Waiting for the Bite

Xu Mu nodded. “My people are already at the location. It would be best to set out now.”

Li Chenshuang rose from the sofa. “Then let’s leave right away!”

“Chief, am I going?” Zhou Su suddenly asked.

“Go. No matter what, you’re still a late-stage Transcendent expert,” Li Chenshuang said calmly.

Ever since Xu Mu had told her that Zhou Su was not one of their own, Li Chenshuang had felt deeply uncomfortable.

After all, Li Chenshuang had treated Zhou Su as her best friend and older sister from childhood.

That was why she wanted Zhou Su to come along. If Li Jiao really showed up, she wanted to see whether this former close friend would stand against her.

“All right.” Zhou Su nodded.

She had never wanted to go in the first place. As a half-breed, she held no status in the Jiuli Clan and had no interest in the struggle between them.

But as someone they could freely manipulate, she had no way of remaining neutral. She could only choose a side.

In the end, she still chose Li Jiao.

After all, it was easy to tell with one’s own eyes who held the advantage.

Li Jiao was the strongest person in the Second Tribe and had already reached the peak of the second tier.

If luck favored him and he managed to advance another step, he would reach the third tier, making his position even more secure.

What was more, Li Jiao had a talented granddaughter. Despite her young age, she had already reached the early Transcendent stage.

At nearly every level, she had reached it several years younger than Li Chenshuang had.

At this rate, Li Peijun would certainly enter the Boundary-Breaking realm much sooner.

Their branch alone had two Boundary-Breaking experts, while Li Chenshuang was unmarried and had no children.

As a solitary woman, she simply had no way to contend with them.

Zhou Su was merely standing on the side she believed was right.

Still, since Li Chenshuang had personally asked her to come, she obviously could not refuse.

The four of them, along with the two corpses, all got into the Escalade.

Xu Mu searched for the address on his phone.

Li Peijun, sitting in the back seat, glanced at the phone and immediately sent a message to her grandfather.

Afterward, she deleted their chat history.

Zhou Su, who was also seated in the back, took out her phone and sent Li Peijun a message: “Will it be all right for me to come along?”

When Li Peijun saw the message, she replied simply, “Don’t worry. With my grandfather there, you’ll be safe.”

The two of them deleted their chat histories at almost the exact same time.

Xu Mu smiled as he drove onto the highway at an unhurried pace. Their current location was already near the Central Plains region, so the journey would take only about an hour.

…

An hour later, Xu Mu arrived beside a road running through the mountains outside the city.

After everyone got out, Xu Mu stored the car in his storage space.

“Wow! Brother Xu Mu, your spatial ring is huge! It can even fit a car?” Li Peijun exclaimed, her face full of astonishment.

“It’s a family heirloom. Let’s head down,” Xu Mu said.

He led the group as they leaped off the highway and made their way toward their destination.

There were no stars in the sky that night, and the forest was pitch-black.

However, all of them were powerful, so the darkness had little effect on them.

Through his senses, Xu Mu detected Fu Jinyu and Chen Xuan.

At that moment, the two of them were sitting on the branches of two separate trees.

When Xu Mu arrived, he called out with a smile, “How long have you been waiting?”

“Brother Mu, I arrived late.”

Chen Xuan leaped down from the branch.

“I haven’t been waiting long. Just a few hours.”

Fu Jinyu slowly floated down from the branch as well.

“You’re Fu Jinyu of the Sky Demon Clan?” Li Peijun asked in a deep voice.

“That’s right. What, do you want to fight me?”

Fu Jinyu folded her arms and asked indifferently, “What are you so smug about? You just happen to have eaten a few more years’ worth of food than I have. Give me a few years and I’ll surpass you.”

Li Peijun let out a cold snort, but inwardly, she was certain Fu Jinyu would never live to see that day.

She had never expected the woman Xu Mu had summoned to be Fu Jinyu. This was perfect—they could eliminate her at the same time.

“Then I’ll wait a few years.”

Fu Jinyu’s tone remained calm.

Chen Xuan smiled and said, “Brother Mu, when are we going in?”

“Of course, right now.”

Xu Mu smiled. “Let’s go!”

“What realm are you in?”

Li Peijun turned to Chen Xuan.

“With Brother Mu’s help, I’ve just reached the Transcendent Realm,” Chen Xuan explained.

Upon hearing this, Li Peijun almost laughed aloud. Xu Mu was far too useless. He could not even bring along two people in the World-Breaking Realm. Now she had even less to worry about.

“Let’s go. We searched earlier, and the ruins are right there.”

Fu Jinyu moved ahead and walked toward a slope.

The surrounding soil and weeds covered everything in the area, leaving only a palm-sized stone exposed.

She placed her hand against the stone and activated the formation before walking inside.

“This place is quite well hidden. There’s only a single stone that’s easy to overlook.”

Xu Mu smiled. “Let’s go in.”

Chen Xuan and Li Chenshuang followed them inside.

Xu Mu looked at Li Peijun and Zhou Su. “Are you coming?”

Zhou Su went in first, but Li Peijun lowered her voice and said, “Brother Xu Mu, you go in first. I need to relieve myself.”

“Then hurry up.”

After saying this, Xu Mu stepped into the ruins. He naturally knew that Li Peijun merely wanted to send out the exact location.

As soon as Xu Mu left, Li Peijun immediately raised her hand. A pitch-black gu insect appeared on her finger.

The gu insect fell to the ground and burrowed into the soil below.

Once everything was ready, she waited a little longer before entering the ruins as well.

Inside, the ruins were likewise filled with mountains and forests. The night was as dark as ink, and it was impossible to see one’s hand in front of one’s face.

Chen Xuan raised his hand, and a ball of golden light appeared in his palm.

The light was like a lamp, allowing everyone to see everything clearly.

“These ruins really are well hidden. Judging by the surroundings, it seems no one has entered recently.”

Xu Mu looked around and spoke to himself.

After crossing a low mountain ahead, they saw a palace in the distance.

The palace was enormous, standing atop the mountain peak.

“To save time, let’s fly there directly.”

Li Chenshuang controlled the two corpses beside her. One of them grabbed Li Peijun and Zhou Su, while the other grabbed Xu Mu and Chen Xuan.

As for Li Chenshuang and Fu Jinyu, they could already fly on their own.

The group flew through the night and soon arrived in front of the palace.

“All right, let’s go inside.”

Xu Mu smiled at Li Peijun and Zhou Su.

“Brother Xu Mu, our cultivation is so weak. Wouldn’t going in first be tantamount to seeking death?”

Li Peijun smiled as she spoke.

Fu Jinyu frowned slightly. The way this Jiuli clanswoman spoke was truly nauseating.

“You have a point. Then let’s go in together.”

Xu Mu smiled as he took Li Peijun and Zhou Su by the hands and stepped into the palace before them.

The others followed closely behind.

The moment they entered the palace, the world that had been pitch-black suddenly brightened.

Clearly, they had stepped into a formation.

The formation here was extremely peculiar. Sand covered the ground, and an endless desert stretched out in every direction.

Yet rising from the desert were enormous cylindrical structures.

The structures were the color of yellow sand, each nearly several hundred meters in diameter and close to a hundred meters tall. From a distance, they looked like enormous circular arenas.

Suddenly, a black-robed figure flew toward them from afar.

Seeing this, Fu Jinyu was just about to make a move when Xu Mu grabbed him by the shoulder. “He’s one of ours.”

The black-robed figure stopped in front of Xu Mu and the others, then removed the hood of his robe.

“Miao Wentian! It’s you!”

Just after Li Peijun finished speaking, Xu Mu sprayed her right in the face.