Xu Mu sized up the people before him and realized that they probably did not belong to any particular race. They were mixed-blood.
Their features had nothing in common. Some had blue eyes, others red, and their hair came in all sorts of colors.
Perhaps they belonged to some mixed-blood faction. No wonder they said that the people this time were generally not very strong.
“Don’t ask who we are. You only need to know that we have the ability to kill you. That’s enough.”
Flames erupted from Li Hongdou’s body. She raised her hand, and several thin strands of fire interwove, trapping the people inside a cage and leaving them unable to move.
One of them had just touched the cage when his palm suddenly caught fire. He immediately unleashed his power to defend himself, but he still couldn’t stop the flames.
After the flames went out, one of his fingers had already been burned black.
Seeing this, the others around them no longer dared to block their way.
“Let’s go!”
Li Hongdou spoke to the people behind her.
Under her leadership, Xu Mu and the others successfully entered the ancient ruins.
The interior was still a stretch of primeval mountain forest. Clearly, very few people had come here before.
“You’re all geniuses from major sects. I don’t think you’re the sort who will stay by my side the entire time, so I’ll keep this brief. Be careful. Your lives are far more valuable than any treasure.”
Li Hongdou spoke to the people beside her.
“Senior, then we’ll head in first.”
Yun Yao cupped his hands slightly before setting off toward the depths with Zhong Ci.
“Brother Xu Mu, we’re heading in too. Let’s see which of us can obtain the treasure this time.”
After Jiang Cisui finished speaking, he left with Wang Fugui.
“Be careful.”
Xu Mu nodded.
“Xu Mu, the three of us discussed this before coming here. We’ve decided to act together.”
Shi Yao asked perfunctorily, “Would you like to join us?”
“No need.”
Xu Mu shook his head. “I’ll stay with Old Chen.”
“All right.”
Shi Yao and the other two left together.
“Ruoshi, just stay with Xu Mu and the others. You’re much more obedient than they are.”
Li Hongdou smiled. “Those people haven’t encountered any real danger yet. It’s something they’ll have to experience sooner or later. The more arrogant they act now, the harder they’ll be slapped in the face later.”
“All right.”
Lin Ruoshi glanced at Xu Mu, then immediately lowered her head.
“Senior, what about you?”
Xu Mu turned to Li Hongdou.
“I’ll go in alone. I’ll patrol the area and do my best to keep them safe.”
Li Hongdou smiled at Xu Mu. “But let me make this clear first: I won’t protect you. Maybe you’ll even have to save me when the time comes.”
“Heh, Senior, you’re worrying too much.”
Xu Mu shook his head slightly.
The group continued toward the deepest mountain peak. They did not encounter anyone else along the way.
This also showed that very few people knew about these ruins. Those who had entered earlier had probably already gone into the formations deeper inside.
Led by Xu Mu, they arrived before a massive palace at the mountain peak in the depths.
Xu Mu grabbed Lin Ruoshi’s and Chen Xuan’s hands and began inscribing a formation.
Lin Ruoshi’s body suddenly stiffened, and she became extremely nervous. Only after learning that Xu Mu was inscribing a formation did she relax slightly.
“This is a communication formation. As long as you direct your qi toward this spot, you’ll be able to use the formation to send me a message.”
Xu Mu smiled at Lin Ruoshi. “Its range is about ten kilometers. Remember to tell me if you encounter any danger.”
[Affection +10]
“I understand. Thank you.”
Lin Ruoshi nodded with a smile.
Afterward, the group entered the palace together.
Xu Mu glanced back first, only to find that Chen Xuan and Lin Ruoshi had both disappeared.
He immediately used the communication formation to ask whether they were safe.
However, he received no reply.
Xu Mu scratched his head helplessly. The formation he had only just inscribed had already been proven useless.
He looked around. He had entered a massive city. Buildings and streets could be seen all around him, but on either side of him was impenetrable white mist.
The mist covered most of the city, leaving behind only a street ten meters wide that extended into the distance.
Of course, white mist also appeared several hundred meters ahead.
Xu Mu released his senses and examined the buildings along both sides of the street. He could only see the buildings closest to the road. Beyond them, everything was swallowed by the white mist.
He couldn’t see anything inside the buildings, but Xu Mu still decided to go in and take a look.
He pushed open the door of a restaurant on the left. A group of skeletons wielding weapons immediately rushed out.
Green flames burned across their bodies.
Whoosh!
The leading skeleton swung its saber at Xu Mu.
Xu Mu drew his black sword but did not attack. Instead, he merely assumed a defensive stance, wanting to gauge the strength of the skeletons.
Clang!
A metallic collision rang out, but Xu Mu’s arm did not move in the slightest.
After sensing it carefully, Xu Mu realized that the attack possessed roughly the strength of the first level of the World-Breaking Realm.
While he was thinking, the remaining skeletons charged forward as well.
Xu Mu raised his hand, and the dark-golden light of the Spirit-Devouring Saint Gu enveloped his entire body.
The skeletons swung their blades at him, but the instant their weapons touched the dark-golden light, they vanished.
The attacks of these skeletons were, in essence, spiritual energy condensed by the formation.
In other words, they were similar to attacks made from qi, which meant that the Spirit-Devouring Saint Gu could devour that power.
The Spirit-Devouring Saint Gu was now clearly much stronger after manifesting its wings.
Previously, even when Yue Menglong controlled a ninth-stage expert and unleashed his full strength, the Spirit-Devouring Saint Gu had been able to hold out for several seconds.
These attacks, which possessed only roughly first-stage strength, naturally could not break through the Spirit-Devouring Saint Gu’s defenses.
Xu Mu paid no attention to the skeletons and walked straight into the building to inspect it.
The interior was laid out much like an ordinary restaurant, except that there wasn’t a single person inside.
He went up to the second floor and discovered a skeleton sitting in one of the seats.
It was also burning with green flames, but it showed no intention of attacking.
“How strange.”
When Xu Mu approached the skeleton, the skeletons that had chased him up from the first floor suddenly attacked him like mad.
However, their attacks could not hurt Xu Mu in the slightest.
“Can you communicate?”
Xu Mu spoke to the skeleton.
The skeleton did not respond. It remained seated there, completely motionless.
Seeing this, Xu Mu reached out and placed his hand on the skeleton, carefully sensing it.
He discovered that this skeleton seemed to be the formation’s core.
He drew his red sword and slashed down.
Crack!
The skeleton before him shattered like glass, and all the other skeletons around him disappeared as well.
The green light transformed into a screen. Like a display, it showed four figures, arranged in two rows of two.
All four of them were engaged in battle. They were Shi Yao, Jiang Cisui, Wang Taolue, and Zhong Ci.
At that moment, each of them was fighting skeletons.
Xu Mu wasn’t sure what the image meant, so he placed his hand on Zhong Ci’s image.
Buzz!
At that moment, Xu Mu’s body suddenly changed, transforming into Zhong Ci’s appearance.
“What the hell?”
Xu Mu lowered his head and looked at himself. He couldn’t even see his feet anymore, because they were blocked by an enormous pair of breasts.
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
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.
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."
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
