Bai Qi learned of Xu Mu’s existence from Tushan Ju. It was Xu Mu who had healed the Old Ancestor’s injuries.
“Greetings, Senior. You arrived just in time. If you’d come half an hour later, your lives would have been in danger.”
Xu Mu smiled at Bai Qi.
“What happened here? Normally, the four major races should have arrived before us. Could it be that they already obtained the treasure and left?”
Bai Qi asked curiously.
“For the details, you should let Senior Fan Yingjie of the Great Desolate Clan explain them to you.”
Xu Mu then turned to Fan Yingjie and said, “Senior, the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan and I have a good relationship. Please don’t make things difficult for them.”
When Bai Qi heard that the man before him was from the Great Desolate Clan, his expression changed.
“Of course. The Nine-Tailed Fox Clan was originally the one that found this place. We’ll search for the treasure fairly and won’t take anything from one another.”
Fan Yingjie spoke as though it were only natural.
“Thank you, Senior.”
Before leaving, Xu Mu smiled at Bai Qi once more. “We’ll be leaving first. Please send my regards to Senior Tushan Ju.”
With that, Xu Mu led the three women away.
They followed the passage created by Salvation and returned to the area they had come from. Then they flew upward toward the continent in the Inner World.
Finally, they emerged from the ruins and arrived in the waters of the oasis lake in the desert.
Xu Mu and the others did not leave the lake immediately. He first used his perception to scout the surroundings and discovered that quite a few people had gathered nearby.
They were all keeping their distance from the oasis and had not approached it.
The desert outside was filled with enormous pits, clearly the result of battles that had taken place earlier.
However, Xu Mu discovered that the reason no one had approached was because Zhang Que was sitting by the lake.
Without hesitation, Xu Mu signaled to the others in the water to disguise their identities properly, then headed toward Zhang Que.
Among the members of Salvation, Zhang Que was the only one he could consider himself fairly close to.
Xu Mu had a passive nature. He treated others according to how they treated him.
Although other people called Zhang Que an evil man, Zhang Que had always treated Xu Mu well. Naturally, Xu Mu would not blindly hate him just because everyone else did.
The group leaped from the water onto the shore and approached Zhang Que openly.
Xu Mu stepped forward first, trying to establish a closer relationship.
“Uncle, what are you doing here all alone?”
“Waiting for you.”
When Zhang Que saw Xu Mu appear, he rose from the ground.
“Waiting for me?”
Xu Mu was somewhat surprised.
“Let’s leave this place first. We’ll talk afterward.”
After saying that, Zhang Que led the way.
Xu Mu and the others followed behind him. Xu Mu himself was fairly relaxed, but Nalan Shisan and An Linghui were extremely tense.
Zhang Que had already been famous throughout Dragon Kingdom, where he was known as one of the Two Cripples. No one had expected him to join Salvation as well.
The fact that such a powerful organization had accepted Zhang Que was proof enough of his strength.
“If you don’t want to die, get lost.”
Zhang Que suddenly stopped and spoke to the people behind them.
Xu Mu had noticed them long ago. Ever since they started heading this way, someone had been following them.
However, after Zhang Que issued his warning, those people stopped in their tracks and did not follow any farther.
Zhang Que continued walking for several minutes before stopping again. He looked at Xu Mu.
“Let’s make a deal.”
“A deal?”
Xu Mu frowned.
Zhang Que took a section of a cervical spine from his body. It consisted of four vertebrae.
However, these bones were unlike those of an ordinary person. Their surfaces gleamed with a metallic luster.
Upon closer inspection, one could see countless densely packed symbols carved into them.
“If I’m not mistaken, a divine-grade cultivation technique has been engraved on these bones.”
Zhang Que looked at Xu Mu as he spoke.
“What? Divine-grade?”
Xu Mu was shocked. He had drawn countless times from the lottery, yet the number of divine-grade cultivation techniques he had obtained could still be counted on one hand.
If even he had rarely seen one, then the three women beside him had certainly never encountered a divine-grade cultivation technique before.
“That’s right. As long as you agree to my request, I’ll give you this divine-grade cultivation technique.”
As he spoke, Zhang Que glanced at Fu Jinyu and the others beside Xu Mu.
“I’ll give the entire technique to you. You can let whoever you wish learn it. I won’t interfere.”
“You should tell me what you want me to do first. Something this valuable might cost me my life.”
Although Xu Mu desperately needed a divine-grade cultivation technique, he would not put himself in danger for one.
As long as he drew from the lottery often enough, he would certainly obtain another one in the future.
“It’s very simple. Unless the Great Desolate Clan provokes you first, you must not become their enemy from now on.”
Zhang Que continued, “When necessary, you must also help them as much as possible.”
“That’s all?”
“That’s all.”
Zhang Que nodded.
“What you’re asking isn’t difficult, but it isn’t easy either. Not becoming their enemy is simple enough, but if I help them, wouldn’t that put me on the opposite side of the strongest experts in the Inner World?”
Xu Mu stroked his chin thoughtfully. Then he turned to Fu Jinyu and the others.
“What do you think?”
“I don’t know. I’ll listen to you. I have no particular feelings toward the Great Desolate Clan. We can be friends or enemies—I don’t really care.”
Fu Jinyu looked completely unconcerned.
“I think you should accept. This is a divine-grade cultivation technique. Besides, after what happened this time, I’m already considered to be standing on their side.”
Nalan Shisan pondered for a moment before speaking.
“I’ll stay out of it.”
An Linghui considered herself an outsider. Since this was their decision to make, she thought it best to say as little as possible.
Xu Mu recalled Fan Yingjie from earlier and realized that he seemed perfectly normal. He did not appear to be the kind of great villain people made him out to be.
“Fine! I agree!”
He nodded.
Thinking about it carefully, why should he stand with most of the people in the Inner World?
After all, the various races of the Inner World had always been trying to find a way to occupy the Outer World.
“Then it’s settled. Leave quickly, and be careful that no one else takes an interest in you.”
Zhang Que handed the four vertebrae to Xu Mu.
“Uncle, we’re leaving first!”
Xu Mu glanced at the people beside him, then hurried eastward.
Zhang Que waited until Xu Mu had disappeared from sight before leaving as well.
…
“Xu Mu, you know him? This is a divine-grade cultivation technique. It’s as valuable as a divine artifact, yet he just gave it to you?”
Fu Jinyu was utterly incredulous. The key was that Xu Mu had only given his word verbally, and Zhang Que had not even asked him to prove anything.
“I’ve met him a few times before, but we aren’t close.”
Xu Mu shook his head.
“I think they’ve taken a liking to your talent. This is merely a gesture of goodwill. They may invite you to join Salvation in the future.”
Nalan Shisan offered her guess.
“That makes sense. I think so too.”
An Linghui agreed.
“Whatever. At least I got the divine-grade cultivation technique.”
Xu Mu remembered that Jiang Huihui had previously said she wanted to invite him to her home for a meal.
It was not only the natural treasures he had in mind—he also felt that Jiang Huihui should learn this divine-grade cultivation technique.
Perhaps that was what Jiang Mingzhuo had intended.
“What do we do next?” Fu Jinyu asked.
“Go back.”
Xu Mu replied that Meng Wanyue and the others would be safe while staying in the Holy Battlefield, so he would let them continue training and cultivating there.
As for Xu Mu, he planned to return this time to get some rest and finish making the soft armor.
With Fu Jinyu right beside him, it was also the perfect opportunity to carefully measure her vital statistics.
When they reached the sea east of the area, Xu Mu checked the time and found that their timing was perfect. They only needed to wait another ten minutes or so.
After a brief rest, the group jumped into the seawater and returned to Wei Jingzhi’s manor through the point where the inner and outer realms converged.
“Welcome back. How did it go this time?”
Wei Jingzhi said with a beaming smile, a thermos cup in hand.
“We almost died.”
As he spoke, Xu Mu pulled out his phone and glanced at the time. Time had been completely out of whack in the inner realm.
The moment he took out his phone, it vibrated several times in succession—several missed-call alerts.
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
