Da Xuan Martial Saint

Ice State, Han Prefecture.

In the midst of the mountains and forests, Chen Mu, dressed in simple commoner clothes, quietly advanced.

After entering the region of Han Prefecture, he and Feng Hongsheng temporarily split up, each moving deeper into Han Prefecture from the north and south.

As its name suggests, Han Prefecture had a harsh climate, but unlike Frost County, it was dry due to its proximity to Sha Prefecture, so it was not covered with vast frost and snow; instead, most of it consisted of wilderness.

In terms of area, Ice State was actually much bigger than Yu State, but due to poorer resources, it had fewer inhabitants compared to Yu State and, as far as Chen Mu knew, was more chaotic in governance than Yu State.

"Icy cold frost and snowy mist, this Han Prefecture is probably the most ordinary among the six counties of Ice State."

Chen Mu meandered through the sparse woods, his glance sweeping over the valleys while feeling the flow of The Power of Heaven and Earth, understanding the surroundings, and scanning the horizon occasionally from the top of a peak.

Traveling along the border of Han Prefecture, he encountered very few people, and even the settlement areas were quite scattered, which was fairly normal since many parts of Han Prefecture were too barren to support large-scale villages or towns.

However,

surely different from Frost County, by now Chen Mu had been in Han Prefecture for seven or eight days and had gleaned some Experience in Qiankun Artistic Conception, which was somewhat beneficial; he was nearing completion of his seventh deduction.

Finally, on the ninth day, Chen Mu slowed his pace. His expression turned somber as he approached a fairly large village, home to several thousand households, and looked intently at the settlement.

The village was filled with ruins and a harrowing scene; severed limbs were visible on the ground, and blood had seeped into and frozen on the wasteland, suggesting a massacre had taken place.

"Foreign Race from beyond the borders..."

With a grave expression, Chen Mu stepped forward, entering the village that resembled a hell on earth.

The scale of this slaughter clearly wasn't the work of Heavenly Corpse Sect or Sky Demon Sect. Where Heavenly Corpse Sect passed, even if massacres occurred, no bodies would be left behind, as they would take them all.

The practice was similar with the Sky Demon Sect; most victims would be consumed as Blood Nourishment, and they rarely slaughtered indiscriminately. Although they were as brutal as demons, it's like how humans wouldn't kill all the chickens just for a meal.

Only the Foreign Race could perform such actions.

Killing all the men, and plundering all the resources and women—that was the way of the Foreign Race.

Chen Mu's gaze swept across the corpses as he walked deeper into the ruins, finally closing his eyes slightly:

"Less than a day?"

As he ventured through, he encountered more Demon Men wreaking havoc, and villages plundered like this one, but the signs suggested this incident had occurred just about half a day before.

The purpose of his and Feng Hongsheng's entry into Han Prefecture was not to confront the Foreign Race, Sky Demons, or Heavenly Corpses directly, but rather to pre-emptively understand the strongholds of these groups, and to familiarize themselves with the situation in Han Prefecture.

However, encountering such tragically wasted landscapes, a chill grew in Chen Mu's heart.

However,

just as Chen Mu was about to depart the scene, he suddenly sensed something, and took several steps towards a particular direction, quickly arriving at a deep well on one side of the village.

He glanced down into the well, where its depth stretched about several meters. Though shrouded in darkness, he could still discern a recess in the wall of the well where he sensed a faint breath emanating.

Chen Mu sighed.

Reaching out towards the bottom of the well, a wisp of invisible Qi Force spread out, reaching toward the niche in the well's wall and lifting out a very young child in floral clothes, who appeared to be only around five or six years old.

The child, a little girl with braided hair, had a deathly pale face, weak breath, and shivered slightly, being in a state of unconsciousness.

Clearly,

she must have been hidden in the well when the Foreign Race attacked, but the freezing cold and damp inside the well made it untenable, even with a coat, for half a day, let alone for a robust adult.

At this young age, the girl could not possibly have climbed out of the well on her own. Had Chen Mu not cultivated his Martial Body, making his senses to Qi more acute, he might not have noticed the surviving young girl at the bottom of this well.

Chen Mu stood by the well, looking at the little girl suspended in the air by a wisp of Qi Force, and was reminded of many years ago when he served as the Prefecture Chief in Wutong Grove District, resisting the bitter cold disaster. However, back then, he had only just started practicing Martial Arts and could only do his best to save a batch of disaster victims.

Though Han Prefecture was not under his administration, having encountered her, he would not stand idly by. Although the village was a scene of horror, he wasn't sure whether the girl's survival was a stroke of luck or misfortune. Nevertheless, since he had encountered it, he would not let this life disappear.

"Come." Discover hidden content at My Virtual Library Empire

Chen Mu lifted the girl with one hand while the other beckoned silently; the mist gathered in his palm, forming a stream of water, followed by the rise of Blazing Flames, warming the bundle of water.

Simultaneously, Chen Mu's other hand emitted a bit of warm Qi Force, dispelling the cold invading the girl's floral clothes and warming her body.