274: Chapter 274 Mu Chen's Resolve

Under the same night sky, the stars of the Tianluo Continent were colder than those over the Burning Heaven Mountain Range.

Behind Mu Mansion, the stone door of the secluded cultivation cave had been open for three days.

The residual spiritual energy fluctuations within the cave still echoed slowly through the earth veins; these were the traces left when the two of them simultaneously broke through to the peak of the Spirit Grade Heavenly Sovereign—the golden sword intent of the heavenly emperor sword and the silver sword radiance of the Luoshen Sword had intertwined, carving countless sword marks of varying depths into the stone walls, which had yet to dissipate.

Mu Chen stood at the edge of the cliff behind the mountain, the heavenly emperor sword slung diagonally across his back.

The night wind blew the hem of his dark ink-colored robes, making his figure appear even more upright.

After the breakthrough, his temperament had changed once more—the youthful aura between his brows had completely faded, replaced by a calmness and sharpness that only comes after experiencing slaughter and warfare.

His eyes were shockingly bright in the night, like two clusters of flames that had been suppressed for too long and were about to erupt.

Luo Li walked over from behind, her silver hair fluttering slightly in the night wind.

She did not make a sound to disturb him, but simply stood quietly half a step to his side, gazing with him at the mountains below the cliff that had been bleached white by the moonlight.

She knew what he was thinking.

From the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy until now, she had walked such a long path with him, having seen him grit his teeth and persist in desperate situations, and having seen his madness in burning himself out for the sake of becoming stronger.

But Mu Chen was different tonight—it was not anger, nor impatience, but a calmness that had been suppressed for too long and was finally about to erupt.

"Mu Chen." She said softly.

"Hmm."

"What are you thinking about?"

Mu Chen was silent for a moment, then turned to face her.

The moonlight fell on his face, illuminating the faint layer of moisture in his eyes.

His voice was steady, but someone as familiar with him as Luo Li could hear the monstrous waves suppressed beneath that calmness.

"I am thinking about my mother.

When I was young in the Northern Spiritual Realm, other children had mothers to cook, sew clothes, and call them home for dinner at the doorway.

I did not.

My father left early, and by the age of five, I had learned to start a fire and cook for myself."

He paused, raised his hand to grip the hilt of the heavenly emperor sword behind his back, his knuckles turning slightly white, "Later, I learned that she was locked up to protect me and my father.

The Ancient Floating Pagoda Clan imprisoned her for over a decade, and I have thought countless times about going to save her—I thought about it at the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, in the ruins of the Heavenly Palace, when establishing Mu Mansion, and every time I felt I could no longer hold on.

Now, I can finally go."

Luo Li reached out, pried his fingers off the hilt one by one, and then held them in her own palm.

Her hands were soft, but her grip was steady, as if she were holding onto something she would never let go of.

"I will go with you." She said.

It was not a request, not a discussion, but a statement.

Just like the tone she used when she first spoke to him at the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy—calm, cold, and refusing to be denied.

Mu Chen looked at her and suddenly smiled.

The smile was faint, but the gloom in his eyes had largely dissipated.

He gripped her hand tightly in return, not saying thank you, but simply pulling her closer, letting their shadows merge into one under the moonlight.

"Let's go. Mandala is still waiting for us."

The main hall of Mu Mansion was brightly lit with candles.

Mandala stood before the huge map of the Tianluo Continent in the hall, her dark green hair gleaming under the candlelight.

She was still her petite and exquisite self, but the posture of standing with her hands behind her back and her brows slightly furrowed revealed the majesty that had accumulated over tens of thousands of years.

Old Ancestor Xuantian sat to the side resting with his eyes closed, Nine Nether leaned against a pillar with her arms crossed, and Elder Ling Xi sat quietly in the corner, flipping through an ancient volume.

The core leadership of Mu Mansion was all present.

When Mu Chen pushed the door and entered, everyone's gaze fell upon him simultaneously.

Mandala turned around, her deep purple pupils resting on his face for a moment, then she nodded slightly—she had already read all the answers from his expression.

"Decided?" She asked.

"Decided." Mu Chen walked to the map, raised his hand to point at the location of the ancestral land of the Ancient Floating Pagoda Clan, "We depart in three days.

This trip to the Ancient Floating Pagoda Clan is not to negotiate, not to attend a banquet—it is to save someone.

Budu Xuan has imprisoned my mother for over a decade, and today I will give him a deadline.

Either release her, or—"

"Or beat him until he releases her." Nine Nether finished the sentence for him, a flash of sharpness in her fiery red eyes.

She straightened up from the pillar, the phantom of the Undying Bird's fire wings behind her causing a faint ripple in the air, "Count me in.

Those old things from the Ancient Floating Pagoda Clan, I have long wanted to deal with them."

Old Ancestor Xuantian opened his eyes, a flash of light appearing in his murky old eyes; he did not speak, but slowly stood up and walked to Mu Chen's side, indicating his attitude with his actions.

But Mu Chen shook his head.

"For this battle, Luo Li will accompany me.

Mandala will stay to guard Mu Mansion; the Tianluo Continent cannot be without a leader.

Nine Nether and Old Ancestor Xuantian will take the elite forces to provide support on the periphery of the Floating Pagoda World—do not enter the ancestral land, only intervene when necessary."

He finished speaking and looked at Elder Ling Xi, who was quietly flipping through a book in the corner, "Sister Ling Xi will stay to assist Mandala.

Mu Mansion has just integrated the six major forces, and the interior still needs to be stabilized.

The fewer people I bring, the less reason the Ancient Floating Pagoda Clan will have to use 'outsiders interfering in clan affairs' as an excuse."

The hall was quiet for a moment.

Mandala was silent for a few breaths, then nodded.

She knew Mu Chen's arrangement was correct—this was an internal affair of the Ancient Floating Pagoda Clan; the more outsiders intervened, the more Budu Xuan could manipulate the situation.

Mu Chen going to demand someone as the son of Qing Yanjing was justified and righteous.

Bringing fewer people actually gave him the moral high ground.

"That heavenly emperor sword of yours, there should be quite a few people in the Ancient Floating Pagoda Clan who recognize it." Mandala said calmly.

"It is better if they recognize it." Mu Chen turned to look at the boundless night sky outside the hall, his gaze seeming to pierce through millions of miles to land in the direction of the Ancient Floating Pagoda Clan's ancestral land, "Whether as the successor of the Heavenly Emperor, a disciple of the Spirit Hall, or the master of Mu Mansion—they can choose not to recognize any of these identities.

But the son of Qing Yanjing—this identity, they cannot deny."

Nine Nether looked at his profile and suddenly felt that this young man was a completely different person from when he was at the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy.

At that time, although Mu Chen had amazing talent, there was still the greenness and stubbornness of a youth between his brows.

Standing before her now was already a hegemon.

His shoulders were broader than before, his jawline was harder than before, and his voice was deeper than before—not feigned seriousness, but the weight that can only be settled after truly bearing too many things.

"Fine." Nine Nether no longer insisted, "Leave the periphery to me and Old Ancestor Xuantian.

You go ahead and smash things up."

Elder Ling Xi closed the ancient volume and stood up, walking to Mu Chen's front.

She had always been quiet and reticent, and at this moment, she only nodded slightly and said "Be careful," then returned to her position.

Mu Chen bowed slightly to her, as a gesture of thanks.

Mandala walked to the map and raised her hand to point to the outer markings of the Ancient Floating Pagoda Clan's ancestral land: "The ancestral land of the Ancient Floating Pagoda Clan is divided into three layers.

The outermost layer is the residential area for the clansmen, the middle is the Elder Hall and the martial arts arena, and the innermost layer is the Forbidden Hall and the Ancestral Tower.

Mu Chen's mother is imprisoned deep within the Forbidden Hall, guarded in rotation by two Heavenly Supreme elders.

If there are no surprises, Budu Xuan himself is stationed in the Elder Hall next to the Forbidden Hall.

My suggestion is—do not take detours, just fight your way in directly from the martial arts arena.

The more upright you are, the less of an excuse Budu Xuan will have to charge you with the crime of trespassing into the Forbidden Hall.

The so-called geniuses of the younger generation of the Ancient Floating Pagoda Clan—"

She paused, a faint trace of disdain appearing at the corner of her mouth, "Before you, they are vulnerable to a single blow."

Mu Chen committed the layout of the Ancient Floating Pagoda Clan's ancestral land on the map to memory, then turned to face the people in the hall.

His gaze swept across the faces of Nine Nether, Old Ancestor Xuantian, Elder Ling Xi, and Mandala one by one, finally landing on Luo Li.

She stood by the candlelight, watching him quietly, the light in her blue eyes as firm and cold as ever.

"Everyone," he cupped his hands, his voice steady and powerful, "Mu Mansion has been established for less than a year, and I should not have let you all toil for my private affairs.

But this matter—I, Mu Chen, have waited for over a decade.

From the moment I watched my mother being taken away when I was five, from when I trained desperately at the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, from the moment I held the heavenly emperor sword, this is the day I have been waiting for.

We depart in three days.

As for Mu Mansion, I leave it to you all."

Nine Nether scoffed, leaning against the pillar with her arms crossed, her fiery red eyes squinting at him: "Why are you being so polite with us?

The wine you owed me back at the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, remember to treat me after this battle is over."

Old Ancestor Xuantian did not speak, but simply reached out and patted Mu Chen's shoulder heavily.

He was also a decisive and ruthless person when he was young; now that he was older, his temperament was calmer, but the bloodiness in his bones had never diminished.

Seeing Mu Chen in this state, he seemed to see his younger self—the difference was that Mu Chen was stronger than he was back then, and more composed than he was back then.

Mu Chen cupped his hands again, then turned and pushed open the hall door.

The night wind poured into the main hall, the candlelight flickered violently for a moment, then stood steadily again.

Luo Li followed behind him, and their figures disappeared side-by-side into the night outside the hall.

Behind the mountain of Mu Mansion, the courtyard was deep.

This small courtyard was where Mu Chen and Luo Li lived daily; it was not big, but it was kept very clean.

A few clusters of night-luminescent grass, transplanted from the Tianluo Continent, were planted in the corner of the courtyard, emitting a faint, pale blue fluorescent glow in the darkness.

Mu Chen stood in the courtyard, the heavenly emperor sword already unslung from his back and laid horizontally across his knees.

He sat cross-legged amidst the night-luminescent grass, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing.

The aura of the peak of the Spirit Grade Heavenly Sovereign flowed slowly around him, and the pale golden phantom of the Primordial Celestial Body appeared and disappeared behind him—the outline of that phantom was much clearer than it had been a few months ago, and one could even vaguely see that the face of the celestial body bore some resemblance to Mu Chen himself.

Luo Li came out of the room, holding two cups of hot tea.

She sat down beside him and placed a cup of tea into his hand.

Her posture while drinking tea was still as elegant and composed as ever, like an empress sitting in the ancestral hall of the Luoshen Clan—but her shoulder was gently pressing against Mu Chen's shoulder, this small action betraying her mood at this moment.

She was not unconcerned, she was just not used to wearing her worries on her face.

"Are you nervous?" She asked.

Mu Chen picked up the tea and took a sip, remaining silent for a long while before speaking: "Nervous.

But not afraid of losing."

"Afraid of what?"

"Afraid of seeing her." His voice suddenly softened, so soft that only Luo Li could hear, "My mother has been locked up for over a decade.

She remembers what I looked like when I was a child, but now—I have grown up, will she still recognize me?

When she left, I was only this tall."

He reached out to gesture above his knee, his fingers trembling slightly, "Now I am this tall.

Will she not recognize me at first glance?"

Luo Li put down her teacup and reached out to hold his hand.

Her hand was very warm, and when she held his hand, which was covered in thick calluses from practicing the sword, her grip was a bit heavier than usual.

"You are her son.

No matter how tall you grow, she will recognize you."

She said, her voice soft but certain.

Mu Chen gripped her hand back, closed his eyes, and felt the temperature coming from her palm.

The night wind brushed through the courtyard, the fluorescent glow of the night-luminescent grass drifting around them like stardust.

He did not speak again, but simply engraved that familiar warmth into his heart bit by bit, letting himself remember—no matter what the outcome of this battle was, he was not alone.

The night grew deeper.

The stars of the Tianluo Continent rotated slowly above their heads, as if even the heaven and earth were holding their breath for the coming battle.

Mu Chen's breathing gradually steadied, and the golden phantom of the Primordial Celestial Body flickered quietly behind him, like a lamp that would never be extinguished.