Besides, if she chose the latter option, Xu Mu would most likely be capable of killing her as well.
The only thing she could do now was obediently let Xu Mu and the others leave.
Then she would have to find out who the other person with a copy of the video was and make sure they would not release it.
“I can let you leave, but who are the other two people with the video? What do they look like? Give me their information now.”
“See? I told you, acting in haste leads to trouble. I happened to have photos of them on my phone, but you destroyed it.”
Xu Mu pointed at the fragments on the ground. “That said, although my friend is very fond of you, his cultivation is too weak. He definitely wouldn’t dare threaten you. As long as you let us go, I’ll tell him not to release the video if possible and to keep it for his own enjoyment.”
“Xu Mu! Are you serious?”
“I am. But I’m not him, so I can’t guarantee whether he’ll release it in the end.”
Xu Mu felt that this video could still be useful and that he definitely shouldn’t use it here.
That was why he had deliberately claimed that two other people also had copies of the video.
He had agreed not to make the video public, but in the future, he could simply hand it over to Chen Xuan and have him release it. That would give him another opportunity to threaten her.
If Chen Xuan’s chances were used up, he could bring up this nonexistent senior and threaten her again.
If he still felt that he needed more opportunities to threaten her, he could say that this senior had already sent the video to several friends. That way, he could continue threatening her.
Of course, Xu Mu felt that he probably wouldn’t need to go that far.
“Fine! I agree to let you leave! Xu Mu, I also hope you’ll keep your word. If this video gets out, I don’t care who releases it—I’ll use every means at my disposal and do everything in my power to kill you.”
Dorothea pointed at Xu Mu as she spoke.
“Fine. But let me make this clear as well: if the Holy Light Clan inexplicably places a bounty on me, I might release the video too.”
Xu Mu spoke calmly.
“Fine! I absolutely will not have the Holy Light Clan hunt you down over something like this.”
Dorothea nodded.
“A pleasure doing business with you.”
After Xu Mu finished speaking, he and Dorothea returned to the others.
Li Hongdou and the rest had no idea what Xu Mu and Dorothea had discussed. Since the two had been facing away from them while talking, they also didn’t know what treasure Xu Mu had handed over.
“Rael, let Xu Mu and his friends leave,” Dorothea ordered. “As for the rest, follow the usual rules.”
“This…”
Rael looked puzzled.
“What? Are my orders no longer effective?”
Dorothea glared at Rael.
“Of course not!”
Rael hurriedly waved his hands. Dorothea’s faction had a ninth-rank expert backing it.
He was still counting on them to reward him with some treasures so that he could smoothly advance to the eighth rank, or even the ninth.
“Xu Mu, I’m no longer pursuing this matter with you. As for the Celestial Clan, I have no control over them.”
Dorothea looked at Xu Mu.
“Hahaha! Since they’ve decided to let you go, I’ll let you go too. I never intended to take your treasures in the first place.”
Tian Yunchu smiled at Xu Mu. “After all, you just saved my life.”
Xia Jiang said nothing more. His cultivation was only at the sixth rank, while Xu Mu had been capable of dealing with a seventh-rank expert. Dealing with him should be even easier.
Besides, he was injured and had no desire whatsoever to fight a monster like Xu Mu.
Li Hongdou was utterly astonished. She had no idea what treasure Xu Mu had handed over to make it possible for them to leave.
[Affection +10]
For once, as a second-rank cultivator, she really hadn’t been able to help at all.
Who could have expected that a ruin deemed low-risk by the Sanitation Bureau would contain sixth- and seventh-rank experts?
Lin Ruoshi and Zhong Ci were also extremely grateful to Xu Mu. This time, Lin Ruoshi had obtained a divine medicine that had not yet completely withered.
As for Zhong Ci, she had obtained an earth-grade cultivation technique.
If not for Xu Mu, the treasures in their hands would certainly have been confiscated.
[Affection +10]
[Affection +10]
The others were in much the same situation. They had all found more or less some treasures, and none of them was willing to hand them over.
But thanks to Xu Mu, they were able to leave with their treasures.
“Thank you.”
After Xu Mu finished speaking, he turned to the people beside him. “Let’s go back.”
Everyone nodded and followed Xu Mu out together.
As for the hybrids who remained behind, many of them wore envious expressions. If they had known Xu Mu, perhaps they could have left with him as well.
…
Outside the ruins.
Xu Mu and the others had already emerged.
Li Hongdou smiled and said, “We were able to get out safely thanks to Xu Mu. This place isn’t safe to linger in. Let’s get back quickly.”
Xu Mu and Chen Xuan followed them through the junction and returned to the other side.
It had been deep in the night when they arrived, but it was already morning here.
When he saw the group emerge, Hu Qingyun walked out of a nearby tent.
“You’re finished already? I thought it would take several days.”
“This time, it was mainly thanks to Xu Mu. Otherwise, something would have happened to all of us.”
Li Hongdou spoke from the side. “There was a seventh-rank expert from the Holy Light Clan inside, as well as a sixth-rank expert from the Celestial Clan.”
“What?”
Hearing this, Hu Qingyun smiled and patted Xu Mu on the shoulder. “You brat, I have a feeling that before long, you might even become an advanced cleaner.”
“Senior, don’t make fun of me. I’m still far from that.”
Xu Mu waved his hand dismissively.
“Brother Xu Mu, I really have to thank you this time. When you have the chance, come to Kunlun Mountain—I’ll treat you to a meal.”
Jiang Cisui smiled as he spoke.
“Sure.”
Xu Mu nodded with a smile.
The others followed suit and expressed their thanks. Even Wang Taolue, who had previously insisted that he didn’t need Xu Mu’s help, was thoroughly convinced.
Only Yun Yao stood off to the side without saying a word. Clearly, this defeat had dealt him quite a blow.
Everyone present knew that losing to Xu Mu would be nothing to be ashamed of. But he had not lost to Xu Mu himself—he had lost to Chen Xuan, an unknown figure who stood beside Xu Mu.
The helicopter slowly descended from the sky and picked up the people from the various major sects.
After they left, only Hu Qingyun, Li Hongdou, and Lin Ruoshi remained.
“Senior Hu, I don’t want to continue doing this job anymore.”
Li Hongdou suddenly spoke.
“What? You want to quit the Sanitation Department?”
Hu Qingyun furrowed his brows slightly.
“No. I mean, I don’t want to stay stuck at the second tier.”
As she spoke, Li Hongdou glanced at Xu Mu.
“I see. This was voluntary to begin with.”
Hu Qingyun nodded lightly.
“Xu Mu, Chen Xuan, are you two heading back? I’ll report everything truthfully this time and try to apply for a few more treasures for you.”
Li Hongdou smiled as she spoke.
“We’re not going back. This junction is in a pretty convenient location and saves us a lot of time. We know of a Battlefield of the Gods, and from this junction, it should only take us two or three days to get there.”
Xu Mu did not hide anything. Finding treasures in a place like that was all a matter of luck. If the Sanitation Department was willing to send a few people along, he had no objections.
“What? A Battlefield of the Gods?”
Li Hongdou was deeply shocked. She, too, had always wanted to visit such a place.
The legendary divine techniques, divine artifacts, and other treasures were all said to be found in the Battlefield of the Gods.
If she could obtain one of those treasures, she would rise to the top in a single step. But with her current level of cultivation, was she truly strong enough?
Could it be that she would have to abandon her disguise?
“Xu Mu, may I go with you?”
Li Hongdou asked.
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."
g Yu was preparing for retirement when her organization decided to eliminate her. She transmigrated to a zombie apocalypse world. However, a tiny unexpected situation occurred: She somehow transformed into an adorable little girl?!
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.”
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.
