Old Lady Li Hongdou

I have to admit, Hat Bro’s harem was impressively high-quality.

After all, he was the protagonist of The Cultivator Returns as a Dad, so his strength was bound to be formidable.

Xu Mu had read similar novels before. Usually, he was somewhat like the old man living inside Chen Xuan’s ring.

His cultivation realm should have been restricted. But what if this male protagonist was different?

What if his cultivation had been preserved? If that were the case, it would be bad news for Xu Mu.

So he had to do everything he could to weaken the relationship between the female lead and Hat Bro. That way, there was a good chance he could limit Hat Bro’s opportunities.

With that thought in mind, Xu Mu sent a single character to the group chat: “Go!”

Ji Qingge also signed up in the group chat.

Aside from the three of them, several others with names that sounded extremely old-fashioned followed suit.

Xu Mu watched the messages in the group. Many people who had barely spoken before had stepped forward.

In fact, he could guess why those older-generation figures had chosen to compete for this opportunity.

The most important reason was that the missing person was the Sequence One captain.

Someone of that caliber possessed extraordinary talent. Which senior expert wouldn’t want to get acquainted with such a future star?

Moreover, Lin Ruoshi was a woman. By helping her this time, they could establish a favorable relationship with her.

Perhaps, in the future, one of their descendants might even marry such a genius.

Having a top-tier bloodline join their family would have a profound influence on their descendants.

Ji Liang sent another string of messages to the group.

Xu Mu glanced at them and roughly translated the meaning: Experts at the third tier or above were not allowed to go.

There was a high chance that Lin Ruoshi had been captured by the foreign races.

According to the unspoken rules governing the Inner World and the outside world, if experts of the third tier or above were sent over to rescue her, the consequences would be disastrous.

In the end, Ji Liang selected only three people.

Xu Mu and Chen Xuan were among them.

Ji Liang asked them to send in their addresses and said that a helicopter would be dispatched immediately. They would gather today to discuss the arrangements. If more manpower was needed later, they would be notified in the group chat.

After leaving Feng Yue’s home, Xu Mu called Chen Xuan. This time, he still asked them to land the helicopter at Wei Jingzhi’s suburban estate.

After making some simple preparations, he drove to Wei Jingzhi’s estate.

Once he arrived, Xu Mu walked straight into the courtyard.

From a distance, he saw Wei Jingzhi practicing tai chi.

“Senior, I’m back again,” Xu Mu said with a smile as he walked over.

“This mission is rather dangerous. You and Chen Xuan really aren’t afraid of death, are you?” Wei Jingzhi glanced at Xu Mu.

“I think Senior Ji Liang must have his reasons. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have chosen us,” Xu Mu said as he sat down on a small stool nearby.

“Hahaha! That’s a reasonable way to look at it.” Wei Jingzhi laughed.

“What exactly is this mission about?” Xu Mu asked curiously.

“I don’t know the details. I only know the general situation. It’s a long story, and there are some historical factors involved.”

Wei Jingzhi took a sip of goji berry tea and gave Xu Mu a rough account of what had happened in the past.

Unlike the other countries in the world, the Dragon Nation had never been taken over by the so-called gods of the Inner World.

That wasn’t just something they claimed. The reason they had managed to break free from that control was because they had fought their way out.

In the past, battles between the Yan-Huang tribes and the foreign races had raged constantly across the land of the Dragon Nation.

It was precisely the countless trials of life and death that had made the descendants of Yan and Huang so powerful.

They had never received any favors from the foreign races. Everything they possessed had been earned through their own efforts.

As they grew increasingly powerful, they instead beat the foreign races until they were scattered and battered.

However, the foreign races refused to accept defeat and would occasionally cause trouble.

Eventually, the descendants of Yan and Huang lost their patience and decided to enter the Inner World to wipe them out.

One of those foreign races was known as the Tianyu Clan. They called themselves the “Heavenly Sovereigns.”

They had been extremely arrogant in the past, but were later almost completely annihilated. The remnants of the clan fled the Inner World and eventually made their way to the island nation.

At that time, the island nation was inhabited by a group of primitive people. The Tianyu Clan taught them knowledge, gradually transforming them from beasts into human beings.

The Heavenly Sovereigns were consequently revered by the people there as beings akin to creation gods.

Originally, this foreign race had been nothing more than a marginal power in the Inner World. Who could have imagined that they would also encounter a great opportunity?

They found another Inner World in the island nation.

Back in the Dragon Nation, they had only been able to rank somewhere in the middle or upper-middle tier. But after entering that Inner World, they descended like gods from the heavens. Once they took control of the entire realm, they claimed all its treasures for themselves.

After a thousand years of development, the cultivation realms of their people advanced by leaps and bounds.

In modern times, the foreign races inflicted severe damage on the foundations of the Dragon Nation, leaving it badly weakened.

Taking advantage of the Dragon Nation’s vulnerability, they plundered many of its treasures.

While the experts of the Dragon Nation’s sects were away fighting, the foreign races launched surprise attacks on the sects.

The highest-level cultivation arts and formations were looted, and many sects disappeared during that period.

…

Xu Mu sat quietly to the side and listened. He now had a general understanding of the mission.

“Senior, we’re going to reclaim our treasures, right?”

“That’s right. But don’t underestimate the Tianyu Clan. They originally obtained their treasures by chance, and on top of that, they acquired the top-tier cultivation arts and formations by plundering our sects. Among the foreign races, they can be considered a first-rate power.”

Wei Jingzhi looked at Xu Mu. “They’re far stronger than the Baishi Clan you encountered before.”

“Then what is the mission?” Xu Mu asked.

“At present, we’re still in the probing phase. Once we have a complete understanding of them, it will be time for their destruction,” Wei Jingzhi said indifferently.

As they spoke, Chen Xuan approached from a distance.

“Brother Mu, Senior.”

Chen Xuan called out from afar.

“You can let Chen Xuan tell you the rest. His master personally experienced what happened back then.”

Wei Jingzhi’s face was filled with admiration. “That man truly protected the Dragon Nation for several centuries.”

Xu Mu looked at Chen Xuan. He had known for a long time that Chen Xuan’s master was no ordinary person.

A helicopter slowly descended from the sky.

Xu Mu and Chen Xuan bid farewell to Wei Jingzhi before boarding the helicopter and flying toward Yanjing.

After the helicopter took off, Chen Xuan asked with a smile, “Brother Mu, what were you talking about just now? Why did you bring up my master?”

“The Tianyu Clan from the island nation.”

Xu Mu gave him a rough account of what Wei Jingzhi had said.

“I see. Master did mention it to me before. The battles in modern times caused devastating casualties.”

Chen Xuan shook his head slightly. “The Dragon Nation was too special. It was the only region that hadn’t been controlled by the foreign races. Back then, our enemies were the entire world.”

Xu Mu clenched his fists. “Times have changed. We’re not the same anymore.”

“We’ve merely returned to where we originally belonged.”

Chen Xuan smiled.

…

At a certain base outside Yanjing.

Xu Mu and Chen Xuan climbed down from the helicopter and saw two people standing in the distance.

One of them was Ji Liang. As for the other, she was an old woman.

Her hair was completely white, and her face was covered in wrinkles. She was thin and wore a very simple, plain-colored dress.

She looked much like an old woman from a village.

“You’re finally here. She’ll be responsible for protecting your safety. I’ve already explained the details to her. Your plane tickets have been booked. She’ll tell you what to do.”

Ji Liang smiled as he spoke.

Xu Mu looked at the old woman with his Eye of God.

Name: Li Hongdou

Occupation: Environmental Sanitation Commissioner. Character from The Cultivator Returns as a Dad. Female lead.

Favorability: 10

Destiny Level: 8 (Max Level: 10)

“Holy shit?”

Xu Mu was completely stunned.