Ready, Set, Go

Xu Mu glanced at Li Chenshuang with a smile. “Your brain finally caught up. Go ahead and guess.”

“You must like her. After all, she’s young and knows how to act spoiled.”

Li Chenshuang spoke flatly. “But you have plenty of competition. The geniuses from the other tribes are pursuing her too.”

“You women really do love saying the opposite of what you mean.”

Xu Mu headed toward the palace ahead of them. “Your guess is right. She is indeed a traitor. Of course, to be more precise, there are far too many traitors here. Their homes have already been confiscated, yet they’re still completely in the dark.”

“What do you mean?”

Li Chenshuang’s expression darkened.

“Exactly what I said. You don’t have to believe me, but what I do next will make you believe it.”

Xu Mu had already reached the steps outside the palace. He sat down and continued, “Zhou Su is a traitor too. They joined Li Jiao’s side a long time ago.”

Li Chenshuang did not deny it. At this point, she clearly trusted Xu Mu more.

Still, Xu Mu had said that what he did next would serve as proof. She only needed to wait and see.

Li Chenshuang sat down beside Xu Mu and looked into the distance. “Now will you finally tell me what your purpose is?”

“The address Miao Wentian gave you is fake. Li Peijun’s goal is to trick you into revealing the address.”

Xu Mu propped his cheek up with one hand. “Do you believe me? Both of the missing Worldbreakers will show up at the fake location this time.”

Li Chenshuang’s expression turned extremely grim.

Thinking it over carefully, everything that had happened this time did indeed seem flawless. But after Xu Mu’s analysis, certain details no longer seemed right.

For example, when the first Transcendent went missing, one of the commanders had volunteered to investigate.

But when she thought carefully about his usual character, had he been a little too eager?

Li Chenshuang’s original plan had been for the other Transcendents to investigate the disappearance. Yet he had taken the initiative so readily. There really was something suspicious about that.

Still, all of this was only speculation. A conclusion could be reached only after seeing the truth with her own eyes.

“By the way, was it true when you said you were bringing people over?” Li Chenshuang suddenly asked.

“It was. If Li Jiao really has joined forces with Chi Ting, then the strength of just a few of us won’t be enough.”

Xu Mu thought for a moment before continuing, “But the only experts I have around me are Fu Jinyu and Chen Xuan.”

“Can Fu Jinyu handle it?”

“She’s already a Worldbreaker. Not long ago, she took down a third-stage Worldbreaker.”

Xu Mu smiled. “As for Old Chen, his cultivation isn’t very high, but he’s blessed by incredible luck. With him around, our chances of dying will drop considerably.”

“You actually believe in that kind of superstition?”

Li Chenshuang couldn’t help laughing.

Xu Mu said nothing. It wasn’t that he believed in it—he could actually see it.

“If you’re asking them to come help, who’s paying their appearance fee?” Li Chenshuang continued.

“They don’t want money. But in the future, if you explore a true ancient ruin, can you take them with you? As I said before, we only want a small share.”

Xu Mu glanced at Li Chenshuang. “The great treasure belonging to your tribe will definitely be yours.”

“Fine. I agree.”

Li Chenshuang accepted without hesitation.

As far as she was concerned, she already owed Xu Mu far too much. The corpses and Netherworld Worms from this time alone were worth more than a Heaven-grade cultivation technique.

“Then wait for my message. I’m going to notify them now.”

Xu Mu pulled the hood of his black robe over his head and headed back toward the exit of the ruin.

Along the way, he saw Li Peijun.

Li Peijun greeted him with a smile. “Brother Xu Mu, where are you going?”

“I’m going outside to make a call and have my friends set out immediately. Ideally, they’ll arrive tomorrow.”

Xu Mu gave her a simple explanation.

With her hands behind her back, Li Peijun followed behind him. “Brother, what was the name of that move you used during the Martial Contest? It was incredibly cool!”

“You mean the cultivation technique? It doesn’t have a name. It’s an ancestral technique passed down through the Xu family.”

Xu Mu smiled. “My old man said it can only be taught to my wife and descendants.”

A hint.

Li Peijun’s smile grew wider and wider. This shameless man really did like her.

They had only just met, and he was already using a cultivation technique as bait, trying to get her to marry him.

He sure knew how to daydream.

“Then Brother Xu Mu’s wife must be getting quite a bargain,” Li Peijun said with a smile.

The two of them returned to the area outside the ruin. Zhou Su was still sitting in the living room.

After exchanging a brief greeting, Xu Mu headed out of the factory.

“Brother, I’ll go with you.”

Li Peijun followed him with a smile.

Xu Mu removed his black robe and put it into his spatial ring. He did not stop her.

However, when he spoke with Miao Wentian later, he definitely couldn’t have her nearby.

Li Peijun also understood some simple formations, and she had changed her hair color and eye color.

After chatting along the way, the two arrived at Xu Mu’s car.

“Wow! Brother Xu Mu, your car is so impressive! It’s much bigger than my BYD!”

Li Peijun put on an exaggerated expression.

Xu Mu almost laughed. This woman really was willing to act any way she could just to get close to him.

“It looks impressive, but I don’t like this car.”

Xu Mu opened the door.

“Then what kind of car do you like, Brother?”

Li Peijun asked curiously.

“Your BYD. Then Geely. And the Zeekr 9X.”

Xu Mu glanced at Li Peijun. “Go back first. I’m heading out to buy something.”

After closing the door, he immediately drove away.

Li Peijun watched the Cadillac Escalade disappear into the distance and muttered, “What kind of nonsense was that?”

…

Xu Mu drove two kilometers along the road outside the factory before transmitting his voice. “Senior, are you there? Just channel qi into the formation on the back of your hand and speak toward it. I’ll be able to hear you.”

A moment later, Miao Wentian’s voice came through. “Can you hear me?”

“I can.”

Xu Mu spoke. “Where are you now? I’ll come pick you up. We can go to the ruin you mentioned first and inscribe a few formations.”

“There’s no need to inscribe any. This ruin has very powerful formations. I once entered it with the previous chief, and we already took out all the treasures inside.”

Miao Wentian’s voice came through.

“Good. That saves us quite a bit of time. You can head to the ruin now and wait inside. We’ll go over tomorrow.”

“All right.”

Miao Wentian agreed.

Xu Mu rolled down the car window and first called Fu Jinyu, but Hongyu answered.

Hongyu asked Xu Mu to wait a moment. About five minutes later, Fu Jinyu called him back personally.

Xu Mu gave her a general explanation of the situation.

Just as he had expected, Fu Jinyu agreed without hesitation.

“I thought you’d need to think it over. After all, this is helping the Jiuli Tribe.”

Xu Mu smiled as he spoke into the phone.

“While I’m helping her, my opponent in battle will also be the Jiuli Tribe.”

Fu Jinyu spoke from the other end. “Besides, there’ll be a chance to search for treasures afterward.”

“Good. I’ll send you the address.”

After hanging up, Xu Mu called Chen Xuan.

His answer was even more straightforward.

Xu Mu sent them the address and told them to message him when they arrived.

He then returned to the factory and waited.

It wasn’t until eight that evening that two messages arrived on Xu Mu’s phone.

Fu Jinyu and Chen Xuan had reached the location.

Xu Mu immediately turned to Li Chenshuang. “We’re leaving!”

“Are we setting out this late at night?” Li Peijun asked curiously.