Chapter 252 Breaking Through the Realm by Drawing Wind

When Chen Mu returned to the barracks, it was already the third quarter of the Hai hour.

Lu Dachuan was sprawled out on the communal bed, snoring like thunder. Ling Xiaoning's breathing was steady, and he was sleeping soundly. Feng Qing was sitting against the bed frame, eyes closed in meditation. Hearing the commotion, he merely lifted his eyelids briefly before closing them again.

Chen Mu did not disturb anyone; he walked quietly to his sleeping mat and sat down cross-legged.

Zhuifeng poked its little head out from the blankets, dizzily rubbed against his palm, and then shrank back in.

He closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into his Sea of Consciousness.

On the System interface, that illusory "source-tracing demon tome" floated silently, its pages turning slowly without the presence of wind.

With a thought from Chen Mu, images flashed before his eyes: Mountain Demon, Water Python, Painted Skin Ghost, Green-Scaled Python Demon... finally resting on a brand-new page.

On that page was depicted a demon creature with wings spread wide.

It had a human face and a bat body, with dark red membranous wings and high-set brow bones. Its eyes were pitch black with no whites, and the brushwork was so lifelike that it seemed as if the creature might pounce out from the illustration at any moment.

A few lines of small text appeared below the illustration.

[Demon Creature: Human-Faced Blood Bat (Bat King level)]

[Classification: Winged Tribe, Blood Bat Family]

[Habits: Gregarious, nocturnal, prefers cold and damp places, often lurking in Ancient Tombs, deep caves, and abandoned shrines. Young bats feed on insects and wild fruits; after reaching adulthood, they become bloodthirsty, with a particular craving for the vital blood of humans and livestock.]

[Characteristics: Wingspan can reach twelve feet. Flight is swift and silent, with extremely strong night vision. Sensitive to light, though it is not a fatal weakness. Sharp claws can crush bones; fangs are venomous. Saliva contains an anticoagulant toxin that can cause prey to bleed continuously and fall into a stupor.]

[Weaknesses: Fears strong light, though not fatal; fears the burning fumes of saltpeter, sulfur, mugwort, etc.; hearing is extremely keen, and high-frequency sound waves can cause it to become dizzy.]

[Distribution: Sporadic records exist throughout all provinces of the Great Wu Dynasty, especially in areas with many mountains, forests, and Ancient Tombs.]

[Quantity: This demon is often found in massive numbers; when they emerge, it is in the hundreds or thousands. Wherever they pass, both humans and livestock are reduced to dried corpses.]

[Methods of Restraint: Strong light, intense fire. Additionally, since the bat's hearing is extremely keen, the sounds of metal clashing can be used to disrupt its sense of direction, causing it to collide with itself.]

Chen Mu read it word for word, then slowly opened his eyes.

Strong light, intense fire, the sounds of metal clashing.

He recalled the engagement with the Bat King last night and how the creature reacted sharply to the sound of Feng Qing's arrows cutting through the air. Seeing the position, it had turned in advance, narrowly avoiding the attack. The keenness of its hearing was evident.

To use the sounds of metal clashing to disrupt its sense of direction—could it be that they needed many people to strike golden gongs and copper cymbals simultaneously to disturb its hearing?

Chen Mu simulated this rapidly in his mind, but after a moment, he shook his head.

This method might be effective against ordinary Blood Bats, but the Bat King had already awakened its intelligence and had fled after being wounded. The next time it appeared, it would surely be more vigilant and would not easily walk into an ambush.

Furthermore, the area around Kaoshan Village was deep with mountains and dense forests. If the Bat King's hiding spot was far from the village, they couldn't exactly carry gongs and drums around the mountains beating them.

What was even more troublesome was that the Bat King could fly.

During their last encounter, a single flap of the Bat King's wings sent it soaring over ten zhang. Chen Mu had used all his strength to activate the "Wind God Wings," yet he could only glide seven or eight zhang in the air before falling due to a lack of wind and exhaustion.

If he couldn't solve the issue of air superiority, even if he encountered it again next time, he could only watch it escape.

The "Wind God Wings" had already been cultivated to Perfection, and it was hard to make further progress.

Then, only one path remained.

Chen Mu moved his thoughts again, his consciousness sinking into the System once more, and the System data appeared before him.

[Chen Mu: Seventeen years old, remaining Lifespan: eighty-seven years, plundered Lifespan: two thousand three hundred thirty-eight years]

[Mastered Martial Arts: "Broadsword Technique" Perfection! "Taibao Horizontal Training" Perfection! "Sword Drawing Technique" Perfection! "Heaven-Slaying Sword Drawing Technique" Perfection! "Divine Void Step" Perfection! "Wind God Wings" (Perfection)! "Soul-Loss Art" Perfection! "Heavenly Illusion Shape-Shifting Technique" (Not yet initiated), "Hunyuan Wuji Calamity Body" (Second Layer Perfection!), "Wind and Rain Induction Mantra" Inducing Wind First Layer Perfection]

[Special Items: bear paw gloves ("Flying Bear Dream-Entering Technique": Perfection), ancient demon seal, "source-tracing demon tome"]

Chen Mu stared fixedly at the "Wind and Rain Induction Mantra." He checked his plundered Lifespan; there were over two thousand years left, which should be enough. He then poured it all at once into the second layer of the Inducing Wind portion.

[Infusing...]

[In the 302nd year, you are no longer satisfied with passive perception and borrowing momentum. You begin to attempt to actively awaken the will of the wind. You condense your Hunyuan Calamity Astral Qi into thin threads and probe deep into the Void Realm. The astral threads break intermittently. You sit in meditation for a hundred days, but gain nothing.]

[In the 347th year, you finally capture a trace of strange vibration. It is not wind; it is the faint palpitation of unformed airflow in the gaps between heaven and earth. You nourish this palpitation with your Hunyuan Calamity Astral Qi. It takes three years to stabilize its form, but once it leaves the nourishment of your Protective Aura, it dissipates into nothingness.]

[In the 415th year, you change your approach. You do not try to create wind; instead, you search for the memory of wind in places where there is no wind. You walk deep underground, where the air has been stagnant for ten thousand years. It has experienced the vicissitudes of time and has been carved by the wild winds of ancient times. You begin to understand that the wind has never truly disappeared; it is merely dormant.]

[In the 503rd year, you return to the mountain peak. With eyes closed and focus gathered, you use yourself as the catalyst, stirring the circulation of your blood and Qi to create minute temperature and pressure differences. When this internal disturbance becomes sufficiently violent, the air three inches around you finally reacts. On days without wind, wind can still be born in your palm.]

[In the 627th year, you can already conjure a breeze out of thin air within a range of about a zhang around you. This wind is weak and insufficient to harm anyone, yet it can move according to your will—to lift, to propel, to entwine. You finally understand that so-called wind-riding does not lie in the wind, but in oneself.]

[In the 780th year, your control over the wind reaches a state of mastery. In places without wind, you can generate a breeze; when there is wind, you can borrow its momentum to rise. With this assistance, the "Wind God Wings" have their airtime extended by double, and the eeriness of your turns surprises even yourself. However, you also know that the true art of wind-riding should be able to raise a gale from flat ground and soar above the nine heavens with a flap of wings.]

[Infusion successful! "Wind and Rain Induction Mantra" (Inducing Wind) Second Layer Perfection!]

Chen Mu opened his eyes; the changes brought about by the Perfection of the second layer of the "Wind and Rain Induction Mantra" were even more significant than he had anticipated.

He got up and pushed the door open. The night was deep in the courtyard. With a slight movement of Chen Mu's thoughts, a breeze was conjured out of thin air within three feet of his body, gently fluttering his sleeves.

He tried activating the "Wind God Wings," and his entire body rose from the ground, hovering at a height of three zhang. This time, he did not borrow any external wind; it was entirely supported by the small internal cycle he had formed. His airtime was more than double what it had been before, and his turns were even more effortless.

Chen Mu nodded with satisfaction. With this means, if he encountered that Bat King again tomorrow, he would at least not let it escape easily. He tried a few more times until he was completely proficient in using it, then withdrew his power and landed back in the courtyard.

The sky was gradually brightening. From inside the barracks came the incoherent mumbling of Ling Xiaoning. Zhuifeng also squeezed its little head out through the door crack and trotted over to rub against his pant leg.

Chen Mu bent down to pet Zhuifeng's head and turned back to the room.

He would sleep for a while longer to restore his energy.