, along with several nearby Guard Cities, had all suddenly been placed under martial law, and all activities were ordered to stop.

Only some carriages that were still on the road were traveling along the main road.

Although Chen Mo did not know the specific situation, he understood that with such signs, if nothing unexpected happened, then something unexpected had happened.

He immediately urged his horse to hurry, wanting to reach the Capital City to understand the situation, while simultaneously stimulating his Inner Qi to reinforce his ears so he could better observe his surroundings.

After traveling several dozen more li, Chen Mo discovered a luxurious and noble carriage rushing over from the wilderness in the distance.

This carriage was very extraordinary; the three fine horses pulling the carriage were pure white all over, without a single stray hair, and most importantly, even though they were pulling a carriage at full speed through the wilderness, the three fine horses showed no signs of strain.

The carriage itself was even more special; the carriage frame bumped up and down, but the carriage cabin was extremely special, as if it were not affected at all.

The carriage was also carved with auspicious beasts such as dragons, phoenixes, and qilin, indicating that this carriage must have come from the Imperial Palace.

Ordinary princes and ministers would not dare to overstep and use carriages of such protocol.

Most importantly, the person responsible for driving the carriage was a palace eunuch.

However, those three white horses were startled and were now fleeing for their lives, and the driving eunuch could not control them at all.

Seeing that they were about to rush into another wilderness, Chen Mo immediately took action to pull the reins, blocking the three white horses that were running wildly.

He was very curious about what had happened in the Capital City and why it was suddenly under martial law.

And how could this carriage of the Imperial family appear in the wilderness outside the city?

(End of this chapter)