Xu Mu had always acknowledged Xiao Gui’s overall strength. Even though Xu Mu had now advanced another level and reached the Perfection Stage of Transcendence, he still had to proceed with caution.
That was why he had deliberately kept a distance of three kilometers between them this time, rather than getting too close.
“Xu Mu, do you know where they went?”
Fu Jinyu followed behind Xu Mu as they left the town, but the road ahead led into a stretch of barren wilderness. There was no sign of the others anywhere.
“Don’t worry. My perception technique is extremely powerful. I can sense their current location even if they aren’t releasing any qi.”
Xu Mu smiled as he spoke.
“That is impressive.”
Fu Jinyu folded her arms, letting bolts of lightning strike across them.
She had originally thought that after reaching the second stage of World-Breaking, she would surpass Xu Mu—or at least exceed him in perception.
Now, it seemed she had overestimated herself.
Meanwhile, Xiao Gui led the two women beside him as they followed the group ahead.
After nearly half an hour of travel, they arrived at the entrance to a cave at the summit of a mountain.
The red-eyed old man pointed at the cave. “Your daughter is inside. We were only responsible for leading the way. Now that we’ve brought you here, we’ll be leaving.”
“You want to leave?”
Xiao Gui’s eyes narrowed. Golden light transformed into chains and bound everyone in front of him.
They struggled to break free, but the chains could not be shattered.
“We’re going in now. If my daughter isn’t inside, you’ll die horribly once I come back out.”
After saying that, Xiao Gui walked into the cave.
Zhong Ci followed behind him, her face beneath the hood of her black robe looking somewhat unnatural.
She had nearly forgotten how ruthless Xiao Gui could be.
The main reason was that Xiao Gui genuinely treated Xiao Qiao well, and he also showed Zhong Ci great respect.
Yet the man before her was the very same ruthless figure who, immediately after returning to the Zhong family, had slaughtered several of his father’s wives and all their descendants.
On the other side, Xu Mu only quickened his pace after seeing Xiao Gui and the others enter the ruin.
“Damn it!”
The red-eyed old man repeatedly unleashed his strength, but he still could not break free of the chains.
“Brother Red! That man probably won’t make it out alive, will he?”
Another middle-aged man looked nervous.
“Make it out? In your dreams! The Painted Skin Sect’s vice sect master is waiting for him inside. Do you really think he can survive?”
The red-eyed old man snorted. “All you need to think about now is how long he can hold out.”
“That’s right.”
The middle-aged man’s emotions settled somewhat.
“Oh? The Painted Skin Sect’s vice sect master is inside? What level is he?”
At that moment, Xu Mu appeared at the cave entrance.
He had likewise used an illusion formation to alter his appearance. In fact, he had already anticipated this possibility.
The last time, the Thousand-Skinned Woman had controlled a ninth-level expert and made him release all his qi, yet she had still failed to kill Xu Mu and Chen Xuan.
This time, she had gone to such lengths to abduct Xiao Qiao. If she had merely sent a few low-level experts, it would only prove that there was something wrong with her head.
“Who are you?”
The red-eyed old man asked in a deep voice.
“I’m asking you a question. Whoever answers me will be released.”
Xu Mu’s tone was calm. Whether these rabble lived or died was of no significance to him.
“I know. The vice sect master is an eighth-level expert, and he’s also highly skilled in formations.”
A bald man among them immediately spoke up.
“Good.”
A dark-golden liquid began to flow from Xu Mu’s left hand. It surged toward the bald man and attached itself to the golden chains.
Crack!
After roughly three seconds, the chains binding the bald man were devoured.
The bald man let out a sigh of relief and immediately ran toward the cave entrance.
Xu Mu withdrew the Devouring Spirit Sacred Gu. From the feedback he received from the gu insect, he learned that the technique Xiao Gui had casually cast had actually taken the Devouring Spirit Sacred Gu three seconds to consume.
As expected of the male protagonist—he really was powerful.
Everyone else around them was stunned.
He had actually released the man?
It had been a long time since they had seen someone who kept his word.
“Senior! What else would you like to know? As long as I know the answer, I’ll tell you everything.”
The red-eyed old man hurriedly questioned him.
Who knew what would happen if he remained trapped here?
It would be better to leave in advance. After all, they had already completed the task assigned to them, and they had never been required to fight.
“Besides the vice sect master, what other experts are inside? Can he really take down those three by himself?”
Xu Mu looked at the red-eyed old man.
“Senior, you don’t know the situation. There truly is only the vice sect master inside, but he is highly proficient in formations. He carved a great number of powerful killing formations throughout the ruin beforehand. Not to mention those people just now—even a ninth-level expert might not be able to escape.”
The red-eyed old man immediately explained.
“What kinds of formations are there?”
Xu Mu continued questioning him.
“I don’t know that. None of us have ever gone inside.”
The red-eyed old man shook his head.
“You abducted that hostage. Is she really inside?” Xu Mu asked again.
“I don’t know. We stayed in the town the whole time and never came back here.”
The red-eyed old man continued, “Everything I’ve said is true.”
Xu Mu did not waste any more time. He used the Devouring Spirit Sacred Gu to devour the chains binding them, then continued asking, “I’ve released you. Where are you planning to go now?”
“We’re going to find our sect master. There’s a mark inside our minds. The sect master promised that as long as we completed this mission, he would keep the mark from flaring up for a year.”
The red-eyed old man smiled as he explained.
“Where is your sect master?”
Xu Mu suddenly asked.
“Our sect master is in a mountain range several dozen kilometers behind Black Sand City, about twenty or thirty kilometers from here.”
The red-eyed old man explained, “There’s a ruin there. They say it’s one of the Painted Skin Sect’s branch bases.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Mu’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“All right. Go find your sect master now.”
Xu Mu stepped aside to clear the way.
“Thank you! Thank you!”
The men hurriedly nodded and bowed before disappearing from the area.
“Brother Mu, something’s wrong.”
Chen Xuan only spoke after watching them leave.
“That’s right. Something is definitely wrong. We’ll follow them to their branch base.”
Xu Mu did not enter the ruin.
The last time, the Thousand-Skinned Woman had controlled a ninth-level expert and still failed to kill Xu Mu and Chen Xuan. How could she possibly send only an eighth-level vice sect master this time?
As for the formations, Yue Menglong had known that Xu Mu understood formations.
After going to all the trouble of luring them here, did she really think she could kill them with just an eighth-level expert?
Yue Menglong was absolutely not that foolish.
Even Xiao Qiao, the hostage, was not important enough to serve as the key.
The information Xu Mu had previously arranged to have circulated had stated very clearly that he treated Xiao Qiao as his own daughter.
But in the end, Xiao Qiao was still not Xu Mu’s child.
Therefore, this matter was definitely not that simple.
What Xu Mu needed to do was investigate their branch base. There was certainly a secret hidden there.
He extended his perception once more, and they followed the group ahead.
At that moment, the formation inside the ruin had already been activated.
It was a vast expanse of sand, with yellow smoke shrouding the surroundings and even the sky.
In the distance stood a woman dressed in a black robe. Within the yellow smoke behind her, the hazy outline of a child could be seen hanging in midair.
“Xiao Qiao!”
When Zhong Ci saw the figure, she immediately rushed forward.
But Xiao Gui grabbed her by the shoulder from behind. Gazing into the distance, he said coldly, “Where is my daughter?”
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
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."
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, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
